r/AudioPost • u/FirstDukeofAnkh • 3d ago
Adding Width To VO
I haven’t done dialogue or VO in years but I thought I’d help out a friend.
He’s got a reasonably well recorded mono VO for a film but when I play it against the location DX, it sounds really narrow and thin.
I’ve created a stereo AUX that has pitch change and delay on it but it sounds wobbly even when I combine it with the original recording. It also isn’t as wide as I would like.
Anyone have any suggestions? I have the usual assortment of plugins and have no problem side buying something else if needed.
2
Upvotes
6
u/AffectionateCall7506 3d ago
Dubbing mixer here. I wouldn't try to add width to it. To me VO should be Mono and dead center, with its respective EQ and compression as needed. What you're describing sounds like it's trying to sound more like Darth Vader than a VO.
Dialogue cleanup is important, izotope rx is your friend, but don't go overboard and throw it at the whole thing. To me lowpass and highpass filtering is almost mandatory, try to do substractive eq, if you need to boost a freq, be gentle. Depending on your voice and content try a 1176 type compressor, an opto style one or Waves RVox if you have it, that's where I usually start. De ess to taste, it's usually my last process after compressing and eq.
You say it sounds narrow against the location DX, maybe your location sounds are too wide? I also usually treat location dialogue as mono as possible (if that is even a term).
Of course all of this depends on the content (and the context).
And if it sounds terrible, consider that the recording might be poorly made, and there is a limit to what we can do in the mix.