Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535880
12 M PS E . O R G In another instance, a distant crew movement subtly interfered with the dialogue, a good example of how a subtle sound can difficult our work unexpectedly. It's not only hard to visualize, it's also hard to isolate for many plug-in processors, and for a standard module as well. This wasn't problematic enough for removal, but it distracted slightly from the actor's line, so it's worth to give it a good try. Here, the attenuation function within the Brush Tool became invaluable, taking advantage of the masking effect of a sound, and using visual cues on the spectrogram to locate the remaining parts of the sound that wasn't masked by the dialogue spectrum. I take care of those by carefully brushing that part of the spectrum, processed it with the Spectrum Repair's Replace tool, and finish by reducing the gain of the re-constructed BG to match the actual scene and recording. This attenuation allowed the original performance to be kept, without the need of ADR, and without over-processing, preserving the scene's continuity and realism flawlessly. As midday approached, the scene started sounding seamless and authentic. One last issue remained: Despite the great work of the production sound team, I encountered a muffled line produced by the actor moving around. This could be complex to process if we want to use an equalizer. We should automate a few parameters, pass after pass to fine-tune settings while the movement and frequency loss happen, to compensate for the difference between the movement of the actor and the microphone's position. Even with all that work, we'll be playing with the room tone and the natural BG of the scene, so it's better to improve it in the best way possible. That's when iZotope's spectrogram view will give us the edge. Using RX's Gain tool, I utilized the Magic Wand tool to select different sections of the spectrum, and fine-tune the selection by removing and adding some specific sections using the Brush Tool, then boost or tame them using visual and audible references by the surrounding sections of the same take. The adjustment was completely under control, profoundly effective, bringing clarity to the dialogue without altering anything more than the necessary spots of the dialogue signal. Reviewing the scene from start to finish was a kind of pleasure, listening to the fills and fixes, and effortlessly understanding each word without any effort was a compliment to the fact that working with sound using a spectrum is like playing with a toy or a video game, it requires thinking of options among different possibilities and using the eyes to add to a sound perception. RX 11 Advanced allowed me to maintain the actors' nuanced performances, employing subtle, precise interventions rather than aggressive or 'random' processing. Today, most unpredictable AI behavior allowed me to control each part of the process in a precise manner, and to work just over the required sections of the signal. While remembering my first interaction when presented for the first time—long time ago—with iZotope's interface, I found that some underrated tools like copy/paste, silence, or gain in combination with other tools that only select portions of a visual representation could be a really powerful implementation. In the era of AI, not only is everything getting automated, but turnovers are quicker and we can get lost into the idea of speed, adapting simple tools to speed up and improve the quality of our work is an interesting way of approaching in our brains, a technology change. The combination of the Brush Tool, intuitive copy/ paste operations, gentle spectral repairs, and refined gain adjustments empowered me to transform minor imperfections into an unobtrusive dialogue track. As I save my work, I felt the deep satisfaction that comes from a careful craftsmanship—knowing the audience would experience the scene exactly as intended, deeply connected to the performances, unaware of the meticulous work behind the scenes. It was, indeed, another productive and creatively fulfilling day in the studio, thanks to iZotope RX 11 Advanced. Reading time: 8 minutes T EC H CO R N E R iZotope RX 11 Advanced_SpectrogramBrush (4) iZotope RX 11 Advanced_Toolbar (5)