Whats the best way to reduce wind in audio?

Denny Lajeunesse · August 26th, 2010, 12:24 PM

Hmm.. Chris, do you think we could charge extra for that? Call it the "Clear voice package"?? :)

John Knight · August 29th, 2010, 10:22 PM

Highpass filter at around 185 works for me.

Philip Howells · August 29th, 2010, 11:51 PM

John, do you mean you roll off everything under 185Hz or are you using some sort of parametric filter centred on 185Hz.

If the latter it would also be useful to know the bandwidth of your filter for anyone to make any use of your suggestion.

If the former it sounds much like what others might call a rumble filter.

But if it works anyone with noise to remove will want to try it.

John Knight · August 30th, 2010, 01:48 AM

Hi Philip, the former... just roll off.

It's just a standard filter in Adobe Premiere - there is highpass and lowpass. For rumbles (including wind) I add the highpass filter and choose somewhere between 75-200hz (experiment because it can make the sound a little thin.)

I've found also a good trick for outdoor weddings with high pitch sounds (trees rustling or crickets chirping) - lowpass at about 6000hz - they completely disappear leaving the vocals - amazing!

Philip Howells · August 30th, 2010, 03:57 AM

John, so it's a simple roll off. It was the 185Hz that troubled me because it's getting near to the telephone sound - middle A is 330Hz and I think the telephone pass filter is centred about that. Maybe a music backing track - if appropriate - would help fill the sound.

The 6K filter is interesting although at my age it's approaching the limit of audibility. I once facetiously suggested the solution to high pitch interference was older clients!

Claire Buckley · August 30th, 2010, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Borrego

I recently shot a wedding outside and the wind was horrible! I used everything that I had to reduce it at the time but its still pretty bad. I edit with FCP 6 and use Sound Forge. I was curious if anybody knows of any filters in those two applications that I could use to reduce the wind. I was able to bring the vocals up with a Compressor/Limiter filter but thats as far as I got.

12 to 18db per octave roll off at 120 hz is often sufficient.

Steve Childs · August 30th, 2010, 10:31 AM

You mean to tell me you didn't have them do the wedding over again? :)

Denny Lajeunesse · August 30th, 2010, 11:52 AM

For my next wedding, I am hiring body doubles for the wide shots then green screening the B&G for the closeups. No sound issues that way.

;)

Jay West · August 30th, 2010, 01:53 PM

Ryan --

Outdoor weddings in Wyoming can be such fun.

I had a similar --- maybe worse --- experience with a wedding I shot several years ago on the South Fork of the Shoshone south of Cody. I was able to get the sound usable with Sound Forge 8.

The minister and the couple were so close to the water that they might as well have been standing in the river. Just before the vows, blustery wind began spilling down the canyon right along the river. Flags stood straight out from the poles. The Matron of Honor tried to hold the Bride's veil on her head but had to give up and just take it off. The minister and the couple were getting buffeted in the wind. The minister sort of had his back to the wind and was wearing two lavaliers. My lavalier had a windscreen and gave sort of usable audio except for the times he turned sideways. The one for the p.a. system was hopeless. I had another lavalier on the groom. Sometimes, the Minister stood in a way that somewhat shielded the groom's mike (which fortunately happened during the bride's vows) but sometimes the wind went across the groom's chest and right across the lavalier. Besides me, the minister, the couple and the matron of honor, nobody else heard much of the rest of the ceremony let alone the vows. Does this seem like the kind of stuff you ran into over where you were shooting?

I used both Sound Forge's "noise print" first and the followed with the sub-200hz roll-offs as Claire and John described. It took some fiddling, but those techniques got rid of most of the really bad rumble so the voices could be understood. The audio was still noisy but was in keeping with what was seen in the video (hair and veils being blown in the "breeze", etc.). Considering that the guests who were there had trouble hear anything decipherable, everybody was satisfied with the resulting DVD.

