simulation of helicopter mike audio

I have a clip taken from a helicopter that I need to add "cockpit voice" audio as if it were narrated while speaking into a throat or similar aircaraft stype mike. I have the whine of the props, etc, but never recorded the actual voices speaking.

Anyone have any idea on how I can do this?

Wouldn't a frequency notch filter simulate that? Much like telephone futz, but with beating props?

Apply a vibrator to the actor's neck while he or she delivers the lines? For that deafenbing buffeted-about feeling.

- Loren
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You could try "Telephone Voice" tools

[www.lafcpug.org]

with the compression tool added four or five times. Those microphones (at least the lip and noise cancelling ones) have extreme volume compression and no response outside of critical voice range which is roughly 1000 to 3000 Hz.

It doesn't matter if you yell, it doesn't matter if you talk softly, the output volume is always perfectly distorted and constant. It takes a little getting used to, but those voices are almost always understandable no matter how loud the aircraft is.

Koz

A lot like that:

[kozco.com]

Koz

[proapptips.com]

David at Movies Rock in Toronto
[www.tofcpug.com]

OK, now I have a minute to deal with this in detail.

There is a lot more going on in that track than meets the eye...or ear.

I started with a lavalier mic held really close to my mouth while I was speaking. Be careful not to overload the mic channel, or the track will turn into uncontrolled garbage in a big hurry.

Equalize by whatever tool you want to remove frequencies lower than 1500 and higher than 4500. Then send through a compressor. I used 6:1 compression but 10:1 certainly works.

Then you send the track into post. Clear all the spaces between sentences to zero. Clip the first and last phrase of each sentence. Note there are no breaths at the beginning of words? It starts immediately with the word, and sometimes the beginning of that is clipped. That is how aviation radios work. That is what puts the effect over the top.

You can look at the audio waveforms in my track to get an idea of what your track is supposed to look like when it is working right.

Koz

Thanks for all the assistance. Now I've just got to start experimenting following your advise. This list rocks!

I've spoken to actual pilots and gotten hands-on ideas about that track. They all say it's good (after they get around the bogus numbers) but it isn't noisy enough. I told them the editor had aircraft noise and just needed the talent to drop in.

And yes, LAX does have a runway 24-Right. It's the one closest to the In And Out Burger on Sepulveda.

Koz