Shooting telephone conversations?

omar_

omar_

Well-known member
Hey guys, Anyone have the general flow for shooting telephone conversations.

Do you shoot the conversation in real time like have the other person actually on the other line responding OR do you have the actor in the frame have a conversation with his or herself and then synch the other person's audio in post?
 
If you have two cameras and two sound crews, do it up! I think that would be extra cool. It's all in what you are trying to say. I can some times tell when some on isn't actually talking to some one on the other line and that gets to me. Real conversation is priceless. Do what you can to achieve it. Post is always you friend...just in case.
 
But if you don't have two cameras, you don't even need the phone on. just have someone off frame read the in-between lines, that way you still have the right amount of pauses between speaking.
 
Anthem78 said:
But if you don't have two cameras, you don't even need the phone on. just have someone off frame read the in-between lines, that way you still have the right amount of pauses between speaking.
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Won't the sound of the guy reading the lines get into the sound track?
I'm wondering how phone conversations are done too...
 
dcho787 said:
Won't the sound of the guy reading the lines get into the sound track?
I'm wondering how phone conversations are done too...
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It would, but this doesn't really matter as you can just cut out the lines and then substitute in the audio when you film the other side of the conversation.
 
good actors should be able to pull off a phone conversation without in-between-lines. if an actor waits too long or too short, the editor should be able to fix it in post by cutting to the other person he or she is talking to.
 
jade8472 said:
It would, but this doesn't really matter as you can just cut out the lines and then substitute in the audio when you film the other side of the conversation.
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Gotta make sure though here actor's don't talk over each other!

I think it's good if I shoot each actor separate but still have the actor off-frame talk back to make the conversation more authentic.
 
Sometimes on the set, the other actor is not even there. The script supervisor reads the dialogue and it is done in post. it is all about scheduling. I have never seen both sides of a telephone conversation done anywhere besides soap operas. Make sure that you have the actors facing in opposite directions as you would in any scene.
 
yeah, come to think of it you dont see both sides of a phone conversation very often in film. i have done it with just the actor talking into an unattached phone and just pausing and talk the other lines to himself. the timing always seems like the timing is pretty accurate.
 
thematthewbone said:
yeah, come to think of it you dont see both sides of a phone conversation very often in film.
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when you guys say this, do you mean not seeing a conversation with both actors in the same frame or not seeing a conversation that switches back and forth between the POV of the two actors on the phone?
 
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