I’m doing a project where the client is interviewing people with their phones and I’m editing it together (for budget and logistical reasons). Unfortunately the audio needs to be greatly amplified and a few interviews there is what sounds like wireless type intermittent noise.

The client asked if there is anything I could do which I said its out of my ability but I’d ask around. I was hoping someone here could take a quick look at it maybe someone has noise reduction effect. Not expecting miracles just an improvement.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/glnhfjb1tyv9ly1/Barry%20on%20Clare.mp3?dl=1

Tell them to put the phone in airplane mode during interviews!

And maybe all phones in the room should be in airplane mode, but deff the one doing the recording.

Edit:
OK, now I’ve listened to the clip. Suggest they get the phone way closer to the person speaking. There are $15 lavs that work with smartphones like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Movo-PM10-Omnidirectional-Microphone-Smartphones/dp/B00N0EPZU8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1519316158&sr=8-3&keywords=movo+smartphone+clip+on+mic

I’ve had experience with these (I teach an iPhone/iPad personal filmmaking workshop). IMHO they are step one to getting decent quality.

Thanks for the mic suggestion. This is the first time I’ve done a film your own type video. I didn’t anticipate how they were going to film them until I got the lot of videos including filming in portrait view. I did give them closer suggestion for any additional videos.

In FCP X there is an option in audio to emphasize voice and that will generally make a noticeable improvement.

Having said that, it obviously won't make up for poorly acquired audio. But on the good side, all is not wasted because the takes can show what to (and not to) do the next time.

Link to video about TRS vs TRRS connectors for iPhone: How to Use an External Mic or Microphone on Your iPhone or iPad - YouTube He also says to NOT use a battery powered mic.

As an aside, the RØDE VXLR Mini Jack to XLR Adaptor instructions say "Not designed for use with phantom power and could possibly harm the recorder.", and I suspect this is also true with one's cam or smart phone. The outside of the adapter doesn't have any warning and, frankly, it looks kinda like anything else in one's kit.

I’m doing a project where the client is interviewing people with their phones and I’m editing it together (for budget and logistical reasons). Unfortunately the audio needs to be greatly amplified and a few interviews there is what sounds like wireless type intermittent noise.

The client asked if there is anything I could do which I said its out of my ability but I’d ask around. I was hoping someone here could take a quick look at it maybe someone has noise reduction effect. Not expecting miracles just an improvement.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/glnhfjb1tyv9ly1/Barry%20on%20Clare.mp3?dl=1

Pete I did a quick test with Izotope RX6 Advanced. This is just addressing the background hiss and those noise ups that you describe as wireless type intermittent noise. If it was a higher bit rate i.e.: WAV instead of MP3 the results could be even better.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wqhqhd5i1x8b2lt/Barry%20on%20Clare_test.mp3?dl=0

Thanks for your help Bernie. I’ll download and listen to it when I get home today. A colleague and I played around in Adobe Audition. It had more advance tools than I’m used to but the end result were mixed. Reducing the noise works but it makes the voice more muddied and less natural. Difficult to decide whether the modification was better.

I'll be interested to hear what you think.

It did a good job cleaning the sections where wifi noise isn’t present

what was the wi fi noise? There is a high pitched whine that was in there periodically. That's easy to deal with. There are moments of intense hiss in between moments of fairly good audio, is that what you're talking about? If so, the chunk I worked on had some of that and I got it out.
I didn't listen thru the whole thing I just grabbed a short piece to work on.

I had to inrease the gain 24db to the original because the subject was too far away. At that level you can hear the phone’s wireless activity cutting in and out. I appreciate your help but I think it’s as good as it is going to get.

I'm confused.
The test I posted eliminates most of the back ground noise and on my meters its peaking at about -12. Slightly low. I applied 7db of gain to get it to peak between -6 and -9 which is where dialogue should be. At that point a bit of the noise comes back but its really low and can easily be attenuated but is still a huge improvement to the original. Are up saying that you increased the gain of the original file 24db to get it to where it is now? Looking at your original MP3 its peaking at -6 to -9 so its right where it should be. If you had to boost my test audio 24db then something is wrong.
I guess I don't know what you're looking for here. You asked to see if it could be improved and you didn't expect miracles. I think I clearly demonstrated that most of the noise could be eliminated without severe artifacts. Given a bit of time and a higher bit rate file this file can be cleaned up fairly well. It will still have that roomy sound because of acoustics and how it was miked but far less annoying than those bursts of loud hiss.

And here is a different version that I think works pretty well

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hhdjm8o96egn6rr/Barry%20on%20Clare_test2.mp3?dl=0

The file I posted was after I added 24db gain. I’m more concerned with reducing the noise in loud parts so its more consistent. I don’t mean to sound unappreciative.

