Director of audiography

[2][3][4][5] The DA works to carry out the director's vision, identifies the tasks necessary to realize this vision, budgets for those tasks, and coordinates all the work from pre-production to post-production whilst keeping an eye on overall sound quality.

Since the onset of the "talkies", a creative and professional conflict has emerged from the ongoing tension between the visual and aural dimensions of the film.

[6][7] Having a DA in pre-production helps to exert a powerful presence to defend the dimension of sound in film.

[9][10] Hollywood sound editor David Yewdall bemoans the loss of the SD in Hollywood[11] and recalls the story of film producer Ross Hunter, working on the film Airport, who neglected to take the advice of sound editor Joe Sikorski to record aircraft sound effects on location; an SD would have immediately appreciated the financial implications of not taking such advice.

In contrast, the DA is a technical role blending leadership, management and administrative skills with creative audiography ranging over pre-production, production and post-production - constrained only by the Director's vision and the production's schedule and budget.