Help a Novice fix the impossible

amendegw wrote on 5/23/2009, 6:49 AM

Hi! I volunteered to help a friend fix up an old video he made for a class reunion. This was before I realized how BAD the sound actually was.

Can any "experts" help me with some techniques to make the sound more listenable (if that's a word)? The sound doesn't have to be perfect - just better.

I have Vegas 9 and Sound Forge w/ Noise Reduction. I've been using Vegas, on-and-off, for home use since Version 4) but I'm new to sound correction. I'd like a step-by-step, if possible.

Here's the samples: http://www.jazzythedog.com/FixthisNoise.aspx

Thanks,
...Jerry

Comments

John_Cline wrote on 5/25/2009, 3:59 AM

The noise reduction plugin in Sound Forge is for steady-state noise like AC power hum, air conditioner noise and tape hiss. It will be virtually useless for the two noise samples you posted.

newhope wrote on 5/25/2009, 6:52 AM

Broadband noise reduction plug-ins like Izotope RX or Waves Z-Noise could definitely reduce some of the background noise in the samples you posted. They'll never be 'clean' but can be improved.

The downside is the cost of this software. Particularly on a job done as a favour.

Geoff_Wood wrote on 5/25/2009, 9:35 PM

I doubt you will be able to do much. You could start with noise-gating, but would probably be better manually drawing a volume envelope to notch out the unwanted sounds. Very tedious and very slow, and will still sound unnatural and quite bad....

geoff

Joshalot wrote on 5/26/2009, 4:34 AM

HI Jerry,

I've been running into similar issues as I'm also a novice. The best luck I've had has been using the graphic equalizer. I downloaded your audio, I put a narrow volume peak in the equalizer at around 1k-2k and cut everything else out. This worked better on the wind noise sample than the crowd. In both cases it brings out the treble in the voice and makes it easier to hear what he is saying. However, I wouldnt call it good sound quality :)

Here's what came out:

I found that the "Blue Cat FreqAnalyst" VST plugin, which is a frequency spectrum analyzer was helpful in figuring out which freq ranges to adjust.

The way I've solved this for myself is to go buy a shotgun microphone which I mount on my camera, or use a long cord and hold near the person speaking. The shotgun mic has a narrow field and can pick up a speaker at a surprising distance while ignoring backround crowd noise.

I have an audix UEM1 which cost $150, but I've also seen lots of good reviews for the Audio-Technica ATR55 which is only $50.
If you go this route, look for one that has stereo out (or get a mono->stereo adapter) and a 1/8" mini plug, which is more convenient than XLR if you are connecting to a consumer camera. (The experts here may weigh in with more informed opinions...)

Its obviously too late for the 1992 reunion, but it might be a good idea if your friend goes back in 2012.

good luck

amendegw wrote on 5/26/2009, 7:46 AM

" I put a narrow volume peak in the equalizer at around 1k-2k and cut everything else out"

Aaah, that seemed to help. I'll give it a shot this this evening. My friend recognizes a video shot in 1992 on VHS-C with all this noise is not going to become crystal clear.

Oh, and thanks to all... I'm learning!!

...Jerry