Indoor recording...need to sound like outdoors at DVinfo.net

Nathan Quattrini · January 27th, 2009, 09:28 PM

I recorded one line of ADR in someone living room, and for me I can tell the difference in the reverb between it and the outdoor footage it is being spliced into. How could I make it sound more like an outdoor recording in an open area? The indoor sound isn`t super echoey or anything, but still noticeable to have an indoor sound. I have Adobe Audition3 to work with. Your help would be great. I can supply samples if need be.

Daniel Epstein · January 27th, 2009, 09:42 PM

Nathan,
Have you mixed in some outdoor ambience with the track? This is when you hope the soundman got to record room tone for the scene. Usually you also want to make the micing technique similar to what you are replacing so there is less of a difference in overall sound quality. HTH

Nathan Quattrini · January 27th, 2009, 10:00 PM

yea there is ambient sound with it as well, but its the reverb difference in the voice that is noticeable. I may be overacting as an editor, not sure, but sound isn`t my strong point. I am playing around to hope to stumble on a way to make it sound better, but someone knowledged in how it works would be a huge help. Its a 3 word line that is holding up completion of the film hahah

Colin Pearce · January 29th, 2009, 12:30 AM

It strikes me you had a room with a bit of echo or reverb. Did you have the walls covered with curtains or some other sort of sound dampening devices?

Once echo is in the recording you cannot get it out.

Without having a proper sound recording studio, there is one trick that I have used. Get the person being recorded to stand in a wardrobe, among the clothes hanging.

Better still, take the talent outside, preferably to where the original sound was recorded.

When you have a clean recording you can add effects to match the main audio.

Jon Goodman · January 29th, 2009, 05:40 AM

I suppose it is out of the question to record the lines outside ?
Cheers
Jon

Marco Leavitt · January 29th, 2009, 11:36 AM

"I suppose it is out of the question to record the lines outside ?"

That's exactly what I was thinking. Can you duplicate the circumstances outside? It is, after all, just a single line. If possible, you will want the same location, mic, time of day and even time of year. You'll never get it match doing it indoors, at least I couldn't. The only only other possibility I see is making the recording in as dead of a space as possible and then trying to EQ into line with the other footage. That's the sort of thing the pros get big money for.

Dean Sensui · January 29th, 2009, 04:05 PM

I don't recall where I read this (Studio Daily?) but a director would have actors ADR their lines in the same -- or similar -- environment in which they were performed. For example, put the talent in a car if the scene were in a car.

With the availability of smaller LCD monitors, etc., that becomes very possible.

The other option is to hang lots of moving blankets. The cheap ones you can get from Costco or UHaul. They'll help dampen the room and reduce or eliminate the unwanted reverb.

Ty Ford · January 30th, 2009, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan Quattrini

I recorded one line of ADR in someone living room, and for me I can tell the difference in the reverb between it and the outdoor footage it is being spliced into. How could I make it sound more like an outdoor recording in an open area? The indoor sound isn`t super echoey or anything, but still noticeable to have an indoor sound. I have Adobe Audition3 to work with. Your help would be great. I can supply samples if need be.

Hello Nathan,

Be brave. Open the door, step outside, hit record.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Nathan Quattrini · February 3rd, 2009, 11:49 PM

took me almost 3 months to get the line. And outside where we were was too noisy to do it. I`ll just have to bite the bullet and pretty much leave as is. Likely I`ll be the only one to notice that bad, and other film makers.

Noah Cook · February 5th, 2009, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean Sensui

I don't recall where I read this (Studio Daily?) but a director would have actors ADR their lines in the same -- or similar -- environment in which they were performed. For example, put the talent in a car if the scene were in a car.

Actually, even if the scene wasn't in a car, put the talent in a car. They make really excellent voiceover booths in a pinch.

Ty Ford · February 6th, 2009, 12:21 AM

If you want a recording that sounds like the inside of a car.

There's a lot of parallel glass in a car.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Jon Fairhurst · February 6th, 2009, 02:13 AM

It's not too hard to get an outdoor shot to sound like it's indoors. (There are no echos - assuming you're not near any buildings - so you can simply add the desired room echo.) Taking room echo away to make it sound like it's outdoors is another story.

Don't underestimate your audience. They won't know why the line sounds wrong, but they will know that it does.

I'm with Ty. Try recording it outside. Drive to a quiet location, if needed. Who knows? Maybe you'll nail it on the first take. If not, what's the cost? An hour or two?

Jon Fairhurst · February 6th, 2009, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

There's a lot of parallel glass in a car.

So true. Isolation is only half of the story.

If it's the best you have, cover the windows with shipping foam, blankets or something. Same with the seats, if they're leather or vinyl.

