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Preparing
to record your audio
Want
to see a few first.
http://www.bluecollar905.com/
Podcast Radio Show
http://nbeatmusic.com/
In making
recordings, the goal is always to get a clear, undistorted
speech signal with as little noise as possible. Recording
interviews requires a little more preparation but the
principles are the same
Noise that will detract from or ruin signal quality for
acoustic analysis can include:
-
Any kind
of environmental noise
-
Speaker
movement, especially if movement impacts the microphone
or an object close to the microphone or phone.
-
Voice
overlap between speakers
-
Noise from
the computer system during transfer to computer
The best way
to minimize environmental noise is to record in a
sound-proofed or sound-treated room. To reduce the effects
of noise in an ordinary room:
-
Choose a
quiet location
-
Cover
large reverberant surfaces with blankets or cloths
-
Unplug
electrical appliances
-
Close
doors and windows
-
Turn off
lights and fans or air conditioning
-
Remove
anything that ticks, buzzes, bangs, rattles, squeaks,
hisses, or otherwise makes itself heard
-
Always
make a one minute black recording to see if there are
any noises you have missed.
-
Make sure
you log off any software application like chat programs
etc. There is nothing worse than almost getting to the
end of your recording and your mail or chat program
pipes in with a ding or what ever.
When recording
speech form texts it is usually possible to satisfy all, or
most of the above conditions. However, to record speech in
"natural" situations, speakers often must be
allowed to move around and interact with other people, with
objects, or with their surroundings. This makes it
substantially more difficult to get optimal recording
quality.
Software you can use to
record is Audacity a very good free recording and editing
studio. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Make sure you read the download instructions so you can
export to MP3 files.
Tips
on delivery:
-
Make it
conversational rather than professional. What some
people consider professional often resembles theatre
type acting (which seems fake). Where as conversational
speaking resembles movie type acting (which seems real).
.
-
Be you.
That doesn't mean you remain where you are without
making improvement. But optimize what you presently
possess. Most of what people consider detriments (poor
voice, not funny, etc.) can be developed into
advantages.
Pace
Tip
-
Develop
awareness. You should be able to feel your pace and
sense when you're going too fast or too slow. Feel your
breathing and your heart rate internally as you speak.
-
Use pauses
to highlight your point and also to add a little
variety.
Last but not
least is vary your tone so people will stay interested.
Exaggerate your voice a little and it will sound so much
better. This means increase and decrease the volume a little
and be a little expressive in your talk.
Microphone
Techniques.
If you do a
search on the web for this topic you will find thousands of
pages and it can become very confusing and complicated so I
am going to make this very simple for you without any
confusion.
Plug it in
and do some tests.
I suggest a
head phone mic for a couple of reasons. Firstly if you want
to read off the screen it gives you hands free to be able to
scroll through your text. This means no scuffling of paper
in the background. Secondly you will always be the same
distance from the mic so you wont have to worry about volume
variations so much.
Now the
fanatic audio guys will say you can't get a good sound from
them but from my experience you will get a good enough sound
and if later you want to get more technical then go out and
get the more expensive mic etc.
Obvious points
to remember when using amplification of any kind:
Pointing the microphone towards a speaker when you are too
close causes a high pitched noise called FEEDBACK.
Having the volume too high will cause FEEDBACK and
DISTORTION.
Incorrect wiring & connections can cause electric
shocks, equipment breakdowns, horrible humming or even pick
up the radio!
The most common mistake is holding the microphone too close
or too far from your mouth. This results in your vocal
sounding muffled and distorted, too distant or no vocal
sound at all. With a little practice this is easy to rectify
and should become a part of your rehearsal routine.
To avoid distortion, ensure the mic is held no closer than 2
to 3 inches from your mouth during normal vocalization.
You will have to experiment a little as the distance
is dependant on the individuals natural power and ability to
project.
Gradually move the microphone away as you continue to talk
or sing and listen to the effect - at what point does the
vocal sound start to fade? - That is your furthest point to
remember. The optimum distance for clarity is between the
shortest and furthest points.
There are times when you will be using more volume, hitting
higher or lower notes or almost whispering. Practice using
different distances and positions to see how using the mic
creates different effects.
