Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Well, this is awkward.
Awkward. Seriously, the word itself is awkward. Who came up with that word anyway?
Frankly, I'd rather not be dialog editing
I used to think dialog editors were a little crazy. I think I'm right, too--as a general rule, they are a little crazy. I know this better now because I do a lot more dialog editing than I did when I first formed this opinion. I know I go a little crazy when I'm editing dialog--often more than a little.
Dialog editors spend hours on end wearing headphones and staring at a computer screen. (Alright, they don't always wear headphones. I can't like wearing headphones for very long. I prefer to do the majority of my work on speakers and occasionally check something really tricky on headphones. Maybe that means I'm less crazy then some, but I doubt it.) They listen to the same thing over and over ad nauseum. The old school cats listen to things backwards half the time as they roll back and forth over it. (I'm not even sure how to do that in Pro Tools. Pity.) All the while, they're making subtle changes which few people would notice one by one but which make a huge difference when put together.
Watching (and especially listening) to them work can drive just about anyone crazy. Actually doing the work often seems perfectly normal as I'm doing it, but things get surreal when I take a break and snap out of the trance of minutia. Either the whole exercise seems to have been entirely ludicrous, or I find myself micromanaging the sound of the world around me. Or both. Usually both. On other occasions, I can't concentrate enough on the task at hand and I just want to have a good, old fashioned, "terrible two" style temper tantrum. Today is one of those days. I listen to my inner monologue and it sounds like George Costanza impersonating Jerry Seinfeld: "What's the deal with the background noise at this location? And why can't we get a decent lav on this guy? What? Is he wearing a sandpaper shirt?"
Well, this dialog isn't going to edit itself, so I'd better get back to work.
Dialog editors spend hours on end wearing headphones and staring at a computer screen. (Alright, they don't always wear headphones. I can't like wearing headphones for very long. I prefer to do the majority of my work on speakers and occasionally check something really tricky on headphones. Maybe that means I'm less crazy then some, but I doubt it.) They listen to the same thing over and over ad nauseum. The old school cats listen to things backwards half the time as they roll back and forth over it. (I'm not even sure how to do that in Pro Tools. Pity.) All the while, they're making subtle changes which few people would notice one by one but which make a huge difference when put together.
Watching (and especially listening) to them work can drive just about anyone crazy. Actually doing the work often seems perfectly normal as I'm doing it, but things get surreal when I take a break and snap out of the trance of minutia. Either the whole exercise seems to have been entirely ludicrous, or I find myself micromanaging the sound of the world around me. Or both. Usually both. On other occasions, I can't concentrate enough on the task at hand and I just want to have a good, old fashioned, "terrible two" style temper tantrum. Today is one of those days. I listen to my inner monologue and it sounds like George Costanza impersonating Jerry Seinfeld: "What's the deal with the background noise at this location? And why can't we get a decent lav on this guy? What? Is he wearing a sandpaper shirt?"
Well, this dialog isn't going to edit itself, so I'd better get back to work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)