Cant get audio to match?

Hi guys

A client has asked me to edit some footage and insert and extra bit of 'audio VO' on a clip.. However, even though my audio capture was very clean there is a distinct 'ronal' difference ( it was captured by the same lady VO but obviously with a different mic and Room ambience etc)

Is there an 'audio match' facility in FCPX or can anyone suggest the best method of getting the audio to sound slightly similar?

Here is how to auto sync clips.
help.apple.com/finalcutpro/mac/10.1/#verc1fabc30

Look here in Chapter 5: Equalizers, at the Channel EQ.
manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA16...ic_pro_x_effects.pdf

There is an audio match function, but if the two clips are too different, it won't work.
help.apple.com/finalcutpro/mac/10.1/#ver1632db40

Not what you want to hear, but this can be difficult to achieve. Was the new audio recorded somewhere different to the original?

If the they were recorded in different rooms, this will be impossible to match really closely, depending how close mic'ed the recordings are.

You can do a certain amount with EQ and level matching - I haven't tried this in FCPX as I use full-blown audio kit in the studio here. Try to match the level first, use your ears, not level meters. When it's as close as you can get, use EQ with a fairly tight curve around the midrange - 400Hz-2kHz - try cutting or boosting and sweep the frequency control to find the right point. Again use your ears, there is no reliable automatic method.

good luck!

There is a match audio function in FCP which works similar to match color, which might help you.

Thanks Guys

I used the 'match audio' as a starting point then tried EQ and level settings to get some sort of similarity..

I felt I was still miles off BUT when I showed it to the client they didn't even notice! typical!

Guess having a musical background makes me a little fussy when it comes to audio :huh:

Just like matching the hue, saturation, and contrast of clips visually, matching audio won't work 100% between all clips. Some clips are just too different to match in post. That's why when someone on one of my productions even whispers "fix it in post", even as a joke, they're fired, period. I also come from a lifetime of music and recording studios since my teens, and I get overly picky about audio, too. Or maybe too many videographers don't get picky enough?

ha Benb i couldn't agree more

I targeted the same office building to record the audio with a zoom h4n, then a lavaliere then a boom mic.. but when I compared the audio files they were miles apart (not just tonally as the original speaker for some reason spoke in a deeper softer tone!

I guess without knowing what mic was used on the original recording it was always going to hard to match.

I started to import the audio into Logic Pro x and soon realised I was spending 2 hours on two 15 sec audio clips!

I never stop learning in this industry, just wish it wasn't the hard way all the time :huh:

With separate audio and video recording devices, I do a simple Sync clip. In that sync clip, I go with the best quality audio channel available. Then I'll mix in something from the camera mic, picking up a tad of the room reverb, noise, etc. I find that the right balance of the mix, all done inside FCPX, gives me a more full, nice sound.