SOUND4VO.com

By Dan Friedman

Two of the biggest ongoing issues in the voiceover world are gear and rates. It seems that voice talent (or voice talent wannabes) are always looking for the latest, greatest, smallest and cheapest piece of gear that is good enough to record audio. They also seem to want the ability to do this from just about anywhere. The issue of rates is always a big concern. Job offers for payments that fall considerably short of generally accepted rates frequent the internet. These offers are often discussed as being reprehensible or even laughed at on social media. So, is there a correlation between cheap gear and low rates?

Portability and the ability to respond quickly to client requests are key factors that drive the need for much of this gear. The desire to provide for clients is essential to your VO business and let’s face it, the gear is often pretty cool and some of it sounds quite good. But the environment plays a much bigger role in your overall sound and just because you can record from your car or a hotel room, doesn’t mean you should. Other than your voice and performance, nothing has a greater effect on your sound than the environment you’re in.

Consistency and quality are critical for great sounding productions. These can only be guaranteed when the environment is a professional one, usually a professionally equipped recording studio or home studio. Consistency is especially critical when it comes to revisions. Even musicians, who are the largest consumers of recording gear, know that most of this low-end gear is for laying down ideas and for doing pre-production. When they are ready to make an album, serious musicians will usually go to a professional recording studio.

One of the biggest complaints about the voiceover industry, from those who are in it, is that so many people think that voiceover is easy and anyone can do it. Well, it should come as no surprise that when people brag about recording from their car, on their smart phones and through the multitude of cheap pieces of plastic that are now available at the megastore down the street, outsiders may believe that this is not all that difficult. Newbies don’t always understand performance or quality, but they usually understand the concept of making money from anywhere for very little investment.

On the flip-side, clients who (to their detriment) don’t always care about quality are not going to offer higher rates if they think the job can be done anywhere and/or with nothing more than a USB microphone plugged into a laptop. Clients who know better are usually willing to pay for the quality and service that come with a professional talent, who records in a professional environment, on professional gear. They understand that, just like in their own businesses, to be among the best requires an investment in time and money. Clients can justify higher talent payments more easily when they know that the audio will be professionally recorded and will be consistent from one session to the next.

Having higher-quality equipment and a proper recording space helps you to justify demanding a higher price for your work. Good clients understand that your investment in training and gear has value and the results will speak for themselves.

If you are a voiceover talent, who loves and respects this industry, you will hopefully continue to work towards providing the highest quality audio possible and consistency from one session to the next. This doesn’t mean that you should not provide for your clients in emergency situations… you should. It also does not mean that you must have the most expensive pieces of gear. It simply means that you will continue to seek out the best equipment for you and your situation until you reach the point that any change would not provide a significant improvement.  Do not stop at “good enough”.

By Dan Friedman

Why am I writing this blog post? Because I want to remind you to take the time to stop and consciously ask yourself, “why?”.  “Why?” is a question that we often forget to ask ourselves as we go about our day or do our jobs. Typically, we either know the answer (or think we do) based on past experience or we simply do what we always do out of habit. We also have a tendency to do things because someone told us to, but without asking ourselves why doing what they said is the right thing to do. Taking the time to ask and answer this simple question can be very enlightening. It can also help you make better decisions about gear, deliveries, production and maybe even your life… but today, we’ll just focus on your career.

If your shopping for new gear ask yourself:

Why do I need new gear?
Why am I considering this microphone?
Why do I like this mic preamp?

If your in the booth reading a script ask yourself:

Why am I using this emphasis or these inflections?
Why is this the direction that has been given?
Why is this the right delivery?

If you are doing editing and production ask yourself:

Why am I using several compressors, 2 EQs and a limiter on this channel?
Why does this take sound better than that other one?
Why will this music bed work better than another one?

If you are directing, writing or preparing for a voiceover session ask yourself:

Why is this the right voice for my production?
Why don’t I try reading this out loud and use a stopwatch to see if it fits in time?
Why is this talent taking 42 takes to read my :05 tag?

Sometimes the answer is obvious and you can answer the question of “why?” easily. Sometimes it leads to more questions. Either way, taking the time to consciously ask often produces more definitive answers and ultimately greater awareness. While we rarely stop and take the time to ask ourselves this most basic question, doing so can often change the way we look at what we do and how we do it. It keeps us thinking, growing and improving. Why would anyone question that?

Hi everyone!

I’ve been away for a couple of weeks (one of those in Italy), but I’ve returned and am looking forward to getting back to blogging and helping VO talent sound their best.

Tonight I’ll be drawing the name of the winner of a copy of SOUND ADVICE – Voiceover From an Audio Engineer’s Perspective. Today is your last chance to post a photo of your home studio setup to facebook and tag me in the photo. Thanks to everyone who entered. There are some great looking studios out there!

I’d also like to mention that there will likely be some changes coming to both my website and facebook page for the book. I’ll keep you posted.

Have a great day!

Dan

Did that headline grab your attention? Good. But please get your mind out of the gutter. What I’m referring to of course, is your voice and I’m suggesting that you use it in new ways. Let me explain…

Last night I had the pleasure of emceeing our Cub Scout Pack’s Pinewood Derby. For those of you who don’t know… the Pinewood Derby is where Cub Scouts race wooden cars that they’ve built down a long sloped track. The Pinewood Derby is one of the biggest events in cub scouting each year and it is taken very seriously (especially by the Dads). Each car is weighed-in and raced down every available lane in a series of heats to ensure fairness. The results of each heat are captured electronically with a motion detector at the finish line. By the end of the night, winners are announced for each rank as well as the overall pack winner. Most importantly, everyone gets really excited during the event and has fun.

So, how does this relate to voiceover? Simple really. As I mentioned, I emceed the event. I was not expecting to be in this role, so it was a bit of a surprise (like getting a script just as a session is supposed to begin). The Cubmaster had planned on doing it but was not feeling well, so he asked if I would.

This scenario is quite a bit different from being in a quiet room where nobody even sees me when I’m working (engineering or voicing). It got me behind the microphone in front of a large, noisy and yet still somewhat intimate crowd. Having been a live sound engineer and in radio for a number of years, my only stage experience consists of announcing bands to completely impersonal crowds of thousands or to saying “one, two, one, two” to test microphones. So… this was a very different experience for me.

I had no idea what I was going to say to keep the crowd entertained throughout the night (ugh, where’s my script?) but began by welcoming the crowd, announcing the event and just taking it from there. As the night went along, it got easier and more fun. I took on the role of an announcer, just as I would if I were in the booth reading a script. By the end of the night, several people had come up to me to say that I “missed my calling” (which I thought was kind of funny). It was fun to use my voice in a completely different way and in a completely different setting.

Versatility is a key component to success in voiceover. The more styles and deliveries you are able to successfully provide will open doors to greater and more varied opportunities. Putting yourself in different situations, such as going to another studio or on stage will give you more confidence and invaluable experience. If your current specialty is to be an announcer, practice reading as a story-teller or develop a character.

So, get out there! Try new things and use your voice (your tool) in the same way a scout uses a pocket knife… as a multi-tool.

- Dan