Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1316380
12 I M PS E . O R G DEAR DIALOGUE DETECTIVE BY VICKIE SAMPSON MPSE DEAR DIALOGUE DETECTIVE: How do you maintain a healthy work/ life balance? We all know there are projects that will and can ask for longer hours from you. Does the amount of stress from these long hours add up to the value/worth of taking on these projects? DIALOGUE DETECTIVE: A great question! Sound editing is a relatively small industry. You must be good, experienced, and somewhat fast, though I cringe at the word "fast." You must be passionate and dedicated. To get ahead in this very competitive market, you have to be willing to give your all. Because post-production is so unpredictable, it's very hard to plan anything. Vacations? What are those? Some people are lucky to have understanding partners and children. Some choose not to have a partner or children because of that unpredictability. For women editors, I think it's harder to achieve a work/life balance. People used to ask my daughters if they wanted to go into sound editing, like their mom and their grandma (Kay Rose, the fi rst woman sound editor to win an Oscar). They shook their heads vehemently saying, "NO! We want to watch our children grow up!" Ouch… But I understand. I originally got into the business because my mom was working so much when I was young, that, when given the chance to be an apprentice on a fi lm she was working on, I took it so I could be with her! The difference I see between being a working mom and a working dad is that even after working a 12-hour day, IF I got home before the kids went to bed, I was MOM with all that goes with it. No proverbial "Sit in your chair and put your feet up, honey—here's a drink." I'm curious to know if fathers have that experience when they get home from work—do they have to go shopping, then make dinner, put the kids to bed, do dishes, and clean the house? Almost any editor I know, male or female, rarely left the studio by 6 p.m. So it's a blessing now that we can work from home right now. We can edit while the kids are sleeping. Saves a lot of driving time that has turned into editing time and family time. I would rather have a 30-second commute than a three- hour commute, though I do miss the camaraderie that working on a lot with a sound team brings. And I miss taking a break and going to Yogurtland at Sony but that's another story! BC (Before COVID), studios wouldn't let you take work home for "security and piracy" issues. Of course, now most editors are working from home if they're working at all. Hmm, I guess those security problems got solved! To help with long hours and stress, some studios put in gyms which I thought was great! We all need a break from editing. But alas, the gyms were for executives only, not the "working class." So, depending on deadlines, I used my lunch breaks to walk around the park or go to the Y for a swim. But the more you're away, the longer you have to stay. Stress can be managed by taking a short "power" nap (or what I used to call, falling asleep on my keyboard!). Close your eyes and take deep breaths. Meditate. Get up and stretch—take a walk. It's important to stretch your fi ngers and hands. It's tempting to just sit and edit, hour after hour. Take 10 minutes to NOT edit to recharge yourself. A good salary is not always equal to the stress and long hours but it helps. If you're doing independent editing, you must decide if the hours versus pay is worth it. Mediocrity doesn't work in post sound. And getting good at your craft demands a lot of hours. To balance work and life is hard. My strategy was that I was willing to go the distance and be dedicated. Film editors saw that. Directors saw that. Mixers saw the work I did that made their job run smoothly. Producers liked that. And that work ethic would be noted the next time they make a fi lm. This is a business of relationships. But I think it's different now, because no one sees us or interacts with us! All they have is our work to evaluate. So, for now, manage your time that is best for you and your family. My best advice is to be with your family as much as you can and work the hours you need to get the job done well. Now take a deep breath. DEAR DIALOGUE DETECTIVE: Has anyone found a successful way of shooting ADR remotely during this time? (More specifi cally—when actors want to record their lines in their own homes.) DIALOGUE DETECTIVE: Before COVID, a lot of actors have been sending in lines here and there remotely, some even using their cellphones as recording devices! I've seen the trend of remote ADR change dramatically over the last few years. An actor can pretty much fi nd an ADR stage anywhere in the world. A lot of actors, especially since COVID, have put in their own sound booths in their homes. They're doing Zoom sessions, even to fi lm! We're getting more cognizant of those who have good sound over their Zoom calls and those who don't. If there are additional lines of dialogue, the trick is trying to match what was done before. You have to take into consideration whether or not the original recording was done with a lav and/or a boom microphone. Was it an exterior or interior scene? Are there sync lines that the actor will need to see in order to sync their performance?