Editing Dialog You Recorded
Chip Beaman asked,
Do you prefer to record the dialog that you plan to edit, or does it make any difference to you at all?
I love to edit well performed, well recorded dialog. In that sense I don’t have to be the one who recorded it.
But when I record the dialog I know a lot about it, which allows me to move through audio production more effectively.
Attending the recording session provides insights about why things sound the way they do.
When someone has recorded poorly, are you able to determine what the problems were just by listening to the recording?
Yes some are obvious, such as plosives, distortion, and noise floor. Other issues are more subtle, more difficult to figure out the cause. For example, a roomy sounding recording could be challenging room acoustics, poor mic placement, a lack of mic technique, or some combination.
Listen to all of the questions and answers… Dialog Editing for Game Audio.
Randy Coppinger 
I’d much rather edit the dialog than make notes for someone else to edit from.
Always. My recordings will come in a format and style I’m expecting and understand. Takes will be sorted how I expect, and the session will have been run in a way I like. When you make a mistake or miss something in recording, you probably know how to fix it. When someone else makes a mistake, you could be in big, big trouble and have no remedy. Ever have somebody send you VO with the note, “Lav is on the left, on board is on the right”? Yeah, you don’t want that.
Nice Q&A Randy! Just to chime in, if the recordist and editor are two separate people I’ve found it’s incredibly beneficial for them to use a clear, concise, and mutually agreed upon notation system. It may sound incredibly obvious, but clearly marked scripts and easy to follow notes make a happy and fast editor!
Exactly, Stephen. Conventions have to be used or things will be an unorganized mess. I don’t very often see good note taking. But when I’m editing dialog someone else recorded I certainly appreciate clear notes.