Audio Book Tips/Techniques

[Jay Reynolds]

I've got a client who wants me to record an audio book for them. I'm planning on documenting preamp setting/mic placement/talent placement pretty heavily as to ensure consistency. Anyone have any experience they can share about audio books and how not to fuck them up?

Thanks!

[KennyLusk]

Roadmap your sessions ahead of time to account for stopping points along the way just to stop for a moment and save the file, and backup every session when you're done.

And don't just start rolling with a sound you like in the headphones. Do a few warm up segments then listen to the playback. What you hear in the heapdphones isn't always what you're getting on disc.

[thunderboy]

Be sure to document EVERYTHING on your copy of the script. Time code at the top of every page and at the beginning and end of chapters, as well as session breaks (day 1, day 2, etc).

If you are doing punch-ins, mark them clearly with a double hash mark:

It was a dark and//stormy night.

Mark all questionable diction/pronunciation and document your alternate reel accordingly (a file with alternate reads of disputed words.phrases/etc).

jt

[thunderboy]

Oh - don't forget to record room tone! Supply this as a separate file. I like to see at least 30 seconds of tone from each day of recording, though more is not unwelcome - I once had a project where the engineer recorded only one 10-second room tone for the entire 4-day session. It was rife with footsteps, people talking in the hall or the next room, and a dog barking, not to mention the fact that the tone of the room changed over the course of the session. The amount of editing required to get usable room tone made that project a wash for me.

jt

[Jay Reynolds]

Thanks!

[Nick Sevilla]

I've got a client who wants me to record an audio book for them. I'm planning on documenting preamp setting/mic placement/talent placement pretty heavily as to ensure consistency. Anyone have any experience they can share about audio books and how not to fuck them up?
Thanks!

I've done a few.

1.- The publishing company ALWAYS uses what is called an ABRIDGED (read: edited down) version of the actual book. 650 pages is not doable, so they have the author get together with an editor or have an editor take out less relevant parts, and have that approved by the author. Usually you end up with about 200 pages worth of text.
Any more and it can be a tricky session.

2.- Measure how long in actual time it takes to read a FULL page of the text. Different font sizes are read at at different speeds (bigger font = less words = faster page reading) and add up how many pages there actually are.

3.- Usually you end up with about 2 hours worth of actual audio recorded, after cleaning up and editing. This can take to RECORD anywhere from 2 1/2 hours if the reader is experienced, to a full day if the reader is a novice at book reading.

4.- It is usually good to do the first page or two a couple of times, for two reasons : it helps warm up the talent, and you get an idea of how long it takes to record a FULL page of the text, in the talents' normal reading voice to be used. NEVER telll them you're going to "get a level" do this while they are doing the reading of the first two pages of the book DURING RECORDING, so they fall into their normal speaking voice level quickly, and you can adjust your level to tape accordingly, without making it a big deal.

5.- At the END of the session, have the reader take 5 minutes, and the RE-RECORD the first two pages or so of the text. This ensures the same tone and pace as the rest of the book, and the publishing company will love you for that.

6.- If the session is going to go for more than 3 hours, suggest 2 2hour sessions with a 15 minute break in between, for the talent's sake. This will ensure the reading is kept fresh and inline with the pace and tone of the book.

7. If there is to be different day sessions, take note of everything from the levels on all equipment, position of the reader to the mic, position of the lectern (where the pages are resting) and even use console tape to mark the position of both the chair and the mic stand. Do this on the floor by marking where each foot is,by mrking with the white tape OUTSIDE the foot, so oyu can easily fit the chair and mic stand into their locations the next day.

8.- Have PLENTY of water at hand. Watch out for plosives, excessive mouth noise, in which case you the engineer MUST ask for a pickup starting at a logical moment in the text BEFORE the mistake occurred and MARK this // at the appropriate place in your copy of the text. If you start the session and you do NOT have a copy of the test, please ask for one, just for yourself, for the recording notes. Or you will be in for one hell of an editing session.

9.- Record ROOM TONE. Record TWO KINDS :

One with NO ONE IN THE ROOM. 1 minute is acceptable length.

One WITH THE TALENT IN THE ROOM, not making any sound. The air occupied by the talent WILL make the room tone different if you are using a smaller voice booth, say less than 12' x 10'. Again one minute is a good time.

10.- Mark both room tones on your notes, and turn in your notes to the producer, if they are to have the publishing company do the final editing and mixing. Put in there your contact info in case the other engineer needs to contact you about specifics, like what mic used and polar pattern, what compressor and settings, what mic preamp and settings, what reference levels (-14dBFS is usual for these types of recordings) etc. You should try to notate this at the beginning of the text, or even on a separate sheet of paper.

Cheers

[Jay Reynolds]

Awesome! Thanks!

