Post-production sound is not a rescue drawer at the end of the edit. A storyboard can already mark where a sound bridge starts, which prop deserves a Foley cue, when music enters, and which moment must stay quiet.
Use this guide when the question is about the edit, the mix, and the audience's listening path. If the problem is clean dialogue on set, read the recording sound for film checklist. For picture rhythm, pair it with scene transitions in storyboards and editing techniques for storyboards.
Build a cue sheet from the board
After rough panels are in order, create a sound cue pass. Do not list every possible sound. Mark the sounds that change how the cut works.
| Cue type | Storyboard trigger | Post-production note |
|---|---|---|
| Foley hit | A hand grabs keys before leaving | Record keys dry, keep hit before door cut |
| Ambience bed | Scene moves from street to apartment | Fade traffic under first interior line |
| Pre-lap | Character hears a train before cut | Start train two panels before platform reveal |
| Sound bridge | We leave a fight but keep the argument | Carry muffled voices into hallway wide |
| Music entry | Character makes decision | Music begins after breath, not under the line |
| Silence | Shock or reveal beat | Drop room bed for half a second |
The cue sheet should stay short enough that an editor can use it. If every panel has five sound ideas, nothing is prioritized.
Foley belongs to actions that need texture
Foley is not "add footsteps everywhere." In a storyboard, Foley is useful when a physical action tells us something about weight, texture, tension, or timing.
A character placing a wedding ring on a table needs a different note than a character tossing keys onto a counter. The ring may need a tiny, dry contact sound and a held silence after it. The keys may need a messy metal scatter that overlaps a cut. Those are different editorial jobs, so they should not share a generic "Foley" label.
Write Foley notes like this:
- "Ring touch: small, isolated, no music under it."
- "Boots on wet stairs: heavy rhythm, match three steps before cut."
- "Plastic badge snap: sharp sound motivates reaction cut."
- "Fabric movement: keep quiet; do not distract from whisper."
Ambience sets geography
Ambience tells the audience where they are before they study the frame. A hospital corridor, basement rehearsal room, rural road, and city rooftop each need a bed that can survive multiple cuts.
Use the board to mark ambience changes at scene boundaries and inside scenes. If the first two panels are inside a car and the third panel opens the door to a busy street, the sound transition should not start late. The board can say "street bed leaks in when door handle moves." That gives the editor a reason to start the world before the visual change.
| Location shift | Ambience decision | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Bedroom to hallway | Add muffled TV before door opens | Makes the house feel occupied |
| Office to elevator | Drop office chatter, add motor hum | Clarifies space without exposition |
| Alley to main street | Raise traffic before cut | Prepares the audience for scale |
| Party room to bathroom | Low-pass music through wall | Keeps continuity while changing intimacy |
Mix priority is a story decision
Post-production sound gets crowded fast. Dialogue, Foley, ambience, music, and effects cannot all be first. A storyboard should mark the priority for the beat.
For example, in a breakup scene at a bus stop, the priority may be dialogue until the final line, then the bus brake, then silence as one character stays behind. In an action beat, the priority may be footsteps and breath over music because the scene is about exhaustion. In a comedy beat, a tiny object sound may be the joke.
Write this as a simple mix note: "dialogue first," "music under, not over," "prop sound carries cut," or "silence after reveal." These are not final mix instructions. They are intent markers.
Example: sound bridge from storyboard to edit
Scene: a mother reads an eviction notice, then the next scene opens on her daughter at school.
| Panel | Picture | Sound plan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Envelope on table | Paper scrape isolated |
| 2 | Mother's face as she reads | Room bed drops low |
| 3 | She exhales, no dialogue | Start distant school bell as pre-lap |
| 4 | Cut to school hallway | Bell becomes full volume, lockers enter |
| 5 | Daughter turns | Hold music out until she sees the phone |
The sound bridge is not just style. It connects the mother's private panic to the daughter's public day without an explanatory line.
Story2Board workflow
In Story2Board, keep post-production sound notes separate from production recording notes. Use production notes for mic distance, room tone, and wild lines. Use post notes for Foley, ambience, music, bridges, and mix priority. That split prevents the board from becoming a single vague "audio" bucket.
A good post-production sound pass gives the editor a listening map. It says what enters early, what gets isolated, what stays quiet, and which sound motivates the cut.