Voiceover tips (recording the human voice)

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stephentedsmith

New member
Voiceover tips (recording the human voice)

We record a lot of voice overs at ALT Recording Studios in Brighton. I've been unable to find much advice on the web about recording the human voice.

I've given an overview of what we do but would love to hear any tips or techniques used.


I always appreciate the difficulty in recording the human voice well. Colouration be it from roo acoustics, excessive compression, bad microphone techniques etc can ruin a recording. We hear the human voice everyday and so instantly know when it sounds wrong.

As with any recording it is always best to start at the source. In this case the voice over artist. Sitting comfortably, having good posture can work wonders.What I always try and aim for from a voice over artist is to optimise volume levels, reduce excessive sibilance and microphone popping, reduce excessive bass due to microphone proximity. In our control room at our Brighton studio we position the artists with their back to wall covered in auralex acoustic tiles to help avoid a boxy sound and create a pleasant reverberation ambiance.

Each mic has its own sound. At ALT Recording Studios we use Rode valve mics for recording voice over artists. We find it has a clean yet warm quality.

At the mix down stage I usually add compression but only with ratios up to 4:1 and a threshold of less than 5dB to get rid of the the peaks. To keep everything sounding natural I use a fast attack and a release time of around a 0.25 of a second. I always try and avoid gating, de essing and eq unless there are specific issues I am trying to remedy.

I've posted more details on our website

www.altrecordingstudios.com

http://www.altrecordingstudios.co.uk/index.php/Information/recordingspokenvoice.html
 
Those are good overall pointers - all important stuff.
I think a lot also depends on what type of VO is being recorded, what actor is involved, and what the ultimate use of the recording will be.
Long-form narration demands a somewhat different sound than promo, which may also be different from animation or commercial radio or TV. I might use a Neumann U87 on a narration, and a Sennheiser 416 on a promo; or, switch that up, depending upon the specific VO performer's sound and technique.
Some actors need to gesture, some need to be duct-taped on axis with the capsule, some spit or have mouth noise, some work the mic like a lover's ear....
I guess what I'm saying is, that like recording any sort of instrument, the human voice needs the same sorts of considerations when choosing how to capture its strengths and subtleties.
That's what makes it a bit challenging, and so much fun!
 
I typically use ASC Studio Traps in the Quick Sound Field arrangement, usually with either an omni mike or figure of 8 mike, or turn the Studio Traps to create a dead space and use one of my cardioid mikes. That typically means a working distance of about two feet from source to mike. Usually not much processing when tracking and not much when mixing, though I've been known to ride gain a bit. :)

Cheers,

Otto
 
A tip for controlling proximity effect.

Microphones that are multi-pattern switchable, accomplish that by putting two diaphragms inside the capsule and then activating either one or both. Due to the physical nature of that design, dual-diaphragm mics exhibit far less proximity effect than do single-diaphragm mics...even when set to the same pick-up pattern.
 
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