Mixing dialogue for different room/outdoor acoustics

j-toeth wrote on 8/24/2017, 1:59 PM

Hello,

I'm trying to make some crystal clear studio vocals sound more like they were recorded on their natural environments ( such as high ceilings, outdoors, etc).

Our dialogue recorded in studio sounds suspiciously perfect, especially recorded in their closer proximity than they would have been on an original location. I've played with reverb, tunnel, etc and equalizers, but not getting anything that feels authentic. My goal is to make our crystal clear vocals sound less perfect, and as if they were recorded more to the on-location environment. Is there a plug-in that does this most effectively? Thanks!

Comments

ryclark wrote on 8/25/2017, 7:07 AM

If you can afford it Altiverb or one of their other plugins are the best. https://www.audioease.com/index.php#software

But there are quite a few cheaper, or even free, convolution reverb plugins which may work. However the understanding of reverb and the acoustics of different spaces helps to make adjustments to dialogue easier.

SecondWind-SK wrote on 8/25/2017, 4:49 PM

One solution, though not a quick or easy one, is to play back your pristine studio audio on a good speaker system in the environment you desire..... large room, out of doors, etc..... and placing mics relative to the speakers to get the effect you want. Very old school, but it works. The reverb of the desired room is one issue. Mic proximity is more an EQ issue. But, often forgot is the ambient noise of the desired space. Often a little "presence" is the magic sauce that makes the illusion work.

j-toeth wrote on 8/28/2017, 11:25 AM

Thanks for the replies! Altiverb might be out of my price range for this, but sounds great. Maybe do some experimenting.

flyerstl wrote on 8/29/2017, 10:46 AM

One solution, though not a quick or easy one, is to play back your pristine studio audio on a good speaker system in the environment you desire..... large room, out of doors, etc..... and placing mics relative to the speakers to get the effect you want. Very old school, but it works. The reverb of the desired room is one issue. Mic proximity is more an EQ issue. But, often forgot is the ambient noise of the desired space. Often a little "presence" is the magic sauce that makes the illusion work.

This is a great solution. It's called "worldizing". Some might call it 're-amping' (in the music world). But re-recording through various speakers with diff. distances and eq helps to make it sound 'real'. This, along with carefully used reverb plugins (kill the reverb, just use the early reflection control).