70% of the dialogue ADR'ed.
Maybe there is a big difference between Europe and the US. "Hollywood" budget level films do everything that they can to use the production sound. They do, however, record ADR for large portions of the film although they do not necessarily use all the ADR in the final mix. Why would they record so much ADR if it is not used? Believe it or not, it is more financially efficient. Mr./Ms. Mega-Star comes in to do the ADR on the scenes that obviously need it, but, as long as they are in the ADR facility, they may as well record ADR for any spot in the film where there is the remotest hint of a vague possibility that ADR may be required. Now your bases are covered; you won't have to fly Mr./Ms. Mega-Star back to the ADR facility or do it at another ADR facility near where Mr./Ms. Mega-Star is currently working - along with all of the other miscellaneous but not insubstantial expenses required by their contract.
The amount of ADR used in the final mix going to depend upon the film. An action/adventure type of film will most definitely, without question, use a lot of ADR in the final mix. There is no choice, as the complex stunts, etc. that occur in an action/adventure film require noisy machines, pulley systems and the like that simply cannot be fixed even with the best technology available to the big audio post facilities. A drama, on the other hand, is mostly shot in very controlled environments, such as a sound stage. A sound stage is exactly that, a place where sound can be recorded in an optimum situation. The other indoor locations are also very well prepped by the production crew. Different rules apply when shooting outdoors; there is very little control over the environment. You have vehicle traffic, air traffic and the general "hum of civilization" to contend with. So here there is a much greater chance that ADR will have to be used in the final mix. The use of ADR for outdoor locations goes up rapidly if you are doing a period piece; the "hum of civilization" is too omnipresent to be entirely eliminated from the production sound tracks, so ADR will probably be required.
Then, of course, you need to consider things like extremely tight deadlines. In these cases it just takes to long to fix the production sound, so you use the ADR by default.
Another thing to be considered is that at the "Hollywood" budget level there are more options open to the dialog editors and the rerecording mixers. Besides just the boomed mic they will most probably have a discrete lav track for most of the primary and secondary actors.
And we haven't even touched upon how the dialog tracks can be vastly improved by a talented dialog editor before the production sound and ADR even gets to the mix stage.
At the low/no/mini/micro budget level the sound takes on a
more important role than in "Hollywood" budget productions; you simply do not have the financial and technological luxuries that they do.
When it comes to most films we experience the film through the verbal exchanges between the characters; after all, that's what a script is, people having conversations.
"Hollywood" budgets use every trick in the book to work on the audience subliminally. Every detail is completely thought out, and quite a bit of it is tested, before production begins. The clothing worn by the main characters, their hair, their make-up provides insight into the character, and they test all of these prior to shooting. Every set/location is designed down to the minutest detail to provide more information. When production takes place you have the finest DPs/Cinematographers in the business expending every ounce of their talent and creativity to light the talent and the sets/locations to optimum effect. And the same attention to detail applies in post - editing, CGI, audio post, color grading and on and on - and is also done by the best talent available. Just take a look at the credits of major films; every one of those crafts people are the best that money can buy.
At the low/no/mini/micro indie budget level you do not have these luxuries. All you are left with, for the most part, is the quality of the script and the quality of the acting. Therefor, the low/no/mini/micro budget project entirely depends upon the interactions between the characters. Most of this will be verbal - the spoken word. If this is the case then shouldn't low/no/mini/micro budget filmmakers expend every effort to capture solid production sound? Solid production sound means minimal environmental sonic pollution, which includes excessive ambient reverb/echo. If the audience cannot hear the dialog
effortlessly they will be pulled out of the story you are trying to tell. This being the case, shouldn't the low/no/mini/micro budget filmmaker expend every effort to capture solid production sound? Your actors will have difficulty performing ADR, and they will no longer be in character, especially if your near-final edit is months after shooting has been completed. Add in the fact that you now have to learn how to do ADR yourself and buy the equipment you need and set up an environment to record the ADR (not to mention the fact that you now have to learn a new discipline) or you will have to spend more money to get into even a basic ADR facility.
I'll leave it here.
