Recording V.O. for indie feature film

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mustardeer

New member
Hi, i own an AUDIO TECHNICA AT-4040 and was thinking about picking up PreSonus FIREBOX to record a temp V.O. for my film. I'm supposed to record my V.O. at a professional studio next month but I've heard that Woody Allen used to record temp V.O. in his apartment in NY and he would fall in love with the temp track so much that he would end up using it in the film.

So my question is how good of a quality can I expect from an at-4040/firebox combo? It's going into a Mac. Would it scream "home made" if you heard it in a movie theatre? The film was shot on 35mm and has stars in it and looks pro. It would be professionally mixed with foley, bg, and sound design tracks.

Should I look for something with a tube preamp or would that be overkill?
I wouldn't want to spend more than $500 on the set up.

Also I can hear cars in the background every 20 seconds, but barely. Not sure if that could be an issue. Not sure if the noise can be filtered out.
 
mustardeer said:
Hi, i own an AUDIO TECHNICA AT-4040 and was thinking about picking up PreSonus FIREBOX to record a temp V.O. for my film. I'm supposed to record my V.O. at a professional studio next month but I've heard that Woody Allen used to record temp V.O. in his apartment in NY and he would fall in love with the temp track so much that he would end up using it in the film.

So my question is how good of a quality can I expect from an at-4040/firebox combo? It's going into a Mac. Would it scream "home made" if you heard it in a movie theatre? The film was shot on 35mm and has stars in it and looks pro. It would be professionally mixed with foley, bg, and sound design tracks.

Should I look for something with a tube preamp or would that be overkill?
I wouldn't want to spend more than $500 on the set up.

Also I can hear cars in the background every 20 seconds, but barely. Not sure if that could be an issue. Not sure if the noise can be filtered out.
Click to expand...

Two issues.

First. A M-Audio DMP3 is an extremely decent pre provided that a preamp is all you need. The FireBox is both pre and A/D/A converter.

Second. While I have done a lot of sound editing I am not a sound engineer and cannot describe my position in technical terms. You can 'roll-off' frequencies but you cannot remove selected sounds that share the frequency of your voice.

So for example, if there was a deep bass hum, or a very high whine, you might be able to strip those from the recording... and it would be best to strip them out at the time of recording with a filter. But other then that I don't think you can selectively get rid of audio annoyances.

Luck.
 
Wheelema,

thx, I actually own a DMP3 but remember not being able to hook it up to my kontrol 1 audio interface since it's an analog unit. Does the DMP3 have a tube inside? Would it work with the Firebox + Mac? And more importantly could I expect a quality comparable to the indies you see in theatres? Would love to hear from a few pros with experience.
 
mustardeer said:
Wheelema,

thx, I actually own a DMP3 but remember not being able to hook it up to my kontrol 1 audio interface since it's an analog unit. Does the DMP3 have a tube inside? Would it work with the Firebox + Mac? And more importantly could I expect a quality comparable to the indies you see in theatres? Would love to hear from a few pros with experience.
Click to expand...

think of what you are seeking to do, and what they are likely to do for an indie production.

Some productions would do things on a limited budget. But others would record their VOs in a studio with all the technology and expertise associated with the studio.

Would you be able to recreate a "quality comparable to the indies you see in theatres"? Well, perhaps, but it would take a lot of work. It is more than just plugging a mike into a PC then talking, because there are many techniques to learn to be able to create that quality you are looking for.

If you save your money and go to a studio, you have only one concern; your vocal performance. If you do it yourself, you have that and everything else. ANd it doesn't look promising if you have cars rumbling by your window.
 
id say you should try to do it yourself, at least just to get ideas and figure out were to put inflection and what not.

im actually very interested in the film.
the best of luck
 
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