Minimizing Plosives and ‘S’ Pops

Posted on by Jeff Riegel, Producer/Editor

April 13, 2011

by VideoMaker.com

 

“We’ll just fix it in post!” Oh, those dreaded words! Every editor knows there’s only so much magic that can happen during post-production. Editing can soothe a lot of problems, but it’s never better than doing it right in the first place. Sometimes, despite efforts to get footage right during production, problems still go unnoticed.

One problem that generally goes unnoticed is with audio plosives and ‘S’ pops. A plosive occurs when a person pronounces their Ps with extra gusto, allowing more air hit the mic, thus resulting in a ‘popping’ noise. An ‘S’ Pop is essentially the same, but is a result of words containing the letter S, causing sentences to sound similar to seven snakes hissing.

Fortunately, there is an easy “fix,” or rather, band-aid approach that can help soothe the pronounced pops that occur. Within many editing applications there are audio filters to help soothe plosives and ‘S’ pops. A Depopper filter will help minimize the pop of plosives, whereas a DeEsser filter will help minimize the hiss of an over pronounced S.

These filters are easy to use. Just select your problematic clip and apply the filter. However, despite the fact that they’re easy to use and do a pretty good job, there is no substitute for capturing great audio from the start.

Every project has its own special challenges and sometimes importing files, editing on the timeline & exporting simply isn’t enough. You need to be nimble with your editing software, and the more diverse your knowledge is, the better your video will look. While there is no substitute for experience, Videomaker can help you develop the skills you need, faster. We’ve bundled together 5 eDocs that address some of the editing challenges our readers ask about most.  Learn more about our Elements of Video Editing eDoc Bundle.

 

Minimizing Plosives and 'S' Pops

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For two decades, Jeff Riegel was a senior level Producer/Editor for the Department of Defense and various government contractors in Northern Virginia. Outside of the workplace, Jeff keeps himself busy with the creation of festival worthy documentaries "Tori Nelson: Fighting for Her Future" and the once nominated and two-time Emmy award winning "A Journey of Education and Remembrance." His short film "The Great Realisation" captured the eyes at 18 international film festivals with various winning honors; a poem that takes on heavy themes such as fevered capitalism, man-made ecological issues, digital addiction during the global Covid blight. Jeff is looking for funding investors and co-producing "The Lost Clipper," a two+ decades project about the first hijacking in U.S. history and the search for those 15 lost souls abducted in 1938, the true first act of war with Japan. Filming takes him to Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Canada, and locations across the U.S. (see www.LostClipper.com) He enjoys creating media-marketing social networking campaign for personalities such as 13-time world boxing champion Tori Nelson, Netflix's "Narcos" personalities Steve Murphy and Javier Pena, and renowned landscape photographer Frank Lee Ruggles. Jeff is eager to attack any project head-on. Jeff's Motto: think beyond convention...and consider it done!