Dialogue Editing

74 GETTING SOUND FROM PICTURE DEPARTMENT TO SOUND DEPARTMENT
include sounds from at least three sound rolls (DATs) and perform a test load
and conform.
If, despite a few sync problems, the conform works, you can continue with
the rest of the reel. If the conform is missing many regions, investigate nam -
ing problems. Events designated as audio 3 and/or 4 that result in empty
regions indicate a channel-mapping problem. Some auto-assembly programs
expect audio destined for channels 3 and 4 to originate only on inputs 3 and
4. That’s pretty hard to do when your source audio is a DAT! In such cases
you must remap the audio for all audio 3 and 4 edits to enter via inputs 1
and 2 on the interface. Usually you do this by individually opening each event
within the auto-assembly program and changing the input from 3 and 4 to
1 and 2.
Now you know that the edits are in the right place and that you’re recording
the correct channels from the original recordings. However, you don’t know
yet if the DAT sound is playing at the right speed. Before (fi nally!) embarking
on an hours-long postconform, fi nd the longest uninterrupted take in the reel
and perform an auto-assembly of that region. Play the conformed event
against the guide track and check for sync. If the conformed sound drifts
against the guide, check the video reference on the player as well as the
sample rate on the synchronizer. Once the conformed long take plays back
in sync with the guide track, you’re ready to begin the auto-assembly.
Autoconform Files from a Hard-Disk Recorder
It’s possible to use PostConform to auto-assemble projects originating on hard
disk, although there are programs better suited for this task. Titan, 9 for
example, enables you to create Pro Tools sessions from one or more EDLs,
combined with the location recorder’s original SDII or BWF fi les. (See Figure
5-8.) It also facilitates conforming edited Pro Tools sessions based on EDLformatted
Avid change lists.
When you load an EDL into Titan on a computer with access to
the soundfi les—either locally or across a network—Titan will
automatically correlate fi les with EDL events based on certain
arguments you present. The program fi rst looks for a source roll
number, which in the case of a hard-disk recording is a folder
whose name is usually the date of the shoot.
Having found a candidate folder, Titan will seek the appropriate
timecode and automatically extract the event. Any failures, whether
9 Titan is a product of Synchro Arts Limited (www.synchroarts.com).