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Topic: Extract dialogue from movie? (Read 30938 times) previous topic - next topic
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Extract dialogue from movie?

Hi everyone,
I have a project where I need to extract just the dialogue from a movie, without any of the backing music or sound effects. I managed to rip the 5.1 track off the DVD, unfortunately though, the centre track contains dialogue as well as background music. The left and right tracks however, only contain the background music.
I was wondering if there was a way to mix the centre track and a left or right track and make the background music "cancel out" somehow? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #1
You can create a stereo file combining the center channel with the left or right channel, and then run it thru CenterCutGui using the "Sides" channels option.
If the background music is the same in the source center channel as in the source front channels, then it will be sent to the output center channel while removed from the output side channels.
Something like
AM  +  BM = A + MM + B
where A is the center channel, B is either left or right channel and M is the background music.
"Screw u guys, I´m going home."

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #2
You can create a stereo file combining the center channel with the left or right channel, and then run it thru CenterCutGui using the "Sides" channels option.
If the background music is the same in the source center channel as in the source front channels, then it will be sent to the output center channel while removed from the output side channels.
Something like
AM  +  BM = A + MM + B
where A is the center channel, B is either left or right channel and M is the background music.


That is very confusing to me.

Are you saying to mix Centre channel - Left channel? That'll work if the music is in mono.

I'd try C-(L+R). Adjusting the level of the (L+R) for maximum rejection.

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #3
I apologise, I wasn't using the + sign to mean addition.
CenterCutGUI works like this. It takes a stereo file and read the info that it's the same (within a given threshold) between its channels.
Takes that info and dumps it into a new mono track called "center channel" and takes the original stereo file and subtracts that info from both channels (cancelling out) creating a new stereo track "side channels".
Now, if the background music info in C, L and R is the same (even with different gains) and the speech in C is not contained in L and/or R, then all you need is a stereo track in which one channel has the speech © and the other one doesn't (L or R). This way, when processed by CenterCutGUI, the speech will be sent to the side channels track, while the matching background music will be sent to the center channel track. Discard the center channel track, and then take the side channels track and strip or demux the channel that contains the speech.
The only way of doing C-(L+R) is by using 180° phase shifting on the L/R channels, then when muxewd togheter C and L/R, the music will cancel itself out but the rest of the info in L/R will be added to C, only 180° phase-shifted.
"Screw u guys, I´m going home."

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #4
The only way of doing C-(L+R) is by using 180° phase shifting on the L/R channels, then when muxed together C and L/R, the music will cancel itself out but the rest of the info in L/R will be added to C, only 180° phase-shifted.


This is exactly right. If the music in the centre channel is a mono mix of the stereo music contained the the Left and Right channels, then the 180° phase shift will cause complete cancellation of the music.

If, however, the centre channel contains unique music, that is different from the Left and Right channel summing (for example, the source is an genuine 5 channel recording) this idea will not work. I suspect. of this is this case, that your idea will not work as well, but I have no experience with CenterCutGUI.

For the OP: Centre cut GUI can be found here:

http://forums.virtualdub.org/index.php?act...=21&t=12627

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #5
Thank you very much for you reply, it was very helpful.
I just have one question though. Does the background music in both the original centre channel and right/left channel have to be the same amplitude/volume? Because the left and right channels are quieter than the background music in the centre channel.
Also, should the stereo channel I create be left/right stereo or mono/mono stereo?
Thanks again.

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #6
Your welcome. Good to hear that.

Quote from: igregon link=msg=0 date=
Does the background music in both the original centre channel and right/left channel have to be the same amplitude/volume? Because the left and right channels are quieter than the background music in the centre channel.

No, they can be of different amplitude within a threshold, as I believe CenterCutGUI works more on the frequency of the signal than its gain/amplitude.
I've done some testing with it and I've seen it work with up to 10 db of difference, might be higher but I didn't test it further.

 
Quote from: igregon link=msg=0 date=
Also, should the stereo channel I create be left/right stereo or mono/mono stereo?

No such thing as a mono/mono stereo (double mono like in AC3) when dealing with wavs. You can do a 2ch WAVE_EXTENSIBLE_FORMAT wav and choose which channel position to assign to each channel (i.e. ch1=FRONT CENTER, ch2=BACK CENTER) but for any 2ch WAVE PCM wav the default mapping is used, which is ch1=LEFT and ch2=RIGHT.
"Screw u guys, I´m going home."

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #7
Hi, Can someone help me with this. I read this, but I don't understand everything. I need extract dialogue from other sound too. Can someone write guide how to do it? I want to change dialogue in movie, but both dialogues has differents backround sounds. Please can anyone give me advice. Thank you all

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #8
Quote
I need extract dialogue from other sound too. Can someone write guide how to do it? I want to change dialogue in movie, but both dialogues has differents backround sounds.
What format is your file.  How many channels?

There are limits to what you can do.    You can't un-fry an egg or un-bake a cake, and you can't un-mix an audio track.

If you want to professionally "dub-in" another language to a movie soundtrack, there are two ways to do it.  1. Get the original un-mixed audio, create the new dialog tracks, and re-mix.    2. Re-create and replace ALL of the dialog, sound effects, and music.

Of course, if you have a 5.1 mix and the dialog is in the center channel, you can replace the entire center channel.  Or, if the talking is on the left and the sound effects are on the right, it's easy to edit one or the other.  If you have a 2-channel stereo file, there are some "tricks" you can do with the "phantom center channel".      If you have a mono file, there is nothing you can do.

