most recent 30 from http://socialsounddesign.com 2013-05-19T17:29:40Z http://socialsounddesign.com/feeds/question/8529 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right oinkaudio 2011-06-07T13:30:21Z 2012-10-18T20:58:53Z

<p>Hi,</p> <p>Just was wondering what was the best way to get the vocal perspective of someones inner thoughts. It is a normal situation where the actor is conveying their inner thoughts to the audience. Nothing fancy. Can someone shed some light one how to do this? </p> <p>Thanks. </p>

http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right/8531#8531 Syndicate Synthetique 2011-06-07T13:45:36Z 2011-06-07T13:45:36Z

<p>If you're looking for a sort of subconscious psychic effect where you're hearing someone's thoughts...</p> <p>Maybe try reversing the dialog and then adding a reverb and then reversing it again to get a sort of backwards/reversed ghosting effect. This also works well with delay. Then you can also add a regular reverb and/or delay and blend between all the layers for balance and clarity.</p>

http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right/8532#8532 g.a.harry 2011-06-07T14:23:09Z 2011-06-07T15:08:07Z

<p>I really like my inner monologues to be super dry and up front. Nice and soft and round. Not quite the Voice Of God thing, but think Morgan Freeman in March of the Penguins and pull it back a little. </p> <p>Using a lot of effects runs the risk of obscuring the lines for first-time listeners, particularly for an audience that doesn't spend much time listening to stuff through flangers, reverse-delays, et al. Especially if it's a one-time thing. The most annonying thing in the world is having to rewind because you missed something that might be important. The brain/ear needs time to adjust to whats happening sonically. </p>

http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right/8533#8533 TheFaderJockey 2011-06-07T15:36:09Z 2011-06-07T15:36:09Z

<p>I find that the proximity effect LF boost provided by getting a cardioid right up in the actor's face adds a bit of weight to an inner monologue. It seems to make it feel a bit larger. Add just a smidge of verb (just a little bit!) and you've got a nice, subtly ethereal bit of dialogue with good presence.</p>

http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right/8534#8534 Chris 2011-06-07T15:59:44Z 2011-06-07T15:59:44Z

<p>The effect of rvrb, reverse, etc... may be more what you're after rather than mic position which should be dry unless you are "seasoning to taste."</p>

http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right/8535#8535 Sonsey 2011-06-07T16:24:47Z 2011-06-07T16:24:47Z

<p>No necessarily a DESIGN trick, but a mix trick is to put the voice across LCR, creating a voice that's "disembodied" from the action on screen - Murch used this to good effect in "Apocalypse Now".</p>

http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right/8536#8536 Utopia 2011-06-07T17:22:13Z 2011-06-07T17:28:08Z

<p>The thing that popped into my mind is an intimate VO recorded on a large diaphragm condenser. If the talent has never done voice-over work and has problems with being too loud or projecting, tell the talent to get close to the mic (about 2 or 3 inches) and speak to it as if he's talking into someone's ear (like as if the mic is the person's ear).</p> <p>Leave it relatively dry and add slightly more reverb to the foley and things happening in the environment while he is narrating to separate the "head voice" from the rest of the environment (it's all about contrast).</p> <p>I've done this with great success in the films I've worked on that needed this treatment.</p> <p>There are also countless examples of this dry treatment in great films:</p> <p>Fight Club</p> <p>Benjamin Button</p> <p>The Thin Red Line "I shot a man" sequence</p> <p>etc. etc. etc.</p> <p>WARNING: Closer mics mean louder mouth noise and clicks. Be ready to spend a while editing those out.</p>

http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right/8537#8537 Justin Pearson 2011-06-07T17:51:29Z 2011-06-07T17:51:29Z

<p>I agree with the suggestions of leaving the dialog dry. The more intimate you can make this feel the better. Especially if you goal is to bring the audience closer to the character.</p> <p>If you are mixing in 5.1 try placing the VO in the LCR. Adding voiceover to the stereo field can give the audience the feeling that someone is talking directly in their ear. This was done very effectively in Apocalypse Now. Listening to that mix in a theater gives you the feeling that Martin Sheen is practically whispering in your ear...almost like you're a priest in a confessional booth with him.</p>

http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/8529/getting-the-inner-thoughts-right/15751#15751 LeoSSom 2012-10-18T20:17:33Z 2012-10-18T20:58:53Z

<blockquote> <p>I agree with the suggestions of leaving the dialog dry. The more intimate you can make this feel the better. Especially if you goal is to bring the audience closer to the character.</p> <p>If you are mixing in 5.1 try placing the VO in the LCR. Adding voiceover to the stereo field can give the audience the feeling that someone is talking directly in their ear. This was done very effectively in Apocalypse Now. Listening to that mix in a theater gives you the feeling that Martin Sheen is practically whispering in your ear...almost like you're a priest in a confessional booth with him.</p> </blockquote> <p>I am editing a short movie, and in four moments I have the talent walking slowly in a long corridor, looking down, obviously sunk in his thoughts... I used a very dry sound , totally deessed, almost all low freqs removed (near 15db), resulted in more medium frequencies, like old records, and positioned in LR front and 10% in C channel . The producers were very pleased. Thanks Justin Pearson for the overall concept.</p>