Yet Another Audio question

[mrpink89]

In some of my scenes it takes place in a make shift office. For some reason i completely forgot about the ticking clock i the room. I don't know why but for a good two months of shooting there. it never crossed my mind. Guess i just forgot it was there. anyways.

Replaying some audio tracks to look for a good looping section for my make shift room tone and I can honeslty say that it is a no go idea since I can faintly hear a ticking clock in the background.

Not to mention you can faintly hear it in the background of some of the dialogue.

What Can I do to remove the ticking sound when it comes to the dialogue that doesn't require ADR?

Further more, any ideas on what I should do for the room tone since It seems to be a lost cause?

 

[Alcove Audio]

This is why I harp on bringing the PSM and an audio recorder when scouting locations, and what I mean when I keep harping on learning to really, really listen.

The Spectral Repair section of iZotopes RX2 Advanced noise reduction software, with lots of patience, can (most of the time) greatly reduce sounds like ticking clocks as long as they are not too prominent.

http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/rx/

 

[mrpink89]

Thanks a lot man In the upcoming future I will have to check this program out. a bit pricey though yikes!!! but i'm sure i can find a way around that.

Some of my actors ere generally loud talkers and it muffles the sound of the ticking in the Background. Needless to say if you watched it right now ( if I had it edited) without using this software you may not notice it to much but I' striving for the best. at least what best I can achieve.

 

[AudioPostExpert]

Needless to say if you watched it right now ( if I had it edited) without using this software you may not notice it to much but I' striving for the best. at least what best I can achieve.

This is where audio gets a bit tricky. What is noticeable to you depends on: The frequency content of the ticking, the frequency response of the system/environment where you are monitoring, how loud you are listening to it and of course your hearing. What may be noticeable to your audience depends on the frequency response of their listening environment, how loud they are listening and of course their hearing.

With the above in mind, you have several potential options, ignoring the obvious but undesirable re-shoot or ADR: As Alcove suggested, you could try something like RX2 Advanced but depending on the exact nature (frequency content) of the ticking and how that coincides (or doesn't) with the frequency content of your dialogue it may work acceptably well or to get a sufficient reduction in the ticking may damage the dialogue unacceptably. It's pretty much a 50-50 chance either way. Another potential option, if your film is not for commercial distribution/broadcast, is to leave the ticking where it is and edit your picture/dialogue so the rhythm of the ticking is constant and acts like part of the ambiance. You might also be lucky and be able to edit out most of the ticks and just ADR a relatively few individual words which can't be fixed acceptably.

None of these options is ideal, next time I'm sure you'll be a lot more diligent with the background noise when recording production sound.

G

 

[mrpink89]

Yeah re shoots are out of the picture I was checking out the RX2 program on youtube and was amazed at the ability of stuff you can do. i would really like for this movie to be for comercial use of some sort.

I was also just thinking about leaving the ticking sound as well but the thing is, then that means I can't add any mood music because and I fear that the ticking may get on some peoples nerves since we are talking 8 different scenes that are at least 5 min each.

So I may go down the route of getting the program. it is however very pricey but it seems like a very cool device to have to loads more of future projects I have planed as the years go on so it may just be a worthy investment.

 

[AudioPostExpert]

i would really like for this movie to be for comercial use of some sort.

Something like VOD distribution or self distributed DVD shouldn't be a problem but TV broadcasters and theatrical distributors will want an M&E mix. This means most likely you would have to ADR the ticking scenes.

I was also just thinking about leaving the ticking sound as well but the thing is, then that means I can't add any mood music because and I fear that the ticking may get on some peoples nerves since we are talking 8 different scenes that are at least 5 min each.

If you had a composer, they could probably work the ticking sound into the rhythm of the music and you might kill two birds with one stone. Again though, this wouldn't work for those commercial distribution/broadcast methods which require an M&E mix.

So I may go down the route of getting the program. it is however very pricey but it seems like a very cool device to have to loads more of future projects I have planed as the years go on so it may just be a worthy investment.

More than once, my use of RX has made a director think I'm a genius, it can do some amazing things sometimes. However, there are often quite a few conditions which need to be met for RX to weave it's magic and sometimes it just can't help at all or helps so little as to be not worth using. It's a great tool if you really spend the time learning how to use it but don't buy it expecting it to cure all your audio woes, it won't! And, I've no idea whether it will solve your current audio woe, chances are it will help to some degree.

G