![]() I got the M160 and my uncommon problem was solved. So, my BBC colleague recommended a Beyerdynamic ribbon mic – the kind often used in BBC studios. The issue was “transients”, including mouth clicks, which weren’t easy to remove in post-production without losing quality. In the same way that if you’re a beautiful peach-skinned young actor, HD is fine.īut for some of us, condenser microphones are just a bit too faithful.Īs a woman with a quiet voice, speaking at higher frequencies, I found a standard condenser microphone didn’t cut it. ![]() This is great if you have a wonderful sonorous voice without clicks or lip smacks. They pick up everything, in a bright, nuanced, beautifully detailed fashion. Usually, those people have nice voices!Ĭondenser mics are sensitive, like high definition TV. I often see people recommending condenser mics. Recording an audiobook is a different acoustic situation. Some mics (eg the dpa 4099) are great for instruments such as the violin or acoustic guitar, which have a big dynamic range. A workhorse vocal mic (eg the Shure SM58) is great for live singers who have big voice projection. So you need to do some research.Ī vocal mic designed for live stage work and rock bands is a different beast to a mic designed to pick up classical percussion or stringed instruments. In addition, each microphone has different qualities and is designed for different purposes. Microphones are very personal, and what works for one person won’t work for others. Record yourself, and contrast it with your voice outside the quilt. If you don’t believe me, try it! It’s important to get a sense of what an “acoustically dead” space sounds like. It’ll cut out echoes and sound just like a pro recording studio. The aim is to muffle acoustic reflections, aka echo.Ī quick fix some people use is to get under a quilt and record there. So minimizing smooth surfaces with thick fabrics will really help.Īudio-treat any shiny surfaces. Clip it to a door to create a tent.Īny smooth surfaces will reflect sound, including walls, floors and ceilings. Just use a clothes horse and put a thick quilt over the top. OK, so it’s not easy to rig up a padded cell. Ideally, think padded cell! That thick wadding is useful not just for preventing injuries – it also keeps pesky room tone and echo right down. Stage 2: Be amazed at how much ambient noise your microphone still finds in the room. Stage 1: Get rid of birds, dogs, clocks, traffic. This is about treating the room space after you’ve eliminated all these hazards. This isn’t about obvious acoustic problems such as barking dogs, chirping birds, rumbling traffic, squeaky chairs, ticking clocks, people speaking, and other hazards in the immediate environment. Speaking louder didn’t help, as it just made my voice strained and poppy (that annoying breathy p sound). I had a quiet room, but against this gently echoing background, my voice didn’t stand out enough. What’s room tone? It’s the sound of the quiet room, with nothing else in it. I persuaded myself it sounded bearable and sent it in to ACX. I started off trying to record in my living room. ![]() Treat your room space – it really matters I made two full book recordings which were rejected, before I got it right. So the quality needs to start out high, or compression might accentuate the flaws. And the quality is compressed for online. Audiobooks seek to draw you in, not blast you with full-on forceful presenter energy. Live radio which flies past in a moment is also pretty forgiving.Īudiobook recordings aren’t! They’re made for careful and close listening. But sound quality for field interviews is pretty forgiving. I’d done plenty of field interviews using portable recorders such as the Zoom H4N Pro. Usually, on-air radio presenters work with an existing studio, and don’t need to understand the technical specifications.Īnd studio specs are tougher than you might expect. But you don’t learn about sound equipment, acoustic room treatment, room tone problems, graphic equalising and mastering, and other parts of the process needed to prepare sound clips for ACX submission. You know about levels, popping, mixing and editing. As a presenter, you know how to read and use a microphone. People who present on air aren’t the same as people who build studios. So you have a radio background, I hear you ask? Then why was recording an audiobook such a fail first time? 1. ![]() But getting production right for ACX it wasn’t straightforward! You do need some technical foundations to record your audiobook. I’ve learned writing and presenting techniques from working for BBC radio, writing journalism and radio drama, and presenting for Swiss Radio International. Here’s what I learned, so you can get it right first time.įirst off, I have a radio background. Recording an audiobook isn’t easy! But after two tries, my audiobook Writing for Audiobooks passed the quality test.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |