I'm making heavy weather of what I'm sure must be a very common operation. I've recorded a few minutes of microphone input. Now I want to record over the top of a fragment, where I faltered badly. How is that most easily done please?
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Terry, West Sussex, UK
Recording over a section?
I'm not an expert on microphone recording methods, but basically here's how I would do it (some of this requires you to know some GoldWave basics):
First, if it's only a few minutes and if possible I would probably just re-record the whole thing but you would know that and apparently don't want to SO:
(I'm sort of assuming you're reading, but maybe not. Anyway the basics would still apply)
I would open a new sound window rather than recording anything directly over the old. Then I guess I would start reading just before the bad passage and end just after. Open up your original recording (make a copy!) and Select the section you want to replace, then Delete that section. In your newly recorded sound window, select the replace section and do a Copy. Then in your original sound window be sure your cursor is placed where you deleted the section and do a Paste.
You'll have to play with volume, parameters of the new section to make it sound like the original of course.
First, if it's only a few minutes and if possible I would probably just re-record the whole thing but you would know that and apparently don't want to SO:
(I'm sort of assuming you're reading, but maybe not. Anyway the basics would still apply)
I would open a new sound window rather than recording anything directly over the old. Then I guess I would start reading just before the bad passage and end just after. Open up your original recording (make a copy!) and Select the section you want to replace, then Delete that section. In your newly recorded sound window, select the replace section and do a Copy. Then in your original sound window be sure your cursor is placed where you deleted the section and do a Paste.
You'll have to play with volume, parameters of the new section to make it sound like the original of course.
Right! That's how voice-overs and "spots' are done... Take one... ...Take 22...First, if it's only a few minutes and if possible I would probably just re-record the whole thing...
When doing something longer (like an audio book) they usually start-over and re-record the paragraph that was flubbed. So, they end-up with no full-takes, but several overlapping takes that can be cut & spliced together.
If you want to edit, here's what I would do:
(This sounds more complicated than it is... Basically, I would break the files into fragments/segments and re-assemble them. I'm not going to give you all of the details. Read-through the GoldWave help file to learn how to use the various functions. I generally like to use mix when I "splice" two files together. It makes a smother splice.)
Like holtram said, Back-up the file... I'm going to distroy the original!
Re-record the bad parts first. Record full sentences.
Clean-up these new segments. Trim-off the ends... I would use a short fade-in and fade-out (a fraction of a second), instead of the GoldWave trim feature. You can leave some silence at the end (again a fraction of a second) ...basically, you should be fading-and fading-out the background noise (which hopefully is minimal). Then, adjust the volume to match the main recording.
Cut-out the first good segment from the original file. Copy and Paste new to create a new file. It's usually best to grab a bit more than you will use. (This will become your final fixed-up file.)
Trim-off the end of the new file. Again, a short fade-out is usually a good idea. Then, add a few seconds of silence to the end of the new file. (You are going to overlap the silence).
Copy the first replacement-segment into the clipboard.
Go back the the new file. Set the Start Marker at the end, wherever you want the new sentence to start. Click Mix to blend the replacement segment into the file. Listen to the file. If the timing of the transition doesn't sound natural, Undo and mix again with a new starting-point for the mix.
Go back to the original file. Delete the first section and the following bad section. (This isn't always necessary, this is where you distroy the original file... But, it helps you keep track of where you are if there is more than one bad section.)
Select the next good section. Copy and Paste new to create a new (temporary) file. Clean-up this segment. Copy it to the clipboard, and Mix this segment at the end of the good-new file.
Repeat as necessary.
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donrandall
- Posts: 550
- Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:06 pm
- Location: Denver, Colorado
In a new sound window, record the new version of your audio and make sure you are satisfied that you now have what you want. Select your start and end points and click on "Copy".
Now, shrink that window and open the file that needs repair. Locate the portion to be replaced and mark the start and end points very carefully, then click on the "Repl" icon (on my screen it is on the upper layer of icons and just above the Equalizer icon).
If you do this correctly, you should be able to replace the defective audio with the new and perfect audio file. It is really very quick and easy.
Now, shrink that window and open the file that needs repair. Locate the portion to be replaced and mark the start and end points very carefully, then click on the "Repl" icon (on my screen it is on the upper layer of icons and just above the Equalizer icon).
If you do this correctly, you should be able to replace the defective audio with the new and perfect audio file. It is really very quick and easy.