OT: Loudish* clicking sound in my audio

FrigidNDEditing wrote on 7/1/2005, 11:46 AM

I've been noticing that I'm getting a loudish clicking noise intermitently when I'm recording interviews using my lav mic. AT898 and AT899 - I've got both, but dont' remember which it is (it's a cardioid/hyper cardioid) Anyway - it seems like it could be their mouths making the noise - as it is only with some people. It almost ruined an interview I did with one woman who seemed to make this noise so loudly that it was almost over powering.

Has anyone here had this problem? - how do you get around it?

Thanks for any input.

Dave

Comments

Nat wrote on 7/1/2005, 11:59 AM

Can you send an example ?

FrigidNDEditing wrote on 7/1/2005, 3:14 PM

I'll slip one to you later next week - too busy right now.

Dave

VOGuy wrote on 7/1/2005, 6:06 PM

I just this week, received a note from someone who frequents this forum who I recorded a voice-over for. His problem? A strange sort of "artifact" in the audio. I listened to the audio I sent him and realized that what he was hearing in my narration was "dry mouth" syndrome - something that all of us voice-over types experience from time to time.

It's usually worse in the summer, when air-conditioning systems suck the moisture from our respiratory and sinus systems. It gets worse the longer you speak. A good cup of coffee makes the problem even worse. If there's any limiting or volume compression in the system, the effect is enhanced. For some reason, compressing to .mp3 files makes the problem even more noticible.

If the subject you're recording is nervous or uneasy, the effect will also be more pronounced.

If you listen carefully to programs and commercials recorded in the summer, you'll hear it - a sort of constant "clicking" as the announcer/news person/actor talks - and inhales. Dan Rather always has it. The more times you hear it, the more you notice it.

Possible solutions.
1) Lavelier mic position - make sure you're not trying to position the mic too close to the subject's mouth.
2) A dynamic mic. Condensor microphones are more sensitive to these noises, for some reason.
3) Water. Have the subject take a few sips before they start talking, and frequently during the recording session.
5) Filter high frequencies in post - You'll need to experiment with each talent.
6) Pop and Scratch Filter. Many of the mouth noises are very similar in frequency to scratches on a phonograph record, and some of the commercial applications on the market to a pretty good job of reducing them.
7) Get the subject to relax. - If you discover how to do that, let us know.
8) Edit out the noises. Many times, you can find the noises in the timeline and simply edit or mute them.

---

After turning off the AC for a while, and taking a good amount of water, I re-recorded the audio for my customer, who was quite relieved that, at least for him, the fix was fairly simple.

-Travis

FrigidNDEditing wrote on 7/1/2005, 7:51 PM

VOguy - thanks so much for the info - I'm pretty certain you hit it right on the head. These are "average folk" being interviewed for display in a closed circuit setting of about 1-2K people, much easier to make them fit the time table needed if I can just cut up everything that they say :)

I'll get back to you on #7

(Side note: I did notice that the one lady I interviewed had no sounds like this at all, she had also said that she used to dj on a radio station - I thought, I wonder if there are just some people that make this noise and some that don't, guess that's kinda true, kinda not.)

Dave

farss wrote on 7/2/2005, 3:30 PM

Some are much worse than others and it's one reason I'm not too keen on using short shotguns for VO work. Others may be able to flesh that view out a bit.
But as said, give the talent planty of water to drink, I also wonder if loose false teeth add to the problem, maybe keep some BlueTack in the kit?
I've had one talking head who had a great trick, mouth the first syllable of the word before he said it. The guy looks like he speaks out of sync, took a while to convince the client it was him and not 'the camera'.
Bob.

VOGuy wrote on 7/3/2005, 5:33 PM

My guess is tht the lady who had been a DJ was more comfortable and less self-conscious talking on a mic. Yes, some people are more prone to this than others, but it can happen to anyone. If you're ever able to be present in a theatrical casting situation, you'll find that even experienced actors will have it so bad that you can hear it from the other end of the room. I've heard one director say that he can tell how experienced an actor is by the amount of extraneous clicking he hears during the read - "It's certainly better than believing the resume!" he said.

There is a long list of remedies that pros in the field use to attempt to allevieate this problem, chewing on an apple, honey-lemon potions, mouth and throat exercises, etc. I've tried them all - a few work, sometimes. When I have it really bad, for me, the best solution is to simply wait a half-hour, if possible.

What will happen to you (if it hasn't already) is that you will begin to notice these mouth noises everywhere, when friends speak, on the evening news, every piece of footage you shoot, etc.

Try not to let it drive you crazy....