History Main / LoopingLines

* It's standard practice in filmed musicals to record the songs first and then have the actors mime singing and dancing to it, effectively being the inverse of looping lines. The advantage of this method is that there's already a "perfect" take ready, so the actors can focus on the more complicated choreography. ''Film/LesMiserables2012'' was done in reverse -- all of the singing was done on-set, and the score was composed according to that. As a result, the songs are very unusual from a musical standpoint, with the performances and even tempo being dictated by the acting.

This is much more common than you may think. As a rule of thumb, listen carefully to how an actor speaks. If the delivery suddenly sounds much more polished and closer to the microphone, they've been ADR'd. This technique is used on a wider and more noticeable scale in Asian live-action productions, particularly UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} and Japanese {{tokusatsu}} and ''{{Dorama}}'' television serials. The ADR looping process is also typically used for background voices for crowds or other elements of a scene, this process is referred to as "Walla" when it comes to American films and television or "additional voices" for animation. Most times, the actors featured in this group are either grouped together in one large block regardless of whether they looped over a particular actor or served as a [[TheVoice background voice]] or vocal effect, or simply go [[UncreditedRole uncredited]].


This is the standard way to record dialog in dubbed foreign productions and in {{anime}}. WesternAnimation, on the other hand, generally has dialogue recorded beforehand (a technique known as pre-lay), though even it isn't immune to having to rerecord lines on occasion. Contrast VoicesInOneRoom. Japanese voice recording tends to use both styles at the same time – all the actors are in the same room clustered around three microphones, but 98% of the time they are acting to pre-made lip flaps (very few anime are recorded pre-lay style; ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' is the major exception).

** On the opposite side of Prowse's situation, Creator/AnthonyDaniels was originally intended to only be C-3PO's suit performer, but his performance was so charming that he was allowed to also do the voice. His voice still had to be dubbed over, as the suit made his voice nearly impossible to discern on film. Remarkably, decades later the same thing happened with Ahmed Best's portrayal of Jar Jar Binks.

** On the opposite side of Prowse's situation, Creator/AnthonyDaniels was originally intended to only be C-3PO's suit performer, but his performance was so charming that he was allowed to also do the voice. Remarkably, decades later the same thing happened with Ahmed Best's portrayal of Jar Jar Binks.

** In the original cut of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', the Emperor was portrayed on screen by Marjorie Eaton (with fake eyes superimposed on her face) while voiced by Clive Revill. The 2004 DVD release saw this Emperor replaced by Creator/IanMcDiarmid's Emperor. Boba Fett, meanwhile, was portrayed by Jeremy Bulloch[[note]]who also appeared as an Imperial officer pulling Leia away in Cloud City[[/note]] and voiced by Jason Wingreen, though Wingreen was replaced by Creator/TemueraMorrison from the 2004 DVD release onward, since ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' established that Boba was a clone of bounty hunter Jango Fett, whom Morrison portrayed in said film.

* In ''Film/DrStrangelove'', there is a noticable scene where Major Kong is saying "Dallas" but you hear "Vegas," in order to prevent a FunnyAneurysmMoment based on the recent assassination of JFK in Dallas.

* The ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode "[[{{Recap/BabylonFiveS02E21ComesTheInquisitor}} Comes the Inquisitor]]" was originally broadcast with Sheridan referring to the historical murders in London's West End. Unfortunately for JMS, the historical UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper committed murders in London's '''East''' End. The error was pointed out in a usenet post and corrected for the subsequent broadcast, in spite of misgivings by the writer given that the original scene had the camera was right on Sheridan's face for the whole scene. Watch his mouth, and it's very obvious he says "West" when the audio says "East".

* Live-action ''Franchise/StarWars'' TV shows, like the movies, rely heavily on dubbing over masked performers and puppets, to help such cast members as Creator/JonFavreau (Paz Vizsla) and Creator/NickNolte (Kuiil) compensate for physical limitations or scheduling conflicts. However, such cast members as Creator/PedroPascal (Din Djarin), Creator/TemueraMorrison (Boba Fett), and Creator/EmilySwallow (The Armorer) alternate between looping dialogue and performing it on the set.

* Live-action ''Franchise/StarWars'' TV shows, like the movies, rely heavily on looping masked characters' dialogue, to help such cast members as Creator/PedroPascal (Din Djarin the Mandalorian) and Creator/JonFavreau (Paz Vizsla) compensate for physical limitations or scheduling conflicts. However, some scenes involving masked characters do have the dialogue recited and recorded on the set.

* ''Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate'' was filmed in the 60s without using microphones and was dubbed in post by only 3 people; the 2 leads and another guy.

* Live-action ''Franchise/StarWars'' TV shows, like the movies, rely heavily on looping masked characters' dialogue, to help such cast members as Creator/PedroPascal (Din Djarin the Mandalorian) and Creator/JonFavreau (Paz Vizsla) compensate for physical limitations or scheduling conflicts.

** Most famously, Darth Vader. Creator/DavidProwse played him in the suit[[note]]doubled by swordmaster Bob Anderson for some dueling scenes[[/note]] but he voiced by Creator/JamesEarlJones, as Prowse's high-pitched, West Country [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSm9DDxQv8E voice]] sounded too silly for an intimidating villain. Prowse wasn't informed of this until the movie came out.

