When audiences leave a cinema or finish watching a film, they often remember the performances, cinematography, or directing. Rarely do they think about the sound or the creatives responsible for it.
Every footstep that builds suspense, every silence that heightens emotion, and every layer of ambience that makes a fictional world believable comes from the work of sound designers, dialogue editors, foley artists, re-recording mixers, and composers.
Despite their contribution to filmmaking, many of these professionals work behind the scenes with little public recognition while delivering world-class audio experiences. Through conversations with four sound designers, The Nollywood Reporter examines what sound design really involves, why it remains underappreciated, and why it deserves greater attention within the industry.
Sound Design 101
For many people, sound design begins and ends with music. In reality, it encompasses far more than a film’s score.
Anwuli Roseline and Davison ‘Slice’ Onyemali, two of Nollywood’s notable sound designers, say one of the biggest misconceptions about the craft is that it simply involves adding sound effects. Instead, they describe it as the process of creating the complete sonic world of a film.
Roseline, the 2025 TINFF Award-winning composer for Battle of Blood: The Legend of Arhuanran, explains that sound design includes editing dialogue to ensure conversations are clean and intelligible.
The sound designer, whose credits include Apaara (2026) and The House of Secrets (2023), says the role also involves creating and selecting sound effects that bring scenes to life and make environments feel believable. “It also involves recording or creating Foley sounds like footsteps and clothing movement, and shaping all of these elements so they support the story emotionally,” she says.
Roseline believes effective sound design is not about individual sounds standing out but about every element working together seamlessly. “When it’s done well, audiences often don’t notice it consciously. They simply feel more immersed in the story.”
Wisdom Odeje (APV), known for Landline (2025), Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre (2024) and The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí (2024), explains the craft through an analogy.
“If a film is the human body, the visuals are the skeleton and muscles, while sound design is the heartbeat and nervous system.” For Odeje, this explains why audiences may not always notice sound design even though it brings every part of a film to life.
Isaac Baba, known for Unbroken Beat, approaches the craft from a cultural perspective. He describes sound design as a way of translating culture, language and everyday life into audio.
“It is in everything, from cinema to video games like GTA. True sound design actually starts on location, using advanced techniques to capture pristine dialogue and authentic local textures,” he says.
What Sound Design Is Not
Like many specialised professions, sound design is often misunderstood. While audiences may see microphones on set, much of the work that defines a film’s audio experience happens long after production wraps.
“A misconception is that people often believe the microphone captures everything perfectly on set and that’s all there is to it,” Roseline says. In reality, she explains, a significant portion of what audiences hear in a finished film has been repaired, recreated, enhanced, or built during post-production.
Another common assumption is that sound design is simply about making things louder or adding explosions. Roseline, Baba and Onyemali disagree, arguing that the craft is rooted in storytelling and requires creativity, intention and technical skill.
Roseline believes some of the strongest creative decisions involve restraint. “Silence, subtle ambience, distant sounds, or a carefully placed effect can completely change how a scene feels emotionally.”
Onyemali, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Music, agrees. He says sound tells audiences where they are, how a character feels, what danger is approaching and, at times, even what is happening outside the frame.
For Odeje, the greatest misconception is that sound designers can fix every problem in post-production.
“They can only give back what they get.”
Underrepresentation of Sound Design
Although conversations about Nollywood often focus on directors, actors and producers, sound design remains one of the industry’s least recognised crafts despite its vital role in storytelling.
“I think one reason is that good sound is almost invisible,” Roseline tells TNR. She believes many people, including filmmakers, do not fully understand the technical work involved in creating a film’s audio.
According to her, audiences are far more likely to notice poor sound than good sound because weak audio can distract from a film and affect its overall quality.
Onyemali agrees, describing the irony of the profession.
“Sound quietly guides your emotions in the background. You only notice it when it’s missing or poorly done,” he says.
Odeje argues that the problem goes beyond recognition. For him, it is about acknowledgement.
“It’s possible to recognise the importance of something and still not give it the acknowledgement it deserves.”
He believes many Nigerian productions continue to treat sound as an afterthought, pointing to unrealistic sound budgets and tight delivery timelines as evidence.
Odeje also criticises the industry’s “fix it in post” mentality.
“Some people don’t even realise there’s a sound department until there’s bad sound to fix. What happened to being creative rather than just being stuck in a bad sound restoration cycle?”
Baba shares a similar view, saying sound design often receives the least recognition because, when done well, it is almost invisible to audiences.
