# Producing Audio for 3 axis skulls and VSA routines



## HalloweenBob (Dec 5, 2006)

OK, today's post is all about how to produce your individual voice tracks and why it is important to do this.

To do the recording, you will need to have several things ready to go. I will list them here. You may not need every one, but I will explain what they each are for.

1. A Decent Microphone. (I recommend the Sampson CO1U USB Condensor Microphone. You can get them many places including eBay. Here is one link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=492446&Q=&is=REG&A=details
2. Adobe Audition 3 or higher http://adobe.com (adobe.com probably no longer sells version 3, but you can get it for a good price on ebay and other places.)
3. Sony Sound Forge http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/soundforgesoftware
4. MIDI Converter http://download.cnet.com/MIDI-Conver...-10506124.html
5. Melodyne studio by Celemony http://www.celemony.com/cms/index.ph...roducts_studio
6. Winamp or Windows Media Player
7. SmartScore X Midi Edition from Musitek http://www.musitek.com/midiedition.html
8. A quiet room to record in.

I use that microphone because it is relatively inexpensive and has a really good professional 'studio' sound to it. When I ask other people to record parts for me, I buy more microphones and ship them to those people. That way, all the tracks have the same dynamics and sound like they were recorded in the same place on the same equipment.

The next step depends on you. It is time to record your first vocal part. If you are already a good singer, you may not need to create a 'practice track' to make sure you sing all the right notes. I do need such a track. So I will present a few ways to create one.

One method I use, especially if the parts I am going to record are close harmonies is to create an audio file with just the notes I am going to sing played out on a piano. Then I play that track back in winamp or Windows Media player into my headphones while I sing into the microphone and record it in SoundForge (Or any other recording software) right on the same computer. Since SoundForge (or whatever software you decide to use) is only 'listening' to the microphone input, you end up with a recording of only your voice.

To generate the piano track you can do several things. You can play it on a piano (or any instrument) and record it, but this may create problems as to exact timing when you go to put all your parts together. What I do is to use SmartScore and the Sheet music that I purchased. Within SmartScore, you can scan the sheet music and it will create a MIDI file for you. Before you create the file, you can edit the score and remove all notes except for the ones related to the specific part you want to create a singing guide for.

I will use examples from a song I did called 'Rise Up Ye Buried Gentlemen'.

I got the sheet music for "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and scanned it into SmartScore. If I played it and created a MIDI file it would sound like the following short snippet:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/4PartsGentlemen.mp3

By editing out all the notes except for the one line I wanted, for the same short snippet for the lead part, I get this:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/BuriedGentlemenTransposedPart1Line1Midi.MID

When I go back and re-edit eliminating everything except the second part I get this:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/BuriedGentlemenTransposedPart3Line1Midi.MID

The third and fourth parts are as follows:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/BuriedGentlemenTransposedPart3Line1Midi.MID
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/BuriedGentlemenTransposedPart4Line1Midi.MID

Now you know what it all sounds like together and you know what each part sounds like individually. I would break the song up into short segments like the ones I just posted and play them back in WinAmp to my headphones in a continuous loop. Then after hearing that short part go by several times in my ears I would sing along with the recorded piano, singing the section of my new lyrics that I wrote into the microphone over and over again for several takes. This way, I also get the timing correct if I keep time with what I hear in my headphones. If I am off in some places (Which I always am) it can be corrected later. If you can't sing on key (Like me) don't worry, just be confident and come close. Pick a note and stick to it. Don't let your pitch waver or correct itself, even if it's the wrong note. You can fix the notes later, but it's hard to pitch correct a note where the pitch changes throughout that one note.

Once you get several takes of each part for the same phrase, you should end up with something like these parts:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part01.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part02.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part03.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part04.mp3

They are close after several takes, but still not timed out perfectly and still have some sour notes.

Here's what they sound like when put together:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Gentlemen4Parts.mp3


Now it's time to fix things up.

