WhisperRoom , which is an off-the-shelf modular sound booth . Those things are actually designed for privacy in the medical industry so that people can have private conversations and not be overheard , but they ’ ve obviously sold a ton into the post-production world ,” Stull recalls . “ I went in and integrated that booth with the wider space . I spec ’ d all the gear and wired everything up . And then we brought in another company called Progressive Interiors , who are known for designing and implementing a number of post-production studios around Toronto . They helped with a couple walls that increased separation between the control room and the booth so that we get a lower noise floor in the booth . It ’ s still not perfect , but certainly better than it was . When recording just a voice , that talking level requires a really low-noise-floor environment .”
Core channels – and then into the UAD Apollo system . There ’ s not a lot of processing going in ; we keep it pretty simple . It ’ s just the high-pass and a little bit of compression going in .”
For Singh , likewise , it ’ s a simple one-mic setup . In his case , the mic is usually a Rode NT1-A cardioid condenser into an Apogee interface and straight into Pro Tools .
“ The challenge as an engineer is I ’ m also reading along with the book and I ’ m stopping for errors . I ’ m stopping for the usual sounds and flubs and things like that . But 50 % of the time , there ’ s a director and they communicate with the narrator . They are also in communication with the author . They discuss the tone and definitions and pronunciations beforehand . So , when there is a director it takes a bit of a burden off of me because I can focus on technical sound , but also be another pair of eyes for
come in with longform narration experience , but many of them don ’ t have a lot of audiobook experience . So , they ’ re used to working with their voice , but this is a bit of a different deal . It ’ s bit more of a marathon . It ’ s about consistency and maintaining what we call the ‘ mouth-brain connection ,’ and some actors are good for a couple hours and then they break down , other actors are good for a full day before they start to break down , depending on experience and so on .”
In terms of scheduling sessions , Singh ’ s aim is typically to do 50 pages per session , with most sessions lasting about four hours . He finds that is often where the actor ’ s voice starts to fray , their eyes become unfocused , and you reach a point of diminishing returns .
“ The other difference , too , is when voice actors come in for commercials or animation ,
ANN JANSEN CALEB STULL BOBBY SINGH
Obviously , as compared to a music-oriented studio , an audiobook space doesn ’ t require a ton of square footage . The control room is about six by 12 feet , and the booth is about eight by eight . It ’ s small but comfortably fits the three people needed for a recording – the engineer , the producer , and the voice actor .
As you ’ d expect , the recording chain is quite simple , too . At Penguin Random House Canada , Stull uses large-diaphragm condensers , particularly the Neumann TLM 103 .
“ Having gone through this program and talked to a lot of other people in the same space , there ’ s a couple different ways you can approach it . If you ’ re in a less than ideal space , some people will use a [ Shure ] SM7B or a shotgun mic , like a Sennheiser 416 ,” he says . “ We ’ ve gone with a large-diaphragm condenser just because it allows the actor to move a little bit . The pickup pattern is pretty large in those , so it gives you the best coverage . It ’ s got a nice high-end and we run it through a Manley channel with a bit of compression – one of their when a word is missed . Or , if there ’ s a word up for debate , I can offer my limited grammatical expertise and say , ‘ I ’ ve heard it sound like this ,’ or ‘ Americans say it like this and Canadians like this .’ But , technically , it ’ s a simple setup .”
To help clarify the roles , Jansen says that at Penguin Random House Canada , the producer oversees the production process and handles scheduling , logistics , and is involved with casting the actor ( when the author isn ’ t doing the reading ). They also work very closely with the director , and Penguin Random House typically hires freelance directors for each of its projects . The director is the person who has prepped the book and is in-studio directing the reader .
“ When working with actors , obviously , we ’ re looking for somebody that has experience using their voice and maintaining consistency with their voice in a professional capacity ,” adds Stull , who now works as both engineer and director , though usually not both roles on the same book . “ Many of them are stage or screen actors or voiceover talent , some of them might they ’ re standing , and they have the full , open diaphragm . Here , we have them sit because of the duration . So , it is a bit of a change for some people coming in from traditional voice acting . But after the first session they go , ‘ Oh , it is a much better idea to sit , you were right ,’ and they get comfortable ,” says Singh . “ What I tell them is , ‘ You ’ re telling a story to five people in a room . So , you ’ re projecting enough that they can hear you , you ’ re not yelling to the back of the room , and you ’ re not reading to yourself at night .’ You want them to get that ideal projection where everything is clear and the story is conveyed , but not too loud and not too soft .”
In in order to maintain a consistent tone between takes , Singh says he ’ ll do a quick four-second pre-roll of the last sentence and then punch in and continue .
In terms of what makes for a good vocal performance in audiobooks , as Jansen explains well , it ’ s when the actor can sustain the illusion that they ’ re not reading , they ’ re simply telling a story .
32 PROFESSIONAL SOUND