Babies in dramas

[ouch!]

When I see a baby in, for example a film or a soap opera and the adults around it are screaming or crying or shouting - what effect does this have on the baby and how is this legal?! It's not as if you can explain to the baby the terror/fury/sadness of the adult isn't real.

[ouch!]

sorry for the bad wording, started off saying one thing, ended with another without realising!

[andy hughes]

If you look closely next time a baby or youngster is in a 'row' scene, notice that the camera often focuses on the adults who are shouting, and the child is not in the shot. That's because the child has been taken out of earshot while these scenes are shot, and then shots of the child are taken separately and added in. In the case where the child is in shot, the actor or actress has mimed their lines silently, and the dialogue is edited in afterwards. This means that children and babies are not exposed to shouting and swearing, it is all done with clever editing. On occasions where a child or baby is in the shot, they simply cry because of the noise, and if that is the case, you'll see that the shots are very brief, and the child is crying for an absolute minimum of time.

[darth vader]

additional. The baby is quite often switched with a dummy at the critical moment

[tracymort]

oh good cos they worried me too!