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Post by Jeff Werden on Jan 10, 2018 15:55:50 GMT -8
Greetings one and all!
I'm taking an informal poll regarding when you create auditions. I'd love to hear what you guys do and I'm curious if it matches up with what some of my VO instructors have been saying about them. This is basically the question:
When you go to create an audition AND the casting director has provided no direction on the sound format of the audition itself (i.e. mono vs. stereo, .wav vs. .mp3, etc.), what is your "default" sound format when you create an audition? For example, mine is .mp3, 44100 Hz, stereo, ACM, 320kbps. That's what I use, if I'm not told to submit in a different or specific format. If you want to provide a 'why' on your default format, I'd love to hear it.
Along with that, do you have an agent? That's just a yes/no question. But for those of you who answer yes, do you use a different format for those clients your agent finds than for jobs you find yourself, where in both cases a format for submission is not provided?
Thanks for your time in reading this and I look forward to your responses!
Cheers!
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Post by Michael Macaw on Jan 10, 2018 16:19:40 GMT -8
If there's no direction applied in terms of quality at all: .mp3 48000Hz Mono 170-210kbps... which I didn't realize was my quality setting this whole time. Really hope that didn't make or break some of my auditions over the last few months. I'm making sure it's 320 from now on.
What's ACM, though?
I don't have an agent (I don't even have a demo reel yet!).
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Post by Bean on Jan 10, 2018 21:12:55 GMT -8
My answer is exactly the same as Michael's. mp3, 48000hz, Mono, 170-210kbps on the bit rate, and with whatever codec is the default one in Audacity. And no, I'm too new at this stuff to worry about an agent or even a demo reel.
For the why, .mp3 is the most commonly used format, same with the 48000hz frequency. As for the lower bit rate, I know that 320kbps would keep the sound quality up there near CD-like sound, but 170-210kbps gets the job done while also keeping the file sizes smaller. Might try 320kbps just once to try and hear the difference, but I don't have perfect pitch or anything, so it's tougher for my ears to pick that stuff up.
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Post by alexanderdoddy on Jan 10, 2018 22:11:02 GMT -8
Unless otherwise stated, then the same as Bean and Michael
Yes, but 99% of the time my agent will specify the format, however if they don't then as above
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Post by Brittany Ann Phillips on Jan 11, 2018 14:20:24 GMT -8
If there are no guidelines I record in mono, 41000 Hz, 24-bit rate in .wav format. If the audition is a long one or requires more than 3 files I convert the audition into .mp3 files at 128kbps (my DAW's default) and in a .zip file if necessary so it's not a massive download. I always save my work in .wav first before converting into mp3, this way I won't risk losing audio quality. With that being said, if you're not sure what the director or client's preference is, ask! It's never a bad thing to ask those types of questions, as more often then not, the director/client will be happy to inform you and it let's them know that you are perceiving their project with professionalism. See example here: voiceacting.boards.net/thread/1728/apprentice-arriving-requires-female-voice (the first two comments below the casting call). (Edit: I do not have agent. Hopefully one day in the near future). - Brittany Ann Phillips
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Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Jan 12, 2018 21:21:55 GMT -8
Mono (interesting fact: there is no reason for voiceover auditions or even files to need to be in stereo! The final mix of a project will usually be in stereo of course, but doing it for just the voice tracks is redundant and just makes the files bigger. The more you know!) 44100 mp3 (for auditions - for final projects people tend to request wavs, so if I'm doing a final project and they don't specify I'll ask just to be sure. always mp3 for auditions though unless requested otherwise; as a producer I specifically requested mp3 only for auditions as wavs take up too much space & any loss of quality is negligible for those purposes) 256-320 kpbs. You should be aiming for 192 MINIMUM; 128 results in noticeable compression artifacts/quality drop (try listening to 128k vs 320k music files and you will see what I mean!) Naming: Character Name - Your Name.mp3 (ex: Jolyne - Kira Buckland.mp3). I used to do it the reverse way as that's how people back in my early days of VAA forums would always request it, but when I started auditioning for a lot of professional projects they'd almost always request character - name.mp3 so that's my default now I don't get auditions very often from my agent (most of my work I find myself, tbh) but they request MP3 only and usually named in the format above but sometimes will specify different naming conventions based on what the client wants, which is why it's so important to read all the directions thoroughly! Bit rates and other format stuff doesn't matter for them or for when I'm auditioning for anime/game studios - it seems to be that if they'll bring you in studio for the actual job, the technical quality of your audition doesn't matter so much, whereas for online/indie projects where you'll be recording from home they want to make sure your audition sound is as close to the final sound as possible.
