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recording audio questions

marcosmarcos Member Posts: 72
in General Modding
(Sorry for crossposting--I originally put this in the BGIIEE Modding forum by mistake.)

So I want to record some audio for an NPC I'm building. I've never done this before, and I know very little about recording. I mean, I've played around with Audacity a little bit and that's it.

Do people have any recommendations for how to begin? Better yet, are there game-specific tutorials?

For the record, once I have decent sounds I can get them in the the NPC mod without a problem. It's the recording part that I am unfamiliar with.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Comments

  • jmaeqjmaeq Member Posts: 92
    edited January 2019
    I am, by no means, a professional, but I like to do a bit of voice acting as a hobby. So, these tips are just what I do to prepare, assuming you can produce decent sound:
    1. Make sure room is quiet and free of any noise
    2. Get out any nervousness/jitters by rolling r's or saying random gibberish to the microphone
    3. Get into the mindset of the character/Get into the mood
    4. Read lines beforehand to get a feel for what you need to say and to minimize errors
    5. Practice saying those lines out loud (I like to record at this point, so I know how I sound and what not to sound like). This is especially helpful when I try to do an accent.
    6. On the topic of accents, if you have one in mind, searching for and listening to the accent on YouTube or something similar during or before the recording session would definitely help with remembering the accents. There are quite a few tutorials on YouTube that help with various types of accents.
    7. Do a few test recordings to check your volume. It will help you know how far away your mouth should be in regards to the microphone.

    Additional Notes:
    When I first started recording, I didn't have the best equipment...or mediocre equipment really. While listening to my audio recordings, I noticed that there was static in the background. One way to get rid of that in Audacity is the "Noise Reduction" option, which should be located in the drop down menu of "Effect".

    Also, watch out for harsh sounding consonants, such as 'p' or 'ch'. They make REALLY harsh sounds. It is kind of hard to edit out too without the audio losing quality.
  • marcosmarcos Member Posts: 72
    Thanks for the response, @jmaeq. Do you have any recommendations for beginner's equipment? A mike, for instance? In my fantasy, it's a Mike or a High Quality Mike, not a Mike +1.
  • marcosmarcos Member Posts: 72
    Oooh, look what I found!

    /shsforums.net/topic/7234-tutorial-on-voice-recordings/
  • jmaeqjmaeq Member Posts: 92
    @marcos I haven't tried the microphone in the tutorial, but I was using an AUKEY Condenser Microphone, Studio Bidirectional Recording Condenser Mic - https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Condenser-Microphone-Bidirectional-Headphones/dp/B06ZXZQMNN

    However, an omnidirectional microphone, as stated in the tutorial, is definitely the way to go. I've tried one and the way they pick up sound is lovely.
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