QC concern-boxiness
Hi Team,
I was asked to post in here for feedback on my recent audio. Apparently, the QC team is hearing "noticeable Boxiness" in my recordings. I'm a little perplexed by this...as I record in a Studiobricks Doubled Walled VO Edition Isolation booth, fully treated and specifically designed for Voice Over. I've not had feedback like this from any other platforms or clients...and I'm unclear as to how to remedy it. The audio that was called out in the email I received was approved by QC on the first take...it was ultimately rejected by the client...but they said that "they no longer needed the project"...so I don't think the issue was audio quality. You can listen to it here: https://bunnystudio.com/voice/projects/#/timeline/1327AA6D2A0FC95D75D9?version=default
I don't know if the issue is in my processing chain? I'd appreciate any further insight that could be provided here...as I've noticed a considerable drop off in project invitations recently...and would certainly like to see that shift as I do value Voice Bunny as a significant component of my Voice Over Business.
I look forward to your feedback!
Best,
Lauren
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Hello Lauren,
Thank you for reaching out to us here, and it's lovely to speak with you after hearing your voice throughout our platform!
Firstly apologies for the delay in response, we have been inundated lately.
But lets see what could be causing this 'boxiness' to be heard in your audio.
Do know, despite this case being that the client wanted to cancel this project, we do routinely monitor pros audio quality and like to help whenever we hear any problems, to prevent future problematic issues that could arise.
Very impressive set up, the Studiobricks double walled VO edition booths are fantastic!!
From listening to your audio, there are two theories which come to mind.
First one, which is a common one - is close by hard surfaces, such as table tops, computer screens, etc, this often causes reverb to be heard in audios. To rule this theory out, would it be possible to provide some pictures of where you record in your booth?
Secondly, as you so rightly mentioned, is it could be the processing chain. Could you mention what DAW you use, and your processing chain too?
On behalf of us all here, thank you for all your continued hard work throughout our platform!
All the very best,
Samantha
Hi Samantha,
Thank you for your feedback.
My DAW is Adobe Audition, and my standard processing chain includes some light equalization, compression, de-clicking and noise reduction as well as normalization to -3db.
The link above is to download a picture of my booth...the only hard surfaces would be the small shelf where my laptop rests and the laptop itself.
I look forward to your feedback.
Best,
Lauren
https://we.tl/t-Q1Z9RqhlRf
I don't think the link attached to the previous message...here it is :)
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for this. :)
I couldn't quite tell from the picture but is your table a soft table top? It looks like a hard surface, and as silly as it sounds - If it is, it would be worth adding some soft material to cover it. For instance a blanket.
Can you also record some samples for us all to hear.
1 - With no processing, just raw audio.
2 - With noise reduction & Normalization.
3 - With the light EQ
4 - With the compression.
These would be highly useful so that we can hear the difference, and I can bring your case in front of the rest of the QC team where we can align on all feedback and verdicts.
Best,
Samantha
Hi Samantha,
Thank you for your patience...please find a WeTRansfer link to a file of raw audio, and one with processed audio. I have a custom one click processing chain....so it might be challenging for me to only do certain elements...let me know if these files are helpful...and if you need me to break it down further, I'll do my best. I did add a towel to my table surface so hopefully that helped as well.
Best,
Lauren
https://we.tl/t-RiMSyXGxWM
Hi Lauren,
Many thanks for these! Listening to your audio samples, the RAW audio sample actually sounds best to me.
I'm going to send these samples to the rest of our team, where we discuss cases and align on matters such as these in our weekly meetings.
This takes place tomorrow afternoon. Once discussed, I will share all feedback I get from the rest of QC.
Till then, all the best.
Samantha
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for your patience.
There was a little bit of a mixed reaction between the samples. But we came to a descision that sample 2 would be the better of the two, if you could reduce the amount of compression applied in your chain.
I understand that you got this one made for you, but if your audio engineer who created it for you could reduce the amount of compression applied along side the rest of your usual processing chain (some light equalization, de-clicking and noise reduction as well as normalization to -3db). We believe this would fix this boxiness problem.
Kindest regards,
Samantha