I still have the USB interface, if anyone wants it, contact me here.

I’m selling some of my old studio equipment and you can get a great deal on it!

Check out the auctions on Ebay:

Samson C01U USB microphone (the mic I recommend for voice over practice and simple demo recording)

M-Audio Fastrack USB Computer Interface (a great interface to connect your studio equipment to your computer)

Click on the links above for the Ebay listing. They end on October 24th so bid SOON! Happy bidding!

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2. Excellent Editing Pt. 1 Odds are, unless you happen to have oodles of cash...

READ AHEAD!!

Pay attention, mark my words, some day you will have to pay for my book that talks more about this!

If you can master this technique, you can read through anything once (without even a pre-read!) and have it be the final take*! Sound impossible? It’s not, it works for me.

Your short term memory can hold between 5-7 pieces of information at a time. These pieces of information can and should be words you have already read and said in your head! For example, take the following sentence:

• As you are reading this sentence aloud, you should be reading here, your “head voice” is here, eyes here.

(Starting from the first emphasized “here”, there are seven words left in the sentence.) Read the previous, bulleted sentence to yourself as a way of practicing this technique. Make your mind and eyes become used to reading in this manner.

Talk about multitasking! You need to be able to read, “listen” to the voice inside your head, and repeat what you are hearing inside your head soon after you “hear it”. This takes time to master, but it really will take you to the next level.

One way to practice this is to read aloud A LOT! Volunteer at the library and read aloud to children. If you live in Nashville, the Nashville Public Library has a studio where you can volunteer your time to read aloud for one hour. The live reading is broadcast over a closed circuit system to listening booths in the library for the blind. Or, just read to yourself and try your best not to stop. for anything but a breath. Put emphasis and excitement into the reading just as you would if you were behind the mic recording the audio book. While you’re at it, buy a simple recording device and record your sessions. If needed, play the recording back and read 5-7 words ahead of what is being said to get used to the “two voices speaking” simultaneously.

The audio book project I am working on at the time I am writing this article would consume all of my time if I were not using this technique proficiently. This technique cuts down the time you have to spend editing by almost half. It also causes me to be more efficient behind the mic (I can read almost twice as much once instead of reading the same material twice for accuracy!) The project is done quicker, your client stops biting their nails sooner, and you can double your salary (more money over a shorter time= higher dollar per hour!)

Now time for the *. If what you are reading is extraordinarily complex, or based on a topic with which you are not familiar, it might be a good idea to give the topic a read through first. I just usually will skim as fast as I can through the chapter looking for long words and complicated phrases.

Practicing this technique has somehow allowed me to read TWICE as fast when I read without speaking aloud. Not to mention how much more flexible my short term memory is.

This technique of reading ahead has increased my focus as well. One almost has to be in a clear-minded meditative state to be able to execute this technique without hitch. There will be the occasional slip up when your mind loses focus, but other than that, you’ll never have to read anything twice! How awesome is that?

Get working on this technique and you will soon see great improvements to many aspects of your VO technique.

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Continued from the post before last…

6) Wear a good pair of headphones when you edit. If you wear a set of Shure, Sennheiser, Bose, or Sony headphones when you edit, the clients will be amazed when they listen to your product on their craptacular speakers.

7) Apply compression. In your audio editor, there should be some type of compression tool. Some people are against compression, but I think it makes the voice sound fantastic. In Adobe Audition it’s called Multiband Compressor. In Audacity I think it’s just called Compressor. If you have a voice like mine, boost the bass and treble, and leave the midrange where it is. Mess around with the compressor on your voice and see where you think it sounds the best.

8 ) If there is background music, make sure it is less interesting and at a lower volume than your voice. The more interesting the music is, the lower the volume on it should be. Try your best to avoid popular music and lyrics in background music altogether. You want the center of attention to be on your client’s message and your voice that’s delivering it.

9) DO NOT make changes to the copy unless given explicit permission to do so. Usually a client will have written the copy with a certain sound in mind and if you change the script, in a certain sense, you’re telling the writer that what they wrote isn’t good enough. Bad idea. Only suggest revisions if you are extremely confident that your way sounds better and you can give reasons as to why. (Hint: not being able to fit the amount of words in the amount of time given is NOT a good enough reason for change.)

10) Overall, make the product sound as natural as possible. You want the product to sound like you read it in one take and in one breath. Put the right amount of pause between sentences (whatever you think sounds natural), emphasize the correct words (even if that means boosting their volume a little), and put it in the right format (.wav if possible and not a long file, .aac if they will take it, or 128 kbps .mp3 or higher as a last resort). More on the different audio compressions at another time (it’s another post all to itself).

