Dialogue Editing

Multitrack Recordings 167
problem mixing my selection. Of course, I could edit both tracks side by side
and mute the unused side of the pair. But this ties up a lot of track real estate
and takes too much time, so I avoid it.
Bottom Line: Common Sense and Luck
We’ve looked at several archetypal two-track situations, each with its own
specifi c set of problems. And we saw lots of rules. Yet most editorial messes
fall into grey areas, so rarely will stridently following the rules bring the truth.
Instead, you have to analyze each problem, try the most appropriate solution,
and then wing it. These are the main points to remember:
Two-microphone editing is always a tradeoff between smoothness and
total noise level. Keep enough mics open and you can make anything
smooth. But at what cost? Crosscut as much as you can without
causing unacceptable changes in room tone.
Talk to the mixer if possible to see if your edited scene can be mixed
or if you need to rethink your plan. And remember: Many scenes
don’t need to be perfectly void of room tone changes. A skilled sound
effects editor, upon hearing your edited guide track, will add a quiet
car-by here, a discreet child’s cry there, and no one will notice the
occasional foible in the dialogue track.
Except when both characters are speaking simultaneously or when it’s
otherwise impracticable, get rid of all off-mic dialogue. It only
muddies up the track.
When you must run simultaneous room tones because of mismatched
levels or color, try to automate the tracks in a way that reduces the
total volume of the room tone.
There’ll be times when you simply must use both channels. If there’s continuous
action on both tracks, there’s no way to cut back and forth. In such cases,
remove all the unwanted noises you can from each track and present both to
the mixer. There’s nothing more you can do.
Multitrack Recordings
It’s more and more common to encounter multitrack dialogue recordings
because there are many advantages to having lots of tracks. A clever location
mixer will provide a good mix as always, recorded onto one or two tracks,
but he can also provide prefader, unmixed microphone tracks. The picture
editor, and later you, will still get a production mix that, quite honestly, is
acceptable most of the time. After all, the production mixer has studied the
script and is on location with the actors and the boom operator, so his mix
carries the magic and energy of the shoot.