Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/790371
38 CINEMONTAGE / Q1 2017 sessions might require maybe a half hour or an hour to record one or two principals, and the remainder for 10 pages or 80 cues of group — "with maybe 40 of those cues up to two minutes long if we are recording whole scenes," she explains. "It's a chore if we have to stop in the middle of a group session to catch a few principal lines as the actors become available, but you get used to restarting a session." For the TV show Girls, lines often need to be looped because of the street noise picked up during production recording in New York. "[Writer/director/actor] Lena Dunham is a creative perfectionist," Dodd states. "She likes what she likes, so sometimes we leave in car noises if the read is better; we can handle it!" And with a cast that is often moving on to other shows, access can be difficult. "We have to get it right the first time," she insists, "since we might not have another chance at it; we do not have a lot of time for experimentation." Dodd's function, aside from securing a technically perfect take, is to ensure that the talent is relaxed and able to offer the best read, or that the Foley artist can offer his or her best performance. "It's sometimes a balancing act," she concedes. "I always ask, 'How is it going?' or 'What else do you need?' I like to give the talent more room, because I know they need space to work efficiently [on the ADR or Foley stage]." To date, Dodd's favorite TV show to work on has been Scandal, the political thriller starring Kerry Washington that entered its sixth season on January 19. "I've handled both ADR and Foley for that quick-witted show," she recalls. "The biggest challenge is the busy post schedule, and the amount of mic'ing needed for such a large cast. The sound supervisor suffers no fools, so we have to get on with it. There are a lot of Foley surfaces to record during the complex sessions, with ADR that needs to match the large Oval Office and other locations, both inside and outside the White House, with 10 or more actors." Her most recent favorite film to work on was Almost Christmas (2016) for director David E. Talbert. "The ADR presented some sound challenges, with scenes taking place in lots of different places, but the film was a lot of fun," Dodd says. Currently, Dodd is being considered for membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has been nominated for the Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Board of Directors. "I feel that with my more than 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry, I can offer a unique positive perspective to the post-production business," she concludes. f "For Foley, I am concentrating totally on the specific sounds made by the artist, whereas for ADR, I need to focus on the vocal sounds hitting various microphones I put out, together with the overall room sound." – Jesse Dodd