Next time I talk about one key technique that will improve your sound, editing, and overall VO approach tenfold. It needs a post of it’s own, that’s why it’s not included in this one! Stay tuned!

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As a freelance professional VO artist, I would say that I spend about 35% of my time in front of the mic and the rest of the time in front of my computer. Of that 65% of the time I spend staring blankly at my computer screen, about 45% of that time is editing audio. It’s not the most fun thing in the world, but it can separate and elevate you above the rest of the VO people out there.

So if you’re spending a lot of time editing like me, it ought to sound good when you’re finished. Here’s some tips to help your editing.

1) Make everything the same volume, a.k.a. NORMALIZE!! No one wants to hear the end of a sentence fading off into nothingness. This is not 80′s rock music here, folks, it’s voice over. Make sure the beginning of your phrases are the same volume as the end of your phrases. This is especially important on re-dos: when you say something again (possibly starting in the middle of the sentence).

2) Watch your levels. On the audio scale called decibels, the audio should hover around -6 or so, no more, no less. This will vary in some situations (car ads, meditation tapes, you know what I mean), but as a rule of thumb, after you normalize (from step one) make sure the audio lands at -6.

3) Try not to splice sentences together. Clients, believe it or not, can hear this. It may not be as evident to you, but it’s going to stick out like a sore thumb to whoever is listening. I have a bad habit of doing this. I am breaking it by starting the sentence COMPLETELY OVER AGAIN if I mess something up. This actually will make for a little more time in front of the mic and less time editing.

4) Get rid of mouth noise! No matter how much water you drink sometimes, there is still going to be a little bit of popping and slurping of the mouth. Make sure you find those itsy bitsy little pops and get them out of there, once again, they may not be super obvious to you, but do you ever hear mouth noise on commercials?

5) Keep the mic in the same spot!! This is not so much an editing tip as it is saving you time when you go to edit. In a multi-part project (like in the two audio books I am recording as I speak) I have my microphone stand held to the floor with some stage weights (and the same with my stool and music stand). This way, I can be sure to have the same consistent sound throughout the entirety of both books.

All of these tips will make you sound better and will keep your clients coming back for more of your stuff. Repeat work is awesome. Try to do what you can to make your client so happy, they won’t consider anyone else. Put your client first, and they will put you at the top of their list.

More in part two coming soon!!

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The title of this post is Let it Go (obviously enough). So just exactly what does that mean? About a bazillion things actually.

1) First thing’s first: when you make a mistake, let it go. If you’re recording in your studio and you keep making the same mistake over and over (not only might you need to refer to my last post) but you need to just stop, take a breath, grab a sip of water (you have it in your hand don’t you?) and then keep on truckin’.

2) When you’ve just finished your eleventy-seventh audition and you’ve just gotten you’re eleventy-eighth rejection notice… that’s right… let it go! The one thing that is not too pleasant about being a VO person (the average kind, anyways) is that you don’t always win. I read in James Alburger’s The Art of Voice Acting (a GREAT book, by the way) that you don’t win everyone, but that doesn’t mean you are a terrible voice actor, it just means there was someone else who had the voice that the client had in their heads. Sometimes (and this is a sometimes I hope you never experience) you get the call to do a gig and it NEVER happens. This has happened to me twice. I just had to… you guessed it… let it go, even though it hurt like heck.

3) You might think to yourself, “Man, this takes a lot of money to get a VO career started!” Yeah it takes a little (less if you read my previous posts!) but you have to… say it with me… let it go! Unfortunately, in business (that’s what we are in, by the way, is business) you have to spend money before you can make money. No exceptions, especially in our line of work.

This is just part one of this post. I still have some juicy morsels of knowledge brewing in the pot of my mind. Subscribe to have updates to the blog delivered to your e-mail! You can do so in the new and improved right hand column.

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Unfortunately, it’s also as complicated as that.

The nice thing about being a VO person is that we do not have to record many, many tracks with really fancy equipment and software. All you need to get started is a good microphone, some moderate sound proofing, and a computer with audio editing software. That’s all!

Before I begin, let me say that I am going for value in this setup, I want to make having a home studio affordable for everyone. You have to start small, get small gigs, make some money to put back into nicer equipment. It’s a vicious cycle, but it is well worth it. There is nothing like having a home studio.

