Audio filters

[Davidk]

For some time I've had issues with wind filtering of my camcorder output. Recording when there's a modest or better wind blowing across the face of the camera gives so much wind noise that anything else is hard to hear - like listening to someone talk while a train thunders thru a station. The camcorder wind filter is on, but it does not seem to have much effect. And that seems to be a common observation from pretty much everyone I've talked to, regardless of the model of camcorder they have.

I've been talking lately an enthusiast who uses the Adobe equivalent of VS as his editor, and Adobe provides audio filters to use in editing. Including items that do low, middle and high range filtering. And it occurs to me that this sort of capability would be useful to selectively enhance a sound or remove unwanted noises in a clip sound track - eg wind, screeches etc - the same way we use video filters to enhance the optical elements of a clip.

A review of the available VS doco (heh! you think: why would that be in the doco? well, why not?) shows it talks only about video filters, and I get the same result searching the forum topics.

So, 2 questions:
1. Does Corel provide any sort of audio filters in VS as standard? And if so, where?
2. Are there any 3rd party audio filters that are endorsed add-ons or recognised as operable options even if not officially endorsed?

Davidk

[Terfyn]

There are filters available but you cannot add what is not there or remove the major part of your audio track. In other words, remove the wind noise at source.
The bast way is to buy a mic to plug into your camcorder and cover it with a "deadcat". I have a fairly decent stereo condenser mic (with an internal battery) and I made a "deadcat" from a sheet of plastic mesh used in fishpond filters and a piece of fur fabric used for making soft toys.
To remove wind sound you must keep the air around the mic still while allowing the recordable sound through. This is virtually impossible with the built in mics on most camcorders as they sit in the body of the camcorder and cannot be covered with a wind filter. An add on mic often can be mounted in an accessory shoe and fitted with a wind filter. Mine has a lead long enough to put the mic close to the subject for purposes of interview. I have used the mic and "deadcat" outside the window of a train travelling at 30 mph and it still eliminated the wind noise from holding the camera in moving air.

[RobertOZ]

Not all video cameras have a hot shoe where an external mic can be connected, but if you do, you could look at the Hama RMZ-14 which is a relatively cheap mic, but I find it very effective when connected to my Sanyo HD1010. As Terfyn has said, it is absolutely necessary to fit a "deadcat" over the mic.

Robert

[Davidk]

A tad difficult when there's no external mic jack on the camcorder (JVC GZ-MS100AA).

Any details on those filters mentioned?

Davidk

[RobertOZ]

You can find details of Hama microphones at https://www.hama.com/00046114/hama-rmz- ... ne-stereo-

Assuming that you have a mic jack on your camera, there are many accessories available to enable you to use the mic as a standalone system, IE a handgrip, free standing mic stand, extension cables etc, you would need to google search for them.

Robert

[Terfyn]

I'm sorry that there is no mic jack. Maybe someone makes a wind filter to cover the mics on your camera. You could make one yourself with some open lattice foam and a bit of faux fur stuck to the outside.
The recorded audio signal covers the whole spectrum, audio filters only cut out certain frequencies so it will be difficult to remove all wind noise as you will also remove some of the audio you want to keep. Do not place your faith in filters.
You could try some of the audio editing packages available (example Audacity) to try to clean up your audio tracks.

The best way is still to remove the effect of the wind at the recording stage. The secret of these "deadcats" is to have still air around the mics while allowing the recordable sound through the filter. I think it could be done with your camera. Get some filter foam from your local pet shop and a bit of "teddybear" fur from a crafts shop. Tack the fur to the foam at the edges and then wrap the filter around the mics at the front of your camera. Again attach at the edges with tape or elastic. Make sure the wind filter cannot move across the mic fronts. Hope this idea may help.

[BrianCee]

VideoStudio does in fact provide quite a range of audio filters and one of them may improve your situation.

