TheAudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourse

MODULE01PRACTICALASSIGNMENTNOTES:SpeechRecording

RefertotheAssignmentNotesAudiofolder

NotesonPracticalAssignment1

Recordingspeechinthestudioismoredifficultthanitseems.Ifyouhaveaquiet,acoustically
treatedstudio,withamicrophonethatissuitableforspeech,thenitisstraightforward.

Butifeveryonefounditsoeasy,thentopvoiceoverstudioswouldn'tbeabletochargeover200
($400)anhour,whichsomedo.

Inprofessionalmusicproductionandsoundengineeringitisessentialthatyoucanjudgethequality
ofyourownwork.Andyoumustjudgeitrealistically.Youcannotsubmitsubstandardworktoa
clientandhopeforthebest.Ifyoudothis,youwillfindthattheworsthappens.Youmightget
paid,butyouwillhavelostthatclientforeverafter.

So,listentoyourworkforthismoduleandcompareitwiththeexamplessupplied.Itneedstobeas
goodasthebest.Orbetter.

Ifyourrecordinghasanyofthesefaults,thenyouneedtodoitagain...

Theleveldoesnotatsomepointcomeabove2dBFS(thatmeanswithintwodecibelsoffull
scalelookatyourmeterscarefully).Theleveldoesnotnecessarilyhavetobeashighas
thiswhenyourecord,butwhenyouprepareyourfinaloutputfile,thenitshould.
Theaudiodoesnotstartimmediately,withinacoupleoftensofmilliseconds.
Thefadeattheendisnotneat,comparedtothebestoftheexamples.
Thereisaudiblebackgroundnoise,abovethelevelofthebackgroundnoiseinthebestof
theexamples.
Thereisahigherlevelofambiancethaninthebestoftheexamples,oranunpleasant
soundingambiance.
Thereispoppingonporbsounds,evenifitisslight.
Thereisblastingcausedbythebreathstrikingthediaphragmofthemicrophone,evenif
slight.
Thereisexcessivesibilance,comparedtothebestoftheexamples.

Yourselfassessmentshouldbebrokendownintoanumberofareas...

Level

Oneverycommonproblemisthattheleveloftherecordingistoolow.Herearetwoscreenshots
thatshowthisveryclearly...

Module01AssignmentNotes


Ignorethedifferentcoloursthat'showitcomesouttheProToolsdisplay.Butyoucanseeclearly
thatthefirstexamplehasahealthylevel,theotheroneisveryquiet.Infactittookaround15dBof
gaintobringituptoagoodlevel.

Alwayswhenyourecord,youwillleavesomeheadroombetweenyourpeaklevelandfullscale(0
dBFS).Butspeechinthestudioisawellcontrolledsoundsource,soyoudon'treallyneedmorethan
6dB.

Forpresentation,youshouldaimtogetyourrecordingtopeakabove2dBFSatleastatsomepoint.
IfyouwantedtohaveaCDmanufactured,thenthefactorywouldexpectthisfromyourmaster,and
mightrejectitifthelevelweretoolow.

Toppingandtailing

Toppingandtailingiswhereyoutrimtheunwantedpartsatthebeginningandendofyour
recording.

Youshouldtrimthestartsothattheaudiostartsimmediately,withinjustacoupleoftensof
milliseconds.Thismakesanicecleanstart.Hereareaudioexamplesofslacktopping

Examplefile:toppingslack.wav)

andoftoppingdonejustright

Examplefile:toppingtight.wav

Here'swhattheylooklikeonthescreen...

Module01AssignmentNotes
Attheend,thecloseoftheaudioshouldnotbeunnaturallyabrupt,norshouldtherebenoise
audibleafterthesignalends.Wheneveryouuseafade,chooseafadestartpointanddurationso
thatitsuitsthewayinwhichtheaudioitselfends.Alsoconsidertheshapeofthefadecurve.Many
editingsystemsallowyoutoadjustthis.

Hereareaudioexamplesofafadethatisslack

Examplefile:fadeslack.wav

Afadethatistootight

Examplefile:fadetootight.wav

Andafadethatisjustright

Examplefile:faderight.wav

Itisalsosometimesdesirablenottofadeatallbuttoallowafewsecondsofrecordedsilence(not
fadedsilence)aftertheaudio.Likethis

Examplefile:fadenone.wav

ThisisusefulformusictracksintendedforCDreleasewhereyouwantthemasteringengineerto
havecompleteflexibilityofhowtofade,orevencrossfade.Youcanleavethebeginningofthetrack
similarlyuntrimmed.Howevertherearetwodangershere.Thefirstisthatwhoeverreceivesthe
recordingwon'trealizethatthiswasintentional.Theywillthinkthatyoucan'ttopandtail.Theother
isthattheymightthinkit'sintendedtobethatway,andcuttheCDlikethat.It'sbesttokeepboth
versions,butonlyreleasetheuntrimmedversionifyouarespecificallyaskedforit.

