Voiceover Compression

Hi,

What would be a simple way to add compression to voiceover done using the voiceover tool in FCP 5? Possible to do within FCP, or would I need to use Soundtrack Pro? I?ve been told it?s a good idea to add compression to get that ?voiceover? sound. Any info much appreciated.

Thanks,
Alexander

99% of that "voiceover" sound is the talent! You can dress up a pig, but it's still going to be a pig!

However... Select the clip in your source monitor, go to "effects", audio "filters", then you get a choice of either "Apple" or "Final Cut Pro". They both cover much of the same ground, only in a different way. You'd want the "AUDynamics Processor" from the Apple pull down, or the "Compressor/limiter" choice from the FCP menu.

With your target clip selected in your viewer, click on the filter of your choice. Then select the "filter" tab in your viewer to access the controls. From here on out you're on your own. Creating stellar sounding audio tracks is as much a speciality as doing complex motion graphics. You need to really love doing it to get good at it. Experiment. Ask someone who knows what they're doing. Whatever. Just don't expect to achieve that "voiceover" sound with just one click.

Good luck.

mark

The storyteller generally stands out from the rest of the sound by bring in a quiet room an optimal distance from a good quality microphone and no background noise. Sometimes the Sound Designer will add just a pinch of theme music underneath. Yes compression will be handy gently applied because you don't want the announcer volume all over the map, but you don't get that storyteller presentation with compression alone.

If you pull that off just right, the voice can be used as a bridge between two different scenes with different sounds. That's why the storyteller has to be neutral and in a quiet environment.

One of the people here did a movie with a storyteller and he got it exactly right. He would take each scene right up to some awkward silence and then the storyteller would break in with some perfect bit of dialog to carry you to the next scene. I think they shot it in a bedroom with moving quilts and mattresses piled against the walls for soundproofing.

It was falling down funny.

I don't think they used compression at all.

Koz

> You can dress up a pig, but it's still going to be a pig!

Ah yes, but if the pig were Miss Piggy you would have a great voice over!