What goes on the ADR list
Lines end up on the ADR list for three main reasons. The production track is unusable (a generator, a plane, wind on the lav, a squeaky dolly). The performance needs a change, such as a softer read or clearer diction. Or the story changed in the edit and a character needs a new line, often played over the back of their head or a wide shot where lips aren't readable.
The supervising sound editor and the director build the list at the ADR spotting session. Before writing a cue, the dialogue editor checks every alternate take for a clean version, because swapping in a word from Take 4 sounds more natural than any studio recording.
An ADR cue sheet line
Each cue gets a number, a timecode, the exact line, and a reason:
| Cue | Character | TC in | TC out | Line | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAY-014 | Maya | 01:12:10:04 | 01:12:12:20 | "You knew the whole time." | Espresso machine under line |
| MAY-015 | Maya | 01:12:30:11 | 01:12:31:09 | "Don't." | Performance, softer |
| JOE-022 | Joe | 01:13:18:00 | 01:13:21:15 | "I'll be in the truck." | New line, back to camera |
The studio loads the cue list, the actor gets three beeps and a silent fourth where the line starts, and the ADR mixer records several takes of each cue. The director or dialogue editor circles the best take per cue, the same way takes are circled on set.
Where productions go wrong
The expensive mistake happens on set. When the production sound mixer flags a take as noisy on the sound report and the director moves on anyway, that line becomes a paid ADR cue months later, sometimes with an actor who is now shooting another film in another country. Asking for a wild line (the actor repeats the dialogue off camera right after the take, with the same mic) takes thirty seconds and often saves the cue.
Room tone matters too. The dialogue editor needs clean room tone from each location to bed the new line into the scene. Without it, ADR lines sound like they were recorded in a closet, because they were.
How ADR connects to other post work
ADR is cut by the dialogue editor, then mixed with production dialogue so the two match in reverb and perspective. The new lines go on the dialogue stem, which means M&E tracks are unaffected, but any production effects lost by replacing the whole line need Foley. For budgeting, ADR stage time, the ADR mixer, and cast recall fees usually sit in the post sound accounts, and a post-production supervisor books sessions around cast availability from the cast deal memo.