Lowering Ambient noise

[Joey Dee]

HI people :)

Quick question, I have a Sony Dv camcorder Trv19, when I shoot with it I get ambient noise from the background that I do not need. I have read this post http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...t=reduce+noise however i do not have a boom mic ( a big long mic ) my mic is built into my cam.

However I have an Imac G5 with Final Cut Studio 5, also SoundTrack is included in FCP studio 5 maybe I can use that program to eliminate some of the unwanted background ambient noises? Here is a link of a footage as an example let's say I wanted to remove some unwanted background noises.

http://www.dvspot.com/reviews/sony/t...mple_movie.mov

Can you guys please help me out.

Best regards,
Joey

[K. Forman]

You can get some shotguns pretty cheap. I spent $100 or less for an ATR55, and while it isn't an expensive "pro" mic, the results are far better than not having it.

[Brian Farris]

Thank goodness you have soundtrack pro. I wouldn't have it any other way...

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/...reduction.html

[Joey Dee]

Keith & Brian thanks alot fellas.

Keith: so basically just get a shotgun mic and that would help me out alot? How does a shotgun mic work, let's say i point it will it only pick up the sound where you point it to? What about the surrounding sounds? "i hope that made sense haha "

Brian: yah i saw that tutorial before, I was wondering if there is a tutorial DVD somewhere i can get for Final Cut Studio (Motion, Soundtrack, LiveType....)

Thanks fellas, if anyone else wants to input their opinion that would be amazing.
JOey

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Joey Dee

Keith & Brian thanks alot fellas.

Keith: so basically just get a shotgun mic and that would help me out alot? How does a shotgun mic work, let's say i point it will it only pick up the sound where you point it to? What about the surrounding sounds? "i hope that made sense haha "

Brian: yah i saw that tutorial before, I was wondering if there is a tutorial DVD somewhere i can get for Final Cut Studio (Motion, Soundtrack, LiveType....)

Thanks fellas, if anyone else wants to input their opinion that would be amazing.
JOey

A shotgun mic can help, but be aware that in a reflective environment they are usually not so good because of the way the colour rather than reduce background sounds and a hypercardioid is generally preferred indoors. In either case, the first thing to explore is how to get the mic closer to the subject. Mics at the camera position, no matter what sort or how expensive, are only very very rarely suitable for good sound. You need to get the mic as close as possible, ideally within 18 inches to 2 feet from the speaker. This is as true of the $2000 top-of-the-line professional shotguns as it is for the $100-$200 variety.

How do they work? Shotguns (named for how they look) are most sensitive to sounds coming from a relatively small area directly in front of them and sensitivity falls off rapidly on the sides and towards the rear. They do have a fairly small angle of maximum sensitivity but their off-axis response is highly frequency dependent and at low frequencies they still can pickup a signifigant amount from the rear-sides. This can lead to a hollow sound indoors. Hypers are not quite as narrow in their pickup aiming but their directivity is much more uniform over the frequency spectrum.

A good starter shotgun might be the Rode Videomic.