Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541592
26 M PS E . O R G T EC H CO R N E R crystal-clear dialogue from mix to final delivery." "We collaborated with Fraunhofer IDMT to adapt their machine learning- based speech intelligibility solution for cross-platform plugin standards and brought in NUGEN Audio to develop DAW-compatible plugins." While Netflix has yet to mandate a specific "score" for its content, there is a Netflix setting in the plugin that can be used as a guide for what they will be expecting when that day does come. Currently, a score of 60 or higher is green, means good to go, but the streaming service is also evaluating that number to better set a standard rating. (NOTE: Anyone familiar with NUGEN's other tools, like the VisLM Loudness Meter, are sure to know the tools have the ability to export reports as a CSV, a feature which is also available in DialogCheck.) While DialogCheck will surely find its way onto more and more dub stages as streamers and other distributors start mandating a "minimum" score, I also see the value it provides to dialogue editors or supervising sound editors. On most projects, ADR cueing needs to happen early in the post process to allow time for scheduling talent ahead of the mix. If we can assign a value to how intelligible the dialogue is, it will be easier to justify why we need to ADR a line. While I don't envision every team putting the score in the reason field of their cue sheets, I do see it being a valuable affirmation for re-running the lines that production (or an actor) doesn't want to do. There is no one-shot solution for solving the dialogue intelligibility debate. Sometimes a film's creative vision runs counter to the audience's desire to still clearly hear actors' dialogue at a lower than intended volume, but perhaps we can find a happy medium. I am personally excited to have NUGEN Audio DialogCheck in my arsenal. How EQ Has Shaped Us in Post-Production BY MATIAS CALDARELLA MPSE From Bones to Spacecraft: Reading time ~ 8 mins. The First Tool In the shadow of dawn, a group of primates stares at a mysterious monolith. Moments later, one of them discover that a simple bone, once lifeless, can be wielded with purpose. That single act marks the birth of tools, the beginning of control, precision, and transformation. In post-production, our monolith is always there, even if invisible: The equalizer. EQ has shaped us, not because it is glamorous, but because it is fundamental. It has evolved with us, from its earliest, rudimentary forms embedded in consoles, to sleek, powerful processors that feel like spacecraft at our fingertips. And just as the bone and the spacecraft are linked in Kubrick's vision, so too are our tools connected: the rugged Avid EQ3-7 Band and the refined FabFilter Pro-Q4. These two EQs might appear to live on different planets, yet they answer the same impulse: the need to filter, reduce, or enhance parts of the frequency spectrum so that a sound becomes intelligible, balanced, or integrates seamlessly into a broader environment. Both represent answers to the same fundamental question, how can we shape what we hear so the story we want to tell, comes through clearly? The bone and the spacecraft are not opposites; they are steps along the same path. EQ3 and Pro-Q4 embody this continuum: one as a tool of immediacy and instinct, the other as an instrument of precision and exploration. And in the hands of sound professionals, both matter. Environments in film and television are rarely born from a single sound. They emerge from the careful and intentional layering of elements, and EQ shapes those elements so they can coexist. Perhaps this is why equalization remains the first tool most of us reach for. Not because it is the only answer, but because it is often the fastest way to bring order to a complex landscape. EQ has evolved with us, from simple fixed band circuits to the versatile digital processors we use today. Yet its purpose remains constant: the subtle guidance of the listener's attention. The Bone and the Spacecraft Many Pro Tools sessions may begin with a constant: EQ3 is there. Like Kubrick's monolith scene, it is simple, rugged, and immediately at hand. It