** In the original cut of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', the Emperor was portrayed on screen by Marjorie Eaton (with fake eyes superimposed on her face) while voiced by Clive Revill. The 2004 DVD release saw this Emperor replaced by Creator/IanMcDiarmid's Emperor. Boba Fett, meanwhile, was portrayed by Jeremy Bulloch[[note]]who also appeared as an Imperial officer pulling Leia away in Cloud City[[/note]] and voiced by Jason Wingreen, though Wingreen was replaced by Creator/TemueraMorrison from the 2004 DVD release onward, since ':Film/AttackOfTheClones'' established that Boba was a clone of bounty hunter Jango Fett, whom Morrison portrayed.

** Most famously, Darth Vader. Creator/DavidProwse played him in the suit[[note]]doubled by swordmaster Bob Anderson for some dueling scenes[[/note]] but voiced by Creator/JamesEarlJones, as no one would be afraid of Prowse's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSm9DDxQv8E voice]]. Prowse wasn't informed of this until the movie came out.

** In the original cut of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', the Emperor was portrayed on screen by Marjorie Eaton (with fake eyes superimposed on her face) while voiced by Clive Revill. The 2004 DVD release saw this Emperor replaced by Creator/IanMcDiarmid's Emperor. Boba Fett, meanwhile, was portrayed by Jeremy Bulloch[[note]]who also appeared as an Imperial officer pulling Leia away in Cloud City[[/note]] and voiced by Jason Wingreen, though Wingreen was replaced by Creator/TemueraMorrison from the 2004 DVD release onward.

** In the original cut of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', the Emperor was portrayed on screen by Marjorie Eaton (with fake eyes superimposed on her face) while voiced by Clive Revill. Boba Fett, meanwhile, was portrayed by Jeremy Bulloch[[note]]who also appeared as an Imperial officer pulling Leia away in Cloud City[[/note]] and voiced by Jason Wingreen.

* In ''Film/InsideDaisyClover'', the eponymous actress Daisy Clover (Creator/NatalieWood) has to do this for a song sequence she filmed, but suddenly has a nervous breakdown in the middle of it and starts screaming (her mother dying not long before doesn't help).

* ''[[WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog Dr. Horrible]]''. Everyone singing is their own voice, but it's a dub of the official musical track over the scene. So they're essentially lipsynching to themselves.
** This practice is near-universal for filmed musicals, due to the difficulties of having a full orchestra (or even a partial one) on set during filming, of coordinating an offstage band to an on-camera singer (who can't be looking at the director), and of having to do multiple takes - more people involved means more chance for error, and when even one screw-up requires a do-over, it's far, far easier to simply prerecord the tricky bits.
*** In addition, it means that choreography can be quite elaborate without having to worry about breathless singing.

* ''Series/MadAboutYou'' uses it InUniverse when Paul makes a documentary about his family. A sound problem makes him want to loop a sentence his mother said, but she's [[DoIReallySoundLikeThat so taken aback by her normal voice]] that she [[ColdHam overcompensates in her inflections when she re-reads her words]]. Fortunately, Paul's wife Jamie can do an excellent impression of Paul's mother so she does the looping instead.

The fun part? Now the actor gets to do the line with the intended emotions while lip-syncing to the video footage of themselves. Alternatively, the actor in question may not be available or the role calls for a different voice from that of the on-set performance. Requiring another actor cast to fill in as either a soundalike to the original, or to dub over the original if deemed unsatisfactory. Another way this can happen is if the actor was simply a reference placeholder or a stuntperson, stand-in or puppeteer on set, a common practice for people operating puppets, acting in bulky costumes, or if they are playing TheFaceless or TheVoice.

This is much more common than you may think. As a rule of thumb, listen carefully to how an actor speaks. If the delivery suddenly sounds much more polished and closer to the microphone, they've been ADR'd. This technique is used on a wider and more noticeable scale in Asian live-action productions, particularly UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} and Japanese {{tokusatsu}} and ''{{Dorama}}'' television serials. The ADR looping process is also typically used for background voices for crowds or other elements of a scene, this process is referred to as "Walla" when it comes to American films and television or "additional voices" for animation. Most times, the actors featured in this group are either grouped together in one large block regardless of whether they looped over a particular actor or served as a background voice or vocal effect, or simply go [[UncreditedRole uncredited]].

The fun part? Now the actor gets to do the line with the intended emotions while lip-syncing to the video footage of themselves. Alternatively, the actor in question may not be available or the role calls for a different voice from that of the on-set performance. Requiring another actor cast to fill in as either a soundalike to the original, or to dub over the original if deemed unsatisfactory. Another way this can happen is if the actor was simply a reference placeholder or a stuntperson, stand-in or puppeteer on set, a common practice for people operating puppets, acting in bulky costumes, or if they are playing TheFaceless.

* In ''Film/InsideDaisyClover'', the eponymous actress Daisy Clover (Creator/NatalieWood) has to do this for a song sequence she filmed, but had a nervous breakdown in the middle of it and starts screaming (her mother dying not long before doesn't help).