Embedded Files
Planning
For this assignment, I've chosen to record the prologue of Les Misérables. Initially, I had a hard time deciding whether to do a poem reading or cover a song, but I ultimately settled on this one. This decision stems back to my high school days, where we did a role-play of this musical. I'm excited about this opportunity, as I love musical plays. In that production, I played the role of Inspector Javert. The difference between that experience and this assignment is that I only need to focus on the voice recording aspect here.
When tackling this assignment, I was a bit lost at first. As mentioned in my previous blog post, audio work is not my thing- I know how to record, but I'm not well-versed in the technical side. Additionally, the only Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) I was familiar with was BandLab. However, since my professor does not recommend using that particular software, I had to explore other options. After some research, I found Audacity, which has become my go-to tool for this assignment.
The process
After deciding on the prologue from Les Misérables, I began the recording process using my PC's voice recorder. It took several attempts before I was satisfied with the results. I recorded two separate tracks: one for Inspector Javert and another for Jean Valjean. To complement these vocal tracks, I downloaded the musical score for the prologue as a third track.
Once I had my desired recordings, I exported the two vocal tracks to Audacity, the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) I chose for this project. With all three tracks now in Audacity - the two vocal recordings and the musical score - I was ready to begin the editing process.
Mixing
To enhance the overall quality and pacing of the audio, I removed any unnecessary dead air between the lines. This helped to maintain the tension and rhythm of the dialogue, creating a more engaging listening experience.
Given that this prologue is a dialogue between two characters, I needed to carefully split the two vocal tracks I had recorded. This step was crucial to ensure that the exchange between Inspector Javert and Jean Valjean would flow naturally and maintain its dramatic impact, even though it was purely audio. I carefully divided the tracks, paying close attention to the timing and pacing of each line. My goal was to make sure that, even without visual cues, listeners could still feel the weight and intensity of each character's words. This process required precision to capture the essence of their confrontation.
After splitting the audio tracks, I noticed two issues: the voices of Javert and Valjean weren't distinct enough, and there was inconsistency in the volume between the two tracks. To address the first problem, I lowered the pitch of Valjean's voice by -1, creating a noticeable difference between the characters without drastically altering my voice. For the volume inconsistency, I used Audacity's amplify effect to ensure both vocal tracks played at the same volume.
After mixing the two vocal tracks, I focused on integrating the third track - the background music. I utilized Audacity's auto-duck effect to ensure the music didn't overpower the dialogue. This feature reduces (or "ducks") the volume of selected tracks when the volume of a designated "control track" reaches a certain threshold. By applying this, I was able to balance the background music with the character dialogue, ensuring that the vocal performances remained clear and prominent while still benefiting from the atmospheric support of the musical score. This technique helped create a more immersive audio experience, where the music enhances rather than competes with the spoken words.
And lastly, after integrating the background music, I returned to the vocal tracks to add reverb. This final touch aimed to enhance the audio quality and create a sense of space, giving the dialogue more depth and presence. The reverb effect helped simulate the acoustics of a larger environment, making the recording sound more immersive.
As someone new to audio production, I'm proud of what I've accomplished with this project. This assignment allowed me to explore Audacity's capabilities and gain hands-on experience with audio editing techniques. Unlike my previous reliance on presets in BandLab, I learned to manually adjust settings to achieve my desired results. This process has not only improved my technical skills but also deepened my appreciation for the nuances of audio production. While I recognize there's still so much to learn, this experience has boosted my confidence and prepared me for my upcoming final project.
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