Some Tips for Recording a Voiceover

I have previously written about my experience working for the University of Limerick’s student radio station. Part of the work I did for the station included recording voiceovers for advertisements and pre-recording segments for the different shows I presented throughout the years. As you may imagine, a volunteer-led radio station does not have access to high-tech sound booths or the best professional equipment. As such, I feel I became quite adept at making my bedroom recordings sound as good as possible. In this post, I’d like to share a few tips which might help should you ever need to record a voiceover, be it for a podcast, an E-Learning course, a presentation or any other such application.

The most vital aspect of making your recordings pleasing to listen to is the environment in which you record. There are few things more distracting to a listener than irksome background noise or echoes which are reminiscent of a cave. It is impractical for most people to sound treat their homes appropriately for recording, but here are a few options which you can try:

• The Wardrobe: It may seem silly, but your wardrobe is a ready-made sound booth waiting to be discovered. Simply create a space in the middle of your rack of hanging clothes and place your microphone there. The clothes to either side will act as sound-dampening and significantly reduce echo.
• Rugs and Blankets: Another option is to surround your recording area with mats, blankets or even cushions. Echoes result from your voice reflecting off hard surfaces. This effect is particularly noticeable in rooms with tiles or wooden flooring. Soft, sound-absorbent materials like rugs, fabric couches, carpeted floors, etc., will all help to reduce reverberations and bring your recording to the next level.
• Under the Duvet: Perhaps the best approach I have used is to record underneath the bedcovers. This method is a simple way of reducing background noise and echo to the minimum. You will be surrounded by material which deadens the sound. If you can put up with the heat, it’s worth exploring this method!

Before you begin reading your script, you should record a sample of the ambient sound in the place you are working. Simply hit record in your application of choice and remain completely silent for 10 – 20 seconds. You can then begin to present your points to the audience. I will outline how to utilise this sample later in this post.

When recording your lines, it is essential to make the editing process which will follow as straight-forward as possible. I recommend breaking your script into a bulleted list of sentences that flow naturally and focus on recording these passages in isolation. If you try to record too much at once, your edits will sound clunky and forced. If you have clear pauses between sentences and paragraphs, it is a more manageable process to cut what didn’t work and choose the best takes to create a high-quality piece.

With your material committed to virtual-tape, now it’s time to edit. I only have experience using Audacity for this purpose, so my tips here will reflect that:

• Use Your Ambient Sample: Remember that 10 – 20 second recording of silence from earlier? Select only this section of your audio file in Audacity. Click on Effect > Noise Reduction… and complete the analysis step with which the software will present you. Next, select your entire recording and again click on Effect > Noise Reduction… and use the dialog box to remove background sound from the file. This method can eliminate elements like the hum of your laptop, the hiss of your microphone, even the wind outside your window. It is by no means a fix-all solution, but this technique can elevate your work without requiring much investment on your part.
• Normalise: If you are using multiple files in your project (a recording of your voice and a .mp3 of background music, for instance) make sure to normalise your sound levels. Essentially, to “Normalise” brings sounds from different sources to the same loudness level. Normalising will prevent your audience from being disturbed by one piece that is much louder or quieter than the other. To normalise your audio, select all of your tracks, click Effect > Normalize… in Audacity and follow the instructions.
• Pitch, Speed and Tempo: These settings, found in the Effect menu can dramatically change how your recording sounds and flows. You could use the Change Pitch option to deepen or lighten a piece of audio. Changing the speed allows you to shave some time off the clip if you’re struggling for time, though this will also increase the pitch, so it is not ideal for use with voiceovers. Changing the tempo, on the other hand, will allow you to speed up the clip while maintaining the pitch. This tool is invaluable if you have a strict time-limit to meet. The setting is particularly useful on music and sound effects, as changing the tempo will have minimal impact on the pacing of the delivery of the content of the work.

Recording and preparing a voiceover can appear to be a daunting task. But by following some simple tips such as these, I firmly believe anyone can generate a recording that sounds highly professional. Needless to say, there are many more ways to improve your output quality other than those I have detailed here, but hopefully what I have discussed will set you on the right path when working on your pieces.

The Transition to Online Learning

For anyone reading this who is unaware, last Thursday saw Ireland introduce sweeping measures to attempt to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. One of these restrictions was the closure of all schools and third-level institutions in the country. As a result, the other on-campus students of the MA programme and I have now transitioned to studying online. While it has only been a few days, the change has already presented challenges and revealed to me some perspectives on how I like to work and learn. I’d like to use this post as an opportunity to reflect on these at this early stage and perhaps return to them as this crisis continues to explore whether my views change as this likely becomes the medium-term norm.

When deciding to embark on the journey of the MA last year, I spent some time considering whether to study part-time or full-time. I also had to decide whether to attend on-campus or remotely. It’s a testament to the flexibility of the programme that I had these options. I chose to study full-time and on-campus. I determined this route was for me not only because I was keen to complete the course in one year instead of two, but I was also aware that I thrive on routine. At the time, I felt having physical lectures to attend would be an essential motivator to ensure I performed to the best of my abilities. I also believed that I would find it much easier to engage with content In the physical setting of a classroom rather than solely accessing it online.

Having been forced to work from home for the past few days, I am convinced that I was indeed correct in my initial assessment.

The biggest challenge I have encountered so far is maintaining focus and motivation on the tasks at hand. Not being used to working in this environment, I have found it to be very distracting. Trying to concentrate on university work, when just to the left is a pile of laundry which needs ironing and folding, or knowing that the dishwasher has just finished its’ cycle and needs unloading is an unwelcome experience. Because I am living in a house-share, I do not have the luxury of being able to set up a dedicated study space. Instead, I have had to convert a corner of my bedroom to a quasi-office. I hope this will become easier as I become more accustomed to these arrangements, but I would be lying if I said this had not dramatically affected productivity.

Another difficulty is that of accessing material. Currently, I am working on a report for the TW5212 module. Not having access to the library’s selection of physical books is a limitation. While there is ample online resources available, such as e-Books, journals, articles and more, not all of the key texts which have become go-to sources of information over the past few months are accessible in this way. For now, I am working around this restriction. It has encouraged me to seek out a more diverse set of sources, which has expanded my knowledge of the field. However, I think that should the closures extend past the projected March 29^th target I will likely purchase some of the literature on which I have come to rely.

As this week contains a bank holiday, and because we are currently working on significant assignments, there are no new lectures this week. I am personally grateful that this will provide a period of transition before I will need to engage with new material via the virtual learning environment alone. While our lecturers have assured us that they will be on hand to provide the necessary support, I am concerned that not having the physical option to interface with will affect my learning experience negatively. I will need to adjust how I learn to accommodate this new situation, and only time will tell how successful I will be.

I do not wish this post to come across as overly negative. While what I have outlined are undoubtedly challenges, they are certainly challenges which will allow me to develop many skills. Learning to work more independently will be a benefit, as will gaining experience of remote-working software tools.

I am also acutely aware that the problems discussed pale in comparison to this health crisis. My temporary uneasiness is nothing compared to those directly dealing with this virus. If this period of disruption does indeed aid in the ultimate halting of this disease’s progress, then it will have been worth it, regardless of the impact on my personal learning experience.