Amazing Voice Over Editing Trick!

[@adamdergiman-worldvoice9685]

Hey Bill, thanks for the continued tips and tricks you keep putting out. I wanted to bring your attention to a function inside adobe audition called 'Mix Paste' - with the keyboard shortcut by default being CTRL+SHIFT+V - it will bring up a little window called Mix Paste and in it you'll find a number of sliders and ratios. In this instance, copying your room tone into a section, you want to have the 'copied audio' at 100% and the original audio at 0%. THEN in the paste type section on the left - choose 'overwrite' - this will effectivley to a simple CTRL V of your original audio - BUT - with one crucial difference - You wont have to spend time messing around trimming audio OUT that is too long from your original area. IT will simply occupy the space of the selected section - even if the copied audio is longer than the section you are replacing. Saving you time and effort!!

[@AdamPFarnsworth]

Substituting room tone for breaths seems so obvious after seeing/hearing it, but this is an amazing tip!

[@TonyJacksonVO]

Great tip on copying room tone! Here's another Adobe Audition tip: That little icon next to the "Loop Playback" button is called "Skip Selection" and it's awesome. Click that button, highlight what you think you should remove, then play to hear if the gap sounds natural. I love that little button.

[@simdrew1993]

Interesting, thank you Tony. That sounds very useful! 🙂

[@williamodman6476]

This is great, Bill! I'm already doing this with long narration (and will likely incorporate it with you commercials). It feels good to have you affirm what I'm already doing, LOL! I'm a little breathy (okay...a lot breathy), and I was bothered by the amount of space left over from breaths that had been removed by de-breathers. I've been using this on the audiobook I'm producing, and while it takes a little extra time in edits, I'm finding the result to be a lot cleaner. I know we're not supposed to worry about it that much for audiobooks, but I do. If you have any tips on breathing, that'd be great as well!

[@IanMayer]

So glad to know that I had decided on doing this a few months ago and it was the right thing to do. By that I don’t mean to sound like I am saying “Oooh how smart am I?” I just mean that it is nice to get a positive affirmation especially if you weren’t looking for it.

[@randomfeller]

I do the same thing. I normally get about 10 seconds of room tone at the start of my recording, before I even go in the booth, then I copy half a second to paste over the breath and trim it to fit. Also, if I’m taking longer than normal between sentences, I’ll paste in that half second to keep the recording on a consistent pace.

[@stunorfleet4484]

AMAZING idea - RT vs. Silence! Brilliant!

[@marilynisles6968]

This is great! as I already do something very similar. I like the idea of recording the little extra room noise to play with and further reducing the space between the voice as needed to make if flow more naturally. Happy to know I do the same thing as the pros. Thanks Bill.

[@sleepreadingblackscreen5845]

I love the “leaving the curser” as a marking point of what to clip out of there’s extra. I signed up for the webinar. I missed Malories webinar a few weeks back (after I registered, 😢) so it will be nice to hear what she has to say hopefully about Fiverr. Thanks again Bill!

[@simdrew1993]

I do this sometimes, very good advice. I sometimes leave the breaths in to sound more natural as I read somewhere that it's recommended for a more natural feel, but then other times I do this too and replace the breathing with silent noise to sound more clean. I didn't know others did this too, that makes me feel a bit better. I usually try to get rid of most but leave in a few small breaths, sometimes I remove all though in shorter lines. Thanks again!

[@CatchGravity]

Thanks for that! I've been really curious how Audiobook narrators get rid of their breath sound in the audio. This is Awesome! Thank you!🙏🏼

[@JeffPriskorn]

My wife and I both have had auditions that we've sent into our agency be surreptitiously used by clients as the actual recording, hoping to not have to pay us. Fortunately our agency helped us get paid anyway, but it's for this reason that I don't like to submit immaculate auditions.

[@crisfehr]

Awesome tip Bill - Loving the Blueprint 2.0 program...a wealth of wisdom!

[@VoiceCoach-BillDeWees]

Thanks so much Chris. Great to have you in the program! :-)

[@C_a_m_i_2024]

This is awesome info as I'm just beginning with narrating stories...this helps a lot.TY

[@kaylenewappel6651]

Thank you so much. This is my first week doin' voice over, but I soon doing a college program on Social media. This is so helpful because when I was taking out the breath it would speed up my speech (which is already too fast) thank you again. If I need a coach (and I do) it will be you.

