Dialogue Editing

158 NOW, THE ACTUAL EDITING
microphone decisions. Early in the picture editing process, ask the editor to
use both DAT audio tracks throughout the editing. Failing this, ask the assistant
picture editor to include both audio tracks before creating the OMF
regardless of the tracks chosen by the editor. This way you’ll have easy access
to all DAT tracks.
When you fi rst open the OMF, you probably see two channels for every event.
As you learned in Chapter 9, you fi rst have to decide which of these two-track
events are dual mono. Even though many shots are still mono (Why should
they be otherwise?), you’ll eventually run into multitrack shots. What you do
with these extra channels is largely guided by common sense, but it will also
depend on the wishes of the fi lm’s rerecording mixer. If you’ve never prepared
tracks for the person who’ll be mixing your dialogue, have a little talk.
Find out how he likes to receive multimicrophone, multitrack elements. Does
he want all decent tracks to be available (and prepared) for the mix, or does
he prefer that you make the call? How should you present the main choice?
The other channels? Muted? Unmuted? Find out. The rest is up to you.
Deciding which channel to use is extraordinarily situation-specifi c, so the
best I can do for you in a book like this is to set some basic rules, which, once
having learned, you can forget and then trust your gut. For example, earlier
we learned the fi rst rule of thumb of dialogue editing: Whenever possible, play
only one source of room tone at a time. A simple, even crossfade often works well
when crosscutting from one boom shot to another. (See Figure 10-27.) It also
Figure 10-27 Boom shots crossfading against each other. This is the most
straightforward and easiest of all shot transitions.