Speaker 1: Hello, I'm Jason Tumeric. Dialogue scenes make up a significant portion of a movie, and when they're done right, they draw an audience into the moment between the characters. Well, the actor's performance in the scene can be manipulated through the use of editing. There are choices of when to cut from one person to another, how long to hold on a reaction shot, and the pacing of the edits all help shape the emotional tone of the scene. So in this lesson, we're going to explore techniques for effectively editing a dialogue scene. Before we can get into the technicalities of editing a dialogue scene, I'd like to share a few pointers on how to properly shoot a dialogue scene first. Every scene should be shot in a way that gives the editor as many options as possible in the editing room.

Speaker 2: The reason for this is because you want to be able to provide options in the final editing process. And so if you're making editorial decisions on how long to shoot, for example, one angle on one performer, and then you cut away from that, well, they're still talking. They're still emoting. And if the director chooses to cut away from that, that material is no longer available in the edit bay, and you can lose very valuable material.

Speaker 1: You can significantly alter the emotional impact of a scene simply by the way you edit it. And by giving the editor as many options as possible, the director and editor can help craft the performances of each scene in post-production. So how do we do this? Well, it all starts on set, when a dialogue scene is being filmed.

Speaker 2: If you have a couple eating dinner, you would want to start off with a wide shot, an establishing shot. And you can see both of them, and you can see the restaurant or elements of the restaurant around them. This establishes their location. And you want to be able to roll through an entire take. That way you have the entire scene covered, which is why we call it coverage. The next shots that are generally considered in a standard shoot would be the over-the-shoulder shot. But more importantly, on each actor and each performance, you want to roll through all the way through again, from beginning of action to the end of action. Then you want to reverse the angle, and you want to get the female performer from beginning of action to the end of the action.

Speaker 1: Make sure the actors do not step on each other's lines when you're shooting the scene on set. Even if the scene calls for the characters to cut each other off in, say, an argument scene, make sure each actor's lines are recorded separately. For example, in this scene, the actor's dialogue was recorded incorrectly.

Speaker 3: Julia. What? What? What? Do you know what time it is? No. Do you know what time it is right now? You're four hours late. I'm not four hours late. Four hours late. I am not four hours late. And you're a mess. Look at you.

Speaker 1: I'm not a mess. What are you doing? This is ridiculous. The manager's dialogue steps all over the waitress's dialogue in her medium shot. And she steps all over his lines in his medium shot. And there's no way to remove the overlapping dialogue in this scene. We're basically stuck with the way the footage was shot. And because it was partially improvised, each take is slightly different from the next, making it even more difficult to edit between the actors' medium shots. Well, the overlapping dialogue makes it nearly impossible for the editor to assemble the scene, forcing them instead to cut around the dialogue instead of editing for the emotion of the scene. Well, this is a perfect example of how not to shoot dialogue. Even though the performance seems real on set in the way the actors interact with each other, it doesn't work technically, and it severely affects the quality of the scene. Now let's take a look at the correct way to shoot the scene. Each actor will still say the same lines, but this time on set, they won't walk all over each other's dialogue. So each actor should pause before replying, or the off-screen actor's line should be inaudible. Now, it is challenging for an actor to perform this way, but as you'll see, it's much easier to edit.

Speaker 4: No, I'm not four hours late. What are you talking about? No, no, no, no. No, you know what? Give me a break. I'm never late. No, that, you're so unfair. No, you're unfair. Don't turn around. No, hey. Four hours late? That's absolutely ridiculous.

Speaker 3: You can't keep doing this to me. And you're a mess when you show up to work, and you serve your customers terribly. I'm doing all your work for you.

Speaker 1: By shooting the scene this way, the editor is able to control just how much the actor's dialogue overlaps. They can manipulate the emotional intensity of the scene by increasing the overlap, or decreasing the overlap. They can add pauses. They can cut to insert shots, essentially changing the nature of the scene in the editing room. For example, take a listen to how the scene sounds when we assemble it loosely, allowing a little bit of time between each actor's lines.

Speaker 4: What?

Speaker 3: Four hours late?

Speaker 4: No, I'm not four hours late. What are you talking about?

Speaker 3: Four hours late? That's absolutely ridiculous.

Speaker 4: No, no, no, no. No, you know what? Give me a break. I'm never late. No, that, you're so unfair.

Speaker 3: You can't keep doing this to me. And you're a mess when you show up to work, and you serve your customers terribly.

