Audio Manipulation in FCP Studio 2

[DrRock]

I'm asking this in the audio thread, as it's primarily an audio question, and I hope to enlist the aid of the audio experts on the forum.

I am working on a movie project, and much of my production audio was recorded poorly. Some had excessive background noise, like a large industrial freezer humming to no end, some had wind or other interference, and some was simply recorded at too low of a level, creating hiss.

What's the best application to use for filtering/EQ'ing out some of this unwanted noise?

Are FCPs onboard filters & EQ settings sufficient, or does Soundtrack Pro or Garage Band have better tools?

Or, do I go with a third party program, and if so, which one provides the most flexibility at a reasonable price?

Thanks!

 

[deej999]

Send the audio to Soundtrack Pro and use the noise removal features. Better than what you get in Final Cut.

deej

 

[Leddy]

Hi DrRock,

There's only so much you can do with poor source audio. Soundtrack Pro has reasonable noise reduction and if you can grab a sample of the unwanted noise you might make some headway there - err on the side of caution though. It's possible to get a flanging/phasing effect from applying your noise reduction too heavily and anything that makes vocals sound unrealistic will be picked up pretty quickly by an audience.

Other tips would be to use EQ to roll off hiss and rumble - the Channel EQ in Soundtrack Pro does a pretty good job at that. You'll be surprised at what a difference it can make.

Try to mask some of your background noise with other sounds where possible.

Depending on the nature of the project and the time factor ADR may be another option.

Cheers.

 

[DrRock]

^

Thanks for the info guys. I've tried the noise removal feature in Soundtrack, and it helps but I have noticed the flanging/phasing effect it causes. I'll give the EQ function a try, or maybe a combination of the two.

I will definitely be masking with a music bed, so hopefully that helps as well. I want to use ADR only as a last resort, so I hope some of the other options work for me. Thanks again!