Audition lessons
Hello all!
I tried to audition for VB a bit over a week ago. Unfortunately, I rushed it due to some unforeseen events that day. Long story short, I put a lot of time into learning my equipment and technique since then. I've also added a mixer I had laying around to help with equalisation on the front end. I am coming to you lovely folks for advice and guidance.
Here was my first attempt (it takes a lot not to cinge at this in hindsight):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zo4ln4ftdo5jlaf/TimKeough%20VoiceBunny%20Audition.wav?dl=0
Here's the result of lessons learned:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bms9x8rpk57dghy/VoiceBunny%20audition%20fixes%20.wav?dl=0
What do you all think? What things were good to go and what should I continue to work on? Be kind! :D
Thanks so much in advance.
TK
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Hi Tim!
Thanks for sharing! I am going to focus only on take 2 as it's the one you last recorded.
Performance wise, it sounds quite robotic and flat. You're talking too fast and it sounds a bit emotionless. Remember the take needs to sound as natural and conversational as possible without losing the emotion requested in the project.
Quality wise, the take sounds a bit too compressed. It's not distorting, but it does sound without dynamics and the volume is a bit too high. If you're using it, please bypass it and just normalize the file to -3dBFS peak. Also, are you using a noise reduction plugin? The breaths sound quite filtered and the take has a boost in the low-frequency range that is a bit uncomfortable. Also, there are mouth noises throughout the recording that are quite distracting so you may want to edit those out!
Hope this helps :)
Hello Angela,
Thank you so much for the pointers. I'll record another version tomorrow with a bit more of a melody to it and submit that with the other fixes you suggested. I did compress it but I will not do that going forward and normalize to -3dBFS. The only plugin I had going was a Deesser but I think I'll just work on fixing that on the front end with better practices along with the mouth noises. I've dialed down my lows a bit so that should fix the uncomfortable boost you were talking about. Okay, I have my homework. I'll get a new file up tomorrow when I'm fresh with this feedback.
Thanks again!
Tim
Okay, here's a new recording: https://goo.gl/rfr3vC
I implemented everything mentioned. How did I do with the clarity of the recording? How was the melody?
I have a history of over performing so let me know if I need to turn it up or down a notch. The notes wanted something conversational but also "mysterious" and "epic". I wasn't entirely sure where to go with that.
Thanks again for all your feedback!
Tim
Hi Tim!
This sounds so much better! Quality wise, it's really great. There are just some breaths and mouth noises that could be edited (i.e. between revolution and the journey hasn't been easy) but the sound is very stable now and it sounds very well balanced.
The performance could be a little more natural, but I think it's very good. I'm positive we would approve it! I'll ask our QC manager to give it a listen :)
That makes my entire day Angela! Thank you! :D
I've noted the technical settings so that I can keep that consistency going forward. I'm going to try another take with a closer eye on those noises mentioned and also to see if I can't get the natural sound you're talking about.
Hey Angela,
Here's a new recording with a bit more of a range in delivery: https://goo.gl/yA3S5b
I also experimented with a dynamic mic I had. How was this delivery?
(Also, better sound? worse sound?): https://goo.gl/Y6QWfW
I personally think the dynamic mic makes me too bright but I was curious of a second opinion.
I recorded and mixed them in the same way as I did the last one but I wanted to see if I could find what you were asking for. Thoughts?
Thank you so much for all your help with this!
Hello, Tim!
I'm really happy to see all the energy you're putting into this. I think you have a great voice, and I can already see improvement within these takes.
The second link ((Also, better sound? worse sound?): https://goo.gl/Y6QWfW) didn't work for me, so I'll refer only to the first one.
Quality wise the audio is in pretty good shape! A couple of suggestions:
1. There seems to be a boost in the high frequencies, that's causing sibilance and it's distracting from your performance. I invite you to check the webinar we hosted on how to control sibilance and hiss here: https://goo.gl/nlaCvU.
2. There seems to be background noise, seems to be hiss. You can hear it clearly at 0:28 and 0:32.
3. There's an editing issue at 0:15. Sounds like a mouse click.
Great work, Tim, keep it up!
I hope the feedback helps. :)
Best,
Juan.
Hello Juan!
Thanks for the feedback! Not sure what happened on the dynamic file.
