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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Just checking in to see if those files I linked worked for you? If so, were either of the files with HVAC ones that can be properly edited for a good final product? If so, what settings were used?
Thank you
Hey, Brad!
First of all, let me tell you that I feel you, completely. I've been recording for many years in hot environments (over 36º C most of the year) and it sucks. The only way I've been able to entirely get rid of HVAC/fan noise is by scheduling my recordings at the coolest hours of the day and shutting everything off, then just soldiering through my sessions. It doesn't suck any less once one starts sweating bullets 'cause of the heat, but fortunately for you, I've been able to work some magic with your samples ('Booth No AC/AC on) and come up with a Reaper preset to take care of that and other sonic imbalances.
I'd recommend purchasing two plugins that will make your life a lot easier: Waves Sibilance Mono and VEQ 3. Those were the last two things I used before manually addressing the offending peaks and normalizing the waveform to our -3 dBFS Peak Level, then applying the second pass of a Noise Gate at a threshold of 38 dB (fastest attack/release settings). Here's a screenshot of the settings I used in both tools.
All in all, your AC is not as noisy as it could be, but the truth is that it is indeed inducing noise and hum that you will be able to hear in the versus I attached for you.
Please, let me know I can do more for you! By the way, try to get yourself a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones, as they will reveal those nuanced differences in your editing work with much more ease.
Cheers!
Héctor, once again, thank you for your time. I would like to clarify a few things...are you saying that the audio quality was best in the two booth recordings? how was the closet recording with no AC? Do you suggest I do my recordings in the location labeled "booth" and if I apply the settings you suggest I can record when AC is on and off?
Before our summer started, I was able to record in early morning or late at night. Hopefully soon that will be possible again, but during our summer, it doesn't get below 33º C ever...even in the middle of the night. Our AC runs all night long...even at 2 and 3 am. So having a way to record with AC on is important. I will do all I can to record with it off, but that is not always possible.
Further clarification needed...am I good with the chain you made, or do I need those plugins too? I want to make sure I am completely dialed in so I can restart my audition process and get going with voicebunny. I am really hurting financially and need to expand my options of increasing my income ASAP.
Thanks
I hope my previous message made sense. I think it does, but I thought I would follow up with a series of direct questions to make it easier to respond:
With the chain you sent me, am I good to record in the location labeled as "booth" whether or not HVAC is on?
Is the sound quality in the closet with no HVAC good enough, or should I record only in the booth?
Is the chain you sent sufficient to be approved with voicebunny or do I have to purchase the plug ins first?
How do I apply the plugins while using your chain?
Do I need to do anything with compression/gain to elevate the overall volume?
I may have follow-up questions, but assuming recording in the booth produces good enough audio and applying the chain you sent cleans it up enough, am I good to go? If so I will work on figuring out how to upload and apply your chain and then record a sample for you to review. If I can get your approval, I'll reapply to be a voice talent on voicebunny.
I know you haven't responded to either of my previous messages yet, but with a couple days between responses it has been difficult to just wait. I've been going through this process for 2.5 to 3 months. I still need answers to my questions...especially the ones about whether or not I can record in the closet and if the plug ins you recommended are necessary and if I use them, where in the chain to apply them. I really need to get this dialed in.
While waiting, I recorded a test sample with the chain you sent. I think the noise gate was set too high because the beginning of words was being cut off. Here is the sample:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nAHDxEhCDxZ3yOCrn68b6nhlvW-V6UIG/view?usp=sharing
I went ahead and lowered the noise gain and upped the gain so the overall recording has better volume. What do you think of this one? would it pass the audition? Can I go ahead and re-try or is there still some work that needs to be done?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1szIr0ZIW4YRkZqNeaZWa_RFtEM7xKZ12/view?usp=sharing
Thanks
Hey, Brad!
First of all, let me apologize for taking longer than I wanted to reply to these posts. Now, onto the answers...
1) Yes, I selected the 'booth' recordings because they sounded best, although there's not a huuuge difference to those of the 'closet' kind, it is noticeable.
2) You could totally record in either setting, mate. All you need to do is be very aware of the amount of noise, the echo, boominess, or any other sonic imperfections that may be present in your recordings, as per the previous posts. This trade is just as much about listening and fine-tuning our hearing as it is about recording and speaking. We are obligated to be self-produced so we can't always rely on a second set of ears for such needs.
3) The chain unaltered should yield acceptable results provided you take care of the other steps so that it works as it should. For instance, the Noise Gate works best if you first amplify your raw recording, which you can do non-destructively in Reaper and find the sweet spot so that the FX Chain does its best (again, this is done by listening). I regularly select the waveform, normalize it (which takes its amplitude to 0 dB Peak Level) and then reduce it by as much as necessary, listening to the recording. If needed, I apply automation or manual amplitude manipulation to those quieter parts. Again, you must listen and find the right balance.
4) The plugins I recommended for you are not necessary per se but will make your work so much easier. You can try to tinker with stock plugins to reduce sibilance, for instance, which is something that should also come from our reading. A de-esser will be rendered useless is if we don't make a conscious effort to de-emphasize the presence/length/loudness of those sounds in our speech. I have battled this for years and still fall back on my old habits now and again, which is when my tools remind me that no amount of processing is enough to fix one's vices when reading.
