What to record audio on for TV commercial?

G

gzsnow906

Active member
Ok, so I shot a commercial for a local skateshop. The footage turned out great but the voiceover didn't turn out as well as i hoped. It was recorded using the sound booth at my school and I thought that would work great. It sounded fine on my computer but on TV it just wasn't up to the par I hoped for. Anyone have any advice?? I don't want to be churning out generic, shitty, local commercials.
 
If you want a really good, pro sounding voiceover, you need to use a GOOD large diaphragm studio condenser mic. I frequently use the AKG C414 for voiceovers and I get amazing sound with absolutely no sweetening needed in post.

If a good mic isn't available, then do some stuff with EQ--bring out your lows, lower your mids, and tune your his to where you've got a crisp, but full sound. You can also use an aural exciter (something like the Behringer Ultrafex Pro or the Nady MSE-100 for a cheap exciter-- others like TC Electronics or Marshall for the more expensive ones) to give you some bigger, richer sound. Depending on what audio program you're using for your post, you may have some plugins that will give you these effects.

You can do a lot on your audio in post, especially if you have good plugins or outboard processors. But it's hard to beat the beauty of a good mic for your initial recording.
 
that was the problem. i thought i was using a good mic at the university. they have a full sound booth and all of that. dont remember what the mic was or the software. and i dont have any access to any of the stuff u mentioned above other than maybe calling one of my professors who works at a local tv station.
 
Yes, use a large diaphragm condenser mic, a pop filter, and have the talent eat the mic. A large diaphragm dynamic will let you take advantage of the proximity effect. If you can, stuff as many tubes in the signal chain as possible. Use a tube mic into a tube preamp if you can. And again, have the talent eat the mic.

I’ve heard rumors that some voice over guys bring in their own shotgun mics and get really close to them. It’s supposed to really bring out the proximity effect. I don’t know, I’ve never tried it.
 
gzsnow906 said:
Ok, so I shot a commercial for a local skateshop. The footage turned out great but the voiceover didn't turn out as well as i hoped. It was recorded using the sound booth at my school and I thought that would work great. It sounded fine on my computer but on TV it just wasn't up to the par I hoped for. Anyone have any advice?? I don't want to be churning out generic, shi*ty, local commercials.
Click to expand...

Before you can work out a fix you need to diagnose the exact cause of the problem. Just saying "it's not up to par" doesn't adress the issues of exactly WHY it isn't up to par - kinda like calling up the doctor and saying "I don't feel well, what should I do to feel better?" So exactly what are you hearing (or are not hearing) that you feel needs to be fixed?

"Sounded fine on the computer" ... on bargain "multimedia" speakers or did you mix using real studio monitors in a calibrated setup? Did you maybe mix on headphones?

Did you check by listening with your tracks mixed to mono to insure there were no phase problems when the original stereo audio tracks were collapsed to mono for broadcast?

What did they do to get from your edited output to get it from the computer to the TV broadcaster - ie, what was your delivery format and how did you get it from the computer into it? Did you do any mastering equalization and compression for the final render off of the computer?
 
You should obviously post a clip of the "sub-par" audio in question.
(Sometimes it is the voice talent that is not "up to par", hehe)
 
gzsnow906 said:
compressed but this was the commercial

http://blip.tv/file/851157?filename=Wildcatzx2-GroundZeroCommercial15Sec631.mov
Click to expand...

One thing I immediately notice is your VO announcer needs to learn to pitch his voice. He sounds like he's talking from high in his chest, using the muscles in his upper chest and that gives a certtain nasal quality to his reading. He needs to learn to bring his voice up from the diaphram and pitch it to his natural resonance. It may sound silly, but if you sing scales for a few moments you can actually feel the pitchs where your voice has the most power.

The snare hits in the background music don't match well to the dialog, giving it a noisy, crackly sound as they interact with the announcer's voice. The rhythm of the music also doesn't match the rhythm of the speech. Maybe rethink the music.

Make that "cymbal hits"
 
Last edited:
When I do voiceover work, I find a room that has no moving air system and use the Sure SM7 (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SM7B/). I get the actor really close to the mic to give it that nice bass sound and then cut out all the breathing etc. between lines later. Maybe you could find a place to rent the the SM7B?

In this clip specifically though, I agree with Steve House. The music might be the most distracting part.
 
plus the vo has no emotion to it whatsoever, I can tell he is just reading the lines, I agree that changing the music might be your only savior, unless you can do a new VO all together
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top