Moving Images, Understanding Media

94 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding Media

All of these eff ects are brought together during the post-production

process and mixed with the dialogue that is both in sync with the picture and

off -screen (such as voice-over). In addition to sound eff ects, another typical

step in post-production sound recording is Automated Dialogue Replacement

(ADR), also known as looping or dubbing, which is a system of recording

dialogue in synchronization with the photographed motion picture. Th rough

ADR, actors record their lines in sync with the picture as they watch the

motion picture on a screen.

ADR is performed for a number of reasons. It is sometimes necessary to

replace some dialogue that is faulty because of problems in the original production

recording, such as traffi c or other location noises. In addition, the lines may be

unintelligible and need to be replaced. Finally, ADR is performed across the

world to replace the original dialogue of the motion picture with a language for

native markets. Th is is the most common meaning people understand when

talking about dubbing a movie. Although this is oft en perceived comically in

the United States through the well-known example of poorly dubbed Asian

martial arts fi lms, dubbing work can be of a very high quality when there is

a well-developed tradition of synchronized dialogue replacement in a fi lm

industry, such as is the case in many European countries.

Th ere are many tracks of sound that can be brought together to form the

composite mix of motion pictures. We have considered the diff erent types

of audio recording that comprise the dialogue and sound eff ects of a motion

picture. Finally, we must think about the type of sound that oft en enters the

mix at the last stages of its development: music.

Music and Moving Images

Music was the chosen sound accompaniment to the fi rst motion picture, and

it has retained a central role in movies throughout the history of the cinema.

Music is one of the most expressive and powerful means used by fi lmmakers

to shape the tone and style of a fi lm. In fact, its power is so strong that its

absence is oft en just as important as its use at particular stages in a fi lm.

As directors or fi lmmaking teams enter the pre-production of a fi lm, they

can consider two main approaches to the insertion of music in fi lm: music

that has previously been recorded, or music that is composed specifi cally

for the movie. Motion pictures have included countless successful examples

of both methods.

Music is regularly generated by composers who create scores specifi cally

for individual projects. Th e score is recorded for the soundtrack by a musician,

small ensemble, or orchestra, generally in front of a screen showing the edited

movie. Th is can be one of the last steps in the creation of a motion picture,

so that the composer can time the musical cues to the editing that has been

completed.

Musical scoring of fi lms has a long tradition dating back to the early years

of silent cinema, and composing for motion pictures has been a source of

VIEWFINDER

“I think there’s a

misunderstanding that the

function of fi lm music is

simply to echo, or amplify,

what you’re seeing on

the screen, so that your

experience of that one

thing can be as strong and

unmistakable as possible,

whether that thing is a

car crash or two people

kissing. And I do look at

it differently—I think the

function of music is to

show you something you

don’t see onscreen.”

–Carter Burwell–

Composer of numerous scores

including Fargo (1996), Th e

Big Lebowski (1998), In Bruges

(2008), and Where the Wild

Th ings Are (2009)

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