Eliminating Handling Noise at DVinfo.net

Philip Melia · April 26th, 2005, 06:58 AM

Hi there DVi Community,

I have noticed a low level of camera handling noise on my audio tracks - anyone know how I might get rid of it. I have used the Notch Filter in FCP to lessen noise from high gain settings and am wondering if there might be a setting that also deals with lower frequency sounds of bumps/rubs on the camera body.

Look forward to hearing from someone,

Phil

Glenn Chan · April 26th, 2005, 02:34 PM

Use an equalization filter to get rid of bass frequencies. However, you want to avoid getting rid of good frequencies (i.e. dialogue). Dialogue usually starts around 100hz or so, depending on the person's voice and male/female (female's voices are generally higher). Set the equalizer to reduce low frequencies as much as possible, and the cutoff to be as high as possible (i.e. a high Q settings... if the EQ filter has graphical settings, the slope should become sharper). Start low and sweep the frequency up until you hear damage to your audio, then back off.

"High pass" and "parametric" EQ filters would be what you're looking for. Low shelf would work too.

2- Which version of FCP? With older versions, the audio filters are not real-time. Use Peak DV instead.

3- Another thing you can try is manually replacing quiet parts with room tone. This is not fun though. Or manually cut out quiet parts and put them on their own track where you apply EQ that gets rid of more bass. You will need to do a cross-fading thing so everything is seemless.

4- You probably can't do all that much about handling noise in post if the things above don't work. It's nearly always a good idea to capture good audio in the first place. You can avoid handling and some camera noise by getting a shockmount for your microphone. Check the "now hear this" forum for audio advice.

Philip Melia · April 27th, 2005, 07:18 AM

Cool advice, Glenn, thanks very much.

Best wishes,

Phil

April 26th, 2005, 06:58 AM	#1
Philip Melia New Boot Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 12	Eliminating Handling Noise Hi there DVi Community, I have noticed a low level of camera handling noise on my audio tracks - anyone know how I might get rid of it. I have used the Notch Filter in FCP to lessen noise from high gain settings and am wondering if there might be a setting that also deals with lower frequency sounds of bumps/rubs on the camera body. Look forward to hearing from someone, Phil

April 26th, 2005, 02:34 PM	#2
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Use an equalization filter to get rid of bass frequencies. However, you want to avoid getting rid of good frequencies (i.e. dialogue). Dialogue usually starts around 100hz or so, depending on the person's voice and male/female (female's voices are generally higher). Set the equalizer to reduce low frequencies as much as possible, and the cutoff to be as high as possible (i.e. a high Q settings... if the EQ filter has graphical settings, the slope should become sharper). Start low and sweep the frequency up until you hear damage to your audio, then back off. "High pass" and "parametric" EQ filters would be what you're looking for. Low shelf would work too. 2- Which version of FCP? With older versions, the audio filters are not real-time. Use Peak DV instead. 3- Another thing you can try is manually replacing quiet parts with room tone. This is not fun though. Or manually cut out quiet parts and put them on their own track where you apply EQ that gets rid of more bass. You will need to do a cross-fading thing so everything is seemless. 4- You probably can't do all that much about handling noise in post if the things above don't work. It's nearly always a good idea to capture good audio in the first place. You can avoid handling and some camera noise by getting a shockmount for your microphone. Check the "now hear this" forum for audio advice.

April 27th, 2005, 07:18 AM	#3
Philip Melia New Boot Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 12	Cool advice, Glenn, thanks very much. Best wishes, Phil