How to Improve Far-Away Conversations on a Recording Video

Extracting a far-away conversation from a recorded video can be quite challenging, but with the right techniques and tools, the audio can be significantly improved. Whether you're a professional editor or just looking to enhance your videos, there are several steps you can take to make those far-off conversations clearer and more audible.

Pro Techniques for Clearer Audio

While software solutions like voice isolation in Final Cut Pro can help, it’s important to understand that these methods are not the best approach. The pros use a simple yet effective technique: capturing the audio close to the source.

1. Use a Close Microphone

The gold standard for improving audio clarity is to shoot with a microphone that is close to the source of the sound. Two options are preferred: a boom microphone (which can be handheld or attached to a support stand) and a lavalier microphone (which is usually hidden under clothing).

2. Additional Dialogue Recording (ADR)

A more common approach is to rerecord the dialogue later. This method ensures that the actor’s performance is better and more accurate in post-production. Modern software can sync the new recording with the original footage, but for the best results, the actor should nail the performance in one go.

Audio Editing Techniques

If you’re dealing with audio that is recorded far away and cannot be improved at the source, you can attempt several audio editing techniques to make the conversation clearer.

1. Use Audio Editing Software

There are a variety of audio editing software options available, both free and paid. Some of the most popular ones include:

tAudacity (Free): Offers basic features such as noise reduction, amplification, and EQ. Use these features to reduce background noise and enhance the clarity of the spoken word. tAdobe Audition (Paid): Provides robust tools for audio editing, including advanced noise reduction, equalization, and compression. These features can help balance the audio levels to make distant sounds more audible. tAmplify: Adjustable volume levels can help make distant sounds more audible but be cautious of over-amplifying background noise. tNoise Reduction: Use noise reduction techniques to eliminate unwanted sounds. This can greatly improve the clarity of the conversation. tEqualization (EQ): Adjust the frequency levels to increase the amplitude of speech (typically around 1kHz to 4kHz), making it more audible. tCompression: Use compression to stabilize the recording and make the distant sounds more prominent by reducing loud sounds.

2. Sound Filtering Plugins

Another effective method is to use sound filtering plugins:

tUnidirectional Microphones: Shooting with unidirectional microphones such as shotgun microphones can significantly reduce background noise and help capture distant sounds more clearly. tWaves NS1 (Paid): This plugin focuses on reducing background noise and enhancing the clarity of speech in the recording. tiZotope RXP (Paid): Apart from advanced features like Dialogue Isolate, which extracts speech from a realistic environment, it also has a Spectral Repair feature that allows visually isolating frequencies related to speech and increasing their level.

3. Speech Separation

Some editing software such as Adobe Audition support spectral editing and frequency separation, making it easier to isolate speech from background noise. This technique involves identifying and cutting out specific frequency ranges that contain unwanted noise.

Multitrack editing can also be a powerful tool. Isolating individual voice tracks and boosting their levels can greatly enhance the clarity of the conversation. This is particularly useful when the audio has been recorded in stereo with different elements in separate channels.

4. Reverberation and Echo Effects

Adding a gentle reverb to distant sounds can make them sound more natural and less compressed or artificial.

5. AI-Driven Tools

AI tools like Descript and Cleanvoice can assist in cleaning and separating speech from recorded background noise. These applications can enhance the actual conversation by isolating and amplifying distant voices, making the audio clearer and more understandable.

Manual Cleanup of The Audio

A tooltips such as Audacity offer a visual analysis of the waveform, making it easy to identify areas where conversations take place. Manual editing, such as gain adjustments and filtering, can further enhance audio clarity.

Combining these methods can significantly improve the audibility of distant conversations in a recording. The effectiveness will vary based on the original recording quality and the level of background noise, but the results can be quite impressive.