#arts 101

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"Putting on a play is like a blood sport. The audience is the bull and we are the matador. And we are trying to tame that beast and make them behave the way we want them to... That is the craft of playwriting." - John Guare, composer, writer, lyricist (The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, Sophisticated Ladies) in the documentary John Guare: A YoungArts Masterclass, now playing on HBO GO.

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Today's fabulous flashback is of the incredible Fred Astaire dancing from the floor to the ceiling and back again in the movie musical Royal Wedding, directed by Stanley Donen. Arts 101: Know your history. 

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Today's fabulous flashback is the incredible duo of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon performing "Who's Got the Pain" in the movie musical Damn Yankees, choreographed by Bob Fosse. Arts 101: Know your history.

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The Performing Arts Project's Josh Cooke currently plays Louis Green on the hit Showtime series Dexter. Josh's complete bio can be found below the post. 

What is ADR? by Josh Cooke

Beep! Beep! Beep!

That is the dreaded sound of ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording). So what exactly does Additional Dialogue Recording mean? It is the time an actor will spend in a mixing studio recording any dialogue or sounds (ex: coughing) that wasn’t recorded cleanly during principal photography.

(The photo at top right is of Josh Cooke at an ADR session for Dexter).

Most films and television shows are shot on some kind of a soundstage. The stage is usually found on a studio lot and is primarily made up of incredibly large air hanger-type buildings specifically designed for film production. An intricate maze of wooden catwalks used for lights, rigging and boom operators (soundmen with long microphones) dangle from the 100-plus-foot ceilings. The entire inside of the concrete structure is plastered with a foam-like substance that “deadens” the space. The foam kills as much excess sound as possible so the dialogue will be “clean” - meaning no echoes and reverberation of any kind. This is every sound engineers goal; to record the dialogue and nothing else. The reason this is so important is because it allows for a much easier time in post production - the incredibly long and tedious period after the physical production wraps - where the film is edited together shot-by-shot and then mixed with sound, effects, dialogue, color correction, music and so on. However, many productions also have scenes set outside, perhaps in front of a recognizable landmark, on a golf course, or on some other set that cannot realistically be replicated on a soundstage. For these scenes, the entire production gets loaded into several big rigs complete with generators, lights, costumes, and props accompanying a fleet of long, white passenger vans filled with cast and crew and head out to a location. Scenes on location make the sound department’s job a lot more difficult, because they are exposed to outdoor elements (wind, traffic noise, planes and helicopters, random people yelling on the street, car alarms, fire alarms, etc.). Due to these and other elements we’ll discuss later, an actor will undoubtedly be required to complete at least some ADR in post production. To help give you an idea of what to expect in these sessions, I took a few notes at the last session I recorded for an independent film called Finding Joy: l am always called to a post production sound facility in whichever city I happen to be in at the time. Although Finding Joy was shot in Florida, the ADR sessions were held in Los Angeles; but since I live in New York, a separate session had to be set up for my lines. Because we were in different cities, the director and producer were patched into the session via phone link so they could hear all of my line readings or “takes” and give any performance adjustments necessary. Every facility I have been to has had a common layout. There is a large booth area with a giant sound board where the engineers control everything. They face a soundproof window that looks into the recording studio, a fairly large room with soundproofed walls and a small movie screen (or a large flatscreen television like the one pictured above). The engineers pull up the scenes needing ADR on the screen so I can see and hear what was recorded from production. You’ll go into the studio where you’ll be given a stack of pages indicating every line that needs to be recorded or re-recorded throughout the entire film or show. After you put your headphones on you’ll begin. How do you know when to start? Well, the engineers provide two cues. The first is visual: About four seconds (or beats) before my sync point hits, a large vertical line begins moving across the screen from left to right. The moment the line hits the right side of the screen, I start talking. The second cue is auditory and perhaps the most helpful: Again, four beats before my sync point, I hear that well-known “BEEP... BEEP... BEEP.” The beeps are always the same tones spaced slightly apart so I can hear the rhythm. My sync point begins where the fourth “BEEP” would sound. The following is a kind of glossary list of terms to explain what you’ll be asked to record in an ADR session. SYNC: Also known as “Dubbing.” Syncing is the most difficult task for a lot of actors. Even if no words have changed, there may be a loud plane or car noise over your line that the sound guys simply can’t remove, and so they need you to say your line again, syncing it perfectly with how you said it before. But here’s the thing, when you said it before, you were in the middle of a scene - maybe it was a very emotional scene. You were in a specific location acting opposite someone. You’ll quickly find you may be able to sync well enough, but can you sync while matching the tone, pitch, and emotion of that scene when you’re standing by yourself in a dimly lit room wearing headphones, trying to make sure your lips move at the same speed as before? It takes a little practice. NEW DIALOGUE: Pretty self-explanatory. The producers or directors might decide that a particular moment isn’t clear. Perhaps people who have seen an early cut don’t understand why a character is doing something in a particular moment. To solve this, sometimes they’ll add a line to clarify the action. Because they don’t have a shot of you saying this line, you’ll be saying it off screen, while you’re not in the shot. If they don’t have a shot like that, they’ll try to mask it in your actions. For instance, an audience cannot tell if you’re dialogue is in sync with your mouth when you’re back is turned or you’re far away from camera. These lines are easy to record. The biggest concern is getting the new line out before the scene cuts to your next filmed line or closeup shot. PROFANITY: If you use profanity on screen there is a good chance you’ll be asked to dub the curse word with a less-offensive word so that the movie can be shown on network television and airplanes. That’s how “F**k” becomes “Fudge.” Or my personal favorite from Snakes on a Plane: “I’ve had it with these MONKEY FIGHTING snakes on this MONDAY TO FRIDAY plane.” You can figure that one out. WILD: Wild basically means “not synced,” like some additional dialogue mentioned above. Sometimes you will have to do a few lines wild on set. These are usually answering machine messages, phone calls, yelling when you’re off stage... basically anything where the audience hears you but doesn’t see you. Also screaming. Lots and lots of screaming when you’re in a horror movie. Especially for the ladies. Loooooots of screaming for the ladies. EFFORT: My favorite term. It basically means any kind of sounds you make while doing some kind of difficult task: breathing, grunting, wincing, etc. There is a scene in Finding Joy where I have to carry a chair, blankets, pillows and a plate of food up a narrow staircase. I eventually drop everything and fall down, so I had to record effort of me trying to navigate up the stairs. There is nothing quite so odd as standing in an empty room going, “Ah! Ooh! Eee! Ouch! Umph!” into a microphone. SERIES: In ADR, a series means reciting a line or noise several times in a row without cutting. If I’m having a hard time matching the tone of a line from physical production, I’ll ask to do a series. The engineers will start the playback, and I’ll try and sync the first attempt with the film. Then I’ll just keep saying the line, 3-5 times with slight tweaks to see if perhaps one of them is usable with the rest of the scene. Those engineers are wizards and can manipulate your sound to sync pretty well, so it’s worth a shot. Series are also used for coughs, shouts, snoring, breathing and all other kinds of sounds. It’s mostly a time saver. KISSING: Yep. I had to do kissing effort at this ADR session. They wanted it realistic. Don’t go overboard with slurping and all that good stuff. Just kiss your hand. Yeah, that’s right. Just pucker up and kiss that hand. Those are the basics. The sessions always end up being quite fun and it’s usually your first peek at something you’d shot a while back, which is exciting. Every engineer I’ve worked with has been incredibly helpful and kind and has helped guide me through any difficult sync moments, so don’t fret! Just relax. So should you find yourself shooting a scene outside on top of a hill on a windy day near an airport (planes!), don’t be surprised if your co-star looks up and around at all the offending noises, looks to you and with a wry smile says: BEEP...BEEP...BEEP. You both know you’ll be putting some time in for ADR.

