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Voiceover – Tips and Tricks for Audio Production

May 3, 2016 by Dan Friedman

By Dan Friedman with contributors Dan Gustafson and Cliff Zellman

Let’s talk … audio production. While it is easy for a voice actor to think only of their performance and delivery of the copy, it is also important to remember that all of those beautifully spoken words are pieces in a larger audio landscape. For those interested in producing and mixing, or for those VO talent interested in a glimpse into the world of sound design, this post is for you. I’ve offered up a few tips about audio production and asked a few friends to contribute as well.

Check it out and if you have any tips, feel free to leave a comment.

My longtime friend, producer Dan Gustafson of Sonicbliss Productions, (Have you ever noticed how many guys named “Dan” work in this business? Weird.) recently produced my radio imaging demos. He did such a stellar job that listening to my Active/Alt Rock Imaging Demo actually makes the hair on my arms standup. Here he offers some of his production and mixing tips.

Panning, Pitch Adjustments and EQ:

If I’m trying to create a snowball fight scene I’m going to need a lot of elements. Snowballs flying, snowballs hitting things, crowd noise, outdoor ambience, peoples reactions to getting hit with a snowball etc.
The way I would approach this is, for all the various snowball impacts I would use a pitch plugin and pitch them differently so they all sound individual. Then pan them all over the place. One could be panned left to 34, another could be panned right to 57, another could be panned left at 72, another could be panned right at 99 one could be right down the middle in mono. The stereo spectrum we have to play with is so huge, take advantage of it.
In terms of EQ, carve out a space for each item. If I have a track of crowd noise and a track of outdoor ambience on top of each other, I might do a cut at 1800k on one track and a boost at 1800k on the other track. The frequency range can be whatever sounds good to you, the boost one and cut the other is the important thing.

VO Performance:

The best VO talents can take the worst piece of copy in the universe and make it sound compelling. How? Silence, inflection, dynamics and changing pace/intensity.
I think silence is huge but you need to be lucky enough to have copy that gives you room to breathe for that to work.
In terms of inflection, after you’ve read it a few times the way you “think” it should be read, try reading it with totally different inflections, energies and emphasis. It could sound horrible, but, you may find a gem take in there or something that leads you down a different path. These are the things that would help a VO talent stand out in a crowd of thousands.
When it comes to dynamic range, maybe think about a great song. It isn’t all in one dynamic range, it has soft parts and loud parts to emphasize certain points. Spot copy should be treated the same way in my view.
And how exciting is a movie trailer or song when it starts out slow, begins to build in speed and intensity, then hits a crescendo. Change of pace can build drama and that means a compelling piece.

Fine Tuning:

I had a boss once who told me, “Getting it to 95% could take you an hour, but then trying to get it to 100% could take another 3.” That made so much sense to me. As artists, we want everything to be perfect, but 95% of your best effort infused with the passion you bring to the mic every day is going to produce a great piece of work.

I met Cliff Zellman in 2011 and we immediately became good friends. We share similar points of view on nearly everything audio related. Cliff is a grammy winning producer who works in the fast paced world of automotive commercial production through the Texas based company Radiovision.
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Mixing VO with music and sound effects:

I try to carve out the center of the mix a bit, leaving plenty of room for the VO in the middle. I listen for dominant frequencies within the center of the stereo music bed and drop them slightly using a good stereo-linked parametric EQ. Then I use a touch of side-chain compression on the music bed, using the voice as a trigger. Just a touch, maybe -1 or -2 db.

Reading for an audition:

Imagine what the visuals might be doing. Some scripts may have a column for video direction, but most audition scripts won’t. Look for clues in the script. Let the casting director know you understand the “layers” of the script.

Keep it clutter free!

Working in a clutter free environment is much more conducive to creativity then working amidst chaos. Less distractions can keep you in that “creative zone” easier and longer. This also goes for your computer’s directories and files. Just remember KICK (keep it clean, kid).

When mixing demos, commercial spots or working on audio productions of any kind here are some tools that I use as well as some things that I keep in mind:

Layering:

Layers of sounds are critical in audio production as we do not live in a world where only one sound at a time is occurring. Taking environment and sound location (left, right, up, down, forward, back) into consideration are critical to creating a realistic environment. Always listen to the world around you, so you can recreate that world more accurately in audio production.

For drama, sounds such as an explosion (for example) are usually not simply an explosion sound effect. They are far more exciting when multiple layers of sounds are brought together. An audio explosion might include an impact sound, the reflected concussion from the impact, the sound of the low end boom and trailing rumble and perhaps even a subtle musical drone may be layered together to create a dramatic … BOOM!.

Timing:

The seventh dimension of recorded sound is time. Frequent changes in dynamics, tone and pacing hold the listener’s attention and make listening entertaining and fun.