Since then, I've reviewed your webinar and think I've fixed the issues mentioned. I've dialed back on the highs and reshaped the booth a little to help with the interference heard. Let me know what you think: https://goo.gl/mf9BmS
Thanks!
Tim
Hey all!
Here's a link to the dynamic recording again: https://goo.gl/i6iEs2
I'm curious to hear your feedback on how this mic works with my voice since it's a different type of mic altogether.
Better? Worse? Good in certain recording over others?
Thanks!
Tim
Hi Tim!
As per the first file you shared I get this message:
404: Page not found – the page https://goo.gl/mf9BmS%C2%A0 does not exist.
If you typed in or copied/pasted this URL, make sure you included all the characters, with no extra punctuation.
Can you please share it again? Maybe it's an issue with the URL shortener only.
Now the dynamic mic recording, I personally think it sounds worse. Your voice sounds a bit too nasal and bright. Also, I perceive you used the noise reduction plugin on this one which could also be another reason as to why the file sounds so bright. Can you try using the same mic again and sharing it raw?
Thanks!
That's very strange. It just worked for me. I'll just post the full link instead:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9wza8rhps3oqblo/Voicebunny%20Audition%20Homework%2082817.wav?dl=0
For the dynamic recording I processed it the same way I process the condenser mic.
I did, indeed, use a noise reduction followed by a limiter and then normalized it to -3dBFS. I kept the front end equalization right in the middle as a control.
I'll get another recording out shortly with these notes.
Thanks!
-Tim
Hello,
Unfortunately, I've just had my audition rejected and so I am here reading the forums for tips and suggestions.
However, I'm a little confused at present, as I submitted my audition with no changes (except for shortening the start and end to 0.5 seconds) as I thought this is what was requested on the submission page, i.e. asking for no noise reduction, compression etc.
Am I right in assuming this, or have I done myself a disservice by not submitting the one I did amend?
Thanks in advance,
James
Hi Tim!
Sorry for my delay in replying here! I listened to the file you shared and it does sound much much better! I really like the sound you were able to get here. The noise reduction is making the voice a bit thin but I do think it sounds very well! Let me get Juan so he can give you more input here!
No, for James! Thanks for letting us know about this. Why don't you start a new thread sharing the file so we can help you out? We may get a bit confused here as we're already fiving Tim feedback :)
Hey Angela!
Totally fine. I had a bit of a crazy week myself.
I've also been experimenting with the dynamic mic but I think I'm going to walk away from that for now. It's a lower end mic (Shure SM58) and I feel as if I'm trying to squeeze blood from a turnip. I'll stick to the higher end condenser mic (AKG c214).
I'll wait to hear what Juan says but I'll record another version with the condenser mic to submit raw in the meantime.
Thanks again!
-Tim
Here's the completely raw recording from the condenser mic:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9665f6f7iftcmj0/VoiceBunny%20Audition%209417%20Raw.wav?dl=0
The only thing I did was roll off the low end. Let me know what your thoughts are.
Thanks!
-Tim
Hey, Tim!
This last audio has undesired amount of hiss throughout the recording. The noise-floor is too high, what preamp are you using?
Besides that, the voice sounds round and nice. There's a slight sibilance issue, try adding another layer of pop-filtering to get rid of it mechanically so you don't have to do any other post-processing.
Best,
Juan
Hello Juan,
Thank you for feedback! I do have a bit of a sharpness to my S sounds. I'll add a bit more to help reduce that going forward.
I'm using a Focusrite Saffire 6. I am aware that the noise floor was high which is why I originally processed the files through a noise reduction but that obviously had adverse side effects. This file was uploaded completely raw as requested. What would you recommend?
How does it compare to the previous attempt with noise treatment?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9wza8rhps3oqblo/Voicebunny%20Audition%20Homework%2082817.wav?dl=0
Thanks,
-Tim
Hey Tim!
Your voice now sounds much louder and the excessive hiss is not present.
Good job getting rid of that hiss!
Congrats! :D
Juan.
Thank you Juan!
Do you think this is good quality to pass an VB audition request then?
Cheers,
-Tim
Hey, Tim!
Yes, as long as you follow the project remarks to the line and the audio is in perfect shape!
Hope to see you soon in VoiceBunny!
Best,
Juan.