Appendix 1

Sound Edit Workfl ows
The fi rst technique is to carefully edit out any unwanted sounds like direction or a C stand falling
over. Needless to say, if these things happen during dialogue, then the whole line is fi xed with ADR
and removed. And if there is no way to match the ADR, then the whole scene will need to be replaced,
or at least this character’s lines. Then, overlap the cuts from one clip to another slightly, fi lling any
holes left from cutting things out with ambiance from other takes. Set up quick fades on the overlaps
in an effort to make the ambient sound seamless.
The other technique requires that all lines be cut as close to the dialogue as possible. Remove anything
that isn’t dialogue. No ambience between lines, nothing between the lines. Then, fi nd a good
ambience quite similar to the original and lay it in on an effects track. Set up quick fades on the
production lines so they don’t pop on or off.
There is a great trick on the TDM and HD Pro Tools systems called virtual track switching. On these
systems, you can assign a “voice” to a track (see Figure 7.4). Normally, each track has its own voice,
Figure 7.4 Pro Tools HD virtual track switching. With this function several tracks can be set to the
same “voice” causing higher track numbers to “mute” when sound plays from a lower track
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