ADR & looping

Judd Nelson

I have a lot of gray now. Giving me everything inside and out and Love's strange So real in the dark Think of the tender things that we were working on Slow change may pull us apart When the light gets into your heart... Now there's a person... This is a woman I have to tip my hat to, Dede Allen. Incredible. - Before I knew what editing was about, this woman was really an interesting presence. And it was cool, too, how she would come to the set. Remember? She would really work closely with John, which was really cool to see. And also, that's the first time I'd ever been looping where she made me feel that the worst I could do would be the production draft. That it's possible, in looping, to improve a performance. Right. - So, from that moment on, it's like, now I don't get all like, "Why didn't we get that on the set?" And also, at the time, I think the studio, as well as John, I mean, I was too young to appreciate it, but I think everybody was thrilled that this woman who had cut all these classic movies, like Reds and Dog Day Afternoon... - Bonnie and Clyde. Yeah, it was a great choice to arm John with. She was a real ally for him. And also, there were a lot of overlaps which they, as a rule, don't like, which is when one character in the close-up is talking... And then somebody talks over like this. Yeah. - And somebody talks over... Sorry. Sorry. Judd and I both need a shave, and here we are. You wanna explain for the people at home that don't know what looping is? Looping is a slang term for post-sync dubbing, which is when, on a movie set, you've shot something, but a plane went overhead. Then, you have to redo that in the studio, and you have to get the picture synched up with the sound. The technical term is ADR, which stands for "Automated Dialogue Replacement," but in the industry we call it "looping." As Judd was telling that story before, it is a cool thing to learn. It's part of our craft that you can often make a performance better, and you can come back in and add some element or dimension to it, which helps. If you can help. And it's hard to take stuff that's off camera that overlaps on camera and keep it in the movie. If you're not on camera, and you talk over the guy on camera, they can't use either piece. She was able to save a lot of it, and that was very important to a lot of those high-octane scenes. Definitely.

1:11 · jump to transcript →

Judd Nelson

I don't even remember thinking that I understood that concept then, when we were making the film. That the simplicity of one room unlocking all of that potential, he really had something in mind here. And you're right, like you said, Jason, before, the school is definitely a character. These are the actual hallways of the school. And it was empty, so it was kind of... - And you get that feeling. They don't shoot that much outside the library, but you get the feeling it's this big, empty building. You really do. These hallways and the ADR with your footsteps and the whole bit. School on Saturday, who's gonna be there? Kids that get in trouble, the teacher unlucky to have the job, and the janitor. And then you set us out on this journey, which also represents risk here, like we're risking together to come back safely. Yeah, for all of you to agree to do it. 'Cause basically, I'm going to get my dope. Right. All these themes. - Look at that locker. It's very funny. The Doors, he's got The Doors going on in there. Yeah, all sorts of shit. Did you get to decorate the locker? I got to remove things that were incredibly bad, that I was like, "I ain't putting that in there." Meaning, for that particular character, I don't think we got... It was a little awkward. Most of the prop guys were like... "It's a little bit soft rock vibe for me, "so let's take Hall & Oates out."

44:07 · jump to transcript →

Paul Davis

They could the the rain machine that they had wasn't powerful enough and they couldn't see the rain on camera So they just got a guy to come and stand with an industrial fire hose To stand next to them firing it up into the air in an arc so that it dropped down and he was wearing a waterproof jacket and his Pockets were absolutely filled with water throughout the entire thing his hands just froze And because it was his first film he didn't didn't understand that he had to go and do ADR for

52:46 · jump to transcript →

The actors took less than their normal salaries to do it. Did they? Yeah. I think the sound man was stoned and had the sound machine set on automatic. Some of the sound was distorted. I know he had problems with that. But there are new technical things. You can overcome them in the end. You can do post sync and looping and everything else.

17:27 · jump to transcript →

Pedro by the oil refineries. Now, this argument also, if you remember, I went across, we were doing it looping, and it was myself, and then I went across to Holiday Hell Spa, found two Latinas, and we brought them in, paid them 50 bucks, and they actually were doing that argument with me inside the house. Great. Wasn't this house used, again, in the film Scarface? It looks similar to that. I think that it's almost exactly the same shot, yeah. That's right.

49:14 · jump to transcript →

There's a post-production looping that. Beep, beep, beep. I always loved this one. He didn't even move. Yeah. I think we were giving it all we got. I don't think we were being too bashful there. Yeah. He was a big guy. Still is. He still is. Oh, this is funny.

1:01:54 · jump to transcript →

When you came to do ADR for the scene, I remember you were a little surprised at the way the scene was constructed. Was it that the flubs felt... I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair... Not integrated? What was your first reaction for seeing it? Well, I think... My father's in the Army. He wants me to join.

41:28 · jump to transcript →