Another trick is to buy a little acoustic foam and mount it in an open cardboard box. Put the mic at the edge of the box. You just killed all the reflections from behind the mic. Of course, that alone doesn't solve the isolation problem...

Noah Cook · February 6th, 2009, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

If you want a recording that sounds like the inside of a car.

There's a lot of parallel glass in a car.

True, but it's better than an average untreated living room. I have a little "porta-booth" made from a box lined with acoustic foam as the post above describes. Set that up in the back seat of a car or van, and you can get decent results. The major downside is that the talent has to be sitting down, which isn't ideal for a lot of reasons.

Colin Pearce · February 10th, 2009, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin Pearce

Get the person being recorded to stand in a wardrobe, among the hanging clothes.

It works well for me. No echoes, either. Quick, easy, effective.

January 27th, 2009, 09:28 PM	#1
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	Indoor recording...need to sound like outdoors I recorded one line of ADR in someone living room, and for me I can tell the difference in the reverb between it and the outdoor footage it is being spliced into. How could I make it sound more like an outdoor recording in an open area? The indoor sound isn`t super echoey or anything, but still noticeable to have an indoor sound. I have Adobe Audition3 to work with. Your help would be great. I can supply samples if need be. __________________ Cinematography Site

January 27th, 2009, 10:00 PM	#3
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	yea there is ambient sound with it as well, but its the reverb difference in the voice that is noticeable. I may be overacting as an editor, not sure, but sound isn`t my strong point. I am playing around to hope to stumble on a way to make it sound better, but someone knowledged in how it works would be a huge help. Its a 3 word line that is holding up completion of the film hahah __________________ Cinematography Site

January 29th, 2009, 04:05 PM	#7
Dean Sensui Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 2,054	I don't recall where I read this (Studio Daily?) but a director would have actors ADR their lines in the same -- or similar -- environment in which they were performed. For example, put the talent in a car if the scene were in a car. With the availability of smaller LCD monitors, etc., that becomes very possible. The other option is to hang lots of moving blankets. The cheap ones you can get from Costco or UHaul. They'll help dampen the room and reduce or eliminate the unwanted reverb. __________________ Dean Sensui Exec Producer, Hawaii Goes Fishing

February 3rd, 2009, 11:49 PM	#9
Nathan Quattrini Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Warwick, Rhode Island Posts: 740	took me almost 3 months to get the line. And outside where we were was too noisy to do it. I`ll just have to bite the bullet and pretty much leave as is. Likely I`ll be the only one to notice that bad, and other film makers. __________________ Cinematography Site

February 6th, 2009, 12:21 AM	#11
Ty Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Baltimore, MD USA Posts: 2,337	If you want a recording that sounds like the inside of a car. There's a lot of parallel glass in a car. Regards, Ty Ford __________________ Ty Ford's Audio Bootcamp Field Guide Ty Ford's Audio Video Blog

January 27th, 2009, 09:42 PM	#2
Daniel Epstein Trustee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,267	Nathan, Have you mixed in some outdoor ambience with the track? This is when you hope the soundman got to record room tone for the scene. Usually you also want to make the micing technique similar to what you are replacing so there is less of a difference in overall sound quality. HTH

January 29th, 2009, 12:30 AM	#4
Colin Pearce Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 99	It strikes me you had a room with a bit of echo or reverb. Did you have the walls covered with curtains or some other sort of sound dampening devices? Once echo is in the recording you cannot get it out. Without having a proper sound recording studio, there is one trick that I have used. Get the person being recorded to stand in a wardrobe, among the clothes hanging. Better still, take the talent outside, preferably to where the original sound was recorded. When you have a clean recording you can add effects to match the main audio.

January 29th, 2009, 05:40 AM	#5
Jon Goodman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 74	I suppose it is out of the question to record the lines outside ? Cheers Jon

January 29th, 2009, 11:36 AM	#6
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	"I suppose it is out of the question to record the lines outside ?" That's exactly what I was thinking. Can you duplicate the circumstances outside? It is, after all, just a single line. If possible, you will want the same location, mic, time of day and even time of year. You'll never get it match doing it indoors, at least I couldn't. The only only other possibility I see is making the recording in as dead of a space as possible and then trying to EQ into line with the other footage. That's the sort of thing the pros get big money for.

February 6th, 2009, 02:13 AM	#12
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	It's not too hard to get an outdoor shot to sound like it's indoors. (There are no echos - assuming you're not near any buildings - so you can simply add the desired room echo.) Taking room echo away to make it sound like it's outdoors is another story. Don't underestimate your audience. They won't know why the line sounds wrong, but they will know that it does. I'm with Ty. Try recording it outside. Drive to a quiet location, if needed. Who knows? Maybe you'll nail it on the first take. If not, what's the cost? An hour or two? __________________ Jon Fairhurst