ADR-Produced
Dear Gary: I am a new reader of Widescreen Review. I’m interested in the DVD Reviews column and found some technical word that I couldn’t understand. Can you explain to me the word “ADR-produced”? What does it mean?
Suriya M., Thailand
Movie Sound Editor Perry Sun Comments:
ADR stands for Automated Dialogue Replacement. Also known as looping, this is a process in film sound post production, in which the actors/actresses re-record their lines in a studio environment, while watching the film, so they can synchronize their spoken lines with their lip movements. Dialogue is recorded on the set or on location as the actors are filming, but the problem is that there are usually interfering sounds, such as camera and associated mechanical noises, noises relevant to the set (such as fans for generating wind), and the director loudly issuing his commands. Production dialogue, as it is known, is therefore often not usable for the final sound mix. As you are likely aware, the challenge with ADR is getting the re-recorded dialogue to have an ambiance that is consistent with the acoustical space as suggested by the image. Another issue is close-miking, in which microphones are placed too close to the actors, resulting in excessive mid-bass, particularly with male voices. ADR also generally fails to account for changes in timbre, as the character turns around while he/she speaks, or as the camera shifts in perspective relative to the actors. A way to overcome the ambiance inconsistency with ADR is to use wild dialogue, in which the actors’ record their dialogue on the set, after filming, so that the appropriate acoustical characteristics can be captured in the recording. ADR does have an advantage, though. It allows the actor to record additional words or lines that may be added to, or substituted with parts of the original dialogue to better convey the intended emotional effect.
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