Production & Post-Production Audio

Sound

Sound is half the experience of cinema — yet the professionals who create it are among the least publicly recognised craftspeople in the industry. From the boom operator capturing dialogue on a windy hillside to the re-recording mixer balancing hundreds of audio tracks in the final dub, to the foley artist whose footsteps you never notice, the sound department is a vast and technically sophisticated world. This page covers every role, every major award show, and a comprehensive archive of winners.

CAS Awards MPSE Golden Reel Oscar Best Sound BAFTA Best Sound
1953
MPSE Founded
1994
CAS Awards Began
2021
Oscar Sound Categories Merged
6
Gary Rydstrom Oscar Wins
24
Tracks in a Typical Final Mix
Department Roles

The Sound Department — On Set & In Post

The sound department spans two entirely separate workflows: production sound (on set, during filming) and post-production sound (in the studio, after filming). Both require entirely different skills and equipment.

Production Sound (On Set)

Production Sound Mixer
Location Sound Mixer • Set Sound Mixer
The head of the on-set sound department. Responsible for recording all dialogue, presence recordings, and any other audio captured during the shoot. Operates a multi-track recorder and mixer, selects and positions microphones, and works constantly with the boom operator and director to get clean, usable audio. The PSM’s work is the foundation of the sound post-production pipeline. Honoured specifically by the CAS Award.
Boom Operator
Boom Swinger (UK)
Operates the boom microphone — a highly directional mic mounted on a long pole — holding it as close to the actor as possible without entering the camera frame. A physically demanding role requiring precise timing, knowledge of camera angles, and an ear for acoustics. The boom operator must also anticipate actor movements and follow blocking without seeing the monitor.
Utility Sound Technician
Sound Utility • Third Man (UK)
Manages all wireless microphones (lavs/body mics), placing and concealing transmitters on actors, maintaining frequency channels, running cables, and assisting the production sound mixer and boom operator during setup and moves. On large productions there may be multiple utility sound technicians.

Post-Production Sound

Supervising Sound Editor
SSE
The creative lead of the post-production sound team. The SSE oversees all sound work — dialogue editing, sound design, sound effects editing, and foley — and coordinates with the re-recording mixer for the final dub. Typically involved from pre-production, advising on what will and won’t record cleanly on set. Eligible for the Oscar for Best Sound.
Re-Recording Mixer
Dubbing Mixer (UK)
Mixes all the final audio tracks — dialogue, music, and effects — into the finished theatrical, broadcast, or streaming deliverable. Typically a team of two or three, with one specialising in dialogue/music and another in sound effects. Works at the dubbing stage (mix theatre) in close collaboration with the director and supervising sound editor. Eligible for the Oscar for Best Sound and the CAS Award.
Sound Designer
Sound Creator
Creates the overarching sonic world of a film — designing unique sound identities for vehicles, creatures, weapons, environments, and any non-real-world elements. A role pioneered by Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now) and Ben Burtt (Star Wars). Sound design requires a combination of technical expertise, musical sensibility, and creative imagination. Not all films have an official sound designer; in some cases the supervising sound editor fills this role.
Dialogue Editor
ADR Editor
Edits all recorded dialogue — cleaning production tracks, cutting in preferred takes, managing noise and room tone, and organising ADR sessions. Also edits the ADR recordings to precisely match the actor’s lip movements and the scene’s acoustic environment. A meticulous craft role at the technical core of post-production audio.
Sound Effects Editor
SFX Editor • FX Editor
Cuts and creates all hard sound effects — backgrounds, atmospheres, vehicles, weapons, impacts — that support the visual action. Works from a library of pre-recorded sounds as well as original recordings made by the sound team. One of the most creative roles in post sound, requiring both technical precision and an imaginative ear.
Foley Artist
Foley Walker (UK)
Performs and records sound effects in real time in sync with picture — footsteps, clothing rustle, props being handled, chair creaks. The craft was pioneered by Jack Foley at Universal Studios in the 1930s and remains essential on virtually every film and TV production. Great foley work is never noticed by the audience; its absence is immediately felt.
Foley Mixer
Foley Recording Mixer
Records the foley sessions, setting microphone positions, selecting room acoustics, and ensuring the recorded foley integrates seamlessly with the rest of the audio. Works directly with the foley artist and supervising sound editor.
ADR Mixer
Loop Group Mixer
Records ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) sessions on the mixing stage, where actors re-record lines that were inaudible or unsatisfactory from the production shoot. Also records loop group — background voices and walla for crowd scenes.
Award Shows

