Room tone is a short recording of ambient sound of a location when no one is speaking or making intentional noise. Every space has its own subtle hum - it includes subtle environmental sounds like air conditioning, distant traffic, electrical buzz.
Editors use room tone to smooth audio edits. It fills gaps between dialogue edits and keeps audio transitions seamless. Without it, dialogue cuts can sound choppy or unnatural. Adding consistent background noise hides transitions and makes scenes feel seamless.
Record room tone at every location after shooting a scene. Use it in post to bridge edits or fill in audio voids without introducing artificial silence.
Record at each location – Capture at least 30 seconds of tone under production conditions.
Maintain silence on set – Ensure crew stays quiet during the recording for clean audio.
Use in post – Lay room tone under dialogue edits to smooth transitions and hide cuts.