Editing 101

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Ok VO mega gods,

I am attaching a sample voice clip that has had no editing done to it at all.

I have been trying to teach myself sound forge. I have only made baby steps because I don't know the lingo for one, two I have never edited before. I have figured out how to remove breaths, cut and past, that's about it.

I am using the following at this point:
New mic, Sennheiser e835, plugged into back of PC
Dell PC
Sony Sound Forge 8.0
mini booth made of foam board and egg crate foam that sits on my desk.
I live in an old apartment building. During the day when most people are at work it's pretty quite.
SoundMAX digital audio is what came loaded on my PC.

If someone, anyone would be willing to listen to the track, then tell me how to remove or change something. That way I can learn. Pray

Thank you so much in advance for any help and or advice.

Heather
In editing pre-school.

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

I'd dearly love to help a damsel in distress, Heather, but editing to me is as difficult as subtlety is to Brittany Spears.
You sound pretty fair, though.
My question is, if you know how to cut and paste, and remove the odd breath, burp, and curse, what more do you want to know?
It's kept the wolf from my door.
(Darn alligators and other carnivores got in, though)
Edit On!

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Thanks Robert,

I do let the occasional wolf in the door. No need to keep them all away! Laughing

Just kidding.

I did not work hard on the read. I really just wanted to record something to play with the editing. Guess I should have put more energy into it. Wink

I guess what I want to know are things like....what is compression and why do I need it? When do I want to use the equalizer tool, fade, remove background noise, what is a noise floor level, normalize and many other fun little tools I have no idea what to do with! Embarassed

I am hesitant to send out to many demo's because I don't want to lack of editing to put a client off. I want to post demo's with descent sound quality.

Colin Campbell · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007, 04:12 (GMT) Post subject:

Well, Heather, technically you have big problems! What are you using?

You have:

1. Low levels
2. A lot of "digital artifact."

You need to consider first and foremost what goes IN to the computer before you even start to think about what to do with it once it's there.

THE NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT THING: MICROPHONE
THE NUMBER TWO MOST IMPORTANT THING: PREAMP (or preamp/processor if you come from my school.)
THE NUMBER THREE MOST IMPORTANT THING: A CLEAN "INTERFACE" WHERE THE DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERSION TAKES PLACE.

If these things are not properly in place you had might as well throw the rest out.

Colin Campbell · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007, 04:14 (GMT) Post subject:

Well, Heather, technically you have big problems! What are you using?

You have:

1. Low levels
2. A lot of "digital artifact."

You need to consider first and foremost what goes IN to the computer before you even start to think about what to do with it once it's there.

THE NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT THING: MICROPHONE
THE NUMBER TWO MOST IMPORTANT THING: PREAMP (or preamp/processor if you come from my school.)
THE NUMBER THREE MOST IMPORTANT THING: A CLEAN "INTERFACE" WHERE THE DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERSION TAKES PLACE.

If these things are not properly in place you had might as well throw the rest out.

Colin Campbell · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007, 04:14 (GMT) Post subject:

Well, Heather, technically you have big problems! What are you using?

You have:

1. Low levels
2. A lot of "digital artifact."

You need to consider first and foremost what goes IN to the computer before you even start to think about what to do with it once it's there.

THE NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT THING: MICROPHONE
THE NUMBER TWO MOST IMPORTANT THING: PREAMP (or preamp/processor if you come from my school.)
THE NUMBER THREE MOST IMPORTANT THING: A CLEAN "INTERFACE" WHERE THE ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSION TAKES PLACE.

If these things are not properly in place you had might as well throw the rest out.

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Well....I just bought a new mic!! I ended up buying a Sennheiser e835.
Should I exchange it for the Shure? That is the other one I was looking at in my price range.

I don't have an external processor. Not in the budget right now....
I am using the sound card that came with my computer......

That's all I have! Sad

I am attaching a demo I did tonight for a post. Let's see if that sounds any better to you.