Set limits:

Artists of the past were forced to come up with creative solutions because they were limited by the technology of the time. Now that computers make nearly anything possible in the audio realm, it is important to set limits and know when to call a project “done.”

Audio production requires practice, experimentation, a proper listening environment … and is one of the most fun and creative aspects of this business.

If you have tips, tricks, questions please leave a comment below.

Directing Voice Talent: Better Communication, Better Results

February 18, 2011 by Dan Friedman

You’re about to begin directing voice talent. You may be producing a TV or radio commercial. Maybe you’re producing a corporate presentation or program narration. Whatever the project is, your goal will be to get your chosen voice talent to communicate your message(s) to your audience. Your message could be many things, but one thing is almost certain… it is probably more than just the words written on the page. Directing voice talent to communicate both the written and unwritten messages within your script takes skill and flexibility. You must also be certain as to what your message is meant to communicate. Furthermore, it helps to have the ability to communicate effectively yourself and a willingness to allow your talent and your engineer/producer to help you achieve your goal.

Who Will Deliver and How?

The most important thing to know and understand before beginning is… your message. What do you want your message to be? What emotions are you trying to evoke in your audience? The answer to these questions will determine how you want that message delivered and who will be best at delivering it. Your choice of talent is critical. Often a voice talent with a bold announcer’s voice will be chosen to do a role that would be better suited to someone with a regular-guy/gal voice, and vice-versa. These contradictions make it difficult to hear the message beyond the voice. Simply hearing a nice voice speak your written words is not enough. The emotion comes from how those words are delivered. As the director, you need to determine what voice is right for a role, as well as the type of delivery that will communicate your message and elicit the desired response from your audience.

Professional voice talent should be able to look over your script and know reasonably quickly what type of delivery is required. Most often the words will dictate what the message should be. However, as the talent reads the script aloud, the director maxalt max should be listening for the nuances in the delivery. There is more than one way to effectively communicate a message and the director should be sure to listen carefully to those nuances and determine which communicates the message best.

Keep it Simple and Clear

When offering direction to voice talent, keep it simple and succinct. The more direction you offer at one time, the less likely you will be to get everything you need or want.

Lots of directions… often lead to contradictions. These contradictions lead to confusion. This invariably means that it will take more time to get your message where it needs to go (which possibly means spending more money as well). Directing a voice talent is analogous to being a passenger in a car and telling the driver where he or she needs to go. If the passenger tells the driver to go both right and left at the same time and at the last possible second, the driver is likely to crash. Even when the direction is clear, offering too much direction or too much explanation, can also present a problem. Going back to the passenger and driver analogy; if the passenger tells the driver he’ll have to turn right but then continues to explain the right turn or begins to discuss what will happen after that (or really just about anything that takes the drivers attention away from the road), the driver could miss the turn entirely.

Using descriptive and unambiguous terminology is another key factor in hastening your success. Telling the talent to make it “flat”, for example, could mean many things. Does it mean to read without emotion, without inflection, or to simply read the script conversationally and not sound like an announcer? Terms such as: “dramatic”, “forceful”, “proud”, “nonchalant”, “conversational”, with “more/less energy”, or “more/less smile” are much easier to understand. Books about voice over (the same books that voice talent read) can be very helpful when directing. Many offer a more comprehensive list of terms and also explain delivery styles.

Trust Your Engineer

Some voice talents respond very well to concepts. They may want to know who the audience is or what the setting will be. Others need details, such as simple directives about inflections or emphasis on a line or word. Usually a combination of these things will be most effective. If you do not have experience directing or are unfamiliar with a particular voice talent, the engineer or producer can be a tremendous asset. Allow them to help you. One of the great things about working with an engineer or producer who is experienced in voiceover is that they often work with many of the same people on many different projects. They get to know the talent well and know how each responds to different ways of directing. If you are having trouble explaining what it is you want to hear, the engineer or producer may be able to interpret your needs and convey them to the talent in a way that the talent responds best.

Line Reading… The Last Resort

Still not able to get what you want from your voice talent? As a last resort… offer a line read. It is rarely a good idea to start a recording session by offering a line read. Line reading is usually unnecessary and can be misleading. After all, the talent was hired for more than just their voice. They were also hired for their interpretation skills. William Shatner famously coerced a director to line read for him after the director gave Mr. Shatner several unnecessary directions about his delivery. Needless to say, the director couldn’t begin to deliver the message like William Shatner, and Mr. Shatner was quick to let him know it. That session is legendary in the voiceover community and the audio is available here.

