Sound is half the picture
Audiences forgive a soft shot far quicker than bad audio. Why I treat sound and music as part of the image.
People rarely notice good sound. They always notice bad sound. That's reason enough to take it seriously from day one.
It starts on set
Clean dialogue and a bit of room tone recorded on location will always beat trying to fix things later. I plan audio capture alongside the shots, not as an afterthought.
Music shapes the cut
The right track sets the rhythm of an edit. I often cut to music first, then let the pictures find their place inside it, so the film breathes in the right places.
Atmosphere pulls people in
Small layers of sound design, like footsteps, air or a city in the distance, are what make a viewer feel present. Done well, nobody notices it. They just feel the story.