Say a shooter shot his audio blown out, peaking. It sounds shrill and lowering the levels does not help much. Im not responsible for this, Im just an editor, but lets say you had to deal with this; is there something that can be done?

I have been told i need a compressor or limiter filter... but i know nothing about audio effects. I am using premiere pro CS3.

I think you would find that filter right next to the Airplane filter... good luck

Yes, hire a different shooter

Say a shooter shot his audio blown out, peaking. It sounds shrill and lowering the levels does not help much. Im not responsible for this, Im just an editor, but lets say you had to deal with this; is there something that can be done?

I have been told i need a compressor or limiter filter... but i know nothing about audio effects. I am using premiere pro CS3.
More specifically, once the signal is overmodulated and recorded there isn't a way to get it back. The trashed signal through a compressor or limiter is still a trashed signal. A compressor or limiter can do tricks with volume, but doesn't otherwise change the signal unless you push it into distortion.

Of course you want to make absolutely 120% sure that this is how it was laid down on tape, and that you didn't make a mistake along the way.

There are peak restoration filters. You've got these nice round sine waves, but the tops have been flattened. The filters predict what would have happened without the flattening.

You won't get pristine sound, but it might be salvageable.

The filter comes with SoundForge. I've never used it, but I use the noise reduction and mastering tools regularly. It's a nice tool (if you use a PC.)
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/product.asp?PID=431&PageID=51