In order to use the audio filters you must first split the audio from the video so that the audio is in it's own soundtrack

now select the audio clip and open the Options panel - on the second row of icons the right hand one is labelled "Audio filter" - click on it.

a filter selection box will open with up to 20 different filters to apply.

but as Terfyn says - you may find that removing noise also removes a lot of the sound you wanted to keep.

the best way is to dim the wind noise at source and I have done this successfully even with a camcorder with a built in microphone by placing a bit of felt or foam over the microphone and holding it in place with elastic bands or tape (do not tape over the mic.) - doesn't look very elegant but the result justifies it.

[Davidk]

Many thanks everyone. I agree that getting rid of the problem at source is desirable - the main problem has been how: the camera's built in wind filter either doesn't work, or the result implies that situation. Avoiding recording 'across the wind' sometimes just isn't helpful or practical. And afterwards, the same.

Brian,

I've got a clip with lots of wind noise in it in the archive. I'll give those filters a shot and advise.

Terfyn,

Handy ideas. attaching them to the camera will require a bit of thought - maybe to the tripod mount screw

Davidk

[Davidk]

On an allied subject, is there a way to print just the queries and responses on a topic without all the flash images and personal summary data?

Davidk

[Davidk]

Brian,

Tried your suggestions with a wind noise clip. There isn't a wind noise filter as such, so I tried a combination of several there, including tweaking with options when that was available. The newblue reduce noises worked best, but they all left the low frequency wind flutter in the track. Some combinations indeed started chopping bits of sound right out. but none of them were really satisfactory for this purpose.

Sigh. Terfyn's idea of a filter add-on to the camera is next.

Davidk

[Terfyn]

Terfyn,

Handy ideas. attaching them to the camera will require a bit of thought - maybe to the tripod mount screw

Davidk

I had a bit of sticky tape in mind. As I said before, the secret is to have still air around the mics, so Brian's idea of sticking a bit of foam plastic across the front of the mics on your camera is worth a try.

[BrianCee]

On an allied subject, is there a way to print just the queries and responses on a topic without all the flash images and personal summary data?

Davidk

The easiest way I have found to do that is to simply copy the text from a post and paste it into notepad (removes hyperlinks) or into Word which retains links.

[Davidk]

Have to work on this foam thing. Not had time to do anything yet, and I was out recording today in a fluffy light wind - maybe 5knots, enough to stir your hair sometimes - and thought that just a light wind would not have an effect. Wrong. The wind noise in the results was as bad as a strong wind. Lot of searching thru the plastic leftovers from building model boats coming up . . . .

Davidk

[Terfyn]

If you are ever in the market for a new camcorder, please add a mic input and headphone output to your list of "wants"! I would also add a viewfinder as I am not keen on the screen to view my subject.

[pvreditor]

A couple of thoughts on this topic...

First, it looks like Hama does not sell its products in the US -- a search on Amazon (US) turned up nothing and a Google search showed the product on non-US sites. A couple of alternatives available in the US are from Azden and Audio-Technica. I like the looks of the Azden SMX-10, but there are definitely choices.

Second, if you like a camcorder that doesn't have an audio input jack, you can use an external audio recorder to work around it. I've used a cell phone in my shirt pocket to record my audio when I was across the room, and it definitely works better than the camcorder's built-in mic from 5 meters away. Very often, I use a Tascam DR-05 audio recorder with a lavalier mic and the recorder in my pocket. I then sync the audio to the camera's video and the audio is perfect. Here's an example of a video of me where I'm wearing a lav mic and recording on the Tascam recorder in my pocket: http://youtu.be/s9o6aEFnRlo. The cameras (there were two cameras) were across the room and recorded crappy audio. The Tascam DR-05 costs around $80 and the Audio-Technica AT3350 mic was around $25.

Of course, a lavalier mic is not ideal in every situation and sometimes you need a shotgun mic or a handheld. So, just a couple of thoughts.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com