Removing Background Noise from Video and Audio Recordings
Updated: Jul 29, 2021
If you’re recording at home or the office, chances are your recordings could benefit from a bit of noise reduction. Read on to find out why you should be using noise reduction and how you can approach this in a few different pieces of software.
Contents
Why should you use noise reduction?
"Voice De-Noise" in iZotope's RX8
"Noise Reduction" effect in Adobe Audition
Why should you use noise reduction?
The very simple answer to this is "frequency masking".
What is frequency masking?
Think of it as two audio signals fighting for your attention. In this case, the background noise in your recording is hiding or “masking” the clarity of your voice.
How does noise reduction solve this?
Noise reduction increases the differences in level between the background noise and your voice. The smallest amount of noise reduction can help reveal or “unmask” the clarity of your voice.
How much is enough?
It’s important to not overdo it. While a small amount can be beneficial, too much reduction can have a very negative effect. Apply reduction in 6dB increments and decide what works best for you. Less is more!
What software should you use?
There's a few pieces of software that will allow you to effectively reduce noise in your recordings. Let's have a look at how we can achieve this in iZotope's RX8 and Adobe Audition.
Using the Voice De-Noise module in iZotope's RX8
Drag and drop your video or audio file into RX8
Normalize your audio to -6dBFS
Select a portion of noise only. It's very important that you don't have any speech included in this selection.
Open the Voice De-Noise module
Load the Default preset
Switch off Adaptive mode
Click Learn
Set the amount of reduction. Try using as little as possible to achieve the desired results. Less is more.
Deselect the section of noise and select all of your audio.
Click Render
Double-check different parts in your file to make sure you've achieved the desired results.
Make sure you don't overwrite your original file when you save!
Using the Noise Reduction effect in Adobe Audition
Open your video or audio file in Audition's Waveform Editor
Normalize your audio to -6dBFS
Open the Noise Reduction Effect
Load the Default Preset
Select a portion of noise only. It's very important that you don't have any speech included in this selection.
Click "Capture Noise Print"
Click "Select Entire File"
Set Noise Reduction to 100%
Set "Reduce by" to the desired amount. Try using as little as possible.
Click "Apply"
Double-check different parts in your file to make sure you've achieved the desired results.
Make sure you don't overwrite your original file when you save!