(UP DATE: ALL EDITING NOW DONE WITH STATE OF THE ART PRO TOOLS )


What's Going On? What Did He Say?

One thing I've been noticing more and more in both movies for television and theatres is that it's getting increasingly more difficult to understand the dialogue. And, it's not just me, because people watching the same show seem to agree all the time. (I've taken this to mean that I don't yet need a hearing aid.)

I think several things are going on here. First, the days of most actors speaking clearly, and distinctly, are long gone and we are getting more and more mush mouths: actors who slur their words and directors who pass off on it. This may seem 'cool,' but it doesn't do a darned thing for the film.

Another factor is the deafening, jackhammer mixes we are getting with music and sound effects, especially in action films (fights, car chases), where the voices are trampled on in order to numb the audience into thinking they are watching a really 'cool' movie. Yes, it's the right of the producer and/or the post sound supervisor to create all the excitement they can but I wish they would try to remember that, "the play's the thing".

This timeless observation still holds, no matter how mediocre the film. Just let us hear the voices so we'll know what the heck is going on.

If truth be told, the re-recording dialogue mixer is the real culprit here, because he is either willfully letting this happen, doesn't care or simply doesn't know any better. He may not be brightening it up enough, he may not be raising the level adequately, or maybe it doesn't matter to him if the music and effects just run roughshod over voice.

Personally, I think any re-recording mixer who turns out a show where you can't understand the dialogue should be forced to listen to an endless loop of deafening action movies, while chained to a wall in a locked room for a month and then, run out of town. At the very least, he should have his union card pulled, permanently.

The only possible exception, is a situation where it is appropriate to press the voice in order to achieve an effect, such as, somebody talking under a freeway overpass or a waterfall; yet, even then, you should still be able to know what the heck is going on.

Now, I enjoy an exciting, action film as much as the next man. Take "The Fugitive", for example, a picture I watch over and over, any time it pops up while I'm channel surfing. (By the way, how many pictures have you seen lately that were so good, you wanted to watch them over and over?) This is a well- directed (Anthony Davis) film, exciting, fast paced, well written, with dynamite effects and music, but one never struggles to hear the dialogue.

The first priority on any sound design project that comes to me, is to immediately focus on cleaning up and leveling out the voices. Any dialogue that is deemed beyond repair, is ADR'd. (More about that, later.) Once I have a clean, crisp voice track, I can move to sound effects and music. Then, when it's time to mix, I go for the excitement and emotional impact, but I never forget that, "the play's the thing." We're not talking rocket science here, just basic, Mixing 101.

What is ADR? Boy, Those Voices Sound Great!


ADR means Automated Dialogue Replacement', and is used to replace location dialogue that is unusable, or was not there in the first place, but should be. I could write several paragraphs on this topic, but for now, we'll keep it brief.

ADR is recorded in a booth, or a room on a sound stage. The dialogue editor provides a list of all the scenes to be recorded, usually around 10-15 seconds each. The actors listen to the original sound, if possible, over headsets, and try to re-create the original performance as best they can, while looking at the picture, one scene at a time, as per the dialogue editor's list. Either the editor or producer passes judgment on synchronization and performance until satisfaction is achieved and everyone moves on to the next scene. (If absolutely perfect sync seems unattainable, the dialogue editor has an array of digital tools that can be used later, to improve the sync {lip-sync} with the lips.)