When it comes to voice actors, you may wonder what happens behind the scene that results in the quality work you hear. Yes, acting classes, coaching, practice, and experience comes to mind. But, what about the technical side of things? What are the tools engineers require to remove those nagging mouth clicks, heavy breaths, and background noises that could take away from the performance of the voice actor? This blog will discuss one of those important tools needed for audio production and two formats in which files are saved as.
When it comes to recording and mastering files, there are several options available. You may have heard of the word “DAW” mentioned every now and then. DAW stands for ‘Digital Audio Workstation’. A DAW is considered an application software used for recording and production of your audio. So, what are some of the most popular DAWs? Below are a few workstations commonly used in the industry:
1. Pro Tools: Released by Avid, Pro Tools is considered the “industry standard” in audio engineering. This Daw comes with a lot of features that may be a little overwhelming for newbies and tends to fall on the higher end of the pricing scale (subscription cost of $599/year).
“Trusted by top professionals and aspiring artists alike, Pro Tools is used on almost every top music release, movie, and TV show. And because the Pro Tools session format is the industry’s universal language, you can take your project to any producer or studio around the world.” – Avid
https://www.avid.com/pro-tools
2. Adobe Audition: According to Adobe, the creator of this DAW, Audition is a comprehensive toolset that includes multitrack, waveform, and spectral display for creating, mixing, editing, and restoring audio content. Audition has two primary editing environments. Multitrack offers a non-destructive clip-based workspace, where you arrange new or imported audio files on a timeline, blending and fading between tracks, and adding real-time processing effects like Reverb or Compression to your clips. Multitrack editors re-arrange pieces, modify timing, and adjust loudness levels for each piece until perfect, then render their project into a final audio file – often WAV or MP3. This workflow only uses existing media or creates new media, but never makes changes to the original files. Multitrack view is often the workspace of choice for video post-production, podcast and radio show creation, and musical composition.
Waveform view, on the other hand, is a destructive waveform editing workspace capable of in-depth analysis and sample-accurate selections and processing. Many effects and tools available in this workspace require multiple passes or are not real-time compatible, and result in changes to the actual data recorded in an audio file. This means that if you make a change to a file in Waveform view and click Save, you are usually overwriting the contents of the file you edited. This distinction can be tricky for users used to non-destructive NLE or DAW applications to wrap their heads around.
Adobe Audition is a subscription-based service coming in slightly under $264/year.
3. Audacity: According to it’s creator, Audacity is the world’s most popular free software for recording and editing audio. So if you're producing music, a podcast, or just playing around with audio, Audacity is for you. Audacity is also considered an open-source code, meaning anyone can view and modify it.
This option is great for artists starting out and can’t afford some of the previously mentioned DAWs. However, it does lack a lot of features that may make your engineering job easier. If you’re looking to get your feet wet, but not ready to dive in, consider this option, but don’t expect to have all the bells and whistles found in paid-for DAWs.
4. Other Options:
a. Logic Pro: https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/
b. Reaper: https://www.reaper.fm/purchase.php
c. Twisted Wave: https://twistedwave.com/online
Depending on who your file is being submitted to determines the final format of the finished product. For instance, if you are an audiobook narrator that produces your own audio and uploading to Audible ACX, an Amazon website that provides an audiobook library for readers to listen to audiobooks, you will need to upload your files in .mp3 format.
What’s the difference between .wav and .mp3? The short answer is .wav allows for multiple editing and saving without diminishing the audio quality of your recording. MP3 files are considered loussy formatted files, meaning the more you save the files the more your file quality decreases. Granted, it will take a lot of saves to see a difference. But, engineers will request files sent in .wav format to allow them to properly edit how they see fit. Also, .wav files are known to take up more storage and most times require file transfer sites to send to recipients versus sending as an email attachment. MP3 files are usually easier to attach and send through email.
Whether you’re starting out or working as a seasoned vet, use what works best for you. No matter what tool you use, remember to operate within your budget and work your way up to your goal. We all start somewhere.