I can not go into detail on how to use all the features of each software program within this tutorial, but there are plenty of guides and tutorials for each piece of software both on the manufacturer's websites as well as on YouTube.

The first thing we have to do is to use a multi-track editor to line up all the syllables of all the words and make sure that they all sync together so that the lyrics can be understood.

So open Adobe Audition (or get Audacity for free http://audacity.sourceforge.net. Audacity is also a multi-track recording and mixing software, but has limited features compared to Adobe Audition) 

Drop each of the tracks into Audition (or Audacity) and set them up one part for each track. You can use this software to align small parts of each track directly in line with the lead vocal until all the syllables line up. If you were short on one syllable, you can even time stretch it out to fill the space so it matches the lead vocal line that you wanted to line everything up with. Even if you end up with a choppy sounding individual track or two, it won't be noticed once you drop the whole thing in the final mix. You can experiment by using the files I provided.

Once you start working with Adobe Audition or Audacity, always save everything as a WAV file. Each time you save a file as an mp3, there is a small space added at the beginning and end of the file which is translated as a short silence. This is where the compression information is stored and since it is not audio material it has no sound. It does push the audio out a bit and will start to unsync all your work. WAV files remain as you created them. I only use mp3s here because they have a smaller filesize and download quicker.

Now, once you have all 4 files spaced out properly so all the words and syllables line up, you need to pitch correct them unless you are a good singer and hit all the right notes already. If that is the case, then you are basically done here and don't need to use the pitch-correction software at all. I wish that were the case for me.

After aligning them, they will sound like this when all played together:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Gentlemen4PartsTimed.mp3

And here are the time corrected 4 individual parts (Still with the sour notes):

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part01Timed.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part02Timed.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part03Timed.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part04Timed.mp3


Now we have to pitch correct.


First, open up Melodyne studio by Celemony. (This program will only work with WAV files, so make sure all your files have been converted or saved to WAVs)

Go to 'File', and then 'New arrangement'.

Then click on the box for 'Track 1'. Next go to 'File', then 'Import Audio File'

After converting or saving all your files to WAVs, including the MIDIs of the piano tracks that you used as singing guides, you can navigate to those files. Open the piano track (the converted WAV file that you made with your MIDI Converter) and import it to Track 1. 

You should make sure after creating the WAV file from the MIDI that the notes line up with the timing of the words you sang. They should all line up as soon as you get it placed in the right starting position. You can line these up in Audition by using your vocal tracks as a timing guide for the original piano tracks.

OK, so you have your aligned Singing guide piano track WAV file in track one.

Click on Track 2, go to 'File', then to 'Import Audio File' and select your voice track for the same part as the singing guide and place it in track 2.
Now double click on any note that you see in track 1. It will open a new window.
Go back to the original window and double click on any note from track 2. It will add that track to the new window.

If you made no errors and were in perfect pitch all the way through, the notes should be sitting right on top of each other. Perhaps they will be an octave different, but will be the same notes, for example, both A#'s but an octave apart.

Click on a note from your vocal track and make sure that is the track highlighted. Now hold down the CTL key and click A. This will select ALL the notes in your vocal track.

While all the notes are highlighted and selected, hit CTRL+ALT+P all at the same time. This will align all your notes to the closest 'real' note. For example, if you were just a little sharp or flat on a note and it was in-between two notes on the scale, doing that will move your note to the closest real note on the scale from where it was.

Now all you have to do is to drag each of your notes so that they line up exactly on top of (or on the corresponding note an octave apart) the notes in the singing guide.
Once you have made all your adjustments, close that new window, and go to 'File', then 'Save Audio'.

Select 'Save Each Track as a single File'.
Select the vocal tracks by checking off the boxes in front of them. You can have them all loaded in here at once if you want. You will have to learn this software.
Name the file (or folder if there are multiple files) and your new WAV files will be created with you singing in perfect pitch.

Here are the resulting files created by altering the same earlier files we have been working with throughout this post.

