Muffled background noise

[MaltyM]

Hi, this is maybe an odd request as I don't want clear sound.

I've got a Zoom H1n recorder. And I record ambient sounds (rivers/waves/birdsong) for the most part.

There are a few times I'd like to record 'ambient hum' sounds - for example I'm going to a Coronation party this-afternoon and I'd like to get something of the atmosphere but don't want to record individual discussions or people. I've also thought about how I would record the ambiance of a cafe or a piazza on a trip abroad somewhere.

I used to have an app to help me work that played background cafe sounds and it just gave a feeling you were working in a cafe without being able to tune into people's discussions. It was just a 'hum'.

Does this happen in recording? Or does one do it in the edit (I use Audacity)? I'm not sure how one achieves this 'muffled hum' without getting the details of close-up people.

Thanks.
Mark

[The Elf]

AAARGH! - I just lost 10 minutes of typing in one of this thread's duplicates!!!

A few (shorter now!) suggestions...

Use omni mic's. Or fig 8 with the null toward to closest voices.

Position your mic's at a distance where no individual voice dominates - especially the guy telling his life story.

Record several passes. Personally I'd go for at least six.

Back in the DAW...

Layer all the takes. Cross-fade them at intervals to avoid any strings of words becoming recognisable.

LPF one or two of the layers to create a 'mumble' bed of sound. HPF a layer to only keep the sybillants.

Pitch shift one or two layers to disguise any particularly dominant voices.

Reverse one or two layers to add to the entropy.

Add in an unrelated layer, maybe from a library.

Use delays to further muddy the waters - you can get quite long with these.

Loop/cross-fade your best section - the BBC 'between sessions' snooker audience loop can be quite amusing to listen to closely! I doubt many people think it's anything but the actual audio from the theatre.

Hopefully food for thought here.

This time I copied my text before I tried to submit it!

[ef37a]

Far better men than I will be able to help you Mark I am sure but I think what you are trying to do is called "Foley" work?

My idea would be to point the Zoom mics at the ceiling* so that all sounds are now non-directional and of course, keep away from anyone dominating the sound stage. Maybe move closer to 'non-people' sounds such a crockery and a coffee machine?

Once takes are in the can I would suggest rolling off much of the frequencies about 2kHz which is where speech is centred. Even perhaps the 'inverse' of the EQ that is used to pull out speech? A broad suckout between 250Hz and 5kHz leaving the extreme HF to keep 'clicky' noises?

I too use Audacity but really only as a sound 'screen grabber' I don't know of its EQ capabilities but there is a stock answer to that? Download Reaper.

*Maybe with a 'Selfi-stick'? But a garden cane and a couple of lakky bands will do just as good a job!

TOLD YOU! A 'spert would weigh in before long!
Dave.

[MaltyM]

AAARGH! - I just lost 10 minutes of typing in one of this thread's duplicates!!!

This time I copied my text before I tried to submit it!

Duplicates? I had problems posting - the submit button did nothing at all so I went to preview and then the submit button did work.

I too copied my text: too many times I've seen issues with posting things on all sorts of places (not just forums) over the years!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try to get my head around them.

[Mike Stranks]

Good stuff from the Elf...

... personally I just use an SFX library for these sorts of common background sounds... but then I'm usually looking for an easy life...

[MaltyM]

Mike I'm not looking to create a special effect - simply to have something that records the event that I'm about to attend... without anyone being particularly notable in it. Or to record holiday background noise of a location I've actually visited, again without someone droning on about something at the table next to me.

That's why I said I've got the Zoom H1n as that's all I'll be recording with. Likely held in my hand or sat on the table in front of me.

Sounds from The Elf's response that I'm going to mostly have to play with it in post-production to get a reasonable result.

[Mike Stranks]

SFX = Sound Effects

There's nothing 'special' about SFX... just ordinary, everyday sounds that can be used for all sorts of production work.

[Drew Stephenson]

Just one comment from me to back up one of the Elf's points; if you need five minutes of sound, record at least half an hour, preferably an hour, so you can cut out all the bad chunks do all the layering and crossfading. It can also provide you with some unplanned candy - I was recording some rain noises one day and I got a lovely bumble bee flying by across the full stereo image.

[ManFromGlass]

One of my outdoor faves was the gorgeous sound of a fly approaching and landing on the mic for a few secs and then buzzing away. On my new portable DAT machine more than a few years ago.

I also remember sitting late at night near a swamp in the spring when the tree and bull frogs were singing their hearts out all around me!
And then a motorcycle would pass in the distance . . . . . Oh yeah, and a pilot working on his night flying I guess……