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Re: the frustrations of engine noise

Subject: Re: the frustrations of engine noise
From: "Marc Myers" primatemarc
Date: Mon Jul 2, 2012 6:58 am ((PDT))
I feel your pain. Almost nowhere without human noise. Finding places withou=
t light pollution just as onerous. The first time I really noticed was in C=
ongo Brazzaville near the Central African Republic's border. After several =
days in the forest there was a loud buzz and everyone looked up. It was a l=
ight plane. First time I realized what living only with natural sound was l=
ike. And remoteness is not always an antidote. I was editing video last nig=
ht sent to me from a national park in Madagascar. I had to pick and choose =
to find anything without human chatter, an airplane or a generator.
I often wonder how much energy we expend just filtering all the stuff witho=
ut significance.
The technical answer is engine noise is all over the place and so hard to f=
ilter. You know that already, of course. I use multiple instances of notch =
filters to go after the worst harmonics, then multiple passes of denoising =
software in small increments. Never does a perfect job but can take the cur=
se off of the recording for some purposes.
You also said you are starting out. You we quickly becoming much better in =
"hearing" the unwanted noises when recording. This part of the battle.

Best,
Marc



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