Dialogue Editing

94 MANAGING YOUR TIME
Table 8-1 Dialogue Editing Passes
Step Time Process
Preparation Two to three Prepare OMF and postconform, confi rm sync,
reels per day organize and label tracks, remove unnecessary
channels, add sync pops and reference tones,
mark scene boundaries, set up archive system.
Pass 1 Approximately Organize tracks, balance shot transitions, replace
60% of problems with alternate takes. Do basic level
schedule balancing, make scene transitions, remove some
noises, screen dialogue edit fi rst time for director.
Pass 2 Approximately Edit ADR into scenes (assuming ADR editor has
25% of chosen and synchronized the ADR lines; if not,
schedule do this, too), remove remaining noises, watch
complete scenes and correct “fl ow” problems,
screen second time for director.
Pass 3 Approximately Do director’s changes and fi xes, remove more noises,
15% of watch entire fi lm (several times) and solve “fl ow”
schedule and logic problems, revisit outtakes for problem
scenes, prepare session for dialogue premix, print
cue sheets, prepare fi nal project archive.
• Many problems don’t rear their heads until you’ve cleaned up a scene.
You need to expend enormous effort balancing tracks, replacing
horrors, responsibly splitting, and getting rid of noises before you can
fi nd out what’s really going on in the scene. Once you turn the sow’s
ear into a respectable silk purse, it can be easy to sort out the other
issues.
• Pass 1 is simply time consuming. Here’s where you hunt through
alternate takes to fi x diction or remove a noise. That takes time. Also,
you have to take detailed notes of what you can’t fi x so that the ADR
supervisor (who could be you) will know what to spot for ADR
recording.
• Pass 1 is when you discover the structure and character of the fi lm.
Sometime near the end of it you realize that you actually will fi nish
the project.
• For me, pass 1 is the “get run over by a bus” pass (some call it the
“heart attack” pass). Although there’s much work to be done in passes
2 and 3, those can be picked up and done by any competent editor if I
make it through pass 1 and then drop dead on the way home.
• It’s a personal thing. I like to work very intensely at the beginning of
a project so that I can quickly overcome the “how will I ever fi nish
this?” jitters. Plus, it makes the end of the job deliciously relaxed. I
never do an all-nighter at the end of a project.