Freesound Forums
Dialogue help needed
Started March 19th, 2010 · 10 replies · Latest reply by Spleencast 14 years, 7 months ago
How do I get voice recorded inside to sound like it was spoken outside? As a newbie I might hazard a guess and just say - record it outside - but then I lose control - ie I have no control over all the ambient sound.....
My voice recordings seem clean, noise reduced and compressor applied but they have a low frequency bias to them (proximity effect??) or possibly some form of reverb/echo from the room. I can apply EQ to get rid of the low frequency bias but I can still hear that Reverb/Echo. If I go too far with the EQ, that reverb/echo goes away but the voice is way too "tinny".
My setup is a Zoom H4n and M3 mike. Mike set up on stand with pop filter,voice approx 6" from mike, off to one side with the mike above the mouth (about noose height) andgled down to the mouth.
Here's a sample (1.4mb wav) http://www.david-higgins.com/sound/dialogue.wav
Any advice or appropriate links would be most welcome.
Cheers
David
higginsdj
How do I get voice recorded inside to sound like it was spoken outside? As a newbie I might hazard a guess and just say - record it outside - but then I lose control - ie I have no control over all the ambient sound..... [...] Any advice or appropriate links would be most welcome.
One fairly simple solution might be to record your desired outside environment without voice (I find that the wee hours of the night/morning are good times to get clean results). Then layer that with your voice recordings, and tweak the relative volume levels.
Good luck. 
But won't that just sound like a voice recorded indoors layered over ambient outdoor sounds?
Cheers
David
higginsdj
But won't that just sound like a voice recorded indoors layered over ambient outdoor sounds?
Why would I have any reason to suggest a solution which sounds like that?
If you try it and get the result you want, then you will have achieved your objective.
If you try it and get a different result, then you can remember that for a possible future objective for which that result will be desirable.
Either way you will have lost little and gained useful knowledge, which in itself is a desirable objective.
In my opinion, declining to even try it is likely to gain you little and lose you more.
Oh, also, vocal performance is also a big factor. You can record one vocal performance indoors and then record another vocal performance of the same thing outdoors. Play back the two recordings afterwards, and listen closely and carefully to the vocal performances and compare the differences.
After a bit of experimenting, you can possibly learn to do and/or direct an outdoor vocal performance whether you're recording indoors or out, which will then sound better when you layer in the ambient outdoor sounds.
Hi higginsdj
Make an anechoic "tent".
Choose the least "lively" room you have access to (lots of carpets, heavy curtains and soft furnishings) then build a tent out of blankets and sheets and cover it with as much weight of coats, clothes rugs, cushions and soft stuff as you can lay your hands on. Put more cushions and stuff on the floor so there are no hard surfaces left to cause reflections. Stick yourself and the mic inside and record away. Keep the mic further away from you to reduce proximity effect boost to lower frequencies then only minor post rec EQ will be needed - possibly a little HF lift.
Lots of room to experiment with mic/mouth positioning etc..
Good luck!
Wibby
Hey Spleencast, I'm not declining anything - just questioning. As a newbie I only have logic to apply rather than practice/experience and logic told me that the addition of ambient sound does not change the voice itself - but it may be that the addition of ambient sound (of any type) may change the nature of what is heard....
I do like the suggestion of doing a comparative recording outside and see how much difference there really is.
Wibby, I had thought about doing this but still trying to work out how best to approach it.
Cheers
David
Well I recorded inside and I recorded outside and I recorded in front of a heavy curtain. In all cases my voice came out basically the same (for the limitations of my ear) after processing (noise reduction, normalisation and EQ). That resonant sound that I am hearing is just my nasaly voice (an echo chamber in my nose!) OR it could be just bad processing! I certainly have a lot more to learn about sound
higginsdj
Hey Spleencast, I'm not declining anything - just questioning.
You're right, I might have more usefully said something like "Well, try it and see."
And thank you for the update, that was entertaining. 
higginsdj
Well I recorded inside and I recorded outside and I recorded in front of a heavy curtain. In all cases my voice came out basically the same (for the limitations of my ear) after processing (noise reduction, normalisation and EQ). That resonant sound that I am hearing is just my nasaly voice (an echo chamber in my nose!) OR it could be just bad processing! I certainly have a lot more to learn about sound
Oh, one thing that might help - there is a thing with voices, in particular, one's own voice. In general, every person I know finds the sound of their recorded voice to be strange and unfamiliar, and there is a reason for this.
We are the only ones who can hear our own voices from inside our own heads, and this is an acoustically very different place to outside our heads. Conversely, everybody else only ever hears our voice from outside our own heads, and this is the sound which is recorded. This is why everybody thinks everybody else's recorded voice sounds normal to them, whilst simultaneously thinking their own recorded voice sounds weird.
Rest assured, you'll get used to the sound of your recorded voice, and your acclimatisation will help you assess your own vocal recordings better as you gain experience.