Dialogue Editing

Estimate How Long the Editing Will Take 99
Negotiating the amount of time you’ll have to work on a fi lm is one of your
most important responsibilities. It’s not just about money. If you can get an
extra week, or even a few more days, to spend with the fi lm, your tracks will
be more than happy to show their appreciation.
Work Out of Sequence
As you organize your tracks and fi gure out how scenes were constructed,
you’ll begin to crack the code of the fi lm’s dialogue. You’d think that cutting
dialogue would be very similar on all fi lms, but it’s just not true. Beyond the
obvious technical differences, each fi lm’s dialogue tracks have personalities
of their own. It’s up to you to fi gure out what they are. The more time you
spend with a fi lm’s dialogue, the closer you’ll come to understanding how to
edit it. Too bad for the fi rst reel you cut, because that’s where you know the
least, where you’re stabbing in the dark for inspiration. As you work more on
the fi lm, you get better at knowing what to do to make the tracks happy.
The fi rst and last reels of any fi lm are its most important. During the fi rst
few minutes of a fi lm, viewers—listeners—pass judgment on the soundtrack.
“Is this a competent soundtrack? Is the dialogue well edited? Can I relax and
enjoy the movie, or do I have to be on the alert for sound silliness?” Like
meeting prospective in-laws, you only get one chance to make a good fi rst
impression. Don’t blow it.
Similarly, there’s no room for sloppiness or insecurity in the last reel’s dialogue,
since the “sound memory” that a viewer will go home with comes from
the end of the fi lm. Run a perfect 3½ laps of a 1600-meter race but choke on
the last turn and you’ll be remembered only for your fi zzle. The last reel is
no place to learn how to cut the fi lm.
Combining all of these factors, I don’t edit dialogue in fi lm order. I always
start with an interior reel and then work my way outward. I also never save
the fi nal reel for last, since I can count on being tired and stressed at that
point. A typical 6-reel editing sequence might be 3,2,1,6,4,5. I don’t eliminate
editorial teething pains by beginning with an interior reel, but I bury them
in a less critical location, in the fi lm’s “soft underbelly.”
There’s another practical reason to forgo the fi rst and last reels when you
begin editing the dialogue. You did everything in your power to make sure
that the picture department locked the fi lm before handing it over to you. In
truth, though, there’s nothing you can do to prevent an avalanche of changes.
The problems of the fi lm really are bigger than you, but this doesn’t mean
that you have to be stupid about changes. Beginning your edit in the middle