This article was downloaded by: [UAA/APU Consortium Library]

On: 16 October 2014, At: 09:00

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Voice and Speech Review

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rvsr20

Sound Speed: Voice on Film

Mel Churcher
Published online: 22 Jul 2013.

To cite this article: Mel Churcher (2003) Sound Speed: Voice on Film, Voice and Speech Review, 3:1, 50-53, DOI:
10.1080/23268263.2003.10739377

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23268263.2003.10739377

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained
in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the
Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and
are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and
should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for
any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever
or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of
the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any
form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
 Essay by Mel Churcher

Sound Speed: Voice on Film

This article stresses the importance of a fully-supported voice for actors

working in film, and offers advice on how they can avoid replacing too much
dialogue in post-production. It examines the differences between vocal pro-
duction for theatre and film, looks at the importance of unimpeded breath
flow for both the visual as well as the aural aspects of filming, and explains
why the actor may need more volume than she or he expects. There are some
hints and tips for voice teachers working with actors on preparation of film
scripts and to help with those last-minute vocal problems.

Many actors have a mistaken idea that they can whisper and mumble their
way through a film. One well-known actor, who whispers her way through
the shooting and knows she’ll have to replace every line, has learnt not to
Downloaded by [UAA/APU Consortium Library] at 09:00 16 October 2014

move her mouth to make  easier! Now both sound and performance
suffer.

, or automatic dialogue replacement, enables the actor to replace lines

after shooting by doing a new sound track, which will be married onto the
final print. Hollywood actors, who accept it as a way of life and often prefer
it, call it looping. This is because, in the old days, before digital technology,
the clip of film the actor matched to went round and round on a loop. Mel Churcher has worked for many years in drama
schools and theatres including the Royal
Shakespeare Company, Manchester Royal Exchange,
Nowadays, technology has moved on, but  is still no ideal solution. All The Royal Court and London’s Regent’s Park Open
film makers prefer to be in the happy position of using the original sound- Air Theatre and is currently serving on the council of
The British Voice Association. Coaching on movies
track. The verisimilitude of the original ambience and the energy of the per- includes The Secret Garden, The Fifth Element, Joan
formance can never completely be matched.  has to be done months after of Arc, Madeline, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lara
Croft: Tomb Raider, 102 Dalmations, The Hole, The
shooting, alone in a sound studio and all lines have to be timed exactly to Forsyte Saga (TV) and, most recently, Danny the
match the original mouth movements. The actor watches the clip of film on Dog with Jet Li. Mel’s book, Acting for Film: Truth 24
Times a Second was published by Virgin Books in
a screen and a white line passes across it, three beeps sound in the actor’s ear, 2003.
and the line must be said on the instant of the imaginary fourth beat. The
actor has to find the same emotional energy, sound level (made harder as all
background noise has been removed from the track) and remember the plot
whilst probably already engaged on a completely different project. Without
craning the neck forward and reducing the voice to a squeak, the actor has to
whisper sweet nothings into the microphone’s ear with no popping plosives
while watching that embarrassing original footage time after time after time
as he or she misses the beat.

Every sound mixer has the intention to use the original soundtrack as it will
contain the natural ambience as well as the spontaneity of the acting.
Sometimes this isn’t possible because of outside circumstances or the prob-
lems of squeaky floorboards or clanging armour, but it can simply be due to
the actor’s vocal shortcoming. Many film actors have had little or no vocal
training and some feel that anything above a breathy whisper is not “real.”
Because the visual aspects of filming are so important, directors often cast for
the perfect “look.” This often means a vocal coach is then required on set to
help with the dialogue. It is usually much easier for a trained actor, used to
theatre, to adjust the volume down to suit the circumstances than for an
untrained performer to find a supported resonant sound that will carry inten-
tion, feeling and script nuances effectively.

So how can the actor avoid ? In film, unlike theatre, there is no audience.
So the sound need only be as it would be in life. Instead of playing to an
 audience, the actor is observed by a camera. Only the other
characters need to hear the dialogue, and they will usually be
standing much closer than in theatre (or even life), in order to
fit into frame. Having said that though, it needs to be a whole
supported voice at a natural level. No amount of technical
wizardry will give emotional life and resonance to a breathy,
unsupported sound. And if an actor does need to whisper—it
has to be heard. One sound mixer told me a story about Peter
O’Toole. He asked the actor, whether it was true that he
could be heard in a whisper round the block. Peter O’Toole
walked fifty yards away and whispered, “It is true”—and it
was!
Downloaded by [UAA/APU Consortium Library] at 09:00 16 October 2014
Sometimes an actor will be asked to give more volume than
normal for a shot. There can be several reasons for this:
• Microphone booms often can’t get close in wide shots as
they will be seen by the camera or create shadows.
Sometimes a radio mic can’t be used as it makes the sound
too “intimate” for the scene.
• There may be unbalanced sound levels between the actors in
the scene. This is particularly true if there’s a woman playing
against hearty men.
• There might be a sound track to be laid underneath the
scene later—like a train or rain or dance music. If the actors
are too quiet, not only will it be hard for the sound
department to get the level up technically, but it will also
sound false. In life they would use a different quality of voice
to compensate for the background noise.
This last reason is a particularly difficult one for the actors.
Whilst playing the scene, they have to constantly imagine that
background noise. Inevitably, after a few moments, the actors
lose level—especially in an intimate scene.
Boom operators are very skilful. Wielding a long telescopic
pole with the microphone attached, they balance precariously
above the actor, keeping out of shot, to catch every word that
is said. It’s important that the actor rehearses at performance
level and doesn’t vary volume too much on different takes or
make any surprise moves. It is also worth checking that the
level isn’t dropping to match another actor’s performance or
because the camera has come in close.
Often the actor is fitted with a radio mic. This is hidden on
the clothing around the neck and the transmitter is concealed
in the petticoats or is strapped to a leg. Tell them to beware
silk underwear—it will rustle horribly! Also to avoid noisy
jewellery, thumping the chest on “I” and “me” or poking a

