Dialogue Editing

How We Got Where We Are 9
Postsynchronization was fi rst used in 1929 by King Vidor on the fi lm Hallelujah!
6 Freeing the shooting process from the draconian restrictions that early
sound recording techniques imposed, it restored some of the freedom and
lightness of the silent era. By the mid-1930s, it was possible to mix several
channels of sound without distortion, and postsynchronization of dialogue
and other sounds began to allay the fears of those who predicted that sound
cinema would inevitably result in naturalistic fi lms.
Sound was still recorded optically, however, so it was very tedious and
time consuming to edit and manipulate recorded tracks. Blimps were invented
to quiet noisy cameras, microphones became more directional, and optical
soundtracks were improved and standardized. The sound Moviola was made
available in 1930, so there was now a standardized, sophisticated way to edit
picture and optical sound fi lm. In 1932, a process of printing a common serial
number on synchronized picture tracks and soundtracks was developed.
“Edge numbering,” or “rubbering,” allowed accurate logging of fi lm elements
and reprinting of edited tracks from their original masters. This system of
coding fi lm workprint and sound elements has remained more or less
unchanged.
In a brief period of time, movie sound got much better. Arc lights lost their
deafening hum, so they could be used on sound pictures. Biased recording
was introduced, yielding far quieter tracks. Fine-grain fi lm stock resulted in
not only better-looking prints but also fi ner-resolution optical soundtracks, as
did UV optical printing. In 1928, the frequency response of motion picture
soundtracks was 100 Hz to 4000 Hz. Ten years later it was 30 Hz to 10,000 Hz. 7
Despite these improvements in sound recording and mixing technology, fi lm
sound editing didn’t substantively change for more than 20 years. Picture and
sound editors worked on Moviolas, later adding fl atbed fi lm editing tables
such as the Steenbeck, KEM, or console Moviolas. Sound was printed onto
35 mm optical sound fi lm for editing and mixing, and released on 35 mm fi lm
with mono optical soundtracks.
The Modern Era
In 1958 magnetic recording came of age and everything changed. Stefan
Kudelski introduced the Nagra III battery-operated transistorized fi eld
tape recorder, which with its “Neo-Pilot” sync system became the de facto
6
Cook, 1981, p. 268.
7 Elisabeth Weis and John Belton, eds. Film Sound: Theory and Practice (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1985, p. 67).