Question About Proper Macro Usage

[TheCaptainVP]

Not 100% an Audacity question but I'm not entirely sure where else to ask.

When I'm applying a macro chain (Noise Reduction, Graphic EQ, Compress, then Normalize) is it best to apply it to the entire timeline all at once, or should I highlight and do it to each individual sentence? Or is there some other way entirely I should be applying it?

I'm recording voiceovers with varying volumes, all the way from talking quiet to shouting into the mic.

Thank you!

[kozikowski]

Not 100% an Audacity question but I'm not entirely sure where else to ask.

This would be awkward if you weren't on Windows.

is it best to apply it to the entire timeline all at once, or should I highlight and do it to each individual sentence?

Which one sounds better and which one does the client like?

Noise Reduction, Graphic EQ, Compress, then Normalize

How are you getting Noise Reduction to work? Noise Reduction is kind of a problem for Macros because of the two-step process. Get the Noise Profile (sample the noise) and then later actually apply the correction. The Profile step isn't available for Macros. If the first number in your Noise Reduction panel is over about 12, then it might be a good exercise to quiet down your studio.

I'm recording voiceovers with varying volumes, all the way from talking quiet to shouting into the mic.

Maybe that's not the best idea. You can do the Hollywood thing by listening carefully in your sealed against the head headphones and "sound like" you're whispering and yelling but really changing your microphone spacing so the timbre and tonal quality is doing all the work. Not raw horsepower volume.



I once played two different people, man and woman by doing that. All without compression.

It's part of your V/O skill set.

The Compressor can have some interesting problems with wild tracks. Compressor doesn't have pre-conditioning, so it can give different sounds depending on where in the script you are. It's OK if you're doing that on purpose, but the compressor will not make up for you yelling into the microphone, and forcing the customer to turn the volume up and down to hear the performance is a terrible idea.

Where did you get your processing collection? There are on-line postings from experienced professionals that only work when you're an experienced professional.

Would I have heard any of your work? Links?

Koz

[TheCaptainVP]

Wow okay I appreciate the response but I think you have the wrong idea lol.

The noise reduction is my bad, that isn't a part of the macro, but the rest of it is. I was just listing all the steps without thinking.

My macro chain came from Josh Meyer's youtube channel, he has general use fliter curve and graphic eqs that you can apply to voiceovers. Not as good as doing it yourself, but better than nothing.

As for everything else, this is not a professional or paid work, I don't have a studio, and this is going on a youtube channel with like 30 subscribers. I don't have any history and, in fact, I have never ever done this before and I am just looking for some basic advice in applying this macro. All I need to know is if it's generally better to apply it to the whole thing or individual sentences.

I don't know which one sounds better. I am not an audiophile, even if I'm using a $400 pair of headphones I can't tell the difference between any music or other audio above 32khz, it all sounds the same to me.

That said my setup is decent, I have an AT2020 and a Roland VT-4, so I figured I should start doing the right thing now just to get into the habit of it. I may not be able to tell the difference but I'm sure potential viewers might.

[kozikowski]

The noise reduction is my bad, that isn't a part of the macro, but the rest of it is.

We only know what you tell us in the post.

I'm recording voiceovers with varying volumes, all the way from talking quiet to shouting into the mic.

That sounds a lot like you've been doing this for a while. And yes, mentioning a goal is good.

if it's generally better to apply it to the whole thing or individual sentences.

I think having your voice change sentence by sentence would drive me nuts. So I'm for whole chapter or paragraph correction. I keep coming back to knowing the goal. Are you doing a three-hour, stream of consciousness podcast, or are you planning an explainer series? "The Captain explains why doorknobs can kill you!"

Radio Drama? That's where you might get into the whispering/yelling thing. "Tune in next week when The Captain discovers a break-in."

In my opinion, people rely too much on software processing and too little on basics. I'm not going to listen to someone trying to explain a serious subject but they sound like they're recording in a bathroom. Coby Explanes is my favorite bad example of that. Great video, bathroom sound.

Rather than plowing ahead blind (or deaf), record a sound test and post it here.

It's 10 seconds. Don't leave out the two seconds of hold-your-breath silence, and don't apply filters or corrections.

https://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/Tes ... _Clip.html

Koz

[TheCaptainVP]

I think having your voice change sentence by sentence would drive me nuts.

I appreciate that you're trying to give me real, professional level advice. Honestly the above is all I was looking for though, that's a valid point. Thanks for that info.

[steve]

When I'm applying a macro chain (Noise Reduction, Graphic EQ, Compress, then Normalize) is it best to apply it to the entire timeline all at once, or should I highlight and do it to each individual sentence? Or is there some other way entirely I should be applying it?

Normally you would apply things like Noise Reduction, Equalization, Compression ... to the entire track.
The main exception to that is if you need to correct a problem in a specific bit of audio, in which case you might apply an effect to just the relevant bit.