Robert Sylvain explains his new approach to field recording with VoicEX
Robert Sylvain with Mario Andretti for a Honda commercial in Chicago
Robert Sylvain is a documentary sound recordist with over 30 years of experience in field recordings and on-location sound acquisition for film and television. His credits include theatrical features as well as episodic programming for PBS, the BBC, the History Channel, National Geographic, and the Smithsonian. He explained to us how CEDAR VoicEX has changed the way in which he now approaches field recording.
The Challenge
We started by asking Rob why he had sought out CEDAR VoicEX. He told us, "As a location sound recordist for film and video, I've recorded dialogue in the field all over the world, often with the challenge of unwanted background noise. Microphone choice and placement can only get you so far, and traditional noise suppression software has always come with the drawback of compromising the sound quality of the source material." "Traditionally, the answer to a noisy background is to gather 'room tone' to fill in any spaces left by dialogue editing which would otherwise leave a jarring silence, but this solution leaves the offending noise intact. Too often, non-soundies have imagined some magical software that would 'learn' the noise and cancel it out in post. Early efforts to make such a product have been underwhelming. All that has changed since the introduction of CEDAR VoicEX."
Finding VoicEX
We asked how he found out about CEDAR VoicEX, and he was enthusiastic to share his experience.
"I first learned of CEDAR Audio through Fraser Jones of Independent Audio, who I've known as a purveyor of the highest quality sound gear for over 25 years. When CEDAR Audio launched VoicEX last fall, I knew it would be a paradigm shift for our industry. I had used CEDAR's DNS 2 noise reduction in the field and was familiar with the high standard of quality in CEDAR products."
Despite using the CEDAR DNS 2, he was still shocked by the quality of VoicEX. He added, "I was also well aware of the current advancements in digital art and video restoration made possible by AI technology. Though I had high expectations for VoicEX, I was unprepared to be as blown away as I was by the results it could achieve - nothing short of a complete game changer."
"I was lucky enough to sit down with Independent Audio's Joey Johnson at their shop in Portland, Maine to test drive VoicEX before buying it. I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough by the end of the session."
The Solution
"I had a bit of an interview for the foodie roadshow 'Getting Lost with Erin French' that I recorded in a remote-looking Texas campground that just happened to be next to the highway. VoicEX removed the highway sound so completely that it sounded like a studio recording, and I had to add crickets and a babbling brook to sell it as the outdoors. What's more, VoicEX inexplicably kept subtleties such as the intake of breath before a word - the things that make dialogue sound human. After bringing this result to the director and showrunner of the series, we all agreed that we had entered a new era of production sound technology, one that could mean untold savings of money, time, and headaches for film and television productions."
"Also, I added the plugin to Adobe Audition on my M1 Mac, which ran it with ease and provided a real-time preview without glitches. Armed with my new mandate, I agreed to set a subsequent interview in the front yard of an Idaho farm, where we knew trucks would be passing nearby from time to time. The crew started referring to me as the 'New Rob' because I wasn't always fretting about background noise. Air conditioning? Leave it on for pity's sake! Plane? What plane? The true test came by removing the sound of a passing flock of geese. Not only did it remove the geese and preserve the voice, but there was no appreciable difference between the part that was processed and the part that was not!"
"One more incredible story that uses a less obvious feature of VoicEX - I recently started work on a PBS Frontline documentary about last year's mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. Many of our subjects are members of the deaf community and we used translators in scene work and interviews. I got in the habit of booming people while they used sign language because I found the sound of signing compelling, and the director agreed. Because translations come with a delay, the director was hoping to isolate the live translation from the boomed sign-language users' tracks. Normally impossible because of acoustic bleed, VoicEX allowed me to isolate hand slaps, chest thumps and other sounds so that the translation could be slipped or even redone while keeping the acoustic environment intact."
"In short, CEDAR VoicEX has completely changed how I approach field recordings. Welcome the 'New Rob.'"
Hear VoicEX in action
Learn more about VoiceEXFor further information:
CEDAR Audio Limited, 20 Home End, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5BS, United Kingdom.
t: +44 1223 881771
e: press@cedaraudio.com