"Screaming"...

[Aleema]

How do you make a good scream, withOUT making your mic friz out and make your ears bleed? I've tried putting the microphone farther and farther back, but it's still loud and -- more importantly -- it has a diluted sound. Like you were actually far away kind of sound. I mean, I could scream softer, but then it sounds so fake ...

Or is that the only option I have?

[Anonymous]

I'm not good at that, but I'd ask Lucien if I were you. He does some pretty damn amazing scream work and he's got some fun stories about the cops paying him visits during recording sessions XD

[Liana]

and he's got some fun stories about the cops paying him visits during recording sessions XD

. . . So this has actually HAPPENED before? Great, now my paranoia of someone thinking there's a murder in the house whilst I record screaming shall be even GREATER XD

As for actual help with screams, um. I've had to scream twice- the first time I just stood in the back of the room and hoped no one would notice . . . And the second time I just sort of leaned a few feet away and took the one that didn't fritz out TOO much . . . So, basically, I'm in the same boat as you, except without the intelligence to come here and ask for advice. Because I didn't think of doing that.

Thank you for posting this, now I can learn too.

[lirifox]

I cover the mic with a cloth and scream at normal distance. Mess with the volume on your computer, and as long as the cloth dosen't move, it's fine.

Worked for me. o_0 I'll even post a clip once I host it somewhere.

Best o' luck!

[Aleema]

Yeah, I know that the big foamy thing on mics in shows and stuff are there to take out the pops and frizzies, but I tried slipping a sock over my mic and it still did that ... maybe it just needs to be real thick.

[lirifox]

Yah, thick is good. xD xD Come to think of it, I guess you could even use a karaoke mic foam slip. Or any foam slip, for that matter.

[Katie]

Orrr you could find a scream from a SFX site that sounds similar to your voice. ;) lol That's only if you're reeeeally desperate though. Usually, I just practice at normal volume, then take it down a notch, then take it down a notch again. Then I record. If I'm lucky, the volume won't be a limit-break, but if it is, I just shrug and reduce the volume a bit. Some things just can't be helped.

[Mystik]

I was wondering about that too. I really want to do some screaming and yelling parts but find that if I do my mic does what yours all do. I'm using a headset that has a foam cover on it, mind you it's a small mic so maybe that's it.

[TamTu]

-Lower the recording volume of your mic
-Put the mic at an arm's length distance of your face

....I just scream anyways XD

[Lucien]

I find that it depends on the situation that the scream is needed for. Without professional equipment, you're inevitably going to encounter some cons with either of the suggestions which people here have suggested. Personally, I like to lower the gain as opposed to stepping back to the other side of the room, because that will inevitably create extra room tones in your recordings which won't sound very pretty. If however, you needed to record the scream of a person who was being killed in a nearby room, or if you knew your scream was going to be heavily filtered anyway, then having that extra resonance may be something you want to intentionally create. Most of the time though, I try to average it out, by sitting at a slightly father distance from my mic, with the gain turned down a few decibels. I find it's usually a bad idea to scream directly into the mic. Scream upward, or down, or to the side of the mic, so it isn't getting hit head on, and peaking.
Bottom line is I guess, you really just have to experiment yourself. Everyone will have different mics, different gain levels, different rooms (thus different ways the sound will reflect off the walls and hit the mic). Just try different stuff. Good luck.

[lirifox]

Another way! xD I do this so that I don't get breath puffs, but I realized that it's the reason I can scream, too.

Okay, now for some pictures.

This is a normal person recording:

:arrow: *mic*

The arrow points to where the face is. But instead, record like this:

:eh ________ *mic*
not :eh *mic* , mind you.

Kind of like a headset, except farther away. This way, you scream forward, but the mic to your side still catches the noise without messing up. Then adjust the volume and stuff like that if you need to.