Why sound comes first
Viewers forgive a soft picture faster than bad sound. If one host is much louder than the other, or the room rings like a stairwell, people click away even when the conversation is good. Most podcasts are also heard more than they are watched, so the audio file has to stand on its own.
Common problems and what we do
| Problem | What we do | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| One voice much louder | Level each track, then compress gently | Both voices sit at the same volume |
| Room echo | Reduce reverb on each voice | Clearer speech; a very live room can't be made dry |
| Hum or air conditioning noise | Noise reduction tuned to the sound | Steady noise drops a lot; sudden noises stay |
| Crosstalk between microphones | Gate or duck the mic that isn't speaking | Cleaner voices, fewer doubled sounds |
| Mouth clicks and plosives | Repair the worst ones | Fewer pops and clicks on close mics |
| Different loudness each week | Match to a set loudness target | Episodes play at a steady volume |
What cleanup can and can't do
Editing can make decent audio sound good. It can't fully rebuild a voice recorded on the wrong microphone across the room, or remove a leaf blower that was louder than the guest. If a stretch is beyond repair, we'll tell you, and where a camera microphone caught the same moment more cleanly, we'll use that instead.
Recording habits that help
- Give every person their own microphone and their own track
- Keep each mic a hand's width from the speaker's mouth
- Turn off air conditioning, fans and fridges during the recording if you can
- Soft furnishing helps a lot: rugs, curtains, a sofa, a bookshelf
- Record a few seconds of silence in the room before you start
- Wear headphones so the speakers don't leak into the mics
That few seconds of room silence gives us a clean sample of the background noise to remove.
What you get back
The cleaned audio is used in the video episode, and we also export a separate audio file for your podcast host, matched to the loudness target your host recommends. If you want the cleaned tracks separately, for example to edit a trailer yourself, ask in the brief.
Questions
Can I order audio cleanup without video editing?
Yes. Send the audio tracks and we'll return the cleaned, mixed file.
Can you fix an episode that's already published?
Often, yes, if you still have the original tracks. Send a sample and we'll say what's possible before you order.
Episode recorded and waiting? Tell us how many cameras you ran, how long the episode is, and what you want back: the full show, clips or both.
Request a quote