Dialogue Editing

The Picture Cutting Room 49
of the Avid” when the maestro fi nishes. If there is an assistant picture editor,
meet with him to clarify your needed materials and confer on protocol. Watch
the (still unfi nished) fi lm and note sections where you’re sure to need alternate
takes. Although you’ll always need to rifl e through the original tapes in
search of alternate material, in any cases where the picture assistant can line
up alternate takes on the timeline and include them on your OMF, you’ll save
immeasurable time and it won’t cost him much in the way of added work.
Make sure you agree with the assistant on matters of OMF formats, EDLs,
paperwork, and the like.
Run a series of tests with the assistant picture editor to confi rm that the OMF
you get meets your needs and that the material is complete and in sync. It’s
especially important to coordinate tests with the picture cutting room when
dealing with unusual production problems or recording systems you’re not
familiar with (such as hard-disk fi eld recorders). These tests can fend off
problems down the line, and they help to create a relationship between you
and the picture assistant, whose value can’t be underestimated.
Finally, a couple of words about cutting room etiquette. Remember that a
picture editor(s) is a very important member of the fi lm crew. Treat her
accordingly. On a practical front, be aware of a few traps you can encounter
while visiting the cutting room. First, there’ll undoubtedly be lines in the fi lm
that are noisy, bumpy, off-mic, and so forth, and the picture editor may
inquire, “Can you fi x this, or do we have to loop it?” Before you answer, take
a breath and count to ten. The correct answer is almost always, “I can’t tell
you here and now, but give me the track and I’ll do some tests with the
supervising sound editor and the mixer.” Seems pretty obvious, but let’s run
down the reasons:
You don’t know the answer, since you can’t hear well in a picture
cutting room.
You haven’t had a chance to look for alternate takes or “fakes” such as
close-up (CU) sound on wide-shot (WS) pictures.
You won’t be forgiven if you’re wrong.
The only reason to rush to an answer, positive or negative, is to look smart
and please the editor. It’s not a good way to operate.
The other socially uncomfortable bind you may fi nd yourself in is at the end
of the editing room screening when the editor or director turns to you to ask
what you think of the fi lm. If you’re bowled over by the screening, your
response will be one of natural enthusiasm. But if you’re still scratching your
head when the lights come up, you can always hide behind, “I was so involved