A studio may decide to test-screen a picture. These preview screenings are organized by an outside film research group. A work-in-progress version of the film is screened for a recruited audience, which completes a questionnaire about the film. This helps the director, producers, and studio determine the response of the focus audience and consequently, what, if anything, should be changed.

After the studio and director are satisfied with the audience preview results, the film is locked, meaning no more picture changes are made. The sound department cuts in the final sound effects and dialogue, and the score is recorded on a sound scoring stage where a full orchestra plays the score in sync to the film, which is projected on a screen. The original negative is cut by a negative cutter, who conforms the film to match the digital assembly by following a list of key codes, or numbers embedded onto tape from film during telecine. The film undergoes color timing at a lab so that the color of the film is uniform.

Once an answer print (the final version of the film) is made, the pre-dubbing begins. Multiple sound effects, dialogue and music tracks are mixed down to a lesser number of tracks or "stems" by re-recording mixers on a dubbing stage. The final mix blends these final effects, dialogue and music tracks and the mixer equalizes, filters and sets the desired volumes. Digital mixing consoles give filmmakers a much higher quality, more complex soundtrack and enable the mixer to be far more creative and handle more tracks.