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Inspiring
March 23, 2025
Question

Help with cleaning up recording

  • March 23, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 886 views

Hi,

I am making a video for a friend's memorial serivce.

 

It was recorded in a large meeting hall with a high ceiling, using an iPhone that was not placed all that close to the monitors. I know that produces less than optimal audio. I would have done it differently, but it was not my call. The end result is that I have to try to clean up the audio. The sound is muffled, low, with a lot of echo.

 

I was able to make some of the files at least passable, and added subtitles to help with understanding the words, but there is one file (attached) that I cannot clean up well enough. The speaker is a young woman with a lot of high-mid in her voice

 

I am sending the source file, but I have tried Parametric EQ (w/High and Low Pass Filters), Dynamics Processing, Noise Reduction (with selected Noise Print), DeVerb, and playing around with the Spectral Frequency Display. These techniques provide some improvement, but it is still not clear enough.

 

Is there something I can do to help make this sow's ear into a silk purse? The attached file is an MP3, because the source WAV was a little too large. I can send a Google Drive link if you need it.

2 replies

Rag and Bone
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 24, 2025

Yikes! I tried a number of denoise plugins that I have...It's not a matter of the voice being masked, .I just don't think there's any real information in the file. 

czaplinAuthor
Inspiring
March 24, 2025

Thanks for giving it a go. I really appreciate it. I'm trying extra hard on it because it's a personal project for a dear friend's memorial. Otherwise, I probably would have given up. I know it's pretty much a lost cause

Rag and Bone
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 24, 2025

I think the best you can do is caption that section, or, alternatively, do a voice over summarizing what was said, along the lines of: "Sharon said how much he meant to her...."

EuanWilliamson
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 23, 2025

Audition will not help with this. 

Please try: https://podcast.adobe.com/enhance

 

It's your best bet. 

Best regards, Euan.
czaplinAuthor
Inspiring
March 23, 2025

That was my fear. Thanks for confirming it.

 

I am processing the file with Enhance Speech now