However, I realize that unscripted narration, even just a few sentences, can be problematic. Eddie VanArsdall commented that using this method often results in a lot of mistakes. He says,

I always scripted my narration and sometimes improvised parts of it, but I could never record it in real time. The pressure of recording and multi-tasking seemed to guarantee that I would make mistakes.

Eddie is right. Unscripted narration can result in a lot of mistakes. Even if you’re 100 percent comfortable with the app, even if you have rehearsed exactly what you’ll say, even if you’re fresh and alert and full of energy, if you’re human, you’ll make mistakes — especially when you read a script or outline and narrate and record at the same time.

Making numerous mistakes can be frustrating. And the more frustrated and tense you are, the more mistakes you’ll make. But before you smash your microphone on the floor or burst a blood vessel in your forehead, consider this comparison: when you write a help topic or article, do you write it perfect the first time? From the first word to the last, do you type out the entire concept and task details flawlessly? Of course not.

So why should we expect to do the same in speech? Speech is perhaps a trickier, more nuanced medium, since changing the tone of one word can bend the meaning in multiple ways. In addition to unintended inflections, when you string together words in real time, you’re bound to have poor constructions, fumbled words, and other errors.

You can re-record the sentences that you fumble. And as you re-record the sentences, you can splice them into your original recording, similar to the way you delete some sentences and add other words in written text. The danger here is ending up with a hodgepodge of different sounds. To avoid the hodgepodge effect, consider the following tips for fixing fumbled sentences.

Record in 1024x768px Resolution

Set your monitor’s resolution to 1024x768px and record the full screen. If you do this, the screen recording will be the same each time. If you need to re-record part of the screen, your recording will match the previous screen’s position exactly — each time.

In contrast, if you just position a capture screen at 1024x768px on a higher resolution monitor, such as 1600x1200px (my monitor’s resolution), then you have to guess about where you’re positioning the capture rectangle on the screen. If you need to rerecord an area, you may not reposition the capture screen in exactly the right spot. But if you change the actual resolution of your monitor and always record at full screen, you can splice in multiple recordings in a seamless way. Trust me on this one — it works.

Wait, you say your users can’t view screen dimensions that big? Okay, if you need to use 800×600, be my guest. But you’ll have to implement so many pan and zoom effects to move around the capture window, it will be maddening to produce the video.

Use Dual Monitors as You’re Recording

Use dual monitors when you set up to record. Put the application and capture window on the monitor with the low resolution (1024x768px). The monitor with the high resolution should have your script. I also set the high resolution monitor as my primary monitor. All my pop-ups from email and other apps appear on the high resolution monitor.

Having the ability to look at a script on my right monitor while recording the application on my left monitor reduces the number of mistakes I make. If you’re trying to read a script written on paper, you’ll struggle trying to figure out where to prop the paper up. If you have to look down and then up to your monitor, and then down and up, recording at the same time as you narrate won’t really work.

Also, you may want to make last minute changes to your script, and if you’re stuck with paper, you’ll have to reprint it each time. The dual monitor provides greater ease for fine tuning your script moments before you record.

Keep the Microphone the Same Distance Each Time

Maintaining a consistent distance between your mouth and the microphone is critical for achieving a consistent sound. If you have the mic at varying distances when you record, it will be difficult to reproduce the sentences that you fumbled and splice them in seamlessly. You’ll find that some recordings sound a little louder, others have more depth, others are softer, and so on. Be consistent with your mic distance and you avoid these problems.

Write Out a Script or Outline Beforehand

Although I recommend against completely reading a script from start to finish, if you write out a script, it will help prepare you for the “unscripted” delivery. Knowing what you’re going to say is key to an articulate delivery. Even if you don’t look at your script at all, having written it will put the words in your mind, ready to be recalled at the right time. When I give presentations at conferences, I write out my scripts via blog posts beforehand. I can talk for more than an hour without a carefully detailed list of bullet points to look at. It’s the same concept with recording screencasts.