This director surely learned that line reading can lead to big problems. Thankfully, most voice artists will not be as brazen as Mr. Shatner was with this particular director on that particular day. Many voice artists will kindly ask for a line read after they’ve made several attempts and still aren’t delivering a line the way you hear it in your head. Most voice talents are very appreciative to have been chosen to deliver your messages. They are more than willing to do what is necessary to give you the read you want. That being said, it is still a good idea to save line reading for small parts, pronunciations and when all other methods of communicating your needs have failed.

Directing voice talent can be the easiest and best part of your workday. If you understand your messages and communicate them to the talent and the engineers/producers as simply and clearly as possible; you’ll be able to sit back, relax and allow the talents of your chosen voice artist, and engineer, communicate your message to the world.

Are You Ready to Make Your First Voiceover Demo?

January 24, 2011 by Dan Friedman

Am I ready to make your first voiceover demo? This may be the biggest question any aspiring voice talent will ask. With all of the attention the voiceover industry has received lately, it is no surprise that many people are asking this question right now. If you are new to the industry, there are several questions you should ask yourself (and ask others) before making your first demo. By answering honestly, you will have a much greater understanding of where you are in your career and whether or not you are truly ready to make your first voiceover demo.

More Than Just a “Nice Voice”

Simply having a nice voice is not enough to achieve success in this business. There are several basic things you should be able to do before taking your desire to work as a voice talent to the next level. If you are unable to effectively communicate the message of a script or have trouble following and implementing given directions, then you are not ready to make a demo. If your reads almost always require editing and compiling of multiple takes of the same copy to get the correct inflections, energy or delivery into one cohesive piece of audio, then you are not ready to make a demo. Ideally, you should be able to read a well-written script from top to bottom, and communicate the messages of that script, without stumbling or requiring extensive editing. Prior to digital recording and editing… this was the standard.

What is a demo?

You probably know, or think you know, what a demo is. It is a representation of how your voice sounds and your ability to perform, right? Yes, but it is more than just that. Your demo is your business card, your resume’ and the number one way to be considered for a job or representation. Your demo should be interesting, perhaps even exciting and make someone want to hear more of you. It should not overstate or misrepresent who you are or your ability. It should accurately reflect your sound, style(s) and ability to deliver copy.

Where to Start

What do you need to get started on your demo? You will need some material, or scripts, to create your demo. This material should come largely from actual work that you have done. If you don’t have any, then you should use material from coaching sessions, voiceover workshops that you have taken and scripts from practice sessions. You are getting coaching or have taken workshops and have had almost daily practice sessions… haven’t you? If the answer is “no” then you are not ready to make a demo. The most important thing to know before making your first demo is that, before even considering it, you should have been doing voiceover on your own for quite some time. In other words, you should have been practicing. How long do you need to practice? Only your ears and the ears of others can tell you when you are ready.

Get Help

Do you know an engineer, producer, director or voiceover coach (or someone with voiceover experience who can perform these rolls) who will be completely honest with you about your deliveries? Does this person know how a voiceover demo should sound and how to produce a demo specific to your skills or what style you wish to present? Making a demo is not something you should do on your own. Even the most experienced voiceover talents know that a second set of experienced ears is critical to making a great demo. You will need someone to help direct you, make choices on what should be included and what should be left out. More importantly, you can only learn about the industry, from someone who works in the industry. Read books. Network. Get coaching. Attend workshops, classes and seminars. Make connections and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Environment and Equipment

Ideally you should record your demo in a professional recording environment where you can focus on your deliveries and let someone else focus on the equipment. However, not all recording studios work with voiceover talent and simply having the equipment to record audio or even recording experience, does not mean that the studio engineer knows what is needed for voiceover. Furthermore, they may not have the music and sound effects libraries required to fully produce a professional sounding demo. Find a studio that does. Invest the time and money to have your demo done right.

Getting the Job Done

Speaking of equipment, do you have the necessary voiceover studio equipment to actually do a job? More importantly, do you know how to use it? These days being a voiceover talent usually requires more than a great voice and the ability to use it. At a minimum, you have to know how to record and edit. You also need to invest in the proper equipment to do so. This requires a good quality microphone, preamp, interface, computer, recording software, headphones, cables and ideally a sound-proof/acoustically treated room. This equipment needs to have the capability to reproduce your voice accurately without any electronic noise, distortion or coloration.

What Do You Do Best?

What is your specialty? What do you do best? The answer to these questions will determine what kind of demo you should make. There are many different types of voiceover work and your first demo should communicate what you do best. Commercials, phone systems, audio books, promos, imaging, characters and narrations (just to name a few) are all very different styles and formats. While there can be some overlap among them on your demo, you should be certain the emphasis is on what you do best or on the type of work you seek.

