White Noise Problem
 

I have an interview piece that has some white noise in the background. Almost sounds like a fan or possible air conditioner running. I am trying to use an audio filter on FCP but can't seem to remove or decrease the background noise. Any suggestions or help would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks,
John

You'll need some kind of noise reduction software, like Sound Soap. NR is not a magic bullet--it can leave things sounding tinny and "computery" if you go too far with it--but it might help you salvage a few things from time to time.

When you use the noise reduction software and it results in digital artifacts then try copying a few seconds of the pre-filtered room noise and mixing it back in to cover over the mild artifacts. You will have to loop the room tone in order to have it cover the whole scene. This can help wonders.

Jon Bufkin
http://www.jonbufkin.com

John,
Do you also have Soundtrack Pro? If you do, you can treat the affected sound file there. If you have part of the sound file with the offending sound on its own, Soundtrack Pro has a neat way of grabbing that sound and then subtracting it from the main clip. I think there's a 'worked example' somewhere demoing how to extract the sound of an outboard motor from a sound clip where it's too dominant... rather neat..
Regards, Ross.
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What is your setup John...audio and camera (if you're using the camera to record). That will help determine the source of the noise and it's characteristic to direct you to the best resolution.

John,

I second what Ross wrote about Soundtrack Pro. I routinely face the same problem that you described (fan noises, electrical hum, etc.), and so far the noise reduction feature of Soundtrack Pro (where you select some audio with just the "noise print", and then remove this noise from the rest of the track) has been very helpful in reducing the noise to the point where it's no longer noticable.

Jarrod is right, too - applying it without some careful adjustments makes the remaining audio sound unnatural, so finding the right balance takes a little experimentation.

- Martin