“ It ’ s like they have to share something with you , and depending on the style of the book , it might be more urgent or more vibrant , or it might be more gentle storytelling ,” she adds . “ But it ’ s the fact that you feel like secrets are being shared , or information is being shared , and that it ’ s not coming off a page through a set of eyes to you , but it ’ s actually being told to you .”
Of course , that is a lot easier said than done . Having been in the studio recording dozens of books , both Singh and Stull say it ’ s evident when the actor has put in the pre-production time to make the session go smoothly . If they ’ ve read the book ahead of time , annotated it for themselves , ensured they got the pronunciations comfortably in their head , and so on , it ’ s very noticeable and deeply appreciated . If the actor is winging it , it ’ s also very noticeable . Granted , the actors ( who are usually ACTRA members ) aren ’ t paid for any pre-production work they do , so they need to really care about the book and their performance in service of it .
In terms of editing , predictably , it can be a long and somewhat tedious process . That said , as in all areas of recording , the more that can be dealt with at the source , the smoother the editing will go .
“ We limit the amount of editing we have to do by fixing things in in the actual recording . So , I ’ ll make markers for spacing , like ‘ need to add a bit more space between these two paragraphs ,’” explains Singh , adding that , for him , editing generally takes 1.5 times the length of the finished audiobook . “ So , what we do is when we edit , we listen through , as we ’ re listening we ’ ll just tab to different regions and close out breath gaps and things like that . Because what happens is , when someone punches in , sometimes they ’ ll come in over a breath or it basically won ’ t be synced up perfectly . So , we tab region to region and let the original breath of the take lay , then put in the new take . There is a bit of a tedium in there . But really , we try and get as natural a flow as possible from every take . Then we add in spacers and gaps for paragraphs , and if there ’ s a special symbol for scene changes , we put in about three seconds or one second , and things like that .”
Stull says that in Penguin Random House ’ s process , editing can be even longer , with three to four hours of editing for every hour of the book . Partly that ’ s because they don ’ t punch in new takes , but rather run their sessions as “ rollrecord ,” meaning the engineer will let the recording roll as the actor restarts a flubbed passage .
“ Our supply chain doesn ’ t leave a lot of choice up to the editor in terms of takes . By the time the sessions get to the editor , the director and the actor have already determined what are the best takes . So , the editor is really compiling and making use of the best takes
MICHAEL RILEY VOICING IN-STUDIO FOR PRHC
that they ’ ve been given . Speed is a big factor , but it ’ s still pretty tedious and a lot of hours ,” he says . “ They ’ re also setting the pace between sections . So , we ’ re depending on the editor to deliver a nice listen that ’ s well paced out . There may be some noise reduction , like there might be the odd AC or HVAC system in the background , or just operational noise . They ’ re using a little bit of compression and maybe some gating to get the noise down even further , as well as spitting it out to our vendor specs .”
In general , Stull says , the specs are pretty universal across the vendors ( 16-bit , 44.1 kHz CD-quality mono ) and allow for nice dynamic range and no over-compression . “ I won ’ t mention the publishers , but some go really , really heavy on noise-reduction processing . I ’ m the technical director , so I have a little bit of control over this and we err a little bit more on the side of naturalness . We aren ’ t editing out breaths . We might be taking out gasps and things that would be distracting to the listener , but we ’ re not making it sound like robots reading the audiobook .”
As well , just like the music engineer who may not personally love the song they ’ re hired to record , they still must do their best for the client .
“ Ultimately , my job is as an engineer first and foremost , even when there is no director . So , when the content is dreary or completely boring , it helps to treat it as just sound . Regardless of the words being formed and ideas being shared , it ’ s the best time to ensure optimal recording quality and not be distracted by content ,” advises Singh . “ That happens too , when I get so into the flow of the book and the narrator ’ s storytelling abilities , there ’ s a chance I can miss a mouth noise or a loud , sharp breath . So ultimately , being detached from the content can make you a better engineer !”
As we ’ ve heard , from a technical standpoint , recording and editing audiobooks isn ’ t overly complicated , at least compared to what a lot of audio professionals will be used to . That said , it also has its unique elements and , like in any industry , arrogance can be limiting to the newcomer . But for those with a passion for books and an interest in this growing industry , there is likely to be more opportunities in the future .
“ Talking to other audio pros , I think there is a technical skill set that comes with making good audiobooks . Post editors and tracking engineers that are really tuned into the human voice can very much make the transition . But not to say that there aren ’ t a few skills that need to be paid attention to . Unfortunately , we have had some editors who have come in and thought that because they have 20 years ’ experience dialogue editing for film , that they can just jump into audiobooks . It takes a little bit of learning ,” notes Stull . “ But if audio professionals are interested in it , it ’ s a growth industry . There ’ s a lot of smaller imprints that are looking for audio professionals to help them along and they don ’ t know how to make something sound good . They ’ re putting out these smaller books , and a lot of authors are self-publishing and looking for technical help in realizing an audiobook . So yeah , I think there ’ s really some opportunity out there .”
Stull ’ s boss and colleague agrees , noting that in the four years she has been spearheading Penguin Random House Canada ’ s audiobook department , she has seen a ton of growth in the sector .
“ I think it will continue to grow ,” Jansen adds as the conversation comes to a close . “ I think people just love having the human voice in their ear , and it ’ s accessible — so close to you . It ’ s in your pocket or your purse or wherever you ’ re wandering . So , I do think it is something that more and more engineers will become involved with .”
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief of Professional Sound .
PHOTO : COURTESY OF PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE CANADA
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