Recording Levels for Voice Over: 0 db = -18 dbFS
I read about more and more people trying to record at levels as close to 0 dbFS as possible. They are wrong.
O db on a analog preamp is (or should be) calibrated to -18dbFS in your digital domain. On professional video cameras, tone is calibrated to -20 dbFS.
Recording with consistent peaks from -24dbFS to -18dbFS is absolutely fine, and consistent peaks above -15 or -12 are just pushing the converter harder than you need to.
What needs to be addressed is the noise in a signal path, not the levels.
Once the noise is fixed, record at -18dbFS and then you can bring them up to -3dbFS or what have you in post...but that bringing up of the levels ought to be the client's/post production job. NOT the talents.
Talents shouldn't be serving up files at -3dbFS. They should be serving up clean files at -18dbFS to -9dbFS...but everybody has fallen into the trap of the loudness wars where everything needs to be near 0. If you give clients files that are already at -3dbFS there's already less they can do with compression and limiting.
Don't record it hot, but fix your noise floor so that it can be made hot in post!
posted by Lance Blair at
11:19 AM
2 Comments:
Well said sir!
I've been fighting brick-walled VO recordings for years...
February 20, 2009 9:45 PM
As have I. The loss of headroom and lack of ability to properly use EQ, compression, or any other type of dynamic processing.
Of course, when you bring this up the usual suspects come out from the woodwork to let you know how their way is the only way, etc.
Make the recording as free from noise as possible, and the number of options you have during later phases opens up to you. Why this seems to be lost on the home VO community is a bit of a head scratcher to me.
When all else fails, ask the client, or the studio doing the mixing/mastering how they need the track done. It'll save a lot of time and effort.
This also brings up what most people ignore in their home studio environments, the room itself. It is really worth it to spend the extra $ to have someone evaluate your room so that you can treat it properly. Unfortunately, a lot of people think that a couple of moving blankets, or some foam padding strewn about will get the job done. It actually takes a bit more than that. Folks like Don LaFontaine and Joe Cipriano don't hire professionals to help them set up their studios because they're unable to hang a piece of foam. They do it because they know just how important it really is.
-Greg
http://www.gregoryhouser.com
March 9, 2009 6:07 AM
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