Proximityeffect

Alldirectionalmicrophonesexhibittheproximityeffectwherethelowfrequencycontentofnearby
soundsourcesisboosted.Youcanhearitclearlyonthefadeexamplesabove.Infactifyouplayit
backoversmallcomputerloudspeakers,thehighLFcontentmightmakethemdistort,eventhough
therecordingitselfisclean.

Thereisnothinginherentlybadabouttheproximityeffect.Indeed,itisoftenperceivedasa'warm'
sound.Itcaneasilybecorrectedwithlowfrequencyequalization.

Omnidirectionalmicrophonesdonotdisplaytheproximityeffect.

Popping

Poppinghappenson'p'and'b'soundsthatcandirectajetoffastmovingairatthediaphragmofthe
microphone.Itsoundslikethis

Examplefile:popping.wav

Oneanswertopoppingistoanglethemicrophonesoitpointsatthemouth,butnotatthedirect
streamofthebreath.Ifyoupositionthemicrophoneabovethemouthandpointitdown,this
normallyworks.Youcanuseapopscreen,butthisisonlyrecommendedifanglingdoesn'twork.But

Module01AssignmentNotes
useitifyouhaveto.Foamwindshieldsarenotrecommendedforthisasfirstlytheyarenotentirely
effective,andsecondlytheycolourthesound.

Evenwhenthereisnopoppingassuch,thereissometimesaslightoveremphasisof'p'and'b'
sounds.Likethis

Examplefile:poppingslight.wav(thesecond'p')

Thisiscausedasmuchbythemicrophoneasanythingelse,sosometimesthereislittleyoucando
apartfromuseadifferentmic.Oftenthisisacceptableprofessionally.However,youshouldimprove
yourtechniquetothepointwhereyoucanrecord'p'and'b'soundscompletelywithoutpopping.
Likethis

Examplefile:poppingnone.wav)

Blasting

Blastingiswherethebreathstrikesthediaphragmofthemicrophone,otherthanon'p'and'b'
sounds.Itsoundslikethis

Examplefile:blastingslight.wav

Youcanhearitonthe'f'of'foolishness'.Inthiscasetheeffectisslightandmostpeoplewouldnot
noticeit.Itishoweveranartefactofspeechrecordingthatshouldbeavoided.Ifitwereanyworse
thanthis,thenitwoulddefinitelybeunacceptable.

Sibilance

Sibilanceisanoveremphasisof's'and't'sounds.Somepeoplehaveitnaturallyintheirvoice,and
thereislittlethatcanbedonewithmicrophonetechniquetocurethat,otherthanbeingsurenotto
makeitanyworse!

Butoftenthemicrophoneandthewaythemicrophoneispositionedunnaturallyboostsibilant
sounds.Likethis

Examplefile:sibilance.wav

ThemicrophoneinthiscaseisaSamsonCO3intoanARTDigitalMPApreamplifier.

Bytheway,thephotosarenottoscale.

Module01AssignmentNotes

SamsonCO3microphone

ARTDigitalMPApreamplifier

Thereisanotherexamplehere

Examplefile:sibilance2.wav

Inthiscasethereissomebackgroundnoise,butwe'llcomeontothatinamoment.Herethe
microphonewasaRodeNT2intoaToftATC2preamp.

Module01AssignmentNotes

RodeNT2Amicrophone

ToftATC2preamplifier

Hereisanexampleofarecordingwithanaturalsibilance,recordedwithaT.BoneSC1100
microphoneandaFocusritePlatinumVoicemasterPropreamplifier.

Examplefile:sibilancenone.wav

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T.BoneSC1100microphone

FocusritePlatinumVoicemasterPropreamplifier

Backgroundnoise

Backgroundnoiseisamajorprobleminspeechrecording.Thisisbecausespeechcontainsmany
silencesandpauses,duringwhichanybackgroundnoiseisclearlyaudible.Evenprofessionalstudios
haveacertainamountofbackgroundnoise,duetoventilationandairconditioning.Itisnotrealistic
toexpectcompletesilence,althoughitiscertainlydesirable.

Youcanheararecordingwithquiteahighbackgroundnoiselevelhere.Thisisverymuchonthe
borderline.Anymorenoisethanthisandtherewouldbefewcontextsinwhichthisrecordingwould
beusable

Examplefile:noiseloud.wav

Hereisarecordingwithamuchlowerbackgroundnoise(thereaderisnotanativeEnglish
speaker)

Examplefile:noisequiet.wav

Therearetwowaystocombatbackgroundnoise,onegood,onenotsogood.Thefirstisto
eliminatesourcesofnoise,orsoundproofyourstudio.Itmightbedifficult,forexample,tomovea

Module01AssignmentNotes
noisycomputeroutofthestudio,butitmustbedone.Similarly,ifthereisanoutsidesourceofnoise
thatyoucan'tsilence,thenyouneedsoundproofing.Todothiseffectively,youneedtohirea
specialistconsultantorseekcompetentadvice.