partner in the microphone. When using props, dialogue
should be separated from any noisy cutlery, keys or loose
change. Actors should shut a door or move the drum-kit
before or after the line and avoid noisy shoes.
Sometimes there will be a fixed microphone as well. You
remember that famous scene in Singin’ in the Rain where the
microphone is hidden in the flowers? Every time the heroine
speaks, she turns her head away and the sound fades out mid-
sentence. Well, the sound department’s resources have become
more sophisticated since then, but the actor may still need to
favour the microphone’s direction and it is certainly helpful
not to hit it during dialogue!
In his book on film acting, Michael Caine advises the actor to
forget the sound technician as he always has a problem.
Because film is so visually oriented and there is the possibility
to replace dialogue later, sound is the Cinderella of the film
industry. And yet sound makes up a great part of the final
film’s effect. In television particularly—where dialogue is less
readily replaced in post-production—many viewers will listen
as much as watch. They don’t want to miss the plot as they
pour a cup of tea or slip a stitch.
We know that voice is the most sensitive indicator of feeling.
When a study was carried out on lying, it was discovered that
radio revealed the truth more than any other medium. If the
actor doesn’t use a voice that resonates with the “ring of
truth,” no amount of visual clues will compensate. Actors
need to take voice as seriously as any other aspect of commu-
nication on film. Because film deals mainly in subtext, the
sound of the voice doesn’t seem as important as the feelings
underneath. But the two can’t be separated. If the thought is
strong—the voice will be. If you drive what you want either
through the words or under the words, a free released voice
will carry your intentions or your subtext.
And if the actor is working in a different dialect, it is impor-
tant that the voice doesn’t lose its full resonance or change the
performance in any way that isn’t intended. American actors,
particularly, have a tendency to let their voices become higher,
thinner and generally “nicer” when they move to an English
accent. British actors often do the same when confronted with
a period movie and a “period” accent.
Dialogue in film, Pinter and Mamet excepted, is not always
well written. There are few long speeches and the words may
be banal or prosaic. This encourages an actor to hold back the
sound—to bring the false vocal folds across, use too little
breath and go into “creak.” Breathing work is as important in
 Pedagogy and Coaching
Sound Speed: Voice on Film
film as in any other branch of performing. This is not because
the actor needs to project but because, if the stomach is held,
then the voice will not respond freely. Nerves are a real prob-
lem in filming. Adrenaline is flowing, the set goes silent, the
shot is called, the clapper falls and “Action” rings in the actor’s
ears. If the actor takes a high clavicular breath—all is lost. The
scene will seem false and there will be no access to emotional
feelings. If the actor stops breathing, he or she will stop listen-
ing. And listening is the most important part of acting in film.
In close-up, the camera acts like a microscope. The face may
be blown up to fifty times its real size on a large screen. Every
Downloaded by [UAA/APU Consortium Library] at 09:00 16 October 2014
twitch of tension, raised eyebrow or trembling lip will be mag-
nified and seem enormous. Keeping the breath flowing will
work wonders to take tension off the face. I advise actors to
keep a hand on the abdomen in an emotional close-up. By
checking they are breathing and sending their emotional ener-
gy from this hand, the face will be relaxed, the eyes alive and
the voice responsive. (It also works like magic when an actor
wants an intimate confidential tone for a voice-over after
shooting.)
Incidentally, when the actor is in a single close-up shot, it is
important they don’t overlap the dialogue with the off-camera
lines. Because, on film, sound and picture are married together
at a later date, overlaps make for difficult editing. Level and
energy are also required from the actor speaking off-camera to
help the person in shot respond in the same way that they did
in the original scene.
If you are helping an actor with a film script, it is worthwhile
suggesting that they make extensive notes or even write out
separate cards for each scene. These notes should take account
of the plot situation and relationships to the other characters
as well as the character’s drives and actions. Because films are
shot out of sequence on such a long time-scale, actors need an
aide-memoir to help them place a scene in context. Breathing
places for new thoughts can also be marked if the actor has a
tendency to rush scenes through nerves. As parts of scenes
have to be repeated in many takes, whispering the lines slowly
just before a take will refresh the original meaning and drives
behind the words.
Film actors benefit from the same warm-up as any other per-
former and I recommend abdominal-diaphragmatic breathing
work. I use a simplified version of the “Accent Method” pio-
neered by the Danish voice therapist, Sven Smith. If the actor
has never done voice work before, then getting them to lie
down and to feel the rise and fall of the abdomen during
relaxed breathing is a good start. This movement can be built
on gently with the breath expelled on “sh,” feeling the con-
traction of the abdominal muscles and then their release as the
by Mel Churcher (continued)
breath drops in. More energetic breathing exercises can then
be introduced, where the breath is expelled on three beats
(with the middle beat taking the strongest energy):
sh—sh—sh (flattening stomach gently inwards and upwards)
stomach releases and breath drops in
sh—sh—sh
and so on.
Voiced sounds and then words and phrases are added until the
actor can ensure that the abdomen is not contracted or held
during the incoming breath—thus avoiding clavicular breath-
ing and the “flight or fight” syndrome.
I also use many exercises for resonance and articulation such
as humming and feeling vibrations on the body, clasping
hands in front and shaking out a sound, hanging over and
releasing sound, throwing lines, “chewing” words and singing
dialogue—all the work, in fact, that I would use for theatre
actors but with the emphasis on resonant, relaxed but support-
ed voice production rather than projection. Sometimes, of
course, one is working on an accent too and that will
influence the choice of vocal exercises: working on oral or
nasal resonance, consonant production, increasing the range of
vocal qualities available to the actor or changing tune and
cadence.
I add a few quick-tips for emergency help on set:
• If the actor finds the pitch rising—tipping back the head
very slightly with an open mouth, and swallowing on the
way back down releases tension in the larynx and the pitch
will revert to its natural level. If the voice sounds creaky—
breathing in and out through the open mouth and making it
completely silent will open up the false vocal folds and
increase breath flow (putting hands over ears makes it easier
to monitor). If the voice is breathy—get a gentle adduction
of the vocal folds by wiggling the finger as if telling someone
off on “Uh-Uh, Uh-Uh” and take that sound into text.
• If the sound seems to be produced too far back—press the
knuckle gently into the alveolar ridge and say the line, then
remove the knuckle and repeat the line, imagining that it is
bounced off the “buzz” on the hard palate. (This gives a very
gentle “edge” or “twang.”)
• After several hours on set, ask the actor to siren up and
down gently on “ng” a few times—this stretches the vocal
folds and then they seem to “mesh” together better giving a
more supported sound. (It also helps relieve tired vocal
folds.) As sets are often hot, dry places I talk about vocal
health and encourage actors to drink enough water, use
steam if there is vocal strain and to take the re-hydration
drinks offered on hot locations.
 • After the twentieth take, the brain stops working and the Book references:
words lose their meaning. Taking a second to shut the eyes Caine, Michael Acting in Film  (Applause)
and whisper the words very slowly puts the actor back in Kotby, M.N. The Accent Method of Voice Therapy Singular
touch with the original impulses and intentions. Press 
Thyme-Frokjaer, K, Frokjaer-Jenson, B The Accent Method
You will have many little tricks of your own. It’s lonely out Speechmark Publishing Ltd. 
there on set and the actor has to stop and start so many times
that a few tips for tension and voice quality are really helpful.
When I mention that an actor in a major role on a feature
film works for around twelve weeks (sometimes longer) doing
twelve hour days, you will see how many shots and takes there
will be to shoot a film. A major movie is only looking to shoot
Downloaded by [UAA/APU Consortium Library] at 09:00 16 October 2014

