Afterword

You've been through the whole process of dialogue editing. You've taken a film, whose narrative was complete but whose sound structure was a mess, and turned it into a clean, clear gem that has focus, point of view, and tension. You've sought out the very best of the sounds recorded on the set and folded them into the story without compromising the director's vision. You've removed from the dialogue the telltale artifacts of the filmmaking process as well as the annoying noises that everyone makes while talking.

Then you delivered all of this to the mixer in a way that ensured a quick, productive, artistic mix. In short, you've successfully presented the moviegoer with the cleanest, smartest, most appealing dialogue sounds possible. This is no small feat, and it warrants real congratulations.

I've shown you my approach to organizing and editing dialogue. This system works well for me, but you'd expect that. Take from this book what works for you, look to others for more advice, and figure out the rest. Your own personality and way of thinking will mold your way of editing.

I love this job. Despite its pressures, frustrations, and occasional tedium, I can't imagine doing anything else to make a living. My tracks are my babies: I find them in a totally undeveloped state and I slowly raise them to stand on their own. The final tracks speak with their own voices; I merely help them to find themselves. But within each of “my” tracks is a bit of me. When I see a film I've worked on and I listen to the dialogue, I feel like a proud parent watching my grown children telling their stories.

Like all trades, cutting dialogue is at times nothing more than a job. Of course there are days I'd rather be at the beach or playing with my cats. There are times when I want to choke the editor or the director, but then I remember that it's not my film, and whatever pressure I feel is much, much worse for them. Too many times the thought of one more screening makes me want to scream. But most of the time, I am amazed that I actually get paid to do what I so love to do.

Dialogue editing combines a knack for storytelling, a decent ear, some technical knowledge, better-than-average organizational skills, a head for process, and a good chair. Mostly, it's a love of movies and the knowledge that, through your subversive contributions, you can have a huge impact on the cinematic success of a film that makes the job so satisfying. Most people won't notice what you've done, but your footprint is huge. Dialogue editing is truly the invisible art.