Recording voice over at DVinfo.net

Sandy Watt · March 7th, 2008, 06:43 AM

Hi All,
I know its by no means ideal but deadlines and no way of getting decent audio equipment in time means im going to record some voice over for a documentary onto tape through my xlh1 using the onboard mic....
anyway my question is: can anyone suggest how i would get the best sound quality using this 'setup'. Im thinking of putting plenty of padding between the camera and mic, recording in a well padded room and i have a trained voice over artist, but are there any other words of wisdom you guys and gals could give to a complete and utter audio novice?
cheers,
Sandy

Andy Wilkinson · March 7th, 2008, 08:11 AM

"well padded room"......Talking to Henry, one of my video mates yesterday he mentioned that he'd read that one of the best environments to do voice overs in was actually inside a car...since car makers spend a fortune on the design and materials for sound deadening acoustic interiors - especially if you own a luxury model (maybe one day!)

Obviously, you don't want to be doing this at a service station next to a busy motorway but parked up somewhere quiet.

Maybe if you had a "rough" video file playing on a portable DVD player or laptop and view the screen as you do it?

Sandy Watt · March 7th, 2008, 09:18 AM

I may just try that....now to find an expensive car; think the ferrari garage would let me borrow one for an afternoon? thanks for the info Andy

Doug Lange · March 7th, 2008, 08:13 PM

Turn off AGC and set the levels. Experiment to find the best placement of the mic to the talent. You may get better audio with the cam facing to the side of the talent or using only one channel of audio instead of the stereo pair.

Please let us know what works best.

Thomas Barthle Jr. · March 7th, 2008, 10:29 PM

Correct me if I am wrong, but if you are JUST recording audio (no video is what it sounds like you are doing), make sure you put it in SD mode. In HDV mode, it compresses the audio into an MPEG layer, whereas in SD mode, you usually have a choice of setting 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz at 16 bit (both are much higher quality).

Thomas

Sandy Watt · March 8th, 2008, 06:10 AM

thanks for the info guys, some things there that im sure will help. i will definitely shoot in sd if thats the case- some thing i would never have thought of!!
cheers, ill let you know how i get on,
take care,
Sandy

March 7th, 2008, 06:43 AM	#1
Sandy Watt New Boot Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 24	Recording voice over Hi All, I know its by no means ideal but deadlines and no way of getting decent audio equipment in time means im going to record some voice over for a documentary onto tape through my xlh1 using the onboard mic.... anyway my question is: can anyone suggest how i would get the best sound quality using this 'setup'. Im thinking of putting plenty of padding between the camera and mic, recording in a well padded room and i have a trained voice over artist, but are there any other words of wisdom you guys and gals could give to a complete and utter audio novice? cheers, Sandy

March 7th, 2008, 08:11 AM	#2
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	"well padded room"......Talking to Henry, one of my video mates yesterday he mentioned that he'd read that one of the best environments to do voice overs in was actually inside a car...since car makers spend a fortune on the design and materials for sound deadening acoustic interiors - especially if you own a luxury model (maybe one day!) Obviously, you don't want to be doing this at a service station next to a busy motorway but parked up somewhere quiet. Maybe if you had a "rough" video file playing on a portable DVD player or laptop and view the screen as you do it? __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production Last edited by Andy Wilkinson; March 7th, 2008 at 10:03 AM.

March 7th, 2008, 08:13 PM	#4
Doug Lange Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Fairbanks, Alaska Posts: 138	Turn off AGC and set the levels. Experiment to find the best placement of the mic to the talent. You may get better audio with the cam facing to the side of the talent or using only one channel of audio instead of the stereo pair. Please let us know what works best. __________________ After years of lurking, I finally made the mistake of opening my mouth.

March 7th, 2008, 09:18 AM	#3
Sandy Watt New Boot Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 24	I may just try that....now to find an expensive car; think the ferrari garage would let me borrow one for an afternoon? thanks for the info Andy

March 7th, 2008, 10:29 PM	#5
Thomas Barthle Jr. Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 86	Correct me if I am wrong, but if you are JUST recording audio (no video is what it sounds like you are doing), make sure you put it in SD mode. In HDV mode, it compresses the audio into an MPEG layer, whereas in SD mode, you usually have a choice of setting 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz at 16 bit (both are much higher quality). Thomas

March 8th, 2008, 06:10 AM	#6
Sandy Watt New Boot Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 24	thanks for the info guys, some things there that im sure will help. i will definitely shoot in sd if thats the case- some thing i would never have thought of!! cheers, ill let you know how i get on, take care, Sandy