Old 06-03-2019, 03:55 AM   #1
Mudchild
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Default budget voice-over recording - tips?

I'm hoping to do a bit of work with an actor friend who wants to get into voice over work, but she's on a budget... obviously the best bet would be to hire a proper studio with a booth and do it there... but it seems to me I could do a great job myself of recording her, editing etc, if only I had access to that elusive thing... and acoustically dead space.

I'm looking round seeing if there's anywhere cheap I can hire I just for this in my area (Cardiff, UK), but most places are fully fledged studios that want you to use their engineer, etc... is anyone doing this kind of thing or got any tips? I was thinking a local rehearsal room would be OK if we went in early in the day when there are no bands around making noise...

Thanks

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Old 06-03-2019, 04:51 AM   #2
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On a budget, one very effective way would be to invest in a couple of tall clothes airers and a couple of double duvets. Make yourself a triangular "tent" with just the top left open & you will be surprised how dead you can get things. I use two clothes stands and (a little luxury, but not too dear) a clone of the original SE reflexion filter. Does a great job and even with buying the stuff if you dont already have it, you will save over renting a rehearsal space or a full blown studio.
What mic are you planning to use?

One other thought: You might find that your talent will be happier speaking into a space that is not 100% dead and of course you will have to add some minimal ambient reverb to make the end result sound real.
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Old 06-03-2019, 04:56 AM   #3
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Hey thanks for that. yes I've had some success with duvets when recording acoustic guitar in the past... maybe you're right, I should get further into the duvet method...

Well I have an old SE condensor which is OK, bit peaky in the high end but does the job... or even SM58??

Also I do actually have an SE reflexion filter, but I must admit I found that the sound I got from using it ages ago was a little wierd, like I was getting frequency cancellations in there somewhere... haven't touched it in ages, but might be worth another try...
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Old 06-03-2019, 05:15 AM   #4
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There's a Youtube video from "Musician on a mission" where they explain how to make a mobile vocal booth with plastic pipes and some padded blankets for no much money (over $100 I think). Called "The BEST DIY Vocal Booth On A Budget (FREE BLUEPRINTS)"

There's another video which explains in detail how to do it, search for "How to build vocal booth cheap from PVC" the channel is called "VocalBoothToGo"

Go and watch it and will give you an idea.

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Old 06-03-2019, 05:33 AM   #5
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hmm good tip! will check it out
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Old 06-03-2019, 06:15 AM   #6
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Got the price wrong, it is around $200-$250 depending where you buy the blankets
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Old 06-03-2019, 06:42 AM   #7
emwhy
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Easiest way to get around the sound/room issue is DON'T use a condenser mic. Get a solid dynamic mic like either a SHURE SM7 or and RE320 and have her get right up on the windscreen. Those mics can handle close proximity and SPL and will minimize any room sound. I do radio v/os for a living and we're in less than ideal acoustic spaces so I know this method will work.
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Old 06-04-2019, 09:50 AM   #8
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A distillation of all this comes down to doing pretty much what I do - vocal mic with se reflexion filter behind it & the duvet thingy facing the mic, behind the V/O artist.

And yes an SM58 or similar IS a lot less sensitive to room pickup, assuming you can get a decent sound from it in the first place,
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Old 06-05-2019, 02:05 PM   #9
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On top of all the other great advice above, you can always use the Subtract function in ReaFir to rid of any extra room noise
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