Hit the Pause and Resume Key Often

Almost every recording software has a pause and resume key. In Camtasia, it’s F9. I often deliver a paragraph or concept, pause, and then rehearse the next part of the script before resuming. Pause and resume works well as a way to reduce mistakes, because you’re not trying to remember a five minute script in one go. You piece together little parts to make a whole.

Fix Errors Immediately After the Recording

As soon as you finish recording, go back and listen to it. Where you make mistakes, re-record those sentences right then, while your tone and mood are still the same. If you wait until another day, chances are it will be harder to reproduce the exact sound. Your voice’s sound is a combination of a lot of variables — how you feel, what time of day it is, what you ate, what room you’re in, the alignment of the stars, and so on. By fixing the fumbled sentences immediately, you increase the likelihood of a seamless patch.

Match the Tone of the Fumbled Sentence By Repeating the Previous Sentences

Before you re-record the fumbled sentence, listen to the previous few sentences. Repeat them several times to get in key with the tone and rhythm. When you record the fumbled sentence, chances are your recording will sound much more seamless.

Repeat Entire Sentences Rather Than Fragments

If you make a mistake while recording, restart the entire sentence from the beginning rather than just the word or phrase you made an error with. If you re-record mid-sentence, you’ll find that some words are blended together in inseparable ways. For example, if you fumbled the sentence “I want more ice cream,” saying instead “I want more axe cream,” don’t just stop your self and re-say “ice cream.” Do you see how the word “more” blends right into the word “ice”? You can’t delete a word from your recording very easily when the words aren’t separate entities. But sentences usually have breaks between them, so they’re much more editable. Also, shifts in tone within the same sentences are more noticeable than shifts in tone between entire sentences.

Try Not to Narrate While Dragging the Mouse

It’s easy to fix fumbled sentences and recordings when you don’t have any mouse movement that takes place while you’re speaking. While it’s not always feasible to leave the mouse stationary as you narrate, you might try to avoid speaking while dragging the mouse around where possible. Fixing those type of recordings can be more difficult, because you can’t chop a second off the timeline without having the mouse jump an inch.

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Unfortunately, as you get closer to a microphone, the microphone starts to pick up more sounds from your mouth. Say the word “pick” or “pull” and you unleash a gust of wind toward the mic. Really, hold your hand up two inches from your mouth and say a few P or B words. Can you feel the gust? To your microphone, the puff is like a tsunami sound wave. This burst of air is known as a plosive.

When you get close, in addition to plosives, microphones also pick up a variety of breathing noises. When you exhale through your nose, the sound can be a low rumble in the microphone. As you finish one sentence and take a breath to start another, that sudden inhalation gets picked up by the microphone. When you open and close your mouth, the sound of your lips separating and smacking finds its way into the microphone.

Here are a few of the sounds I’m talking about. I’ve used four different mics for comparison.

The easiest way to prevent these plosives and breathing noises from ending up in your recording is through something called a pop filter. The pop filter is essentially pantyhose stretched across a ring and held several inches in front of your microphone. For some reason, the fabric of pantyhose seems to stop plosives. Pantyhose also helps to reduce the various breathing noises I mentioned. In part this is because the pop filter ensures you don’t get too close to the mic.

pop filter

You can make your own pop filter if you’re skilled working with wire and have a way to attach it to your microphone. I once tried this but found no way to gracefully attach the coat hanger wire to my microphone outside of gaudy-looking masking tape, which left my mic handle all sticky when I removed the tape.

I have since bought a $38 Shure Popper Stopper and have had felt it to be worthwhile. (Remember that you’re not buying a strip of pantyhose for $38. You’re buying the mic attachment clip and arm as well as the ring.)

