What are the best ways to enhance a noisy recording?

Unless you have audition or logic then Ai is a fantastic and approachable route. A good place to start for audio fixes is RunwayML. Give it a try, I have been pleasantly surprised with the results.

Nowadays, noises can be a thing of the pass. For a time I used to get income from fixing old records. My technique was mainly done through Izotope’s different softwares like their RX series. At the time I believe I was running RX 7 Pro, and I was able to find the noises and manually cut them and smooth out the songs. Nowadays all of this is much easier with newer cutting-edge software. Even modern Ai plugins can help “de-ess” certain sounds and noisy backgrounds with a push of a button.

Noise is not a problem until it is in the background aka "Background Noise". Izotope RX is my go to plugin suite for Noise and Dialogue Enhancements. Contrary to using AI, RX gives more manual control over frequency band. For eg : If there is a constant buzz/hum at 89-96Hz in a Voice Over, I can remove the freq. in that band without affecting anything around.

In 2024, we have great plugins to reduce the noise. Industry standard softwares comes with built-in noise reduction plugin or feature, but remember that does not mean you should not care about the noise, you must be aware about it during recording. Must check the noise level, hardware or electrical noise, surroundings, and reflection noise. try to fix it before recording. You must achieve, best possible recording always, after that fix other issues in production.

If at some point low dialogue falls below the gates cut off You can go to that specific line or lines and with the EQ enhance that so it passes above, in tone and volume, the cut of the noise gate. One could enhance the whole scene just enough to not have to do small tweaks. If it terribly disasterous fire your sound mixer on the spot and then apply some music to camouflage the change in ambience but only if it works artistically try not to impose creative decisions maybe just leave the bad sound yet corrected. We think everybody will find it horrible when most times nobody notices. Except film school teachers who are just frustrated anyway. Buy them a beer after the screening. Hehe.

I use noise reduction software like Audacity or Adobe Audition, which effectively minimizes background noise. If you get to capture an unexpected noise in your recording, use the noise (gate) reduction filter. The program isolates and reduces the background sounds without compromising the speaker's voice quality. Another technique I recommend is using a high-pass filter to remove low-frequency hums, like air conditioning or fan noise. Additionally, I make sure to keep things in check that would give me a great recording start, like using directional microphones and recording in a quiet environment whenever possible to prevent noise issues. These methods have significantly improved the audio quality of my marketing and media materials.

To be honest to use any plugin of noise reduction is not the best idea....BUT, if you already can't re-record something or change - this is the only one way to make your audio sounds better! Some tips can be useful I guess Perform Closer to the Mic: This can help to reduce the amount of background noise picked up by the mic. Use Acoustic Panels & Bass Traps: These can help to absorb sound/prevent echo. Record with Closed Curtains. Plug Your Equipment into the Same Outlet: This can help to prevent electrical noise. Check Your Cables: Faulty cables can introduce unwanted noise into your recordings. Setup separately the gear and reording area. Proper Grounding: One of the most common causes of hum or other noise is improper grounding.

It is always best to reduce noise before you record. If you have a capture with noise in it, you can however remove the noise with your DAW. Remember: You can't make good audio out of bad audio. You can only make different bad audio. What that means is: removing the frequencies of the noise removes those frequencies out of the whole recording. It is like taking out or adjusting colors in a picture.

Sometimes the level of the audio source can too loud. In some cases you can turn this down. Using poor quality leads or equipment can raise the noise level, so fix this issue. You can use noise reduction plugins, when your in the post production stage.

"The third step to enhance a noisy recording is to enhance the signal quality of the desired sound" - to be honest this is not so right...This means boosting the volume, clarity, and presence of the voice or instrument - if the previous step fixing a noises was made not so good the increasing of volume, compression can make the other bad artifacts more soundable... To balance all frequincies will not fix a problems with the quality of the sound. The raw signal will sound nice even without compression and EQ if it's already fixed.

I had this recently on a video and there was no way to remove some form of interference on the audio track. I added some relevant sound effects and raised the music level and it really helped. I also ran the audio track through a background noise reducer on FCP.

Identifying and analysing the frequency band which you want to fix is the first step, then find the BGM which is relevant for your content and helps you mask the band you are fixing as well. This is a bit time taking but possible. Saves you time and over-kill on processing.

Adding background music masks any residual noise in the recording after I have applied a noise reduction effect, but the audio is still not perfect, and there are still some subtle noises. I overlay background music that complements the content. My advice for everyone is to always use music that you have the right to because this will keep legal troubles at bay. Royalty-free music is available on many media platforms at a subscription or embedded in your video editing program. I work with Filmora Wondershare which has a fantastic media vault. Be careful when selecting the music for your project - choosing the right music sets the tone and keeps the focus on the message, and you will have a more engaging and professional final product.

Totally agree with this. Background music as a means of sound design can hide certain noises and unnecessary frequencies. Also as a means of eliminating certain noises you can use side-chain and de-esser, emphasizing the desired frequencies and suppressing the unwanted ones.

The age-old problem of monitoring is headphones, monitors of varying range. For me, the main criterion is always to work with a reference and check audio on different types of devices, up to laptop speakers and smartphones. Basically, if you work in an accurately prepared room, and you have several pairs of monitors - this is quite enough.

Everything comes with experience. And most importantly, when you work in the studio - you have to teach the artists a little bit about how to record properly. Many people come to the studio and don't know how to sing into the microphone, how to choose the distance, etc. It's also an experience. You have to be able to communicate with people and show them that you are a professional.

Some overlooked points to consider as a Sound Designer / Mix Engineer : 1) Use the background music which complements the pace of Dialogues and Voice Artist's Tone. 2) Do not add artificial low end to make the voice sound deep, you're snatching the essence of artist's delivery. For eg : Deep Narrative Voice can carry cinematic music doesn't mean bright voices need bright music. It is going to clash. Here comes Engineer's presence of mind handy. Eq the bright stuff and Side-chain the music or use the soundtrack where elements are minimal and not clashing with main Vocals. "Be Selective on tools and your approach and not try 1000 things at once"

As a content creator and a podcast co-producer, I also consider the source of background music. When I am not happy with the media library of Filmora, I frequently use Artlist and Epidemic Sound, as they offer a wide range of royalty-free tracks. These sites provide high-quality music that aligns with the tone of my content, whether it's upbeat for promotional videos or subtle for informative podcasts. My one piece of advice: to create emotional impact, always try your best to match the music to the content's mood. It must complement rather than distract the audience’s focus. Additionally, always, always, always check the licensing to ensure you are compliant with usage rights. I cannot stress this enough.

There are also now a bundle of AI tools to assist. To name a few Cleanvoice Krisp.ai Podcastle Alitu Kapwing Audo Studio CrumplePop Audioalter LALAL.AI Dolby On

Well, here is a lot talked about. But I guess one thing which I can add more - Mastery lies in making the worst material into something that sounds adequate and acceptable to the listener. It is easy to work with perfect material, and frankly speaking, when audio is recorded correctly and without unnecessary artifacts, there is nothing to do there. Only a few plug-ins can do the job. But when, in most cases, you are working with materials that require surgical methods, the main thing is skills and experience. You should always learn to correct mistakes made during sound recording, learn to work with plug-ins and use them correctly!