Breathing sounds

scorsesefan

scorsesefan

Veteran
I just finished shooting a feature doc (one man band) and my breathing is often audible on the on-camera shotgun mic. I was using an AT-875r isolated on the top handle hot shoe with a Rycote mic holder. However, I have sinus problems and my breathing is a bit loud.

Is there a). Anyway to avoid this issue in the future? b). Any way to fix it in post?

Thanks
 
scorsesefan said:
Is there a). Anyway to avoid this issue in the future?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, on-camera mics are quite vulnerable to noise from the camera’s operator. It’s just… there. The only way to avoid recording cam op sounds is to keep the mic away from the camera. You might - might - see some degree of improvement by putting the mic up on a magic arm and positioning it so that you’re in it’s rear rejection, but you’re still up against proximity.

scorsesefan said:
b). Any way to fix it in post?
Click to expand...

Yes/no/maybe? Without hearing a sample, I’m not sure how to suggest you approach it. There are some amazing noise removal tools out there, but they all have limitations and there’s no guaranteed outcome. Unfortunately, breathing is one of those things that may or may not be recognized by the algorithm. If you want to send me a short clip (WAV, 60 sec or less), I’m happy to put it to the test and see what can be done.
 
Alex H. said:
Unfortunately, on-camera mics are quite vulnerable to noise from the camera’s operator. It’s just… there. The only way to avoid recording cam op sounds is to keep the mic away from the camera. You might - might - see some degree of improvement by putting the mic up on a magic arm and positioning it so that you’re in it’s rear rejection, but you’re still up against proximity.



Yes/no/maybe? Without hearing a sample, I’m not sure how to suggest you approach it. There are some amazing noise removal tools out there, but they all have limitations and there’s no guaranteed outcome. Unfortunately, breathing is one of those things that may or may not be recognized by the algorithm. If you want to send me a short clip (WAV, 60 sec or less), I’m happy to put it to the test and see what can be done.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Alex. How is the at875r in terms of rear rejection? Is there a better mic that you can recommend in that regard?
 
The main mic I know of with the most minimal (to no) rear lobe is the Sanken CSR-2. Never used it, but on the NAB show floor many years ago, it was impressive. Also about $1400. Offhand, I don't know of a reasonably-price option; but there may be one... https://www.sankenmicrophones.com/production/shotgun/csr-2/

As for mounts, as Alex says, that might help a little. Maybe a Radius/mid49 camera mount with a 15mm clamp so you can slide the mic sort-of out of the way. I like what Radius and mid49 are making... But the setup could get awkward. https://www.mid49.com/products/microphone-shock-mount-sideways-15mm-rod
Screenshot 2026-03-15 at 8.45.39 AM.png

And like Alex says, maybe there's an AI tool that will help...Maybe. I mean, in the non-AI world there's stuff like iZotope's Breath Control in RX, but I've used it like once and it was on a vocal track...not doc where you want to preserve, I presume, the non-breath sound. Will be interesting to see if Alex finds a good solution...
 
scorsesefan said:
Thanks, Alex. How is the at875r in terms of rear rejection? Is there a better mic that you can recommend in that regard?
Click to expand...

It’s pretty standard for a shotgun mic. The AT875r is an incredible mic for the price. The bigger problem, again, is simply proximity. I’ve never experienced a camera-mounted mic of any polar pattern that can reject the sounds of someone literally standing inches from it. Shotgun mics have great off-axis rejection, but there’s usually some sort of small rear lobe in the pickup pattern.
 
I've found that auphonic.com is pretty amazing at cleaning up audio that needs saving. You can adjust a wide range of parameters to get things sounding the way you'd like. For a relatively quick and dirty approach to recordings with serious issues it's the best I've found.

You get processing for 2 hours of audio free (though it attaches a stinger and sometimes a closer to the file—easily removed). Past that you pay for a certain number of hours of processed audio. It's been a while since I bought additional hours, but I recall it being very reasonable.
 
drboffa said:
auphonic.com
Click to expand...
The guy in the stinger sounds like a Peter Serafinowicz character.

I wonder if there's a product that's a piece of sound-proof material, like they use in VO booths, that goes between the on-camera mic and the operator? It would work in a similar principle to the housings they put around bigger film cameras, but for compact doc setups.

1773672421200.png

1773672108385.png
 
Last edited:
Fx6 imports a ton of audio tracks and I forgot to mute the onboard mic so hence the mouth breather noise. Bonehead move. Thanks for the help guys…
 
Yep, it is frustrating having all those audio tracks clog up the timeline when you only need 1. I'll have to see if there is a way to only import 1 track or to auto-delete unwanted tracks in Davinci.
 
I forget the exact steps but if you right click on a file in Davinci and go to clip properties you should have the option (in the "Audio" tab or similar) of deleting/deactivating all the audio tracks you don't want.
 
I use Steinberg's SpectraLayers Pro, which can likily remove the extraneous sound from the dialog track, however it is not free, but there is a fully functional trial version. SLP also includes spectalgraph editing, but there is a learning curve with that function. Experience with Photoshop or other pro photo editing software helps some.
There are quite a few AI restoration apps around these days (free or otherwise) that may work.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top