Some pop filters are actually made of metal. I haven’t tried a metal pop filter, but I assume they work too. And metal is durable. If you get a nylon (pantyhose) pop filter, make sure you’re careful not to tear the nylon. One careless scratch and the nylon gets a run. (I know because when I originally removed my pop filter from the case, I think I scratched it against a package staple and it immediately had a run in the nylon, kind of like this. Luckily for me, the store still exchanged it.)

Here’s what the pop filter looks like positioned in front of my microphone.

My pop filter positioned in front of my microphone

What about the sacrificed sound that you give up by distancing yourself from the microphone? With a pop filter, you’re no longer kissing the mic. If you must get extremely close, you can. The pop filter won’t function as well, but you can learn to breathe stealthily, hit pause and resume to take breaths, and edit out your other mouth noises in post-production. You can also just learn to breathe quietly and discreetly. All of this, however, adds to the difficulty of producing a video and extends the post-production time.

For me, the minimization of mouth noises by adding some distance is worth it. I separate my mic from my pop filter with two sideways fingers, and my mouth from the pop filter with the same distance. The sound would be richer if I were closer, but I have to remember that I’m creating a software video tutorial to help someone learn an application, not delivering a late-night thought to sleepless radio listeners. Like your prose, your voice should also be somewhat invisible. Clear, personable, and articulate, but not necessarily a late-night DJ.

The instructions on my Shure pop filter actually say to distance the pop filter between 2 to 8 inches from the mic. I find that different mics record at different levels. When you’re 8 inches away from the mic, the sound quality decreases considerably. If you amplify the sound in post-production, static noise from the background also increases.

One downside to the pop filter is that it gets in your way visually. Some people find them so distracting that, instead of using a pop filter, they speak to the right of the mic a bit, so they aren’t coming at it head on. Rodney Saulsberry writes,

I think every voice-over actor has a comfort zone in front of the mic, a place where he tends to stand in reference to the mic most of the time. I like to turn my head to the right and work off the right side of the microphone. By working off mic I lessen my chances of popping, which occurs when you blow a burst of air into the mic. The sudden burst causes a sound that generally happens when you use “plosive” words that begin with t, b, or p. Some engineers will put a stocking type device in front of the mic to protect it from plosives. I find this device to be very distracting, which is why I developed my off-mic technique.

As I’m recording a video tutorial, the large diameter of the pop filter does get a little in the way of the computer screen I’m looking at. But I’ve traded some visibility for the benefits of the pop filter.

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One way I prepare for presentations is by writing a series of blog posts about the topic. So over the next two weeks, I’m going to write 10 posts about developing a personal voice in audio.

I admit that I feel like a novice with this topic. I’m not a voiceover professional, sound engineer, or e-learning guru. I do podcasting and screencasting. But voice is a topic I’ve been enthusiastic about for a long time.

Finding an Acoustic Environment

For several months I’ve been looking for a quiet room to record screencasts at my work. Our building has four floors for more than 600 IT professionals. I investigated more than 20 conference rooms, poked my head in empty offices, walked around unfamiliar floors, inquired here and there.

When people see me looking, they don’t understand what I mean by a “quiet” room. What does quiet mean? Stop and listen to the sounds around you. The fan, a ticking clock, a rumbling from a dishwasher or dryer, the hum of the lights, the sound of non-descript white noise, voices from a neighboring office, or cars passing by outside. The sounds are subtle, but when you start recording, these noises amplify onto your audio track.

That’s why you need a quiet room. If you have your own private office, great. If you have to schedule time in a conference room, that can also work. You usually have to work with what you’ve been given.

But let’s say you want something more — your own private recording room, where you can set up your equipment, lock the door, record is perfect silence, and come and go whenever you please, without worrying about someone playing with your expensive microphone.

After weeks of searching, I finally found that room. On the ground floor of our building, I located an unused observation room that’s part of a usability lab which, sadly, no one uses. The walls are lined with cloth panels. There is no fan. The room is isolated from other rooms. There’s a wired connection for internet, and at my request, a locksmith added a lock on the door and gave me the key.