Theotherwaytocombatbackgroundnoiseistomovethemicrophoneclosertothesoundsource.
Now,sincethesourceissomuchcloserthanthenoise,itismuchlouder.Thedrawbackisthatitwill
compromisesoundquality.Agoodsoundengineerwillbalanceuptheprosandconsverycarefully.

Onethingyoushouldnotdowithbackgroundnoiseistotryandedititout.Expandersandgates
don'treallyworkverywellforspeecheither.Hereisanexamplewherethegapshavebeen
artificiallysilenced.Atfirstitdoesn'tsoundbad,butastheeargetstunedintotheeffectitbecomes
veryirritating.Andinthefastpaceofprofessionalwork,therereallywouldn'tbetimetodothis.
Andnoticetoohowthebreathshavedisappeared.Naturalbreathingisessentialforanoverall
naturalsound.

Examplefile:noiseedited.wav

Ambienceandreverberation

Weusetheword'ambience'oftentomeanthenaturalreflectionsinasmallroom.Inanauditorium
wewouldcallitreverberation.

Itisbettertoachievearecordingthatis'dry'andwithoutnoticeableambience.Thereasonforthisis
thatyoucanalwaysaddambiencelater,butyoucannevertakeitaway.Also,anambientrecording
ofspeechcanbetiresometolistentoforaperiodoftime.

Youcanheararecordingwithquitealotofambiencehere

Examplefile:ambiencehigh.wav

Thisisontheborderline.Anymoreambienceandtherecordingwouldbeunacceptableformany
purposes.Itisworthnotingthatthequalityoftheambiencehereisn'tbaditisquiteapleasant
soundingroom.Also,thesoundofthemicrophoneisquitegood.Oneofthereasonsforthisisthe
greaterthanusualdistancefromthespeaker'smouth,whichofcoursehastheconsequenceof
allowingtheambiencetocompeteinlevel.

Youcanhearadryrecordinghere.Thereisalittlebackgroundnoise,whichisapity,butthe
recordingisnicelydry.

Examplefile:ambiencelow.wav

Otheraspectsofsoundquality

Somemicrophonesaremorecapableofanaturalsoundqualitythanothers.Omnidirectional
microphoneswithasmalldiaphragmareoftenverygood(althoughtheomnidirectionalpatternhas
tobeintrinsictothemic,notachievedthroughswitching).

Somemicrophonesgivethevoicea'thickened',rathercongestedsound,whichyoucanexperience
here

Module01AssignmentNotes
Examplefile:micsoundthickened.wav

Nowthisisn'tnecessarilyabadthing.Infactthemicrophoneusedhere,anElectroVoiceRE20(with
anLPBSignatureIIIpreamplifier),isverycommonlyusedforspeech.Butyouhavetorecognizethe
differencebetweenthiskindofsoundquality,andthemorenaturalqualityhere

Examplefile:ambiencehigh.wav

Thisisthesamerecordingaswasusedtodemonstrateambience.ThemicrophoneisaNeumann
TLM103intoanMAudio410audiointerfacewithinternalpreamplifier.

ElectroVoiceRE20microphone

NeumannTLM103microphone

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MAudio410audiointerface

Itshouldbeborneinmindthatsomemicrophonessuitsomepeople'svoices.Somemicrophones
mightbeverygood,buttheyjustdon'tsuitaparticularperson'svoice.

Sometimesaparticularcombinationofamicrophoneandsomeone'svoiceproducesotherartefacts.
Speechconsistsofvowelsandconsonants,andalsolotsoftinymouthnoisesthatnormallywedon't
hear,butmicrophonessometimesdo.Sometimesaparticularsyllablewillcatchthemicrophonein
anoddway.Listentothebuzzon'incredulity'here

Examplefile:buzz.wav

Itisn'tclipping,becausethelevelislowerthanmostofthesurroundingsyllables.Itisoneofthose
oddoccasionsthatremindusthatmicrophonetechnologyisstillnotperfect.

Finally,acompleteexamplethatdemonstratesarangeoffeaturesthathavebeenmentioned
already,presentedexactlyasitwassupplied.Itistheoneoutoftherecentbatchofsubmissions
thatisthemostpleasingoverall.Thisisaverygoodrecording.Itisclean,clearandcrisp.Butitisn't
perfect.Iwouldinviteyoutolistencarefullytoeverysyllableandeveryfeatureoftherecordingand
cometoyourownjudgmentsonwhatisgood,whatisnotsogood(noneofitisbad),andwhether
asaclientyouwouldwanttoputthisengineeronyour'firstcall'list.

Examplefile:complete.wav

Endofassignmentnotes.

Module01AssignmentNotes