The Sound of Music: Recording and editing cosplay skit audio

Although MegaCon Live Masquerades do allow the use of a live microphone, it can be a much less stressful process to record and process your audio in advance of the competition. It allows you to refine and learn your script, add background music and sound effects, and avoid any pesky technical difficulties on the day. Recording your own audio also allows you to push the boundaries of your stage performance, telling different stories, and exploring your character in new ways.

But the idea of recording and editing a track can be daunting. Here, we’ve compiled some tips to help you take your first steps in creating a custom track for your performance.

Locked in your audio but worried about the rest of your application? Click here for more guidance on making your Artificer application shine.

Planning and rehearsing

You might be able to avoid recording new audio entirely. If you can pull enough lines of dialogue or narration directly from your media, you might be able to cut them together easily to tell the story you want. Be aware that this both limits your skit potential and might not be possible, depending on your competition’s copyright requirements, so read the rules first.

If you decide to record new lines, try the following:

• Do you have any friends who do drama, musical theatre, or voice acting, or know any other cosplayers who perform a lot? Ask them for tips on controlling and projecting your voice, especially speaking from the diaphragm (the primary muscle you use when you breathe).
• If you have a spoken reference for your character, listen to their voice and try to copy their accent, dialect, or pronunciation where appropriate.
• Practice speaking each line of dialogue in various ways before sitting down to record. Emphasising different syllables can completely change the nuance of a sentence. Try stressing each word of ‘I never said she stole my money’ separately to hear the seven different meanings.

Guild tip: We know how long it can take to put together the perfect track, so, when you submit your application for the MegaCon Live Masquerades, your audio does not have to be completely finished. You can submit a ‘rough cut’, then re-upload a finished version during your check-in process around two weeks before the competition.

Not everyone has the capacity, ability, or even language skills to record their own audio, and that’s okay! You can ask a friend, or hire a voice actor, as you want. As long as you can prove in your progress book that you wrote/scripted the scene and gave direction to your voice actor, you’ll receive ‘directorial’ credit for the performance.

If you’re recording your own dialogue, you’re probably never going to sound exactly like your character. That’s okay too! Your goal is to bring the scene to life in whatever way you can. Focus on delivering clear audio that is recorded well.

Recording

Although some gaming headset mics are pretty decent, use an external microphone if you can. Unless you have podcaster friends whose equipment you could borrow, you can pick up a decent plug-in-and-play microphone with a USB connection for under £30.

Choose a small, quiet space to record, like the inside of a wardrobe or cupboard – think ‘padded cell’. Prop cardboard boxes and pillows against the wall to muffle any echoes, and try to record at a quiet time of day, like early morning or late evening.

• Check the volume on your microphone – this is often a slider in your software. Reducing the microphone input will allow you to raise your voice as you record; increase the input if your lines are quieter or more intense.
• Record each line multiple times, even when you think you’ve got the perfect recording; the smallest knock of your laptop against your leg might throw off your take.
• Depending on the content of your script, don’t forget to record the ‘generic noises’ too, eg. heavy breathing, fight exertion noises, gasps, coughs, laughter, or crying. All these help build the world around your dialogue.

Guild tip: If you particularly like one recording of the start of a phrase, if the pace of your dialogue allows (ie. it’s not too fast), you can cut individual words together in the edit.

Editing

Software

One of the simplest free programmes to use is Audacity. You can record your dialogue directly into it, edit it as a project file, and export it as an MP3. It’s very user-friendly, and has a great walkthrough guide upon launch. Another similar option is Audiotonic. Some of the most common features you’ll use are as follows:

• Click the spot on the track you want to cut to/from and click ‘Split track‘ to separate parts of your track to cut or move them around.
• ‘Right click -> Add stereo track‘ to add a new track to your file. Stack your tracks on top of each other and they’ll play simultaneously; arrange one to start at the end of the other and they’ll play consecutively.
• Highlight a portion of a track and hit ‘Effects -> Fade in/out‘ to fade it.
• Use ‘Effects -> Amplify‘ to control the volume of an individual track, and ‘Effects -> Change tempo‘ to change the speed of your track without changing the pitch.

Background music

The best way to find a backing track is to listen to the soundtrack of your media and make a note of the timestamps of the sections you like, and that suit your performance. This can also help trigger inspiration; you might ‘visualise’ the skit happening to the music.

In your editing programme, you can blend multiple tracks together so they sound like one piece of music. Either crossfade the end of one track into the start of the other, or hide any breaks beneath some dialogue. Remember to think about how your tracks ends, either with a strong musical moment or a fade out, and make sure you leave space within your allowed time (usually 90-120 seconds) to include that.

Remember! Some competitions will not allow copyrighted music, ie. the original soundtrack of your source TV show, film, or game, or commercial songs. This is often because they are streaming the competition, or it will make it difficult to host the resulting video on YouTube or Instagram. For reference, as it is not streamed, MegaCon does allow copyrighted audio.

You can find copyright-free music available at sites like FreeMusicArchive, StreamBeats, FreeToUse, NoCopyrightMusic, and FreePD – just have a Google for even more options. Slip.Stream and Epidemic Sound are both very powerful databases if you’re interested in subscribing, and offer free trials to test them out. If you have a YouTube account, you’ll also have free access to YouTube’s Audio Library, which lists thousands of royalty-free music tracks and sound effects. 

Guild tip: Check the restrictions on the piece of music you want to use to see how it should be credited if posted on social media.

Sound effects

Bring your track to life with background sound effects! Work methodically through your script to identify where sounds would naturally occur, eg. does a character drop any items, use any weapons, close doors, turn pages of a book, or get stabbed? If you can, include a sound cue for each of these moments, and rehearse accordingly to make your whole performance more polished.

Guild tip: Think about including an audible sound cue at the beginning of your track to help ‘ground’ yourself on stage. On some smaller stages the speakers face forwards and it can be difficult to hear your track start.

You can find copyright-free sound effects available at sites like BBC Rewind, FreeSFX, ZapSplat, MixKit, and FreeSound, and there are plenty more options out there too. The most impactful sound effects are layered over the top of each other, so don’t feel obliged to choose just one. Try stacking four or five ‘gore’ sounds at slight intervals to get the most realistic sounding effect.

Rehearsing

• Start practicing with a rough cut of audio as soon as possible, to become familiar with it and work out where the snags are.
• Consider it a work in progress until it’s submitted for the final time. It’s likely that your timings, or your interaction with a prop, will change during your rehearsal period.
• Set your track as your alarm tone for the last couple of weeks before the show, if you can, and listen to it every morning when you wake up, or on your commute to work or school.
• Rehearse wearing earbuds, until you’re confident enough with your track that you can do it by memory.
• If you have interested friends, ask them for their thoughts on the track. It’s useful to run your audio by friends unfamiliar with your source material, to see if your performance still makes sense to them!

We hope these tips will be helpful as you think about your audio track for your next performance, but please do reach out to guildofnerdscosplay@gmail.com with any questions.

For even more helpful hints about putting together your next performance, check out our Backstage Pass series – your guide to the ins and outs of cosplay masquerades, and don’t forget to ask our judges your burning questions in the lead-up to MegaCon Live London!