Importance of Dialogue in Film

[doofvader]

I'm doing a research project about dialogue audio in film and have a few questions to ask those who are interested in sound design and mixing. Please fill in this survey if you're interested to participate in my research: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/DialogueAudio/

Thank you guys for your help!!!

[Marc Wielage]

You could write a lot of your paper just by reading John Purcell's book Dialogue Editing for Motion Pictures: A Guide to the Invisible Art. Although it's about post-production, it does deal a lot about what goes on in actual dialogue recording and mixing on set. 

[jgbsound]

I second that. Purcell's book changed how I approach dialog editing and how I record audio on set (I do both).

[VASI]

2 hours ago, jgbsound said:

I second that. Purcell's book changed how I approach dialog editing and how I record audio on set (I do both).

+1

[Jay Rose]

+1 more. I specialize in post now, but I spent a lot of time on sets when I was younger and more flexible. 

a]  Dialog is king in almost every narrative scene. It tells the story.  For the story to work, we have to believe the characters' world. And that means the dialog has to sound real and natural.  This affects the recording (perspective, noise, timbre) and post (if you can hear the processing, it's probably wrong).

b] Purcell has nailed writing about dialog editing. He covers it all, comprehensively. And he's as good a writer as I try to be.

 

 

[jgbsound]

I forgot to mention that the other book I recommend to people who are interested in getting involved with audio recording and editing is Jay Rose's "Producing Great Sound For Film & Video".  It is an precise compendium of everything audio related starting with the Physical properties of sound waves, wave propagation, all the way through the production/post chain.  

It's a wonderful book that I think fits into any classroom curriculum and is a great reference for me.  You can't go wrong with this book.