The Sound House is increasingly the studio-of-choice for Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) in Ireland.

ADR is the re-recording of dialogue that cannot be used from a location sound track. Actors emulate the delivery of the line to vision in sound studios - or in some cases - record an entirely new rewritten line to match the movement of their mouths in the scene. Alternatively a sound alike may be used - entire casting agencies specialise in finding voice alikes for famous actors when their schedules prohibit them spending time in studio after production.

This painstaking and exacting craft is used in varying degrees depending on the nature of a film - but most often in 'action-adventure' films where the sets are notoriously noisy (think of explosions and crowds of people running around set). Interestingly many of the spaghetti westerns from days gone by had 100% ADR.

It can be painstaking work. But with 80% of sound in modern films happening this way – it evidently enhances quality. It takes an experienced engineer and the best equipment to work smoothly – particularly when you're recording Amanda Peet in Belfast for the movie 2012 with director Roland Emmerich speaking to her from a studio in LA.

Working across oceans to get the best delivery from an actor means that technology should be seamless – it can’t get in the way of a director’s communication or an actor’s delivery.

At The Sound House, our voice booths are ideally set up for ADR sessions with plasma TVs and Neumann/Sennheiser shotgun and clip mics - and with Protools HD driving the audio over a comprehensive ISDN connection, the actor can feel like the director is just on the other side of the glass - regardless of where in the world they are at that moment.

Some of our Recent ADR Projects are detailed below…