What is checkerboarding?
It is thoughtful separation of dissimilar audio material onto different tracks. During the final mix, these different tracks can be processed differently to achieve a smooth and cohesive result. Brainless checkerboarding of every edit can be as bad as checkerboarding none of them. If handles are available at checkerboard points, please include them. For information about handles and why and when to checkerboard, read on further. A common situation which complicates the mix needlessly is when edits have been checkerboarded without paying attention to whether sound is foreground or background. This can lead to tracks which contain, for instance, tightly interspersed interview and B-roll/effects. These often must be separated into a workable arrangement during the mix.
