Editing profanity ridden dialogue?

[Don Greening]

In FCP’s browser window go to: effects>video generators>bars and tone. Drag to viewer to change the length first or to a new track in the timline. I think the default length is 10 seconds. Delete the video (colour bars) and just use the audio for your bleeps. Adjust length to fit.

– Don

[Paul Dickin]

Hi
If tone is too savage I use the razor tool, and either replace the section with some matching background noise, or just reverse the razored section, which is usually sufficient a disguise.

[Daryl K davis]

Ha, that’s funny – never thought of reversing the particular words myself.

So I guess all the utterances of “kuf” and “tihs” pass muster? Unless some do-gooders play the show in reverse I suppose.

Very funny.

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DK Davis / Editor/ Post Super
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[Ben Oliver]

corporate people swear too.

[David Bogie]

There are other issues you might wish to consider as a filmmaker.

Do you disguise or obscure the profanity dramatically or with subtlety? Bleeps can become terribly distracting but the right bleep carries THE message. Subtle obscurations carry a completely different message.

However, consider the sensitivities of your audience and decide whether you are a documentarian or a social engineer. Are you portraying the subject as an illiterate bottom-feeder whose message is unworthy of attention or is this a human being, perhaps in a weird situation, expressing himself in the vernacular.

It’s not so much censorship as your film’s style and your vision or mission.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[Gary Hughes]

My completely subjective opinion is that adding an actual “bleep” sound is only to draw attention to the fact that you are censoring something. I really prefer to simply cover the word with silence or background ambience to keep it more subtle. Watch CSI reruns on, well I forgot which channel, but that’s what they do and once you get into the story, you hardly notice it, especially since they did it on a multitrack master so that the music doesn’t get muted.

Thanks,
Gary

[Kevin Monahan]

[DKD] “Ha, that’s funny – never thought of reversing the particular words myself. “

Case in point: a hip hop tune edited for radio airplay. They always reverse the profanity.

Kevin Monahan
Take My FCP Master’s Seminar!
fcpworld.com

[Mark Raudonis]

Very interesting thread for me since this issue has become the bane of my existence this season. On many of the “reality” shows that I work on, it seems that the cast has taken it as a badge of honor to drop the “f” bomb as often as possible. Now, I ain’t no prude, but when the profanity gets in the way of simply understanding what the F*@K is going on… then we got a problem. My rule of thumb is to insist that editors either drop or bleep the offensive words starting with the first rough cut. That way we can determine if it’s better to just drop the sentence, pull up the dialogue or include a beep. Sometimes you just want to make the gap “disappear” because it’s irrelevent to the story. Other times (anger, humour, etc.) you want the audience to know there’s an “F” word there.

My complaint is that when “unmotivated” “F” words ruin an otherwise emotionally calm scene. Example: “Pass the F*@Kn coffee, will ya?”

Best advice: deal with it early in the process. Don’t wait till the mix.

mark