Evolution and Growth of Sound Design
As Nollywood has evolved, so has its approach to sound design.
“We’re seeing more filmmakers invest in better production sound, more attention being paid to post-production, and audiences are becoming increasingly aware of quality,” Roseline says.
She adds that streaming platforms and international distribution have also raised expectations because Nigerian films now compete alongside productions from around the world.
“That has encouraged higher technical standards across the industry.”
Even with this progress, Roseline believes there is still room for improvement if sound design is prioritized from the beginning of production, with adequate time and budget.
“Ideally, sound designers should be involved much earlier in the filmmaking process so they can collaborate creatively with directors instead of simply fixing problems after filming.”
She also hopes to see greater recognition for sound professionals, increased investment in training and equipment, and a stronger appreciation of the role sound plays in storytelling.
Odeje believes producers and other industry stakeholders must deliberately reward the work that goes into sound design. He recommends greater media visibility for sound professionals and more education on what the craft involves so filmmakers and audiences can better appreciate both the process and the finished work.
Baba and Onyemali also call for structural improvements, including earlier collaboration with sound departments, greater respect for sound professionals on set, better staffing, and stronger preservation and archiving practices to support research and development.
“I’d also like to see bigger budgets for sound, more training opportunities, and greater recognition for the people behind the scenes. Sound isn’t a finishing touch; it’s part of the storytelling from day one,” Onyemali adds.
Favourite Part of Sound Design
Every sound designer has a favourite part of the creative process.
For Roseline, it is creating emotion through sound.
“A knock can shape the idea of exhaustion or despair, distant footsteps can create the perception of horror, a whistling kettle while the character looks on can establish absentmindedness, a piano melody can enhance the sad emotions,” she says.
She enjoys taking an ordinary scene and making it more emotionally engaging through carefully crafted sound.
“Every film presents different challenges, and that’s what keeps the work exciting.”
Odeje finds it difficult to choose a favorite because he enjoys every stage of the process. If he had to decide, however, he would choose music, ambience, and the final mix.
“I enjoy crafting out the worlds, the environment, and the music/score that gives emotional emphasis and support to the story whilst balancing all the elements in the mix to the story perspective.”
For Onyemali, silence offers the greatest creative possibilities.
He enjoys transforming silence into a living world and experimenting with ordinary objects to create unexpected sounds.
“That’s where creativity really comes alive, and it’s one of the reasons I love what I do.”
Baba’s favourite stage is the final mix, where dialogue, Foley, sound effects, ambience and music come together.
He says bringing those elements into balance is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
“You see exactly how subtle audio choices completely change how an audience connects with a character’s reality.”
A Closer Look
Sound design is central to how audiences experience a film, yet it remains one of the least recognised aspects of filmmaking in Nollywood. For the professionals TNR spoke with, giving sound the attention it deserves would improve not only audience appreciation but also the industry’s global competitiveness.
Roseline hopes audiences will begin to notice that sound tells a story alongside the visuals.
“If they do, they might notice how the atmosphere changes when a character enters a room, how silence can create suspense, how subtle background sounds reveal information about a location, or how carefully designed sound can make a scene feel intimate, joyful or unsettling.”
She also hopes audiences will come to appreciate the professionals working behind the scenes.
“When audiences start paying attention to sound, they don’t just hear films differently, they experience them differently.”
Odeje believes Nollywood’s ambition to compete internationally must be backed by greater investment in technical excellence.
He argues that compelling stories, executed with high-quality sound design, give Nigerian films a stronger chance of earning global recognition.
Referencing Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Odeje points to the value of prioritizing sound throughout production. He warns that if Nollywood continues to treat sound as an afterthought, winning an Oscar could remain a distant ambition.
Baba wants audiences to recognise that much of the cinematic experience is heard as much as it is seen.
He believes greater appreciation for sound could also encourage filmmakers to explore genres that rely heavily on immersive audio.
Onyemali shares a similar view, saying every great film is supported by a team carefully crafting its sonic identity.
According to him, recognizing sound as equal in importance to the visuals would encourage greater investment in the profession and improve the overall quality of Nollywood films.
Behind every memorable scene is a carefully constructed world of sound, created by professionals whose work often goes unnoticed. As Nollywood continues to pursue wider international recognition, the industry’s sound designers believe giving audio the same attention as performance, cinematography, and directing will only strengthen the stories Nigerian filmmakers tell.
