Undercover recording - maybe a useful tip?

[johnnyenglish]

This is a new one to me, (but then I'm pretty much a newbie anyway!) but I thought I would put it out there.

Discussing (sounds posh and official, eh?) my recording levels on the Audacity Forum, I discovered that I
had an 'empty room' type echo. Hadn't noticed it myself, to be honest. Anyway, I asked (quite seriously,) if
I might get a better sound if I was under my duvet, instead of on top of it.

Got this link in responce...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq2yoVwpRs8

So, I thought I would give it a go.

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/on_duvet.mp3

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/under_duvet.mp3

They sound pretty different to me, but Kos said that they were much of a muchness -
just slightly different volume - probably due to getting closer to the mic.

However, I still think this could be quite useful, if you could rig up a sort of 'tent' around
your 'recording booth'. Don't have the finances, facilities, or space myself - but if anyone has
tried it - or would like to - I would be most interested in hearing the results!

[annise]

If you go hunting around the forums you'll find many ideas for dealing with background noise and reflected noise - our readers are very creative. And many are economical. They record in cars, closets. hang bedding round their microphones, make a portable booth from something they buy at Walmart, construct a wooden lined box, use a digital recorder in bed under the blankets, Use acoustic foam, folded blankets...... I'm sure there are more.

However this is LibriVox and our aim is to produce books that sound as though a friend is reading them to you. We admit some friends are better readers than others and suit some books more than others, but we don't worry if the recording sounds warm and homely, or say aks not ask, or are American women reading Sherlock Holmes...

Anne

[tovarisch]

Johnny, you are right! A heavy blanket reduces the air vibrations (otherwise known as "sound") when the waves pass through it, by converting kinetic energy into heat. Echo is reflected sound from hard surfaces around the sound source. To cover the distance from the source to the reflecting surface and from the surface to the microphone takes the sound wave some time. Multiple reflections each adds a reduced echo of the original pressure front, causing the reverberation effect. A blanket between the source and each hard surface reduces the energy of the reverberation twice: first on the way from the source to the hard surface, then on the way from the hard surface (the reflected wave) to the microphone. Placing a blanket around the sound source along with the microphone, effectively blocks the paths of all reflected sound.

An acoustic blanket I use has the rating of 80% (the part of the sound that gets absorbed). The echo (reverberation) does still exist, it's just very, very faint (theoretically reduced by 96%). The blanket rests on a structure I built from PVC pipes, sort of a tiny house without one wall. It surrounds me sitting at a desk with my "audio workstation", blocking virtually all the walls and the ceiling. Works great. I don't use it for all my recordings, though. Why? Because it's not that important.

Would a noisy recording (police sirens going off at a distance, caged birds chirping, wall clock chiming) be OK? I suppose so, if the text is interesting and delivery matches the content. Can a no-reverb, "dry" studio, sound be "meh"? No doubt. Should we disregard sound quality?

[annise]

I wasn't advocating ignoring sound quality - if I were planning to read you a story, I wouldn't move us both to the middle of a freeway or turn the TV on. I'd pick somewhere quieter. But not a soundproof room.
If your hobby is making a recording studio go ahead, but if it's recording for us there is usually no need.

Anne

[johnnyenglish]

Ta for the replies - useful comments, most appreciated!

I think the folks at Audacity are more focused on acheiving recording or sound levels that
will be accepted at a professional level, (i.e. Some begger would be willing to stump up some
dosh for it,) so perhaps they are a bit too, er... picky?

As I mentioned, I hadn't even noticed the 'echo' thing until it was pointed out to me - I was
more concerned with trying to get the pacing right, so that it would be comfortable to listen to.
(And, of course, having a jolly good time doing it! )

I admit that, personally, I did initially have some concerns over the mastication sounds resultant from
my deficiency in the teeth department, but I'm over that now!

(I listen to a lot of Big Finish Doctor Who - there are ways and means - and I noted that David Bradley,
reading the 1st Doctor, actually incorporates gasps for breath, sticky mouth sounds and all that, into his
performance. Okay, so he is a pro - but it just goes to show that it isn't necassarily a bad thing - I reckon.)

[lurcherlover]

Generally speaking professional recordings have high production values and the quality of the narration is pretty high. Listeners are put off by noisy backgrounds and sloppy readings. Having said that, there are some who record for LV who achieve not only very high production values but also an extremely high level of narration.

The difference is that when listeners pay to download a reading on certain platforms, they expect professional standards, whereas on LV listeners accept that there is a wide variation of downloads, because of the nature of volunteers producing the free recordings. This of course is an admirable thing as it provides people who can't afford the downloads with a way of hearing books that they are unable to read, for various reasons, or who just like being read to. The concept of someone reading you a bedside story is a good one, but in those domestic situations people may well accept the intimacy and cosiness of a family member reading (often to children) more readily than they might accept a stranger reading over the worldwide web.

So maybe encouraging reasonable recording standards and good narration would help to get even more listeners to use LV - but at the same time allowing lower standards where readers may still be improving and learning. Of course we can give them all the help they might need on both these fronts, as many LV volunteers already do.

P.S. The idea of the blanket has been around for decades, as journalists, reporters and broadcasters have been recording clips in their cars under a blanket, as a quick and dirty way to get the item onto the airwaves as soon as possible.

[annise]

So are you saying we don't encourage people to improve? I'd disagree with that - we do.
And if I'm reading to a child I do my best - I think it's more important to give children high-quality readings than it is adults - it encourages their minds to grow

Anne

[johnnyenglish]

Chill, Dudes!

Getting back to my favourite subject - me! - I have done a few more experiments, and come to the
conclusion that I actually prefer my recordings without the blanket!

Okay, it may not be up to 'professional' standards, but until some geezer actually coughs up some dosh
for me to do sumfink - I honestly don't give a monkey's about that!

At the mo', my main ambition is to (hopefully,) produce something that Folks will enjoy listening to -
it's as simple as that!

BTW: I have never had much success reading to kiddies - they tend to fall asleep after I've been reading for a minute or two...

I just hope I don't have the same effect on LibriVox users!!!

[Availle]

BTW: I have never had much success reading to kiddies - they tend to fall asleep after I've been reading for a minute or two...

I just hope I don't have the same effect on LibriVox users!!!

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=74778

[lurcherlover]

So are you saying we don't encourage people to improve? I'd disagree with that - we do.
And if I'm reading to a child I do my best - I think it's more important to give children high-quality readings than it is adults - it encourages their minds to grow

Anne

No, I wasn't quite saying that, but more that they might get the impression that they can jog along and it would be OK, as some do seem to occasionally think along those lines. We can't pressurise them, but gentle hints that we can aim high may not go amiss. But by the very nature of voluntary work it should only be hinted at.

[johnnyenglish]

Dear Availle,

All I can say is 'chuckle, guffaw, giggle,' sounds like a laugh!

If you have any suggestions, I'm happy to play...

(I don't actually know any boring books - I just have a boring voice! Well, according to the kiddies! )

However, if it is something so tedious that I fall asleep reading it - I accept no responsibilty!