Audacity:Voice Acting Workshop I
Hail Learner!
This guide was originally developed for the Voice Actors Project, a voice acting guild at TES Alliance, but since so many voice actors and modders found it helpful, I decided to update it for the CS Wiki. When you have completed this three part series of workshops you will know how to record, edit, and modify your voice files to broaden your range, improve the quality of your sound files, export WAVs, handle MP3 conversions, and create lip sync files using the Oblivion CS. With these skills you will bring so much more to the table in any modding project you are a part of.
Let's get started!
An Introduction to Audacity[edit | edit source]
This first workshop covers just the very basics of creating your first sound file using Audacity. The goal is to demystify the program for those who have never used it before. Many of you will be beyond this level already, but let's give the real novices a chance to catch up, shall we? If you haven't already done so, download Audacity now by clicking here.
When you first open Audacity this is what you will see.
Not really too intimidating is it? And that's the beauty of Audacity. It is one of the top choices among modders for three good reasons:
- Freeware: Modding is a free hobby, so it's hard to justify paying out for a project.
- User Friendly: The layout of the program is very easy for beginners to pick up.
- Great Results: This may be freeware, but the quality would suggest otherwise!
So, let's take a closer look. The most obvious feature are the large colored buttons at the top. I'm sure all of you recognize the symbols as basic audio controls. These buttons will serve as your primary controls and you could feasibly do an entire voice session using only three of them.
Organization[edit | edit source]
Now a lot of beginners dive into Audacity and start creating files without any organization. Lack of organization will lead to confusion when you have multiple characters and multiple files to juggle so let's take a second to get setup.
Go to your desktop. The first thing you need is a destination folder. If you plan on doing a bit of voice work you should create a new folder on your desktop called "Oblivion Voice Work" or something easy to remember. Inside that folder is where you want to create character folders, one for each character you are voice acting. For this workshop, I have created a folder called "Candace". Inside the character's folder you want to create 3 new folders called "WAV" "MP3" and "LIP"
Now that your destination folder is prepared, let's go back to Audacity.
Preferences[edit | edit source]
Before we start recording let's adjust some settings! Click on Edit>Preferences. On the tab Audio I/O make sure the Channel is set at Mono. Click on the quality tab and make sure that where it says "Default Sample Rate" it is listed as 44100Hz. If those are set correctly, go ahead and close the preferences box.
Smarty Says: note you only have to do this once, next time you make sound files, you won't need to adjust the preferences!!
Recording[edit | edit source]
Like with Word or Power Point, when you open Audacity it automatically opens a new project. So, to create your first sound file all you need to do is plug in your mic, click record, and deliver the lines. For this workshop deliver the line "Hello there, I haven't seen you around here before. Are you lost?" When you finish delivering the line, click stop. You will have something that looks like the picture on the right.
Congratulations, you have created your first sound file. Click on Audio Track>Name to name the track. I like to name each track with the character and the first couple words of the line so I don't need to listen to them to keep them straight. Name this track "CanHelloThere"
In the next workshop we will cover how to edit and modify the file but for now let's leave it as is and create a second line of dialogue. On the left hand side of the first sound file you'll see a mute button. Mute your first file before recording the second. Now record the second line "If you run into trouble, come find me and I'll help." Name this one "CanIfYou"
Once you have two lines recorded, unmute the first, and let's save the project. Click on File>Save Project As and choose the character folder as the destination for your project. Name the file after the character, I have named mine CandaceDialogue. This project file is a .aup file. It is useless for Oblivion, BUT it is your backup in case you need new copies of exported files, or you need to make changes. It also comes in handy when you end the day with 14 WAV files and 13 MP3s!
Smarty Says: You can continue adding lines to this project, just be sure to mute the last recorded line BEFORE you record the next or you'll encounter overlap issues.
So, we have created a project, but how do we get the files into Oblivion?
Export your files[edit | edit source]
It's time to export the lines. You will have to export each line individually. Start by clicking on the first track "CanHelloThere" so that it highlights in blue:
Now click on File>Export Selection as WAV to save the first track to the WAV file that we created inside the character folder.
Repeat the process for the second line.
Smarty Says: You cannot export your file as an .MP3! .MP3 files exported from Audacity do not work in Oblivion. Instead export as .wav files and use a converter to change the .wavs to .MP3s
That's it! You have successfully recorded 2 lines of dialogue, saved a .aup project, and exported WAV files. Not bad for a beginner!
In the next workshop we will cover noise reduction, voice modification, splicing, and the value of Gain levels. Click here to view Workshop 02!