Editing:
Fix It in Post

Morgan Paar
July 2008

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Four of the most dangerous words in the video production lexicon are "fix it in post." Easy for a director or cinematographer to say, but who is going to feel the pain? The editor and, most probably, the audience. Matty Libatique, the cinematographer of Requiem for a Dream, said, "People should really say, ‘We'll cheat it in post,' because I don't think anything's ever necessarily ‘fixed' in post."

You can fix some things, and others you cannot. Note to production people: "Get it right on the set, and you'll be much happier with the end results." But mistakes do happen. Delays plague your production schedule, your talent is getting cranky, the tiny two-and-a-half-inch LCD monitor on your camcorder is difficult to see in the departing light... we've all been there. So you, the director and camera person (and very likely sound person, continuity person, makeup person, craft services person and every other person), rushes through the shot list. Later that night, when you are capturing your footage, you see all the problems: the handheld footage is too shaky, the audio is too low, talent was wearing a shirt with thin horizontal stripe that is now dancing all over the screen, etc., etc.

Some filmmakers feel every shot they captured with a camera can be improved in post. A little tweak here, a boost there. We could fill a year's worth of this magazine with these ‘fixes,' but we have room for only some of the more common. We encourage you in the Videomaker community to us tips and your creative fixes. Let's take a look at a few post-production "cheats" and some problems that aren't so easy to fix.

We will start where many editors end - if they actually get to it - with audio. We have seen/heard too many videos ruined by bad audio. Forget about advanced audio filters: too many editors pay too little attention to the most basic audio tweak, inconsistent levels. Keeping your eye on your audio meter, raise and lower your sound clip decibels, so your levels are congruous throughout your work. We like our levels peaking at -6dB. If your subject's levels are sporadic, they can go above -6 but they should never ‘clip' above 0dB. Ultimately, it is your ear that should be the final judge, but start normalizing your audio with your audio meters

A quick and easy way to unilaterally raise all of your audio, while keeping it ‘safe' (below the clipping point), is to use a Normalization feature. This analyzes the entire selected audio clip, detects the loudest peak, then raises the gain (makes the clip louder), so that the peak reaches the desired decibel. You raise all the other audio with it, resulting in maximum gain without distortion.

Another option here is a Compressor/Limiter Filter. Found in most editing programs, this option lets the editor raise the less-powerful parts of the sound clip, while keeping the louder sounds constant. Otherwise, by manually raising the decibels of the entire clip, the louder parts could exceed 0db and clip.

So you've raised the levels to the top, giving the clip all the decibels permitted, and it's still too low? A simple trick is to double, triple or quadruple your audio clips. Copy the audio track you are trying to raise, and paste it just below the original. If you have your original stereo track on audio tracks one and two, paste the second stereo pair on tracks three and four, the third on tracks five and six and so on. Make sure you have Snapping on, so the tracks are perfectly in sync. Just remember that you will also raise all other sounds in the clip, such as background sounds or undesired noise.

Some people pronounce their Ps particularly powerfully. This can cause a 'pop' into the mic that is unsettling. Ideally, you should use a pop filter when recording voiceovers to prevent these plosives or breath bursts. If you receive audio with pronounced pops, you might want to use one of the many editing programs that come with Depopper filters.

DeEssers do the same for snake-like vocals, or 'S' pops. Remember that there are parameters with these filters. Check the User's Manual, which you can usually find under the Help menu, for more details.

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