Let’s get started:

1) A Good microphone: This is a post all to itself, so I will be as brief as possible. There is no need to go all out with your first microphone. The best microphone for the money is definitely the Samson CO series of USB mics. These mics are condenser mics (meaning they will amplify your voice before the sound enters your computer) and the only thing you do is plug them into your computer and VOILA! You have a mic. I bought my mic from a used music store in Nashville for $75. Talk about affordable! I take it on the road with me when I travel and it sounds pretty decent. Decent enough for practice and beginning VO at least. When it comes time to step up the microphone, there are many other choices from Shure (my mic of choice), Electrovoice, and many others that might suit you. Ask your favorite voice person what mic they use and don’t be afraid to check it out.

2) Some moderate soundproofing: This sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. What I use when I travel and still need to work is foam rubber that I bought from a store that was going out of business, but you can pick them up from any craft store or home improvement store (Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.). The blocks of foam are about the size of a large shoebox and they stack perfectly. I stack them on top of each other and drape a sheet over the top. There you have it, some moderate soundproofing. Another tried and true method is to go into a closet (with a fair amount of clothing) and the results speak for themselves, very few echoes. When you’re ready to get more serious about soundproofing, the easiest way to build a studio and save a LOT of money is to buy a pre-constructed sound isolation booth or convert a walk-in closet into a soundproof paradise. More on that another time.

3) A computer with recording software: It almost seems that a computer is a necessity in today’s world. It is a necessity for today’s voice over artist. There’s no way around it. If you know someone that builds computers, have them to build you one. Make sure you can trust them not to rip you off. Set a rigid budget and don’t budge. You can find a computer for whatever you’re willing to spend. It may not be a speedy geek machine (like mine) but it can get the job done. A laptop is not a bad idea. Laptops have become powerful enough to handle many tasks that a desktop can and they aren’t that much more expensive (if you buy from the right place). I would recommend at least 2 gigs of ram and a dual core processor. Vista or not, it doesn’t matter. Vista is not as bad as everyone says, it’s only bad for some, like people who are too cheap to buy what they need. The more you invest in your computer, the faster it will run, just like a car. Last thing, please get some type of malware protection. Your computer will run the way it’s supposed to if you keep it healthy. A computer is a lot like a person. Keep it clean, don’t beat it up, and give it what it needs (rest, medicine, and shelter).

The recording software you choose is up to you. I use Adobe Audition because it’s what I learned to use in school. I also use Audacity which is probably the second greatest free program in the world. If you want a full function audio editor and don’t want to pay a lot (or anything) it’s definitely for you. It has some of the plugins from some of the nicer softwares, but it’s totally free. I love open source. There are hundreds of recording softwares out there, try out some demos and see what you like.

There’s a lot of really good information in a short amount of time. I hope you can use it to your benefit. PLEASE contact me if you have any questions or want advice. I will be more than happy to help.

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What Is A Voiceover and How Do You Do It?

By Bettye Zoller

www.voicesvoices.com

btzol@aol.com

What Is A Voiceover?

Radio is the ultimate voiceover. It has often been called, “The Theatre of the Mind.” A voiceover can be defined as, “anytime a voice is heard without seeing a person talking.” This definition doesn’t always suffice however, because voiceover talents often speak in on-camera TV commercials or TV programs. One example is the wonderful and timeless sitcom, “The Wonder Years,” and another program that used voiceovers extensively was “My So-Called Life.” Today, “Desperate Housewives uses voiceovers.

Voiceover talents can also “overdub” by synchronizing their voiceover to the movements of on camera actors’ mouths as the actors are viewed on-screen. Sometimes, voice actors overdub speech because on-camera actors were chosen for the way they looked but vocally (as actors) lacked some sort of quality the director sought. Other times, voiceovers are used in films and TV programs because the audio sound was not of sufficient quality and must be improved in a recording studio setting (ADR work—additional dialogue recording). On-camera actors are usually cast for the way they look, the image they project, not for their voice skills. Voiceovers are also used to overdub actors’ speeches so that the film or TV show can be sold or syndicated in foreign markets.

Voiceover talents today are hired to narrate audio books, anime, cartoons, videos, films, and cable TV programs. They are the voices of toys, talking picture frames, cell phone messages, talking greeting cards, your car’s GPS navigation system, and everything else that’s manufactured with a computer chip inside of it on which a voice track can be stored and played. Voiceover talents greet you (and annoy you!) on thousands upon thousands of those pesky recorded telephone messages and IVR systems. They talk to you through ceiling speakers while you shop in stores. You hear voiceover talents trying to convince you to buy cosmetics at your department store on a video playing over and over (looping) next to those expensive cosmetic products! The military uses voiceovers in training projects and the educational field also uses voice actors for educational endeavors. Nearly every classroom today, kindergarten through post-graduate study in universities sports a large TV monitor in a corner on which educational videos are played. Sometimes, it seems that a teacher doesn’t talk very much anymore. Rather, schools teach a majority of the time with videos.

