Case: Voice-over, mixing, and mastering for the documentary film “Black Black Sea”, focused on the cleanup of the environmental disaster in the Kerch Strait.
Director: Elena Kabanova. Runtime: 35 minutes.
Client: SOVA Film Studio.
Task:
Using the multitrack rough sound edit of the documentary “Black Black Sea,” assemble several final versions for distribution across various platforms, in accordance with each platform’s technical requirements:
For streaming platforms and television channels
For theatrical screenings at film festivals in Russia
Filming has wrapped in Krasnodar Krai on the documentary “Black Black Sea,” which follows young scientists and volunteers working on the beaches of Anapa and nearby villages to eliminate the consequences of oil tanker accidents in the Kerch Strait.
Directors Elena Kabanova and Andrey Timoshchenko tell the story of the young scientists and volunteers who cleaned the beaches of Anapa and surrounding settlements. The film also highlights the technologies developed by volunteer engineers to combat the aftermath of the tanker disasters.
The project was produced with the support of the Regional Cinema Support Fund and was the winner of the “Russia — A Look into the Future” competition in 2025.
Solution:
All audio tracks were normalized to unified loudness parameters. Several key meaningful lines were cleaned of extraneous noise and placed into an alternative acoustic space.
To fully immerse the viewer in the unfolding events, SFX were added—both proprietary and third-party.
Layering and sound “framing” techniques were applied: volume was increased or reduced depending on the character’s shot size, and spatial processing was used for voice and ambience according to each scene’s environment.
Final mixing and mastering were completed in full compliance with the technical requirements of each distribution platform. The film is currently receiving awards at various film festivals across Russia.
Documentary Film “Black Black Sea”
Director: Elena Kabanova
Screenplay: Andrey Timoshchenko
Cinematographers: Andrey Timoshchenko, Elena Kabanova, Vladislav Romanenko, Zhanna Rybak, Eduard Dolgov
Producer: Andrey Timoshchenko
Sound Engineer: Konstantin Omelchak