Conflicting information about application recording. Please offer clarification
I submitted a recording for my application. I was told I needed to revise it because it was too processed. I don't understand. Yes, it was processed because your initial instructions were to provide an edited and finished product. I utilized the input I've received from professional sound engineers and producers, but you denied. it. I went ahead a produced another recording without the editing I used previously, but could not submit it because your website was having issues. I have been instructed to come here and ask for feedback before they reopen my application again due to the website problems. Please respond as soon as you can so I can move forward with the process again.
I will state that I don't understand the reasoning for not using noise reduction. While my recording space is treated well, there are external sounds that cannot be controlled for. My second audio file did not use it. please tell me if it meets your qualifications so I can resume the application process or make adjustments to move forward.
First sample using editing that was denied: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/voicebunny-audition
Second sample without processing: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/voicebunny-revision
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Hi Brad,
Thank you for reaching out, you have a great voice and reading, let's see what we can do to make this approvable.
There are a few things we need to work on:
It seems like there are some mouth noises on your recordings, this article might help you with that: Mouth Noises
Also, there are some parts where you might need some editing or fades, for example, 0:15 "Stronger than ever", there are some editing issues, you might want to pay special attention to those too.
About the noise reduction, you could use it, but very mildly, to the point that it is almost unnoticeable, else, our team might reject it as happened with your first audio.
Let us know what you think
Thank you for the feedback. I'm not sure what to do about the mouth noise. I work hard to minimize that. I reach your linked article. I drink 140+ oz of water a day so I dont think dehydration is a problem.
I'm wondering what you are referring to when you talk about editing that phrase. Please clarify
May we suggest you try finding more resources on Google that might help you with mouth noises since our recommendations are not working for you.
There are some editing noises, the ones that appear when you cut a clip and don't apply fades to it.
This article might help you with this: Fades
I'm always looking to make myself better as nothing is perfect. Although you have feedback on the second link I posted that did not have as much editing done to it (in effort to address initial comments on the submission), is the second recording good enough to pass the application process or would the things you pointed out still be considered a failed attempt?
I know you are busy people and unable to respond as quickly as I have time to address things. I have time right now to work on these suggestions, but it is hard when I am not sure where to go when I haven't heard back. In effort to expedite the process, instead of asking you to review one thing and waiting to hear back and possibly having to make revisions and then waiting to hear back, please give me your input on these:
This is the second recording I made, the one after my audition was denied. You previously reviewed it and gave feedback, but did not indicate if it is good enough for the audition. Is this passing your grading requirements?
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/voicebunny-revision
While waiting to hear about the recording referenced above, I have made some modifications using some of the suggestions regarding fading and addressing mouth noise. If the first link in this comment isn't passing, would this one below pass? If they both pass, which one is preferable so I know what you are looking for in the future? If neither are passing, what more would you want to see from this second one?
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/voicebunny-redo-test
Thank you
Hi Brad,
Thank you for being so proactive and working on a new submission for us.
We noticed it is the same recording but treated differently. However, that very clear example at 0:15 where you have some editing pops finishing the sentence "Stronger than ever" is still present.
Do you think you can record a fresh sample for us?
Also, it seems like there could be some boominess hints in your audio, is there a way you can share some pictures of your recording space with us? That way we'll be able to provide you with more specific feedback to your particular setup.
Let us know what you think
Thank you for your response. I did try editing the same audio because a previous comment stated it sounded good with the exception of the mouth noise and the need for fading. I will record again and start from scratch. Thank you.
I've done 2 new recordings. I am not sure what you were referring to in your last comment about boominess. That had not been mentioned with any of the previous recordings. I'm not sure if it was the way I was in relation to the mic. I've tried different things trying to find what will work to meet your expectations.
Here are two new recordings. I've tried to edit them following the instructions given in each response. Each one was recorded with my mouth in a different position in relation to the mic to see if that makes a difference.
I think it would be helpful that if either or both of these do not pass your criteria, that you give me all of the issues at once, so I can address them rather than get feedback on one thing, re-do it, then get feedback that something else was an issue that was noticed from the beginning and re-do and so on. If there are multiple issues that need to be addressed, it would be more efficient to do them all together.
Here is 1 version:
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-edited-1
Here is the second:
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-edited-2
I appreciate your time in reviewing these and providing your input. I know you time is valuable, which is one of the reasons I think it would help both of us if you can cover any concerns all in one response.