Avoid moving the microphone closer to your mouth when aiming
for high or more powerful notes and practise using the
microphone to enhance or lessen certain effects until it
becomes second nature.
Phone
Recording -
Telephone Recording Adapter
Connect your
telephone or headset to a recording device such as tape
recorder or your PC to record telephone conversations. One
of our clients uses an old modem with voice capabilities.
There are heaps of them lying around.
Note: There is National and State legislation relating to
the recording of, and listening to, communications in your
country. Compliance with these standards should not be taken
to mean that any subsequent use of this equipment complies
with the relevant legislation. For further information on
Privacy Guidelines refer to government website.
Tip:
To record a phone
interview use the same method as for a normal recording
however make sure you have any call waiting or distraction
completely removed so the call will not be interrupted.
Unlike producing your personal audio file you usually only
get one chance at a phone interview.
Here are a few
pages on different recording hardware.
http://www.ahernstore.com/trx2035b.html
Of the two
telephone recorders available from Radio Shack, I personally
prefer 43-228
model over the 43-1237
model because the 43-228 is more likely to capture both
sides of the recording at equal volume levels.
And if you
really want to start getting professional and this is where
I am heading for because you can attach a proper mic and get
radio show quality productions and have full control over
your interviews then here is the Rolls Royce.
Talk Show:
Connect Innkeeper PBX between your console and your existing
multi-line telephone. Your producer can screen callers from
another phone while you take callers on the air by simply
selecting available lines on your phone.
Interviews: Use Innkeeper
PBX in your newsroom to record high quality interviews.
Connect a mic and headphones to your PBX telephone while
maintaining excellent separation between your voice and the
caller.
Conference Room: Easily connect your PA system to the
existing PBX telephone system. The echo canceller algorithm
can prevent feedback and allow full duplex conversations.
http://www.jkaudio.com/innkeeper-pbx.htm
As well as
the preparation suggested for interviews in general, you can
prepare for and deal with telephone interviews by:
-
Making
notes of those things you want to get across, your
strengths, relevant experience and qualifications,
skills you have and your evidence for them, reasons why
you are interested in this job, etc, and put them by the
telephone so that you can refer to them.
.
-
Having a
copy of your CV and application form to hand so that you
can refer to it if necessary.
.
-
Jotting
down the questions as they are asked so that you can
look at them as you answer.
.
-
Making
sure you are using a telephone which is situated where
you have some privacy.
.
-
To avoid
relaxing too much, stand up and smile whilst you are
talking to the interviewer!
The
good thing about telephone interviews is:
-
You don't
have to dress up for them.
.
-
You can
refer to notes whilst you talk.
.
-
They can't
see you grimacing, blushing, twitching, etc, so no need
to worry about body language.
http://learning.staffs.ac.uk/careers/careersweb/jhunting/ivtelephone1.html
When your
ready to step up with professional recording equipment Mike
Stewart the Internet Audio Guy is the man to see. Visit his
site and if he does not have what you want just ask and tell
him I sent you. http://www.internetaudioguy.com
Well I hope
this really gives you some food for thought. I have been
doing this for a number of years now and it has always
proven a better source of traffic than any other form of
promotion. Once you have made an your audio for your
interview save the project as two different files and then
work on one. I usually name them after the name of the
person I interview and call them 1 and 2. I work on the 2
file which I can then pull to bits. You can do all your
editing in Audacity and remove any bad or non needed bits
easily.
Once you have
it in a form your happy with get someone to go through and
type it out and you will have a another product you can
offer with the audio as a pdf. This is a great way of adding
content to your site for the search engines. There are
plenty of services that will do this for you however I have
found it much cheaper to use college students, single mums
etc and it gives them a little extra cash.
Finally you
can then add in some music, adds etc and make it almost like
a mini radio show. If you are not confident to make your
adds then just find some one with a good voice and write out
your adds and get them to speak them. Add some background
music and insert into your interview. You can also get one
of the many professional voice overs to create a few
professional adds for you. Hopefully you will be doing more
interviews over time so you will be able to use the same
adds etc over and over again.
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