ADR session and some thoughts from Bonzo

A couple of days ago we did the ADR (Automated or Additional Dialogue Recording) for “Clowning Around” with our actors, as well as sound designer Anna Bertmark. The process of doing ADR is quite a complicated one in which the actor has to recreate the line in exactly the same way, with the same intonation, pitch and dramatic effect of the original shot and is unfortunately one of those things that you only notice when it’s done wrong! Having done it myself as an actor a few times (and been rubbish at it) I can assure you it is not as easy as it looks, and with studio time at a premium, you usually need to get through it as quickly as you can...

Luckily, our sound designer Anna has a great contact so we found somewhere that was both flexible and central (so it could be easily scheduled with the actors) and we had a session booked for three hours to cover everything. After an initial technical hitch, we started with Kiki Kendrick (who plays Mrs. Jenkins in the film) as there was a lot of traffic underneath her dialogue. After that was David Schaal (Bonzo) and Matthew Jure (Mr. Fernelli) before ending with Meddy Ford (Krystelle the Shop Asst) with Alex Waker (Jerry the Barman) to be recorded another day.

We got a variety of takes for the lines and we also ran the whole film with David Schaal (Bonzo) adding various sounds we can use.  Although Bonzo doesn’t have any lines, we have tried to express his character through sound, from his different breaths to different squeaks his shoes make and is it this depth and subtlety which will make the film stand out and our audience have more empathy with the protagonist.

It was also the first time any of the actors have seen the film cut together, and whilst it is still rough around the edges, I asked what they thought of both the film and how important being good at ADR is for an actor, to which David wrote down some thoughts below:

"Seeing the film for the first time confirmed what I already felt about it being a bright and colourful film shot in a heightened, comedic way. I liked what I saw of everybody's performance and think that we all found an acting style that I would describe as heightened naturalism. Since alot of films are created in the editing room I think ADR is an essential part of any actor's toolkit. In my experience, like anything else, the more practise you get at post synching diologue and other sound effects, the easier it gets. Most seasoned actors know their way around ADR. In any case I think that once the post is finished on Clowning Around, it will be a funny and touching story that will be pleasing on the eye. I'm very much looking forward to seeing it."