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JOSH COOKE is a Philadelphia native and a graduate of UCLA with a B.A. in theater. He is a veteran television actor currently appearing on Dexter, having starred in Better with You, Big Day, Four Kings, and Committed and making appearances in Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Closer, Scrubs and In Plain Sight. Josh had a supporting role in the movie I Love You Man, and lead roles in Finding Joy, Quarantine 2, Group Sex, A Fork in the Road, YPF and Wasted. He appeared onstage in the Center Theatre Group’s production of Come Back, Little Sheba, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Twelfth Premise. Josh also co-created, produced, and starred in Issues, a live action / animation comedy web series for Sony’s web division, Crackle.

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Disrupting my comfort zone, bombarding myself with challenging people and situations — this is the best way I know to keep growing." - Brian Grazer

In honor of Mark Price's self-imposed "Fear Factor" month (see this post), Mark shared an article with us that Acadamy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer wrote about continuing to challenge himself in his career. Click here to read Disrupting my Comfort Zone on npr.org about Brian Grazer's approach to the entertainment business. Arts 101: Always challenge yourself.

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  The legendary Lily Tomlin basically bridges the comedic gap between Lucille Ball and Tina Fey. Tomlin was the first person to do a one-woman show on Broadway, which she also wrote, produced and directed. Over her 40-plus year career, she has won two Tonys, six Emmys, a Grammy, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and been nominated for an Oscar. And those are just a few of her accomplishments. Tomlin is currently touring the country with her latest one-woman show featuring her hilarious characters. You can find tour dates and all things Lily Tomlin here and click on the link above for stand-up comedian Eddie Sarfaty's recent interview with the comic genius. Arts 101: When you get the chance, go see show business legends perform live. You will learn more than you can imagine.   

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The Performing Arts Project's resident artist Dave Clemmons was named one of the top ten Broadway casting directors by BroadwaySpace.com! If you are pursuing a career in theater, you should be familiar with all the people on the list. Arts 101: Doing research on this business is essential if you want to succeed.

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"Actors are the jockeys of literature. Others supply the horses (the plays) and we simply make them run." - Sir Ralph Richardson

Find out more about Sir Ralph Richardson here.