Audio - VS low frequency hum reduction filter

[Davidk]

I have a video clip that has in it's audio some low-level but unwanted sounds - mostly the sort of low frequency ambient "hum" (compressor motor noise via the a/c ducts?) one gets when recording inside an otherwise quiet building. And in removing it, for ease of use, I'd prefer to use a filter that's already in VS (load the vsp, select the audio track, then choose the options panel and up there is an item "audio filter").

But none of the filters in that 'internal' list seems to fit. Is this a name confusion thing - one of them does do this -or do I need to export the audio to audacity, apply one of it's filters, save/export the result and then import the result back to the VS project? (and hence my remark about ease of use).

Suggestions please?

[Ken Berry]

Personally, I would have gone the Audacity route without even trying what might, but is probably not, within VS itself. As we both know, David, the capacity of VS to deal with almost any audio problem, no matter how simple, is negligible... Splitting the audio, inserting into Audacity, finding a few seconds where the background hum is prevalent, and applying that to the original takes very little time, when compared to the search for a relevant aspect of VS.

[weaver]

There is really no suitable filter in VS ( denoiser is the closest one but works on different principes). The only solution would be a parametric EQ or a simpler HUM filter. Both are available in Audacity or in similar audio editors.

[Davidk]

About what I thought. But to use audacity, it's a bit more complicated . . . to wit,
1. this project file is the output from a multicam edit session, which I posted about here
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65672&start=30
on page 3.
2. In the timeline, sound mixer mode, this is what the first part of the vsp looks like (workspace snapshot):

The sound track is all from camera 1 (which is the MCE default, see prior post link), but while the timeline begins with camera 1 it switches between cameras 1, 2 and 3 as time progressses. You can see when a camera switch has occurred in the timeline: the thumbnail has a vertical line in it and the start of a new file name: and the sound is the source of sync for the various cameras (sync clapper also marked in the image)

And the sound file is one continuous file (expected) but it's still showing as embedded in the camera video clip - in the image above I've highlighted that with yellow circles (same mp4 file name).

Now to use that sound file in audacity I'd have to export it from VS as a recognised audio file - which (rt-click on the file in the music track) there seems to be no option for. I can think of a way to do that (export the sound from the original camera clip separately, process it and re-import it), but there's a real possibility that I could destroy the video sync attached to the sound file that way. Another reason I hoped there was a simple filter in the VS list I could just drag onto the audio track.

[asik1]

David, unlike other NLE's in VS by "Export" it means , "share" as .wav >>>>> audacity clean >>>>>> load back to library and place on other track >>>>> mute original track
I've done so few times in the past.

[weaver]

David, unlike other NLE's in VS by "Export" it means , "share" as .wav >>>>> audacity clean >>>>>> load back to library and place on other track >>>>> mute original track
I've done so few times in the past.

Basically no NLEs have extra audio processing capabilities, therefore it is a standard to process the audio separately ( some of them have online options but for that you need an audio console or SW).
The easiest way is, as you said, export the final audio into the audacity ( or similar program) process and clean it than final file can be placed on the audio track of the timeline while the original sounds are muted. Nobody really have a better solution for that ( in the professional video and film industry the audio is mostly processed completely independently from the video ( very often in different place and in different time), so there is no need for a combination into a single editing process.

[asik1]

in VMS you can right click and export a clip from timline to audacity, mend and save it there and it will pop back replacing the bad one in VMS's timeline.

[weaver]

I do not know what is VMS but some years ago I had a similar option in Magix (that time only for SD material).

[Ken Berry]

Answering for asik, VMS is Vegas Movie Studio -- which of course these days is another Magix product.

[weaver]

Thanks, I did not follow the Magix story in the last years.