You must maintain these during your voice recording

In the last post, we learned the prerequisites for better sound. It is basically about setting up the proper environment for recording.

If you fulfill those prerequisites, what is next? Will any sound you capture be good, or do you need to do something special during recording?

In this post, we will learn the steps we must follow during recording.

It does not matter how good your recording environment or equipment is if you fail to follow this fundamental during recording.

You will not have good enough audio data for later processing.

So, what is the one thing you must follow during recording? Can you guess it?

Well, it is your distance from the microphone.

From all the advice you get from YouTube videos, you may think the input or recording level is the most crucial thing during recording.

Certainly, that is important, but the distance from the mic to the mouth is more important than that.

Why is it so? If you remember, I talked about the Signal to Noise Ration (SNR) in the last post.

If the SNR is strong, you will have better-quality audio with less noise. If the distance from the mic to your mouth is adequate, your SNR will be okay. If the distance is greater than it should be, the SNR will be low.

Low SNR means your audio has more noise than the accepted level.

Let me tell you what is the problem with that. Let’s assume an AC unit is running in the corner of the room. It is causing a little bit of hissing noise in your recording.

You now conduct 2 recording sessions. In the first session, you recorded from a 6-inch distance from the microphone.

In the second session, you recorded from 12 inches from the microphone. Let’s assume there was no other difference between the 2 recording sessions.

You process both recordings exactly the same way, and their final volume level is also the same.

What would be the difference when you listen to it?

Well, the second recording will have more hissing noise.

Because the second recording had a lower noise floor compared to the first recording.

That’s why it is important to record from a proper distance. The proper distance from the mouth to the mic is around 6-8 inches.

The distance can vary based on the purpose of the voice-over and how loud you generally speak. For meditation or ASMR voice-over, you need to get closer to the microphone.

You will need to maintain a proper distance for audiobook narration or podcasts.

Recording too far from the microphone will not only cause higher noise but also strong sound reflections.

However, recording too close to the mic can cause excessive plosives, mouth clicks, excessive mouth noises, proximity effects, etc.

It is about finding a proper balance and maintaining that throughout the recording.

Another important thing to consider when recording is the input or recording levels.

Your recording level should not exceed -6 dB in the recording meter. If you do that, it can cause clipping or distortion in the recording.

However, we have moved from analog to digital recording. Even with the wrong input level or gain, we can still get a proper recording. The proper distance from the mic to the mouth will determine this.

In the Analog era, the recording level was critical. You didn’t have that flexibility then.

In the digital era, it may not be critical, but getting it right can help you easily achieve pro-quality audio.

The last point I want to discuss today is the head position during speaking. It would be helpful not to move your head too much during recording.

If you move your head too much sideways, front or back, the recording will have a different tone in different places. This will certainly make your recording seem unprofessional to others.

It is important to record in a consistent tone for voice-over or audiobook narration.

If you record the same voice-over or audiobook over multiple sessions, you should note your talking angle and distance from the microphone.

That way, you can ensure your recording will have a similar tone overall.

If I summarize this post, the main points are:

• Maintain proper distance from the microphone throughout the recording

• Maintain a similar head position during the recording

• Try to record in the recommended input level or recording level

In the next post, I will talk about the mindset of post-processing. 

You may wonder what mindset has to do with audio processing. Well, if you can’t focus on your goals, your post-processing will not produce better results.

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