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Censorship Edits: Story-Safe Dialogue Changes for Ratings and Distribution

Picture of Flawless Product By  Flawless Product  ·  3 minute read

Facing an R rating due to five expletive-laden lines of dialogue, Playdate’s filmmakers were in a bind. The cut was locked, the cast were far away, and the sets were struck. All reshoots were off the table.

Instead of accepting the R rating, the cast recorded ADR remotely and DeepEditor was used to seamlessly synchronize the new expletive-free dialogue. The film secured its PG-13 rating — and ultimately climbed to #1 on the Prime Video charts.

The editing technique used here is called censorship editing. 

This blog post explains:

  • What censorship editing actually is
  • How to use the technique
  • The benefits of censorship editing to filmmakers

What Actually Is Censorship Editing?

Censorship editing is a key use case of visual dubbing, a category of AI-assisted editing techniques. Censorship editing is where you remove profanity or modify sensitive dialogue to meet content requirements. 

You might need to do so, for example, to comply with:

  • Motion picture ratings
  • Regional censorship requirements
  • Other content distribution restrictions (for example, airlines)

 

When you make censorship edits with DeepEditor, you can have your original actor simply record an alternative line, then sync the new dialogue audio to the new shot. This way, you maintain the actor's original performance and emotional truth. 

The audience never sees a distracting audio cut or mismatched lips. Picture lock stays intact. And you get the rating or regional compliance you need for distribution.

 

How To Make Censorship Edits

The workflow for censorship editing is the same as for visual ADR. All you need is a new audio recording and the original shot.

  1. Create an audio recording of the new line

Have your actor record the new line, ideally in a studio. It’s helpful to have the new line match the timing of the original shot, so that it’s broadly in sync with any upper facial expressions and body movements.

  1. Create a draft visual dub (vub)

Upload your new audio recording and original shot together in DeepEditor – either in the web app or via the Avid plugin. 

DeepEditor combines the two pieces of media together into a new shot: a vub.

You can iterate quickly by creating draft vubs. For example, you might want to try multiple replacement options to see which feels the most natural. 

Workflow Tip

In DeepEditor, there are two types of vub output: draft vubs and final vubs.

We recommend you use draft vubs for creative iteration and problem solving in the edit – they are affordably priced to let you use them in this way. They work in HD, making them perfect for offline editing. You can even remove the watermark for non-commercial purposes, like showing your director and producers your edit. 

Once everyone’s happy to commit, you can upgrade your vub to a final quality output (up to 8K, 16-bit and with lossless color), so the online edit has a truly flawless result.

Because DeepEditor is assistive AI, not generative, every output from DeepEditor is fully controllable after creation. If needed, you have the option to use the DeepEditor refinement tool to make tweaks to the vub. 

It’s also critical you get consent from the actor once your vub is created via the Artistic Rights Treasury (A.R.T.) to be compliant with guilds and unions. 

  1. Place your vub in your timeline

Insert your DeepEditor vub into your timeline in Avid or other non-linear editor, and continue your edit.

 

The Benefits of Censorship Editing with Assistive AI

Distribution has always involved compromise. Want a wider theatrical release? That probably means a PG-13, which means cutting or softening dialogue. Want international sales? That means navigating different regional standards. Want streaming or airline deals? More content restrictions. 

Traditionally, every compromise meant a visible scar on the film – a moment where the audience could tell something was cut, replaced, or worked around. 

Censorship editing with visual dubbing has a number of practical benefits:

  • Commercial flexibility: Create multiple versions for different markets without degrading quality
  • Creative preservation: Keep the emotional truth of performances even when words change
  • Distribution leverage: Meet platform requirements that previously would have blocked release
  • Cost efficiency: No reshoots, faster turnaround than traditional ADR workflows

This isn't about sanitizing content or compromising vision. It's about having the technical capability to reach broader audiences. 

Censorship Edits Are One Technique of Many

DeepEditor offers several powerful use cases for film and TV production, each designed to solve specific post-production challenges:

Censorship edits address the distribution and ratings challenges that can make or break a film's commercial success. But the underlying technology – frame-by-frame facial performance control – makes all of these applications possible.