In. In dialogue editing, a crossfade should usually be “level neutral” so that

there is neither an increase nor a decrease in level over the course of the

transition.

Crossfade linking A control within the fade parameters of a digital audio workstation

(DAW) that links the characteristics of the two sides of a crossfade: the

fade-out and fade-in. Under normal circumstances, crossfade linking ensures

fade symmetry. Care must be taken to select a mid-fade attenuation of −3 dB

when crossfading “normal” (not phase-coherent) material, and −6 dB when

crossfading a sound against itself, as in perspective cuts.

Cross-modulation test (cross-mod) A series of exposure, processing, and printing

tests used to ensure the best results when preparing an optical soundtrack. The

tests calibrate the film stock and equipment at the sound facility that shoots and

develops the optical negative with those of the film lab that prints the answer

print.

Cue sheet (rerecording log) A tabular chart showing the layout and contents of the

tracks brought to a mix.

Cutaway A picture editing technique in which a shot is briefly interrupted by

another, usually to hide a piece of main shot, to adjust timing, or to change from

one take to another. Cutaways are commonly used in documentaries to hide

sound edits within an interview.

Cut list Similar to an EDL, a list that contains all of the information needed for

the negative cutter to conform the film’s original negative to the final locked

edit. In the modern world, the cut list is generated more or less automatically

by the picture workstation. In the days of sprockets, this list was prepared by

hand.

DAW (digital audio workstation) A nonlinear electronic editing platform used for

music and audio postproduction editing.

Destructive editorial processes Any electronic sound editing process that alters

or destroys an original sound file. Examples include any recording in which old

takes are overwritten, and certain noise reduction processes that permanently

alter the soundfile.

DigiTranslator (a trademark of Digidesign) A utility for converting OMFI 2.0 files

into Pro Tools sessions. No longer offered as a standalone utility, DigiTranslator

is now packaged within the Pro Tools application.

Dolby SR (a trademark of Dolby Laboratories) (1) A noise reduction system, introduced

in 1986, offering much better performance than its predecessor, Dolby A.

(2) The standard analogue format (Dolby Stereo) on film release prints, providing

left, center, right, and mono surround channels encoded into a 2-channel

analogue optical soundtrack. (3) Dolby SR-D (or Dolby Digital), introduced in

1992 as a 5.1-channel digital format whose data are stored between the sprockets

of 35 mm prints. Dolby Digital uses AC3 coding for data compression.

Double system (1) A type of film projection in which image and sound are on

separate media. Interlocking a mute answer print with a soundtrack on a DA-88

or workstation is an example. (2) A location recording technique, such as shooting

film or tape and recording sound to a DAT or hard disk recorder. Contrast

this with recording sound directly onto videotape, an example of single-system

production.

Dual-mono Two parallel audio channels containing exactly the same information.

Compare with stereo or split-track recordings, where the two channels contain

different information.

Dubber A playback-only mag machine used to reproduce sprocketed sound elements

during a mix.

EBU (European Broadcasting Union) A standards organization (and more) for

European radio and television. “EBU timecode” refers to the 25 fps timecode

used in PAL (phase alternate line) and SECAM (séquentiel couleur à mémoire)

countries.

Edit group A function in digital audio workstations (DAWs) that allows you to link

a number of tracks so that they behave as a group. Mono, solo, and editing commands

on any track within the group will affect all of them.

EDL (edit decision list) A list generated by nonlinear film workstations and offline

video editing systems that describes each event in an edited film reel, TV program,

and so on. The information it contains includes the source of each shot and

its location within the program and possibly an identification of scenes and takes.

EDLs are vital tools for dialogue editors looking for alternate takes of a line.

Exhibition print The mass-produced prints of a film shipped to theaters for public

viewing, comprised of reels of approximately 2000 feet (about 600 meters) in

length.

FFOA (first frame of action) The first frame of meaningful picture of a reel of edited

fi lm. In other words, the first frame past the head leader.

Final mix The ultimate combining of a film’s sound elements. Typically, the mixing

process begins with the dialogue premix, followed by other premixes if deemed

necessary and the budget allows. The final mix uses the premixes as playback

sources, along with remaining unmixed sound elements, to create a finished

soundtrack.

First answer print The first print made of a film after negative cutting. In most

cases, this print is mute. In some film cultures, this silent first answer print is

called a “blacktrack answer print.”

FLEx (Film Log EDL Exchange) file Developed by da Vinci Systems, a file protocol

for transferring fi lm-related information to and from videotape and nonlinear

editing systems. With FLEx (or Avid’s ALE) files, data on film negative, telecine

transfer, audio, and the like (all forms of metadata) can be stored for later use in

negative cutting, retransfer, and sound finishing.

Focus group A “man on the street” public audience assembled to watch and

comment on an unfinished film. The focus group is becoming increasingly

important in determining the direction, if not the fate, of a film.

Foley “Live” sound effects recorded sync-to-picture and later edited for fi nesse.

Foley effects commonly include footsteps, clothing rustle, and chair squeaks,

but may include mechanical sounds, door squeaks, and unrealistic sounds.

Fullcoat This is 35 mm magnetic film that’s completely covered with oxide on one

side. Depending on the head stack used, you can record up to six channels onto

one fullcoat.

Fundamental frequency The lowest frequency in a harmonic series and almost

always the lowest frequency present in the pitch of a note made by a musical

instrument. Also called “first harmonic.”

Genlock A system allowing vertical, horizontal, frame, and color synchronization

of two or more video devices such as cameras. In audio applications, the most

common genlock reference is black burst, which synchronizes all digital audio

devices in a chain to each other and to the video devices within the facility.

