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Fixing “hot” audio
I’m editing a documetary. It’s low budget and was shot on DV (GL2)
A lot of the footage was shot with a clip-on mic, straight to DV. The levels are way to high and whenever the interviewee raises his or her voice the audio breaks up and becomes distorted, and my audio levels indicator shoots up to red.
My gut feelings tell me this cannot be fixed, but I’m no audio pro. What do you think?
THANKS
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9 Replies
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reshoot filter. 🙁
Ty Ford
Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
or https://www.tyford.com
Download Ty Ford’s “Existential Boogie” from iTunes now. -
Gut feelings are good!
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You might try to bring down the overall levels of your source material by about -8 db (in the video editing app). It could be that the high levels are clipping the soundcard inputs and the recorded files are fine – or it could be a combination of both. The meters built into Final Cut Pro are not real accurate and tend to peak prematurely. Other NLE meters also tend to be inaccurate with regards to peak indication.
However, as Ty and Frank alluded to, It IS most likely clipped on tape, so don’t get your hopes too high.
System Info – G5/Dual 2 – 10.4.8 – QT v7.1.3 – 8GB ram – Radeon 9800Pro – External SATA Raid – Decklink Extreme – Wacom 6×8
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Might as well commit suicide. If you’ve had your life insurance for more than two years, your family can still collect.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, ArizonaIt’s a dry heat!
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Ah,
I was thinking you were bringing in the audio and video via Firewire. Is this not he case?
If you’re bringing it in via analog and it’s distorted, plug in a headset and listen. If it’s not distorted in the headset, there’s something wrong with your transfer method.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
or https://www.tyford.com
Download Ty Ford’s “Existential Boogie” from iTunes now. -
Thanks for the help and funny comments…
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If possible, book some ADR time.
Otherwise, you may be able to take some of the edge off by EQ out a bit of the higher frequencies. If you were recording the on-camera mic to a second channel, you may be able to briefly rely on it during the worst of the distortion (mix judiciously to avoid making it overly apparent).
Do you know where the distortion was introduced? Were you just hitting the recorder’s inputs too hard, or were you overloading a wireless transmitter? Knowing exactly what caused the problem will go a long way towards avoiding it in the future.
We’ve all been there. The important thing is to keep it from happenning again.
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Which, by the way, means ALWAYS LISTEN.
the second corollary of which is, ALWAYS LISTEN.
Regards,
Ty (not trying to be a nag, just the voice of experience.) Ford
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Amen.
Tim (who seems to have learned every important lesson – the hard way)
BTW, I bought your book a while ago and love it. Short, sweet and to the point. Lots of great info to quickly get up-to-speed on audio for video.
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