Distorted podcast audio levels. Require fixing. Happy to pay

Audio Production
1

Hi, there

In desperate need of some help.

I’ve recorded a couple of podcasts recently where the guest has been quite erratic with his movements. As a result, audio has become increasingly distorted with levels all over the place.

It’s two hours long. Adjusting the audio gain for every time he speaks is arduous and, I believe, not the best solution. The disparity in levels is still quite clear.

I edit in Premiere Pro. Would anyone be able to offer advice or, better still, help? Happy to pay for the service.

Please let me know and I will forward the audio on. (Would rather not place in the public domain.)

Kind regards

2

Hi gkunion,

Could you just post a 30sec sample of the worst section so we can see if it is possible to repair the audio to an acceptable standard.

Many thanks,

IanT.

3

Thanks for coming back to me, IanT.

It’s not allowing me to upload a WAV file, however. I’ve uploaded an mp4 instead. Bear in mind pretty much the entire podcast is like this, not just the clip.

Thanks again

4

Hi gkunion,

Thanks for posting your audio problem to listen too…

I couldn’t find any distortion in the signal only problems with loudness dropping below ideal levels for a podcast.

I put your audio through some compressors to even out the dynamic range changes and got this:-

There are a few places where the audio quality changes and affects the overall sound quality. I don’t think it takes away from what your guest is talking about so I probably wouldn’t try to fix it.

See how you get on with compression or get in touch with me and I’ll see if I can help out.

IanT.

5

It seems like @IanT’s solution of compression has been beneficial, but it’s important to note that the source of your issue might be a noise gate. Noise gates work by eliminating sounds below a certain threshold, which can potentially cause issues when the speaker’s volume fluctuates significantly.

In Premiere Pro, if a noise gate was applied to the track, it could be causing your problem. You might want to consider disabling it for future recordings to avoid this kind of issue. It can inadvertently cut off quieter speech, leading to the inconsistency you’re experiencing.

6

Agree with Mike re the potential cause…

I’ve reworked your audio and think it sounds much much better now, really good actually. I’d do a further bit of work to it to make it perfect, but this gives you an idea…

If you’d like me to work on the whole episodes, perhaps DM me a contact email address?