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Stereo-izing mono dialog
So, I just shot a short film and am in the process of editing and other post production tasks. One of the things that I’ve read so far is that when shooting to use a single mic. So I did. But, whenever I listen to a nicely producted movie, the dialog seems to be in stereo.
Was that dialog recorded in stereo (pair of mics)? Or is there a post production workflow that emulates a stereo sound for dialog? Is it just playing around with chorus, delay or reverb audio plugins?
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2 Replies
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No need to.
Dialog is always recorded Mono. This is mainly because when mixed, dialog is usually set dead center of the mix so it is easily understood and reproduces easily on virtually any kind of speaker system.
Recording stereo dialog is jarring for the listener, as the “placement” of the person after a cut to a different angle is a dead giveaway. A stereo recording would change from each cut, as the audio would follow the picture. In addition,a stereo signal ties the hands of the mixer, because they are bound to the environment that the stereo recording was made in.
In the mix, we’ll pan if the off screen direction calls for it (i.e. running across the screen, would require a subtle Pan to match onscreen action).
The only things ever recorded in stereo are ambiance or Foley / SFX, and that is still not a guarantee.
.: michael kammes mpse
.: senior applications editor . post workflow consultant
.: audio specialist . act fcp . acsr
.: michaelkammes.com
.: michael A T michaelkammes.com -
Thanks Michael. That’s what I needed. Now, I gotta get back to work on this editing. 🙂
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