The softcover edition of Recording Voiceover: The Spoken Word in Media from Focal Press is a comprehensive guide for engineers looking to understand the process of capturing the spoken word. By addressing all phases of the recording process, Recording Voiceover discusses everything from microphone selection, per-production, and studio setup, to working with and directing voice talent, and strategies for reducing or eliminating distracting noise elements found in human speech.
The book features in-depth recommendations for recording radio and television commercials, corporate communications, documentaries, tracks for gaming and animation, radio drama, interviews, and roundtable discussions. Special attention is given to the final release format and how it impacts recording strategies, as well as explorations into using telephone interfaces, both analog and digital ISDN, and recording across the internet.
- Introduction
- A Life in Sound
- A Bit About This Book
- The Making of a Superior Voiceover Recording
- A Short Case Study
- The Voice in Media
- Information Theory
- The Beginning of Digital Audio
- Historical Precedents
- Psychoacoustics
- Reverberation
- The Disembodied Voice
- Recording Foreign Languages
- Room Acoustics
- A Word on Project Studio Acoustics
- Studio Design and Acoustics
- Microphones
- Fundamentals of the Human Voice
- Microphone Design Types
- Polar Response
- Frequency Response
- Microphone Experiments
- Dynamic Microphones
- Condenser Microphones
- Digital Microphones
- USB Microphones
- The Engineer
- The Engineer at Work
- Collaboration – Communication – Responsibility
- Multitasking
- Building a Sense of Trust
- Preparation
- The Team
- The Studio
- A Few Simple Truths
- Lighting
- The Script Easel
- Seated or Standing?
- Monitoring
- Video Monitoring
- Keep it Organized
- Additional Considerations
- The Session
- Documentation and Notes
- The Co-producer Role
- Working With the Voice Talent
- Some Tips and Tricks
- Documentation (Part II)
- Studio Weirdness
- Your Personal Recording Space
- The Basics
- The Space
- Modifying an Existing Space
- Custom Designing a Studio
- Prefabricated Voice Booths
- Hardware
- Software
- Delivery – The Remote Session
- Additional Costs
- The Matter of Trust
- Recording for Commercials
- The Dictatorship of the Clock
- How Long is Too Long?
- The Commercial Session
- Insert Lines and Redos
- Editing and Intercutting
- After the Session
- One Final Word
- Recording Long-Form Narration
- The Long-Form Session
- Documentation
- Recording to Picture
- Further Thoughts on Long-Form Narration
- Recording for Games and Animation
- Game Voice Recording
- Recording for Animation
- Watch Your Levels!
- An Experiment in Voice Recording
- Recording Interviews and Roundtable Discussions
- Interviews
- Video Interviews
- Boom and Shotgun Mic Techniques
- Recording Roundtable Discussions
- Live Mixing of Roundtable Discussions
- More Voiceover Opportunities
- Voice Response
- Public Announcements
- Web Content
- Voice Talent Demos
- Audio Books
- The Wacky World of Toys
- Audio Tours
- Something Completely Different
- In Conclusion
- That’s a Wrap
- Building the Sense of Trust
- Your Insurance Policy
- A Passion for Voice