rec.arts.movies.production.sound

On Sep 24, 7:38 pm, "Richard Crowley" wrote:
> wrote ...
>
> > Richard, here is a link to a 15 second clip of the scene.
>
> > I'd be very interested to see how you approached it.
>
> /media/
>
> I tried two different types of processing..
>
> 1st phrase: I used the "Effects / Noise Reduction / Noise Reduction"
> function. I took a sample of the noise from the end of your example
> (but not including the "clink" sound!). And then I used it at 90%
> strenth to "reduce" the noise. The result was a bit "metalic sounding"
> (which is to be expected). But IMHO, acceptable as the background
> with a translation over the top.
>
> 2nd phrase: I used the "Effects / Amplitude / Dynamics Processing"
> and tuned the threshold to eliminate most of the noise except
> during the speech. I used soft splines to avoid a really harsh
> switching profile.
>
> 1st & 2nd phrase: I added some pink noise to mask the hard
> silence between phrases. This makes it less obvious that some
> hard processing was done.
>
> Remainder of sample cut: No processing (for comparison).
>
> I just did a couple of quick-n-dirty processing tests to your
> sample. The same kind of attention I would give it if it were
> a small part of a larger job. Note that if this were the primary
> track (rather than the background under a translator), this kind
> of processing might not be good enough depending on the
> expectations of the production.
>
> I used Adobe Audition which is essentially identical to
> Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro. The same features are available in
> more recent versions of Adobe Audition (and in Adobe
> Premiere also, at least most of them).
>
> For my taste I would use the first ("Noise Reduction") method
> as it tends to also eliminate some of the music even during
> the speech (but at the cost of a more "metalic" sound). This is
> not what I originally suggested because each case is different
> and you never know how well that "active noise reduction" will
> work without actually trying it. Sometimes it just makes things
> worse.

A very informative and impressive clip.

I agree, I found the first phrase method (Noise Reduction) the
best.... it's like the song completely disappeared. There's an
obvious drop in sound quality, but for 30 seconds of a documentary I
can live with it.

One thing, though, there isn't going to be an audible translation over
the top, just text subtitles, so can you recommend any tips to make it
sound even better?

When you talk about the 90% room tone, did you just grab 2 seconds or
so then loop it as a bed underneath it all at 90% volume?

And can you explain what you mean by "pink noise"?