Dialogue Editing

198 DAMAGE REPAIR
on an appropriate noise, the pencil and its counterparts can be miraculous.
However, there are a couple of very important things to remember when
using them. First, unlike almost every other process, the pencil modifi es the
parent soundfi le. Second, it’s inappropriate for all but the shortest problems
and if there’s a signifi cant acoustic element—such as a long ringout—it just
won’t work and you’ll be stuck with a low-frequency “thud” where once you
had only a tiny click.
Using the Pencil Using the scrub tool and waveform display, fi nd the click
in question. (See Figure 12-3.) The waveform usually isn’t very helpful until
you’ve zoomed in close. More often than not, the click will appear as a jagged
edge along an otherwise smooth curve. It could also appear as a very small
sawtooth pattern along the line of the curve. Although small, a glitch like
this can cause a lot of trouble.
Remember that the pencil is a destructive process, which is rare in nonlinear
editing. Any change you make with it will affect the original fi le as well as
every occurrence of this part of the soundfi le. A mixed blessing. If the click
occurs in the middle of a line repeated many times in the fi lm, the modifi cation
will present itself in every recurrence of that line.
Say the fi lm begins on the deathbed of a family patriarch, who at the moment
of his demise manages to murmur, “Don’t forget the peanut butter!” On
several later occasions we hear Dad’s ghost say, “Don’t forget the peanut
butter.” It’s the same clip. The fi lm ends and we still don’t know what it
means. Bad fi lm, what can I say?
Figure 12-3 Compare the three troughs and note the small irregularity on the left
(click 1). Note the rough edge on the center peak (click 2). These tiny irregularities
caused a crackling noise.