Futz to make a good newscast sound?

Question

I just did a mix on a video that had a clip from a newscast from TV. We re-recorded the line (ADR).

I used a lapel mic as that is what they probably used on set..

Do any of you have a preset or certain compression techniques to make the voice sound like a mashed-up news broadcast sound?

I spent a bit trying to figure out how to get it to sound that horrible - compressed and dull but still clear at the same time..

I took the Lapel mic and sent it through 1980 in Izotope Vinyl and mashed it a bit with Renaissance Axe and then EQed to taste... But it still didn't have that "TV" sound I wanted..

Answer 1

Check out the Cosmonaut Voice plugin. It has some great presets, and I think one gets close to that one. I believe IK Multimedia's T-Racks has a few decent presets for stuff like that as well.

You could just do it manually with a bit of eq, a TON of compression (I'd even venture into multiband compression), and a brickwall limiter. (Probably in the order of Comp --> EQ --> Limiter) This gives you the most flexibility to get exactly the sound you want.

Good luck! Maybe post a demo of what you come up with?

Answer 2

Try Speakerphone from AudioEase. It will do exactly what you're asking. If that's out of your price range, simply dial-in a high end and low end shelf to taste on your favorite EQ, use a good voiceover preset on your favorite compressor, and you're basically there.

PS: I would not use a lapel mic in the future since you may risk introducing unintended clothing rustle. A standard ADR mic setup is better, really, even if you plan on making it sound futzed in the end.

Answer 3

To make dialog sound "old" or junky, you usually can just do as birdhousesound said and roll off everything above probably 12kHz and below 350Hz. That will keep your critical vocal range (4kHz to 9kHz or so) intact and clear. If you still feel it's not junky enough, put a brickwall limiter on the track that's almost always on.

If you're going for a specific example, take a look at it in a spectral analyzer (like Sonic Visualizer) and see what kind of frequencies it's highlighting. You can model your EQ off of that.

Answer 4

Try using your favourite distortion plug (I like lo-fi, and SansAmp) set to taste, followed by EQ (6k and 400 cut filters, and then a bump at around 2.5K -adjust to taste). Also there are a fair amount of speaker IRs out there, so use your favourite Convolution Reverb. TLSpace has some great speaker IRs with it... Again, EQ to taste.

Answer 5

I realise this is an old thread, but just thought I'd throw this out there, as it hadn't been mentioned. Personally, I love McDSP's Futzbox plugin for this sort of thing. Has a lot of great presets and it's also really easy to adjust the settings for whatever you're working on.

Answer 6

I worldized through plugins a song to sound like an iphone ring. I used guitar rig and with the right combinations of above mentioned EQ, and distortion, I was really happy with the sound i got. On the other hand, I've been drooling over speakerphone and the Altiverb package for awhile now but the simulations i do with guitar rig have been guiding me pretty well towards the right sound.