Like Don, I have a contract provision that covers these kinds of issues. While Don uses a separate form for outdoor weddings, I use a standard provision in all of my contracts that basically tells people that we record the wedding that happens and cannot guarantee made-for-tv perfection.

August 26th, 2010, 12:24 PM	#16
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	Hmm.. Chris, do you think we could charge extra for that? Call it the "Clear voice package"?? :)

August 29th, 2010, 10:22 PM	#17
John Knight Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 588	Highpass filter at around 185 works for me.

August 29th, 2010, 11:51 PM	#18
Philip Howells Trustee Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 1,212	John, do you mean you roll off everything under 185Hz or are you using some sort of parametric filter centred on 185Hz. If the latter it would also be useful to know the bandwidth of your filter for anyone to make any use of your suggestion. If the former it sounds much like what others might call a rumble filter. But if it works anyone with noise to remove will want to try it.

August 30th, 2010, 01:48 AM	#19
John Knight Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 588	Hi Philip, the former... just roll off. It's just a standard filter in Adobe Premiere - there is highpass and lowpass. For rumbles (including wind) I add the highpass filter and choose somewhere between 75-200hz (experiment because it can make the sound a little thin.) I've found also a good trick for outdoor weddings with high pitch sounds (trees rustling or crickets chirping) - lowpass at about 6000hz - they completely disappear leaving the vocals - amazing!

August 30th, 2010, 03:57 AM	#20
Philip Howells Trustee Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Manchester UK Posts: 1,212	John, so it's a simple roll off. It was the 185Hz that troubled me because it's getting near to the telephone sound - middle A is 330Hz and I think the telephone pass filter is centred about that. Maybe a music backing track - if appropriate - would help fill the sound. The 6K filter is interesting although at my age it's approaching the limit of audibility. I once facetiously suggested the solution to high pitch interference was older clients!

August 30th, 2010, 10:31 AM	#22
Steve Childs New Boot Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Norman, OK Posts: 13	You mean to tell me you didn't have them do the wedding over again? :)

August 30th, 2010, 11:52 AM	#23
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	For my next wedding, I am hiring body doubles for the wide shots then green screening the B&G for the closeups. No sound issues that way. ;)

August 30th, 2010, 01:53 PM	#24
Jay West Major Player Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Red Lodge, Montana Posts: 889	Ryan -- Outdoor weddings in Wyoming can be such fun. I had a similar --- maybe worse --- experience with a wedding I shot several years ago on the South Fork of the Shoshone south of Cody. I was able to get the sound usable with Sound Forge 8. The minister and the couple were so close to the water that they might as well have been standing in the river. Just before the vows, blustery wind began spilling down the canyon right along the river. Flags stood straight out from the poles. The Matron of Honor tried to hold the Bride's veil on her head but had to give up and just take it off. The minister and the couple were getting buffeted in the wind. The minister sort of had his back to the wind and was wearing two lavaliers. My lavalier had a windscreen and gave sort of usable audio except for the times he turned sideways. The one for the p.a. system was hopeless. I had another lavalier on the groom. Sometimes, the Minister stood in a way that somewhat shielded the groom's mike (which fortunately happened during the bride's vows) but sometimes the wind went across the groom's chest and right across the lavalier. Besides me, the minister, the couple and the matron of honor, nobody else heard much of the rest of the ceremony let alone the vows. Does this seem like the kind of stuff you ran into over where you were shooting? I used both Sound Forge's "noise print" first and the followed with the sub-200hz roll-offs as Claire and John described. It took some fiddling, but those techniques got rid of most of the really bad rumble so the voices could be understood. The audio was still noisy but was in keeping with what was seen in the video (hair and veils being blown in the "breeze", etc.). Considering that the guests who were there had trouble hear anything decipherable, everybody was satisfied with the resulting DVD. Like Don, I have a contract provision that covers these kinds of issues. While Don uses a separate form for outdoor weddings, I use a standard provision in all of my contracts that basically tells people that we record the wedding that happens and cannot guarantee made-for-tv perfection.