Tinny Sound from Rode NTG-1

[Jonathan Shaw]

Apologies if this has come up before, I have had a search but haven't found anything...

I have recently recorded a voice over using a Rode NTG-1 mic, the sound is crystal clear however it sounds 'tinny'...

I would say that my audio knowledge is pretty limited so maybe I am not doing something very obvious, does anyone have any ideas to solve this prob??

I have FCS as my NLE

[Mark A. Foley]

Without knowing more information, be hard to determine what may possibly be wrong in the recording. The only know variable is the microphone.

- How far away was the mic from the VO subject?
- Where was it recorded? (what environment)
- What recorder (or camera) was used and the recording settings?

[Jonathan Shaw]

Apologies; the subject was around 1.5m away, and the setting was a lounge room. It was being recorded into a Canon A1.

[Jon Fairhurst]

You might need to EQ the voice. Boosting the frequencies around 200-300 Hz will give your voice more bottom end. As always with equalization, you can make sharp cuts, but make sure your boosts and smooth and gentle.

If your diction is clear, that means the frequencies around 1.2 kHz are coming through well. If the consonants are unclear, boost this range.

If your voice sounds nasally, reduce the frequencies around 2.4 kHz. If your voice sounds dull boost this range.

If you want more "air", boost the frequencies from 5-15 kHz. If your "Ss" start to hiss, reduce this range.

The next tip is to try some compression. Personally I like to copy the track, compress the heck out of the copy, and mix in the original. High compression might have a ratio of 20:1 and a threshold of -25dB. The compressed track will have body, but no definition. The original track will have definition, but no body. Mix to taste.

In the future, put the mic closer to the subject, if possible.

Best of luck...

[Mike Beckett]

Someone will be along soon to use proper science words to explain this, but I went through this pain with my first UWOL film, having never recorded voiceover before.

Ther's a whole lot of reflected sound in a big room, it can sound very echo-ey and unnatural. That's why the voiceover pros use little acoustic sound booths with lots of insulation (think of egg-boxes on the walls).

A technique you can use at home is a closet/wardrobe with clothes in it, this absorbs most of the unwanted echoes. Hopefully your location will be a bit more comfy than my wardrobe, but I was able to get pretty decent sound out of my Rode NTG-2 that way: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/863565-post101.html

I got the closet idea from a post I found elsewhere on DVinfo - a true mine of info.

[Battle Vaughan]

That's a pretty fair distance from the subject in what must be an acoustically-live space, with background rumble. The NTG-1 has a surprisingly broad pickup at the 500 hz range, and also somewhat sensitive at 500 hz 180 degrees from the front.

I'm just guessing, here, but maybe you have a lot of low amplitude, low frequency noise competing with the low-range part of the voice, so that what you hear clearly is the higher --"tinny" freqs ----a lot of voice character is found in the 300-500 hz range....close miking in such a venue ---a lav, preferably---might improve things. The NTG-1 is a pretty good mike but I think you have it too far away....///Battle Vaughan/miamiherald.com video team

[Jonathan Shaw]

Thanks guys... I will have a mess around and see what it comes out like.

Jon: That info is really useful

Mike: I have actually tried the wardrobe trick before but I wanted to shoot it as an interview so I thought the back drop of my clothing may look a little funny ;)

What do most people do if shooting an interview with only one operator (no boom guy). I am looking at getting a set of Sennheiser wireless mics, is this a solution?

Thanks again