Audio is getting rejected even though previous work was accepted
Hello,
Long time reader, first time poster.
I've been with Voice Bunny for over a year and recently moved studios. I submitted some work today and Mr. Bunny accepted it. I did a speedy tonight though and it got reject. I changed nothing in my setup. This is what they said:
Hi,
Thank you for your submission; we greatly appreciate your effort. Unfortunately, we won't be able to forward this recording to our client due to the following issue(s).
- There is a boxiness impacting your recording that makes your voice sound hollow and congested. Please ensure you record in an acoustically treated space. If you already have acoustic treatment, it's may not be adequate.
You’ll find tips on acoustic treatment on our community page: https://goo.gl/vGqUIW.
- Your recording is heavily compressed and/or limited. It's affecting the dynamics and quality of the audio. Instead, please raise the volume via automation or normalization to -3dBFS peak. We invite you to review a recap of a webinar we hosted on input gain and adjusting levels: https://goo.gl/OHknyq.
Attached is my audio: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bcn0v3tnfmwfcjj/Best%20Life%20Festival.wav?dl=0
It sounds ok to me. I'm whispering in the audio and maybe they thought it was "boxiness"?
Thanks for you help!
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I have an idea, but first, I must say that "hollow and congested" is incomprehensible feedback. We should use standard acoustic terminology to avoid miscommunication.
Anyway, I am also getting the "boxiness" rejection (and I record in a professional studio!). so my conclusion is that what's really going on is that the EQ is too biased to the low-end for VB tastes. When I submitted samples that were accepted in the past, they were all raw .wav files. No EQ at all.
Hi, Alexander
The recording sounds boomy, it has too many low frequencies which reduces clarity. It does sound as if was recorded in a very small space, hence the boxiness comment. However, 'hollow' may not be the best term to describe it though, so I'll forward these comments to the team so we can improve this wording.
Luckily, it's a minor issue that can be easily solved with an EQ or recording technique.
Thanks for the feedback guys!
I'm recording in a space that's 40 inches by 20 inches. I know it's pretty small, but it's all I have to work with in my apartment. It's one of those sliding closets and I have the walls padded.
Is there anything I can do to work with this audio? I have one of those kaotica eyeballs on my mic. Would it help taking that off? Would it help turning the EQ down on my mixing board?
Attached are some pics of my setup:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yx003349upkrjlr/IMG_6717.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/edlum2f88rc2rol/IMG_6718.jpg?dl=0
Thanks again for all your help!
Lose the eyeball for sure (I tried that too). The air needs to flow around the mic to get a natural sound. You need to be as far from any walls as possible so that the sound waves lose energy. If not possible, start treating the space with blankets etc to cut out reflections
Should I swap out the mattress foam I have on the wall for blankets? That's actually what I had in my old space.
No, you don't have to swap anything if it's working.
I actually meant to say sound blankets (though real blankets can work, too, or anything soft). Obviously, all you need to ensure is that you avoid having hard surfaces in the room, especially if it's small, I think the eyeball is a much bigger problem though and will absolutely make you sound boxy and bassy in all the wrong ways. But, record listen and compare for yourself.
Thanks for your help! I'll try to record without the eyeball and let you know my results.
Ok, so I made all the changes you guys suggested and it worked! Most of my work is getting accepted!
But...
I did a speedy tonight that called for a "movie trailer voice" and it got rejected with the same stock message about "boxiness" and accoustics.
Attached is the audio that got rejected:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rwlnkmlt1gtj60j/2%20Live%20N%20Get%20High.wav?dl=0
And attached is an audio that got accepted today:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mynkwx35rc986fc/March%20On%20The%20NRA%202.wav?dl=0
So I have a few questions: First, is there an actual person listening to each of these VOs we send in or is it a computer? Because like Sebastian said a few posts back, these rejection emails aren't too helpful in finding the issue in the audio. Second, now that I've fixed the issue in my studio, could the "boxiness" sound just be my movie trailer voice?
I guess the lower register does make the boxiness more evident, but it's audible in both samples. The trouble is that we can "hear" the room you're recording in, which some clients disapprove.
This is what we call a borderline case, in which you might get approved sometimes but there will be some rejections.
The best solution would be to continue working on the acoustics of your space, the goal being in eliminating these reflections that are affecting the recording. Make sure there aren't any reflective surfaces near the mic, like screens, tables, windows, or even the floor you're standing in can play a part.
Thanks Sebastian! The floor of the closet I'm recording in is hardwood, so that could be the biggest culprit. I'll get some carpet to put down. I'll also cover all other surfaces and see if that improves the audio.