I look forward to hearing from you soon. Hopefully at least one or both of these has addressed the issues previously listed, but if not, I am at least hoping that I am getting closer to what you are looking for rather than further away.
Hi Brad,
Thank you for your words and your work.
In light of your intentions to make the most of our time, we decided to share your audio with our team to get a bigger consensus about what's needed here.
The team concluded:
It sounds over-processed, there are some artifacts on the background of his voice
With this in mind, we suggest two things:
We believe this will bring us closer to have a good setup to have you approved.
Thank you once again for your response. In sending you the recordings you are requesting, are you asking for them to be sent by including a sound cloud link like the other samples? I wonder if that is part of the problem? Does sound cloud compress or do anything to files when uploaded that could cause issue?
Based on the feedback I've gotten from you and someone that I've been in contact with that has done work for you that has given me feedback, the two most recent samples I provided had some very minimal normalization (which I don't normally use, but was suggested by the person I have been in contact with), very minimal EQ (low roll off, which again I don't normally use, but was suggested), and some work to limit mouth noise. I normally use more noise reduction. My very first take came back with feedback that it was too processed. I then didn't use any and was later told that some processing is ok. These last two takes have much less noise reduction than I normally use but I did use some. I used less than normal because the feedback I got from you guys is that some editing is good. I also tried incorporating fade in and out as suggested previously where cuts were done or words ended harshly.
when you say raw recording...are you asking for completely raw? Before any editing at all is performed?
I know I asked about whether or not soundcloud could be the issue and what you meant by raw, whether you mean completely raw or not, but in an interest again, to mitigate the back and forth and perhaps streamline your feedback, I am including links to the 2 completely raw takes (just recording and that is it) and links to the audio with less editing. If this is not what you are looking for, please let me know. If you want the files sent some other way so they are more "pure," please let me know.
Hopefully this is what you wanted and I am sending the right stuff rather than waiting to hear back and then send it. I feel a bit vulnerable sending you raw audio and not a polished take, but I really want to get things right so I can join your team and offer a voice your clients are looking for.
Thanks for your time and effort in this. I think once we can figure out what combination of things works best, it will be smooth from then on.
Raw 1: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-1
Limited editing 1: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-1-3-steps-no-cut
Raw 2: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-2
Limited editing 2: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-2-3-steps-no-cut
Hi Brad,
Thank you for this! You nailed it, that's exactly what we were looking for.
That's a great starting point, let us focus on RAW 1.
I'll try to be very specific here so you know what to work on, I'm sure you'll get it fixed as soon as you notice it, so I'll try my best here.
0:00 during that silence "mouth noises" (Although we know you'll usually edit the beginning, so that's ok)
0:10 after "voice acting" you have mouth noises
0:18 after "ever" mouth noises
0:20 after "step by step" mouth noises
0:24 after "industry" mouth noises
0:30 after "on you" mouth noises
0:31 after "take part" odd beep sound
0:39 after "this dream" sounds as if you just swallowed
0:41 after "looking back" mouth noises
0:43 after "the world" mouth noises
So as you see, most of them are mouth noises, saliva movement that is being recorded, there are many things you can do about it, some of those are on our article, and some others can be found online.
The gaps between phrases make the noise floor noticeable, for this, you have some options:
You should take care of that noise floor before normalizing your audio, otherwise, it will become more present and our QC might reject your audio because of that.
Your recording levels seem ok, you have good dynamics and we're almost there.
Thank you for allowing us to see your raw material, we understand how you must feel, but we are confident this is helping us a lot.
Let us know what you think
I appreciate the feedback. If I understand correctly, your recommendation is to use Raw 1 and work on some limited editing and see if I can find that sweet spot without over processing correct?
What did you think of the second link I included in the last message (Limited editing 1: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-1-3-steps-no-cut)? Was that still too over processed? I used some tips I got from a voice talent that does work on your site and was hoping that following the steps I got would work. What would be the recommendations for that recording?
As far as noise reduction goes, my standard settings are: Noise reduction set at 8 db, Sensitivity set at 6, and Frequency smoothing bands set at 3. is that too much? If so, what settings should be adjusted and to what?
I'm hoping that if I can understand what did or did not work between the Raw 1 and the limited editing 1 I can hone in on what will really make the difference. I think I'll wait this time to hear back before trying any more editing so I can really get a feel for the points to focus on.