Colin Campbell · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007, 04:33 (GMT) Post subject:

Heather, you've got such a good voice but something bad is happening to it as it makes it's way to the PC. It sounds like the PC's integrated sound is most of the problem. There is tons of digital artifact that is occuring in the analog to digital conversion. I fear you will think me a jerk but it's free advice after all. Listen to this and then listen to yours. I know you don't have much of a budget, but what I am hearing would not be acceptable technically by alomost anyone.

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Colin,

I appreciate any and ALL suggestions. I can only do what I can do right now. So....I have a new mic..... what can I do to help my situation until my budget increases. I can probably come up with about another $100.00 at the most.

My hope was to just be able to use what I have for auditions. Then if I got the gig I would go to a studio to record.......
I am just very frustrated right now!!! Sad

Surely everyone doesn't have in home studio's and expensive equipment?
I need something I can build on as I go......

Thank you!!

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

When you get a gig - and you will; you're good - the payment will be too low to afford a studio, unless you have connections or a full day of gigs.
Strive to get a decent home set-up. The computer sound card just won't do.
In the meantime, if the production stuff ruins your auditions, I suggest you submit only dry reads, and leave an unproduced voice-only at your web site.
It's better to show what you have than to broadcast what you don't, no?
Voice Only On!

Colin Campbell · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007, 04:56 (GMT) Post subject:

Well, not much over $100 ($129) would solve some of your issue...

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackUSB-main.html

Probably cheaper at "street prices."

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Well I do have a really cheap studio connection. When a job does come through.

How much would a new sound card be, there about? Can I start with that?

Oh....I think my head is going to burst!! kopf gegen wand

Oooh I feel a song coming on....If I were a rich man, yada dada dada dada da........all day long I'd ........Oh Vey!

Victor Harris · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007, 11:20 (GMT) Post subject:

I wish you would have gotten the Shure SM58, but hey, its your choice. For around a hundred bucks or so, you should be able to get some kind of interface that will plug right into your UBS port on your puter. Since you don't need phantom power for your mic, you could get away without a preamp, although a preamp is nice if u have one. Personally, I think you need an interface...like now. That should get rid of all your static issues and give you a clean connection from your mic to your puter. Do not use a quarter inch jack into an eighth inch jack adapter. As a matter of fact, never use a quarter inch jack after you get a new interface. ALWAYS USE XLR CABLES. Make sure your new interface has XLR inputs.

Then you need a nice quiet spot for your recording. You also need a pop screen. Your Sound Forge is a good platform, so there should be nothing wrong with that. Remember, RECORD, ZOOM IN AND EXPAND YOUR WAVEFORM, EDIT, EQ, COMPRESS, EFFECTS (IF YOU NEED IT...THIS ALSO INCLUDES DE-ESSING), THEN NORMALIZE. Wink

Scott Pollak · Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007, 13:13 (GMT) Post subject:

Heather, I agree with Colin that something is seriously hampering you getting good audio into and then out of your system, although I'm not nearly the technical geek...uh... GURU, that Colin is.

I've been told many times that the sound I get here with my home system is quite good, although I don't think it's as good as Colin's. But the up side is that I spent hundreds less. All I use is:

- an Electrovoice RE-20 mike; bought about 4 years ago for around $350
- a Behringer MX-802A mixer/pre-amp, bought at the same time for less than $100
- Cool Edit Pro, now known as Adobe Auditon: $150

That's it. Honestly, I can't even tell you what my sound card is, although it's obviously good enough for what I'm doing right now.

I'll attach my demo too, most of which was done here at my home set up.

Heather Cooper · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 472

Wow I really can hear the difference. Very clear, (even if it's not as clear as Colin's) Laughing

much, much better than mine.

So, if I can find a mixer....that seems like it might 'fix' my lost in PC problems?
It seems the consensus it that is happening somewhere in the bowls of my PC, yes?