Inaudible dialogue in movies

Dear r/movies,there has been an issue which has been bothering me in movies for quite some time now. Since there is no direct email or contact form to reach out to virtually the entire movie industry, I'm doing the next best thing: writing on r/movies.Now you might ask: what is this fundamental issue which has been bugging me in films for so long. It is the issue of inaudible dialogue. Yes, you heard that correctly. Inaudible dialogue.Now to explain the issue I'm going to cite some lines from some recent trailers. So if you want to go 100% line-spoiler free for The Last Jedi or Justice League, read this after you watch those. So here we go:You know how you say something sometimes and the person next to you doesn't quite hear what you say? For instance, you say "hilarious!" and the person hears it as "hideous" or something like that? Well, that's really no big deal as you can clarify what you meant immediatly in an coversation.But now imagine if you say something inaudible while shooting a movie. And that inaudible line is now going to be played in thousands of theaters to millions of people all accross the globe. That's a pretty big deal, isn't it?And it does happen in big blockbuster movies. Not just Christopher Nolan movies. It is true that his films, as great as they are and they are, do have this issue more visiable layed out in films like Dunkirk or Interstellar but this issue also comes up in other big blockbusters.Here are four main examples:Star Wars: The Last Jedi At around 0:41 Rey says "but now it's awake", probably referring to the force. However, me and many others first heard that as "when I was awake" and as "but I was awake". In fact, even the person who did the subtitles for the trailer on the official Star Wars YouTube channel got it wrong.Still The Last Jedi: Poe Dameron says at around 1:35 "We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the first order down", however he says it so fast that it sounds like "we HAVE a spark". That's how I first heard it. I even remember arguing over this with a guy who was convinced that it was 'we have a spark'Third example, Justice League. At 2:07 Bruce responds to Barry and says EITHER "Agreed" or "Great". I've found both lines quotes for that scene , so the internet can't agree yet on what Ben Affleck actually said in that line. I thought he said "Agreed" but listening to it it could have also been "Great". Decide hereAnother example from Justice League. At the beginning of this video, Flash says "so here's the thing" but he says it SO QUICKLY that it's almost impossible to hear. Be honest, did you understand what he said at first? I know he's supposed to be the fastest man alive but that doesn't mean he should talk so fast that people can't understand what he is saying. I know that this was a TV spot so it feels a bit sped up but I doubt that the line will sound much different in the film.These were only four out of many possible examples.Inaudible dialogue is especially often the case for films which are presented in the language in which they are shot (mostly English when it comes to blockbusters), as studios don't always bother to get actors to do voice overs over not fully audible dialogue. Which is a shame, as simply getting Daisly Ridly or Ben Affleck to repeat a line in front of a microphone could have avoided so much confusion.And we deserve audible dialogue. We as movie goers shouldn't have to debate or guess what actors say in a movie or trailer. I mean we pay for these movies. They should have clear dialogue.So here is my little idea: have test audiences listen to dialogue before release and then ask them to repeat a certain line. If a majority is capable of repeating the line correctly, then the line is fine. But if the audience is not able to do so, then mark the dialogue to have it be voiced again by the actor in a recording studio. This shouldn't take all too much money, but can prevent a number of confusions.So, r/movies, what do you think? Have you ever experienced inaudible dialogue in movies? Am I just crazy? Or do you feel the same?Either way, please let me know. I'd especially appreciate comments from filmmakers who have experienced this issue in production. Thanks for reading everyone!TL;DR: Lines in movies are often inaudiable (see examples above) and studios should take measures to prevent this inaudiability. (Is that a word? Inaudiability?) via /r/movies http://ift.tt/2lmgQgx