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Post by Jeff Werden on Jan 15, 2018 10:53:12 GMT -8
This discussion has been rather enlightening, to be sure. My take on using stereo (or double-mono, if you prefer, since you might only have one mic ) is that, for me, I'd want to demonstrate exactly how good the sound is in both ears - i.e. make the best impression possible. To me, it's no different than putting on a nice suit and tie vs. dressing business casual for a job interview. That's just my take on it.
However, in light of this thread, I may switch over to mono from here on out (as well as flip the filename to CharacterName-MyName -- Thank you, Kira!).
Oh, Michael - ACM is an old Windows sound codec versus using LAME, which many sound recording programs use today. I don't personally know if there is a quality/sound difference between the two. Anyone care to comment on that or tell stories?
Cheers!
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Post by benedict on Jan 15, 2018 11:20:37 GMT -8
Not sure about Mac, but on my Windows machine the native software plays mono tracks panned to center so both ears hear it. Same with Audacity and Reaper unless you intentionally pan a mono track to one side or the other. There really shouldn't be an advantage to sending a stereo file of a mono source over just sending a mono file, and as Kira said, it doubles the size of the file. From a mixing standpoint, the only time I really need a stereo track (or a 5.0, 5.1, etc. polywav) is when I'm laying down backgrounds. (The irony here is that most of what I record IS backgrounds.) Otherwise it's preferable to have mono sources so they can be individually panned to their location in the mix. Having a stereo source that's going to be mixed in over a background means the mixer first has to either mix the stereo track to mono, or split the file and discard one track. It's just extra work in the end. Sorry for waxing technical and straying so far from the question, but since it came up...
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Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Jan 17, 2018 20:07:52 GMT -8
Yes. Mono still plays in both ears. If someone's only hearing a file played out of one side, it's either panned left or right, or saved as a stereo track with only one side/channel recorded. As long as no panning is done, there shouldn't be any audible difference between a mono and a stereo voice recording track which is why it's somewhat redundant to send a stereo one.
My mixer actually CAN'T record in stereo, so if someone actually requests stereo voice files (very rare, thankfully) I have to jump through a few hoops to get it that way such as recording the mono voice track like I usually do but then doubling it exactly and mixing down to a converted stereo track... no point, really.
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Post by Jeff Werden on Jan 19, 2018 11:01:59 GMT -8
Ah, see, that's where my problem lies...well, lied.
I was only hearing the mono through one channel - and frankly, it never dawned on me that mono can be heard through two channels/both ears. Even when I changed the recording option to average left and right (originally it was just the left side), it still didn't playback in both ears. I started scoping around and found this article, goldwave.ca/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4809. This explained that the system properties should use the DirectSound API, not the WASAPI option. Did that, recorded mono, and boom! Both ears now hear the melodious sound of my voice! AHAHAA!! Melodious! HAHAHAHA!!!! :: wipes tear from the eye :: Whoo, boy, that was a good one.....
But more seriously, now I can record in mono and it'll playback in stereo (i.e. both ears), if you will. I wasn't getting that before, which had led me to think that, if I sent in a mono file, it's only being heard in one ear, and thus, I wouldn't be making as good an impression with my audition. Obviously, that was a problem with my software configuration.
So a big thank you everyone for your input on this topic! I certainly learned a lot and will definitely be making some changes to how I record for auditions now! And Kira, a special thanks to you. I hope you had a good time at the Paradise City Con.
Cheers everyone!
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