Can I edit out curse words and such

[waynesworld]

I would like to know if and how I can edit my movies so they are kid friendly.

I have a few movies on my computer that are avi files. Can they be edited.

I also have a dvd collection that I would like to be able to rip to my computer edit the footage and burn back to a dvd for playback, keeping a decent video and my surround sound.

Can this be done?
How?

Thanks
Waynesworld

[lumis]

http://www.clearplay.com/

http://www.sanyo.com/entertainment/dvd/index.cfm?productID=1149

save yourself the time & hassle of doing it yourself.

(p.s. - this has come up before, hopefully this doesnt turn in to a 20 page debate about censoring movies, being a good parent, etc)

[jimmalenko]

It can be done ..... but whether or not it's "worth it" is in the eye of the beerholder.

Train of thought 1: There's places around town and on the web that have already removed cuss words and sell the product on DVD "cleaned". Saves you time and effort, costs you money.

Train of thought 2: Wait till the "recipients" are a suitable age to hear said cuss words before allowing them to watch said DVD. Saves you time and effort, costs you $0.

Train of thought 3: Get yourself well acquainted with a WAV editor like goldwave. You'll also need other tools such as DVDRemake to integrate the new audio whilst retaining all the menus and such. Costs you time, effort & sanity, and possibly $$$ for software.


Other than that, yes, this has been covered many times before. Also don't forget that kids can lipread.

[yoda313]

Also don't forget that kids can lipread.

Don't forget to remove the subtitles too if the dvd has them. And of course keep the original dvd away from them so they can't watch the unedited version.

[ZippyP.]

You first demux your videos (separate the audio from the video), edit the audio then remux. If the source is a DVD then you need to preserve all the menus as well. Each type of video source will require a different procedure and a different set of tools. Entirely possible but not easy for a newbie.

In the end it's one of those "Why bother?" situations. I don't think you'll find a guide to help you with your project, and most regular members here will be less than enthusiastic. As pointed out, this sort of thing was already the subject of lengthy debate.

You might want to start a new thread for each part of your project:
"How do I edit the sound in an avi file?"
"How do I edit the sound in an mpeg file?"
"How do I edit the sound on a DVD, put it back in and keep the menus?"

You'll likely get some good specific responses that way. Good luck.

[guns1inger]

Also, lock them (the children, not the discs) in the basement until they are old enough to hear them in the playground, on radio, and in general conversation.

Seriously though, the avis can probably be done with a little effort and audacity and virtualdub. The DVDs will take a lot more effort, and huge amounts of time if they have surround audio and you wish to preserve it.

And don't cut them. Simply blank the volume.

[jimmalenko]

Here's what I found in about 5 minutes of searching:

from https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=706381#706381 down
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=266232
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=266314
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=271891
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=287696
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=266029

[lumis]

Also, lock them (the children, not the discs) in the basement...

ahahahahahhaha.

[mikiem]

FWIW, as zippy suggested, 1st step is get the DVD on HD, then demux or separate audio from video. Plenty of guides avail for that part. 2nd, need to turn the audio into wav format, feed that to audio editor, playback track and edit, adding silence or whatever -- don't want to shorten! If you want to edit 5.1, get a multi-track editor. Again, plenty of guides. 3rd, turn the wav back into ac3, replace existing DVD audio track, edit ifo files to turn off subs & CC. You're now several hours into it -- add more if you want to edit subs.

And, believe it or not, I've come across a couple of folks who felt it was well worth it & did it more then once.

@gunslinger
no basements in Florida, but then I'm 1/2 deaf, so just turned the sound off.

[handyguy]

Don't forget that kids can read sign language too.

[lordsmurf]

All the best cuss words I ever learned I heard in school.

It always amazes me how people are concerned about words ... words mean nothing. George Carlin is an outspoken person on this front, and I commend him. Political correctness has only screwed us up even more in this regard.

Or how nudity is offensive to certain cultures ... what is wrong with the body? (I can understand the need to censor hardcore porn, especially modern crap.) ...

Yet they are fine with violence, an aberrations of humans alone (at least at the frequency by which it occurs). I'm not referring to anvils on Looney Tunes, no! But to the movies (and video games especially) where everybody seemingly has a sole goal of extracting as much blood and guts as possible. Kill kill kill! Many of these don't even have plots, and least nothing of substance or imagination.

Before you worry about "curse" words (that sounds so infantile), pay attention to some of the other content. They may not need to see it any more than they need to hear it.

.
.

At any rate, to answer the question direct, demux streams in DVD Decrypter, edit audio in audio editor, mute out words (and all audio, including music, FYI), re-author. Will take forever, and you'll give up after the first project, assuming you even make it that far.


edited for spelling

[gadgetguy]

All the best cuss words I ever learned I heard in school.

... and I got slapped by my mother when I used them at home.

[Supreme2k]

I would like to know if and how I can edit my movies so they are kid friendly.

A few things:

"curse words and such" ??????
"kid friendly": What age group?

