Once all the proper equipment has been gathered and all materials have been prepared, it’s time to get down to recording.
Not everyone has access to a recording booth but at the end of the day that doesn’t really matter much. All you need is a room with a few essentials.
In order to accomplish professional sounding vocals, you’ll need to start with the right ambience. It’s a good idea to record in a neutral, dry room. Avoid cavernous rooms with reflections and reverberated sound. A simple bedroom can even be transformed into a recording area. Mattresses, blankets, pillows, even curtains can all be used to absorb unwanted echo when recording. Soft surfaces can be used to balance out the reflections of cavernous rooms and hard floors.
Once a location has been established, it’s time to set up your equipment. Make sure your mic and filter are positioned correctly. For speaking vocals, like the ones used in podcasting, make sure your mic’s diaphragm is facing your lips and to use a pop filter to tame your P and T sounds. Adjust the distance of the mic as needed.
When recording, warm up by running through your script in its entirety. Don’t worry about mistakes, that’s what multiple takes are for! Make sure you are properly saving and labeling your takes to make editing easier once you’re done recording. If you’re running into issues while recording, don’t be afraid to take a break. Instead of letting frustration build, come back to the recording the next day with a fresh start. If you don’t have the time to take a whole day, even an hour can make a difference.
Kind to Yourself Ep. 01
I recently tried my hand at recording a podcast and man, is it harder than it looks! It felt like I had never actually spoken in my life before while I was recording. I struggled with hard S sounds and enunciation, but the tips above and in my pervious post helped me get through it.
The Importance of Sound Design
Branching out from broadcast audio, sound is also so much more than just a secondary component to video. Just like A-Roll video, without A-roll or primary audio, there is no story. B-roll is supplementary footage and audio that reinforce the story you are telling. These additions can be added or removed once the primary story has been roughly assembled. B-roll can be used to connect scenes that may not transition smoothly or audio that may not sync up perfectly with the video.
The primary goal of editing audio and video is to tell a story in the most logical way possible, establishing a beginning, middle, and end. Audio also serves to set the tone of a scene. A combination of music, sound design, and primary audio is what elevates the overall mood of a video. This type of world building is an essential part of producing a video.
For example, in Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso, the song Love Song for Nata is used throughout the movie in different variations to signify moments of growth in the main characters life. Coupled with the subject of these scenes, this already emotional song makes the audience feel for the characters and all they have been through over the years.
Another example is the combination of street sounds and erratic music in Good Time that help sell the film’s almost crushing sense of stress. The fluctuating levels of music and overlapping lines of dialogue create a sense of unease, mirroring the tension filled storyline. The Safdies do a good job of making sure the audio for this filmed matched the visuals.
The sound design does a majority of the storytelling in Sound of Metal. The production of this film was a little different, as director Darius Marder worked with sound mixers and editors throughout production to really try to illustrate the feeling of slowly going deaf. The absence of sound at integral parts of the story becomes a character in and of itself. The visuals combined with what Ruben is actually hearing helps orient the audience with what the drummer is experiencing.
Photo by Will Francis on Unsplash
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