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How To Reduce “Breaths/Inhales” Using Soundbooth
I have a VO that I’m pretty happy with, however when I’m done adding Compression/EQ and mixing it with the audio, there is one glaringly evident issue; the breaths/inhales.
They’re not so bad I can’t live with them but I’d like to address them if possible. I’ve tried cutting them out but it leaves the VO sounding flat and abruptly cuts in and out between words. I’ve also tried changing the timing in these silent parts, but I’m not happy so I’m forced to leave them in as is.
However, I noticed that all the breaths always fall under a certain db level. Is there a filter that I can apply that will only target the noises in this db range (IE: where the breaths/inhales fall) and allow me to reduce that by a percentage without taking it out completely?
I’m assuming some kind of Gate, just not sure how to go about it.
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4 Replies
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Just by adding compression you have raised the level of the breathing noises, so I’d look at adding a gate to the VO track and adjust to taste. It may work better with uncompressed audio so the levels for the breaths will be lower and sound more natural.
I’m using Soundbooth 3.0 from CS5 so an earlier version may be different. Soundbooth has a gate in it’s Dynamics (Advanced) settings.
Best bet is to set it manually and play with the settings to get it to sound right. Soundbooths help file has a starting point to help you understand where to begin.
Good Luck
Steve -
Thanks, I’ll give that a try. Just a few quick questions about my work-flow:
1) Are you saying that since compression is causing the issues I should avoid using compression in those instances?
2) With the Gate, I’m assuming you mean apply it before the compression step? If so, how can I target just the breaths with it?
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UPDATE:
I actually found the Gate and applied it before my compression steps and it’s working very well. However, this opens up another question:
Before I starting compressing/EQ I always 1) Normalize, 2) capture a noise print in the silent areas and 3) do a “Noise Reduce” process in Soundbooth.
With me now applying a Noise Gate for the breaths, would that also handle the low frying noises as well? Would it be overkill to do both?
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The gate will only take out noise in low volume areas, once the volume is high it cannot touch any noise in the mix, that’s what you use the noise print removal for. EQing the mix in parts might help in noise reduction too. I’d use the noise removal first and then the gate. But it may work better the opposite way too. Compress/Limit and then normalize as the final step. Trial and error.
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