Ruined Audio? at DVinfo.net

Zane Fielding · January 9th, 2006, 02:26 AM

I just got finished shooting this movie and I should have known better - The movie was shot in a bar and over the bar was a giant air conditioning unit that the naked ear could not hear and my sound guy said the sound was fine but now I am cutting the movie all you can hear is the air conditioning humming over the dialogue - its constant through the whole clip. I have tried noise reduction on some crappy freeware but it reduces the dialogue also. I just need the hum removed. Any suggestions? I see other posts mention Sony Noise Reduction but that might be out of my price range. I need the cheapest way possible. Anything to remove the hum entirely or lower it would be great.

Thanks

Steve House · January 9th, 2006, 06:23 AM

Bias SoundSoap is about $75 and works well in many cases.

Jay Massengill · January 9th, 2006, 07:59 AM

Are you sure it isn't coming from another cause like a ground loop hum or other electrical problem? That could change the way you go about setting your noise reduction software for best results, but it's not a major issue. It would be good to know for absolute sure for future work, since it seems that it wasn't recognized on the set. If the sound guy was monitoring from a mixer and not the camera and the sound was ok, then it could have been a connection problem between the mixer and camera.

A. J. deLange · January 9th, 2006, 12:26 PM

Most NLE's have at least some simple filtering. If the noise is low frequency rumble a simple hi pass may suffice. If it is narrow band (true hum or tone) a notch or band reject should do the job.

Redoing the dialog (ADR) will always solve the problem if that is practical.

David Ennis · January 9th, 2006, 05:42 PM

As Steve suggested, SoundSoap is very good at removing AC and other "broadband" noise. If you want to email me a 20 second or so sample I'll Soap it and send it back. If you do, try to find a clip that includes about two seconds or more of nothing but the noise.

January 9th, 2006, 02:26 AM	#1
Zane Fielding Tourist Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2	Ruined Audio? I just got finished shooting this movie and I should have known better - The movie was shot in a bar and over the bar was a giant air conditioning unit that the naked ear could not hear and my sound guy said the sound was fine but now I am cutting the movie all you can hear is the air conditioning humming over the dialogue - its constant through the whole clip. I have tried noise reduction on some crappy freeware but it reduces the dialogue also. I just need the hum removed. Any suggestions? I see other posts mention Sony Noise Reduction but that might be out of my price range. I need the cheapest way possible. Anything to remove the hum entirely or lower it would be great. Thanks

January 9th, 2006, 06:23 AM	#2
Steve House Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Posts: 5,742	Bias SoundSoap is about $75 and works well in many cases. __________________ Good news, Cousins! This week's chocolate ration is 15 grams!

January 9th, 2006, 05:42 PM	#5
David Ennis Fred Retread Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hartford, CT Posts: 1,227	As Steve suggested, SoundSoap is very good at removing AC and other "broadband" noise. If you want to email me a 20 second or so sample I'll Soap it and send it back. If you do, try to find a clip that includes about two seconds or more of nothing but the noise. __________________ "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence..." - Calvin Coolidge "My brain is wired to want to know how other things are wired." - Me

January 9th, 2006, 07:59 AM	#3
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Are you sure it isn't coming from another cause like a ground loop hum or other electrical problem? That could change the way you go about setting your noise reduction software for best results, but it's not a major issue. It would be good to know for absolute sure for future work, since it seems that it wasn't recognized on the set. If the sound guy was monitoring from a mixer and not the camera and the sound was ok, then it could have been a connection problem between the mixer and camera.

January 9th, 2006, 12:26 PM	#4
A. J. deLange Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: McLean, VA United States Posts: 749	Most NLE's have at least some simple filtering. If the noise is low frequency rumble a simple hi pass may suffice. If it is narrow band (true hum or tone) a notch or band reject should do the job. Redoing the dialog (ADR) will always solve the problem if that is practical.