What is Sound Design?
Sound design is the construction of everything an audience hears other than dialogue: music, room tone, effects, transitions and the mix that balances them against the voice. Sound carries much of a video’s sense of production value, which is why a well-shot film with thin audio reads as amateur.
- Category
- Creative & Video Production
- Also called
- Audio post, Sound mix, Audio design
- In our work
- AI video production
The elements are music, effects, ambience and the mix. Music sets pace and emotion, and has to be licensed for the same term and territory as the video itself. Effects give physical actions weight, ambience makes a room feel like a place, and the mix decides what the audience hears at any moment: narration above music during a claim, music alone across a montage. Levels are placement-dependent as well, since a large share of a feed audience watches with the sound off.
That last point changes the brief rather than removing the audio work. A video that must play silently needs captions, on-screen text and cuts that carry meaning without narration, and the same edit still needs a proper mix for the placements where sound is on. Building both from the start is cheaper than rescuing a silent-feed version out of a film that depended entirely on its voiceover to make sense.
Common questions.
Can we use any music we like in a company video?
Only music you are licensed to use. Commercial recordings need a licence covering the term, territory and media the video runs in, which is why production libraries and commissioned tracks are the norm in advertising. Platform takedowns and rejected ads are the usual consequence of skipping it. This is general information rather than legal advice.
Related terms.
Voiceover
Creative & Video ProductionA voiceover is recorded narration laid over picture by a speaker who is not seen on screen, carrying the script a video’s images cannot state directly.
Colour Grade
Creative & Video ProductionA colour grade is the pass in post-production where the colour of every shot is adjusted: first corrected so exposure and white balance match across the edit, then graded to a deliberate look.
Cutdown
Creative & Video ProductionA cutdown is a shorter edit of a finished video, built from the same material to fit a placement that will not take the full length: a 30-second film reduced to 15 and 6 seconds for paid social.
AVP (Audio-Visual Presentation)
Creative & Video ProductionAn AVP, or audio-visual presentation, is a short branded video that explains an organisation, product or programme to an audience in one sitting.
Scoping a project?
Reading definitions because you are scoping a project? Skip ahead and just ask.