I'm learning how to do a voice over on Final Cut Pro. I have a Sony PCM-D50. My concern is that this recorder cannot be used to do voice overs on Final Cut Pro 7. That I will need a unit like Apogee One. Thanks for any help.

Can't you go direct to FCP via your computer?

Getting the room acoustics right is a huge part when doing voice over .. this'll help .. Harlan Hogan - Voice overs Narrations Commercials Promos (http://www.harlanhogan.com/portaboothArticle.shtml)
and this RDE Microphones - Podcaster (http://www.rodemic.com/mics/Podcaster)

The mics on the D50 while very good .. are not suitable for spoken voice work.

Cheers.

That't the information I needed to know. Thank you very much.

At my newspaper, our web-video suite had a USB mike on the edit Mac, and we just used the (very nicely done) voice over function in FCP. The advantage we found is that your voice-over person can see the video they are voicing and pace accordingly, right there on the timeline, and no importing and synching is needed.

Was also of great help when we had to voice in a second- language version.

You can use an external recorder, but why bother? This assumes you can have decent acoustics in your Mac area, of course. The USB mikes --- Audio Technica, Blue, Samson, MXL and others make them --- are reasonably priced. We had a Samson cardioid on one of those articulated arm supports that broadcasters use, worked a treat...

That's the information I needed to know. Thank you very much.

.. and when you're learning to do voice over from your script, record 2 or 3 takes of literally everything.

Don't rush it, recognise when you sound best, eg: I'm better after a nice malt whiskey then 6hrs sleep. Early in the morning is best, so I set the rig up the night before, black coffee and straight into it.

And when you're learning to do voice over from your script, double quadruple check every single detail, especially pronounciations and technical names.
If you've written 2 or 3 versions of something because you're not sure which is correct, which works or sounds best, record all of them straight off and choose later.

Setting things up again to exactly match the sound of what you've already recorded can be a nightmare, very difficult at any time but almost impossible when you're new at it. For your own motivation, keep a copy of your first script recordings and compare them with your later ones to check your progress, it works :) HTH.

Cheers.

I'm learning how to do a voice over on Final Cut Pro. I have a Sony PCM-D50. My concern is that this recorder cannot be used to do voice overs on Final Cut Pro 7.

I'm puzzled as to why you think a D50 won't work with FCP7. I've used mine many times for VO/looping, without any problems.

-- peer

The D50 is a great recorder. There should be no reason you can't use it for VO.

The reason NOT to use the D-50 (which I own and love) is that it is a stereo recorder. VO and dialog should be recorded mono, so the voice is right up the center. Stereo micing a voice can present phase issues and is just not not good cricket. Yes it CAN be done, but it's not correct. Disregard if you don't care about proper production techniques.

VO and dialog should be recorded mono

It "should" ...?

-- peer

Absolutely. You shouldn't for the reasons I described. Basically the voice, the main element of the presentation, loses focus. It's like recording in 3D. It makes no sense unless there's a reason for doing it, i.e. you want the effect.

You could say that rules are made to be broken though. But there should be a reason for a stereo VO. What's the reason you are consciously choosing to do a stereo VO? Not having the right gear isn't really a choice.

The other point which Chad has not touched on it, the D-50 mikes are hyper sensitive and even a slight breeze (from your mouth or other source) will create a thunder rumble.

I also love the D-50 and use it with an external mike (Rode NTG2). For screen shot tutorials I am now using the Audio Technica BPHS headset which has a broadcast quality mike (mono) and I can keep the mike at a constant distance when doing screen shot tutorials. The mike has a very shallow pick up area which cuts out 95% of computer fan noises.

For other voice over work I also use the Rode NT1a, a superb mike but very sensitive and picks up too much noise from the computer, so I am not using this for screen shot tutorials.

It "should" ...?

-- peer

Seconding Chad's advice. Unlike an orchestra where the sound is spread lateraly across a stage, the human voice is a single point-source of sound, it has no spread. It should come to the viewer of a video from a single point, dead centre in the image, the same it would if you were sitting in the audience listening to an in-person lecture and focussing your attention on the speaker. To have it to one side or the other of the image is disorienting. You record in mono and during post you pan that mono track equally into the left and right stereo channels for output.

Seconding Chad's advice. Unlike an orchestra where the sound is spread lateraly across a stage, the human voice is a single point-source of sound, it has no spread.

Yes, you are correct, the human voice is a "single point-source", but the human receptors -- our ears -- are two points. That's why we do voiceover/looping in stereo.

