Appendix 1

The Filmmaker’s Guide to Final Cut Pro Workfl ow
you can set a different level for each clip, in the fi nal mix, you want total control of the level of the
individual clips. This will be tricky if they are butted up together in the same track.
The simplest approach here looks like an A-B checkerboard layout with the fi st clip in track one, the
second in two, third back in one, and so on. However, this layout can be confusing in mixing.
Characters move from track to track and the mixer really earns their keep riding the two production
tracks.
It is more logical to put each character in a dedicated track. This is how Automatic Dialogue Replacement
(ADR) is most often treated and it works when production recording is done with multitracks
and multiple microphones (more on ADR in the following text). This is especially true with wireless
mics as each person is already in their own track. However, production recording is different from
ADR. ADR is all at the same basic level and it’s okay to cut two takes together. Production tracks tend
to be all over the place, so a cut in to a close-up or cut to the master butts two very different clips to
each other in the same track. On a feature fi lm, it is normal to have an A and B track for each character.
This will create scores of production tracks making mixing and track management complex and tying
up all your resources trying to put noise gates and fi lters on all of these tracks. But, this is how big
projects are normally done. After all, they are big projects and should have big resources.
Every fi lm and scene is different, and different sound editors and mixers have different ways of
working. One common strategy on smaller projects is to create three or four production tracks and
try to group things in the most logical manor. Try to put every main character in a scene in their own
track even though they end up butt cut. And create a problem track. Put all the noisy wide shots in
the problem track. (Wide shots are often a problem.) Put shots that you know need special treatment
like fi lters in here.
Whether the production tracks were split off before bringing the project into Pro Tools or they will
be split off in Pro Tools, it’s a good idea to time stamp all dialogue (again, using the time stamp
selected command in the audio regions pop-up menu). This way any sound moved out of sync can
be moved back into sync in the spot edit mode.
Clean up any dialogue splitting and remove any sound effects by moving them to a sound effects
track. You may want to place all effects moved from production in the same effects track so the mixer
can deal with them more effi ciently.
We are now ready to cue or “spot” the ADR. For years, this was done with a process called “looping”
where the audio clips were cut into loops with cue pops and played in sync with a fi lm recorder. The
looped guide track served as a sync guide for the actor who rerecorded the lines in a sound booth or
small stage.
In ADR, the entire fi lm or reel is played as the cue pops are generated by the computer. Actors hear
the three cue pops about one-half second apart just before the line, and the line to be replaced, and
see the picture as they rerecord the line. Actors can get quite good at matching sync; however, some
may like a different cueing system. Some don’t like the pops and prefer to cue to their movement
on screen. Others may want only two pops, faster pops, slower pops, and such. Many ADR systems
let you customize to the actors’ wishes, others don’t.
Cueing or spotting the ADR is an art in itself. The person doing the cueing must decide which lines
can be used and which ones need to be replaced. What problems can be fi xed in the mix, what
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