Can Vegas 6 Remove/Minimize Wind Noise?

sfarson wrote on 4/23/2006, 5:47 PM
I record motorcycle videos. Really like Vegas 6 though I probably know about 25% of its capabilities. Curious to know if Vegas can eliminate or minimize wind noise while letting the exhaust note still come through. Can hear both in my recordings.

I have an out of state friend who uses Vegas and I thought I recall him telling the audio editing capabilities are outstanding with the software. Maybe it's a wishful recollection.

I tried to find any Help topics on this in the software but couldn't find any. Are there any techniques to edit out a certain kind, range, frequency of noise? Thanks much,

Steve

Comments

dat5150 wrote on 4/23/2006, 5:57 PM
I don't know the answer to your question...and I had the same problem. I fixed it with this nifty device http://www.mikemuff.com/index.shtml
Chienworks wrote on 4/23/2006, 6:01 PM
Wind is extremely difficult to filter. Don't expect any dramatic results; it just ain't gonna happen. That being said, probably your best bet is EQ. Using Graphic EQ you can choose some frequency ranges to diminish and some to augment. The problem you face is that wind noise covers pretty much the whole frequency range, so you can't really eliminate it. What you'll have to do is reduce everything, then find the range containing what you want to keep, and bring that back up. For voices this is usually 300Hz to 2KHz. I won't even hazard a guess at the frequency of the "exhaust note", but i think it would change as the RPMs ramp up. You'll probably have to use an EQ envelope to change the settings from moment to moment throughout the video.
John_Cline wrote on 4/23/2006, 6:19 PM
Wind noise has a very wide frequency range, not to mention dynamic range. There is no tool of which I am aware that will reduce wind noise after the fact by any significant degree. Once the wind noise is recorded, you are pretty much out of luck. Rycote makes a range of excellent "wind sock" products that will prevent wind noise at the microphone.

John
sfarson wrote on 4/23/2006, 7:37 PM
Well, OK everyone... At least I know what the situation is, capabilities are. Looks like the best alternative is remove it the best I can during the recording.

Thanks, Steve
jrazz wrote on 4/23/2006, 7:57 PM
What exactly are you trying to capture? Pipe noise? Voices? Road noise? If you are capturing voices, and the riders are wearing helmets, why not do a voice over as you do not have to sync the voices to the lip movement as no one will see the lips if they have a wind sheild on the helmet. Road noise? Well, place a mic close to the road/tire and place a home made wind shield to cover it from the wind- same thing with the pipes. You can do all this in post, just go back out there with a mic and record the lengths you need and do the voice over in doors (no wind).

Again, this may be totally unfeasible as I don't know what you are trying to capture. Just a thought

j razz
Serena wrote on 4/23/2006, 8:05 PM
Soundforge has a very good NR plugin and certainly that can remove most wind noise. However, as you'll have read above, that will also remove too much from the stuff you want to keep. You might have more joy with motorcycle exhaust frequencies because those engines are high revving and the power spectrum of wind noise tends to be in the lower frequencies. Worth a try, but most likely the result will be unsatisfactory. The best way out is probably by foley effects; might be to get some good audio of bikes (without other noise) and dub that to your visuals with suitable background SFX. Can do quite well with intelliegnt cutting of audio and volume control.

Be assured that wind shields can be very effective in protecting mikes from wind (gales are tricky). The light foam covers are effective only in light breezes. You need fuzzies for stronger winds (I use Rycote, but there are many other brands).