Maybe it\u2019s minor or maybe it\u2019s kind of destroying your entire video.\u00a0 Whatever the case, you set out to find how to remove it.<\/p>\n
And this time your heart drops<\/strong>.\u00a0 Because there are so many \u201ctutorials\u201d out there that are either pitching a product, seem way too techie or are just plain confusing.<\/p>\n So let me make things easy for you<\/strong>, by sharing what the average person can do to remove background noise from their videos.\u00a0 I\u2019ll start with a couple of \u00a0cheap or free tools you can use and then end with a simple trick that you\u2019ll likely end up using anyway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you plan on using software to remove background noise in videos, first you need to understand how this software works.\u00a0 And it works by identifying and isolating a noise and then doing it\u2019s magic to remove that specific noise \u201cfingerprint\u201d from the entire video.<\/p>\n The sad part is that to identify and isolate a specific noise accurately, it needs to be able to hear that noise and ONLY that noise.\u00a0 That means it won\u2019t be accurate if BOTH your good audio and the noise are mixed together.<\/p>\n Great, so how do you make that happen?\u00a0<\/strong> The only way to make that happen is to always shoot about 30 seconds of silence before shooting your actual video.\u00a0 In other words, press record on the camera, be silent for 30 seconds, then start doing your thing.<\/p>\n This 30 seconds of silence provides the separation the software needs between the noise you want to remove and your good audio.\u00a0 During this 30 seconds, the only thing the software will hear is the background noise.\u00a0 And that allows the software to accurately identify, isolate and remove the noise.<\/p>\n But let me guess.\u00a0<\/strong> You didn\u2019t record 30 seconds of silent video first.\u00a0 It\u2019s OK, almost no one does.\u00a0 All is not lost.\u00a0 It will just make your job harder, but not impossible.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The next thing you need to know is what noise is easy to remove from videos and what noise is not.\u00a0 We\u2019ll start with the easy noise.<\/p>\n The only noise that is easy to remove from videos is white noise<\/strong>.\u00a0 That means a constant, predictable, never-changing noise.<\/p>\n Hum from lights is white noise.\u00a0 An air conditioner or furnace running is white noise.\u00a0 A fan is white noise.\u00a0 Basically any noise where the frequency never changes is white noise.<\/p>\n If you have this type of noise in your video, congratulations.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy for software to remove this.\u00a0 But\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have white noise, that leaves all of the other noise offenders. \u00a0Like people talking in the background, cars, birds chirping, lawn mowers running, doors slamming, foot traffic or the worst of them all; wind.<\/p>\n If your video has this type of noise, it\u2019s almost impossible to completely remove it without destroying your good audio too.\u00a0 That\u2019s just the reality, so don\u2019t believe the sales pitches that tell you otherwise<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But really, the only way to know how much background noise you can remove from your videos is to give it a try and see how it sounds.\u00a0 So now let\u2019s take a look at your software options.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Audacity<\/a> is free audio editing software for both Windows and Mac.\u00a0 To use Audacity to remove background noise from your videos, do following:<\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> In your video editing software, export ONLY the AUDIO portion of your video. In most instances, exporting your audio as a .WAV file is best (MP3 is your next best choice)<\/p>\n 2.<\/strong> Open the audio file in Audacity and using your mouse, click and drag to highlight the portion of the audio with background noise you want to remove.<\/p>\n 3.<\/strong> Select Effects<\/strong> and then the Noise Reduction sub-menu option<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n WavePad<\/a> is free to try audio editing software for both Windows and Mac users.\u00a0 However, if you want to use it beyond the trial period, it will cost you about $35 USD.\u00a0 To use WavePad to remove background noise from your videos, do following:<\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> WavePad can open most video files directly, but it\u2019s usually best to give it an audio file instead. So in your video editing software, export ONLY<\/strong> the AUDIO<\/strong> portion of your video. In most instances, exporting your audio as a .WAV file is best (MP3 is your next best choice)<\/p>\n 2<\/strong>. Open the audio file in WavePad and using your mouse, click and drag to highlight the portion of the audio with background noise you want to remove.