Dialogue

FPA 232 Dialogue 10/12/98

Clips:

Rain Man

Foreshadowing of dialogue in the garage sequence

Raymond singing on the bridge

Alien Dialogue through the intercom. Note also how exterior and interior are treated. Citizen Kane Use of distinctive voices (radio), speedy delivery, reverberation Days of Heaven Narration Providence Development of ambiance through course of first sequences

Dialogue - author speaks rather than character

Nashville Altman's multi microphone (radio mics) technique Spinal Tap Mock documentary style of dialogue Rumble Fish Rare dialogue manipulation in the apartment after the rumble Conversation Dialogue manipulation throughout - opening sequence Wings of Desire The sound of thought Film Dialogue:

Often very low key, low amplitude
Since it is often shot with a single camera, different perspectives mean events occurred at a different time
Often very different from real life or theatre: dialogue rarely overlaps
Humans readily filter out extraneous information but soundtrack must do this through reduction of sound material and amplitude and timbral adjustment of important material. (Mixing, equalization, etc.)
In real life we use body language, other signs, eye contact, etc.
Mixing and preparation for the mix required to accommodate camera changes
English is approximately 35% redundant but we still require a fair amount of accuracy
Tracks are split to accommodate:

Continuity, smooth transitions
Fake overlaps
Ambiance continuity

Voice has pitch, harmonics (formants), vowels, consonants (such as b & d with high frequency components). We reconstruct fidelity when we hear stuff on the 'phone as it is very poor fidelity. Dialogue must be distinct!

Distinctive voices: some actors, many singers, politicians, etc. Some actors are always dubbed by the same actor while others aren't. Some actors are chameleons (Brando, De Niro, Streep while others are not (Schwarzenegger, Willis, Stallone). Some voices speak almost iconically: James Earl Jones for CNN, etc.

Voices are manipulated to become robots, villains, heros, to appear on 'phones and other devices, etc,

Consonants: Voiced b d g v voiceless p t k f s

Articulation may be

Nasal
Lateral
Fricative
Affricative

Length may be short or long

May be articulated

Bilabial
Labiodental
Interdental
Palatal
Velaar
Uvular
And Glottal

Vowels: Vibration of the vocal chords without closure of the vocal tract above the glottis. Comprised of various formant or resonance regions.

Sibilance: Occurs particularly with s, can be a real problem for optical or television tracks due to the limited bandwidth of the medium

Plosives: Such as p, t, can cause popping in the recording. Popping is a very low frequency high amplitude signal which can seriously harm the tracks.