AUDACITY NOISE REDUCTION: DIALOGUE WORKFLOW
Based on the Audacity 3.7 reference manual.

Clip / scene: ___________________    Working file: ___________________

[ ] Keep the unchanged recording and save a separate working project.
[ ] Listen first: steady hiss, narrow hum, gap noise or changing noise?
[ ] For narrow hum, inspect Plot Spectrum and consider Notch Filter first.
[ ] Select a real noise-only pause from this recording. Exclude the voice.
[ ] Effect > Noise Removal and Repair > Noise Reduction > Get Noise Profile.
[ ] Select the dialogue region to clean. Reopen Noise Reduction.
[ ] Use the least reduction that makes the noise acceptable.
[ ] Preview Reduce: check soft words, breaths and ringing artifacts.
[ ] Preview Residue: recognizable words mean wanted sound may be removed.
[ ] Lower Sensitivity or Noise Reduction if words are in Residue.
[ ] Return to REDUCE before OK.
[ ] Compare with the original. Undo if the voice sounds worse.
[ ] Save the project; export a new audio file with the correct range.
[ ] Import into the edit and listen across cuts and room-tone changes.

SETTINGS USED (record your choices; these are not preset recommendations)
Noise Reduction (dB): ______   Sensitivity: ______   Smoothing (bands): ______
Profile region: ___________   Processed region: ___________   Export: ________

CONTROL REFERENCE
Noise Reduction: level cut applied to identified noise. Manual default: 6 dB.
Sensitivity: how much sound is treated as noise. Range 0-24; default 6.00.
Smoothing: spreads reduction to nearby bands. Manual default: 6 bands.
Try 0 for strong broad wanted sound / light noise. For remaining tonal
artifacts after adjusting Sensitivity, manual suggests trying 1-6 bands.
Noise-only profile: at least 2,048 samples; longer is better. Match sample rates.
Noise Gate: lowers quiet gaps; it does not remove hiss underneath a loud voice.
Get a fresh profile after closing and reopening Audacity.

Guide: https://wearethemovies.com/filmmaking/audacity-noise-reduction/
Sources: https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/noise_reduction.html
https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/notch_filter.html
https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/noise_gate.html
https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/file_export_dialog.html
Original editorial checklist; manual-derived controls attributed to Audacity's
authors under CC BY 3.0. No endorsement implied. No measured-audio claims.