How to I get Professional Audio recording?
If only we could just record from the camcorder and get audio that was as crystal clear as the great picture camcorders give us these days. Sadly this is not the case and many times the audio signal is low or there are distracting noises happening in the back ground. The better the equipment the easier it is to capture great sound.
Refer to a great guru of movie making George Lucas.
"If you can invest in good audio equipment from the start do so you will save many headaches in the future. Bad audio is hard to work with and can ruin the atmosphere and feeling of a picture."
Listen to the opening scenes of his second Star Wars movie Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
The dubbing is like one of those old Kung Fu movies. Well perhaps a bit better.
Many Digital Video Cameras have built in microphones and some also have jacks for better quality audio.
Good News! It is possible to get really good audio with no expensive equipment. Nobody will notice the difference unless it's a really professional video that is listened to on a great sound system or home theater. For youtube videos and home movies you don't really need to do much.
With the technology in software today you can make magic with poor quality audio by increasing audio volume on certain parts of your clip or by magically removing unwanted noises. See how to remove noise in a free audio editing software.
How to Extract the AUDIO file from the Video Clip
First we need to record the audio and video with a video editing software. You need one that can split the audio from the video. Almost all of them should offer this but unfortunately many of the free video editors don't. Usually you import the video into your software then onto your timeline. Once there you can separate them, sometime you don't need to, then choose File>export> select audio and choose your format. Make sure when you are exporting your audio it is in a format that your audio editing software can open (you may need to try a few different formats).
Sometimes you can record the video and audio onto your computer separately. Many times it is recorded in a format you cannot edit.
How to Edit your Audio Clip
Open your audio clip in an audio editing software. Once opened you will see a long waveform. It is usually on a timeline. You can clean the background noise from here. Learn how to clean noise with an audio editing software.
Go through your waveform and choose parts that are too low. Select amplify and increase the sound during these parts. If there are parts where it is too loud choose amplify again but this time choose down rather than up. You may need to experiment with different amplifications. If you go to high you can always go to Edit>Undo which will allow you to go back and try again.
Export your new audio leaving it in the same format if possible. Each time you change format you loose quality.
Import your new audio and line it up with the original video clip.
Related Audio articles:
Make an Audio Pop filter audio and stop those horrible popping noises when you record audio.
Read some reviews of the free audio software Audacity and improve your clips.
Which Audio software should I use for mastering and editing? - audio software
Devices that can amplify your input signal making them sound great
Audio equipment for good quality recording - audio equipment
Which Microphones should I buy? - Microphones
Free Audio Software that can clean and improve your recorded audio - Free Audio Software
Recoding audio tips to get better sound recording - Recording Audio
Remove unwanted noises from your recorded audio clips such as hissing sounds or fan noises - Removing noise
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