Using (reverse) noise gates to fill dead air

Special thanks to Christopher Johnson for demonstrating this technique and allowing me to share it in this book.

While noise reduction tools have become super effective in recent years, it’s typically a good idea to leave a bit of ambient noise on a voice track. Too much noise reduction can sound harsh and unnatural, and audiences expect to hear some kind of “air” sound on a track. You could edit in noise to mask silence, but that can be time-consuming. You could also have a separate noise track running constantly, but that might mean having to bring up the overall noise print. Instead, this method uses a side-chained compressor to lower a noise track while there is a voice playing, then increases it when there is silence.

Getting ready

For this recipe, you will need a Pro Tools session with two mono audio tracks, one with a voice clip and another with a noise print. You can use room tone from a library, but...