Dialogue Editing

266 ADR
combination of the two depending on the line)? Don’t waste too much time
“making everything comfortable.”
The best way to size each other up is to get to work. After a few lines you’ll
begin to understand how to get the most out of the actor. Listen more than talk,
but don’t be afraid to speak your mind. You’re the one who’ll have to make
all of this material work. Remember the goal and keep at it until you’re happy.
Don’t assume that the actor and the ADR engineer have your interests at
heart. Yes, they have a job to do and most likely want to do it well, but everyone
is looking to you to know when it’s good enough.
When you begin an ADR cue, fi nd the corresponding ADR recording log,
which will already include text, timecode, and other recording information.
Use it to note your impressions of each take. Also note the director’s reaction
to each take if she’s involved in the session.
Working with the Talent If an actor has particular diffi culties on a certain
line, don’t beat it to death. Move on. When you fi nish the other required lines,
go back to the problematic ones and try again. Odds are he’ll do a better job
this time, when there’s less pressure. If you’re not completely happy with a
performance, fl ag it on the ADR recording log. When you’ve fi nished the
mandatory lines, go back and try again, this time recording it using looping
style on the reprise if you were using ADR the fi rst time around. The results
might be interesting.
Be gentle with actors. Never forget that acting ADR lines is horrifi cally hard
stuff. Try it sometime. It’s not easy to walk into a role months after the shoot,
and many actors don’t react well to seeing their scenes for the fi rst time—they
don’t like the way they look or they hate the editing—and you may have to
absorb some of their disappointment. Be patient and don’t buy into the actor’s
frustration or anger. Your job it to get the line, more or less at all costs, and
getting fl ustered rarely helps. Be kind and polite, but don’t let the talent get
the better of you. You’re in charge.
It’s not unusual for an actor to try to talk you out of certain loops. Remember,
for her ADR may be as much fun as dental surgery. She’ll try to convince you
that the underlying noise problem isn’t really so bad (tell her that she can’t
hear the noise on headphones) or that the line requested by the director is
stupid (use all of your charm to get her to record it anyway) or that she has
no problem understanding the corrupted line (say that she’s a gifted listener
but that the Average Joe isn’t). Lie, cheat, fl atter. Don’t be coerced out of a line
that you need.