5) If you decide to purchase them, I can integrate them into the FX Chain and share a new version with you that will substitute the old one, which you'd only have to apply in a few clicks, no worries. =)
6) Don't mess with compression just yet. Can it give your recordings a cool sound? Sure, but it takes time and experience (especially in the listening department) to calibrate a compressor just right. At the moment, you have sibilance, echo, and slight hiss in your recordings. If all of those are not 100% under control before delving into compression, they will be amplified and enhanced as per most compressor's working logic. They will take those 'low-amplitude sounds' and amplify them while cutting the peaks at the same time. Should your recordings be super dry and noise-free, then we'd be able to suggest a compression profile that would work for commercial work, for instance, but never in any other type of recording. Keep in mind that I and my fellow QC agents are very attuned to the sound of compression in any given recording, which will cause revision requests/rejections 9 times out of 10.
7) Remember to always work in a mono environment. Your last recordings have been exported as Stereo files.
Please try to incorporate all of these suggestions into your workflow and to make your recordings sound as close as possible to the sample I worked on, as that sound profile will give you the best chance of approval =)
Cheers!
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I appreciate that you brought up normalizing. I looked for amplification and normalizing in FX, but didnt see any options for that. This is the reason I brought up compression/adjusting gain. I couldn't find another way to elevate overall volume like I could in Audacity (amplify or normalize). Learning all the features of this new DAW has been a challenge as things aren't as intuitive as they were in Audacity. I have been trying to follow every step you mention exactly so I can replicate approvable audio and normalizing hadn't been discussed in previous posts.
It has been frustrating to do what is suggested and then get feedback that another change must be done. I've been left wondering why that new thing wasn't addressed before. It seems to be that it would be easier to list all the things that need work at once so I can address them together rather than fix something, think it is complete, only to find out there is another issue. I get that sometimes the new issue won't be apparent until the other stuff is taken care of, but through this process that hasn't been the case most of the time. Its felt like "do this" and then I do it thinking I'm done and then "do this too" and I'm left wondering why I wasn't told to do it all together.
I really want to make this work. I have edited another sample. This one is normalized and then has the chain you sent me applied. I know I will be able to improve over time, but really I want things to be at the level that they are good enough to get going and I will continue to learn and grow through the process. I've spent countless hours over almost 3 months trying to get this all straightened out. I'm in it for the long haul, but its feeling like its never going to be good enough. I finally got to the point that my audio was cleared and the next thing I know I'm starting all over with completely different software trying to figure out how to get back to where I am good to go.
I really do appreciate all the help I've been given. I just want to do things right. Here is the new sample. Please tell me what you think. I know there are improvements that can be made with those other plugins you were talking about, but I can't afford anything else until I can make some money. I've got to think I've put in far more effort than others have to get approved. I am a smart person and have good skills. I know I can get this right.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kKM3KloAVtwKPu7GyzVFGUP463YTn3Ph/view?usp=sharing
Just touching base in hopes to get some input from my last message. I imagine you have lots going on. When its a couple days between responses and I don't know if I can move forward I'm not sure what else to do. Its hard just sitting when I want to be productive. Any information would be helpful. Thanks.
Hi, Brad!
Thanks again for the amazing work and progress, we're getting there, mate! I just need to reiterate the importance of you applying the FX Chain (which I've updated to help with your sibilants) and for you to render the audio into the right format, as the last couple of samples have been uploaded in Stereo.
Regardless of that, it's also supremely important that you take care of the peaks in your speech so that you can level the whole thing and use normalization as a tool to obtain the maximum levels for deliverables as per our guidelines, with the evenest amplitude across the waveform. I've prepared a couple of videos showing you how this is done in Reaper, both through automation and through manual leveling.
Keep up what you're doing and see if you can make that sample sound like this with the new FX Chain! If that happens, we're good for take-off =)
Cheers!
Thanks for the feedback. I changed the setting to mono on the track, but didn't know it had to be changed in render settings, so that was helpful to see in the video you sent. I don't know if they were supposed to have audio, but neither video did, so I wasn't able to hear the adjustments being made. I think I've got it adjusted similar to the sample you sent as a reference. Please tell me what you think of this one:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T4whN-Ajq9zqC513kQhaMjPBQIFpiirb/view?usp=sharing
Awesome, Brad!
Keep those settings, save them, and cherish them, brother! This is the one, completely!
Thank you very much for your patience and diligence, as you see, I didn't deliver an empty promise and we were able to solve your audio quandaries. Hopefully, you'll be getting a bunch of bookings. I wish you lots of success in the trade.
As for the videos, yes, they were supposed to be silent, hehehe. If you ever need more guidance or help on any other issues, don't hesitate to come back to this space, we'll be sure to hop in to assist you.
I'll be letting Johnny know about this so that he can sort whatever details on his end. =)
Congrats, mate!
Thank you for your help. I'm glad I've gotten there. When I'm able to get those plugins you recommended I'll be back for guidance on what order to put them in my chain. Have a great week.
Brad
Great, Brad!
I'm looking forward to integrating those plugins into your workflow. Keep on rocking!
Cheers!
I'm really at a loss here. I submitted a project for audition and was told there was echo and mouth noises. I can certainly work on cleaning up any mouth noises however I recorded in the same space and used the same settings you gave me. How could there be an echo issue?
Hey, Brad!
Thank you very much for checking back with us about this matter. Could you be so kind as to share that audition here? I promise to look into the issue and come back to you with an educated answer.
Cheers, bro!