The file I posted was after I added 24db gain. I’m more concerned with reducing the noise in loud parts so its more consistent. I don’t mean to sound unappreciative.
So you're saying you don't need it as clean as I got it, but need a consistent background? Is this what you're mean?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hpgk7shxtzica7p/Barry%20on%20Clare_test3.mp3?dl=0

Yes, wow you nailed it on that last one.

Btw I tried one of my TRS lav mic with my phone didn’t work. Obviously it needs the extra 4th ring. Do they make an adapter?

edit: answered my own question
SC4 3.5mm TRS to TRRS Adaptor

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1048151-REG/BI/2855/KBID/3801 (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1048151-REG/BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801)

In FCP X there is an option in audio to emphasize voice and that will generally make a noticeable improvement.

Having said that, it obviously won't make up for poorly acquired audio. But on the good side, all is not wasted because the takes can show what to (and not to) do the next time.

Link to video about TRS vs TRRS connectors for iPhone: How to Use an External Mic or Microphone on Your iPhone or iPad - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kLsogUkwmM) He also says to NOT use a battery powered mic.

As an aside, the RØDE VXLR Mini Jack to XLR Adaptor instructions say "Not designed for use with phantom power and could possibly harm the recorder.", and I suspect this is also true with one's cam or smart phone. The outside of the adapter doesn't have any warning and, frankly, it looks kinda like anything else in one's kit.
I missed your post. I’m only now considering and testing inexpensive audio options to provide clients who want to film with their smart phone.

That adapter in the video is better than the one I was considering because it provides the ability to monitor the recording. Although the Newer mic doesn’t seem good both audio quality and that 3/4 of the mics didn’t work with the iphone. This could have more to do with the iphone conserving battery life by using as little power as necessary to power a mic. That also brings up the question would adding a cable extension to get the phone far enough away from the subject also cause mics not to work.

Btw, I don’t think the xlr adapter in itself would damage the phone but it increases the risk by giving you the opportunity to plug into pro equipment like a mixer sending line level or phantom power or a battery powered mic, all of which could damage your phone.

I’ve run several workshops with the lav I listed above - it’s been reliable.

A 6’ extension like this is good with them:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DWGLLO/dvinfo09-20

That’s about as short as works. There’s also a 20’ extension, which is more that needed, mostly:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X85S7EA/dvinfo09-20

I recommend not going crazy with volunteers using cell phones. Headphones are too complicated. If you can get them to turn the phone horizontally, hold it steady, lock exposure and focus, and use a lav you’ll really improve quality substantially. This is smartphone filmmaking, it’s important to recognize that the standards and expected quality are very low by pro standards.

To get the most quality out of smartphones, I *highly* recommend the app Filmic Pro, available for iOS and Android. But it’s really more for someone who has at least intermediate shooting skills on a dSLR for video, or on a camcorder.

The next step from there is a holder that can be used on a mini tabletop or full-sized tripod...

Note that iPhone 7 and later don’t have a headphone/microphone jack. But, they do come with a converter that allows use of the mics.

Yes, wow you nailed it on that last one.

Btw I tried one of my TRS lav mic with my phone didn’t work. Obviously it needs the extra 4th ring. Do they make an adapter?

edit: answered my own question
SC4 3.5mm TRS to TRRS Adaptor

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1048151-REG/BI/2855/KBID/3801 (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1048151-REG/BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801/BI/2855/KBID/3801)
Pete did you receive my email?

Pete did you receive my email?
I didn’t know until you said something. I forgot I have my dvinfo contact set to my secondary email that I check infrequently.

I didn’t follow up with you when saw how expensive isotope rx6, in addition to your time and expertise, it wouldn’t be right to expect you would do it for free. This is for a non profit that I’ve already put in way to much time for what I quoted. I’ll ask if they’re willing to pay extra for this service but it’s unlikely due to their budget . If they won’t, please don’t take it as a sign of disrespect.

I didn’t know until you said something. I forgot I have my dvinfo contact set to my secondary email that I check infrequently.

I didn’t follow up with you when saw how expensive isotope rx6, in addition to your time and expertise, it wouldn’t be right to expect you would do it for free. This is for a non profit that I’ve already put in way to much time for what I quoted. I’ll ask if they’re willing to pay extra for this service but it’s unlikely due to their budget . If they won’t, please don’t take it as a sign of disrespect.
I totally understand. It was a good exercise for me and if they come up with some money wonderful. If not I learned some more RX6 techniques and that's worth something to me too.