Dialogue Editing

Glossary 345
Reconform The manual assembling of original sound or video elements to match
an offl ine edit. Compare this to an auto-assembly, which is largely an automatic
process.
Reel, editing A reel of no more than about 1000 feet. When fi lms were edited on
Moviolas or fl atbed editing tables, the longest reasonable length of fi lm editors
could work with was 1000 feet, so traditionally, dialogue and other elements
were edited and premixed in 1000-ft loads. After the premixes, the recorded
reels were joined into 2000-ft double reels for the fi nal mix, which was how the
completed married print was distributed to theaters. When reels 1 and 2 were
joined, the resulting reel was referred to as “Reel 1 A/B”; reels 3 and 4 became
“Reel 2 A/B,” and so forth. In today’s electronic world, fi lms are almost always
sound-edited and mixed in 2000-ft reels.
Reel, exhibition A 2000-ft reel of fi lm for distribution to theaters.
Resolver A device for controlling the playback speed of a tape recorder. Typically,
fi eld recordings have a pilot tone or timecode embedded into the signal. A resolver
compares the recorded pilot tone signal with a known reference, possibly mains
frequency or a crystal, to precisely recreate the speed of the original recording.
Ripple mode An editing function in which changes to the edit point result in corresponding
changes to the rest of the timeline to the “right” of the edit. A delete
ripple edit closes the gap of a selected area, advancing all subsequent material
on that track. Inserting in the ripple mode delays all subsequent material by the
amount of the insert. Pro Tools calls this the Shuffl e mode.
Room tone The “air” of a location recording. Remove all words, movements,
and noises from a dialogue recording and this is what’s left. It’s the dialogue
editor’s most valuable tool for removing noises, bridging mismatched shots,
and inserting ADR. Room tone is not the same thing as backgrounds or
atmospheres.
Scrubbing A method of precisely locating a specifi c spot by listening to modulations
while slowly moving the sound head (or the cursor in a DAW) over a track.
It is very useful for fi nding ticks, pops, and other short-duration noises.
Shot (setup) A single camera position (or lighting setup) during a shoot. Dialogue
editors organize sessions based on shots, since it’s logical for different setups to
carry distinct sound characteristics.
Single system A recording or projection process in which sound and picture are
on the same medium. Sound recorded directly onto videotape is an example of
single-system recording; a married fi lm print is an example of single-system
projection.
SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) The professional
standards organization that developed the SMPTE timecode standard for NTSC
video: 29.97 fps, drop or non-drop frame.
Sound report Created by the location mixer, a description of the contents and
details of a fi eld recording. It is essential in dialogue editing when looking for
alternate takes and wild sound.