Thanks
Hi Brad,
It is basically the same, the limiting is ok, but the issues to fix are the same, that's why I was talking about the first one only.
About noise reduction, there are many different plugins and settings depending on your specific DAW and manufacturer, in this case, I'd suggest you experiment a bit with those settings until you find you're very own sweet spot. Probably tweaking the Noise Reduction and Sensitivity could help better. The goal would be to eliminate the noise that is noticeable in the gaps between the words. However, there's something else you could do, automation, you could automate the volume on those gaps.
The main difference between Raw 1 and Raw 1 limited is that with the liming the noise floor is more noticeable because everything comes up louder.
Also, as we established a good starting point, you can edit and trim the silence between the phrases. Things like the silence at the beginning, the end, and shorten the silence between phrases could be done now.
I was hoping to get these samples to you sooner to review in effort to reduce any further delay in moving forward, but unfortunately I am wasn't able to get them completed until now.
Following your advice, I have two different versions of the raw 1 audio that were edited slightly differently to see if either stands out as the quality you are looking for:
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-1-nrdcnor
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-1-nrdcnoreq
I also tried recording again with some changes to sound treatment and mic spacing/angle. These are two different edits of the audio I recorded with the physical adjustements:
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-3-edit-eq
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-3-editeq
I'm really hoping at least one of these meets the quality standards you are looking for. As always, thank you for your time. Please give me your feedback.
Hi Brad,
Thank you for all of the effort you're putting into the process.
It seems like your best option here is https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-1-nrdcnoreq
However, I shared this audio with one of our QC, and here's the feedback:
On this one, I can notice some very subtle background and mouth noises. I was thinking that maybe those sounds were some digital artifacts due to over-processing, but I rather think they are background and mouth noises. To be sure, please ask him if he is processing the voice-over or if this is raw audio.
Let us know what you think.
that clip is not raw audio. I used the feedback I got previously to edit the raw audio for mouth noises. I edited it with that feedback. I am not sure what else can be heard. I made efforts to make sure floor noise is well below the acceptable level. I made sure to edit out mouth noise. Please provide whatever information you can to help me figure out what I can do to improve the audio quality.
Hi Brad,
Can you tell us which processes you applied to your audio?
Maybe the plugin name and settings screenshots could work. That way we can figure out which one is affecting your audio the most.
It seems like it is matter of dialing back a bit on one of the plugins and you should be good to go.
Thank you for continuing to work with me. I didn't think it was going to require so many drafts to try to find the right combo of processes and settings.
What I did was a combination of things based on your feedback and feedback from someone that does work for you. Per your recommendations, I first applied noise reduction rather than doing it after normalizing. I worry that doing it first and then amplifying the whole track will amplify any background noise, but that is what I did.
So, first I applied noise reduction with the following settings recommended to me: Noise Reduction (dB) 6, Sensitivity 6.00, and frequency smoothing (bands) 6. I usually use different settings, but these are the ones suggested to me.
Second I applied a de-clicker to help reduce mouth noise
Third I normalized with the settings of removing DC offset and normalized peak amplitude to -3.0 dB based on recommendations from someone.
Fourth I applied minimal EQ with low rolloff for speech
I then cut out breathing and long pauses. Using a feature called punch copy/paste I took a quiet section of just floor noise and inserted it between statements to replace any breaths or other background noises. I tried to use fade in and out to make sure there were not any abrupt sound changes.
I went back and tried to dig even deeper into that audio. Here is another edit with more effort to take as much noise as possible out of the silence between phrases. Please let me know if this sounds any better
https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-1-nrdcnoreqpunch
I know I already posted with some information, but thought I would add this before you respond and see what you think.
I thought I'd ask..do you recommend more noise reduction instead of going in between each statement and editing out breaths? or should I normalize first to increase the volume overall and then noise reduction? I used to do it that way, but was told to use noise reduction first. I just worry that if I do it first, any back ground noise still there will be amplified when I normalize.
If the raw audio you listened to before was a good start, that tells me it is editable and doesn't require a re-recording. I feel like if that was a good starting point, I just need to figure out the sweet spot for editing and I'll be good.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Brad,
Thank you for this new submission and your detailed response.
We took some time while we shared this audio with our QC team, you've made a great deal of improvement here! However, it is still sounding over-processed, which means it could be rejected.
Here are our suggestions:
As for your question, you could use the noise reduction right at the beginning, it will help get rid of it from the start.