Final Steps

How should your demo sound when complete? It should be fully produced. It should have music and/or sound effects where necessary. It should have several vignettes that reflect your style and versatility. It should be interesting and hold the listener’s attention as it flows effortlessly from one spot to the next. It shouldn’t be more than a minute and a half long (although a minute to just over a minute is preferable). Most importantly, it should have your name and contact information on the physical medium itself. If you are sending it electronically be sure that the file contains your full name and the email contains several clear ways to contact you.

Making a demo is a critical step to taking your career to a professional level. I often receive submissions that are intended to be demos, but simply aren’t. Snippets of home recordings, answering machine messages and recorded ramblings of voices that you “like to do”, do not qualify as a demo and are a clear indication that you need training, experience and professional help. Perhaps in more ways than one for some people… if you could hear these you would know what I mean! I also frequently receive great sounding demos from “talent” who fall short of expectations when put to a live-session test read. Unfortunately, these people almost never get a second chance.

Your demo is vital to your success. Do not try to “go it alone”. Have it made with the help of industry professionals. Do not send out material that really isn’t a “demo”. Most importantly, be sure you are truly ready to take this important step by having a great sounding demo and being able to deliver on what your demo promises.

To listen to my latest demos visit:

DanFriedman-Voiceovers

A True Story and Advice On Voiceover Demos

January 10, 2011 by Dan Friedman

Last week I received a call from a young lady who wanted to make a voiceover demo. I asked her if she had ever done voice over’s before. She replied, “no”. I told her that I could make a demo for her that would make her sound great, however I would not do so without (at least) knowing what her current abilities were. I offered her a training and evaluation session where I would have her read some scripts, determine her abilities and offer direction and advice to help her get started in the business. If it turned out that she was ready, then we could talk about making a demo.

She was not interested.

I explained that it would be a “bad idea” to immediately make a demo since she had no experience. To do so would simply set her up for failure. The demo would misrepresent her, making it appear as though she were an accomplished voice talent, and if and when she got a job from this demo she would likely struggle and possibly fail miserably in a real recording session. “That situation could end your career before it even got started,” I told her.

The young lady explained that with her “experience” (she was fresh out of college from what I could ascertain) and “background” (as a singer) she would be fine. “This won’t happen to me”, she said. She also told me that since she has ProTools at home she would just make her own demo. I wished this young lady “good luck”.

I told this story to my wife and she said, “If the girl wants a demo, you should just make her a demo.” I know where my wife was coming from, if someone wants something and is willing and able to pay for it why not give it to them? I told my wife that by doing so, I would be misrepresenting this girl and setting her up for failure, I would also be compromising my own integrity as well as the integrity of an industry already suffering from an influx of amateurs, who have no experience, but have been told they “have a nice voice”.

I take the voiceover business seriously and I believe I have a responsibility to set the talent bar high. If you want to work as a voice over talent… go for it! But WORK at it. Invest some time and at least some money by taking a workshop, reading some books about the industry, listening and practicing. By the time you are ready to make your first demo, you should have been doing voiceover on your own for quite some time. In other words, you should have been practicing. How long do you need to practice? Only your ears and the ears of others can tell you. You should be able to convey the messages of a script (both written and unwritten) effectively, with NO EDITING REQUIRED

Making a demo is a critical part of your career. It is your business card and your resume’. When you submit a demo, you are applying for a job. In most industries, if you lie on your resume’ and the lie is discovered, you would be fired. Similarly, if your demo misrepresents you and your abilities, you are putting yourself at risk of being fired from a job. Furthermore, you are putting your reputation at risk, which could prevent you from getting future jobs (even if you’ve decided to put in the necessary practice time). Misrepresenting your abilities can be a serious burden on your desire and even your ability to have a career in voiceover. Unfortunately I receive great sounding demos frequently from “talent” who fall short of expectations when put to a live-session test read. These people almost never get a second chance.

The bottom line: If you want to break into the voiceover industry, be patient and practice. Record yourself and listen. Have others listen as well. Train your ears and your voice. Spend time with working voice over industry professionals. Do not set yourself up for failure and frustration. Do not make a demo until you are ready.

One additional message for engineers, producers and directors: help yourself, help the industry and help the talent (both new and experienced). Do not make demos for people who are not ready. This may save you and many others, time, frustration and money down the road. Furthermore, and more importantly, it raises the talent bar for the industry as a whole, helping to ensure that only truly talented professionals are working beside you.

Voiceover – Tips and Tricks for Audio Production

Directing Voice Talent: Better Communication, Better Results

Who Will Deliver and How?

Keep it Simple and Clear

Trust Your Engineer

Line Reading… The Last Resort

Are You Ready to Make Your First Voiceover Demo?

A True Story and Advice On Voiceover Demos

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