How Sound Gets Recognised

The sound community is served by two dedicated guild awards (CAS and MPSE Golden Reel), plus the Oscar and BAFTA. The Oscar merged its two sound categories in 2021 — a controversial decision among practitioners.

CAS Awards
Cinema Audio Society • since 1994
The CAS Awards specifically honour sound mixing — the work of production sound mixers and re-recording mixers. The awards span feature film, TV drama, TV comedy, and documentary, and are peer-voted by CAS membership.
  • Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing — Feature Film
  • Outstanding Achievement — TV Drama Series
  • Outstanding Achievement — TV Comedy Series
  • Outstanding Achievement — TV Movie or Mini-Series
  • Outstanding Achievement — Documentary
  • CAS Career Achievement Award
Annual • February • Los Angeles
MPSE Golden Reel Awards
Motion Picture Sound Editors • since 1953
One of the oldest craft award ceremonies in film, the MPSE Golden Reel Awards honour sound editing — the work of dialogue editors, SFX editors, and music editors. The categories are far more granular than the Oscar, distinguishing between dialogue, effects, music, and foley.
  • Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing — Feature Film
  • Outstanding Achievement — Dialogue & ADR
  • Outstanding Achievement — Sound Effects & Foley
  • Outstanding Achievement — Music
  • Outstanding Achievement — Animation Feature
  • Multiple TV and Documentary categories
Annual • February • Beverly Hills
Oscar — Best Sound
Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences • since 1930
The Academy has honoured sound since its second ceremony (1930). From 1969 to 2020, it maintained separate categories for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing — which were controversially merged into a single Best Sound category beginning with the 93rd ceremony (2021). The merger was met with significant resistance from sound professionals, who argued it collapsed two distinct disciplines into one category.
  • Best Sound (merged 2021)
  • Formerly: Best Sound Mixing + Best Sound Editing (pre-2021)
  • Five nominees voted by Sound Branch + all members
Annual • March • Hollywood
BAFTA — Best Sound
British Academy of Film & Television Arts • since 1968
BAFTA maintains a single Best Sound category and tends to track closely with the Oscar winner. UK-based sound professionals are particularly well represented given BAFTA’s British membership base.
  • Best Sound
Annual • February • London
Oscar Winners Archive

Best Sound — Academy Awards

Oscar winners for sound from 2010 to 2025. From 2021 onwards, the two previous categories (Sound Mixing and Sound Editing) were merged into a single Best Sound category.

Post-Merger — Best Sound (2021–2025)

Ceremony Film Sound Team
2025 · 97th Dune: Part Two Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, Ron Bartlett
2024 · 96th Oppenheimer Tarn Willers, Johnnie Burn
2023 · 95th Top Gun: Maverick Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor
2022 · 94th Dune Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, Ron Bartlett
2021 · 93rd Sound of Metal Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés

Pre-Merger — Best Sound Mixing (2010–2020)

Ceremony Film Sound Mixers
2020 · 92nd 1917 Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
2019 · 91st Bohemian Rhapsody Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, John Casali
2018 · 90th Dunkirk Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
2017 · 89th Hacksaw Ridge Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie, Peter Grace
2016 · 88th Mad Max: Fury Road Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff, Ben Osmo
2015 · 87th Whiplash Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley
2014 · 86th Gravity Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro
2013 · 85th Les Misérables Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Simon Hayes
2012 · 84th Hugo Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
2011 · 83rd Inception Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, Ed Novick
2010 · 82nd The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett

