Add sound effects to timeline

We need punch effects on these three cuts. Add the promised footstep and door slam sound effects to the timeline at the exact edit points for Scene 2: place the footstep at 00:00:45 synced to the actor's step, and the door slam at 00:01:12 at the visual hit. Put effects on a track named 'SFX' and set their trim so they don’t overlap the dialogue starts.

Before I send the rough cut to the director, make the added sound effects easy to judge: bring the SFX up to a perceptible but not dominant level, add a 100–150 ms fade-in to avoid clicks, and label each SFX with a short note — 'left foot', 'door slam' — so the director can approve placement quickly. Flag any effect that masks speech.

I placed a footstep SFX at 00:00:45 but the director says it reads fake and off-camera. I don’t know if the timing needs nudging or if I picked the wrong sample. Should I nudge the SFX earlier/later in small increments, swap to a different footstep with more cloth sound, or automate room ambience under it? Which will most quickly convince the director in the next review?

On every short I’m the one asked to pick and place SFX late in the day, and I end up swapping dozens of samples during review, which kills my evening. I need one habit change so I nail SFX choices earlier and avoid last-minute swaps. What decision rule or checklist should I use when choosing and placing SFX so most director feedback is minor?