Speaker 1: You may have noticed that the scene sounds staged and very staccato. Well, if we wanted to increase the dramatic tension in the scene, or just make it sound more realistic, we have the option of increasing the overlap between each actor's lines, so that it sounds like they're talking over each other. Now, even though it wasn't shot this way on set, the editor can increase the intensity of the scene by editing it so that the actors are talking over each other.

Speaker 3: Julia. What? Four hours late? No, I'm not four hours late.

Speaker 4: What are you talking about? Four hours late? That's absolutely ridiculous. No, no, no. No, you know what? Give me a break. I'm never late.

Speaker 3: You can't keep doing this to me. And you're a mess when you show up to work. No, that, you're so unfair. And you serve your customers terribly. I'm doing all your work for you. Hey, look at me. I, no, you know what? Every time you serve somebody, I got to comp them the way you treat them. I'm your best employee. No, no, no. You know what?

Speaker 4: Take your apron off and go. I quit. I quit. You're fired.

Speaker 3: You're going to miss me.

Speaker 4: You're going to miss me.

Speaker 3: No. I don't care. Okay, whatever.

Speaker 1: The final result sounds natural, as if the actors were actually arguing and cutting each other off. Well, this little bit of movie magic gives the director and the editor more control of the performances, even after the scene has been shot. So you can see that editing this dialogue scene isn't just about assembling the shots. But because it was shot properly, the editor can control the emotional intensity of the scene, allowing the director to make storytelling decisions in the editing room instead of on the set. So when you're shooting a dialogue scene on set, the actors' dialogue can overlap when they're both in the same shot, namely a wide shot or the master. But for close-ups and reverses, make sure you shoot each actor's lines clean, with no overlap. Your framing on the close-up also matters. So considering shooting clean singles or tight over-the-shoulder shots to avoid seeing the other actor's mouth. And this will help you edit the scene without having to worry about continuity. And lastly on set, don't be afraid to try a couple different takes of varying emotional intensity. And that way, you have even more options when you're editing the scene in post. The second technique in recording on-set dialogue is to remove as much of the ambient sound as possible. Ambient sound is the sound of the location—it's the waves at the beach, or the cars and pedestrians on a busy city street. Although these sounds add realism to the scene, these ambient sounds are always added later in the editing room, giving the editor control over not only what type of ambience to use, but also the volume and tone of the sound. Now were you to record the ambience naturally on set, it'll be really hard to remove it or change it once it was recorded. So recording the ambience on set poses another problem—it changes. Say you have two actors talking to each other. When you shoot one actor's lines, the microphone placement will not only record their dialogue, but also the ambient sound, so that when you switch the camera to shoot the other actor's lines, the tone of the ambience changes because you change the microphone's position. So when you edit these two shots together, the shift in ambience is what draws the attention

Speaker 5: to the edit.

Speaker 1: Although you can use noise reduction filters and EQ settings to reduce the effect of the ambience, you can never fully remove it. So when you're shooting a dialogue scene on set, try to reduce as much of the ambience as possible, so you only record the actor's dialogues and movement. Alright guys, there you have it, a few techniques to help you improve your film skills. Now if you really want to improve the quality of your productions, I'll take you much deeper into the entire filmmaking process in the paid course at Film Skills Unlimited, where I partnered with ARRI, Audio-Technica, Panavision, Matthew's Studio Equipment, LEDGO, and Kineflow to produce an online training curriculum so complete that over 115 film schools, universities, and film commissions use my program. Plus, I sat down with over 70 Academy Award and Emmy-winning filmmakers who reveal the techniques they use to produce the biggest TV shows and movies ever made. So join over 20,000 filmmakers and learn how to write better screenplays, become a more effective director on set, master advanced cinematography techniques, unlock the full capabilities of your camera and lens, improve your shots with Hollywood lighting techniques, learn how to record audio, design sets, edit, and much more. And as a special bonus, I've also negotiated special discounts on software and gear just for Film Skills members. And as a member, you also have exclusive access to hundreds of projects and exercises to practice and hone your skills. Plus, nearly 2,000 pages of my illustrated companion guides, personal mentoring, job shadows, and much more. So check out FilmSkills.com for more information. And by the way, you're also invited to join my free one-hour filmmaking course where I share my top 10 secrets to achieving a professional look that helped me grow a career shooting in over 35 countries for top studios and brands. So check out the link below to register for my free one-hour filmmaking course and learn how to become a better filmmaker at Film Skills, the online film school built by filmmakers for filmmakers.