If you’re doing voice acting in audio dramas, chances are you will be called upon to scream in a scene. And that can be a very tricky task. So I thought I’d give some hints to a successful scream into a microphone.
Setting up your gain levels when recording is always a very important part of the recording process. If your gain is up too high, even normal conversation can be distorted. Every recording program is a little different, but universally they stick to the color coding system of green=safe level, yellow=pushing the limit but still okay for a few moments here or there, and red=TOO LOUD! Pretty easy to remember. So hopefully you’re already familiar with a good level for your own voice during performances. The secret here is not to watch the levels of peaks and valleys as you record. I’ve had many actors turn in recordings that on their end the peaks and valleys were minimal, but when I got the recording they were blowing out their microphone the whole way through. And when your gain is set too high, you also are more like to capture room noise which can be a battle to filter out in post. So watch the colors. Are you staying mostly green with a few moments of yellow? Perfect.
So you need to scream. Find the gain level that allows you to do that without going red. Then only record the scream at that level. A good practice is to do your entire dialogue recording first, then save the scream for last. This will also protect your voice so you don’t “blow it out” on the scream and then have more dialogue to record. I have done this and then edited my recording file, moving the scream from the end into the spot it would’ve been in the script. As an editor, I find that very helpful, so I make the effort. But you can leave a marker at the place of the scream and say “The scream will be at the end” so the editor knows where to find it. By doing the scream separately, you can adjust the gain for the scream but keep your dialogue at the normal level. I also recommend doing it this way because I have had instances where the actors lowered the gain for the scream, then forgot to raise it up again, so the rest of their dialogue was too low and it was a battle in post.
Another hint is to be “off axis” to the microphone. Usually you’re speaking directly into the mic, but for the scream, try turning your head about 25 degrees to the side. So you are screaming past the microphone, not directly into it. You don’t want to go too far to the side or your voice won’t sound present in the space. You might sound distant or pick up too much room echo. Which leads me to the distance you are from the mic. Some actors step back so they are screaming a distance away from the microphone. Those are usually the screams I can’t use. They sound far away and won’t match the rest of the recorded dialogue. Those recordings always pick up room echo, which is death for post production. The vocal quality of the voice goes down. It’s just an all around bad choice. It might seem logical, but it’s not actually helpful.
These same techniques can be used for when your character is shouting or yelling dialogue, not just screaming. Any raised voice. The key is watch those colors and don’t wander too far from the microphone. And always a good rule of thumb, play the recording back for yourself. You can listen through headphones and get an idea if it was a successful capture or if you need to make some adjustments and try again.
Chrisi (aka Madison)
