My head is in a vice Uncle Fester

George Karnes · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 905

OK OK...I didn't know I would kickoff such a fire storm. I do try different settings for different stuff.

But I have noticed that folks who are landing a lot of jobs seem to finish with quite a bit of compression.

I am just trying to get that sound into my finished pieces. I am having a hard time. My process is this:
1. Cut out all the bad parts of the read.
2. Delete all the extra space
3. Find all the little artifacts in the remaining spaces and "silence" them.
4. EQ (I use the loudness quick filter with a couple of tweaks for me)
5. Dynamics processing (I Use the Compander setting with the compression turned up a little bit) This is where I have been playing.
6. I normalize it to 85%. This setting always puts me just shy of clipping.

Joe J Thomas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 1521

Hey George,

Not a pro at editing, but here's my normal routine.

1) record
2) repeat 1 until satisfied
3) apply "noise cancellation"
4) apply "noise gate"
5) normalize to -3dB
6) listen
7) remove unwanted space and mouth sounds
Cool

repeat all until satisfied

The "noise cancellation" uses a sampled wave-form to remove a constant noise (background hum, fan, etc).

Wow, I do way too much for an audition... no more small jobs for me!
Joe

Colin Campbell · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007, 15:35 (GMT) Post subject:

George... where to start. You should be able to noramalize to 100%. Any less makes no sense to me. But, do that first (after cutting out any gaps or noise.) All normalize does is take the highest peak and make that FSD (Full Scane Digital.) It should not cause any "clipping."

As far as understanding compression and EQ better, if you don't mind a little "light" reading... read the parts of this manual that are not specific to the piece of equipment it represents. It is a great primer on the subject...

http://www.symetrixaudio.com/repository/528EmanF00.pdf

This is about analog, but the concepts are the same.

Amy Snively · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 1028

I don't do the same thing each time, it depends on a million things. But this is what I'm doing this morning:

1) record
2) hunt down any clicks and "fill single click" if I find one
3) listen for popped p's and fix those manually if found
4) minimize breaths by reducing amplification by -12
5) apply a mild Izotope Ozone preset for Adobe Audition-- mild compression with a little widening, and I don't what else
6) compander at default setting
7) 3dB boost

Colin Campbell · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007, 15:51 (GMT) Post subject:

At the risk of being a terd....

1. Get your levels right.
2. Record with a good quality pop filter and the proper mic placement so you don't have any pops.
3. You'll be using a good voice processor with a "downward expander" so you won't have any noticable breaths.
4. You'll be using s good voice processor so you will have a nice slightly compressed recording that sounds full.
5. Trim the beginning and end since you didn't have any pickups.
6. OK, you've got pickups, cut them out.
7. Don't need to normalize since you have your levels right (see step 1.)
8. Oh, it's for radio or a demo.... (this part censored, it's a secret.)

Joe J Thomas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 1521

Whatever you are, Colin, keep it up!

Good points, and when I get a processor, I'll use them all...

Thanks,
Joe

George Karnes · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 905

Colin-
That is the problem. I have a very low end setup that I am trying to get the most out of. I don't know the software that well, and I know almost zero about digital audio editing. Well maybe not zero anymore. Maybe I know 1.5 on a scale of 1-10. that is mostly because of your educational series. But a lot of what you say doesn't carry over to my setup so I am still pretty lost.

Colin Campbell · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007, 16:33 (GMT) Post subject:

OK, George. Let's see what we can do. What exactly is your setup?

Amy Snively · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 1028

Just for the record--
I don't usually have any pops or clicks, but I always 'proof' my audio looking for them just in case. Every so often, especially if I'm doing an auto ad or fast legal copy, I do.

Breaths, on the other hand... I almost always have to minimize them.

George Karnes · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 905

Thanks Amy Very Happy

Alan Simmons · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 220

Amy Snively · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 1028

It changes the pace of the read if you cut them out. I don't like that unnatural, rushed, over-written spot sound.

Alan Simmons · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 220

You're right, Amy. It does change the pace. At times I replace them with silence, but it's just as easy to gate 'em. Speaking of breaths...

This may be a whole other thread, but what's the "industry standard" on audible breaths in a vo? Maybe industry standard isn't the right term, but what's the rule of thumb there? If it's a casual, conversational read, are a few breaths ok?

Colin Campbell · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007, 18:49 (GMT) Post subject:

Breaths are natural. If you are doing a piece of copy that should sound natural then breaths should be there but not overly loud. A good downward expander (often improperly called a "noise gate") dioesn't totally eliminate them but keeps them under control.

Now... for a car dealer with too much copy, just cutting them out can lend an effect that many like. Being natural in a car dealer ad is not a prerequisite. In fact many times in the past on those types of ads I have used overlapping tracks creating a "talking to myself" effect. Serves two purposes.... sqeezes more copy into :60 and gives the spot a hyper sound that many car dealers (and others) like.

Alan Simmons · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 220

I'm loving this... I learn so much stuff from you guys (and gals).

So:

-Breaths are ok if not overdone
-A gate is not a gate, but a downward expander
-Car dealers need to cut down on the caffeine Wink

Yeah, I've heard the overlapping effect. I hear it a lot in copy that has lists in it ("This weekend only! RefrigeratorsWashersDryersElectronics...")

I always thought it was done to get "that sound". I never thought about it in terms of squeezing more copy in less time (which seems to be the norm in hard sell). Good stuff!