'60 Minutes' admits error in dubbing noises over quiet Tesla electric car

[BrotherIvan]

63. Funnily enough, you are more correct than people are giving you credit for

As an editor, you often lay down a noise track to cover up edits/cuts. It creates a white noise effect to cover the difference in background noise when you cut from shot to shot. A mic is very sensitive and records in a "shotgun" pattern, so it not only picks up dialogue but any sound coming from that direction. That is why shooting is done in studios whenever possible, to try to get the background noise down as much as possible. Shooting outside is very tricky because even wind is extremely loud. A mic pointing one direction, say west, to pick up the dialogue from the interviewer is going to have different background noise than one pointing east for the interviewee. Filters and technology can lower background noise, but it is very difficult to remove it completely. When you cut from shot to shot, the difference in background noise makes it sound terrible and a viewer suddenly notices each cut.

When you have an out door scene, often an editor will lay down an ambience track that contains say traffic and bird noises. In this case, the editor probably went into his or her stock library and laid down engine noise out of routine. I would have done this without thinking unless there were specific instructions not to do so. Having never ridden in a Tesla, and unless the sound recordist specifically made a Tesla engine noise track, I would have no idea what it should sound like.

It may not be as nefarious as it seems, regardless of CBS & 60 Minutes terrible track record. Creating video is a lot more complicated than it looks and this is editing 101.