We've lectured for years on the benefits of proper audio gathering and getting it right at the shoot. Obviously, this makes things easier, cleaner and more professional sounding when you begin to edit the footage. But for whatever reason, it seems that something always happens to mar your perfect audio recording. It may be a simple little thing or some unforeseen catastrophe, but someday, it's inevitable, you're going to have to fix something in post. You can relax because today's audio editing tools - and even video tools - offer virtually everything you need to repair those unfortunate audio accidents, and these tools can help you enhance the audio even more.

Options Galore

Fixing audio in post used to be a nightmare. Just imagine all the equipment it took back in the golden age of television. Video was recorded and edited on tape, so all the audio processing took place in real time with real hardware processors. Need some equalization? Hook up a box. Need some dynamics control? Hook up another box. And don't forget, many of those boxes were expensive. Of course, today all our audio processing and cleanup takes place inside the computer. Adding a virtual processor can be as simple as dragging something onto the timeline. If you don't get what you want the first time, just back up and try again with different settings. If you need a processor that's not included in your editor, just download one from the Internet - many times they're even free.

The majority of audio repair tools fall into just two categories. First are the filters. These include High-Pass, Low-Pass, Band pass and general purpose equalization. Filters affect the tonal quality of your recording and usually serve to add or subtract some portion or portions of the audio spectrum from your audio track. Next on the list are dynamics processors. Compressors, limiters and expanders all fit this category. Dynamics processors generally alter the difference between loud and soft portions of the soundtrack. It's most common to reduce the dynamic range of a recording in post to gain clarity and even out volume levels.

Another popular audio tool is digital noise reduction. By sampling a section of only noise, you tell the noise reduction processor what to remove from your recording. This is a powerful tool that has the potential to rescue noisy recordings and significantly reduce hiss without affecting the quality of sound. Other tools such as de-essers and enhancers operate using a combination of filtering, dynamics control and other techniques. Regardless of the tool or tools you're using, the goal is the same: clean up that audio …