The challenge of location sound on the coast

Alicante is known internationally for its light and its coastal locations, but filming by the sea is a technical challenge that goes far beyond the visuals. To dig deeper, we spoke to sound specialist David Fuentes, who explains how tricky it is to record good audio in our crown jewel: the coast.

The invisible enemy: breaking waves

Production teams often worry mostly about wind, but David points to a technical issue that tends to be overlooked until the edit: the noise of breaking waves.

It may seem obvious, but the problem is not the constant murmur of the sea; it is the physical impact of the wave. The critical mistake happens when the crash of a wave lands exactly on the actors’ lines. That spike of sound muddies the voice frequencies unevenly, making the audio extremely hard to clean up.

The importance of work on set

There is a false belief that any sound imperfection can be fixed in post-production. But David is categorical: if this impact is not handled properly on set with the right protection techniques, it is extremely difficult to correct afterwards.

With this talk, Alicante Light Film is launching a series of practical tips on sound, aimed at making shoots in our province even more professional and showcasing the work of sound crews.