Recording and analyzing EVP evidence part II
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Recording and analyzing EVP evidence part II
by Bob A Thu Jan 07, 2016 6:53 pm
Once you have recorded your EVP session it is time to listen to it to see what results you may have gotten. Download your files from your recorder to your computer. I like to add the files to a folder with the location's name, for example "Smith house". All of my audio recordings, photographs and EVPs go in that folder. If I investigate a location more than once I add folders within the original folder named after the date of the investigation. For example the folder "Smith house" may have sub-folders "1-17-15" and "2-24-15".
After placing your audio files in their proper folder you will need a good audio editing software program. There are many to choose from but my favorite is Audacity. Audacity has all the functionality you will need, is a free download and is simple to use. Next, you will need a notebook and pen to make notes as you listen to your recording. You will also need a good pair of headphones, buy the best you can afford but the "over the ear" models work best in blocking out all sound but your recording.
Before you begin, label a page in your notebook with the name of your location, in our example "Smith house". Under that write the title of the file you are analyzing. Your recorder will title the file something like 151107_01. Open the file with your audio software and zoom in until you can see only about a minute of audio at a time. Begin listening to your audio through the headphones with the volume as loud as you can stand comfortably. Your recording should begin with a statement mentioning the location, area (room), date and time and possibly who is present. Make note of this in your notebook. Now it is time to begin listening for EVPs.
It is important to listen to every moment of your recording as closely as possible. If you are dealing with a residual haunting an EVP can appear anywhere. When working with an intelligent haunting an answer may even appear BEFORE you ask the question. This is why recordings are kept to ten minutes or so, absolute concentration is necessary. When you think you hear a whisper or voice stop the playback and listen again. If you are satisfied there is something worth listening to a little closer make a note of the time and what you think you hear, for example "3:15 - Laughing". Although you probably want to stop and enhance this part of your recording keep going, it is good to keep the continuity flowing. Keep going, making notes of anything interesting until you have listened to all of your recordings.
The next step is to isolate the sections you are interested in and enhance them. Go back to your notebook, find your first possible EVP and make note of the time and open the file it is found on. Highlight the section you find interesting along with any associated question. Copy the section you plan to work with and open a new file to paste it into so you don't change the original file. I like to leave some ambient noise before and after the point of interest for two reasons. First, when you enhance the recording you may find you captured a longer response than you first thought. Second, saving a section with no speaking or noise helps with noise reduction.
Once you have a new file with the sound you are interested in there are a few ways to enhance the voice you hear. Amplify is usually a good place to start. Highlight only the section without speaking and use the amplify filter. Only increase the amplification in small increments to avoid too having much white noise. At this point noise reduction is the next step I use. Highlight a section of your recording with nothing on it and click "Get noise profile". Once the noise profile is captured you can highlight everything you amplified and reduce the noise. if you are unhappy with the results there are other methods of enhancing an EVP. High pass filter will eliminate a degree of "hiss" allowing the voice to come through. Equalization can enhance the range of sound the voice is heard in. Experiment for yourself with other filters and feel free to change the speed or even reverse the sound you hear. Once you are happy with your EVP save your file with a filename with the following format, "Location, area, date, time, investigator name and what you hear". So, your filename will look like "Smith house_Livingroon_12-27-15_1130PM_Bob_Laughing". Labeling your EVPs in such a manner will make sharing and finding your EVPs much easier.
Now it is time to share your evidence. EVPs are classified into three classes, A, B and C. A class A EVP is the rarest. It is described as being clear to understand and able to be heard on most speakers. Class B EVPs are more common and defined as voices that are less clear and may need to be listened to with the aid of headphones. Not everyone listening to a Class B EVP will agree what is being said but it is generally agreed there is speaking. A Class C EVP is less clear, requires much more amplification and is still open to a great deal of debate. Usually only class A and B EVPs are shared. Allow others to listen to your EVP before telling them what you hear so as to avoid tainting their opinion. If someone hears something different than what you hear make note of it, they may be right. We have all misheard lyrics to a song before and EVPs can be just as tricky! If after your first session you don't get many results keep trying, eventually you will "get it".
