Movie Terms Wiki Filmmaking

ADR

Automated Dialogue Replacement re-records speech to fix, enhance, or transform on-set performances.


Why ADR Exists

Location shoots battle wind, planes, and refrigerator hum. Even in ideal conditions, story edits may swap lines or soften accents. ADR solves these issues, ensuring intelligibility across theatrical, streaming, and aircraft cabin sound systems.

Process Overview

Actors loop their lines in a studio, guided by beeps or scrolling waveforms. Skilled performers recreate original breath patterns so seamlessly that audiences rarely suspect post-sync. Dialogue editors then match room tone and microphone perspective, using convolution reverb to seat new takes in the scene.

Creative Extensions

ADR can age voices, overdub alien languages, or add whispered inner thoughts. Animated features rely entirely on ADR, giving actors scheduling flexibility but placing emotional weight on voice alone.


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