Any tips for reducing wind noise in post?

[Jeff Hendricks]

Working on an outside wedding where there is some (not horrible) wind noise on the minister's mike (giant squid-no wind screen). I am trying to eliminate as much as possible but noise reduction does not work and highpass makes his vioce too tinny. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...sorry if this question is in the wrong place but it is for a wedding...so I thought the guys here might be able to help.

Any suggestions for a good wind screen for the giant squid lapel mikes (connected to an I-river)?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Don Bloom]

What sort of programs do you have at hand? Audition, Sound Forge, Noise Reduction, Gold Wave, Audicy....This way someone can give you more concise directions using that specific program.

Don

[Jeff Hendricks]

Just editing with Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0...currently no audio specific software

[Louis Maddalena]

What platform are you running on?

[Jeff Hendricks]

Windows XP...

[Louis Maddalena]

Sorry, i don't know any windows xp programs to do this... good luck though.

[Ben Brainerd]

Wind is one of the trickiest noises to remove from a soundtrack. That's why we go to so much effort to prevent it in the first place.

First off, I would suggest getting Audacity. It's a freeware audio editing program that, while not on the level of any of the pro apps, is definitely better than trying to edit the audio in Premiere.

Once you've got it, I would try a number of different techniques. Be aware that none of these are perfect, and you're going to have to live with some wind noise, or slightly tinny voices.

1)Try Audacity's noise reduction. It's sample-based, which means you select a bit of the track that is just noise, and use that to filter the rest. You might get decent results.

2) Try running it through a graphic EQ of some sort. Play around with pulling out different frequencies until you get an acceptable result.

3) High Pass, which you've already tried.

One trick is to combine these methods. Use a basic noise reduction, or EQ to get rid of most of the noise, while still leaving your voices intact. Then go through again very aggressively, to get rid of all the noise. You'll end up with voices that are pretty tinny. Lay the aggressive track over the other track, and you'll find that some of the tinniness is masked. That way you can punch up the dialogue so it's audible over the wind.

Hope that helps.

[Marcus Marchesseault]

Has anyone ever tried a high-pass to remove rumble then applied a pitch-shift effect an octave or two lower (exactly on the octave to keep the pitch the same) to add some lower frequencies? I'm referring to a pitch shift that retains the correct sample timing so the existing high frequencies would be used to generate corresponding lower frequencies that keep pace with the "tinny" voice.

[Jeff Hendricks]

Marcus,

That is what I did with this project and it has gotten me the best results so far. Except I increased the highpass and added bass instead of changing the pitch of the vioce...worked out pretty well without having to go to an external program.

That seems to be the key...next I need tiny wind screens for my lapel mics so I don't have to deal with this again as most weddings at Lake Tahoe tend to be outside and most of the time there is a breeze.

Jeff

[Ben Brainerd]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hendricks

next I need tiny wind screens for my lapel mics so I don't have to deal with this again as most weddings at Lake Tahoe tend to be outside and most of the time there is a breeze.

And that's the easiest solution to the problem. Trust me, spending a few bucks, even on the cheap little foam windscreens, will save you so much trouble in the long run. And leave 'em on if you're outdoors. Even if it's dead calm when you start, who knows when the wind will pick up? Heck, I'd just leave it on all the time, even indoors. You never know when, say, the groom is going to lower his head a sigh, right across the mic. Or the AC will kick on, and you find that your mic is right next to an outlet vent. Or... Well, you get the idea.