Our voices are very complex entities. You could spend years studying sound and still not know how to produce a professional voice over recording that is near perfect. However, by working with a team with the correct knowledge and skills, you can easily produce voice overs that sound better than 99% of the voice recordings out there!
There may be many reasons as to why you want to record voices to a professional quality. You may be recording a podcast, producing online classes, or perhaps you want to become a voice over artist yourself. Regardless of your reasons, this guide is here to outline everything you need to know about how we record our voice overs, for a result that is clear and impressive. Recording high quality audio is essential in creating a product or service that is professional, and thus will lead to more clients, sales, downloads, or views.
Preparation
Before recording, the correct equipment is required. The recording and processing stage consists of 5 main items.
- Microphone (or a USB Microphone if you’re recording yourself at home)
- Computer
- Accessories
- Software
- Headphones or Speakers
At Chatterbox Voices we have an impressive range of kit available to use when recording your audio.
Find the Correct Room
The room that is to be used for your recording sessions will have a massive impact on the sound. For instance, if a room is too big it may make your audio sound distant and difficult to understand. On the other hand if your room is too small there may be a louder echo.
The result is also dependent on how ‘hard’ the room is. A room with lots of hard, reflective surfaces will always sound worse than a room with soft furnishings in it as the soft furnishings absorb noise, whilst hard surfaces reflect it. At Chatterbox Voices, we take these details into consideration when designing our studios.
We currently have three state-of-the-art studios in central London that you can make use of. You can book a recording studio for an hour, a half/full day or a whole week at a rate that’s tailored to your project and budget.
Set Up Your Equipment
Now it’s time to set up the equipment!
With our wide variety of equipment to use, we can help you set up the space as you wish to record the perfect voice over. We have a team of expert sound engineers that will support you through every step in your audio process.
Open Your Audio Recording Software and Set Your Levels
The next step in recording your audio is opening up a DAW of choice and creating a new track. After arming the track, we can start recording. Through speaking into the microphone, we’ll help set your levels, ensuring that you are nowhere near the red area, otherwise known as ‘peaking’. The ideal level is yellow which will result in quality sound.
If you want a louder recording, then we can turn up the volume at a later stage in your audio editor.
Position Your Microphone
The position of the microphone when you are recording is very important. To get a good sound it’s best to play around with the microphone position and the distance from the speaker’s mouth. With most audio recordings, it’s best to leave around 5 inches between the microphone and the mouth of your voice actor.
If there is too much sibilance (‘ess’ sounds) and plosives (popping ‘p’ sounds) one of the best remedies for this is to move the microphone off its axis and speak just to the side of the microphone.
Mentally Prepare for the Performance
Before starting your recording, yourself or your voice actor must mentally prepare. There is no point recording a high-quality bit of audio if the voice sounds boring. If you require a professional voice actor for your audiobook or video game, for example, contact us today.
Lights, Microphone, Action!
It’s time to record the first take. When recording audio there may be many takes before we get the perfect version. So don’t feel disheartened if the first take isn’t perfect!
It’s perfectly normal to re-record sections over and over again, so we won’t stop until you are happy with what we have created. Depending on the length of the voice over, we could do it all in one go, or in sections. The main thing to remember is to not record over mistakes. Instead, we will just keep going along the timeline in your DAW or record on a new track. If you find yourself or your voice actor having any problems during the process though, the Chatterbox Voices team is always available to help.
Start Editing
If you’re working with a voice agency like Chatterbox, it is likely this part will be done for you.
The exact process for editing audio will completely depend on which DAW has been used. It is in this stage that any mistakes will be removed, and we can also manipulate the sections to move them around.
In the editing process we can complete steps like adjusting the tone of voice, eliminating any background noise between phrases, and even using a compressor to make the recording sound more consistent.
Export the Recording as an Audio File, and Sync Your Voice Over
Once everyone is happy with the recording, it can be exported to an audio file. If you are putting a voice over a video, then the next step is to import your recorded audio into your video editing software. You can create a new track with your audio, and then sync it up to your video.
At Chatterbox Voices, we have three state-of-the-art post-production facilities in central London, making us your one-stop-shop for all of your audio project needs.
And just like that you’re all done!
If you have any questions on how to create a successful voice over recording then you can listen to Episode 14 on our podcast series. http://chatterboxvoices.co.uk/podcast/
Or alternatively, you can give a member of our friendly team a call on +44 (0) 203 744 3558, or email us at info@chatterboxvoices.co.uk.
