Category Archives: Voice Talents

Voiceover tips, blog posts, discussions, resources for voiceover talents

Adobe Audition CS5.5 For Mac and PC Is Here

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The wait is finally over for Mac users who wanted an audio editing program that is more robust than Soundbooth, but less complicated and expensive than ProTools. Adobe Audition CS5.5 has gone native! Audition now runs on both Mac OS and Windows PC platforms. Also new to this version is 64-bit support for presumably faster processing, high-performance audio engine which allows background processing in multiple sessions; native 5.1 multichannel support, and improvements on the already outstanding noise reduction capabilities available in Adobe Audition 3.0.

Check out this Adobe Audition CS5.5 noise reduction video. Although it’s in Spanish, you’ll still be able to appreciate what Audition CS5.5′s noise reduction can do.

Sadly, these improvements come at an unusual cost. I don’t mean the price which is reasonable IMHO at $349. For some reason, Adobe decided not to implement some key features previously available in Audition including: MIDI support, tone and noise generation, video thumbnails and export, pitch shifter, my beloved vocoder effect, and CD burn (which makes the least amount of sense). Although other programs or plugins might replace some of these lost features, their lack in this Audition upgrade diminishes what I think was previously great all-purpose audio software. Adobe Audition 3.0, the older version, could handle audio recording, editing, mixing, mastering and MIDI sequencing all in one easy to use program.

Adobe Audition Coming to Mac OS

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At long last! Adobe has developed a Mac OS version of its famous Adobe Audition, a complete and feature-rich audio recording, editing, mixing and mastering program. The beta version of Adobe Audition for Mac is currently available through Adobe Labs.

This is great news not only for Mac users but for PC users anxious to know that Adobe is still committed to developing Audition. Since the deployment of Soundbooth, it looked like Adobe had lost interest in Audition, which is far more comprehensive without being as complicated to use as ProTools or other software. What I particularly like about Audition is its inherent versatility. It handles analog sound and MIDI sequencing, both production and post-production through its multitrack editor for mixing and mastering. And you can use it with different hardware setups on the fly, unlike ProTools which has its licensing tied up to Digidesign or M-Audio interfaces.

What’s New in Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition for Mac will have all the same great features of Adobe Audition 3, the last PC version, including the healing tool (a great concept borrowed from Photoshop). The new version will have 64-bit support which means it will use nearly as much memory as you throw at it for faster overall processing. The new version also promises improved noise reduction capabilities and improved workflow, allowing you to load additional audio files in the background while you continue to edit files in the foreground. Also new to this version is native 5.1 surround sound support.

For more details, check out Jason Levine’s Adobe Audition for Mac video on Youtube.

Don’t have a Mac? That’s OK. All these features are expected (rumored) to be part of the next version of Adobe Audition for PC as well.

Preserving Voiceover Continuity with Adobe Audition 3.0

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Some big projects never go away. If you’re the voice for a call center, you can expect clients to come back with requests for more prompts a week, a month or even a year down the road. If you’re successful in preserving continuity, the prompts you do a year from now will sound like the prompts you do today. By adopting a few good production habits, you’ll improve your chances.

  • Preserving Equipment: there isn’t much you can do when equipment fails and you can’t replace it with similar models. Mics have their own personalities, as do some audio interfaces. Even changing out your mic cable can noticeably affect the sound quality. If you have a magic combo, a signal chain you’re really happy with, obviously do your best to keep your equipment in good shape. Protect it from power surges and moisture if you’re in a humid climate.
    • Microphone: I keep my mic in a sound booth covered with an anti-static bag that came with a new hard drive I purchased a while ago. The bag has one of those salt packs that keep moisture away from components. I replace the salt pack from time to time as I buy new gear.
    • Electronics: I don’t remove mic cables or plug and unplug items in my signal chain because I want to avoid wear and tear; but I don’t let juice run through it unless I need it. Flip the switches on your surge protectors and battery backups when you’re not using your gear. It’s greener for the environment and your wallet.
  • Production notes: keep production notes for every project. Maybe you adjusted the gain +5dB, applied noise reduction, and then some EQ or compression. Whatever. For each project, write down what you did and follow the same steps in the same increments on future scripts you get for the same big project. All the while, use and trust your ears. Maybe you spoke a little louder or had a little more energy in one of the recordings and need to adjust the gain accordingly.
  • Give the same performance: Obviously, you want to try to produce the same performance. Some theater actors have the ability to deliver a line the exact same way over seven performances a week for months during a show’s run. Others prefer to vary their performances a bit to keep them fresh. A voice actor who wants to achieve seamless continuity doesn’t have that luxury.
  • Listen to older prompts: You can’t really provide the same performance if you don’t have a record of a prior performance. It’s generally a good idea to listen to older prompts on the same project before you go into the recording booth. Then during post production, follow those trusty production notes. And keep listening!  This will put you that much closer to seamless follow-up voice prompts and undetectable pickups.
  • Save and backup your EQ and compression settings: once you set levels you’re happy with, levels which give your voice warmth and presence or whatever other quality you want to achieve, save those settings. And, back them up.
    • Adobe Audition 3.0 Settings: I recently upgraded my laptop and now have Windows 7 (which has improved my workflow). I use Adobe Audition 3 which saves EQ and other settings to a file called effect_settings.xml.  This is a simple text file which saves unique settings inside <KeyVal> tags. This .xml file is saved in different locations depending which version of Windows you’re using. I’m not sure where Vista puts the file, but here are the locations for XP and Windows 7.
      • Windows XP:  Documents and Settings > Administrator [or your user name] > Application Data > Adobe > Audition > 3.0
      • Windows 7:  Users > [your user name] > AppData > Roaming > Adobe > Audition > 3.0

Some things that can affect sound quality (like relative air pressure) are beyond our control. Still there are a few things we can do to improve our ability to produce seamless voiceovers for clients who come back for more a week, a month or even a year later.