Pilot for conservation charity
 

A pilot I produced for a charitable trust. We're now working on a series of projects to try to attract sponsors.

Re: Pilot for conservation charity
 

Maybe give the narrator another shot with an upgraded recording chain. She sounds like she was recorded with the camera mic.

Re: Pilot for conservation charity
 

Thanks Duane. I need more experience with sound. I get inconsistent results, too, despite trying to keep everything the same from one recording to the next.

She was recorded with a Samson USB mic direct into Adobe Audition. My studio has sound absorbing surfaces to minimise echo. That's all I've done to prepare for recording v/o.

I set up Audition to match the Prem Pro project and after editing I output to .wav.

With all this in mind, what else can I be doing to improve sound quality?

Re: Pilot for conservation charity
 

Beg borrow steal a good mic, pre-amp and converter. If you're stuck with the current recording, I would add some dynamics to the track. The narrator is louder at the beginning of her phrases and then trails off towards the end. Some compression will even this out. The Samson has a hard edge, some EQ may help.

Re: Pilot for conservation charity
 

Thanks Duane. I've spent most of the last four years learning Premiere Pro so my skills with Audition are quite poor.

I need to look up some of the terms you used, like compression and EQ. I'm guessing that I can add dynamics with Encore by bumping up volume in parts where she goes quieter, maybe using keyframes. And EQ is surely adjusting parts of the frequency range to give more top, bottom or middle.

What is required to take the hard edge off the Samson mic and improve her tone? I record her with the levels falling just shy of the red zone but she isn't so loud in Premiere. Do I need to look at the level of the music and drop that down a bit?

As far as kit is concerned, I have what I have, and don't know anyone to beg or borrow from, so getting the best from my current set-up is my preferred option for now. The pilot did its job and secured me the regular gig, so I won't re-record. In fact, we will be recording a v/o for a new film next week, so anything you can suggest to prevent similar problems will be much appreciated.

Re: Pilot for conservation charity
 

Congratulations on getting the job, that always rocks.

You can process the audio in premiere pro. Under audio plugins add dynamics to the track. Deselect everything except the compressor. Start with a lower ratio and turn threshold until you start to hear the volume of the loudest peaks controlled. Use the makeup gain to add volume. While the adobe compressor isn't the best, it's not horrilble for voices.

Re: Pilot for conservation charity
 

Thanks again, Duane. I can imagine a whole world of audio adventures opening up for me and I'll start by exploring dynamics.

This forum has been so helpful to me. I look forward to the day I can help others, too.