Feedback on Room Acoustics - Rejected Application due to room echo
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G8hfWpb2YQi3Hnapsfv1NuXO9I_aM0Bn/view?usp=sharing
Hi there,
I've just submitted my audition for BunnyStudio and wanted to get some feedback on my recording. I've posted what I sent in, and there's no editing done to the recording - I figured it needed to be as unedited as possible. It was rejected due to echo, but I'm having a hard time understanding what that entails. I don't hear any echo on my recording, and I would think I have a pretty good ear for that kind of thing.
Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks!
Connor
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Hi Connor! I listened to your file and, truth be told, I can hear some echo. It's especially pronounced at 'hard to get.' This should be an easy fix for you - it's just a matter of adding some curtains/clothes/acoustic panels/something with mass to your recording space to knock the sound down.
I also hear what may be a noise gate or a hard reduction of sound between phrases - meaning that there's a noticeable and sudden reduction of sound between sentences. Gates are fine, and helpful. If that's what you're using, I'd adjust your settings a bit so it's not so sudden. If you're pulling the audio down manually in those parts, you might consider recording some quiet room tone and inserting that in those areas so the difference isn't so pronounced.
Keep up the good work!
Hi Connor and Jack!
Firstly, Connor, thank you for reaching out to us on here, you've got a great voice! :)
Listening to your application, yes, Jack's advice is spot on!
To enhance the notion of adding further acoustic treatment to your recording space, it's worth noting it doesn't need to be pretty - for inspiration, here is a cost-effective way that may be of help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pABvTWSxOes
Without reiterating what has already been said - if you implement Jack's tips in a new recording, and wish to send it on here beforehand, please feel free to do so. I'm always happy to lend an ear or offer advice.
As for editing audio submitted to us. Some slight corrective EQing in post is great and many on our platform use it.
Jack, lovely to see you on here and also to speak with you!
Outstanding guidance and advice, and thank you for taking the time to write on here!
Hope you won't be a stranger and we will see you around here again. :)
Wishing you both all the very best,
Samantha
Thank you both for your input. I've finally gotten around to setting up a different acoustically- treated space. Now my only concern is my noise gate and EQing. Would either of you have any resources you recommend (of course I'll be looking myself). I have a music background, so I know some things, but recording voiceover is brand new to me. I've only ever had to worry about how vocals sound when there's also music, you see.
Anyway, thanks again to both of you.
Connor
Hi again Connor - so happy to hear you're making progress with your recording space, it will make a serious and significant difference for you! As far as the gate goes, can you tell us what DAW and plugin you're using? For example, if you're using Reaper (not a bad choice for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the price), I would steer you toward Mike Delgaudio's Booth Junkie series, which I found invaluable in setting up my system as a jumping off point.
After watching his very informative videos on using Reaper, I went ahead and made some VO money and used that to install a suite of Izotope plugins in my system. I have RX7, Neutron, and Ozone, but the truth is I really only use RX7 - I use the spectral denoise, mouth denoise, and mouth declick there. I use them very sparingly and it works for me.
The biggest (and I cannot emphasize this enough) and most important difference will always be in two areas: having a treated recording space and having a quality microphone. Your preamp can be fairly inexpensive (I use both a Scarlett 2i2 and an Audient Evo 8, neither of which is too pricey), but the mic can run anywhere from 300-3000. I use a Sennheiser MKH 416, which was around 1000. My recording space is a Whisper Room to which I added a *lot* of acoustic foam and sound dampeners. The Whisper Rooms are not cheap, but I kept an eye out and landed one for about 1/3 market rate - I got lucky there, but often a closet with acoustic dampening or even a small or medium room with foam and bass traps will work well. I often book jobs that record in surprisingly large studios which have treated walls and bass traps and those recordings are used on Netflix programs and national commercials with no issues... these are in Hollywood studios that service some of the biggest productions in the world.
The goal is to provide a clean vocal sound with little or no room sound/echo (and little or no compression, so they can do it themselves), so that the engineers can have as much leeway as they need or want - as I'm sure you know.
If you have any specific questions about using EQ or a gate that Booth Junkie can't answer (I have a feeling that his explanation is pretty universal), or how to simply use room tone, please let me know - I'm happy to help if I can.
Again, great work and keep it up! You've got this!
.j
Hi Connor,
That's sounding great - I'm sure you are already there!
Jack's suggestion of Mike Delgaudio's Booth Junkie series is certainly a fantastic help! I would also second this recommendation strongly.
Ah yes, that's the thing, a voiceover with a backing track or vocals can hide some imperfections. But when it comes to just voiceover work, it's sometimes tough for people to find that 'clean' recording sound, particularly from remote recordings. But I'm sure you are well on your way to perfecting it with your own knowledge and the help of Mike Delgaudio's videos.
The only thing I would suggest is to try not to overdo implementing the noise gate. Often we get voice actors who have it acting too harshly and it really sounds noticeable and affects the audio quality too. So just some slight usage is usually great.
If you have any questions, always happy to help.
Jack - As always AWESOME advice!! Lovely to see you around here again! :D
Wishing you both a great week!
- Samantha