muffled voices

Brian

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Apr 19, 2012, 3:58:27 AM4/19/12

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I have recorded a scene of an outside display where the video camera is
close to a crowd of people looking at the display. What people are saying
can be clearly heard when playing back the video. What is the best way to
muffle the voices of the crowd using Sony Vegas Pro so that the voices are
more background muffled sound?

--
Regards Brian

mike

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Apr 19, 2012, 8:39:45 AM4/19/12

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Suggestion #1. Replace the background audio with other ambient street
sounds.
Suggestion #2. Replace the background audio with some kind of music.
Suggestion #3. EQ the voices (find the frequency range and
drastically lower it) so that the voices do sound muffled.

Mike

David Ruether

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Apr 19, 2012, 9:46:33 AM4/19/12

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"Brian" <bcl...@es.co.nz> wrote in message
news:824083934356514782.2...@free.teranews.com:

EQ'ing (dropping the mid, and especially the upper, frequencies some),
compressing the audio, and lowering the overall level of the audio
should do it... You can also add back some of the above processed
audio at a lower level and very out of synch with the original.
--DR

Paul

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Apr 19, 2012, 3:54:00 PM4/19/12

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If you want to experiment, you can get a copy of Audacity,
record your voice in it, and apply a low pass filter.
Depending on how much high frequencies you remove, the
voice becomes more and more unintelligible.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

But it may not be the exact effect you're looking for. I think
I've heard effects before, where perhaps the frequency was
shifted (spectral shift), but I doubt Audacity can do that.
Audacity contains mainly simple effects.

Paul

Brian

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Apr 20, 2012, 3:27:29 AM4/20/12

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Thanks guys for your suggestions.

In the end I decided to mix in music and lowered the volume in places where
voices can be too clearly heard. I still like the idea of filtering out the
high frequencies and might use the next time I have this situation.

--
Regards Brian

David Ruether

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Apr 20, 2012, 6:22:13 AM4/20/12

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"Paul" <nos...@needed.com> wrote in message
news:jmpqgo$7k4$1...@dont-email.me:

Vegas itself has a rather complete set of filters (including
at least 4 different EQs) plus compressors, etc. well up to
the job...
--DR

Brian

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Apr 20, 2012, 10:53:26 AM4/20/12

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The problem with programs like Vegas is that there is a lack of books
written about Vegas. There seems to be more books written about Adobe
products.
Vegas has a lot of features like you say but there needs to be more
knowledge on how to use the features. For example which EQ is suitable for
the job.

--
Regards Brian

Steve King

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Apr 20, 2012, 12:24:30 PM4/20/12

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"Brian" <bcl...@es.co.nz> wrote in message

news:745099967356625949.2...@free.teranews.com...

Vasst has extensive Vegas help stuff including books and DVDs. Some things,
like EQ, audio compression & limiting, noise reduction & other forensic
work, video filters, color correction, and many other effects require a lot
of experimentation to use effectively. Nothing can replace time devoted to
working with software to acquire skills. There are no magic bullets. Not
that books and videos can't get one started with the basics, they can. But,
understanding the basics of, i.e., how a graphic EQ works, or how adjusting
the Q affects a how a parametric EQ works won't help much with predicting
how either will affect a particular audio file.

Steve King

mike

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Apr 20, 2012, 1:32:52 PM4/20/12

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On Apr 20, 12:24 pm, "Steve King"

<steveSPAMBL...@stevekingSPAMBLOCK.net> wrote:
> >> Vegas itself has a rather complete set of filters (including
> >> at least 4 different EQs) plus compressors, etc. well up to
> >> the job...
> >> --DR
>
> > The problem with programs like Vegas is that there is a lack of books
> > written about Vegas. There seems to be more books written about Adobe
> > products.
> > Vegas has a lot of features like you say but there needs to be more
> > knowledge on how to use the features. For example which EQ is suitable for
> > the job.
>
> > --
> > Regards Brian
>
> Vasst has extensive Vegas help stuff including books and DVDs. Some things,
> like EQ, audio compression & limiting, noise reduction & other forensic
> work, video filters, color correction, and many other effects require a lot
> of experimentation to use effectively. Nothing can replace time devoted to
> working with software to acquire skills. There are no magic bullets. Not
> that books and videos can't get one started with the basics, they can. But,
> understanding the basics of, i.e., how a graphic EQ works, or how adjusting
> the Q affects a how a parametric EQ works won't help much with predicting
> how either will affect a particular audio file.
>
> Steve King

In addition to Steve's suggestions, http://www.dplay.com/tutorial/column.html
is a great site to learn some basic audio tips.
Jay Rose (the site owner), has also published two books which are
highly recommended.

