Harmonizing/Equalizing Shot Gun Audio

[Dukey]

Hey guys so shot a short dialogue scene but used a shot gun mic to record audio (Rode video mic pro only thing I could afford) and the direction of audio is all over the place. Strong when point directly at subject but when someone else speaks on the side it sounds distant.

I shoot a lot of video and photography so I only really know basics of audio set up and work flow. I was wondering if there was a software that can smoothen things out and give my audio a more equalized/harmonious sound?

Is there anything in Final Cut Pro I can use or should I be looking into Logic or Pro Tools? Thanks

 

[spoonie1972]

a compressor might help level things out, but if the voice are "too far" out of range, you'll simply bring up their volume, along with the "room sound".

it may be possible to split out the dialogue to several tracks (in a program like logic, PT or even your software, if you have the appropriat .au plugins) and blend things as best you can to match each voice (per track) with your dominant track.

best luck. Poorly recorded dialogue is very common - is ADR not an option?

 

[ChrisA]

Hey guys so shot a short dialogue scene but used a shot gun mic to record audio (Rode video mic pro only thing I could afford) and the direction of audio is all over the place. Strong when point directly at subject but when someone else speaks on the side it sounds distant.

The classic method is called "volume automation." Most software has this feature. Garage band has it, logic and Final Cut. In all those apps you can open a space under your audio tack and you can draw a line in that space. The high of the line controls the volume. So you drag the line up and you drag it down. This the a manual process but it works.

There are some more automated ways to do this but they are not perfect and not free either.