Dialogue edit, the simple way.
Dialogue edit is done well when no one notices. Have you ever watched a film where there seem to be gaps in the dialogue? That’s because the Dialogue edit wasn’t done correctly or not at all.
When the Dialogue edit is done correctly, you would never tell that the room was noisy or there were mistakes in the edit.
The process can be broken down into 5 steps.
- Roomtone
- Breaths
- Stutters
- Fades
- Alternative takes.
Roomtone
A room is never silent, although you would think that. Every room we are in has a different tone, and we need to keep that in mind when doing the edit.
The sound mixer on set usually records 1 min of room tone in every room used for production. The dialogue editor would then use the room tone to clean up things like dogs barking in the background, traffic, and airplanes.
Room tone is also used to clean up mistakes made in the dialogue, and It can be a handy tool if used correctly.
BREATHS
The most unpleasant sound on camera is, by far, the breath. Nothing is more distracting than hearing a deep breath while watching someone talk. When doing a dialogue edit, one would usually edit out the breaths in the dialogue. Although when it’s a large breath, we will drop it down a couple of db’s.
FALSE STARTS
when the talent is off screen and we hear things like um and aah or stutters, we need to take them out. Not only does that take up a lot of time in the script, but it doesn’t help make the talent sound good.
FADING
When doing a dialogue edit, fading between cuts and room tone will help make everything sound smoother. Use the fades as your magic tool. Just make sure not to cut words short.
ALTERNATE TAKES
What would you do if you heard a dog bark over a take? I can recommend looking for an alternate take. Alternate takes can be magical, especially when adding clarity to the voice. For example, an essential phase in a paragraph was interrupted by the sound of a motorbike in the background. Finding an alternate take and replacing the old one would keep the audience enlightened. There might be some work involved to sync it up and match in tone, but it will definitely be worth it in the end.
Closing
The dialogue edit is an essential part of the mixing process, do it right, and no one will ever know that you did anything, do it wrong or not at all, and the world will weep.
For all your audio needs, including dialogue editing, contact us. We can help.