AUDIO ASSIST: What Makes 32-Bit Floating Point Audio Powerful

For this Audio Assist column, I’ll explore a relatively new technology called 32-bit floating point audio, which is a new way of recording sound and processing it in post.

Common Problems

But before delving into this new technology, I’d like to discuss some common problems you’ll often encounter when recording audio. since the main benefits of 32-bit floating point audio is to overcome certain audio recording problems.

Up until now, when it came to recording audio, there’s an axiom often used by many who work in production: If you capture bad quality audio, generally you’re out of luck.

It’s a statement that seems odd in an era when there are so many great postproduction sound tools, plug-ins and technologies.

However, what exactly does this axiom mean? What’s actually meant by “poorly recorded location sound?” To me, it can mean many things. Consider the following list I’ve compiled of recording problems due to poorly recorded location sound and their effects on the audio file:

1. Low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), echo, reverb, too much ambient noise, clothing/facial hair/jewelry rubbing on lavalier, etc.2. Sound recorded in any environment with your dialog that’s not the desired sound—wind, AC hum, air conditioning/heating noise, elevators, air or street traffic, lawn mower, leaf blower, dogs barking, birds chirping, construction noise, trash trucks, insects buzzing,3. The result of recording talent in a reverberant room or environment.4. Each type, model and brand of microphone reproduces a voice or sound in its own unique way.5. Such unwanted audio can be due to a variety of causes, including cable noise, intermittent or shorting connection points with the gear and or cables, RF noise issues with wireless microphone systems, moisture/humidity levels with certain microphones, dirty pots on recorders or mixers, etc.