Dialogue Editing

Preparing for ADR 253
Initial Spotting
You’ll get an idea of the ADR load at the initial spotting session with the
supervising sound editor, effects editors, director, picture editor, and perhaps
others depending on the structure of the fi lm team. During this meeting
everyone will note problems that may require looping based on his or her
agenda and needs. The director will likely provide a list of adds or changes
intended to fi x story problems or nurse ailing performances. The same goes
for the picture editor, except that her comments may include more technical
calls given her familiarity with the tracks. The dialogue editor (you) and the
supervising sound editor will call attention to recording problems, overlaps,
and other nasties that compromise the sound.
Take notes of the ADR requests, who made them, and why. Later you’ll be
glad to know why a line was called, since this will help you prioritize your
problem solving.
The fi rst meeting isn’t a detailed ADR spotting session but rather a fi rst
coming-together during which the fi lmmaker hands off the responsibility for
the fi lm’s sound to the sound department. There’s much on the table besides
ADR and dialogue, so the most that you and the supervising sound editor
can hope for as far as ADR is concerned is to get an idea of the scope of the
postsync needs and to communicate this (good or bad) news to the director
and producer. You’ll also learn the director’s enthusiasm or reluctance regarding
ADR recording, which will give you an idea of what has to be saved “at
all costs” from production sounds and tell you how aggressively you should
spot the ADR. Finally, you and the supervising sound editor should learn the
availability of all of the principal actors during the entire sound postproduction
process. This information will be vital as you plan the ADR recording.
After this fi rst meeting, compile a list of everyone’s comments. Unless you
have an actor who’ll soon disappear and has to be looped before everyone
else, you needn’t immediately concern yourself with the ADR spotting. Get
on with your dialogue editing, but keep the preliminary list of ADR calls
handy.
While editing the dialogue, you’ll encounter problems that no one noticed
during the spotting session. Most of them you’ll be able to fi x with bits of
alternate takes or clever use of room tone, but there’ll be some you can’t sort
out. Add these new problems to the ADR call list and move on. When you
come to a production line that was called for ADR, study it, keeping in mind
why it was fl agged. Go back to alternate takes and see if there’s anything you