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With WavePad, you have a couple of choices<\/strong> to remove noise…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3a.<\/strong> If hum or hiss is your issue, from the sidebar menu choose Remove noise or hiss<\/strong><\/p>\n 5a.<\/strong> Export the fixed audio file from WavePad (as a .wav or .mp3). Open it up in your video editing software and replace your original audio track with the new, fixed one. 4b.<\/strong> In the next screen, choose the Apply To Voice<\/strong> preset. Try it out. You may have to re-try and adjust the Silence to Audio Portion % to get the result that you want.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It used to be that there were several free or cheap tools to choose from to remove background noise from videos.\u00a0 But those days are gone and Audacity<\/strong> and WavePad<\/strong> are the best choices that remain.<\/p>\n The reason those days are gone is because many video editing platforms now provide built-in tools for removing noise from video.<\/p>\n There are too many video editing titles for me to cover here, but basically, if your video editing software has a noise fixing option, give it a try.\u00a0 Just be warned that it probably won\u2019t do any better\u2026and often times will do worse\u2026than the independent options I listed above.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you\u2019ve read this far, you\u2019ve discovered the inevitable truth; removing background noise from video either doesn\u2019t work as well as you\u2019d hoped or it totally screws up your good audio along the way.<\/p>\n So what do you do then?<\/p>\n Easy<\/strong>.\u00a0 Instead of trying to fix the audio issues, just mask them<\/strong>.\u00a0 And to do that, all you need to do is add some background music to your video.<\/p>\n Often times, this low background music is enough to mask the noise.\u00a0 At least enough so it doesn\u2019t stick out like a sore thumb.<\/p>\n To add background music to your videos, follow these steps:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> Find some background music you\u2019d like use. One of my favorite places is AudioJungle<\/a>.<\/p>\nYou Should Have Done This First<\/strong><\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Easy To Remove This<\/strong><\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Almost Impossible To Remove This<\/h2>\n
Removing Noise with Audacity<\/h2>\n
![\"audacity-01\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/audacity-01.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"audacity-02\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/audacity-02.png\")
<\/a>
\n4.<\/strong> Follow the prompts on the Noise Reduction screen. Start with the defaults, but you\u2019ll likely have to play with the sliders to achieve the effect that you want.<\/p>\n![\"audacity-03\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/audacity-03.png\")
<\/a>
\n5.<\/strong> Export the fixed audio file from Audacity (as a .wav or .mp3). Open it up in your video editing software and replace your original audio track with the new, fixed one.<\/p>\nRemoving Noise with WavePad Sound Editor<\/h2>\n
![\"wavepad-01\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/wavepad-01.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"wavepad-02\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/wavepad-02.png\")
<\/a>
\n4a.<\/strong> In the next screen, choose the Remove Hum and Hiss<\/strong> preset. Try it out. You may have to re-try and play around with the slider to get the result that you want.<\/p>\n![\"wavepad-03\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/wavepad-03.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n3b<\/strong>. If you have other noise issues or 3a didn\u2019t work, from the main menu bar at the top of the window choose Effects > Noise Reduction > Apply Auto Spectral Subtraction\u2026(slower speed, best quality)<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"wavepad-04\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/wavepad-04.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"wavepad-05\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/wavepad-05.png\")
<\/a>
\n5b.<\/strong> Export the fixed audio file from WavePad (as a .wav or .mp3). Open it up in your video editing software and replace your original audio track with the new, fixed one.<\/p>\nRemoving Noise with Your Video Editing Software<\/h2>\n
Screw It, None of This Works.\u00a0 I\u2019ll Just Do This Instead.<\/h2>\n
![\"music-track\"](\"http:\/\/webvideouniversity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/music-track.png\")
<\/a>