I know nothing about audio editing and need to clean up a file

March 31, 2016 7:13 PM

Ok, I have a 50 minute audio file, MP3 format, of one of a talk. Here's a short clip. It was recorded with an iPhone 5s in a hall, so the audio sounds distant and small. I'ld like to make this sound better, but have no idea how to do it. I've downloaded Audacity, any pointers on what I should do? Is there a particular effect I can apply to the entire file to make it better or is more involved work needed and if so, what?
posted by Brandon Blatcher to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Best answer: Try using Amplify and then Noise Reduction. If you want to pm me I can take a crack at it myself.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 7:38 PM on March 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ok, sent. Thanks!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:41 PM on March 31, 2016

Best answer: Express Scribe is a free and easy to download software that has a Volume Boost option that helps with exactly this sort of thing. However, if I remember correctly, you can't save the new audio file. You have it listen to it through the program.
posted by atinna at 8:46 PM on March 31, 2016

Best answer: You could try adding some compression in Audacity (under effects) after you boost the volume. Basically that makes quiet sounds louder and loud sounds quieter, which allows you to boost the volume further without distorting it. If you experiment a little I bet you could set the "knee" (i.e., at what volume the compression kicks in) so that the crowd reactions get more compression than the speaker, which means in practical terms you'll be amplifying the speaker more than the crowd.
posted by en forme de poire at 7:44 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]