ADR and the audio post-production studio

Many people don’t realise that a large proportion of the dialogue in films is dubbed after filming is complete, in a process called Automated Dialogue Replacement, or ADR.

This is for a variety of reasons, including noise on set, muffled delivery, or even a change to the wording of the line itself. The talent is shown a video of a scene, with the guide dialogue which needs to be replaced. The engineer plays back three beeps to show the talent where the replacement dialogue needs to start in order to be in sync with the guide. Achieving lipsync can be difficult, and the talent will often have to make several attempts before the replacement dialogue looks convincing. Some actors prefer the engineer to loop the scene in Pro Tools, so that the actor can try multiple passes at the line, rather than stopping for a new take each time. ADR is very often recorded remotely, using Source-Connect.

Using software like Source-Connect allows both studios (and the attending clients/actors/directors/engineers) to see the same high-quality video at the same time so that they can judge the success of the lipsync.

The reason for recording ADR remotely is that the talent has often moved on to a new production in a different part of the world from where the audio post-production is taking place. As many films and TV series are filmed in Cape Town, Milestone often links to post-production facilities in Los Angeles or New York, where the final mix of a production requires ADR from a talent who is now working in South Africa.

International actors who are working in South Africa might need to record a voice-over for a documentary or advertisement. In this case, they would be in a booth at Milestone in Cape Town, while a studio in London or Nashville could record the voice-over in real time via a Source-Connect  link.

The advantage of recording in a professional studio studio like Milestone is that the studios have been designed by acousticians and purpose built to provide the best audio quality. The rooms are completely soundproof, so no outside sounds will intrude, even when we are recording whispered dialogue at very low levels. The rooms are constructed so as to provide a neutral acoustic environment that won’t influence the sound of the voice. This helps to match the newly recorded dialogue with the rest of the voice work in the film or TV series.

Milestone Studios has been a leading audio studio in Cape Town for more than 30 years, and we have recorded a wide variety of ADR in that time. Quite apart from the technical considerations, we are well acquainted with the need for discretion in these sessions. As audio post-production obviously happens before the product has been released, we guarantee that scripts and pictures confidential.