I was recording a series of videos while I was recovering from a cold and didn't realize how bad my cough would come out in post production. On a quite infrequent basis a loud coughing noise pierces the audio while the person who I'm recording is talking. How can I best remove or decrease these coughs and loud noises while maintaining as much of the other sound fidelity, ideally in Premiere Pro but if not with other software. I can provide a reference cough for a software solution.
4 Answers
If you have Audition, try using the background noise removal effect. If you capture a clip of solely the audio you want to remove, Audition will identify that frequency and remove it wherever it appears. Might need manual correction since sometimes it the reduction at those frequencies can be extreme.
i would attempt this by trying to find the frequency of the cough and then nuking it with EQ, turning the EQ on and off when needed via automation. You might have to dip the overall level for a moment too if its still too bad.
I'm guessing that in future having a second mic might help also so you can cut to that and it might get a better signal of the intended source.
I think the easiest way is with the Spectral Frequency Display. Sounds like coughs, air conditioners and so on appear as blobs or lines that you can either erase or reduce in volume. Much more effective than EQ, since you can target all the frequencies and the exact timespan. From Adobe: "The spectral display is perfect for removing unwanted sounds, such as coughs and other artifacts." https://helpx.adobe.com/audition/using/displaying-audio-waveform-editor.html
One great option might be iZotope RX for noise and background removal.
It works wonders e.g. with tape hiss. Might be great for coughing, too.
