Background noise removal - no skills necessary!
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.
This blog featured in the 7 July 2023 edition of Stop. Rewind. Play. - my weekly Substack.