I set up two monitors (hauling them down from my regular cube), a docking station, mixing board, my microphone and other equipment. It’s as close to recording in a studio as I will ever get. I’ve actually been holed up in that room ever since I found it. The solitude is both rejuvenating and helps me be productive. Most importantly, I can record without any ambient noise.

Characteristics of an Acoustic Room

When you’re looking for an acoustic environment at your work, look for a room that has these qualities:

1. Cloth paneling on walls. If the walls don’t have any kind of cloth or soft surface, the sounds will bounce and create echoes and boxy effects. As a test, clap your hands once and listen to the sound. Does it immediately die, or does the clap echo around in the room? You can bring in blankets and drape them around the walls to dampen the echo, but usually you can’t do this in a company conference room. You could also invest in some portable acoustic foam or a reflexion filter, like this one.
2. Fan-free. Usually conference rooms have fans (as part of a ventilation system), but the smaller rooms often don’t, or the fans are less noisy. If you can actually turn the fan off, even better. Although you can apply post-processing to edit out fan noise (using software like SoundSoap), and you can use a microphone that won’t capture many of the sounds from a fan (i.e., a dynamic cardiod mic), the hum of a fan will generally add a static background noise to your recording, which becomes problematic later on when you try to silence the gaps (to silence your breathing noises, for example). At the very least, if all the rooms have fans, pick the room with the least noisy fan.
3. Unschedulability. If you can find a room that can’t be scheduled by other people, or if it’s a room that you can schedule for weeks at a time without interruption, that’s best. Because otherwise you may have to drag your equipment in and out of the room each time you want to use it. In a later post, I’ll explain why dual monitors makes life easy. Do you really want to drag in two monitors and all your other recording equipment in an out of a conference room multiple times a day?
4. Isolation from other people. Conference rooms and offices in workplaces are usually located next to other rooms and offices because proximity to your colleagues enables collaboration and exchange. But if the walls are thin, those voices carry over to your room at the worst times (right in the middle of a perfect recording). You need to find a room that is isolated from other rooms as much as possible.
5. Lockable. Once you set up your fancy recording equipment, it’s nice to be able to leave everything as is and walk away, locking the door behind you. If you can add a lock on the door, you can secure your equipment in a convenient way.
6. Windowless. Look for a room with either no windows or low visibility. At my work, we have convenient team rooms right next to every row of cubes. But the team rooms have large windows on both sides. One time (the only time), I recorded some tutorials in one of these team rooms, and within 10 minutes, my colleagues were peering in the windows to see what I was doing. One colleague saw the microphone and immediately entered, saying “Hey Tom, what’s up?” with a big smile. After I finished and went to a meeting, another colleague put a post-it note on my microphone that said “Karoake anyone?” The less other people see you, the better.

Why is acoustics important?

One of the key advantages in finding (or creating) a good acoustic environment is being able to reproduce the exact same sound when you’re editing your recordings. If you have to constantly change rooms with different acoustic environments, you can’t easily splice in patches or fixes to your recordings. By maintaining the same environment and setup, you can fix little bits here and there if you make mistakes. As you’re editing the audio, you can decide to re-record a sentence here and there, and it will sound seamless because you’re in the same acoustic environment.

If you can’t find the right acoustic environment, that’s all right. Make do with what you have. In a later post, I’ll talk about using a dynamic cardiod micrphone, which does a good job at capturing the immediate sound in front of it and blocking out peripheral sounds.

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The next STC Summit will be entirely recorded and made available for free to all conference registrants.

At the next STC Summit, May 3-6 in Atlanta, Georgia, the STC will record and distribute every one of the 120+ sessions, making them available to all conference registrants for free and to others at a cost. Because this is the first time the STC has attempted to record the Summit, I asked Lloyd Tucker, STC’s Director of Education and Membership, if he could share some details about the upcoming recording.

Why did the STC decide to record all the sessions this year?

