How can you achieve high-quality voice-overs in audio post production?

This is a stupid, uninformed, click-bait garbage article. You get quality voice over by hiring a professional, trained, experienced voice actor who has an industry- standard home studio (hint: we all do!) or hire a pro voice actor AND a legitimate recording studio run by a qualified, professional engineer. You wouldn’t do your own dental work even if you own a fancy chair. There is no cheap substitute for professionalism. Quit trying out how to hack the system by polishing crap. You won’t have to worry about making crap sound better if you don’t have crap in the first place. Hire a pro.

Sofern eine akustisch optimierte Aufnahmesituation vorhanden ist, sind Grossmembran-Kondensatormikrofonen für Voice Over Aufnahmen besser geeignet, da sie klanglich feiner und präsenter sind als typische dynamische Mikrofone. Hier lohnt es sich verschiedene Mikrofone auszuprobieren und auf namhafte Hersteller zu setzen. Sehr günstige Fernost Mikrofone haben häufig überzeichnete Höhen und ein schlechtes Rauschverhalten.

A *great* microphone can make a big difference for VO recording, but it is not the only important factor. If you have capacity to use a large-diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone with a reasonable quality audio interface? ...sure: you're going to have a much cleaner signal than say, recording into your phone with some airpods. *However,* do not discount the microphone you already have in your pocket. An onboard iPhone microphone in the right environment will absolutely do fine in a pinch. You can leave it stereo, or split the track into dual mono and use one side in post and still get a really reasonable result. In either case, make sure to be at least one inch (or more,) away from the capsule to avoid proximity issues.

Even the best microphone will still sound garbage if the space you’re recording in hasn’t been treated. This should be the priority. It’s no good spending big bucks on a top of the range Neumann if you’re recording in a boxy room.

The microphone itself CAN make a big difference. However, too many people focus on the 'gear' side of things, and not enough time/research/implementation of getting the ENVIRONMENT right. A high end mic in an untreated/poorly treated recording space will sound horrendous. Conversely, a cheaper end mic can sound amazing in a properly acoustically treated space. The recording space should come first, worry about gear after.

Recording: Use a good mic in a quiet space. Script: Edit and practice for clarity. Performance: Speak naturally, control breathing. Editing: Remove mistakes, trim pauses. Noise Reduction: Use tools to eliminate background noise. EQ: Enhance voice frequencies, cut rumble. Compression: Balance volume dynamics. Normalization: Ensure consistent levels. Effects (if needed): Apply sparingly, tailor to context. Export: Choose high-quality format, check levels. Quality Check: Listen critically, seek feedback.

Start by choosing a room with minimal noise. This is a place without running fans or A/C. Use high-density acoustic foam for soundproofing, which drastically reduces unwanted echoes. Also large towels & blankets can help dampen noise when placed by windows. For hardware, invest in a cardioid condenser microphone like the Neumann TLM 103 for its exceptional sound clarity. If you're going more for the Rogan interview style, the SHURE SM7B mic is your go to. Pair it with a sound interface like the Scarlett 2i2 for optimal signal quality. Universal Audio Apollo Twin X is a great choice if you have the budget. Remember, in the realm of innovative storytelling, the caliber of your equipment can elevate your narrative.

Find a quiet space! HVAC is not your friend! ...it is best to avoid any space with fan noises or other environmental hazards, but those can be mitigated somewhat by good mic placement and mic technique. If you hear sirens? STOP and wait. Variable-pitch stuff like sirens are almost impossible to remove in post, whereas hum is fairly easy to reduce. Lastly - there is no need to spend bucks on an acoustically-treated environment if you're broke and in a hurry: a closet full of clothing works just fine as a makeshift recording booth! (Small space, minimal reflections, lots of absorptive materials.)

Wherever possible, it's best to pick a space to record/turn into a recording booth, an area within the middle of your property, away from an outside facing wall. Helps to minimise any extraneous sound bleeding in. But wherever possible, ensure your booth/space is air-gapped as much as possible to try and reduce outside noises coming in, and treat the space well with acoustic panels etc to create a nice clean sound.

Debes tener en cuenta dos aspectos: La acustización y la insonorización. El primero se usa para reducir ecos, rebotes y efectos acústicos indeseados que se producen en el espacio de grabación. Por otro lado la insonorización aisla los ruidos externos (personas y animales, tránsito, motores, cañerías, etc.) y requiere de soluciones distintas. Se suele confundir entre una y otra o, lo que es peor, creer que un material que sirve para acustizar como esponjas, almohadas, telas, cuerpos blandos y de texturas porosas o formas irregulares también sirve para insonorizar. Esto no es así ya que para esto último se requieren materiales con mucha masa o cámaras de aire que puedan detener el ruido externo.

