When working as a dialogue editor on a film made in New Zealand, and produced by Universal Studios Los Angeles ("The Frighteners") I was supplied with Universal's "Television and Airline Restrictions" list which describes visual and language items which must be modified to allow sale to these two American markets.

Television and Airline Restrictions for Feature Films
(Universal Studios, Los Angeles 1997)

The following is to be used as a guideline only. As culture and slang change, so do the terms. If an action or word is questionable, please cover, replace or delete it on the TV version, which you deliver to the studio.

LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS (note: ALL languages, the networks want translations)

• any references to plane crashes / tragedies
• fuck/fucking (PLEASE NOTE: FRIGGING / FRICKING ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE REPLACEMENTS -- FREAKING IS OK)
• shit / scheist / crap
• God (damn)
• Jesus / Jesus Christ
• son of a bitch / bitch
• bastard
• piss / whiz / squirt
• come/ coming / orgasm
• fag / faggot (watch queen and fairy too) dike / bull dike
• cocksucker
• cunt/ pussy / honey pot
• on the rag
• prick/ cock / dick / tool / Johnson / schlong / putz
• balls / cojones
• ass / butt
• asshole
• motherfucker (and any other fuckers)
• scumbag
• fart / cut one
• tits / boobs / knockers
• masturbation / jerk off / hand job / blow job / suck off / eat out 69 / rimming

VISUAL ELEMENT RESTRICTIONS

• airplane crashes/ mechanical problems
• nudity - both front and back (bottoms are not allowed)
• female nipples
• fornication
• fondling of breasts / groin
• snuff porn
• bestiality
• masturbation
• defecation
• urination
• flipping the bird/ traditional arm gesture
• grabbing one's parts
• gratuitous violence / blood
• impact of bullets / knives
• injections where you can see the needle entering the body

In an ideal world alternatives for TV and airline use would be shot during the production of the film. However schedule pressures, unwillingness of directors to compromise their 'vision' and lack of foresight usually mean this doesn't happen. The shooting period, with large crews, expensive facility and props rentals, and artist and extras fees to be met, is the most costly period in the life of the film.

Consequently the most easily redone component of the film, the dialogue recording, is often considered to be be the least important, and the cry "we'll loop it later!" is common on the set. The difficulty of obtaining good quality recording of dialogue grows all the time, with ambient noise levels increasing, and the requirements of visual special effects mechanisms such as motion control to be driven by lots of noisy little pulley wheels and servo motors!

So...It is assumed that all principal artists, and many support players will be required to turn up during post production for their ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) or looping sessions. At this time the director and editor will have chosen the preferred take of the scene. (The dialogue recorded during the shooting of the picture is not usually discarded, however, as it is often the very best performance. A number of complicated devices are utilised during the final sound mix to "clean up" these original recordings.)

This is the opportunity, as well, to record the TV and Airline versions, having regard to the above criteria. Directors have usually bitten the bullet of commercial compromise by then, and most actors expect to record the rewritten versions.

The problem which arises is the fabrication of lines which satisfy the demands of appearing to be "in sync" and not sounding too artificial. (the approved FREAK/ING was used a film with Dennis Hopper to a ludicrous point.) Of course. if the actor's lips are not visible while delivering the line it's easy--and many a plot point needing clarification is made this way, TV version or not!

As the director finds demands on his or her time escalating at this point the task of tracking down offending lines and writing suggested replacements usually falls to the dialogue editor. Actors with experience in this procedure have a repertoire of replacements, Michael J Fox said something like "Cheese and Crusts!" for "Jesus Christ!" in this picture. I completely failed to come up with a replacement for "I came by train, I was going to take the plane, but I didn't like the look of it" all in medium shot full-on sync. I guess they just deleted the shot from the version seen on Delta!

I would recommend the short chapter "Sounds That We See" in Anthony Burgess' A Mouthful of Air for a treatment of the really skilful practitioners of this procedure: those who "dub" English language films into foreign languages, with credible sync.

With regard to translations for television, Australian SBS Television, whose brief is multicultural broadcasting, subtitles foreign language films, taking care to be accurate. If the character says "Il m'a baisé" SBS will subtitle as "He fucked me."

Kind regards
Ross Chambers (Sydney, Australia), (maelduin@ozemail.com.au)