6 min read
Recording voice over that cuts into a film: room, mic and file discipline
Narration is judged in the first three seconds. Most of that judgement is about the room, not the voice.
Voice over sits on top of everything else in a documentary, which means it has nowhere to hide. A reverberant recording cannot be repaired convincingly, so the work happens before you press record.
The room is the recording
You are not trying to build a studio, you are trying to stop reflections reaching the microphone. Soft, close and irregular surfaces do that. A wardrobe full of clothes, a duvet hung behind the speaker, a heavy curtain and a rug will beat an empty treated office.
- Record away from parallel bare walls and never in the middle of the room.
- Kill the fridge, the air conditioning and the phone before the first take.
- Listen to thirty seconds of the empty room and note what you hear. That noise is in every take.
Microphone and distance
A large diaphragm cardioid or a short shotgun both work. Distance matters more than the badge on the mic: 15 to 25 cm, slightly off axis to avoid plosives, with a pop filter. Closer gives warmth and proximity effect, further gives room, and you rarely want room.
Levels and format
Aim for peaks around minus 12 dBFS with an average nearer minus 20 dBFS. Record 48 kHz 24 bit so the file drops straight into the film timeline without conversion. If your recorder offers 32 bit float, use it and stop worrying about a sudden loud line.
Delivering the takes
Name files by script section, not by take number alone. If your setup records the mic and a room safety as a poly file, split it before handing over so the editor gets clean mono narration. Then check one file in the inspector: 48 kHz, 24 bit, mono, no unexpected second channel.
Keep the same setup for pickups
Photograph the mic position, note the gain and keep the same clothes and room. Pickups recorded three weeks later in a different corner will not cut against the original, no matter how good the performance is.