How Should Voice Over Audio Sound?
By Dan Lenard
“The Home Studio Master”
One of the things to consider when hiring a voice talent is “How is their sound?” Does it sound like its on the radio? Is the size of the room they recorded it in apparent from the echo you hear? Are their mic plosives or “popping “P’s? All of these things are evidence of overthinking or not understanding proper audio processing, a less than ideal recording space and poor mic technique. When it comes to you for your production, you don’t want to spend the time to clean it up or ask the talent to record it again.
Having a home or “personal“ voice over recording studio is a relatively new phenomenon. It used to be the pride of a few technically adept audio engineers and experienced radio talents. That all changed with the simplification of the digital recording process about 15 years ago. Equipment to record quality audio to one’s computer became cheap and in the reach of anyone wanting to hang out a VO shingle.
Unfortunately, having the proper equipment and knowing how to use it are two different things.
I’ve spent the last ten years as a private consultant to voice talents, helping them create their recording spaces, teaching them how to use the equipment and software and troubleshooting issues with it. My clients include the horde of new talents vying for your attention and experienced pros who’ve spent their careers in professional recording studios, who now have to have a home studio and have to learn these skills in order to compete.
The most experienced pros have mastered these skills. Its what allowed them to succeed in todays marketplace. While the recording process is physically easier to do now, not understanding some basic rules will render some audio unusable. Over-modulation causing distorted audio, or under-modulated audio that requires a great deal of amplification, which adds additional noise to the audio file. Poor mic technique that lends to the plosives I mentioned earlier, and having a room that is not properly acoustically treated that is not ideal to record audio.
Listen to auditions you get. Aside form a talents ability to take your copy and bring it to life, and make it sound like they’re not reading it, does it sound like they recorded it in a tube?
Here’s what it should sound like: Like your having a conversation with that person in the same room. We don’t talk to each other 1/2” from each others eardrums. They shouldn’t sound like they are right on top of the microphone. You should only hear the talents voice, no background noise and no room reflection, or small echoes.
So when listening to talent for your next production, watch for these signs of inexperience that will eventually cost you time and money. Hire the ones that know how its done.
If you want to know more about how to properly record voice overs or want the talents you use to improve their sounds, I’m available for consultations. Go to homevoiceoverstudio.com and read up on what I do.