Friday, January 21st, 2011 at 9:12 am
Eliminating Noise In Your Voice Over Recording Environment
A common problem that internet marketers run into is that they create an audio or video product … run straight through the recording … and discover in the end that in spite of their hard work that the audio is isn’t the masterpiece they had hoped for.
Most often the causes are room noise (or echoes), noise from interfering equipment, and too much distance between the microphone and the subject.
Sadly once the recording is committed to tape (or nowadays your hard drive), it’s locked in. Since attempts to remove the background noise or room noise are often not successful, it’s best to eliminate the noise BEFORE you start the recording.
If you have a very large room with lots of ambiance, consider adding a baffle or reflexion filter. It is positioned behind the microphone and will help you produce a DRY vocal recording. Alternatively, add a curtain rod close by, and hang a blanket to help isolate you from interfering noises.
All electronics will produce noise ..and the most likely culprit to give you trouble is your computer. And if you’re recording to it … you can’t turn it off. The solution is to either isolate it in an insulated cabinet, or to cover it with a heavy blanket when you record. Most cooling fans make a lot of noise, and they’ll be part of your recording.
Don’t forget … turn off your cell phone … and tell your family “I’m recording. Please keep the dog quiet and don’t knock on my door.”
Friday, January 21st, 2011 at 9:03 am
Hardware – Choosing a Microphone for Voice Over Recordings
What hardware YOU need will depend on your application. But in every case you need a good quality microphone. The choice and selection is vast and there’s good reason for this. Different mics SOUND different. In addition to many manufacturers, there are different types, different purposes, and of course a variety of sizes and shapes.
When it comes to manufacturers, my first instinct is to go with a specialist in recording equipment. Shure, EV, AKG, Samson, Rode just to name a few. Personally I wouldn’t be purchasing a mic that is made by a computer manufacturer. Although they may make a great mouse or keyboard, they just don’t have the years of experience at producing a quality microphone. In my case I have several mics, but they are all pro level.
The next thing you need to decide on is the style of mic. Do you want one in a headset? On a stand? Or a lapel mic clipped to your shirt? In my case I prefer one on a stand. But for micing for video, you could use either a hidden lapel mic or a condenser mic designed for that purpose. In all cases be sure to get a mic that is suited for SPOKEN VOICE … not live singing or micing an instrument. Since the explosion of the home recording market, the prices of quality mics have really dropped because the market has increased.
In addition, a number of manufacturers are now coming out with mics specifically for podcasting. One of the best I have seen (or heard) is the Rode Podcaster. The reason, is that it is a great mic, and has a built-in headphone jack – right in the body of the microphone. The price on this mic is in the low $200’s. And since it is a USB mic, you won’t need a high-end sound card or mic preamp to plug into. (more about that in the next section). All you need is a USB cable … which is included, and a mic stand. Now one word of caution. This mic is VERY heavy. Be sure the mic stand you will use is able to support its weight.
Thursday, January 20th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Creating Top Quality Internet Audio for e-books, podcasts, video narration and more
Perhaps you are here today because you have made some YouTube videos that look great … and sound bad. Maybe you would like to start a podcast. Or maybe you’re an e-book author and would like to record your own creative works. Or perhaps you heard some of the products that your competitors released and thought to yourself .. “hey that’s not all that good! I can do better than that!” But whatever your circumstances, this series of blog posts will educate you on what the masters do … to produce great audio.
Is audio quality important? Absolutely. And producing a quality product will help YOU to stand out from your competitors. As well as provide your customers with a product that is CLEAR and easy to understand.
One of the most basic skills in the world of video is the ability to make good, clean recordings of the spoken word. You may have some of the best camera work, special effects, titles and graphics in your videos, but if your viewers can’t understand what’s being said, then all that hard work you put into the visuals will be in vain.
Consumers today spend a lot on their audio playback equipment. Whether it’s in our cars, for our computers, our home theatre surround sound systems, or even that newest portable media player we take to the gym, we like our audio to sound good. And because professional recorded music is at such a high level of quality today, our ears are used to hearing great quality audio.
When it comes to video, it is a proven fact that good audio will improve how the consumer enjoys or perceives your product. Studies have been done where they have compared identical videos; one with good audio and one with bad audio. The viewers were told that they were to judge the quality of the VIDEO and provide their opinion on the difference in the two versions. Although the video quality was exactly the same, the test market said that the one with the better sounding audio actually looked better than the other. So audio really DOES affect how your video LOOKS!
Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
A lot of people think that in order to learn how to create voice overs for video you have to have in-depth technical knowledge or study audio extensively, the truth is you just need to have a clear voice, good script, a dependable mic and just record your voice and insert it into your video editing software.
Sounds simple eh?
Unfortunately, it takes time, proper technique and a bit of talent to create some really good voice overs for video and most of us don’t have those luxuries.
So I would like to teach you the top 3 Techniques How to Create Voice Overs for video:
1. Just Watch Your Video and “Explain it” into a microphone.
This is very simple. Just watch your video and record your voice while explaining your video, don’t worry about grammar and what to say, you can edit it later on.
More on how to create voice overs for video …