Pre-Merger — Best Sound Editing (2010–2020)

Ceremony Film Sound Editors
2020 · 92nd Ford v Ferrari Don Sylvester
2019 · 91st Bohemian Rhapsody John Warhurst, Nina Hartstone
2018 · 90th Dunkirk Richard King, Alex Gibson
2017 · 89th Arrival Sylvain Bellemare
2016 · 88th Mad Max: Fury Road Mark A. Mangini, David White
2015 · 87th American Sniper Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman
2014 · 86th Gravity Glenn Freemantle
2013 · 85th Skyfall Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers
2012 · 84th Hugo Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty
2011 · 83rd Inception Richard King
2010 · 82nd The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson

The 2021 Merger: The Academy merged Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing into a single Best Sound category beginning with the 93rd Oscars. This was criticised by many sound professionals who argued that mixing and editing are fundamentally different disciplines — equivalent to merging Best Cinematography with Best Production Design. The CAS and MPSE continue to maintain separate awards for mixing and editing respectively.

Notable Sound Professionals

The Most Decorated Sound Artists in Film History

Walter Murch MPSE
American • Editor & Sound Designer
The father of the modern sound designer title. Murch created the term “sound designer” to describe his work on Apocalypse Now. A four-time Oscar winner (sound and editing combined), his book In the Blink of an Eye is the definitive text on editing and sound in film. Also the first editor to cut a major film on an Avid.
The Godfather American Graffiti Apocalypse Now The English Patient
★ 4 Oscars (sound & editing) • MPSE Career Achievement
Ben Burtt
American • Sound Designer
Created the sonic universe of the Star Wars franchise — from R2-D2’s voice to the lightsaber hum and TIE Fighter scream. Burtt also designed the sound identity of E.T., Indiana Jones, and WALL·E. His methodology — recording real-world objects and combining them into impossible sounds — became the template for modern sound design. A four-time Oscar winner.
Star Wars Raiders of the Lost Ark E.T. Indiana Jones WALL·E
★ 4 Oscars • Special Award for Star Wars (1978)
Gary Rydstrom MPSE
American
A Skywalker Sound legend and one of the most decorated sound professionals in Academy history with seven Oscar wins. Rydstrom’s work on Jurassic Park — including the famous T-Rex roar, a combination of an elephant, alligator, and tiger — and Saving Private Ryan are landmark achievements in practical sound design.
Terminator 2 Jurassic Park Titanic Saving Private Ryan Finding Nemo Ratatouille
★ 7 Oscars • CAS Career Achievement Award
Richard King MPSE
American
Christopher Nolan’s regular sound designer and supervising sound editor, Richard King is a four-time Oscar winner whose work on the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk set the standard for immersive, practical-leaning sound design in blockbuster filmmaking. His philosophy of prioritising real-world recordings over synthesised sound is a defining characteristic of his work.
The Dark Knight Inception The Dark Knight Rises Interstellar Dunkirk Tenet
★ 4 Oscars • Multiple CAS & MPSE Awards
Tom Fleischman CAS
American • Re-Recording Mixer
Martin Scorsese’s long-time re-recording mixer, Fleischman has been behind the final dub of many of the most acclaimed films of the past forty years. A four-time Oscar winner whose work spans everything from the ambient naturalism of After Hours to the period grandeur of Hugo.
Raging Bull Goodfellas Gangs of New York Hugo The Irishman
★ 4 Oscars • CAS Career Achievement Award
Skip Lievsay CAS
American • Re-Recording Mixer
The Coen Brothers’ regular mixer, Lievsay has an extraordinary range from the eerie silence of No Country for Old Men to the full theatrical sound of Gravity, for which he won the Oscar. Known for his innovative use of silence and restraint — understanding what not to add is as valuable as knowing what to include.
Blood Simple Barton Fink No Country for Old Men Gravity Roma
★ 1 Oscar • CAS Award • BAFTA