Adobe® Premiere® Pro 2.0

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Acquiring and Editing Audio

LESSON 11

Setting up a basic voice-recording area

To create your voiceover narration, you’ll need a quiet, sound-absorbing location.

 e easiest solution is to build a temporary recording area simply by hanging some

thick blankets or  berglass insulation on two joining corner walls. If you can create

something like a four-sided, blanketed cubicle, so much the better.

It is an old audio myth that egg cartons, carpeting, and foam rubber work well. Avoid them.

If you drape the blankets only in one corner, point the mic toward that corner, place

yourself between the mic and the corner, and speak away from the blankets. It seems

counterintuitive, but the mic is sort of like a camera. It “sees” what’s in front of it. In this

case it sees your face and the hanging, sound-absorbing blankets.

Voicing professional narrations

Go over this checklist before recording your voiceover:

• Practice reading your copy out loud—Listen to your words.  ey should sound

comfortable, conversational, even informal.

• Avoid technical jargon— at demands extra e ort from your listeners, and you

might lose them.

• Short sentences work best—If you  nd yourself stumbling over certain phrases,

rewrite them.

• Stress important words and phrases—As you review your copy, underline

important words. When you record your voiceover, you’ll want to give those words extra

emphasis—more volume and punch.

• Mark pauses—Mark logical breaks in narration with short parallel lines.

• Avoid overly smooth and constant pacing— at’s characteristic of a scripted

delivery. You don’t want to remind viewers that this is TV. It’s real life. It’s conversational.

• Punch up your voice—Do not slip into a dull, monotone voice. Instead, add some

zest and enthusiasm to your narration.