We are on the right track, let's keep working on finding that sweet spot and we should be good to go
I appreciate all your efforts to assist me. If I understand correctly, you are asking that I take the raw 1 audio and do 3 more edits?
1 with only normalization
1 with noise reduction and then normalization
1 with noise reduction, slight EQ, and then normalization.
Is that right? what settings would you like me to use with noise reduction?
Do you want me to try editing the mouth noise and breaths or just those three things to see how it sounds with those combinations?
I did do another recording with the mic adjusted at a different angle to see if that helps. I may include that with my next response but would like to know if I understand you correctly before I start editing.
Hi Brad,
It's a pleasure to help you
To be as clear a possible, this is the audio: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-1-nrdcnoreq
Yes, you got that part right, those 3 different edits.
Keep the noise reduction as it is.
If I understood correctly, clearing mouth noise is a matter of copy and paste, but not a plugin, right? If that's the case, then go ahead and edit that too on all of them.
Yup, just remember to name it accordingly so I can understand.
Thank you for being so proactive and approachable about this.
Looking forward to your audios
Johnatan,
You say this is the audio: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-1-nrdcnoreq , but for what. what are you referencing? That is the closest I've come to a clean edit? I wouldn't be using that for the three edits because that audio is already edited and you said it has too much processing. That clip has noise reduction, a declicker applied (plugin for mouth noise), normalization, and low EQ. I also pasted quiet sections between phrases to eliminate breath noise
I used this as the starting point: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-1 Are you wanting me to do those three different edits with this one?
I have edited mouth noise two ways. One with a de-clicker plugin and one with copying a quiet section and pasting it between words/phrases.
Hi Brad,
I apologize for the confusion, please, go ahead and use the raw file you posted in the previous reply.
Mouth noises, always better to tackle them from the recording rather than in post. However, having this on mind let's try:
1 with only normalization
1 with noise reduction (de-clicker) and then normalization
1 with noise reduction (copying quiet section) and then normalization
1 with noise reduction (either one), slight EQ, and then normalization.
I hope you had a nice weekend. I am including the 4 requested combinations of editing for review. I am also including raw audio I recorded with the mic in a different position to see if that sounds any better raw. Please let me know if you like the new raw better or if I should put the mic back how it was.
1 with only normalization: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-1-normalize
1 with noise reduction (de-clicker) and then normalization: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-1-nrdcnor-1
1 with noise reduction (copying quiet section) and then normalization: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-1-punchnorm
1 with noise reduction (either one), slight EQ, and then normalization. https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-1-nrdceqnor
New Raw audio with mic in different position: https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/raw-ud
Hi Brad,
Thank you for doing this, we are certainly improving and getting closer to the goal.
We decided to ask for a second opinion on your files and we have some feedback for you, this applies to:
1 with noise reduction (either one), slight EQ, and then normalization https://soundcloud.com/brad-evans-574774774/vb-raw-1-nrdceqnor
A little bit boxy and it also has some slight noises (like white noise clips or artifacts) and slight background noise.
It seems like we have a few other things to work on, however, the team didn't mention the mouth noises, which is a great improvement!
How about you try to increase the threshold of that noise reduction plugin and see if that helps us eliminate the noise completely?
Johnatan,
Please help me understand something...if my noise floor is within the acceptable level AND I use noise reduction in editing...how can there be any kind of background noise that is excessive? I don't get that. I will do the editing, but want to learn as I go. I believe gaining understanding will help me in the future and I find it hard to believe that if I'm already below the limit and use noise reduction that there can be anything that is there. I'm not saying there isn't any floor noise, but it would be within allowable range.
There are 3 setting in my noise reduction plug in. Which ones should i change and to what?
Also, what did you think of that raw audio I included where the mic was positioned differently? Is that better than the raw I've been editing? The same? worse?
Thanks
Hi Brad,
Thank you for your questions and your willingness to learn and improve.
Seems like the background noise and the slight white noise or artifacts might be due to some clip noises at the beginning and end of your phrases.
Are you using fades to take care of those sections, it seems like it could be the best and fastest solution for that issue.
About the raw file, it is good, however, it presents the same issues like the one we're working on right now.
How about using those fades on the first and second file, and then processing the second one as the first one.
Does that make sense?
Johnatan,
I have submitted so many files I don't want to edit the wrong ones. Which ones are you referring to when you say to use fades on the first and second file and then processing the second one as the first?