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This tutorial demonstrates how to seamlessly remove lavalier microphones from interview footage using a combination of Fusion and Photoshop. You'll learn a professional workflow that produces invisible results while maintaining flexibility throughout your editing process.

What you'll learn

• Prep and stabilize the footage using Surface Tracker

• Paint out microphones with precise cloning techniques

• Generate clean plates with Photoshop's Generative Fill

• Re-apply motion to maintain natural movement

• Add finishing touches for seamless integration

Step-by-step process

First, we stabilize the shirt area using Fusion's Surface Tracker, drawing bounds around the target area and starting on the last frame. We configure Point Locations to Uniform Grid in Mesh settings, adjust Motion Range and Mesh Rigidity parameters, then track in reverse. Setting Output to Stabilize Warp Input 1 gives us a steady canvas to work on.

For removal, we add a Paint node after the Surface Tracker and use Clone in Stroke mode with sufficient Duration. We begin with shirt folds and edges, then address black regions using small, varied strokes, carefully reviewing the timeline for artifacts.

To reapply motion, we copy the Surface Tracker after the Paint node, connecting the painted plate to Background and original to Foreground. We change Output to Re-warp Stabilized Clip, and for clean blending, create a feathered matte using a duplicated Surface Tracker.

As an optional step, we can export a PNG from the viewer to Photoshop, use Generative Fill for cleaner results, and import the alpha-preserved image back to Fusion after the Paint node.

For final touches, we add Film Grain to match texture and fix black levels with a masked Background if needed. We compare before/after results with the A/B viewer and organize our nodes before rendering. The result is seamless and flexible, allowing you to switch between techniques without re-tracking.