STC has been considering some type of conference recording for the last two years. We have been watching several associations and companies to see how their programs unfolded. We knew that the technology (remember those old cassette tapes?) had improved considerably, but needed to find a company that could provide more than just recording capabilities. The company we are working with has been “capturing” sessions for large conferences and companies like Microsoft for several years.

Capturing sessions is one part of a new conference management program. You may have noticed that the call for proposals for the 2009 conference was new and web-based. The program will also help us manage speakers, rooms, scheduling and all the things that have to get done during a large conference. Another exciting part of the conference management program will be the capability for those registered to use a personal planner in selecting sessions and events to maximize their time at the conference. That planner will aid in the planning for the proper size room, and allow us to directly contact registrants who intend to attend a particular session in case of changes and much more.

Probably the biggest reason for recording the sessions is to be able to expand the exposure to the great content of the sessions by giving individuals the capability to “attend” the conference sessions that they could not physically attend onsite. An attendee can only go to about 12 sessions during the conference even though 120+ are presented. Being able to “attend” the sessions after the fact greatly enhances the value of a conference registration and provides the attendee with a huge volume of educational materials to review.

Won’t the cost be astronomical?

While it is certainly not cheap, the cost is not astronomical. We will be able to include the “recordings” in the price of a conference onsite registration. We also plan to resell the conference package to those who did not attend in person. This price, while not set yet, will likely approximate the cost of a single registration. We expect this income to greatly offset the cost of the original recording.

Technically, how will you pull this off?

The good news is speakers will no longer be required to bring their own laptop. STC will provide laptops and speakers will only need to bring their presentation on a thumb drive. We can make exceptions and use a speaker’s laptop if they have unique applications, or the like, that they need to use.

The laptops will be loaded with a program that will record and synchronize the speaker’s visuals and audio as it is presented. The program does a screen capture of any visual that goes through the projector. So, not only will a PowerPoint slide be captured, but speakers that use the internet or an application will have that captured too. As it happens, our vendor works with Microsoft to use the same process to capture software training sessions as the presenter moves from screen to screen.

What were the conditions that led to this decision — e.g., why now? For example, are people perceiving less and less value from their STC membership?

The TechComm Summit is the crown jewel of STC’s continuing education programs. We are constantly looking for ways to improve content and delivery methods to satisfy our members. One of the comments made most often on evaluation forms is disappointment from not being able to attend all the sessions that are applicable. Even companies that send multiple attendees have expressed that frustration. We’re eager to see if this new capability of capturing the sessions will satisfy those who wish they could have been in all sessions.

Are people perceiving less value from STC membership? We realize that the key to a healthy association is continuous improvement in value and services. There have been several new benefits added to the list this year (exclusive discounts on software, access to the Aberdeen Group research library of best practices, an expanded Salary Survey, and more). This recording capability is but one of the new member benefits that the staff has in development.

What portable media device will best be suited to playing this content?

Of course the primary method of “attending” the sessions will be over the web. However, the system will allow download of PowerPoint slides in a PDF format, as well as the ability to download the audio file for your iPod or MP3 player.

Did you get any resistance to the idea of recording the Summit?

Thus far we have had no resistance. The call for proposals gave the submitters advance notice that this would be happening. All accepted speakers will be contacted with the details of the agreement.

What do you think the results will be?

Well, so far the response has been great. I have had several potential attendees call about the 2009 conference. When told about the ability to “attend” the rest of the sessions, they were extremely excited. I think that the opportunity to get tenfold the education than previously available would be exciting for everyone.

The recordings will be on the STC website several weeks after the conference. So, just as the memory of what you learned at the conference is beginning to fade, you can “re-attend” the sessions most important to you and view the PowerPoint presentation as well. And, of course, you’ll also be able to “attend” all those sessions that you couldn’t the first time around.

We’re still looking for a good name for this product or service. I’d love to hear some ideas from members on what to call it…”Conference-at-a-click”?…”Summit Remix”?…”Summit 2009 Online”?