Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1536017
T E C H multaneous overlaps. The editor must create a voice profile for each person in the mixed track by choosing between two available options in the module's pop-up window: Register Voice or Register Multi- ple Voices. Using Register Voice, the editor must highlight a place in the timeline when only one person is speaking, and then click Register Voice to create a voice profile. The profile will then be listed in the pop-up window as Voice 1 and can be renamed. This process must be done for each person speaking in the recording to give the AI algorithm a clean reference for each voice. The other option is Register Multiple Voices. The editor enters the number of voices, and the al- gorithm determines and separates each voice. This is useful for quickly registering many voice prof iles if the voices are clearly distinct from each other or if some voices a re o n l y h e a rd i n o v e r l a p w i t h other voice profiles. Steinberg rec- ommends first running the Unmix No i sy Sp e e c h o r Vo i ce D e No i s e processing if the recording contains background noise. After running the Unmix Multi- ple Voices module, each voice will be on a separate layer, accessible in the Layers section of the right-side panel. By soloing a layer, the editor can check for any errors. As Redding pointed out, sometimes the wrong voice will be on the wrong layer, but a simple cut and paste in the time- line can move it to the correct layer. DIFFERENT MODULES FOR DEEPER CLEANING Additional processing may be needed on each layer to clean up any noise or to re- move residual frequencies. SpectraLayers Pro 11 offers several processing options. In the Modules menu, located in the right- side panel, the editor can choose to sort the modules by function: Unmix, Utilities, Restoration, or view All Modules. Sorting by Restoration will show modules such as DeBleed, DeClip, DeEss, DeHum, DeNoise, DeReverb, Voice DeClip, Voice DeNoise, and Voice DeReverb. A few helpful processes for this case of separating overlapping voices are Voice DeNoise and DeBleed. Using the Voice DeNoise module on a se- lected layer, the editor can choose what type of background noise to attenuate. In the module's pop-up window, there are Preset choices for: Default, Music, Noise (moder- ate), Noise (strong), and Other Voice, and the same choices are available in the Back- ground drop-down menu. Trying different combinations of Preset and Background op- tions, such as Preset: Noise (moderate) and Background: Other Voice and vice versa, will produce different results. By changing the option of Reduce Background to Reduce Signal, and hitting the Preview button, the editor can hear what the processing will remove. Adjusting the Reduction Ratio slider allows the editor to further control the amount of attenuation. Note that when using the Other Voice option (for two over- lapping voices), the module will reduce the voice with the lowest RMS (i.e., the lowest perceived loudness). The DeBleed module is an audio repair process that can help remove residual frequencies from overlapping sources. Al- t h o u g h m e a n t f o r a t t e n u a t i n g b l e e d between layers of different instruments recorded simultaneously with multiple mics, it can also be used for voices if done with a light touch. In the Layers menu, select one layer to DeBleed. In the DeBleed pop-up window, checkmark the source layer(s) to use as a reference for the DeBleed process. (This will likely be the original audio file import- ed into SpectraLayers, or the registered voice profile(s) the editor wants to remove from that layer.) From the Preset list, the editor can choose from Default, Light, Medium, or Strong, and further tweak the parameters by adjusting the Sensitivity and Reduction Ratio. There's also the option to Reduce Bleed or Reduce Signal in the drop-down menu at the bottom; switching between t h e t w o a n d p r e v i e w i n g t h e result will help the editor to dial in the processing. Fo r a n o t h e r re c e n t p ro j e c t , Redding was asked to help save the dialogue in a hurricane scene. In the show, several characters are running around in a violent storm with strong winds and heavy rain. He said, "They shot with two boom mics, and there was a wind machine and rain machine running on-set. It was pandemonium, but the showrunners didn't want to do a ton of ADR. Using SpectraLayers, I saved about 90% of the dialogue in the scene. The two lines I couldn't save were when the principal actors went off- mic. I couldn't clear it out because the lines just weren't there. The fact that you can separate the recording into layers gives you so much flexibility. You can even use the background layer as production ambi- ence — if there isn't a generator or machine noise on it." Redding is also an Adjunct Professor at New York University and teaches a Sound James David Redding III 37 S U M M E R Q 2 I S S U E