[Snarl 12/8]

If you're recording more than one session, taking breaks, or the talent is not that experienced, make sure you play back the end of whatever you recorded before, before you start recording the next bit. At least just for yourself. The talent could come in too strong, weak, excited, unexcited, high pitched, low pitched, etc., for it to match the preceding passage.

I had that happen with an inexperienced dude and I didn't catch it at the time, he was talking in the second session a full octave higher than the first stuff he recorded, sounded waaaay weird stitched together. Had to call him in for a redo. I was pretty inexperienced myself, looking back on it.

[thunderboy]

The publishing company ALWAYS uses what is called an ABRIDGED (read: edited down) version of the actual book. 650 pages is not doable, so they have the author get together with an editor or have an editor take out less relevant parts, and have that approved by the author. Usually you end up with about 200 pages worth of text.
Any more and it can be a tricky session.

The publishers I work with do NOT do this. They also tend to use voice "talent" with speech impediments and clicky jaws. Did I mention I don't do the actual recording, but the editing?

jt

[Nick Sevilla]

The publishing company ALWAYS uses what is called an ABRIDGED (read: edited down) version of the actual book. 650 pages is not doable, so they have the author get together with an editor or have an editor take out less relevant parts, and have that approved by the author. Usually you end up with about 200 pages worth of text.
Any more and it can be a tricky session.

The publishers I work with do NOT do this. They also tend to use voice "talent" with speech impediments and clicky jaws. Did I mention I don't do the actual recording, but the editing?

jt

I feel for you... I usually tend to address sound issues like mouth clicks and pops before recording, by changing the mic position, the mic, a different pop filter, a de-esser set only to go down in a narrow band, etc... Then the recording goes smoother, of course I have had sessions where the actual authors read their books themselves, and it takes a little extra touch to get the comfortable and in the good zone.

Cheers

[Jay Reynolds]

Any advice as to what to use as a reference? Are there any titles that are particularly good from a production standpoint?

Thanks.

[Jed]

Just found this thread and had to throw in my recent experiences.

I'm about 40 hours in on a book project read by the author. We did 1.5 hour sessions and it took about 15 hours of recording to get through the 256 page book.

This was her first time recording and my first audio book.

I found it is really hard to listen to the performance for errors *and* listen for extraneous noises. The way I was doing things was to insert a marker whenever there was a mistake while recording. So if she misread a line I would hit the marker button and she would reread it. This has made it pretty easy to find my edit points.

What I?ve found is that I was less likely to hear little background noises if I was really paying attention to the performance. Stuff like rustling pant legs or running her hand down her pants while saying a passage. If the noise is in between words I can edit it out, but if it is during the phrase it obviously has to be re-recorded. We?re going to have one last session to fix all these little mistakes.

There was one error that really bit me in the butt during the third or fourth session. I didn?t notice that she had worn her hair down that day and it was rustling on her blouse when she moved her head. It was incredibly subtle and we got about 30 minutes into the session before I noticed it. Listening back now, that whole 30 minutes has to be thrown away. So pay attention to stuff like that!

One last thing: editing out mouth noises is a bitch. Not because it is difficult but because it is freaking gross. After 25 hours of editing it is starting to make me sick to my stomach. Ahhh?only another 30 hours to go!!!

[@?,*???&?]

I've got a client who wants me to record an audio book for them. I'm planning on documenting preamp setting/mic placement/talent placement pretty heavily as to ensure consistency. Anyone have any experience they can share about audio books and how not to fuck them up?

Thanks!

Keep the performer on-axis with consistent proximity to the mic. This is an annoyance of mine and when the tone changes, it usually just sounds 'cheap'.

[Nick Sevilla]

Any advice as to what to use as a reference? Are there any titles that are particularly good from a production standpoint?

Thanks.

I recorded the following:

Fannie Flagg "Welcome To The World Baby Girl" The 1999 edition:
http://www.amazon.com/Welcome-World-Bab ... 93&sr=8-18

... she is the author that wrote "Fried Green Tomatoes" before, and had that turned into a movie.

Monty Roberts "SHY BOY: THE HORSE THAT CAME IN FROM THE WILD"
http://montyroberts.com/shop_equine_interest.html

And for spoken word with music, I recorded and edited / mixed both of these albums : Seminole Fire and Alligator Tales for Chief Jim Billie, ex-chief of the Okeechobee Tribe of Indians in FLA :

http://www.amazon.com/Chief-Jim-Billie/e/B000APLHAW

These ones were great fun to do, produced by John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)

Lastly, I recorded Jack Canfield a bunch of times with abridged versions of his popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series. I remember doing about 4 or 5 of those.

Cheers

[Brett Siler]

Not because it is difficult but because it is freaking gross. After 25 hours of editing it is starting to make me sick to my stomach. Ahhh?only another 30 hours to go!!!

ahahaha