After placing your audio files in their proper folder you will need a good audio editing software program. There are many to choose from but my favorite is Audacity. Audacity has all the functionality you will need, is a free download and is simple to use. Next, you will need a notebook and pen to make notes as you listen to your recording. You will also need a good pair of headphones, buy the best you can afford but the "over the ear" models work best in blocking out all sound but your recording.
Before you begin, label a page in your notebook with the name of your location, in our example "Smith house". Under that write the title of the file you are analyzing. Your recorder will title the file something like 151107_01. Open the file with your audio software and zoom in until you can see only about a minute of audio at a time. Begin listening to your audio through the headphones with the volume as loud as you can stand comfortably. Your recording should begin with a statement mentioning the location, area (room), date and time and possibly who is present. Make note of this in your notebook. Now it is time to begin listening for EVPs.
It is important to listen to every moment of your recording as closely as possible. If you are dealing with a residual haunting an EVP can appear anywhere. When working with an intelligent haunting an answer may even appear BEFORE you ask the question. This is why recordings are kept to ten minutes or so, absolute concentration is necessary. When you think you hear a whisper or voice stop the playback and listen again. If you are satisfied there is something worth listening to a little closer make a note of the time and what you think you hear, for example "3:15 - Laughing". Although you probably want to stop and enhance this part of your recording keep going, it is good to keep the continuity flowing. Keep going, making notes of anything interesting until you have listened to all of your recordings.
The next step is to isolate the sections you are interested in and enhance them. Go back to your notebook, find your first possible EVP and make note of the time and open the file it is found on. Highlight the section you find interesting along with any associated question. Copy the section you plan to work with and open a new file to paste it into so you don't change the original file. I like to leave some ambient noise before and after the point of interest for two reasons. First, when you enhance the recording you may find you captured a longer response than you first thought. Second, saving a section with no speaking or noise helps with noise reduction.
Once you have a new file with the sound you are interested in there are a few ways to enhance the voice you hear. Amplify is usually a good place to start. Highlight only the section without speaking and use the amplify filter. Only increase the amplification in small increments to avoid too having much white noise. At this point noise reduction is the next step I use. Highlight a section of your recording with nothing on it and click "Get noise profile". Once the noise profile is captured you can highlight everything you amplified and reduce the noise. if you are unhappy with the results there are other methods of enhancing an EVP. High pass filter will eliminate a degree of "hiss" allowing the voice to come through. Equalization can enhance the range of sound the voice is heard in. Experiment for yourself with other filters and feel free to change the speed or even reverse the sound you hear. Once you are happy with your EVP save your file with a filename with the following format, "Location, area, date, time, investigator name and what you hear". So, your filename will look like "Smith house_Livingroon_12-27-15_1130PM_Bob_Laughing". Labeling your EVPs in such a manner will make sharing and finding your EVPs much easier.
Now it is time to share your evidence. EVPs are classified into three classes, A, B and C. A class A EVP is the rarest. It is described as being clear to understand and able to be heard on most speakers. Class B EVPs are more common and defined as voices that are less clear and may need to be listened to with the aid of headphones. Not everyone listening to a Class B EVP will agree what is being said but it is generally agreed there is speaking. A Class C EVP is less clear, requires much more amplification and is still open to a great deal of debate. Usually only class A and B EVPs are shared. Allow others to listen to your EVP before telling them what you hear so as to avoid tainting their opinion. If someone hears something different than what you hear make note of it, they may be right. We have all misheard lyrics to a song before and EVPs can be just as tricky! If after your first session you don't get many results keep trying, eventually you will "get it".
Bob A- Posts : 12
Join date : 2016-01-02
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