[MacDV] audio editing

[CM McDonald]

On 21 Nov 2006, at 20:00, aaron robinsun wrote:

> OK basically i have several clips of some interviews however the 
> background noise is extremely loud.  There are conversations going on 
> (just sounds like chatter) and a band playing in the background.  I 
> can hear enough of the interview, but is it possible to eliminate the 
> background noise or dim it.
>
> I have FC express HD, i dont know if u can do anything using sound 
> track, but i dont know which of the audio filters to use.
>
> Aaron Robinso
> 24" core 2 duo iMac 2.16GHz 1.5GB RAM

I don't think you will improve it much - particularly with a random 
noise like chatter and varying multiple pitches from a band. It is 
easier to remove steady sounds (motor hums, central heating etc) with 
various filters in a programme like Logic, ProTools or Cubase but even 
then the results are rarely satisfactory. If you can record a chunk of 
the ambient noise at the time it makes this easier (or you could try 
looping a section where there is a lengthy pause in the conversation) 
then one of the smart noise-cancelling plugins might help. Basically 
they feed in an out-of-phase signal like the air force use in pilots' 
headsets to cut the engine noise.

I would cut your losses, save a lot of time and reshoot with the sound 
much better designed if possible or add subtitles if not.

Sorry if this is not what you want to here, but I have been there 
several times, and I always vow it will never happen again. That's why 
there are so many people involved in a professional shoot - it's very 
difficult to concentrate adequately on all the technical jobs - sound, 
lighting, camera let alone the artistic and production ones at the same 
time.

Colin McDonald