Not to stand on a soapbox, but this may help you with your "problem", regardless.
How "kid friendly" are the movies to begin with? If you truly are worried about the content, there are ratings on the package that tell how "kid friendly" is the content. Usually, the general theme of the film is not changed by removing the swearing.

Kind of like how the "songs" of rappers like 50 Cent and Eminem wouldn't change. They have "clean" versions of their albums, but it doesn't change the message (rape, murder, homophobia, etc.)

Well, I guess I put at least one foot on the soapbox. I'll step down now.

[greymalkin]

the truly amazing thing about this post is, were the roles reversed these responses would be labeled as judgemental and intolerant.

If, perhaps..someone posted about wanting to backup wedding crashers and, rather than explain how to technically do it I instead told them it was morally wrong and a bad movie full of sexual promiscuity..etc...in other words a bad idea to backup or watch...people would be all over me in a second for being judgmental and intolerant.

but for some reason when the opposite is true and someone wants to edit out parts of a movie they are questioned on why and told it's a dumb idea. Words may mean nothing to you but maybe it does to the poster...why do we make these judgements about them? Is it wrong to not want to hear those words? And who are you to say it is? are you judging what he judged to be wrong? Are you not able to tolerate his intolerance?

..just a little brain candy...

[CBC]

The odds are that if there are "curse words" in a movie, there are probably "objectionable images" on it too. Perhaps just using the MPAA rating on the box is the best way to protect the kiddies?

[guns1inger]

I guess I equate it with cropping a widescreen movie to fullscreen because you don't like the black bars. The film has been made a certain way by the director and actors. If you don't like it that way, don't watch it. If you don't like the Reubens exhibition because of the naked figures, do you go in and paint over them, or go and see the disney exhibition instead.

I have young children. I have an ever growing list of films I want to show them, when they are mature enough. Until then, there are plenty of other films for them to see that are appropriate without censorship (sorry, editing). Personally, I hate musicals. There are a number of films that I would enjoy a lot more if they didn't suddenly break into inappropriate and clumisly staged singing and dancing. But cutting out the parts that offend me won't fix the films, just make them disjointed.

I have no problem with someone objecting to a film's content. That is what freedom of speech is about. I don't believe changing someone else's work to suit your own dogma is a suitable response.

Another thing to consider when dealing with children. A sure fire way to make them curious is to hide something. Blank out words, and they will know. And they will want to know what was there before. You may even find that they ask their friends, and become a laughing stock because of what their 'crazy' dad does to their DVDs.

[lordsmurf]

the truly amazing thing about this post is, were the roles reversed these responses would be labeled as judgemental and intolerant.

I don't agree. The opposite of this question would be more along the lines of "how can I add nudity and profanity to my DVDs?" And that question would be met with the same "leave it alone" type of response. It's not so much a moral issue here, as it is one about the futility and lack of need for such a silly request. The answer, regardless of wanting to add or subtract contact, will always be a resounding "LEAVE IT ALONE AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT WATCH SOMETHING ELSE!" sort of response.

[greymalkin]

that's a good point ls and is much more of a direct opposite

if we don't want to ruin content why do we help people encode to divx/xvid?

to the original poster: if you do want to edit out words without paying and have total control over which words to edit you will have to demux the audio stream, convert to .wav..i believe you said it is 5.1 correct? so convert to 6 mono .wav files and listen to the center channel for 1.5-2 hours :P.

if someone yells an offensive word in the background then you'll have to edit the surrounds as well...as was said before..it can become a tedious process. Then compress back to 5.1 and mux again with the video stream.

[Supreme2k]

if we don't want to ruin content why do we help people encode to divx/xvid?

I'm sure that was a joke, but DVD to divx/xvid/vcd/flip-book is actually a change in viewing quality, not content. :P

[mikiem]

Feel kind'a bad for the person starting this thread...

But, just to get myself in trouble, & I'm actually not taking sides on the censorship end of things... I don't feel any huge need to respect any Hollywood vision of how their work should be viewed or interpreted.

Don't feel anymore that I owe an awful lot of anything to the creative folks who make a lot of content -- I guess kind of like an alergic reaction to Tom Cruise et al... Figure I subsidize some really small portion of Hollywood paying outrageous cable bills, just so some millionaires can do their best to make other's live's less enjoyable (& worse). Or get to watching some movie or series, & the writers decide I need a lessen in *their* political views. Hey, even if I agree with them, there's all these shows voicing opinions, plus how many web sites?

[climbing down off the soapbox now... many apologies... ] Please notice I'm talking about the end of things where there is the least choice, cable & sat programming. And sorta twisting it to support my point.

[CBC]

well, I think we've beaten this horse to death..lol

[lumis]

I don't agree. The opposite of this question would be more along the lines of "how can I add nudity and profanity to my DVDs?"

ahahahahahhaahha.. oh man, this thread has some great lines..

[kschang]

well, I think we've beaten this horse to death..lol

More like drawn and quartered...