two simple audio mixing questions at DVinfo.net

Johnny Cheung · January 10th, 2006, 11:22 AM

hi,

i am new to audio mixing and i have a question:

I am making a short video and I have recorded dialogues with a shotgun mic. So when I imported the footage to premiere pro, the recorded sound is mono (displayed as stereo, and have to break it into mono clips). After I break it, then it becomes two mono clips, one with sound (right), one without (left). I know that if i want to mix music, I can put the music on another mono track and mix them together. But for those without sound, do you think I could just put the same mono clips (say, the "right" one) on the tracks? (because one mono clip "left" has no sound at all, so do I have to put the "right" one with sound twice?)

Also, I am wondering what is the best way to remove unwanted sound from a audio clip? say, there are some dialogues I wanted to remove, but then I don't want to cut out the whole part as the ambient sound of the background would sound different.

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

Johnny

Jonathan Nicholas · January 12th, 2006, 06:16 PM

If you have recorded audio only onto one channel the all you need to do is use the stereo audio effect "fill left" or "fill right" to make this one channel come out on both.

I don't know if that helps you!

Background noise is difficult to remove - you perhaps should have recorded some ambient "wild" sound first. Then you can edit out the noise inbetween the bits of dialogue without it sounding empty!

Jon

Richard Alvarez · January 12th, 2006, 06:29 PM

Johnny,

When on set, it's standard procedure to record 'room tone' usually just after, but sometimes just before the scene is completed. You ask for everyone to remain in place, and to be quiet. Then you record thirty seconds to a minute of 'room tone' on your tape. This will give you the ambient sound of the room, with the SAME NUMBER OF BODIES present, as when you were shooting the film. This room tone is used to help blend cuts and fill in spaces of silence when editing the soundtrack.

A 'silent' set is rarely silent, especially when dealing with documentaries and locations. Street noise, humming equipment, the sounds of people breathing, a busy restaraunt, perhaps the ocean or birdcalls... you get the idea.

Sometimes, you can hunt through your footage, and maybe find ten or fifteen seconds of silence that you can lift for room tone. This has helped me a number of times when I needed a bit of ambient sound to bridge an edit. Often there will be a few moments before 'action' is called... or just before 'cut'... when the take is through and all is quiet.

Good luck.

Johnny Cheung · January 17th, 2006, 11:00 AM

thanks for all the advice..yes i did record some room tone. and it helps..

January 10th, 2006, 11:22 AM	#1
Johnny Cheung Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: San Francisco CA Posts: 38	two simple audio mixing questions hi, i am new to audio mixing and i have a question: I am making a short video and I have recorded dialogues with a shotgun mic. So when I imported the footage to premiere pro, the recorded sound is mono (displayed as stereo, and have to break it into mono clips). After I break it, then it becomes two mono clips, one with sound (right), one without (left). I know that if i want to mix music, I can put the music on another mono track and mix them together. But for those without sound, do you think I could just put the same mono clips (say, the "right" one) on the tracks? (because one mono clip "left" has no sound at all, so do I have to put the "right" one with sound twice?) Also, I am wondering what is the best way to remove unwanted sound from a audio clip? say, there are some dialogues I wanted to remove, but then I don't want to cut out the whole part as the ambient sound of the background would sound different. Thank you very much in advance for your help. Johnny

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January 12th, 2006, 06:16 PM	#2
Jonathan Nicholas Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 90	If you have recorded audio only onto one channel the all you need to do is use the stereo audio effect "fill left" or "fill right" to make this one channel come out on both. I don't know if that helps you! Background noise is difficult to remove - you perhaps should have recorded some ambient "wild" sound first. Then you can edit out the noise inbetween the bits of dialogue without it sounding empty! Jon

January 12th, 2006, 06:29 PM	#3
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Johnny, When on set, it's standard procedure to record 'room tone' usually just after, but sometimes just before the scene is completed. You ask for everyone to remain in place, and to be quiet. Then you record thirty seconds to a minute of 'room tone' on your tape. This will give you the ambient sound of the room, with the SAME NUMBER OF BODIES present, as when you were shooting the film. This room tone is used to help blend cuts and fill in spaces of silence when editing the soundtrack. A 'silent' set is rarely silent, especially when dealing with documentaries and locations. Street noise, humming equipment, the sounds of people breathing, a busy restaraunt, perhaps the ocean or birdcalls... you get the idea. Sometimes, you can hunt through your footage, and maybe find ten or fifteen seconds of silence that you can lift for room tone. This has helped me a number of times when I needed a bit of ambient sound to bridge an edit. Often there will be a few moments before 'action' is called... or just before 'cut'... when the take is through and all is quiet. Good luck.

January 17th, 2006, 11:00 AM	#4
Johnny Cheung Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: San Francisco CA Posts: 38	thanks for all the advice..yes i did record some room tone. and it helps..