The four separate files:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part01TimedAndPitched.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part02TimedAndPitched.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part03TimedAndPitched.mp3
http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/Part04TimedAndPitched.mp3

And now the mix of all the files together:

http://HalloweenBobsHaunt.com/HF/4PartsPitched.mp3


There. Simple.

I started with a terrible mix and was able to correct all the timing and pitch errors and end up sounding like a professional Barber Shop Quartet, and you can too.

I am happy to help anyone who is interested to use the software if you get stuck along the way, and I will, of course, answer any questions you have.

The one thing I did not mention here is that the final mix in the video shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YDeOc6COac
has a music track to it.

I found this music track online and just added the intro from toccata and fugue in d minor to it. The first thing I did was to adjust everything so that the tempo I was singing matched the music track. I built my mix by adding each voice track to the music track and adjusting the timing to match the music track.

I left that step out here because I was focusing on creating the vocal tracks. A song like this could just as well have been A-Capella also.


Any questions?


----------



## HalloweenBob (Dec 5, 2006)

*HEY!! This is Expensive!! What if I'm on a limited budget!!!*

I realize that I have listed a lot of high end software with price tags to match. I do this because this is the software that I use and am most familiar with. I use all this software because I have been in Radio for many years and have obtained this software by purchasing it myself for my business or in some cases it was purchased for me by my employers.

If you don't have those options, there are many ways around this. For example, I list Sony Sound Forge as the software for capturing your audio from the microphone. Sound Forge has many great features but if all you are going to use it for is to capture your audio, then don't buy it. Adobe Audition can also capture your audio. So can hundreds of other freeware solutions that can be found on the net. In fact, windows sound recorder can even do it. Just find something that can save as a WAV file.

As I mentioned before, Adobe Audition is also wonderful, but Audacity is a freeware alternative. It has fewer features and I am not completely familiar with it, but it does do all the major functions that Adobe Audition can do. Maybe it means that you will need to sing more takes to get the part closer to the exact timing so you don't have to modify it as much, but maybe that's worth the extra savings.

The vocal pitch adjustment software I mentioned is not needed if you sing on key to begin with. I don't know of any freeware solutions for this, but there may be some out there.

Also, you can save big bucks and get the great software I am using by purchasing slightly older versions of each product at places like eBay. Go for Adobe Audition 3 or 2 instead of 5 and maybe you can get a copy for $50.00.

Look for an old version of Sound forge 9 instead of 10 or even sound Forge 7.

That will save on the budget as well.


----------



## Beatlejuice (Jun 6, 2010)

Thanks for sharing this information. I think very few understand all that must go into producing just a few minutes of these routines or skits. Looking forward to watching this thread and at some point, hopefully, of contributing. As for now, I'm all ears.


----------



## bkr1969 (Nov 29, 2009)

Great information and really nice work. I've been milling around an idea using a jaw-synced 3 axis skull and some other props singing "Monster Mash." My question is how do you sync all the "actors" for the final song? If all the jaw movements are the same for each singer it would seem pretty easy, but what about four singers with four different timings? I'm imagining actually recording each final track on a sound chip and syncing the start of each chip (along with all the choreography) with one master microcontroller. Thoughts or ideas?


----------



## HalloweenBob (Dec 5, 2006)

bkr1969,

You sync all the 'actors' using VSA software. You program in all the movements, and just play it back. VSA keeps everything synced up to the music track.

The thing you will need to do differently about creating vocal tracks is that you don't need to sing in key. You don't even need to say all the right words. You do need to have the timing down.

What I do to create a vocal track that I will use to program a jaw movement in VSA, is to listen to the real song in a set of headphones. Then I sing the various parts into my mic and record them on my computer. Monster Mash has a lead vocal and several other voices in the chorus. There is also Dracula saying "Vhat ever Happened to the Transylvania Twist?". You can direct that line to a different skull that is supposed to be the good Count.

So you decide what parts of the song will be sung by which skulls. Play the song in your headphones and sing along. Once for each skull. Once you have created a vocal track for each skull, use your multi-track software to make sure that all your words and syllables sync up as close as possible to the original song.