Mike

Steve King

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Apr 20, 2012, 3:30:44 PM4/20/12

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"mike" <mkuj...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:a92a392c-2d76-4bff...@z3g2000vbk.googlegroups.com...

Here's another endorsement of Jay Rose's books and many articles in audio
and video trade magazines.

Steve King

David Ruether

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Apr 20, 2012, 4:52:50 PM4/20/12

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"Brian" <bcl...@es.co.nz> wrote in message

news:745099967356625949.2...@free.teranews.com:

> "David Ruether" <d_ru...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > "Paul" <nos...@needed.com> wrote in message news:jmpqgo$7k4$1...@dont-email.me:
> >> Brian wrote:

> >>> I have recorded a scene of an outside display where the video camera is
> >>> close to a crowd of people looking at the display. What people are saying
> >>> can be clearly heard when playing back the video. What is the best way to
> >>> muffle the voices of the crowd using Sony Vegas Pro so that the voices are
> >>> more background muffled sound?

> > Vegas itself has a rather complete set of filters (including
> > at least 4 different EQs) plus compressors, etc. well up to
> > the job...
> > --DR

> The problem with programs like Vegas is that there is a lack of books
> written about Vegas. There seems to be more books written about Adobe
> products.
> Vegas has a lot of features like you say but there needs to be more
> knowledge on how to use the features. For example which EQ is suitable for
> the job.
> --
> Regards Brian

'Speriment, 'speriment, speriment...! 8^) But I will
give you a hint: "Track EQ" does wonders and is easy
to understand (it is a "shelving" EQ with movable
turnover points and selectable roll-off rates - and
iy has variable shelf heights...). Use the "preview"
to hear its effect on the sound.
--DR

Steve King

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Apr 20, 2012, 6:03:08 PM4/20/12

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"David Ruether" <d_ru...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:jmsibh$dl0$1...@ruby.cit.cornell.edu...

And, here's where the basics are necessary. One has to understand the
terms... shelving, turnover points, roll-off rates, Q, passband, etc.
However, only experimenting and listening to the results will help one on
the road to being effective in applying Vegas' audio tools or those of any
other audio or video software.

Steve King

Brian

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Apr 20, 2012, 9:27:58 PM4/20/12

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Thanks Steve King and others for your help.
With audio problems such as echo, wind noise, unwanted sounds etc I have
plenty of material to experiment with. I found when it comes to removing
continuous background noise that Audicity was a good choice. I found by
experimenting what the best transition to use between two scenes. Reading a
book helps to give a person a head start and there are good habits and bad
habits when it comes to video editing. Often people new to a video editor
are told to read the manual but the manual will only tell you what features
a program has and how to use a feature but it won't tell you why you would
want to use a certain feature of the program or the best approach to use to
correct a video problem.
I agree that things are learnt with experience and the more video editing a
person does the more the person learns. When I first started using Vegas My
video ended up a complete mess but since then I have leant when to turn on
or off the ripple effect and the cross fade filter.

Thanks Steve
--
Regards Brian

David Ruether

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Apr 21, 2012, 10:33:53 AM4/21/12

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"Steve King" <steveSP...@stevekingSPAMBLOCK.net> wrote in message
news:jmsmfa$r5s$1...@news.albasani.net:

> "David Ruether" <d_ru...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:jmsibh$dl0$1...@ruby.cit.cornell.edu...

> > 'Speriment, 'speriment, speriment...! 8^) But I will
> > give you a hint: "Track EQ" does wonders and is easy
> > to understand (it is a "shelving" EQ with movable
> > turnover points and selectable roll-off rates - and

> > it has variable shelf heights...). Use the "preview"

> > to hear its effect on the sound.
> > --DR

> And, here's where the basics are necessary. One has to understand the
> terms... shelving, turnover points, roll-off rates, Q, passband, etc.
> However, only experimenting and listening to the results will help one on
> the road to being effective in applying Vegas' audio tools or those of any
> other audio or video software.
>
> Steve King

Yes, as I wrote, "Use the 'preview' to hear its [the changes
made in the filter] effect on the sound". 8^)
--DR

Gary Eickmeier

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Apr 21, 2012, 10:54:11 AM4/21/12

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"David Ruether" <d_ru...@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:jmugh3$6bi$1...@ruby.cit.cornell.edu...

> Yes, as I wrote, "Use the 'preview' to hear its [the changes
> made in the filter] effect on the sound". 8^)
> --DR

Yes - I was going to say, programs such as this often have preview modes
that you can instantly change parameters to see what happens. Then when you
are happy you render it out.

Gary Eickmeier