Isolating background noise

D

Dolomite

Member
:undecided
Hello,
Can someone please tell me if there is a way to isolate unwanted background noise in post so that the actors dialoque can be heard? When I shot the footage there was music playing in the background but I didn't think it was that loud until I transferred my footage into FCP6 and it's very noticeable and drains out the actors dialoque. The tools I have available are Sound Track Pro; Logic Pro 7; and Bias Pro 5.1.2.; Sound Forge 9.0. Can this be achieved? All help and suggestions are appreciated in advance. Thanks,

DOLOMITE!:)
 
you can't really get rid of that. If it was recorded it can't disappear just like that in post. I think post is just for sweetening the sound and not for getting rid of the unwanted stuff so when you are in production you have to listen carefully.
 
A high-pass filter around 120 Hz will take the low-frequency energy out of the music without significantly impacting the quality of the dialogue, but that's about it. Unless the music is from some bass-happy night-club next door, this is unlikely to really help you.

Most noise cancellation plugins are designed to tackle constant, predictable background sounds (eg. line hum, AC rumble), so they're ill-suited to cleaning out background music. You basically have four options:

1) Edit the picture so that you maintain the continuity and rhythm in the background music (to avoid drawing more attention to it), and contact the rights-holder of the music for permission to use it for whatever purpose you have in mind for the video (this can get awfully expensive).

2) Book some time in an ADR studio and re-record your dialogue. Don't forget that you'll also have to fill out the rest of the track with sound effects and foley.

3) Improvise an ADR setup and record it yourself (foley and effects will still be needed).

4) Re-shoot the sequence in a location where you can reasonably guarantee that there will be no music within earshot.
 
This does bring up another reason to have a sound person. Humans just can't focus on sound and vision at the same time. If your working the camera or directing the scene you can't really hear it, at least not critically enough. The sound person on the other hand is focused on the sound and would have had a much better chance of telling you that the music was a problem.
 
Dolomite1 said:
I guess I'll have to live with it or try a few of the suggestions.
Troy
Click to expand...

Excellent choices my friend, but will you make the right one? Getting the rights to the music can get quite expensive, as can a reshoot. In comparison, ADR might not be that much. OMG did I just promote ADRing, heh. Applying filters and other software choices will cost you mainly time, if the rest of the movie sounds like doody too, you won't have to work real hard on it. Money usually makes these decision's anyway, right?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top