Or, if the dialog and music or background sounds are not happening at the same time, of course you an edit the dialog.  For example if the actors are talking and then there's an explosion, you can change the talking without touching the explosion. 

But if the actors are talking, and a car drives by while they are talking, or if there is music playing in the background while they are talking, then it's impossible to change the dialog without affecting the background sound (unless the background sound is in another channel, such as the rear channels).

Or, if you want to censor-out foul language, you can silence those parts, "bleep-out" those parts, cut-out the audio and video for those parts, or "scramble" the sound with only a small amount of damage to the background sound.

Do you have an audio editor?    Audacity is FREE!

If you have a 2-channel stereo file, did you try Center Cut GUI?  GoldWave ($50 USD) has a similar tool called Stereo Center and There is a FREE plug-in for Winamp (FREE) called DSP Center Cut.  These tools can basically kill the phantom center channel, or kill the sides and keep only the center.  (These things can be fun to play with, but you rarely get "professional quality" results...)


P.S
If you have a commercially released DVD, there are a couple more complications.  Most commercial DVDs are copy protected.  There is software to crack the copy protection, but it's illegal in most countries and we don't discuss it on this forum.

Then, when you extract (rip) the move from the DVD into a regular audio/video file format that can be edited,  you loose the menus (and any subtitles).  If you want to keep the DVD format, you will have to re-create menus (and subtitles) and re-author the DVD with DVD-authoring software.

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #9
Thanks for quick responce. Well I have tree 5.1 ac3 tracks. I can edit basically this tracks. I can split them to 6 mono wavs. But what I want to do... I'm solving same problem as igregon.

Every of my tracks are from same scene, but in one case is little bit different, because of this differences I need extract only dialogues without sound effect and backround sound. Unfortunely, in center track of all my tracks are dialogues with other sounds.

So, I need from two track keep or extract only dialogues from center channel (It' seems, that igregon solved it) and in the third track I want to replace dialogue from this two tracks and in this I need from center keep only effect, and other sound, not dialogues. Or Can I make this, that I mix front left channel and right front to one mono? It'll be same like center, but without dialogues?

I tried center Cut gui, but without succes. I understood, that some way igregon solved this - extract only dialogues. I read posts from this topic but for me, would be better, some guide, which software I have to use, And what to do exactly.

Sorry for my english if it's not good. I hope, you'll understand.

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #10
Quote
...in center track of all my tracks are dialogues with other sounds.
Sorry.  Like I said, you can't un-fry an egg and you can't un-mix sounds.*  If you have a simple noise like a "buzz", sometimes you can filter that out.  But, sound effects, or music, or a barking dog...  You cannot isolate that from dialog.  And, you cannot filter it out because it covers the same frequency-range as the dialog.

Quote
So, I need from two track keep or extract only dialogues from center channel (It' seems, that igregon solved it)
I don't know.  Maybe ingreon had a slightly different situation.

Quote
I tried center Cut gui, but without succes.
Right...  You don't need that...  Since you have 5.1 and you have already made a mono center-channel WAV, you don't need these "tricks" to isolate the "phantom center channel" from a 2-channel stereo recording.


* Do you know how they make multi-track recodings in a recording studio?  They have a separate microphone for every instrument and for every voice, and they record these things on separate tracks.  That way, they can adjust everything separately or they can re-record the singing with a different singer, etc.   

If it were possible to "un-fry the egg", they wouldn't need to go to all that trouble...  They could just record everything with one microphone in mono and isolate/adjust everything later.  They could isolate the sounds to convert the mono track to stereo or 5.1.  Also they wouldn't need soundproof studios, because they could isolate and remove the noise later.

In fact, most "on-location" move dialog is re-recorded in the studio because it's too hard to get a "Hollywood quality" recording and impossible to remove the on-location background noise.  Then, they add "fake" background noise and sound effects as desired.

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #11
Well, I understand. Sound crew on locations record only dialogues and other sound they make in the studio during post-production. In this case i tried to edit dialogue in movie, my favorite movie, but for my personal usage (I have 4 original DVD's and one Blu-ray, so NOT Warez). This movie has 3 DVD's releases but in one scene is 3 differents sound mix of voice. But dialogue with I want to replace has different backround sound, this is my problem. I like to use dialogue from one track to another track, but they have different backround sound, because in one cause is little different cut in this scene.

Skelsgard wrote to igregon how to do it and I think that might be help. I want to try it. Just this and I will see  But I don't understand completely. Skelsgard takled about  180° phase-shifted, but which editor can this. I use Nero wave editor, but I didn't find this function in that.


I think, that better will be contact igregon, but I don't know if he comes still comes here visit this forum or Skelsgard. But thank you for your time. I'm very thank you for that

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #12
Please, can someone help how can I make 180° phase-shifted?? Which audio editor has this function? Thanks

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #13
Please, can someone help how can I make 180° phase-shifted?? Which audio editor has this function?


Probably almost every editor can do this. Personally, I know about Audacity and SoX. The function is often called “invert waveform” or similar, because a 180° phase shift is equivalent to inverting the sign of each sample (e.g., change +0.83 into -0.83).

Extract dialogue from movie?

Reply #14
Quote
Probably almost every editor can do this. Personally, I know about Audacity and SoX. The function is often called “invert waveform” or similar, because a 180° phase shift is equivalent to inverting the sign of each sample (e.g., change +0.83 into -0.83).


OK. I'll try. I want to extract dialogues like Skelsgard wrote, that 180° phase shift on L or R berore muxing with C channel, if I understand well, cancel out backround music