The Art of the Voice Over
Scott McDonald talks to us about his work as a Voice Over artist, his set up and technique:
Scott in his studio with the iD22
The first commercial that I voiced was in California in 1985, and after that I worked many years in radio around the world, such as Lebanon and Israel, and Hawaii. But my professional voice over career really began in Finland. I began doing work at various studios around Helsinki in 2008. Corporate narration is the mainstay of my work.
I am happy to say that my voice has been on videos for most of the top corporations in Finland. Many of those are currently on YouTube.
But because we live about 2 hours away from Helsinki by train I decided to set up my own home studio. Slowly I began learning what is important for a good quality setup for a home studio. Most people starting out think that you mic selection is the most important thing. I discovered that the most important thing is getting your room into condition!
Once your room is good, then you can begin finding the right equipment to record in it. My room was finally put into condition about a year ago and the number of recordings I have done from there has steadily increased since then. Of course you need great quality cables! They may be pricey but worth it in the long run. At the moment I am using Mogami cables.
It seems like the focus for most voice talent setting up their home studio is on the mic and the mic pre. Those are both important, but I've discovered that your audio interface is very important as well.
I have some outstanding microphones and an excellent mic pre, but I found out that I was having problems with my audio interface. I had purchased a firewire interface from a well respected company, but my mac mini was often crashing, and I suspected it was caused by the firewire interface.
So I began searching for the "right" audio interface for me. What I was searching for was something with great AD/DA converters, that would be easy to connect with my existing equipment, and had excellent mic pres to get me another option from my existing mic pre.
I got turned off by the "breakout" cables on some interfaces and the complex software. What I wanted was something that worked right out of the box.
The Audient iD22 arrived a couple of days ago and it has found a permanent home in my studio. The converters sound great, and the outstanding mic pres give me another option when I need a slightly different sound. I love the ergonomics. My previous interface made me go into the software to mute the monitor speakers so I could record. The iD22 allows me to simply push a button, which saves me time.
And the drivers must be good as it has not crashed my mac mini, like the firewire interface did, at all!
Just wish it had come out sooner!
What made me choose the iD22?
I had been searching for a new audio interface that was not firewire. My previous interface, which was firewire, had been crashing my mac mini. I wanted something with great AD/DA conversion, that was simple to use, that had easy connections (no breakout cables) and had excellent mic pres. After reading some reviews about how the AD/DA converters on the iD22 held their own with interfaces costing 3 to 4 times as much that pushed me over the edge.
Lewitt LCT 940 into Audient iD22 Mic Pre and Converter to Mac
What are the main advantages of using the iD22 for voice over?
The fact that the converters are outstanding and the mic pres are as well can help produce great sounding audio files. That means less post production for me. I love the knobs on the unit and the fact that I can mute the monitor speakers with the push of a button rather than opening the software in the computer and clicking a virtual button. Saves me time. For long form narration little things like that can really add up.
Here is a A/B comparison of my previous interface and the Audient iD22.
What techniques do I use to get clear, pristine sound?
The sample I sent was just a normal recording using my vocal chain. Good mic technique is probably the most important thing after having everything set up correctly. I myself was amazed how good that file sounded. There was no compression or limiting on that file, but I did remove the mouth clicks and copied some "room noise" between the words to remove any unwanted noise or clicks.
My audio chain at the moment is this:
Lewitt LCT 940 hybrid mic, into a Great River ME-1NV preamplifier, into the iD22, to the mac mini via usb 2.0.
I have been testing the built-in micpres and will play around with them, and other mics to find out what combination sounds the most natural. So far I like the first one!
How do I approach compression?
In the past I have used an outboard compressor sometimes, the FMR Really Nice Compressor, and it is just that, really nice. But for most of the past year I have tried to avoid using a compressor. Sometimes I will use a "limiter" in post production. But if I can send a file, like the one I sent to you, that does not need any compression at all, that is the best. When you send a file to an engineer at a studio, they prefer to receive a file that is not compressed. If they want to add something to is later they can. But if it is processed already they have a problem. So, if I know the person using the file is the end user, and the file is not going to a studio for post production, then I may add some limiting to make it sound "louder". In an audition it might make it stand out from the crowd.
What do I do about breathes and noise?
Mouth clicks are the first to go. Then I may paste "room noise", (recording with the mic open but without making any noise) in between the words. Some do a cross fade in the space between the words, but I just paste in the recorded room noise.
What does the future hold for me?
God only knows that one. But I am happy that my work has increased from year to year and I am getting more clients all the time.
Webpage: www.scottsvoiceover.com
All the best, Scott McDonald