Quick Answer
In ScreenFlow, background-noise reduction lives in the Audio Properties pane for a selected clip. Telestream’s ScreenFlow user guide and Audio Properties help page show the Remove Background Noise control alongside its Amount slider and nearby tools like Smooth Volume Levels and Ducking. For spoken-word screencasts, this control is most useful as a light cleanup step for steady background sound. If your voice starts sounding thin, hollow, watery, or overly processed, lower the Amount.
For harder problems such as echo, nearby voices, wind, clipping, or heavy keyboard noise, ScreenFlow may not be enough on its own. In that case, export your audio and use a stronger cleanup step outside the editor.
Where Remove Background Noise Lives in ScreenFlow
Select the clip in your timeline, open Audio Properties, and enable Remove Background Noise. ScreenFlow then gives you an Amount control for how strongly the reduction is applied. You can see these control names in Telestream’s official user guide and online help.
Based on that control set, it is best to treat ScreenFlow’s noise removal as a quick built-in reduction tool rather than a full audio-repair suite.
What ScreenFlow Is Good at vs. Bad at
The easiest way to get better results is to use ScreenFlow for the jobs it handles well and avoid forcing it to solve problems that usually need more specialized repair.
| Noise problem | Good fit for ScreenFlow? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Steady fan noise | Often, yes | In practice, gentle reduction tends to work best on consistent background sound. |
| HVAC rumble or room hiss | Often, lightly | Low-level constant noise is usually a better fit than sudden noises. |
| Computer noise | Usually | Another steady source that often responds better than irregular sounds. |
| Loud keyboard hits | Not reliably | These are sharp, intermittent sounds rather than a steady noise bed. |
| Nearby voices | No | Competing speech overlaps the same range as your main voice. |
| Music under speech | No | That is usually a mixing problem, not simple background noise. |
| Echo or room reverb | No | Reflections of the voice are different from constant background noise. |
| Heavy wind | No | Wind is irregular and broad, which basic noise reduction handles poorly. |
| Clipping or distortion | No | Noise reduction does not restore damaged peaks. |
Step-by-Step: A Safe ScreenFlow Workflow for Spoken-Word Audio
- Select the clip. Click the audio clip, or the video clip that contains the audio you want to clean.
- Open Audio Properties. Go to the clip’s audio controls in the inspector.
- Turn on Remove Background Noise. Start with a low Amount setting.
- Preview real speech. Listen to a few spoken phrases, not just silence.
- Increase only until the noise is less distracting. Do not chase total silence.
- Stop at the first sign of artifacts. If the voice becomes thin, hollow, watery, phasey, or pumped, reduce the Amount.
- Then evaluate Smooth Volume Levels. If your speaking level still jumps around, add Smooth Volume Levels after getting noise reduction roughly right.
- Use Ducking only for competing audio tracks. If music or app audio is masking your voice, use Ducking on that secondary track instead of trying to remove it as noise.
- Check channel behavior. If the voice sounds oddly weak, off-center, or phasey, review the mix options, including Set Mix to Mono, which are documented in the user guide.
- Export for stronger cleanup if needed. If ScreenFlow lowers some hiss but leaves bigger problems, finish cleanup outside ScreenFlow.
What Amount Should You Use?
Telestream documents the Amount control, but does not prescribe one universal setting in the sources provided. For voice work, the safest approach is:
- Start low.
- Increase gradually while listening to a full sentence.
- Stop as soon as the background is less distracting.
- Back off if the voice loses body or starts sounding swirly.
Usually, a conservative setting sounds better than an aggressive one. A little remaining room noise is often less distracting than a voice that sounds over-processed.
Should You Use Smooth Volume Levels Before or After Noise Reduction?
According to ScreenFlow’s official help, these are separate controls with different jobs: Remove Background Noise reduces background sound, while Smooth Volume Levels helps even out loudness. For most spoken-word edits, it is safer to set noise reduction first, then decide whether volume smoothing is still needed.
The practical reason is simple: if you level the track first, you may make low-level background sound more noticeable in quieter moments. Reducing some of that background first usually gives smoothing a cleaner signal to work with.
When to Use Ducking vs. Noise Removal
ScreenFlow’s Audio Properties help page also documents Ducking. Ducking and noise reduction solve different problems:
- Use Remove Background Noise for steady unwanted sound inside the voice recording itself.
- Use Ducking when your voice is competing with another track, such as music, app audio, or B-roll sound.
