Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1335010
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 19 It's a Noisy World. Walking through Times Square in Manhattan can be an overwhelming auditory experience. The sound can be deafening; construction pounding, billboards blaring, tourists gawking. Or, if I'm listening closely, it can be sublime; foreign languages, stomping feet, car horns honking in the key of F. Conversely, when I ascended Half Dome in Yosemite, I recall the near silence to be humbling and, quite possibly, the most refreshing sound because I'd never heard it so clearly; the faint hum of joyful hikers, the Eolian sound of the wind blowing against the sheer granite, the bellowing echo from the valley below. Isn't it amazing what the human ear can detect in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz? Imagine what it sounds like below and above our audible spectrum. While a curious observation, what's all of this got to do with TV and film? Everything! Our job is to capture the palette of sound and to help the viewer feel the sound while not distracting them from the story that is being told. PROS AND CONS b y A d a m H o we l l C A S On-Set Noise Reduction: Steve Tibbo CAS Karol Urban CAS MPSE Whit Norris CAS Noise reduction can be defined as "the process of removing noise from a signal." That's a simple definition of a complex process, and we have Ray Dolby to thank for introducing it in 1966. Production and post sound mixers alike have strong and differing opinions about how and when to use noise-reduction techniques. It's a compelling discussion and often a debate. With this in mind, I conducted a Q&A with five mixers specializing in production and/or post sound in both film and television (scripted and unscripted): Daniel McCoy CAS, Chris Munro CAS, Whit Norris CAS, Steve Tibbo CAS, and Karol Urban CAS MPSE. They generously offered their time and insight on the topic. Here's what they had to say. What's your opinion of on-set noise- reduction techniques/applications? If you are a fan, what brands/companies do you prefer? STEVE TIBBO CAS: I used to think noise reduction shouldn't be used on set period. My stance has somewhat softened since the release of the CEDAR DNS 2 and now NoiseAssist by Sound Devices. I'm a fan of CEDAR, iZotope RX, and Audionamix IDC (Instant Dialogue Cleaner)