Blog Improving Your Sound Quality
Finding the most perfectly clear sound may seem like a white whale. Or a windmill giant. Or a holy grail. Or your other preferred literary metaphor for a difficult dream. The truth is, upping your audio quality involves neither intense processes nor Scrooge McDuck finances. No matter your skill level or budget, solutions abound to help you craft professional results that don’t require intense processing. Our audio engineering instructor Tony Wijs provides some excellent advice on what steps you can take to make your recording setup so squeaky clean you barely hear anything beyond the sounds you want to hear.
Maximum clarity with minimal time wasted—that’s the goal!
Improving Your Space
Environment actually has more of an impact on your final sound than your equipment! A USB mic in a well-treated space produces much higher-quality audio than an XLR mic with extensive background noise. Regardless of your equipment, the first step to improving your audio will always involve deadening your environmental sound using as much porous material as you can get.
Walk-in closets, PVC booths, and blanket forts alike all benefit from additional “reflections” that you get from using absorptive materials. These valuable acoustic upgrades can be any of the following:
Interior upgrades are the easy part. It’s the keeping out annoying city sounds out of your recordings, such as traffic, construction, and leaf blowers. Most of the time a good condenser microphone should work just fine even in these intense situations. However, if you’ve already deadened your sound as much as you’re able and still pick up loud noises you can’t control, you may want to invest in a dynamic mic or a shotgun condenser mic. These are often used in cities like Beijing and Tokyo where actors contend with a near-constant barrage of external environmental noises.
Make sure you do not set up your microphone near a window. The closer you are to a window, the more likely you are to accidentally pick up sounds wafting in from outside.
If worst comes to worst, you can always record in your car. It’s an insulated space that offers better sound dampening than a poorly-treated studio.
Improving Post-Production
Although your primary focus when boosting your sound quality should be upgrading your space, you do have the ability to improve things after the recording wraps up. Remember that too much processing can degrade your audio quality, so the goal is to make the initial recording as close to perfect as possible. Luckily, there are tools to help with creating a clear sound that won’t result in an overly “processed” file.
Tony highly recommends the iZotope RX products for their de-noise feature. It’s available through both their standard and their elements options, and the company runs heavily discounted specials throughout the year. RX possesses the sensitivity needed to parse your voice from subtle background noises, and users can toggle with the degree of de-noising they desire.
Tony also speaks highly of Waves NS1 as a great tool for post-production noise reduction. Not every digital audio workstation (DAW) program possesses a de-noise function, so you may need to purchase and import RX or Waves NS1 as a plugin. They’re both handy tools for crafting clear, crisp audio and reducing any lingering issues that may arise after you’ve invested in sound-reducing measures in your studio space.
Improving Audio with Closing Credits
The Closing Credits community offers a plethora of different resources to help you give your audio a boost, no matter your budget or space! We offer audio engineering classes (including one specifically for voice actors) as well as a Discord server where you can connect with other audiophiles to trade tips or ask advice. No matter if you’re looking to explore your gifts with music, voice acting, sound design, video games, audio dramas, or other mediums, our community is happy to help you with whatever you need to achieve your goals.
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As with any profession or trade, it takes time for people to master their craft; voice acting included. A weekend seminar at a famous studio or a week long boot camp ...
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Voice Acting
Voice Acting 201
Over the next 12 classes we will take you on the ride of a lifetime as we put you in the front seat of your emotional rollercoaster. You will work on techniques ...
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Now that you’ve discovered how to use your instrument properly and how to bring emotional context into your words, it’s time to learn how to put it all together and learn how to act.
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Voice Acting
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There are many forms of narration from corporate, e-learning, tutorials, Documentary, Podcasting, In-Show (Series VO) and more. This course was designed to advance your skills in this lucrative genre.
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Voice Acting
Authentic Commmerical Voiceover
In this course, you will learn how to approach any Commercial script and, by answering a few simple questions, find a voice that is authentic, conversational, friendly, & confident – without having to do any research on power saws.
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Voice Acting
Becoming a VO Solopreneur
Core training of how to's of becoming a solo-preneur in the voice over industry and learn the tools, tricks and techniques of building a solid foundation as a DBA/LLC business in the first year. ...
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Voice Acting
Mastering Characters
Build a recreatable catalog of characters with the ability to perform and sustain them. Gain specialized insights in the animation genre of voiceover along with strategies and tactics to advance your craft ...
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Voice Acting
Business for Voice Actors
The side of voice acting that is seldom taught but is just as important is the business. What price should you charge? What are the advantages you can promote locally, online, and in foreign markets?
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Voice Acting
Audiobook Voice Acting
One of (if not) the fastest growing market segments for voice acting is audio books. It requires you to take on the role both of actor (a full cast!) as well as director, and oftentimes sound editor and proofer!
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Voice Acting
Applied ADR
ADR/Dubbing is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production in which additional or supplementary recordings are synced and mixed with original production sound to create a finished product.
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Audio Engineering
Demo Engineering
This course is designed to assist you through technical production of your own voice over spots that showcase your brand and talents. This voice-specific audio engineering course takes you behind the scenes to lay out step ...
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Audio Engineering
Audio Engineering for Voice Actors
You will be given audio examples and practical projects that relate closely to real-world professional practice. This is a hands on course designed to guide you, step-by-step, along the path to possessing a strong
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Audio Engineering
Advanced Audio Engineering
Post Processing for Voice Actors. Train your ears and improve your mixes. Every voice actor’s home studio has a different acoustic profile, they all use different microphones and interfaces, and ...
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Acting
Improv!
Improvisation is life, literally. You will learn about the fundamentals of short-form improvisation. Through this curriculum, you will gain an abundance of self-confidence, empathy and kindness for ...
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Acting
Improv for Actors
Train your instincts! Improvising is a learnable skill, not just something you’re born with. We will explore beats and instincts and develop skills for listening and being active and reactive ...
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Video Editing
Video Editing For Voice Actors
Do you see video editing as a technical puzzle, form of art, or work of magic? From recording a vlog in your bedroom to the latest Marvel flick, modern storytelling lives and breathes through the audiovisual ...
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Intro to Writing Professionally
The course is designed to guide participants into creating a productive writing space and habit, develop strong characters, build a cohesive plot, and enter the publishing world with some ...
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Creating Manga and Webcomics
Creating Manga and Webcomics will fine tune your art skills and knowledge in preparation for the creation of high quality manga and webcomics. We will go through the steps of understanding themes, building up a ...
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Music Composition 101
This course prepares the student to realize, express and create music for new media including Video Games and Film with a focus on real world skills. Students will prepare a wide variety of compositions in ...