Advanced Audio Engineering

An Extended Dive into Audio Post Processing

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Hosted by

Tony Wijs

Laneth Sffarlenn

Course Overview

Transform Voiceovers for You & Other VAs with Advanced Audio Engineering

You have a basic working understanding of how an equalizer or compressor plugin can be used to help tidy up your voiceover recordings to give them a professional sound, but what would you do if you had to re-record some dialogue in a different space - say a hotel room - which sounds completely different to your original audition or submitted recordings, and *you* must provide *finished audio* to match?

The example above is just one of a near-endless number of little tasks that audio engineers face today when working on both studio *and* remotely recorded voiceovers and ADR dialogue. Every voice actor’s home studio has a different acoustic profile, they all use different microphones and interfaces, and not all actors know enough about what happens to their tracks after they stop recording and send off the files.

Over the course of 6 weeks we will take you through time-saving project organization, definitions of and practical excercises in advanced techniques for equalization, compression, de-essing, analyzing & cleaning your noise floor, and much more.

Course Outcomes

Work Flow Efficiency:

Learn work flow tricks that can be applied in virtually any DAW, helping you increase your post processing efficiency.
Deeper Dives, Enhanced Skills:

Build upon the fundamental EQ & Compression skills taught in our introductory course, and learn some best practices and advanced techniques for some common plugins used to clean up voiceover recordings.
ADR, IR Reverb, and Working with Picture:

Learn about the engineering / post processing processes involved in ADR, what "Impulse Response" (IR) Reverbs are and how they can be used effectively, and follow along with the complete recreation of all sounds used in a movie scene.

Hosted By

Tony Wijs

Tony is a seasoned audio producer with over 10 years of experience. After getting his bachelors in audio production, he began to freelance on many productions including sound design, video production, and documentaries. He has extensive knowledge in the voice acting field and can be heard in video games such as Overload and Empire of Sin, has voiced Spider-Man and other characers in electronic reader books for Marvel, and has voiced many commercials on major networks including ABC.
He is the co-founder and CEO of Immersed Productions which specializes in voiceover demo production, casting, podcast editing, and sound design for video games.
If he’s not out recording new and original sounds for a project, he’s hanging out with his son gaming and playing music.
Laneth Sffarlenn

Neth joined Tony as his regular TA and off-sider in the Audio Engineering department of Closing Credits almost immediately after taking the original Audio Engineering 101 class, and went on to assist in writing accompanying course notes as well as helping to write and develop the Demo Engineering and Advanced Audio Engineering classes.
A part-time actor with over a decade of experience across stage, screen, and voiceovers, Neth also brings a lifetime of administrative experience and near-obsessive organisational skills to the school, thriving in their ever-evolving role that supports both Closing Credits staff and the student community.
When not tumbling farther down the rabbit hole that is audio engineering and sound design, Neth can be found helping folks learn to use REAPER or lost in the far away worlds of story driven games or fantasy novels.

Course Outline

Routing & Signal Flow

After greetings & introductions, dive right in and learn the different names given to different types of tracks in various DAWs and their uses, and then learn how to set up a color coding system to help future you stay organised. Then a practical walk through on Signal Routing in both REAPER and Studio One will finish off this class.

Advanced EQ Techniques & Tips

After discussing the different types of EQ hardware & plugins and their uses, you’ll learn about the concept of “Ear Training” and how it can be a beneficial long-term practice. We’ll then explore about how equalization can be used to make the same voice actor sound as similar as possible, despite them having recorded on two different mics in two differently treated rooms.

Advanced Compression Techniques & Tips

This lesson will start in a similar way to last week, with a discussion on the different types of compressors - both hardware units and plugins - as well as how-and-why they would have been used. Then Tony will give examples of the different *kinds* of compression techniques that can be used, with explanations on how-or-where each might be useful.

Post Production Clean-Up Techniques

We’ll open this week with discussion about how to measure & clean up the noise floor in a recording, and why this is one of the most important first steps to take before doing any other work on voiceovers. We’ll then discuss the processes of de-essing, de-clipping, and de-reverb, and how they can be successfully applied to voiceover recordings.

ADR, IR Reverb, Scene Recreation Discussion

In this case study-style lesson, Tony will direct Neth in a mock ADR session to record some pickups for a scene from a film. Tony will then demonstrate how to take Neth’s raw audio recording and replicate the space(s) that their dialogue pickups will appear in. This type of reverb-matching / replication is an incredibly powerful tool to have in your mixing arsenal!

Working with Picture - Scene Recreation & Sound Design

This final class is also a kind of case study, however Tony will be taking student through the process of completely rebuilding the audio bed, sound effects, and dialogue tracks of a video. This will not only practically demonstrate some of the skills learnt in prior weeks, but will also provide a “live” example of project organisation, sourcing and using music and sound effect files, and learning how to place and process each of these elements in a stereo field and how that differs to working with voiceovers that are typically mono on their own.

Course Schedule

2-4 hours per week

Tuesdays

7PM-8PM EST

Our live sessions happen every Tuesday evening.
Homework

~ Varies

The homework for this class is more a series of exercises for personal practice and experimentation. Students can submit their work for feedback if they like, but it is not compulsory.
Pre-requirements

Soft Recommendation

Previous audio production knowledge and experience strongly recommended.
This class focuses on more advanced post production engineering techniques and skills - it is recommended (and preferred) that students take the introductory Audio Engineering for Voice Actors course to develop fundamental skills prior to taking this course.
Software Used

REAPER, Studio One, Soundly

The primary software used in this class will be REAPER as it has a 60 day free evaluation period and one of the lowest registration costs of any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) available on the market.
Studio One may also be used in lesson examples. Neither software is required as the skills taught can be applied in any DAW of your choice.
Programs like Audacity and Ocen Audio are not 'true' DAWs, and are not recommended for more advanced / involved audio engineering post processing.

Course Benefits

Interactive Weekly Classes

This class has an instructor, a TA, and dedicated discord channels for current and Alumni students for peer networking, assistance, and feedback.
Recorded Class Videos & Extra Downloadable Content

If you need to review a class or want to learn more, the content will always be ready for you via your student dashboard.
Ongoing Feedback & Support

Keep in touch with your classmates, as well as the instructor and TA, well beyond the end of the course; keep growing your skills and passion!

Frequency Asked Questions

What happens if I miss a class?

We will record the live session for you to review.

What is your refund policy?

No refunds. Please be sure you want to take the course before you purchase it.

Do I have to turn on my video during sessions?

If you are uncomfortable showing your face on video, you don’t have to. It is helpful for instructors to watch your gestures and your movements in order to properly assess you as a student, but it’s not required.