Strategic Media’s Andrew Nelson was one of a select group of audio production engineers featured in the October issue of Radio And Production magazine. In an interview section entitled ‘Q It Up’ Andrew answered an important radio advertising question: “Do you mic and process female VOs differently than male VOs.” Here’s what Andrew had to say…
Andrew Nelson
Audio Production Engineer
“A lot of what we go for when casting and producing a voice follows the guideline of “the right voice should be tailored to the script.” The result is that a lot of the production that goes into the process is designed to ensure that the tone matches what we envision.
“Many of our voice talents use their own rigs and know their voice and gear well enough to record themselves. Whenever possible, I give gear direction based off of their audition audio.
“When that’s the case I do try to mic FVOs differently than MVOs. I usually like to use a large diaphragm condenser, with a cardioid pattern, and have them slightly off-axis with the mic, so it’s not overly bright – something that can happen easily with female voices.
“As far as EQing, it all depends on the voice. Sometimes I’ll pull up around 10kHz and drop a little after 12kHz to give some openness to the sound, usually leaving much of the mids alone, and dropping some of the low-end for mid clarity.Compression is a must on nearly any voice we use, mostly to make sure we get the desired vocal weight we’re looking for. Typically, I use a 3:1 compression ratio with a pretty quick attack and a medium release. I won’t drive too hard into the compressor, but I’ll usually boost the output gain a bit for desired effect.”
Well done, Andrew!
To read the rest of this informative article, head on over to www.rapmag.com.