Once you get those put together, your ready to program. It doesn't matter what you sound like since those tracks will never be heard by the public.

Using VSA's 'Wavemotion Analysis' feature, you create the jaw movement to each of your audio tracks.

Then, program in all the head movements and it's done, ready to playback as many times as you want.

A couple of hints for creating a good vocal track that will get good results in Wavemotion Analysis:

1. Record in a quiet room.
2. Do not let your recordings clip and get distorted
3. Make sure that you set your levels to record your voice as loud as possible without getting distortion.

That last point is important. If your levels are low, then the background noise in the room is closer to the level of your voice than if your levels are high. You will have to 'normalize' the track when you are done. If the waveform isn't very big (even though you can turn up the volume and hear it fine) it won't give you much jaw movement. You need wavforms that fill the entire bandwidth. If you raise the volume of a track that you recorded at a very low level, the background noise rises with it and gets louder. Aside from sounding bad, this is noise in the track that VSA sees and can't tell that you didn't want it there. That means that the jaw will not close all the way when the speaking or singing stops or in-between words. VSA still sees sound there, even though it is just background noise and uses that sound to program the jaw the same as your voice.

If you have a noisy track, and it is not one that everyone will hear (as is the case with Monster Mash), you can filter out the background noise using a variety of noise reduction techniques depending on the software you are using.

Alternatively, you can manually mute the audio (using your software) in-between every word and sentence to create silent spaces that will allow the jaw to close all the way.

This will make the audio track sound bad and choppy, but if no one is going to hear it, who cares?


----------



## buckaneerdude (Sep 12, 2008)

This is a great post with a lot of good information. Thanks HB for putting it up.

I like using TrackSkull and the trigger on a joystick to record jaw movement for singing parts where there's music or other sounds in the sound file that VSA interprets as a sound for jaw movement. It takes a little practice but it works good for us. 

We are up to 10 talking/singing skulls now and in several of them we were able to set the jaw servos with the same default and max positions so we can use the same jaw motion events for each of those skulls rather than doing each one independently. To avoid the "too synchronized" look and make it look more natural, the motion tracks are copied and pasted and then shifted slightly forward or back on the track to create a slight timing difference. If you want to vary the range of movement between skulls you can also adjust this by changing the % or you could reduce the "maximum" servo position.

For those who use Macs, (we use Macs and PC's) "Garage Band" is a great tool. Garage Band has some pitch tools, timing tools and is really easy to use but it won't export multiple channel sound files (7.1 or 5.1 surround) like Audacity will. We used both for our 2011 sound track. We created a 5.1 channel sound file for 2011 and mounted a speaker in the chest of each talking prop. If Garage Band had the ability to create a 5.1 multi channel sound file I don't think we would have needed Audacity.


----------



## Haunted Wolf (Sep 5, 2006)

Wow Bob what a great thread!!! Thank you for all this work!


----------



## HalloweenBob (Dec 5, 2006)

Trackskull and using a trigger for the jaw will also work, but it depends on how realistic you want to be.

Trackskull will do the head movements realistically enough if you wear the cap and use the camera, but the joystick method will require more practice. Also, it's a one shot deal. You have to do the whole track at a time, and if you screw up, you start over from the beginning. It can be a big time saver though. It is more difficult to edit the results once it's recorded that way as well if you ever need to.

I am less enthusiastic about using a trigger to work the jaw. You end up without many degrees of motion. Just open or shut. Using the Wavemotion Analysis, it really picks up the subtleties in the voice track. For example, in the following video, watch for how well the jaw tracks the real voice on Sindy. Even catches the vibrato in her voice. Try that with a trigger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfzykqCL_n0


