Improving Sound for Marching Band Halftime Videos

[G4scott]

I'm importing DV tapes from the pressbox of marching band performances to put on the web or on DVDs, and I'm wondering if there's any way I can make the audio sound better. It kinda sucks, because the audio just comes from the camera (I'm not even sure what type of camera was used.)

Is there a way to apply an EQ or filters to the movie in Final Cut Pro, and what do you recommend?

I know how to do basic editing (capturing, cutting, exporting), but I don't have too much experience with audio or video filters.

[-DH]

It's kind of hard to tell you how to fix something when the only description is "It kinda sucks."

Yes, you can add EQ filters, lo-cut filters, low pass filters and all other types of audio filters right within FCP. Load the clip into the Viewer, go to Effect->Audio Filters and pick one. You'll need to play around with the settings to get whatever it is you're looking for.

Alternatively, you can probably do more by working with the audio in SoundTrack Pro or ProTools.

-DH

[G4scott]

Thanks for the help.

By it sucks, I mean there's a lot of extra stadium noise and the sound is very 'thin'. I imagine there's no way to get rid of all the noise, but I'll try to do what I can by using those filters. Let me see if I can put a clip of the unedited audio online to see what it sounds like. This may belong in the Digital Audio forum...

[Le Big Mac]

Thanks for the help.

By it sucks, I mean there's a lot of extra stadium noise and the sound is very 'thin'. I imagine there's no way to get rid of all the noise, but I'll try to do what I can by using those filters. Let me see if I can put a clip of the unedited audio online to see what it sounds like. This may belong in the Digital Audio forum...

Not that this solves your problem for existing video, but would a better mic help? I don't know much in this area, but some sort of shotgun mike presumably could help avoid the ambient sound at least to some degree.

[Counterfit]

You can't make it sound better than the source. And by that, I mean marching bands sound like crap