Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535880
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 11 area. This method preserved the natural ambience while smoothly integrating the new material without processing artifacts, plus with a subtle application of the Gain Module, I matched levels, allowing the new segment to blend smoothly within the dialogue, preserving the continuity without noticeable changes. I moved further along the scene, another challenge soon appeared: a soft but intrusive rustle noise had managed to slip into a crucial beat of the conversation. Zooming deeper into RX's spectrogram, I saw the rustle and after trying without luck iZotope's De-rustle module, time to use the fantastic History section of the Standalone RX, then I'm focusing on removing the rustle, using the delete command in combination with the Brush Tool. Then I selected part of the dialogue mixed with the rustle, fine-tuned the selection, adding and removing sections to focus as much as possible into the offending area, and applied the Spectral Repair module's Replace to copy specific parts of the spectrum to remove the residual rustle sound with clean segments of the original recording. As I continued listening, another small issue arises: an abrupt drop-out during a particularly delicate word. The actor's delivery was exceptional to my taste, too nuanced for ADR. Fortunately, I think I can remember something similar earlier in the same take and using the speech-to- text function I shortened my research and found a word where the same actor had articulated a similar sound. Using the Brush Tool, I selected the fragments from this earlier occurrence, copied it, and then pasted it into the damaged areas. The visual precision offered by RX's spectrogram made the process intuitive by comparing the spectrum of one letter, and a word, to another, ensuring perfect—or a good—match in terms of speed, pitch, and contour. Minor level adjustments with the Gain tool over another brushed selection completed the restoration, leaving the performance almost intact and ready to meet the audience's ears without any disturbance. Throughout the morning, I found myself repeatedly leveraging RX 11's copy/paste feature within the spectrogram interface to resolve minor disturbances, and other not-so-minor ones, instead of using the pre- designed modules. Even if they are useful and offer not only flexibility but great speed and processing accuracy, becoming more and more familiar with the spectrogram, and how each sound is seen, allows me to work with almost complete control over what I'm doing: how I'm fixing things and the amount of 'cleanness' I'm applying to the dialogue. Sometimes we all know crystal clear doesn't mean studio sound. All was going great, I got momentum, and started working smoothly copy, paste, brush, repair. That's until … a breath sound was needed to enhance realism and smooth out two sentences. After finding a matching breath, something that is quite difficult because the text tool is just able to find words, and sometimes maybe letters, I found a possible candidate to fill the gap, and copied a breath from another pause, quite similar—or so—in the same dialogue track, paste it using the 'MIX' paste special option, and it blended into its new context while keeping the natural room tone of the particular scene. Similarly, sections of subtle ambiance, clean vowels, and consonants served as my palette, ready to be copied, pasted, and finely adjusted using common tools, like copy/paste, gain, and paste special commands. This approach not only minimized processing/ ensuring each repair remained as transparent and natural as possible, but also allow us to have control over which part of the spectrum is being copied and where it is applied. iZotope RX 11 Advanced_Spectrogram Settings (2) iZotope RX 11 Advanced_SpectralRepair (3)