VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

iannyc

Hi Gang,

I've got a bit of a snag for when I'm working on either audiobooks or on animated (Cartoons / Video Games)-- There's too much variety in the volume of the character's voices! (Especially animated where they want lots of contrast in delivery)

Since Im' using a UA apollo Mk 2 Twin Duo and they have all of those presets, does anybody have a good one with a limiter they can recommend and the approximate paramaters they put into it for this kind of thing?

Thankyou friends!

-Ian

Jack Daniel · Cinquecento Joined: 23 Jun 2016 Posts: 577 Location: SoCal

I'd seriously consider having one of the Tech Brainz like George Whittam dial something in for you, but for what it's worth, I use the UAD Teletronix LA-2A g for a lot of recording. I'd attach a screenshot but that's prohibitively difficult here, so I can tell you that the dials are at about L:38, R:35. But that would change with your setup.

Keep in mind, though, that I don't do much shouting, as most of my work is in the "pull it back, more, you're still pushing" range, so I would take this information for what's it worth, which is a very low number.[/img]
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Bruce · Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:37 pm Post subject:

My understanding is you do as little processing as possible when sending audio off to be produced. Let them worry about that. Send them clean, non-distorted files (you control the record volume) at -6 dB or less.

To be honest I do add some processing sometimes to see how it might sound in the final, but the I pull it before sending it.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

iannyc · Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 4:48 pm Post subject:

Cool thankyou- even for say, cartoon auditions or videogames?

Philip Banks · Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:23 am Post subject:

Clean and clear only.

"Dave, here's your coffee. I didn't know if you took sugar so I only added a little"

jim edgar · Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:45 am Post subject:

For videogame/animation auditions, there's no rule against two passes with proper levels on both and then cutting it together.

I have some light dynamics processing for things which are inadvertently bumping in the -0 dB range. That can save stuff which is on the edge of being crunchy. But that's a quick preset in post. I run everything in with no inbound processing. You are baking it in, so you have to get it right.

Bear in mind that the harder you push a Limiter by having too much signal go in, the more apparent the effect will be. Best practice is to modulate volume at the source (turning a bit off mic or other mechanical solutions for louder bits).

And it's very easy to set all that stuff up too aggressively.

Depending upon when and how you bought your Apollo, you might have some premium Unison plug-ins, such as the Manley VoxBox, which is a nice piece of kit. But, in the stock Analog bundle, you might play with the LA2A. (Just saw Jack mentioned that as well.)
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Jack Daniel · Cinquecento Joined: 23 Jun 2016 Posts: 577 Location: SoCal

Deirdre · Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:36 pm Post subject:

The only processing I do for games is to DeClick with Izotope RX. The studios have their own secret sauce they prefer to apply.

When I know I will have a wildly dynamic range in a session, I will record with 2 mics at the same time-- a dynamic and a condenser. If it's too low for the dynamic, the condenser picks it up just fine; if the condenser clips, the dynamic captures it with no trouble.
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Bruce · Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 2:55 pm Post subject:

I see little wrong in adding some EQ and compression/limiting to auditions just so long as they're not super artificial. The end product is usually very engineered so heading in that direction may not be bad.

I also would add modest improvements to an audiobook audition so it will sound something like a finished book. If someone else is editing and mastering then raw is best. Now if you're mastering following Audible rules you will be compressing and normalizing the poop out of that stuff so it's kind of a moot point.

I've always been amazed that Audible insists you record "room noise" and use this to fill gaps in the audio. If you compress and limit like they want it done, there's no way in heck you'll ever hear any room noise... just pure, compressed voice.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

jim edgar · Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:29 am Post subject:

Bruce · Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 1:45 pm Post subject: