Meeting ACX Requirements w/ Audacity

[Robert J. H.]

Hi Maria,
Here's a link to a corrected version of your 15-min:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cpvrlgoab3q0 ... r17sa?dl=0

If I had had to read this, I certainly would have filled the entire 15 minutes with trying to pronounce the novel's title.
I've not used your attached noise profile because it wasn't available at the time...
I'm pretty sure that recording in mono will be better.
I hear lots of tiny clicks throughout the show. For instance during "...I kicked and gasped...".
My suspicion is that the driver settings are not yet properly set, i.e. mismatch of channels, sample rate, audio buffer length etc.
I've used the click removal at 30 % with 9 samples width.
However, that's not the way I like it to do.
You can hear the removed clicks by playing both tracks of my Audacity project at the same time (i.e. unsolo track 2).

There's also a slight de-essing portion applied (only needed for louder listening volumes actually).
The Rms is raised by 8 dB, from -30 to -21.9--rather much I'd say.
There are some manual edits as well.
Noticeably a longer pause at the beginning and before "Chapter".
As I like to say, pauses can easily be shortened but hardly extended.


Cheers
Robert

[kozikowski]

with one having my sleeping just woke up morning voices in it

Which one? Remember we can't see what you're doing.

Also note Robert and My goals are slightly different. I'm codifying the acceptance process. He's cleaning up the presentation.

If someone asked me, I would say the presentation (15.wav) was crisper than it needed to be. This would affect anyone listening on iPod and earbuds because those tend to push crispness. It could also be said that it's exactly what is needed when listening while hiking along busy Venice Blvd. Nobody can compete with an ambulance, but the natural drone of traffic and trucks will kill someone with a mellow "announcing voice."

We are assuming you have done nothing but record the show, right? Export and post? It's not good to have competing Sound Sweetening sessions.

"I thought it was a little dull so I punched up the highs slightly."
"It was a bit crisp, so I rolled off the highs a little...."

D'Oh!

Koz

[kozikowski]

[[ This is take 1, which has been changed to mono and now has room tone in the beginning of the WAV ]]

Take 1 still has two sound tracks, "Stereo". Attached. The download file size is actually slightly larger than the original instead of being half the size. I'm going to go with this and make the mono myself.

When you get to an Export you like, make sure the file sizes are rational. These stereo shows are all in the 155 MB to 160 MB range. A mono version of the same show should be about half that.

Koz

[kozikowski]

The goal is one of these. Attached.

Another trick is opening up the file in Audacity just before you send it and make sure it's what you intended.

Koz

[The_zatanna]

OMG >_< I'm so sorry Koz, please excuse my unintelligible posts! I feel like a total n00b!

If you haven't made it a mono yet, I FINALLY realized what you were saying and made it a mono. *super face palm*

I opened it and made sure it only had one track. Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure this is what you wanted from the get go.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3HW7y ... sp=sharing

[kozikowski]

You're good right there. I made the mono show and I'm sending it through processing (and writing it all down). I may not have been clear what I wanted. The Right-Brain Creative is going to bed without supper.

Can I assume the second take is the one with the froggy voice?

Have you figured out yet the insane value of good filename management? People who try to shoot movies outside the Hollywood System figure out immediately why plain bookkeeping is a major part of it.

"The director wants to see Scene 4, take 37 from the July 22 afternoon car chase scene. I think he wants second camera, but better let me have all three." That's a plain, ordinary problem. I have a friend managing work for a movie shooting in Los Angeles... and New Zealand.

I have 15.wav, 15take1.wav and real15.wav.
There's still roman numerals, 15-IIV.wav and you haven't hit the alphas yet. 15a.wav Now come back in six weeks and figure out what you did.

I'm having trouble using one of the tools and we get to wait for the time zone shifts to play themselves out. "If I'm sitting down to supper pacific time...."

Koz

[The_zatanna]

Yes you're right, second take is the frogger.

I shall take into account the lessons you're teaching me here, I'm so happy to learn so much that will benefit me in the future! (I never gave it any thought about how the other end sees files besides my resume haha)

No worries! Take care of yourselves, I'm at your mercy! The brain needs to rest and eat!

[Robert J. H.]

Here's the mp3 of the corrected "15 take2":
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cpvrlgoab3q0 ... r17sa?dl=0

-3 dB peak
-21.5 dB Rms

Biggest problems were:
- Clicks (I used Paul's de-clicker, default settings + some heavier settings for certain passages)
- pops (highpass filter -12 dB, 170 Hz, only for those pops, 90 Hz for whole audio, didn't go through the whole show)
- volume deviations (used down-wards compression on 200 longest high-energy passages)
- low Rms <> high peaks (Several passes of Steve's limiter at about -3 dB, until under 23 dB)
- raised noise level (Noise removal with -18 dB, 350 Hz smoothing)
- missing pause before chapter (taken from the beginning)
- export as Mp3, CBR, 192 kbps, needs reloading since the peaks are different.
Nothing else actually.

I still wonder where those infernal clicks come from, it's presumably a property of those snow balls.

[The_zatanna]

Holy, guacamole.

Robert. That was awesome.

With the things you've written, I'm probably going to be looking at investing in a better mic.

Thank you for taking the time to do this kind sir.

Thank you so much!

[kozikowski]

I still wonder where those infernal clicks come from, it's presumably a property of those snow balls.

I'm not hearing anything. Did you hear problems on Ian's work?

Will the work pass noise without removing them? I noticed a large bump in the Room Tone analysis around 90Hz and Steve's Voice doesn't remove it, but the performance seems to pass -60 noise even with it in.

Koz