one to two minutes of eventual screen time a day. So there is

no chance to “find your voice” or experience the linear jour-
ney of the character as there is in theatre.

There is also very little dialogue on most films. To root the

voice in the character, or to make the actor comfortable with
their own sound, I suggest that he or she improvises some
physical work or tasks that the character might do whilst
improvising dialogue. For example: I had to work with a soft-
ly-spoken Welsh actor who had to play a medieval blacksmith.
As part of the preparation for the role he had to learn horse
riding. I suggested that he improvised lines when riding and
when mucking out the stables. Out of these improvisations
emerged a strong resonant sound that was both healthy and
right for the role and avoided any quick decision to “take the
voice down” which could have led to vocal strain.

The voice that will emerge through this work will be “organic”
and grounded in the body so that it not only feels right to the
actor but also has enough physical “substance” to please the
sound mixer.

There are times when all this work will go for nothing.
Concorde keeps going over, the waterfall is too loud or the
dialogue was too steamy for the aircraft version. Then  will
save the day. But with good voice work, the actor will ensure
that most of what she or he says will be heard. Heard both in
the sound mixer’s cans and, because less will end up on the
cutting-room floor, in the final film.

As a last thought—it’s worth mentioning to actors that they

will always have a secret audience on set. The director, produc-
ers, sound crew and coaches all wear headphones and all
microphones stay on during shooting. There are things they
might not want heard—so they should hold back that exple-
tive! And remind them to ask the sound operator to release
them from the microphone and transmitter when they need to
leave set. I have to confess that on my first film, mine did
reach a watery grave! k
