Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1524863
38 M PS E . O R G time in RX. From cleanup methods for mouth or room noise to creating tailored module chains for noise reduction, leveling, and mastering, I utilize a variety of tools and plugins in RX to ensure consistency across thousands of lines of dialogue that could be recorded at various times and locations over a period of years. Keyboard Maestro is essential for numerous automation macros I use for all kinds of editorial scenarios in RX and in my DAW. The less time I can spend doing repetitive tasks, the more time I have for listening and meeting my quality bar. My typical go-to plugins for EQ, De- essing, and Compression/Limiting is the Fab Filter suite. For creative vocal processing, it's a mixed bag of various tools based on what the dev wants. Some clients already have a processing chain that only needs small tweaks based on an actor's performance and being able to consistently replicate the processing over hundreds to thousands of lines. Other clients give us full creative freedom to meet what they have in mind. For DAWs, I've been using Pro Tools for over 20 years, so we have a bit of history, but I've also used Reaper on several projects the last few years. I am an advocate of using whatever tool gets the job done while meeting the project's scope, budget, and delivery requirements. Can you describe a particular technique or approach you employ to ensure the clarity and impact of dialogue? The most important part of game dialogue is keeping the actors' performance intact. A lot of time, money and effort goes into writing, casting, scheduling, directing, performing, and recording before dialogue comes into my hands. And a lot more time, money, and effort will go into it after it leaves my hands to be implemented, processed, mixed, and played in-game. My approach to editorial is to do the least possible to the performance for the scope of the project. The human voice (throat and nasal cavities too) is capable of making some incredible sounds outside of the scripted words, and for cleanup technique, that typically means reduction, not removal. I find a lot of lesser experienced editors chop away at swathes of frequencies, removing everything around an offending mouth or room artifact, when simply turning it down (reduction) delivers the results needed without affecting the surrounding areas. We want the dialogue to have the human touch of nuance and performance, and not be sterile and choppy from over-editing or over-processing of tools. As a dialogue editor, it's imperative to be able to hear that difference. There are a lot of amazing tools out there, but the editor's ears are still the best tool, and they need to constantly be developed and improved. Award-Winning Work Your contributions have been recognized by the MPSE Golden Reel Awards countless times (9 nominations/1 win). Can you discuss what these acknowledgments mean to you? Game audio is a massive collaboration between dev teams and external development partners like me. When dozens of people's work over years coalesces into an amazing gaming experience and then having that work recognized by my audio peers, it is truly a top honor. Is there a particular project or moment in your career that you are most proud of, and why? Being an editor on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is special to me. It's a franchise I've played from the very beginning, and to be the lead editor on Zelda's first English dialogue was awesome! It also came with its own technical hurdles because English was not the primary language the animations were based on. In addition to normal dialogue cleanup, dialing in the sync to the Japanese animations with set game engine trigger times for the cinematics was a path that took a lot of back-and-forth collaboration between actor, VO director, clients, mixer, and editorial to get right. In the end, it turned out great and is an amazing gaming experience to play. Personal Insights Outside of work, what are some of your hobbies or interests that help you stay inspired and creative? For me to stay fresh and inspired, I like to step outside with my family and friends—hiking, fishing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, or playing with our dogs, sling stones with my new obsession of curling, and I'm still a gamer at heart and play often. I have also loved recording anything since I was a kid, so I venture out for little field recording sessions around the mountains where I live, combining my love of recording and the outdoors. Daniel P. Francis MPSE is the supervising dialogue editor & Foley editor for WB Game Audio and a supervising dialogue editor with Pacific Coast Audio Post. He lives in Mammoth Lakes, CA, with his partner and two dogs.