Genlock provides speed and timing information so that multiple machines

play at the same speed and their frames begin at exactly the same time. This

provides synchronization accuracy of much less than a frame (when combined

with another synchronization protocol such as MTC, LTC, VITC, or Sony

9-pin).

Group loop The recording of extra, nonprincipal voices during postproduction to

add mood and texture to a scene, to enhance the plot, or to provide other

information.

Guide track (1) A fi eld recording under impossible circumstances with less than

ideal results. Knowing that the track is needed for reference but useless for

sound, the location mixer labels the track “Guide track.” (2) A temporary mono

(or wider) mix provided by one sound editing department to another as an

editing aid. A dialogue editor will periodically provide a mono guide track of

his or her progress to the SFX and BG editors so that they can make better judgments

than when working against the unedited OMF.

Handle Extra sound material extending beyond the visible (and audible) boundaries

of a region. Handle duration can be determined during OMF creation or

auto-assembly. As a rule, dialogue editors want handles to be as long as possible.

See load spacing.

Harmonic An integer multiple of a fundamental frequency. For example, a string

vibrating at a fundamental frequency of 100 Hz will have a harmonic at 100 Hz

intervals. The harmonic structure of a musical note is what gives it its color.

The harmonic nature of buzzes and hums is what makes them so hard to

clean.

Headroom (1) The area in a shot between the top of the frame and the subject.

Shots with a great deal of headroom are often difficult to mic with a boom.

(2) The available dynamic range between the reference signal level and distortion

or digital zero.

Keykode (a trademark of Eastman Kodak) A machine-readable barcode printed

onto a film negative during its manufacture that provides an automatic method

to capture key number information during telecine transfer. This information

is stored in telecine logs, such as FLEx or ALE files, and is vital in negative cutting.

The term “keycode” is used sometimes when referring generally to machinereadable

code on film.

Latency The delay imposed on an audio signal by a processor. It can become significant when using a series of plug-ins during a mix.

Layback The last step in a videotape-based project for which the final mixed audio

is recorded onto the online, color-corrected master tape to replace the old offline

tracks. After the layback comes the party.

LCRS (left, center, right, and [mono] surround) The four decoded channels of

Dolby SR.

Leader, Academy A leader placed at the head of and tail of each reel. From the

start mark on the head leader to FFOA is 12 feet, and there’s a countdown ending

3 feet from FFOA. Each countdown number represents 1 foot (16 frames), and

the final “beep” frame reads “3,” meaning 3 feet.

Leader, SMPTE Universal Similar to the Academy leader: From the start mark on

the head leader to FFOA is 12 feet, and there’s a countdown ending 3 feet from

FFOA. Each countdown number represents 1 second (24 frames) and the fi nal

“beep” frame reads “2,” meaning 2 seconds. Remember, 2 seconds equals 3 feet

at 24 fps.

LFOA (last frame of action) The last frame of picture before cutting to the tail

leader. When you’re working on videotape or with a nonlinear editing system,

LFOA is measured while looking at the first frame of leader rather than at the

last frame of picture because a video EDL “out” is the same number as the next

“in.”

Liaison The fusion of sounds across word boundaries, making it difficult to

perform clean dialogue edits. (More accurately called sandhi.)

Lip flap Any movement of the lips not supported by sound. It could be the result

of the picture editor using a shot without sound or an actor miming speech

during a shot. Lip flap can also be completely natural in its origin—maybe an

actor moved his lips and no sound came out. Whatever its source, this inconsistency

is usually disconcerting in films, so dialogue editors often add appropriate

“lip fill” to cover the flap.

Lined script The shooting script of a film on which the script supervisor has indicated

the coverage of each scene. Setups and actions/events during the shoot are

indicated as vertical lines drawn over the text, hence the name.

Load spacing During auto-assembly of original sound, the term refers to the

minimum separation between two sources before the two events are loaded as

a single soundfile. When two source events in an EDL are closer than the load

spacing setting (including handles), they are digitized as a single file on disk

because (1) it’s faster and (2) it causes less wear on the load deck because the

machine doesn’t have to stop, rewind, and cue up again. See handle.

Locked picture A finished, final, “ain’t gonna change” picture edit. Just kidding.

Lt/Rt (left total/right total) An encoded 2-channel track that contains four channels

of fi lm channel information (LCRS). When the mixer completes the final surround

mix for a film to be distributed in Dolby SR, he processes the film through

a Dolby DS4 processor (usually in the presence of a Dolby consultant). The result

is a 2-channel print master ready to be converted into an optical soundtrack. In

Europe, this 2-track encoding is called SVA (stereo variable area). See also LCRS.

LTC (longitudinal time code) Timecode stored as an audio signal on videotape or

audiotape; often not reliable at nonplay speeds.

Mag stripe This is 35 mm magnetic fi lm with only a narrow strip of oxide and a

smaller balance stripe. When a film is edited mechanically, analogue fi eld

recordings are transferred to mag stripe, synced, and coded for editing.

Mains (or utility) frequency The frequency at which alternating current electrical

power is transmitted from the power plant to the end user. In most parts of the

world, it’s 50 Hz; in the Americas, it’s usually 60 Hz. Used often in analogue

recording and postproduction as a convenient means of maintaining proper

speed and of interlocking several machines. As digital recording and playback

devices supplant analogue machines, mains frequency, as a synchronization

tool, is generally being replaced by video reference or word clock.

Married print A film print that contains both picture and optical sound.

M&E (or international) mix A mix used for foreign language dubbing of a film. It

contains all of the sound contents of the original mix except for the language

elements of the dialogue. When a film is sold to a foreign distributor, usually

all that will be required to create a localized mix from the M&E is the addition

of local voices.

Media wrapper A file carrier that standardizes how different devices obtain the