[@jasonjhumphreys8120]

Thanks very much for the tips and tricks! I really appreciate it. I enjoyed one of the other videos that you had on reducing sibilance. It really helped.!

[@johngiraltbedford]

Does Adobe Audition not have their own version of punch copy/punch paste like Audacity?

[@davidzolla3773]

Oh, that's GREAT information! Yes, I've been doing it as well and I didn't know if it was acceptable or not...now I know. Thank you Bill!

[@flyfisherjames]

Will there be a link to watch the webinar later? I live in Bahrain where it be 3.00am when it starts !!

[@VoiceCoach-BillDeWees]

Hi James. If you register, you will receive a link to see the recording later.

[@phenomic]

So just an idea herer, if you delete the time the breath would take anywas, cant you just delete the breath since whats left over is room tone before and after the breath anyways? .. It would only make sense to paste roomtone instead of adding silence over it if you keep the time of the breath no?

[@SachinKotak-qy9ln]

Room tone technique ..is it possible on audacity? because the beginners cant afford adobe audition. Can u pls make a tutorial video on audacity?

[@MeditationWithArthur]

Super helpful! Thank you 🙂

[@princeicio]

What about compression, eq, db, etc?

[@NeonsStyleHD]

Do you use a Gate on your mic? Cause that would remove the ability to record room noise. Breaths are the bane of my existence, and on long videos, +30 mins, it's a pain to have to go through and remove them. Up to now, I've been using Noise Reduction, but since my my is gated, this method might not work.

[@flyfisherjames]

Great tip. Anyone know how to do this in Reaper? Would love to set up a custom action.

[@ttmkhari]

I use a debreath software... Although all it does is to delete or reduce the volume of the breath...

[@chanselur]

sounds cool but may be uneffective, breath supression plugins or noise reduction always mess up the audio in some way

[@thomasdutra6337]

Bill, In your clip here, the recorded ambient room noise is around -75dB. Is that with a low cut filter applied?

[@janduplessis8968]

Thank you Bill. Very useful!

[@walangimposibleemele...]

Thank you... 💕

[@monik.magic4274]

This is very useful Bill. Can it be done similarly in audacity?

[@MRod19925]

Yup, I do it all the time when I am taking out my own breaths (it's literally the same process he did).

[@charliebrennan-VOtalent]

thanks for the tip Bill

[@jbsf27]

Hi Bill, I'm just getting started but research led me to believe I could just use a subtle noise gate to remove breaths/clicks. However, I assume this would create dead silence between words and this tip you gave makes me think that would be noticeable and not ideal. Would it be acceptable to use the gate on the recorded track to remove breathes/clicks all at once and then add in a second track of nothing but room tone to avoid the dead silence? Also, my noise floor is about -60db in my moving blanket booth, is that an acceptable level to use as room tone? Thanks!!

[@Mullnet95]

Hey Bill! First of all, thanks for this video. I have been following your advice since 2017 and it has let me to the beginning of a fulfilling voice over/ voice acting career. But this is where I’m stuck: Here in Germany we have collective agreements in place setting the boundaries of VO pricing. And the suggested prices are quite hefty. If I offer my services below that “minimum price” I would most likely be looked down upon by others in my industry. This is in complete contrast to the things you have been teaching on this channel and in your book. How do I, as a beginner, get clients to pay me those prices? I don’t want to sabotage the industry. But I also would like some work to start my career with.

[@Mullnet95]

Maybe I should add, that this whole collective agreement thing has been working out fine for those who are already established in the industry. It is one of the only industries here in Germany that has been successful in fighting back against price dumping. So I can see, why it is important for everyone to follow through with this.

[@comovidro]

Thank you

[@buddyojeda]

Great info, thanks Bill!!

[@bradyj86]

Saving this to watch later so I don't forget 😄

[@fibromyalgiajourney-denisebowe]

Awesome thanks Bill!

