Post by benedict on Sept 23, 2017 11:47:54 GMT -8
In the VA Pet Peeves thread I raised the topic of using Reaper to generate separate files for each line. Rather than clog that thread with a bunch of stuff on Reaper, I figured I'd start a new thread (this thread!) and put it all here.
I started out using Audacity, and still use it. But about a year ago a friend told me to give Reaper a try. After "growing up" on Audacity I found the Reaper interface confusing and obstructionist, for want of a better word. I went looking for resources and came up with a bunch that I'll list below. In short, I'm sold on it now. These days I don't use Audacity for voice over, and now only use Reaper. The times I open Audacity, it's typically for field recording or for testing a microphone, not voice acting. Two huge reasons why:
Edits in Reaper are non-destructive and are done live. You can listen to a track while tweaking the EQ, the noise gate, gain, etc. In Audacity each change has to be "cooked" into the track before you can really hear it. (Yes, I know there's a preview function, but I can't enable / disable / enable / disable an effect while listening the way I can on Reaper.) Backing out a change in Reaper is as simple as disabling an effect or tweaking its values.
Reaper is a lot more flexible when it comes to rendering the final files. With Audacity the entire project is rendered. With Reaper you can render separate regions as separate files. These can be individual lines in the case of a voice acting role, chapters in the case of an audio book, or individual bird calls if you're taking a field recording track and are trying to pick out individual species. It's up to you.
In case anyone else does photography, the best analogy I can come up with is that Audacity is like Photoshop and Reaper is like Lightroom. Both are powerful tools, and both are useful. But these days 99.5% of my photo editing is done in Lightroom because of the non-destructive editing and the ability to edit an entire shoot as one. I'm glad I have both Audacity and Reaper at my disposal, and there are some things I still turn to Audacity for. But the bulk of my editing is now done in Reaper.
Before downloading Reaper for a trial period, or even before deciding if you want to, take a look at the following videos. They're all from another voice actor, Mike Delgaudio. He's a little rambly (like me!), but packs a lot of good information into his videos. His explanations are what finally sold me on Reaper, and are how I got my workflow going:
The "getting started" videos, or how to take a tool that's set up for the music world and set it up for voice acting instead:
Using Reaper for Voiceover (Intro):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfZ6UxFujx4
Reaper Presets 1:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiZhqbSAyzA
Reaper Presets 2:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooSmb4oboyQ
The FX videos, or how to modify the sounds you're recording into Reaper. (I run an even lighter-weight chain than the one Mike Delgaudio describes in his videos, but it's worth watching to see how he sets them up):
Adding a noise gate in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVWoxC3m4cc
Adding an equalizer in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6XtciKhgUY
Like many DAWs, Reaper doesn't come out of the box with the ability to generate MP3 files. In this video, he describes how to set that up:
Creating MP3s in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVL1MvSd4-Y
The cool stuff. One video on using regions and markers, which is how I learned how to generate individual files for each line / chapter / bird call / etc., and one on a neat way of editing that's faster than punch-and-roll:
Regions and Markers in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lw5JMPQ19A
A really fast way to edit in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn_chAP8814
Mike Delgaudio has a bunch of other Reaper videos on Youtube. It's well worth scanning through his channel to see what else he's got. His videos on setting up recording spaces are also well worth watching.
I started out using Audacity, and still use it. But about a year ago a friend told me to give Reaper a try. After "growing up" on Audacity I found the Reaper interface confusing and obstructionist, for want of a better word. I went looking for resources and came up with a bunch that I'll list below. In short, I'm sold on it now. These days I don't use Audacity for voice over, and now only use Reaper. The times I open Audacity, it's typically for field recording or for testing a microphone, not voice acting. Two huge reasons why:
Edits in Reaper are non-destructive and are done live. You can listen to a track while tweaking the EQ, the noise gate, gain, etc. In Audacity each change has to be "cooked" into the track before you can really hear it. (Yes, I know there's a preview function, but I can't enable / disable / enable / disable an effect while listening the way I can on Reaper.) Backing out a change in Reaper is as simple as disabling an effect or tweaking its values.
Reaper is a lot more flexible when it comes to rendering the final files. With Audacity the entire project is rendered. With Reaper you can render separate regions as separate files. These can be individual lines in the case of a voice acting role, chapters in the case of an audio book, or individual bird calls if you're taking a field recording track and are trying to pick out individual species. It's up to you.
In case anyone else does photography, the best analogy I can come up with is that Audacity is like Photoshop and Reaper is like Lightroom. Both are powerful tools, and both are useful. But these days 99.5% of my photo editing is done in Lightroom because of the non-destructive editing and the ability to edit an entire shoot as one. I'm glad I have both Audacity and Reaper at my disposal, and there are some things I still turn to Audacity for. But the bulk of my editing is now done in Reaper.
Before downloading Reaper for a trial period, or even before deciding if you want to, take a look at the following videos. They're all from another voice actor, Mike Delgaudio. He's a little rambly (like me!), but packs a lot of good information into his videos. His explanations are what finally sold me on Reaper, and are how I got my workflow going:
The "getting started" videos, or how to take a tool that's set up for the music world and set it up for voice acting instead:
Using Reaper for Voiceover (Intro):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfZ6UxFujx4
Reaper Presets 1:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiZhqbSAyzA
Reaper Presets 2:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooSmb4oboyQ
The FX videos, or how to modify the sounds you're recording into Reaper. (I run an even lighter-weight chain than the one Mike Delgaudio describes in his videos, but it's worth watching to see how he sets them up):
Adding a noise gate in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVWoxC3m4cc
Adding an equalizer in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6XtciKhgUY
Like many DAWs, Reaper doesn't come out of the box with the ability to generate MP3 files. In this video, he describes how to set that up:
Creating MP3s in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVL1MvSd4-Y
The cool stuff. One video on using regions and markers, which is how I learned how to generate individual files for each line / chapter / bird call / etc., and one on a neat way of editing that's faster than punch-and-roll:
Regions and Markers in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lw5JMPQ19A
A really fast way to edit in Reaper:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn_chAP8814
Mike Delgaudio has a bunch of other Reaper videos on Youtube. It's well worth scanning through his channel to see what else he's got. His videos on setting up recording spaces are also well worth watching.
I’m a female voice actor with a High pitched, normal and robotic voice and I can also do British accents! I do murder drones and I could try any other and I can follow scripts! Send me an email if you need me! (Mahatareq09@yahoo.com)