How to Remove Background Noise in Premiere Pro

If you’ve ever had to edit audio in your filmmaking career, you’ll know the burden of receiving the sound recording and the first thing you hear is unwanted background noise creeping into each and every scene. In this guide, we show you how to remove background noise in Premiere Pro.

It happens quite often where you have the perfect scene, with a cinematic setup and then when you watch it back in post-production you can hear that pesky background noise. Fear not there are plenty of ways now to remove background in Premiere Pro.

• Remove background noise in Premiere Pro using the Denoiser effect – Basic.
• Remove background noise in Premiere Pro using the Essential Sound Panel – Advanced.

Quick tip:

Firstly we advise you to create the best possible recording environment when you are filming your latest scene, prevention is important! Try removing any potential pieces of equipment that may cause additional background noise whilst you film.

You may also be interested in reading: How to remove background noise in Adobe Audition

How to Remove Background Noise in Premiere Pro Using the DeNoiser

Even when you set up your film set with the least possible additional background noise, chances are when you playback your audio you’ll have that unwanted static feedback. However! Don’t fear, this is the good part. Here’s how to remove background noise using the DeNoiser effect.

Step 1

Firstly, open up Adobe Premiere Pro. Select the footage you wish to remove any additional static noise from.

After selecting the clip go to Window > Effects > Obsolete Audio Effects > DeNoiser (Obsolete). It will then ask you whether or not you want to use the newer version of the DeNoiser. Select no and continue with the DeNoiser (Obsolete).

Step 2:

Select the DeNoiser effect and then drag and drop it onto the clip you wish to remove the static noise from. Once you have dropped the DeNoiser effect onto the clip go to Effect Controls > DeNoiser > Reduce Noise By.

Step 3:

Use the sliders on here to reduce the static noise, you usually find it differs from clip to clip in terms of the decibel range to remove it from. We find around -5 to -10 is usually the range you’ll be able to reduce to an unnoticeable level.

We use the DeNoiser effect, even though it is outdated.

The reason is it still does a much better job than most effects and it’s simple and easy to use. We recommend it over other add ons as you can hear a huge difference once you’ve added it to your audio.

Follow our simple steps to remove background noise in Premiere Pro with this tutorial produced by our in house editor Philip:

How to Remove Background Noise in Premiere Pro Using the Essential Sound Panel

Here’s another method to allow you to remove background noise in Premiere Pro. These methods are pretty easy to implement as well. Here’s how to remove background noise in Premiere Pro using the Essential Sound Panel.

Open up the Essential Sound Panel

First, you will want to enable the Essential Sound Panel in Premiere Pro. To do this, simply navigate to Window > Essential Sound, and the Essential Sound Panel will pop up ready for you to use. 

Now, designate your clip as dialogue.

Choose the audio clip or clips you wish to work within your timeline. Then select Dialogue in the Essential Sound Panel.

Open up the Repair Tab in Essential Sound Panel

Click and open the tab that says Repair or Edit in the Essential Sound Panel for the above panel to pop up with the suggestions.

We will cover the following options presented to help you reduce the background noise in Premiere Pro: 

• Reduce noise
• Reduce rumble
• DeHum
• DeEss
• Reduce reverb

Adjust the amount of noise reduction

Reduce the noise by checking the noise box and deciding the amount you wish to apply by using the slider.

This helps to isolate low ambient noises and takes away any background noise interfering with the core sound. Remember a little background noise isn’t a bad thing, so try not to remove everything as it can leave your footage sounding off. 

The more you apply the less natural the person speaking will sound as well. 

We recommend slowly adjusting the slider and listening to it by playing back the audio and altering it in small increments – this way you’ll not distort any key sounds and be able to remove the background noise in Premiere Pro subtly. 

Reduce sounds caused by wind or movement

This is where “Reduce rumble” comes into play. If you have a knock to the microphone or any unnecessary scratching noises, “Reduce rumble” will be a must. 

Noise from the wind can also be edited using this too. 

Select the check box and apply it by using the slider. As mentioned above, move it slightly and playback the sound until you have a clear removal. Try and eliminate as much of the noise as you can without distorting the main audio source.

Use DeHum to remove low frequency noises

If you select the DeHum checkbox you can use the slider to remove low-frequency background noises in Premiere Pro. These noises are usually caused by pieces of equipment in the background, for example, a low fridge humming noise that sneaks into the audio will be removed correctly by using the DeHum feature in Premiere Pro.

DeEss reduces sibilance

This will help you remove harsh “S” sounds that are caused by sensitivity within the audio. Use the DeEss to eliminate these.

Reduce reverb – reducing echo

When you record audio without sound-absorbing panels you’ll have a lot more reverb in your audio. Even if you got the best microphone in the market, you’ll still suffer from reverb.

However, no need to worry. You can use the Reverse reverb checkbox and eliminate additional reverb in your recording. It helps to remove echo as well, the perfect solution to remove background noise in Premiere Pro.

We hope this article on removing background noise in Adobe Premiere Pro has helped you, please share this if you found it useful!

If you’re filming a commercial you may want to remove the audio from your video in Premiere Pro, this is a pretty simple process if you follow our simple steps.

Not looking to remove background noise in Premiere Pro? Fear not, here are our other guides for Audacity, Da Vinci Resolve and Adobe Audition:

• How to Remove Background Noise in DaVinci Resolve.
• Adobe Audition
• Audacity