Dialogue Editing

192 DAMAGE REPAIR
Crew
Remember, there are a lot of people on a set all of whom move, breathe, and
make noise, so be on the lookout for these noises:
Footsteps that have nothing to do with the actors.
“Quiet” background whispers. (There’s no such thing while sound is
rolling.)
Pings from tools inadvertently touching light stands, the dolly, the
track, and so on.
The continuity person’s stopwatch when she times the take. It’s got to
be done, but unfortunately most modern stopwatches beep. Dumb.
You’ll rarely hear beeps during the action part of a take (although they
can sneak in), but they’ll make you crazy while searching for room
tone. And they can really wreck a period scene.
Sound Recording
Sadly, many unwelcome noises can and will get into the tracks as by-products
of the recording process. The boom operator, sound recordist, and cable
puller are all very busy capturing manageable dialogue, and sometimes bad
things happen.
Small, short clicks. These may be from small static discharges or cables.
Once you learn to listen, they’re very easy to spot, and far more
common than you’d think.
Longer electrical clicks, possibly associated with brief signal
interruptions.
Clothing rustle caused by a body mic rubbing against clothing or
against the protective “tent” built to protect it. These scratches usually
last longer than static discharge clicks and are therefore much harder
to fi x.
Fish pole noises. A conscientious boom operator will have removed his
rings and jewelry before the shoot, but at times you may hear something
scratching on the boom.
Shock mount noises. If the mic isn’t well seated in the shock mount, you
may hear low-frequency “thuds” in the track. This is the mic absorbing
energy from the boom that should have been absorbed by the shock
mount.
Dropouts. When a digital tape recorder’s error correction circuitry gives
up, you’re left with a dropout, a short piece of silence often with a
nasty, ragged edge. There are other reasons for dropouts, such dodgy
connectors, but the end result is the same. Fortunately, they’re much