If there is music under your narration, ducking is the better ScreenFlow-native tool.
How to Fix Thin, Hollow, Watery, or Pumped Voice
If ScreenFlow makes your voice sound worse after cleanup, the setting is usually too aggressive for the source.
| What you hear | Most likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Thin or hollow voice | Too much reduction | Lower the Amount and accept a little background sound. |
| Watery or swirly sound | The effect is reacting to complex or changing noise | Back off the setting and consider external cleanup. |
| Pumping or breathing background | The reduction is too obvious as the voice comes and goes | Use less reduction and avoid pushing for near-silence. |
| No real improvement | The problem is not steady noise | Switch strategies; the issue may be echo, keyboard hits, or overlapping voices. |
| Weak or phasey voice | Channel imbalance or stereo/mono trouble | Check mix settings and Set Mix to Mono where appropriate. |
A simple test is to toggle the effect on and off while listening to the same spoken sentence. If the cleaned version sounds less natural than the original, you have probably gone too far.
Mono, Stereo, and Set Mix to Mono Checks
Not every ugly voice sound comes from noise reduction. Some are channel problems. ScreenFlow’s official documentation includes mixer and channel options such as Set Mix to Mono, which are worth checking if:
- One side sounds louder than the other
- An imported recording behaves oddly in stereo
- The voice feels weak, off-center, or strangely hollow
- You intended to use a single spoken mic source
For voice-first screencasts, a mono result can be more stable than leaving a problematic stereo recording untouched.
Can ScreenFlow Clean Imported Video Audio Too?
Yes. Because these are clip-level audio properties in ScreenFlow’s documented workflow, they can also be applied to imported video clips after you select them in the timeline.
When to Export and Clean Elsewhere
ScreenFlow is a strong first stop for mild steady noise. It is usually time to switch tools when:
- The voice gets artificial before the noise is reduced enough
- The real issue is echo or room reverb
- The recording has wind bursts or plosives
- There are background voices or competing speech
- Keyboard hits remain distracting
- The source is clipped or distorted
If you need that second pass, SimpleClean is another tool from our team that can help clean exported ScreenFlow voice audio after editing.
If your main problem is echo rather than steady noise, see How to Remove Echo in Premiere Pro Without Wrecking Voice Clarity. For a similar editor-native cleanup workflow, see How to Remove Background Noise in OBS Without Making Your Mic Sound Robotic.
A Practical ScreenFlow-First Checklist
- Select the clip and open Audio Properties.
- Enable Remove Background Noise.
- Raise Amount slowly.
- Stop before your voice sounds thin or hollow.
- Add Smooth Volume Levels only if loudness still needs evening out.
- Use Ducking for music or other timeline audio, not for fan hum.
- Check Set Mix to Mono or related mix controls if the voice sounds phasey or one-sided.
- Export and clean elsewhere if the problem is echo, wind, background voices, or severe intermittent noise.
FAQ
Where is Remove Background Noise in ScreenFlow?
It is in the Audio Properties pane for a selected clip, as shown in Telestream’s user guide and online help.
What amount should I use for ScreenFlow background noise removal?
Start low and raise the Amount gradually until the noise is less distracting. If your voice becomes thin, hollow, or watery, lower the setting.
Does ScreenFlow remove keyboard noise?
Not reliably. Keyboard hits are intermittent transients, while ScreenFlow’s built-in reduction is better suited to steady background sound.
Can ScreenFlow remove echo or room reverb?
It is not the best tool for that. The supplied official docs describe a background-noise reduction control, not a dedicated de-reverb workflow.
Should I use Smooth Volume Levels with noise reduction in ScreenFlow?
Usually yes, but set noise reduction first, then add Smooth Volume Levels if the voice still needs more consistent loudness.
Why does ScreenFlow make my voice sound hollow after noise removal?
Usually because the Amount is too aggressive. Lower it until the voice sounds more natural, even if a little background sound remains.
Can ScreenFlow clean audio from imported video, not just ScreenFlow recordings?
Yes. The controls are applied at the clip level, so imported video audio can use the same Audio Properties tools.
Bottom Line
ScreenFlow is a practical built-in option for light, steady background noise in voice-led screencasts. Use it conservatively, treat the Amount slider as a gentle cleanup control, and combine it with Smooth Volume Levels or Ducking only when those are the actual problems you need to solve. If the sound turns thin before the noise is gone, or if the recording has echo, wind, keyboard hits, or nearby voices, that is your sign to finish cleanup outside ScreenFlow.