What Should a Voiceover Talent Strive For, and Why?

The talent’ should sound natural and believable (unless voicing a cartoon or character voice, and even then, being a “believable bunny or duck” is probably a worthwhile goal . . .) without revealing there is a written script. The ultimate goal is to sound as if the thoughts being expressed in the script are emanating from the voiceover talent’s own thoughts. The voice talent is a communicator who should strive to convey the script’s message in the most effective manner.

Stages of Performance

A voice talent should strive to understand the project, its scope, its purpose. The talent should understand what the producer/director/client needs and wants you to do as the voice of the project. This may require questioning the producer or attempting to delve deeper into the project’s scope. Never be fearful of asking questions on an audition or a session.

A voiceover talent should:

• Understand the script and its purpose
• Understand the director/producer/client’s needs and goals
• Determine for whom the voiceover message is intended (audience)
• Sound natural, believable, and real (even if you’re a cartoon or toy voice!)
• Be skilled at “the cold read,” that is, reading something aloud you’ve not seen previously.
• Give the script “life,” by bringing it to “full bloom” with your vocal rendering
• Be “at home” in the recording studio and understand the recording process, never waste studio time, but rather, be quick, saving money.
• Be a business person, a skilled professional, always prompt, dependable.

No one had all of these qualifications starting out! These are acquired with practice. I always remind my students that, “you have to play to win.” I add, “one thing is certain: You’ll never know if you could have succeeded if you don’t try.”

That brings me to the next bit of advice: Listen to voiceovers constantly—on TV, in videos and films (cable TV is a goldmine to learn how to narrate video and film). Listen for voiceovers in stores (on point-of-purchase videos or through ceiling speakers), on the telephone, in the airport, in your physician’s office, —everywhere. Learn from voiceover professionals who speak to you constantly, teaching you, every day!

The Voiceover CD Demo

A performer’s voiceover demo is required if you’re going to get auditions or work!

Having a professional voiceover demo that is created in a recording studio with the guidance of a professional producer is “a must!” A voiceover demo’s cost will be higher in NYC and LA. If saving money is important, have your demo produced and recorded outside of these areas! Also, realize that there are substantial differences between what producers deem a “proper demo” in LA and in “the hinterlands.” However, it is possible to produce a demo that agents and producers respect in many diverse geographic regions, even in Europe, if you seek out the right producers who know what agents and producers are looking for today. And, of course, compare prices. But also, realize that saving money should not mean settling for an inferior product. Know your producer’s credentials and ask for referrals from satisfied demo clients! And never even think of recording a voiceover demo without being well rehearsed.

If the recording studio or the producer tells you that you can “come into my studio and we’ll construct the demo that same day,” walk, don’t run! The contents of a demo should be tailored closely to the client’s voiceprint, the talent’s personality and voice profile, age, and gender. The sound of a voice usually tells a producer a lot about that profile. The contents of the demo should be chosen well ahead of the recording session date and the talent should be well coached. As for “voice type,” for example, a young female voice talent with a wispy rather whimsical voice would have a demo with certain types of material on it while a deep voiced older female, perhaps one with a theatrical flair, would have completely different material on her demo.

You’re Mentors

Who will train you? Who will produce your demo? That’s most important. You need a skilled voiceover coach / audio producer beside you, guiding you. A demo will illustrate your skills reading voiceover material in a wide variety of areas (the areas mentioned earlier here).

What does a Demo Contain and What Should Be Its Length?

A demo contains short passages edited into a montage about two minutes to two and one-half minutes long. This version, however, will be combined with short edits. I prefer 90 and 60 second versions of the long demo. The short versions are used on websites and as attachments to emails. In this way, the talent and his or her agents have a long version and two short versions to work with for various reasons. I do not favor ONLY the short demo length based on my ongoing discussions with agents in many U.S. regions. The short version is, however, favored by Los Angeles producers with whom I consult. Here, in Dallas and all of the U.S. outside of the East and West coasts, my agent advisors tell me they prefer getting one longer demo and the short edits.

As I explain to all of my students and clients: When I state “my opinion” on an issue, it is not solely, “my opinion.” Rather, it is my “take” on an issue that has resulted from my talking with, consulting with, my sources in many locations in the U.S. and Europe. I belong to many professional groups including VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association), AFTRA national committees, SAG national committees, and many voiceover talent agents and producers. I also regularly consult with other voiceover professionals in many diverse locations.

