#415 - Cut/daily Meets... Supervising Sound Editor David McCallum

This is possibly one of the best Cut/daily Meets... interviews so far.

The next 10 minutes of your life will draw you deeply into the world of supervising sound editor and dialogue specialist David McCallum.

You will leave thinking about sound, speech, and storytelling in new ways.

And pick up a fistful of invaluable practical tips on working more effectively and professionally in Post Production.

After more than thirty years in the industry, garnering 77 nominations (including 3 Primetime Emmys) and 55 award wins, including a BAFTA for Best Sound, spread across 142 listed credits - his most recent being Megalopolis for Francis Ford Coppola -

David is well worth listening to.

So listen.

Bonus Questions for a Dialogue Editor

What skill sets/knowledge/capabilities make for a great dialogue editor?

Dialogue editing requires a combination of technical skills, the ability to communicate, and, most importantly, an understanding of drama and story.

There are numerous jobs within the dialogue department and, at some point, a dialogue editor, ADR editor or Sound Supervisor will need to perform all of them.

The technical skills revolve around the software and equipment you'll need to perform your job, whether that's within Avid Pro Tools, Izotope, or any of the plethora of plug-ins that may help you improve the way a line of dialogue or word sounds. Sound recording and microphone skills can be very useful as well.

Communication skills are required when you interact with directors, picture editors, and, most importantly, actors. It's important to understand how your tasks affect the work of others and to be clear and concise when discussing what it is you are trying to achieve.

Other members of the production have a vested interest in all the work you are doing together. For example, when asking for a line of ADR from an actor, it's equally important to know why that line needs to be recorded from the actor's perspective as from your own.

And, finally, is an understanding of drama and story.

Nothing else matters if you don't get this part correct.

Dialogue editing is one of the last tasks that happens in a film or television show. There is a long chain of work that comes before you start, and a lot of thought and effort has gone into the work before you even begin.

But inevitably a dialogue editor will need to make changes and adjustments to either fix or improve the way the dialogue sounds. Having an understanding of the choices and decisions that came before you is crucial to making good decisions with the material you are working on.

This challenge reveals itself when making decisions on what ADR to record, when editing production sound outtakes, and even when choosing which microphone pick-ups to include in the edit.

A great dialogue editor blends these tasks together to create a map of the dialogue, ADR, crowd and production sound effects that seamlessly improves the sound of the dialogue without drawing attention to the changes that were made.

What do most people misunderstand about the role of a dialogue editor?

Dialogue is often thought of as something separate from Sound Design. I think they are intricately intertwined and inseparable from each other.

The words the characters say (or don't say) and the sounds they make are a gateway into the emotional story that's being told, and a path to the performances and the story the actors, writers and directors are telling.

How we hear those words is equally as important as what we hear.

For me, when done well, overall Sound Design includes the dialogue, and the two are wholly intertwined as one sonic experience.

What can picture editors do to make the dialogue editor/sound department's life easier?

Sound editing starts during the picture edit, but it rarely finishes there.

Good organization of work in the picture edit system is crucial for picture editors to successfully transfer their ideas and objectives of their work to the dialogue (and SFX or music editing) department. It helps the sound editors find, as well as understand, the intention of the sound work that's been done in the picture edit phase.

Technically, this means trying to keep production sound, temp ADR, sound effects/design, and music organized and separated on the picture edit timeline.

For example, if performance changes are made in the picture edit where an alternate sound take is selected to the picture take, it's a good idea to leave the original slate muted, but lower in the timeline. This will ensure the sound editor notices the change and has the ability to confirm or fix the sync of the new take to the image.

Generally, sound edit systems offer a finer level of detail for adjusting sound than picture edit systems do, and a good dialogue editor will use the original slate to confirm the sync to within a sample level of accuracy, as long as they know that they need to do so.

Other good practices involve keeping temp ADR and/or SFX organized in the timeline on their own tracks. Keeping these elements separate will make it easier to locate clips when reviewing or even mixing the sound later in the process.

However, it's important to understand that keeping this level of organization is not about making the sound team's life easier. It's about conveying clear information about what was intended with the sound work that's been performed by the picture edit team, and ensuring that the transfer of all those ideas and decisions remains consistent from the picture edit through the sound edit and mix phase.