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Some Tips on Using VCSD 4.0 For Voiceovers

If you are planning on doing a voiceover for your video project, Avnex's VCSD 4.0 may be just the program for you to use, especially if there are multiple voices, or character voices in your project. First, prepare a script; don't work ad hoc. Print it out in a large font that's easy to read like Tahoma or Arial. Practice it a few times, get an idea of how to pace your voice, check the volume levels, and time it. Then use the built-in recorder and read the script while recording. Listen to it - listen for awkward phrases, microphone noises, popping and hissing, and finally listen to it as speech, because we talk differently than we write; what looks good to the eye is not always good to the ear.
Next we need to try some voice alterations. Using the Voice Morpher, make some small adjustment to the pitch - never mind the other two settings for now. Move the button with the left mouse button, left makes the voice lower, right makes it higher. When you find a setting you like, write down the pitch value and the voice with which it will be used. Then make a test file. It's important to remember two things: check your recorder settings first, it's the cute little gear in the upper right corner of the recorder window; make a note of where the file is being saved, or change it if you want to; secondly, just before you start to record, write down the file name, as the default is a time stamp (ex: rec_Vcs4Core_20_04_03) that won't make much sense to you, and won't be easily recognized. Make the recording. Now here's a good idea: close the program, and play the recording through your normal audio player. I have noticed some difference between what I hear inside of the program and outside of it - not that it is a significant difference, but sometimes it does play back with a slightly different effect.
Go back into the program and establish the values for your other voices. You will find that the Timbre settings will not have much effect if you only adjust that one setting; where you can get an effect is the combination of Timbre and Advanced settings. Play with them. I like to make several recordings, starting each one by saying what the three settings are, and then talking for about 30 seconds. Then you can easily listen to the results through your regular player and decide if you have found the best settings, or need to go back in and adjust some.
I prefer to stay in the Morpher to make the actual file. You could use the parody feature, where you are limited to 4 voices, or you can try something else. I put a piece of saran wrap right on the monitor, over the graph in the morpher window. I mark each setting with a black marker and a two-letter code for each voice. This makes on-the-fly adjustments easy, just click and drag the button to the voice you need.
There's two ways to record the voiceover; either record each voice's lines all in a row, or record the voices as they will actually occur. I prefer the latter, it takes less editing at the end. Don't expect to get it right the first time through; be prepared to make the recording several times. As you record, if you are doing things in order, as per your script, it's a good idea to use two techniques: first, it you make an error, keep going, just pause and repeat the words you didn't get right and then go on; second, when you switch voice settings, pause, make the setting change, pause and start the new voice - all the errors and pauses will be edited out later, and if you make those pauses you will have clean silence to work with when you edit.
When you have a satisfactory session recorded, make a copy and rename it. Then load the file into an audio editor, like Music Morpher Gold and begin editing out the unwanted sounds; take out the mistakes, take out the throat clears, the breaths at the beginning of sentences and any other noises. If you hear any popping on "p's" or other letters, you can try to correct them by highlighting just the very highest points of the sine wave of the word and reducing the volume setting substantially. Do not do the entire word, just the peak - you may have to expand the view, stretching out the wave so you can see it better. When you have the file edited, save it twice under two different names. Then load one of them into your video editor and test view it. If it plays properly, the dialog lines up with the action, then you are good to go. If not, make a few notes for editing purposes and go back to the copy of the file and alter it accordingly. Then load it in and test it. Repeat until satisfied.
With a little planning, some note taking and editing you can make a great voiceover track for your videos.

BIO: Wayne Rice is a freelance journalist, copywriter, photographer and artist. He currently resides in the United States.

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