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Post by fitzoliverj on Jun 9, 2020 19:19:16 GMT
There's been a lot of complaints in the press recently about Lockdown episodes of "The Archers" on Radio 4. Because of recording constraints, they're doing a lot of characters 'thinking' rather than coversing.
So I was amused to read this letter in yesterday's Telegraph:
That's pretty much what Big Finish do, right?
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Jun 9, 2020 19:30:50 GMT
There's been a lot of complaints in the press recently about Lockdown episodes of "The Archers" on Radio 4. Because of recording constraints, they're doing a lot of characters 'thinking' rather than coversing.
So I was amused to read this letter in yesterday's Telegraph:
That's pretty much what Big Finish do, right?
More or less I suppose. I have taken the "Big Finish Method" to mean each actor is being recorded on a separate audio track, so that if there is a problem with one actor's track or take it doesn't affect any of the other actor's performances for that take. This is also means that when they are recording a 4th Doctor/Romana II audio Jane Slavin reads in Lalla Ward's part for recording purposes and then Ward's track is edited into the mix after she has recorded her part with someone else reading in the other roles. I don't think BBC Radio traditionally works this way at all. |
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Jun 9, 2020 19:36:55 GMT
I thought the 'Big Finish' method was something to do with birth control?
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aztec
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,849 
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Post by aztec on Jun 9, 2020 20:41:34 GMT
Have Big Finish always recorded like this? Do we know how long have they've used the main recording studios they use now?
I remember seeing some photos online of Paul McGann, India Fisher and Nicholas Courtney recording for a BF audio ( presumably Minuet In Hell or possibly Zagreus) and the three of them were perched under a single microphone reading from the script on a lectern in front of them, no individual booths for each actor.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Jun 9, 2020 20:51:17 GMT
Have Big Finish always recorded like this? No they have not. I think it may be a Nick era change or shortly thereafter. When Kenny Smith writes his next Big Finish book, I would love to see a chapter on this recording method. |
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Post by kennysmith on Jun 10, 2020 8:25:30 GMT
I will let him know.
The McGann pics referred to were taken at the Christchurch Studios in Bristol, rather than the usual studios in London.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,811
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Post by lidar2 on Jun 10, 2020 9:01:34 GMT
Have Big Finish always recorded like this? No they have not. I think it may be a Nick era change or shortly thereafter. When Kenny Smith writes his next Big Finish book, I would love to see a chapter on this recording method. I have a memory of reading somewhere that it started with Loups-Garoux, or that was the first one recorded in the moat or something like that |
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Robert-T
Big Finish Creative Team
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Post by Robert-T on Jun 11, 2020 13:33:52 GMT
Thought I’d chime in with this having worked throughout the process. It’s also quite fun to talk about.
The beeb’s method of recording audio plays tends to have a stereo pair of microphones at the front of the sound stage or studio recording everything. Movements, foley, paces and of course the dialogue. Big Finish take a much more clinical approach to recording due to the need to swap things out, affect dialogue with audio effects and have actors reading in. Due to this they’re able to record anyone on any part of the globe. Due to lockdown, actors have actually been able to record themselves in their homes to a high quality.
Per actor, they use a single condenser microphone in most cases, in a recording booth with the door shut. This creates an audio bleed free recording. The dialogue can be interspersed, by the sound designer, throughout the scene’s soundscape without issue. This method gives us a greater degree of control compared to the beeb's method. The beeb’s radio method essentially means they’re stuck with what they get. Big Finish can use the separate tracks to create panning effects, as you hear in the audio dramas. We can use compressors, equalisers and reverbs to create that 3d soundscape. This is more in line with how films are overdubbed. In fact a lot the skills a sound designer will employ can be transferred over to visuals.
Cheers,
Robert
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2020 13:45:45 GMT
Also worth saying that Big Finish have worked this way since the beginning (as I understand) - or at least in principle. Although the booths are exclusive to the Moat Studios, others still use the individual microphone and separation method, which allows the same effect. (The McGann photos showing actors gathered round a microphone are a touch misleading, as they're deliberately posed to show off the talent - an actual photo of people spread across a room would have been more spread out, and potentially resulted in awkward photos of the back of an actor's head!)
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Robert-T
Big Finish Creative Team
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Post by Robert-T on Jun 11, 2020 14:04:51 GMT
When I was working over at Audio Sorcery, there was essentially a big square room divided down the middle with soundproof glass. 3 actors would be on one side of the room and 3 on the other. They'd be facing away from one another with audio foam dividers between them. There was also two other rooms, one a larger soundproofed room and a smaller single person booth. The booth was generally used for recording parts like Orac or K9 that have quite a lot of processing on them.
It was a strange experience standing in those rooms because they had so much sound deadening foam in them, that sometimes you'd hear something that wasn't there. I can't really explain just how quiet it was!
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