Dialogue Editing

Splitting Tracks 135
picture cuts to Fanny silently nodding her approval, the picture editor will
probably cut both picture and sound to Fanny’s shot (32A). When the lecture
continues, the editor will cut back to Edmund’s track. What you’re left with
is a change of room tone when we cut to Fanny and another when we return
to Edmund. (See Figure 10-5.)
Clearly, if Fanny says something or makes an audible sigh or movement, you’ll
need her insert to maintain a sense of reality. However, if the sound from her
insert offers no useful information, you’ll end up moving back and forth
between room tones for no reason. Not only does this make you work harder
than necessary, but it subjects the viewer to yet another room tone transition.
If the inserted room tone doesn’t help the story, get rid of it and cover the
inserted shot with room tone from Edmund’s track. (See Figure 10-6.) The
result: A smoother track that’s easier to cut and easier to mix. Everyone wins.
How Many Tracks?
In general, you want enough principal dialogue tracks to be able to cut two
consecutive scenes of average complexity without reusing tracks. So if, on
average, you use 6 tracks per scene, you’ll want 12 to 14 primary dialogue
tracks. Sometimes things get out of control and a long or madly complex
scene uses ten or more tracks, so the next scene will necessarily reuse some.
Don’t worry.
Figure 10-5 When you cut from 32B to the silent cutaway of Fanny, 32A, you may
introduce unnecessary room tone changes and gain nothing in exchange.