Request for personalized feedback
Hello to all,
I would be grateful if you could provide me with personalized feedback and actionable recommendations so I can improve the quality of my files in future. Your suggestions would give me the necessary impulse to move forward.
Here is a link to my current demos:
Narration (Legends - Audiobook - Relaxation - Museum)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bBceEsxQxw-eqxA9CnCFa7kkVv-RcuqN/view?usp=sharing
Elearning (Reflexology - Organic gardening - Powerpoint - Radioanatomy)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zX1DLBnoQE-Y-vxSv-KEwyEJU0dufKqj/view?usp=sharing
Thank you very much in advance for your valuable help.
Marie-Anne
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Hi Marie-Anne,
Thank you for reaching out to us!
Listening to both your audio files above, I did hear a number of quality issues throughout, which all suggests that you may be recording too close to your microphone and having the gain on your pre-amp dialed too high?
These are the issues I found;
- Mouth clicks/noises can be heard, which makes it quite distracting to the ear. You'll find tips on how to control mouth noise issues here: https://bit.ly/2NjTyUK
- There is a slight hiss throughout the audio which can be heard whenever you are speaking. It is also apparent that you are editing your audio in between sentences/words to silence (which is not a bad thing), as this hiss noise clips back on abruptly whenever you are about to speak again.
- Lastly, there is some boominess to the audio, which is also causing some loud plosives.
As I say, all of these issues mentioned suggest that you are recording too close to your microphone, which can cause boominess, plosives and mouth clicks to recordings. Therefore, if you were to record further back from your mic, and tilting your head on an axis this should help to prevent these issues.
Regarding the white noise present in your audio, perhaps you have the dial on the gain of your pre-amp set too high, many voice actors have a tendency to dial it up to the 12noon mark or above, due to microphones naturally recording quietly. Try recording with the dial on your pre-amp lower and see what sounds better, remember to normalize the audio file to -3dBs too.
But if the gain on your pre-amp is not what is causing the hissing noise, it would be worth looking at our webinar which helps to manage white noise here: https://bit.ly/2ZixGeI
If you want to upload new samples on here, with the suggested methods when recording, I'd be delighted to review or offer more feedback!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Kind regards,
Samantha
Hi Samantha,
I am very grateful for your detailed answer and the time you took to listen, analyze and revert to me with your feedback. From now on I know what I have to work on, in particular the proximity to the mic and the gain of the preamp.
I hope to send you samples soon without the mouth clicks/noises and the slight hiss you also noticed.
Thank you so much.
Marie Anne
Hi Marie Anne,
I look forward to listening to your new audio! :)
If you need anything else or have any questions, feel free to drop me a message here and I'll get back as soon as possible.
Have a lovely week!
- Samantha
Hi Samantha,
I know I have a long way to go, but I've read your advice. I am used to drinking a lot of water when recording, and I will soon try the green apples for sure!
I tried to record further back from the mic and to tilt my head as you suggest. I also tried this morning with the dial on the gain on my preamp lower. I was told to make sure that my recording reaches -18db, but I am not sure if this correct. It does not seem like something easy and natural to me. I also normalized to -3dBs.
I also made sure to keep my cell phone far away. What I am still unsure about, yet, is how to check the noise floor level of my room, is this on the playback level of my software (I use Audacity)?
Something I also find difficult is measuring and analyzing the acoustics of a room...As building a real booth is a budget, I made a kind of a homemade mini-cabin with rockwool acoustic panels and melamine resin foams, and this morning I also added a blanket on the wall next to the mic plus a carpet on the floor!
Here is the sample (conversational tone) I did afterwards:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q4TKDsB2NrjQ17Sbxd08kwmCLAM5D3N9/view?usp=sharing
Thank you very much for your reply.
Marie-Anne
Marie-Anne,
Apologises for the late reply, been quite hectic these past few days.
I've had a proper listen to your audio, and it's sounding great!!
A few minor things to mention, due to the editing or noise gate (which could be acting too fast), the delivery in your lines sounds abrupt between sentences/words. Fading these or even editing them more tightly (closer to when you speak) should fix this.
There are also a few plosives heard, one at 0:08 and later on around 0:14. Be mindful of when saying the 'P's - Again, tilting your head on an angle is best here, or even re-positioning your mic so it's not in the direct flow of your breaths. Some people even use two pop filters which can help.
But if you have applied all these methods and still to no avail, you could also try adding a high pass filter at a 12db/oct low-cut EQ at 115hz to fix this. - We try not to get voice actors to use too many processing methods, as some tend to overuse them which can affect the quality of the audio overall. But a little corrective EQing can help. :)
Yes, a blanket to cover any nooks and crannies where sound can escape from certainly helps, along with having a carpet!
As for finding the noise floor in audacity, I found a useful link that tells you how to find it here!
Marie-Anne, it's pretty much there. Just some slight adjustments and you'd be good to go. :D
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Best wishes,
Samantha
Thank you so much, Samantha!!