VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Lori Berman

Hi all,
I'm wondering if you guys could take a quick listen to a recent audition I did and let me know your thoughts on the technical quality...I'm most concerned with my home studio recording set-up and if it truly sounds okay. Of course if you want to offer constructive criticism on the actual audition that is always welcome, but i'm specifically interested in the technical quality and if it's ok.

http://www.box.net/shared/hzoqca1c4m

Hoping the above link works.

Thanks so much,

Lori

Mike Sommer · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:29 pm Post subject:

Hey Lori!!

From the outset there is machine noise in the background- posible computer fan or AC.

The room sounds boxy and needs treatment.

You may be to close to the mic, and there is a great deal of mouth noise.

The over all audio sounds a little thin. What is your sound chain?
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Lori Berman · Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:47 am Post subject:

hi,
thanks for your feedback.
Sound chain is a AT 2020 mic (USB) using a macbook pro.
Audacity is the recording software I'm using.
I thought the room sounded a bit boxy as well, it is basically a small walk in closet filled with clothes. Floors are hardwood so perhaps they should be treated. And I have noticed the mouth noise as well, not sure what to do about that. The mic seems to be pretty sensitive...I'm standing about 6 inches away from mic with pop filter --so I don't think I'm too close.
As for the machine noise, I'm not really sure what that could be. The computer is actually outside of the recording room (long cord attaching mic to computer) and my macbook pro tends to be pretty quiet anyway.

Sounds like I may need some more room treatment. Not sure about the mouth noise.

Thanks for your thoughts. Keep 'em coming.

lori

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:39 am Post subject:

If the computer is not in the room, then it's probably a cable causing the line noise. Most likely culprit is the USB cable. Noise can also be cause when running your laptop from the AC wall adapter as opposed to battery.
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Lori Berman · Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:11 am Post subject:

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the thoughts...so...if it's the USB cable, what can i do about it? Do you think it's just a faulty cable?
The computer is not plugged in, and is also in a separate room (the door to the walk in closet is shut) Could it be that the USB cord is getting squeezed when i shut the door and that's causing the noise?
I also heard it when I took a listen.

Thanks again.

Mike Sommer · Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:45 pm Post subject:

The noise I'm hearing is machine noise. It could be just about anything.

For the mouth noise. Warm up properly, make sure you are hydrated. Everyone I'm sure will offer a cure.
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The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

Whit · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:43 am Post subject:

Regarding mouth noise - yes, try to always be very well hydrated as a rule. Drinking a bunch of water right before you record can actually worsen mouth noise. If you gotta chug, say for a morning session, try to do your chugging an hour or more before. I don't remember where I heard this, but I've found it to be true for me.

I always silence any mouth noise I hear for auditions when editing, basically treating them like they will be broadcast. Of course though, I aspire to always read cleanly.

I will also share this little mouth noise story from yesterday - I'm getting over a cold, so of COURSE I have an attended session in the morning. I was chugging my water and working on the script beforehand, and kept getting this totally gross sinusy click on the word "more". I said it a few times trying to figure out if there was any way to avoid it or if my cold was just going to have its way with me, and what ended up working was smiling pretty big on the m of more. Seems the natural pucker of an m spoken naturally for me (combined with the cold) was causing the icky throat click. I found it interesting that changing my mouth shape fixed it.

PaulHernandez · Joined: 19 Sep 2010 Posts: 5 Location: Albany, Oregon

Hi Lori. The things that stood out to me were, mouth noises (which I am always fighting) and it seem like there may have been background noise maybe from your pc or processing. Most noticeable at the very end of the file. I thought your read was nice though.

Paul Hernandez
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Lori Berman · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:16 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the compliment, Paul. And thanks everyone else for the mouth noise tips. Guess I've gotta work on hydrating more.

I still can't figure out the source of the background noise. I feel like it's something within my sound chain (vs a/c or traffic or computer, since i don't have a/c, there's no way it could be traffic, and the computer is in a separate room) I'm still not quite sure. But the (sort of) good news is, I can likely edit the files using Audacity's noise removal filters. That's what I'll have to do until I can figure this out.

Thanks again to all for your thoughts and insight.

Lori

ConnieTerwilliger · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:43 am Post subject:

After an audiobook class with Pat and Scott (Fraley and Brick), I have started using a small spray bottle of water to knock down the occasional (right) mouth noise.

I have a problem with my inside cheeks and back teeth with the letter "L" - and a small spray eliminates that click.
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