What should I get with my computer?

B

boxsocial

Member
Hi (i am new here),

I don't know too much about it, but I am buying a new computer in a few months and I am working on a film that requires voice overs etc. Do you normally do the voice over into a mic that is connected to your computer? If so, what type of soundcard would allow a better mic connection without all that humming that some mics give off.
What is the best set up for this type of thing? I also want to create some sound effects with a few different items next to the mic.. etc.

Thanks :)

P.S. this forum rules
 
The can of worms you just open spilled all over my desk..thanks :)

A few questions; are you trying to get professional results (cuz if you are, you are going to pay) or are you looking at a student film/hobbist level?

Do you want a firewire/USB audio connection or PCI? What mics do you plan to use? What programs are you going to use? Have you considered the environment you are planning to record in? When you say voice-over do you mean narration or are you referring to ADR/looping?

Is there a studio in your area? Go take a tour, explain what you want to do and ask them for some input. More often then not they will be happy to talk with you and exchange tech talk.

BTW, it's the "etc" after voice overs that really has me concerned. :)

Cheers
 
wabbit said:
The can of worms you just open spilled all over my desk..thanks :)

A few questions; are you trying to get professional results (cuz if you are, you are going to pay) or are you looking at a student film/hobbist level?

Do you want a firewire/USB audio connection or PCI? What mics do you plan to use? What programs are you going to use? Have you considered the environment you are planning to record in? When you say voice-over do you mean narration or are you referring to ADR/looping?

Is there a studio in your area? Go take a tour, explain what you want to do and ask them for some input. More often then not they will be happy to talk with you and exchange tech talk.

BTW, it's the "etc" after voice overs that really has me concerned. :)

Cheers
Click to expand...

Haha, sorry as you can tell I am just learning now. Thanks for the reply :)

I am surprised how much I have actually learned in this forum. But with audio I am quite the newb. Basically I am looking to get decent results for a documentary that some people want to make in my area. Possibly submitted to film fests etc. I dont know where you would classify that as (student films i guess, but not so crap that it sounds horrible).

I dont know what type of connections really I want, I guess it depends on the price (i.e. pci or firewire).. as for mics I wasnt sure about the connection really (probably xlr if it is impossible to get good sound with a normal mic). I am not sure what you mean by ADR/looping (sorry the newb thing). But like a voice over in a documentary, or the occasional making a sound effect like slamming a door or something.

Hmm perhaps what I need can't be accomplished with some soundcard or sometihng of the sort to capture... ??
 
Oh all those worms...

It's very easy to create crap audio, much easier in fact than not. So First might be what platform are you on? I'm guessing Win since there aren't too many "sound cards" for the Mac. I would not use a sound card. I would get a FW or USB box, there is way too much noise inside a PC. A "normal" mic has XLR connectors, mini plugs etc are all consumer mics and have a high chance of being junk (though there are some decent ones out there), some XLR's are junk also but your odds are better.
You probably need some way to record away from the computer MD or something. Don't think your going to end up sounding like a hollywood film, you won't. There is a reason that it cost a lot to do a good sound job. It's not mostly equipment it's mostly experience and artistry. But you should be able to not have embarrassing sound and if your lucky and work really hard at it you might end up with good sound. The first hurdle though is to get decent sounding tracks when they shoot. It is incredibly hard to make bad tracks sound acceptable. It's a doc so you don't need much in the way of FX probably. Personally for VO I would look for a local musician that has a small project studio to record it. He/she will have a lot more experience at getting a good vocal sound.
I'm sorry if this isn't very helpful but your question is a little like saying I'm going to do this auto race so what kind of nito should I put in my tank. Your looking at a steep learning curve, and you could get hurt along the way.
SK
 
There are dozens of choices of audio interfaces you can get both internal and external.
If you want to plug a microphone into it - it will need to have a preamp, most sound cards with analogue inputs do not have preamps.

Take a look at the Digidesign M Box, it is a firewire or USB audio interface with a couple of XLR mic inputs (the preamps give phantom power for condenser microphones). You get Pro Tools LE software with this so you wouldn't have to have buy any additional audio editing software.
If it's too expensive there are slightly cheaper alternatives.
 
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