My Films

Module 6 · Lesson 1 of 2

Keep the music quieter than the voices.

Music should be quieter than the voices but still easy to hear. Most people will watch on a phone, so that is where you test it.

Watch

Relationship Goals, Episode 1 (3:06)

Play it on your phone speaker, with no headphones. Listen for the music under the voices. Some moments go quiet on purpose.

The steps

  1. Music sits under the voices. Every word must be clear over it.

  2. But it must still be easy to hear. Music nobody can hear does nothing for your film.

  3. Test on your phone speaker. If you can’t hear the music there, nobody will.

Practice on a real film

  1. Take off your headphones. Play the film in this lesson on your phone speaker.

  2. Listen for two things at once: every word, and the music under it.

  3. Play a minute again with the phone at arm’s length. That is how most people hold it.

Do this now

Play the film in this lesson on your phone speaker and check you can hear both the voices and the music.

Check yourself

  • Could you hear every word over the music?
  • Could you still hear the music on your phone speaker?

If any answer is no, go back over the steps, or look below.

Stuck?

I can’t hear anything at all.
Press the volume-up button on the side of your phone. Check the phone isn’t sending the sound to earbuds or a speaker over Bluetooth.
In my own film, the music covers the words.
Turn the music down until every word is clear. Then check on the phone speaker that you can still hear it.
I can’t hear the music at all on my phone.
Turn the music up a little, then check every word is still clear.

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