Dialogue Editing

212 DAMAGE REPAIR
Find a landmark consonant in the phrase. Consonants are easy to spot.
The plosives (P, B, etc.) or the stops (T, D, etc.) usually rise above the
plain of the rest of the word’s waveform. They’re also important
because their short durations serve as clapper boards, revealing to the
audience if a shot is in sync or not. Start syncing by lining up a
landmark consonant with the same sound in the original. Do this to
all your alternates because you don’t yet know which takes you’ll be
using.
Check the length. Compare the length of the original take with the
semi-synced alternates. Unless the actor is a machine (in which case
your job will be very easy), each take will have its own internal
rhythm even if the overall lengths don’t vary too much. Look for a
shot whose internal rhythm most closely replicates that of the original.
After you’ve completed these steps, it’s time to listen again. It’s easy to get
caught up in the graphics and begin slipping here, nipping and tucking there,
with little regard for content. Remember, we’re performing a very delicate
operation here, replacing words while respecting the character, mood, focus,
and drama of the original line and at the same time worrying about sync.
Listen to the original. Close your eyes so that you can visualize the fl ow
of the phrase. Sometimes I see a phrase as colors with varying intensities,
modulating with the line. This lava lamp of transposed information helps me
categorize the line’s technical as well as emotional attributes.
If you’re allergic to touchy-feely notions like “visualize the phrase,” please
indulge me. First, I fi nd closing my eyes very valuable. It removes the stimulus
of the computer monitor so I’m not infl uenced by visual cues. Second, I
fi nd it useful to assign shapes and/or colors to the elements of a phrase or
word, as this rich shorthand is often easier to code and remember than the
raw sound. As I said, sometimes I reduce the phrase to nonsense sayings to
provide a sort of mental MIDI map for interpreting it. Finally, imagining the
phrase as colors or shapes is very visceral and helps me quantify its real workings.
Of course, you’re free to think of all of this as hogwash and use your
own tricks.
Saving the Original Line Once you fi nd the replacements for each section
of the line, you’re ready to construct the fake. First, however, you need to copy
the original line to a safety track. I use my junk tracks for this.
There are two kinds of lines you never want to throw away: those you replace
with alternates and those you replace with ADR. The reasons are pretty
obvious.