Generally speaking it is best to record at 48k/24bit if you're doing film. Voiceover/Dialogue should always be mono, and you want to set your input gain so that your average peaks are coming in around -12dBFS. However, if you've got a particularly dynamic speech you may wish to record your dialogue closer to -20dBFS to allow headroom for louder passages. There is plenty of room to increase gain and compress that quieter signal in post, so long as you're recording 24bit or 32bit-float. It is always, always better to have more headroom than you think you need, than it is to clip the preamp. Run a couple of test recordings before you get into the meat of the project to ensure that at your loudest: you're still not clipping.

I’d say only add processing if you’ve been specifically requested to. Otherwise deliver clean, raw audio so the engineer can work their magic.

If you've got a particularly long script to record: break it down into smaller sections. Record each three times, and then move on to the next. Unless you've got particularly nervous, or uncertain talent: I've found that three takes is usually enough to piece together a quality cohesive end-product. Pro Tools is arguably the *fastest* DAW for editing and comping takes, but Reaper comes in a close second, particularly if you set up your shortcuts to mirror Pro Tools format. Assuming you're not doing a full film-grade manual edit: I've found the cleanest post signal chain is usually: DeEss, EQ (High Pass Filter,) Compression, Limiter, post-Limiter EQ (Tone shaping.) ...and don't do any noise-reduction until the very last step!

Becoming proficient at sight reading is a useful skill to develop - to be able to read through and voice a script upon first sight. Even if it's just a rehearsal run through to get a feel for the script. (I know some who will record the run through as well just so it's 'in the can' as well). But once you familiarise yourself with the script will you know how it's structured, and whether you'll need to make any breathing point adjustments, add in commas etc to ensure it flows as well as it can in the final take.

Unless you're doing some intentional sound design or theatrical storytelling you're probably *not* going to want reverb or special FX on your VO. It's kind of a taste thing though: If the goal is to make the person sound like they're in a particular location in a room on film, a bit of room verb can be useful to create that space. When mixing VO against music I like to use Trackspacer 2 for subtle spectral ducking on the music tracks. (Sidechain it to the VO.) In this way you can create a "pocket," for your dialogue and increase the overall loudness of the music without affecting intelligibility of the speech, BUT you do have to be careful not to overdo the spectral ducking or it can get a bit weird.

Don’t forget about ambient sound. The background has to match with the sound of the scene that you are doing the V O for. Especially if you have someone talking on a phone or a radio.

In reviewing voiceovers, it is important to reference your vocal mix on multiple speaker sets. This is because every set of speakers has varying boosts and attenuations in different frequency bands. What sounds great on your primary monitors may not sound great on consumer gear and vice versa. The space you mix in can also be a culprit for this phenomenon. Make small adjustments between a few speaker sets until it sounds great on all of them. It’s at this point your VO mix will sound great across most consumer and professional gear.

In reviewing voiceovers, it is important to reference your vocal mix on multiple speaker sets. This is because every set of speakers has varying boosts and attenuations in different frequency bands. What sounds great on your primary monitors may not sound great on consumer gear and vice versa. The space you mix in can also be a culprit for this phenomenon. Make small adjustments between a few speaker sets until it sounds great on all of them. It’s at this point your VO mix will sound great across most consumer and professional gear.

The categories are for actors who shouldn't be doing ANYTHING to their recordings. Post production is for engineers. Most of those things should already be sorted out by an actor or studio before post. Expensive mic in a bathroom sounds like an exquisitely captured bathroom. A $30 mic is noisier than a frat party in even the most pristine environment. Tutorial for mixing and mastering? Separate that from the actual actor's role. Tutorial for getting good quality voice recordings? Separate it from post production. Actors: send clean audio. Audio engineers: do your thing. And unless you're BOTH (full disclosure: I am), please respect each other's space. And for the love of all that is holy, stop letting AI write articles for you.

A good pair of headphones are essential to the voiceover process. Make sure you use closed-back headphones that are comfortable and don’t leak a lot of sound. Ear buds or IEMs will work if they provide proper audio reference levels. Don’t use any bass or treble enhancing. You want to hear a detailed representation of your audio recording. This will allow you to hear any noise or irregularities in the recording.

I've found that the better your recording environment and equipment, the less post-production is needed. That being said, most independent voiceover artists are also their own audio engineers, therefore they need to learn how to use their DAW software with the goal of refining the final output for their unique voice. If warranted, get some training and go for it. It's a worthwhile investment.

Far too many tv ads don't compress the voice to sit above the music. They haven't considered the vast array of home systems that consumers use to consume ads and the voice gets lost. If you only mix in your headphones then it's at your peril.