----------



## buckaneerdude (Sep 12, 2008)

In my experience, Wavemotion works much better than TrackSkull when there is only voice present. If there is music, percussion or other sounds, it doesn't work all that well for me. With some practice, I've had good success with the joystick trigger I use. A slight tap of the trigger will open the jaw a small amount where a full pull opens it all the way. It just takes practice to make the jaw appear to match the syllables of the words. Also, where I've had track portions I've wanted to redo in TrackSkull, I've done it setting up TrackSkull to capture the needed motion on an unused VSA track. When the track is imported into VSA, you can cut it from the unused track and paste it onto the track you are editing. Then you just adjust the timing. The vibrato capture is really excellent in the video and you're absolutely right, doing that with a trigger would be next to impossible. If I couldn't do it with Wavemotion because of music or other sound on the audio track, I think I'd just try and do it laying down events manually in VSA. I've never tried it, but I suppose too, I could play such a track over earphones and record only my own voice singing along into a microphone to create a voice only track for Wavemotion Analysis. 

Our "Ghost Host" this last Halloween was partly my voice, partly the voice of the Ghost Host from the Haunted Mansion and then he sang Grim Grinning Ghosts with the rest of the skeletons. I used Wavemotion for my voice and the Haunted Mansion voice, the singing part for our Ghost Host I did with TrackSkull. The Haunted Mansion voice had to be edited some in VSA because of the organ in the background and a thunder clap.


----------



## HalloweenBob (Dec 5, 2006)

That is what this thread is about. Learning how to create your own vocal tracks that eliminate all the other background sounds that would throw Waveform Analysis off. What you suggest is certainly an alternative to my method when dealing with already existing audio tracks.

However, if you are going to create a new parody or original song, you may as well record all the vocals separately as I described. Not only does it make the jaw programming simple, it also allows you to have much more control when you mix down the final version of your song to create the proper balance to make the mix sound good.


----------



## CRWsound (Mar 26, 2011)

> I've never tried it, but I suppose too, I could play such a track over earphones and record only my own voice singing along into a microphone to create a voice only track for Wavemotion Analysis.


Hey Buckaneer Dude I can tell you from experience that this works really well. In 2007 we had a stage full of 6 skeletons close the show singing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which as you know has oodles of parts. I can't imagine having programmed all of that with a joystick trigger...instead I sang in the parts on six separate tracks in Audition (which I've used since it was Cool Edit in the late 90's) and then used Wavemotion analysis. The beautiful part is that since it wasn't going to be heard I didn't have to worry much about pitch. I mostly just tried to nail the emphasis.

Of course, there is a potential downside to this. On show night we were still editing things here and there in between the shows. I was still using the VSA session I'd built that had all of my voice over tracks. We came to the big finish and "Bohemian Rhapsody" started, and all the skels were moving, but no sound. About 10 seconds in we finally heard something from my "listen" track in VSA - everyone was treated to my reedy rendition of "Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me!" before I could shut down VSA. The people I do these shows with continue to find that one of their best memories from all our shows. I didn't find it quite as funny.

Chris


----------



## HalloweenBob (Dec 5, 2006)

I have always done the voice tracks exactly that way when I'm programming an already existing song. Listen on headphones, sing into the mic.

I also use Adobe Audition (And I also was using it when it was CEP) to make corrections and line up my vocal tracks with the original.

I never leave any of my vocal tracks in VSA. As soon as the track is programmed into the jaw, I remove it completely from VSA so that I could never accidentally play the wrong track over the system. That would be VERY scary!


----------



## CRWsound (Mar 26, 2011)

> ...so that I could never accidentally play the wrong track over the system. That would be VERY scary!


Yeah, it was definitely lame. The problem was that one of my co-conspirators had spent a bunch of time carving these dimensional skull comedy/tragedy masks









that could spin in place and their jaws moved so they could sing. They were beautiful and they'd been carved specifically for this song! I'd actually programmed all their motion 2 weeks previous to Halloween...but then somewhere in there I'd opened up a different session when I'd continued programming arm motion for the standing characters. I blame sleep deprivation. I missed the mistake - we were using about 70 channels in VSA that year - until we were watching the show Halloween night.

My friend was...very peeved. So I tried to do a quickie Wavemotion analysis in between shows (a five minute window) with the audio to the yard muted. Everything looked great, and then it was time to start the next show. I just forgot to change back the "listen" track to the general stereo mix. I blame sleep deprivation. 

