Reverb or echo reduction in post

[Marc Hoppe]

I recently did a shoot in essentially an auto showroom- open marble floor plan, high hard concave ceilings, large flat walls and windows- and it sounded very much like it looked. It was 1 CEO delivering a prompted message to camera. I hung a Schoeps MK41 overhead, just above frame, and hung a sound blanket just out of frame on either side, as well as a sound blanket on the floor in front of him. I also used a cos11 hidden between the second and third buttons of his shirt. I thought it sounded like it looked and was as happy with it as I could be given the limitations of the location

I just got word that the CEO is not happy with the sound, particularly the echo and reverb. I know all about unrealistic expectations and have passed that sentiment along, however, I was wondering if there were any tips or post tricks that I may be able to offer up for their editor to help deaden the room.

Thanks

Marc Hoppe

[Marc Hoppe]

I did just see the thread on iZotope de-reverb and passed that along to their post supervisor.

[berniebeaudry]

I did just see the thread on iZotope de-reverb and passed that along to their post supervisor.

This is supposed to work well.

http://www.zynaptiq.com/unveil/

[Marc Hoppe]

Thanks Bernie, I'll pass it along.

[Rick Reineke]

I never used the Unveil, but the iZotope de-reverb works OK. Not without artifacts if used to extreme though and the RX3-Advanced may be expensive for the occasional user

[Marc Hoppe]

Thanks. I thought it sounded fine given the characteristics of the room, and it sounds like post is fine with it; however, the CEO is not happy with it. At this point, I'm just passing all these tips along to post.

Thanks again guys.

Marc.

[John Blankenship]

For most concerned, it's likely that the reverb is not nearly as annoying as the whining CEO.

Surprising that if you film in a cavern it should sound like a cavern -- albeit an acoustically-tamed one given your preparations and mic choice.

I recently prepped a warehouse with lots of strategically placed furnies for a shot that was designed to look like a studio. When the showrunner saw the room, he asked me, "Are all those furniture pads really necessary?" To which I promptly responded, "Not if you want it to sound like an empty warehouse." No more was said.

[Marc Hoppe]

I couldn't agree more John, and most people seem to be on the same page. I even listened to the track with no visual context and it sounded fine to me, but I digress.

They have shot here before and had the same issue (different mixer). As we were wrapping, I heard the familiar mantra of "we are never shooting in this space again!"

Alas.

[taylormadeaudio]

Hey Marc,

Rest assured, you did everything you could. Practice this mantra:

Not my circus, not my monkeys.

~tt

[Constantin]

You can also tame reverb with a gate, although obviously only when there are pauses. But sometimes that can help, too, and it's a lot cheaper than any of the mentioned plugins.

[aristotle_kumpis]

I hear Unveil is supposed to be another great deverb plugin.

[RJBerto]

I've only briefly used the RX dereverb, and found that if the source was mic'd properly it works pretty well, but if it's bad mic placement that is making the source sound roomy... not so good. I've had really good luck using something like SPL's transient designer. 

[Nathaniel Robinson]

I have and really like Unveil. I find I use it more for slightly "squeezing" wide shots, to better match the tight. It starts to sound artificial when pushed too far.

[Marc Hoppe]

All advice appreciated. Thank you.

Tom, I agree and discussed this at length before hand during location selection and on location prior to rolling. Everyone else seems fine, but the CEO does not like the sound of it, ergo, a scramble for a possible solution. I like the client- they pay well and a are a real pleasure to work with- so I'd like to at least offer up something more than an "I told you so."

Again, thanks for all the help and comments!

Marc

[taylormadeaudio]

That's commendable - and you'll go far in life with that kind of proactive attitude... whether it's deserved, reciprocated, or not. Good on you : )

~tt

[Will Youngman]

+1 for zynaptiq. I own both Izotope RX3 Advanced and Unveil and Unveil works better.

 

One warning. Do not run heavy de-noising before this plug, it gets very unpredictable.

[Jay Rose]

Like Will, I have both the RX and Unveil. The algorithms (or rather, network training) use different assumptions, so the processes are a little different. On really bad scenes, I've found the best bet is to use a little of each. 

 

Don't forget the traditional tools as well. Tune out any resonances with a parametric. Try a little downward expansion to control the pauses.

[Marc Hoppe]

Thanks Jay, I'll pass this along to post as well.