-- peer

"Yes, you are correct, the human voice is a "single point-source", but the human receptors -- our ears -- are two points. That's why we do voiceover/looping in stereo."
-- What mic config ? X/Y, MS, a Blumlein pair? Thanks for pointing out 'the-error-of my-ways. I'll run right out and buy another U87 for this afternoon's narration session. For a surround project, should I use five mics positioned around the head.. How about a 'belly mic' for LFE?

What mic config ? X/Y, MS, a Blumlein pair? Thanks for pointing out 'the-error-of my-ways.

From quite extensive research in an anechoic chamber we found that the best (and maybe easiest) way to do this is with a dummy head equipped with a pair of hi-end microphones.

-- peer

Yes, you are correct, the human voice is a "single point-source", but the human receptors -- our ears -- are two points. That's why we do voiceover/looping in stereo.

-- peer The binaural pair of ears allows us to localize a single point source of sound to the precise location from which it originates. When we hear it in stereo, we localize the source to a single point. When you are recording, you record a single source and place it on the stereo soundstage during the mix. Where is the appropriate point for voice-over, thus invisible, narration? Dead centre behind the screen. Stereo recording is for when the source is spread out across the sound stage or moving about within it. A narrator doesn't do the former and shouldn't do the latter. If you are recording music, OTOH, the violin more to the left and the trumpet more to the right makes sense. That kind of dispersion does not occur with a single person speaking.

So Peer, are you actually arguing that recording voice over in stereo is the proper way to do it, or is it that you are just sticking to your guns whether you are right or wrong? Why don't you ask some actual pros how it's done? A large diaphragm condenser is the De-facto mic to do VO, though a Senn MKH-416 is sometimes used for movie trailers. Sennheiser 421 is a dynamic option. I use the Rode NT2000, or the M-Audio Sputnik. But the Rode NT2a is just as good sounding as the NT2000, but is 200.00 less.

I understand if all you have is a D-50 or some stereo mic, but if you actually have an LDC and choose not to use it I suggest you do some real research on the subject of VO recording techniques. Do you realize we are trying to help you get a better sounding VO? We wouldn't argue with you if we didn't care. I want your work to sound as good as possible.

Here's a video about VO mics, and he doesn't even mention stereo VO recording as an option, much less a preferred method:

Getting Good Sound for Voice Over: Mic Shootout - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co3pO9GRSBs)

Maybe just consider that Peer has invested in a D-50 and that is what he wants to use. He has been given enough good information in this forum and maybe the next step will be to invest in a better mike. At the moment he just doesn't quite see the argument for using a mono mike, but that will come after a few recording sessions with the D-50.

Good luck Peer, let us know how the voice over work goes.

Indeed Vincent.

Good luck Peer!

A vanilla mix for 5.1 is as follows:

* All dialog is centered. This includes speech from on-screen actors as well as narrators. One exception would be for off screen voices. These may be panned off screen. Another situation is where the actors are shown in a cave. The echo to the non-center speakers is generally done in post from a mono source, rather than live with multi-channel mic'ing. This keeps the voice source solidly centered.

* Music is panned wide to avoid conflict with the dialog. Rather than realistic orchestral seating, basic seating is retained, but pushed wider. There may be some reverb on the back channels, but the musicians are not seated behind the viewer. For source music (music that appears to be generated from the scene), the source location may vary to enhance the illusion of the music coming from the scene.

* Sound effects and Foley may come from any location to immerse the viewer in the environment. On screen footsteps would be from front speakers. A flock of birds might go from front to rear. Cave drips might come from all around. However, avoid the center speaker if there is dialog. Big booms include the LF effects channel. (Music generally isn't routed to the LF channel, since different systems have difference cutoff frequencies. It's up to the system to handle their crossover and subwoofer.)

Of course, film sound is creative. These are guidelines, not rules. But it's good practice to keep the dialog centered and to not let it move around whatsoever. The phase changes of the end audio system and the room can't be predicted by the producer. Movement of the stereo image for dialog can have unwanted artifacts that are distracting and should be avoided.

Personally having done literally hundreds of paid studio VO sessions over my career, (in dozens of professional recording studios back before those became sorta obsolete) I can safely say I've never once stood in front of a stereo mic to do one.

Ty Ford who often hangs here does a lot of VO work as well.

I'm pretty sure he'll have the same report.

It just isn't typically done.

But if you like doing it, have fun, I guess.

Of course, in a pinch one could use a stereo mic and use a single channel. Kind of like shooting a 3D movie and making the 2D version by using a single view. There's no rule that you have to keep both channels.