minimize wind sound in audio track?

[Aric Mannion]

Shot something on a real windy day and it can be heard while people are speaking. I'm looking for a Final Cut audio filter that will minimize the sound of blowing wind hitting my mic. Even if it helps a little, I don't expect to fix it completely.
I'm not very good with audio, so if someone could recommend something subtle to add as a default that would be ideal. The more I tweak audio the worse it gets, and I don't have a good ear for quality control (I just have a good eye).

[Bill Davis]

Generally, wind noise is low frequency rumble.

Try a High Pass Filter set low at around 300-400hz - then walk that number up or down to taste.

And you're right, at some point, the same filter that's cutting out the wind will chop the bottom frequencies off your voices pushing them to sound thin and/or tinny.

But that's how it goes.

Good luck.

[Mitchell Lewis]

Try Bill's technique, but if that's enough, you can try Adobe Sound Booth and it's superior noise reduction capabilities. You find a section of video were no one is talking, take a sample of that section (the wind noise) and then the software will analyze the entire clip removing only the wind noise.

I've used it before with constant noise like air conditioner hum and it worked great. I'm not sure how well it will work with wind noise, but it's worth a try.

[Noah Kadner]

And next time- consider a nice windjammer or sock for your mic. The best way to fix audio in post is during production...

Noah

[Jonathan Jones]

Other apps to consider would be Soundtrack Pro (part of the FCS Suite), Audacity (a free download) and SoundSoap 2 (a for-purchase app from Bias, Inc.) - all 3 of which work similarly in taking a sample of the affected audio, conforming filtering specs, and then applying those specs to your designated audio. Each of these apps work with varying degrees of control and quality of results. Some audio may not be salvageable at all depending upon the affected ranges of the audio spectrum. Some attempts at cleaning the audio can also be overdone and make the audio sound even worse, or entirely unintelligible.

I use Audacity quite a bit for quick and simple audio projects. It's noise filtering capacity is marginal, but it's a free app so I can't complain.

I like Soundtrack Pro for a number uses, especially fixing little clicks and pops. It's capacity to minimize aberrant noise is actually pretty decent, but I find that the app itself is not as cooperative as I would like.

SoundSoap has saved my skin a few times. I am in awe over what it has been able to do for me. But I have a love/hate relationship with it. The interface is pretty lousy. I now use large, high resolution monitors, but the interface is not scalable, so it is a very small window on my screen in which to work, and it is hard to see what I am doing with any precision. They provide plug-ins to work in-app, but without the same dynamic feedback as the native interface and therefore very difficult to dial-in to taste. But it's capacity for cleaning audio is quite astounding. But by contrast, if one goes overboard with the tweaking, it can really mulch the audio beyond comprehension. (I understand that the SS Pro interface would alleviate my scaling problem but I haven't yet made the upgrade for lack of $$).


In the future, you will find it a very strong benefit to monitor your audio with a set of cans during the shoot.

Good luck.

-Jon