Distribution and Self-Promotion

The next step involves duplicating your CD demo and obtaining a professional CD label. Some talents package a demo with a label plus a front and back cover and CD spine. Others use only a professional looking CD label. Remember: Producers and agents are interested primarily in what’s ON the demo, not in its packaging. If the package is fabulous and its contents terrible, you’ve accomplished naught. You may choose to duplicate and package the CD demo yourself. You may have others do it for you. Either way, it must sound the best. That’s most important.

Be prepared to produce quantities of your CD over the first year and on a continual basis throughout your career. Self-promotion should be on-going, year after year. However, don’t do large duplication quantities until you’re sure you don’t want to change the demo. Add some recent voice work to an old demo and rearrange the cuts and it’s “all new” (or so it seems . . .). Most coaches and producers agree that a voiceover CD demo should be updated about every eighteen months to two years.

Don’t print vast label quantities. Do not have a label printed in large quantities on the CD itself. You may change agents! Your phone or e-mail may change. It happens all the time! I suggest starting with 100 copies of your demo. Then, duplicate more copies as you need them to get signed by broadcast agents in various cities and to start your promotional machine in high gear. After that, plan on distributing about 50 demos per month or more if you can.

And finally, you are ready to distribute your CD demo to your broadcast agents, to business owners, to producers/directors, to people you meet at networking events, and to put your demo on websites (your own and commercial sites that send work to voice talents on the internet). Self-promotion never ends! You are a small business owner and your business is YOU.

Every Business Has a Start-Up Process (Voiceovers Do Too!)

Compared to opening a storefront, starting a new restaurant, becoming a dentist or lawyer, starting your musical or film acting career, the start-up costs to enter the voiceover field are relatively modest. However, you must prepare for routine, expected expenses involved with studying, attending workshops, consulting with teachers and demo producers, creating your CD voiceover demo, and distributing that demo (self-promotion).

The self-promotion never ends, as I said above! And that will cost money – for postcard mailers, business cards, CD mailers, mailing labels, promotional give-away items to get noticed, all of the costs connected with large batch duplication of your CD and packaging, printed brochures, postal charges, networking costs, anything and everything that gets you noticed by those who hire voiceover talents.

Don’t overlook free opportunities for publicity: Newspaper and magazine articles, trade publications, newsletters. Join organizations in your area where your visibility can be increased. Make new contacts that can potentially help you. Remember: It’s not necessarily “who you know!” It is “who they know!”

Visibility

You must (like every other business on the planet) create and maintain an internet presence. While your website does not have to be a major investment, it should look professional. I use website building templates provided by my website host sites. If you need help, solicit it from a student or friend rather than spending major sums of money on design that could be spent in other ways. Get started building your website or make sure your site can accept audio files so you can post your demo (s) on it. That’s a must!

Be Optimistic and Realistic

I have produced demos for a few of my students who made money from voicing substantial projects immediately. Many have voiced major national commercials that paid residuals for many years to come within the first year after I produced their demo CD. Some have become the favorite voices of producers who use them over and over, creating a steady income stream. Still others decide to start their own businesses, selling their own voiceover jobs (telephone messaging, audio books, commercials). Others for whom I’ve produced a demo have a slower start, preferring to maintain their “learning curve” and “promotion curve” (not unlike some business owners who want to “build the business” over time). Sometimes, that “slow build.” Is a good one. One talent recently told me that he is “building his start in his own way and finding his ‘sea legs.” Everyone moves at their own “career speed.”Bottom line: The amount of time spent on one’s endeavors usually is reflected, in direct proportion to the degree of success that one achieves. Part-time effort usually results in part-time work (if any). Perhaps a “day job” or family life means severely limited time is available for promoting your new voiceover endeavors. That’s o.k. everyone has their own time schedule.

Start building and keep building! One thing is certain: If you don’t try, you’re sure to fail! Good luck!! Everyone was a beginner at one time! Go for it!

Bettye Zoller Seitz

All rights reserved 2007

Ask for permission to use or reprint

Voiceover Talent/Educator Audio Engineer Recording Studio Owner/Demo Producer

Simon and Schuster Voice Talent-Producer/ Dialect and Voice Speech Coach

Winner ADDYS/CLIOS/GOLDEN RADIOS/AUDIE AWARDS

MM.ED/Ph.D.ABD

214-638-TALK (8255)

WOW!! What a GOLDMINE of information! I hope you got as much out of this as I did! Thank you Bettye! You truly are the consummate professional! We all have a lot to learn from you.

I would suggest that readers would hop on Bettye’s site and see when she’s holding her next seminar and GO!! I know I am going when she comes to Nashville!

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