Helpful Notes from a Post Person

Helpful Notes from a Post Person

This article was originally posted in the Indie (ACX and Others) Audiobook Narrators and Producers group on Facebook by Amanda Rose Smith (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACXNarratorsProducers/permalink/1065894153609909/). I have modified it to some extent according to my own perspective.

A "post" person is a resource you hire to proof, edit, and/or master your audiobook. If you plan to avail yourself of post-production services, I encourage you to read through these tips.

  1. Give me the right deadline. The deadline you give your post person should not be the same day that your book needs to be submitted. Give them their own deadline, and build in some slack time - preferably two days. Things happen. People get sick. Also, there are turnaround times. When a narrator gives me a July 15th deadline, I have until 11:59 PM July 15th to deliver the finished audio. If that narrator's submission deadline is July 15th, that poses a problem.
  2. Don't act off mic. In other words, don't change your position (turn your head or back away) related to the microphone - even when you are yelling. Both those things pose serious audio problems. You must learn to create a reasonable yelling approximation ON mic.
  3. Don't touch that dial! Once you have your levels established for recording, don't mess with the gain knob on your Digital Audio Interface (Scarlet 2i2, Audiobox, M-BOX, etc.). It is not a volume for listening. It directly impacts the loudness of the signal that is going into your computer. If you can't hear it well enough in your headphones, use the monitor knob. That's what it's there for. 
  4. Recording off axis. There are differing opinions on this topic. Recording off axis works for me and many other narrators. It does water down your performance to some (small) extent. If you aren't having issues with plosives or sibalance while recording on axis, there is no need to change. 
  5. Mic Placement. You should be about seven inches from your mic. Pop screen should be minimum two (2) inches away from the mic, you should be five (5) inches from that. If you are having issues with clicking, plosives, and sibilance, experiment with backing off the microphone a bit or moving it slightly off axis.
  6. Fixing your read. It is not an editor's job to change the character of your read. Most will shorten or lengthen pauses that seem out of character, but if you're leaving wide gaps all over, those will likely stay in. This is just one reason why punch and roll is so important.
  7. Go Upstream. Do your best to ensure your audio is high quality at the furthest point upstream - your recording. If you aren't listening with headphones, be very sure of your system and mic placement. If your book is full of plosives because your positioning is wrong, no one is going to fix that. An editor's job is to support the overall performance of the book, NOT TO CHANGE IT.
  8. Garbage In - Garbage Out. An editor expects to spend a maximum of 3:1 on your punch recorded book (three hours editing for every one hour of finished audio). If you have so many issues that more than that is required for a great performance, they'll start prioritizing, and smaller issues may not get fixed. This is not unreasonable. They need to make a living wage. If you've worked with several people and always find things aren't to your standard, either the audio coming in isn't high enough quality, or there's an issue with hiring practices.
  9. Just fix it in post. NEVER think "we'll fix it in post" or "My post person will fix that". Post is for things you don't even know need fixing, not things you don't feel like fixing.
  10. Make mine neat. If you're sending in a book to be mastered, SEND RAW. NO PROCESSING UNLESS APPROVED. This includes those of you on Studio One or Reaper especially. Disable ALL effects/plug-ins If your mastering engineer can't make the book sound better without your template, you shouldn't be working with them to begin with.
  11. Know What You're Getting. Clear communication ALWAYS. If you're asking for mastering, or editing, or proofing, be completely sure what that includes. If your post person sends a sheet detailing the services provided (I do), READ IT.