Dialogue Editing

98 MANAGING YOUR TIME
Although it’s not really up to you to decide how much time and money the
fi lm’s dialogue will get, it’s still important to have a grasp of the possibilities.
At the very least, you need to know if it’s worth your while to take the job.
Use the timesheets from previous projects as a guide for estimating how long
the job ought to take. If your estimate is reasonably close to the producer’s
mandate, then you can likely scrimp a bit here, give up a few free hours there,
cut a corner or two in places, and pull it off. But if the schedule you’re being
“offered” is wildly out of line with any comparable project you’ve done under
similar circumstances, reconsider the offer.
What’s “reasonable”? In general, two weeks per reel of dialogue (without
ADR) is very comfortable. It depends, of course, on the problems you’ll inherit
with the tracks, as well as the expectations and temperament of the director.
With two weeks per reel, however, you really have nothing to complain about.
On low-budget fi lms, a week a reel is more common, and even this is doable
if the gods are with you. But when the schedule creeps below a week a reel,
beware of problems. It’s by no means impossible to cut a fi lm in less time,
but there’ll be the inevitable compromises. I’ve cut dialogue at a reel a day,
but such jobs are more embalming than editing. And if you’re the least bit
conscientious, very tight schedules result in far greater stress than more reasonable
gigs do. You work harder only to be paid less.
Negotiate
When negotiating your time and fee, try to keep the dialogue and ADR as
separate items. First of all, they are separate. Dialogue editors edit, ADR
supervisors plan and direct the ADR, and ADR editors cut the tracks. On
small fi lms, though, it’s common for the dialogue editor to have some (or all)
of the ADR responsibilities. Since small fi lms often have “just a little” ADR,
there may be no ADR supervisor and the dialogue editor is expected to fi ll
in the gap. Before you shake hands on the deal, clarify your ADR responsibilities:
spotting, planning, directing, recording, and editing.
ADR supervision is a full-time job. Properly spotting the calls and preparing
the paperwork aren’t minor tasks. Be certain that you know the range of your
responsibilities before you settle on a fee and schedule. If the supervising
sound editor is covering the ADR spotting, planning, and recording, or if
there’s an ADR supervisor, you may be left with just the ADR editing. Once
the supervising sound editor comes up with a count of the lines to be recorded,
you can calculate how long it will take to cut those lines into the fi lm. There’s
no need to get petty or paranoid or greedy about the extra work. Just take
this into account when you’re making your deal.