[@md65000]

Bill are you filtering out the lows when you record? When I record, the waveform in my "gaps" is very squiggly--it doesn't get flat like yours until I EQ out the lows. In fact it's difficult to make these kinds of edits until I do that.

[@davemermelstein3034]

Awesome and very helpful!

[@BusinessEnglishSuccess]

It looks like the final result would be the same if you'd just deleted the breath - coincidence?

[@d35er]

I was thinking same thing. If you're going to remove 10-15% anyway, why not simply delete the breath itself, leaving the ambient noise there? Just a thought. But enjoy any/all tips!

[@VoiceCoach-BillDeWees]

Sometimes it might work out...sometimes not. Depends on how long the breath is. This way I can easily repeat the same movements without having to occasionally change my flow because the breath takes up too much space.

[@simdrew1993]

Deleting works, although not all the time. Sometimes it will cause a pop or glitch. Pasting room noise usually will resolve that.

[@howardwhite684]

Great tip Bill..

[@rocoluxe1055]

Right on time!

[@Gigmeister1]

This is a good method. However, why not simply use a noise gate to eliminate the breaths? That seems to work well for my recordings.

[@Josh-sx2lg]

Cause Noise Gates are harsh, sometimes even cuts some of your voice at the end of the sentences, and like Bill said in the video, complete silence draws attention, is better to use your room tone, cause your audio will sound even. If you use a Noise Gate, it will cut out the tone in the silence and breathing parts, but when you speak, the room tone will be recorded with your voice, and it will be more noticeable, and the longer the recording is, the more you will notice, and it gets distracting. I have heard 3 mins ACX audition, where it gets to the point that during the audio, you can even hear noise in the background while the talent speaks that you wouldn't notice without the noise gate. Make the sound even, and it will be a better recording. That's why is so important to have a quiet place if you can"t sound proof, with a quiet place with good acoustic treatment, you can sound like pro.., sure sometimes a car passing by or someone screaming on the other house can ruin your take, but it is cheaper than a 10k soundproofed room. Find a place that you won't need a noise gate, and you will see the difference in your audios.

[@VoiceCoach-BillDeWees]

If it works for you....great! Just make sure the gaps are transparent. That can be the challenge with a gate.

[@tdmorgenthaler8384]

Noise gates are a tricky skill to understand, initially at least. This method he discusses, anyone can pick up on an run with... Methodologies learned are tools; it is simply a matter of which tool one needs to take from the box for the given situation.

[@Gigmeister1]

@@Josh-sx2lg I already have a good booth. I don't suggest a harsh gate but my clients all like the audio I provide them.

[@monik.magic4274]

That's very useful Bill. I use audacity. Can it be done similarly in audacity too?

[@tdmorgenthaler8384]

Excellent.

[@thejonathandoan]

I do agree that our minds simply don't like the difference between room audio and full silence. I wonder, though, how important it is to know the final outcome of your recorded product? Does it matter so much if the recorded sound will be mixed with many other sounds, or loud music, that renders these in-between moments pointless, as you'll never notice with all the other sounds vying for your focus? That is, assuming you remove breaths and fill the gaps with either silence or room audio.

[@TonyJacksonVO]

If there's nothing under your voice (e-learning, audiobooks, etc...) it makes a huge difference. So much that the silence becomes distracting.

[@thejonathandoan]

@@TonyJacksonVO That makes a lot of sense!

[@chucklewis9217]

If you don't have horrendously loud and obnoxious breaths, you can use a gate with a wet/dry mix to get the same effect. (I use Regate, the standalone gate for Reaper which works well as a plugin for Adobe Audition.) The gate closes to eliminate the breath, but you can also choose how much of the dry, or room noise signal, fills the "silence" between your phrases.

[@michael.meinhardt]

Very good.

[@Electrobilia]

Why not just delete the breath (rather than having to paste over it with room tone and then shorten the section)?

[@SachinKotak-qy9ln]

isn't it the stuff that the client gets it done from his sound engineer? Man, this video is enough to demotivate you from entering the voice-over business.

[@th3gr81]

As a voice over artist, you double as a producer/recording engineer/mastering engineer. It’s like being a musician without the click track.

[@Kevinmuckout]

Hey Bill!

[@jahgocrazy]

heard his voice from somewhere