That was our second year, I don't try to do these sorts of large-scale fixes on show night anymore.

But it could have been much worse, and this is back to the point of this thread. That same year we did the final scene in Casablanca where Ingrid Bergman gets on the plane and leaves. That movie is lousy with background noise, plus there's music, and they're talking softly...so I did the same thing. I listened in headphones and then looped (overdubbed) all of Ingrid Bergmans lines and Humphrey Bogarts lines. And ohhhh, I went method, I was fully in character - high and breathy for Ingrid and doing a bad Bogart growl for him. 

It worked great, the wavemotion analysis really matched their lines even though I was speaking them...but if anybody else had heard those VO tracks I would have had to leave town.

Chris


----------



## HalloweenBob (Dec 5, 2006)

By the way CRWSound, that is a pretty impressive setup you have! I was browsing your website earlier. Nice work.

Please send me the audio of you doing the final scene in Casablanca so I can post it on YouTube. Would that be OK?


----------



## buckaneerdude (Sep 12, 2008)

Next time I go to program a jaw when music is involved, I'll surely try the earphone/mic re-recording method. I like the skeleton theatre. The dialogue is sharp and witty and shows some serious talent for creating character voices. After last year, I have a whole new level of appreciation for those who are able to not just alter the tone and pitch of their voice but also completely create a new and distinctly interesting voice. Very nice work Chris. We had dozens of our friends record voices for our routines last year but none of them worked. I liked the "different" voice but their lines came out like bad acting. So, I spent many hours with my Blue Snowball mic and Audacity, trying to alter my voice and attain an acceptable level of distinction between the different character voices.


----------



## CRWsound (Mar 26, 2011)

Thanks for the compliments guys! I'm glad you liked our work. 

Almost everyone who works on Skeleton Theatre (ST) either makes a living working in live theatre, or has in the past. So we totally approach doing our shows like we're putting on a full scale play - that just happens to star animatronic skeletons. The main reason the character voices are so good is that all of those guys are professional actors...they're friends of mine because I work with them doing shows around town (and around the nation) but they're pros. Everyone on ST works for free - except the actors. I cast the show in my head and then ask the people who have the best voices for the parts to do the show and I pay them. Sometimes somebody says "oh, you don't have to pay me", but not often - it's difficult enough making a living in the arts. This is our single biggest expense, the VO talent, but I think it's totally worth it. 

Script wise, usually one person writes it (either me or my friend Dave), then it goes through re-writes, _then_ we send it to a professional director/dramaturg who looks it over and gives notes (luckily this one is done as a favor) and then finally we set up a recording date with the actors. So usually by the time we record the script is pretty tight, but if there are any slow spots those guys are all so good that they can still make it live and breathe. In all the stuff we've done, I've only used my own voice for 3 lines - "I'm okay", "I'm okay" and "I'm not okay". I know my limitations.

With all of this, you'd think we'd have better skeleton animation. Sigh...I continue to feel like this is our biggest shortcoming, especially the arms. But I designed the arms in 2005 and they've been working hard since then and we're always playing catchup trying to fix them and/or get more motion out of them...then something inevitably breaks too close to show time. It's the lamest part of our shows. That's why it's time for all new skels this year, just starting fresh, which is why I was cruising this forum in the first place...thanks HB (as I've seen other people refer to you) for the huge 3-axis skull thread! That's my new model for heads...and both of you guys have better arms than I've got, thanks for posting the pics and movies of those - I'll definitely be using some of that info in our build for next years show. 

Not like that build isn't already going to be hard enough - the script calls for a lunar lander to be flown at 25 feet and have a 3 foot animated skelenaut float away from it and disappear into the darkness like he's been lost in space. Yep. 



> Please send me the audio of you doing the final scene in Casablanca so I can post it on YouTube. Would that be OK?


Funny guy...yeah, I'll get that right out to you...

Chris


----------

