No skill needed background noise removal
Plus, how a baby elephant was key to iconic T-Rex sound and will Threads add audio?
As a podcaster you know that the quality of your audio is essential. Background noise can be a major distraction and make it difficult for your listeners to follow your show. Imagine this: you've got an amazing interview or a heartfelt story unfolding, only to be disrupted by unwanted noise from the surroundings.
Now, before you frantically search YouTube for hours trying to make sense of noise removal tools, let me share a little secret with you. There is an easier, more efficient way to achieve that pristine sound you desire—no fancy equipment or expenses required!
Here are my favourite ways to get a great sound without spending a penny…
Use soft furnishings: Flat surfaces are the enemy. Seek them out and cover them with something soft. Sound waves will hit a hard surface and bounce off until they hit the next hard surface. When a sound wave hits something soft some of the sound is absorbed and less sound bounces out, causing less reverberations and echo. Soft furnishings, such as carpets, curtains, and blankets, can help to absorb sound waves and reduce background noise.
Choose a quiet recording space: If you can't find a completely quiet space, try to reduce the amount of noise as much as possible by closing windows and doors, turning off fans and appliances, and asking others to be quiet.
Record in your car: You’re after a small, insulated space with few harsh surfaces? Your car could be the answer! Recording into your smartphone in your car can limit vocal reflections. Use a smartphone microphone to enhance your recording further. Remember not to wave the phone around as you speak and keep the mic around two fists away from your mouth.
Wear headphones: Anything you can hear in your headphones is being baked into your recording. Hear the doorbell? It’s in there. Hear your feet shuffling under the desk? That’s there too. Hear the pen clicking, the washing machine going? All those sounds will be captured on your recording. If you can hear it through your headphones and you don’t like the sound of it, make some changes before you hit record. If you aren’t wearing headphones you can not be sure what is being recorded when you hit the red button.
Minimise self-noise: Squeaky chairs can be a major source of background noise. Fix it or lose it for the recording. Remove jangly jewellery. Bracelets, necklaces and large earrings can all be heard as you move around.
Don’t knock the mic (or cables!): Knocking the desk your microphone is on or moving the cable around can cause mic boom. This is a deep, low sound that will be heard on your recording and is really difficult to get rid of once it’s there.
Record dialogue in mono: This helps reduce the amount of background noise picked up by your microphone.
I could have focused on using noise removal tools and plug-ins but these often take time to figure out and can introduce more problems than you started with. If you record in a space that gives you the best sound possible, you won’t need to play with noise reduction tools in post-production.
Unsure how to get the best sound out of the equipment you have? - book a free call here
✂️ Cut The Tape
Remember the sound quality of your finished audio is directly impacted by the quality of the initial recording.
Spending a few moments to eliminate noise before you start recording can save you hours later on.
Make use of what you have to hand (cushions, blankets, duvets) to cover harsh, flat surfaces.
Test out your sound before you record for real. Hear anything you don’t like? Make a change and try again.
Wear headphones.
🎧 #Podcasting
When it’s not all about the money - how podcasting can make a difference in many ways | Forbes
100,000 video podcasts on Spotify | Hypebot
Ability to create multiple RSS feeds introduced on PRX’s Dovetail | PRX via Medium
“Podcasts are bad for stand-up” | Chortle
Presidential candidates turning to podcasting to reach large audiences | Time
🎶 #SoundDesign
The iconic sound of Jurassic Park’s T-Rex | Far Out
When Jean-Michel Jarre works with Renault | Renault Group/YouTube
Distinct sound design moments with Alan deGraff | LBBOnline
It’s not just us home studio recordists who have trouble with our acoustics - Singapore’s National Stadium has its own troubles! | CNA
🔮 #AudioFuture
UK voiceover artist claims his voice has been cloned by a tech giant | Channel 4 YouTube
How are AI and influencers impacting audio ad campaigns? | Digiday
Generative AI audio app raises $9.25m | Techcrunch
How will AI change the way audio editing works? | Redsharknews
🗣 #SocialAudio
Emoji reactions now available on Twitter Spaces desktop | Twitter @madalynsklar
Twitter Spacebar available for some on desktop | Twitter @ileane
32 people on a What’s App call? | India Today
This week on #AllThingsAudio we spoke about a few tweaks to the Spaces desktop experience. We also had a great chat about whether new social media app Threads might introduce audio at some point.
Follow All Things Audio wherever you listen to podcasts to make sure you never miss an episode. Leave a rating and/or review to help more people find us.
This episode of Objeks & Tings focusses on Jamaica’s sound system culture. Hosts Catherine Ross and Lynda Burrell are curators of Museumand, The National Caribbean Heritage Museum. Each podcast episode reveals the story behind a museum object; so far a map, a dutch pot and now a flyer.
In this episode they speak with founder of the Quantro Sound System Lenny Bedward. Sparked by the flyer, they talk about skanking, Quad boxes and shebeens.
“There is no reason to think we are incapable of thinking positively with our ears. For tens of thousands of years they have kept us fully alert to the world around us, helped us navigate and keep track of the hours, allowed us to forge social bonds, shaped our spiritual and cultural experiences, and simply kept us entertained.”