Dialogue Editing

220 DAMAGE REPAIR
Reducing Ambient Noises
Background noise is the bane of dialogue tracks. Location recordings are
noisy, suffering from traffi c, air conditioning, generator and camera noises,
and assorted rumbles. You’ve smoothed each scene so that shot transitions
are bearable, but there’s still an overall unacceptable noise level. What can be
done?
Traditionally, noise reduction is done in the dialogue premix. You edit, the
mixer mixes. Simple. However, as technology improves, plug-ins get cheaper
and better, budgets degenerate, and mixes get shorter, you may fi nd yourself
doing some noise reduction in your cutting room. It’s not necessarily a positive
trend, but you should know how to deal with it.
Noise reduction can miraculously save a scene. Or it can make your tracks
sound like a cell phone. Here are the secrets to nursing your tracks through
noise reduction:
Talk to your supervising sound editor and mixer to come up with a
plan. Stick to noise reduction processing, leaving normal EQ and
dynamics for the dialogue premix.
Make fully edited safety copies of all regions you’re going to process.
Understand what each processor does.
Get to know your noise problem so that you can intelligently attack it.
Know when to stop.
Getting Answers from the Supervising
Sound Editor and Mixer
Select representative samples of the noises throughout the fi lm. String them
together so that your presentation will be as effi cient as possible, and note
the timecodes of the original scenes in case you need to return to them for
context. Discuss each noise problem with the mixer and supervising sound
editor, and remember to ask the following questions:
Can this problem be fi xed, or will the lines be rerecorded (ADR)?
Who’ll fi x each line? For each problem, determine if the editor or the
mixer will do the processing.
What sorts of processing will be used?
If you plan to use inserted plug-ins, what ones are available in the mix
room and what DSP limitations and latencies will be encountered?
Even an abbreviated version of a meeting like this will make for an enormously
more productive mix. And you’ll avoid those damning looks from