Category Archives: Voice Talents

Voiceover tips, blog posts, discussions, resources for voiceover talents

Voiceover Forums

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In my attempts to fix computer issues, learn web development, PHP coding, and do a little comparison shopping, online forums (discussion boards) have been a solid source of information — not all of it good, and that’s probably my fault as much as anyone else’s. Obviously, like with any information from any source, you have to analyze it and determine whether there’s any value in it. It may all be good, or some or none. The point is other people have publicly asked the same questions I need answers to. How cool is that!

 

The other bonus of online forums is the sense of community available to you if it’s a forum you frequent enough (is that redundant?). The only forum I regularly visit, and contribute to, is VoiceOverSavvy.com, an online community for voiceover people sponsored by Voice123.com — a voiceover job marketplace for voice talent and talent seekers. The discussion board is a great place to share information on the voice industry. The people who hang around there are very supportive, routinely polite, and definitely talented if a bit frustrated by changes in the industry. You’ll see. Whether you’re a voice actor or a talent seeker, I think it’s worth a visit. In general, online forums can be a terrific resource. For voice talent, talent seekers, and especially Voice123 members, VoiceOverSavvy.com definitely is.

Too Much Copy, Too Little Time

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I had a client who needed Spanish voiceover for a local TV commercial. They had :45 of script for a :30 spot. On my best day, in heated conversations, in any language, I’m not a speed-talker by nature. I know there’s this voice artist out there who won the Guinness World Record for speed talking: she recited The Three Little Pigs in :13 (I think that’s like 12 words per second). Of course, no one can fully understand her. They need a machine to replay her recital in slow motion to make sure she pronounced each word accurately and she did! Super. But there’s a speed threshold between what the human ear can hear and the mind can decipher at that speed. It’s literally too much information. (Of course, she’s a talented voice artist by the name of Fran Capo and knows when to slow it down; just because she’s a speed demon doesn’t mean she rushes through every copy.)

Well, I gave that :45 copy for a :30 spot a try. My voiceover friends and I had a good laugh at my attempt and the client actually appreciated it (they wanted to see what it would sound like). Ultimately, they cut the script and paid me an additional voiceover fee. It was still a fast-paced spot, but manageable and more importantly understandable.

I had done few broadcast voiceover jobs at the time. Most of my early experience was story narrations and cold readings of legal documents for court proceedings. Broadcast voiceover is an entirely different animal. So, I asked my peers at VoiceOverSavvy.com with more broadcast voiceover experience how they handle ECS (excess copy syndrome). All agreed that you need to let the client know right off the bat, which I did. Always let the client decide whether to cut the script at the outset, or move forward with the long script and retain you for revisions later.

Additionally, my friends were able to provide a few rules of thumb both for voice talent and talent seekers to help evaluate whether the copy will fit the designated time slot. Although few things beat a cold read through with a stopwatch, generally speaking (no pun intended), a normal paced read will yield these numbers —

:15 spot: no more than 45 words of copy
:30 spot: 85-95 words
:60 spot: 160-180 words

Phone Patch Yes – ISDN No

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Voice actors use a phone patch to provide a means for an off-site client or director to monitor or direct the project. Although you can do that with a regular cell phone, a phone patch also lets you connect your computer audio to the phone line. It’s what radio stations do so they can broadcast phone interviews. Few interviewees are actually in the studio. By using a phone patch during the voiceover recording session, you’re able to record the client’s instructions as well as play back your voiceover for the client during the session (production). That’s the benefit of having a phone patch during production.

 

I haven’t yet had to use my phone patch during production. The few clients who wanted to direct the session did so by regular phone. What a rush. They didn’t need session playback. The benefit of having clients provide phone direction in whatever means is that they generally ask for the raw recording — which means they do all the clean-ups and post-production. This makes up for the longer recording session. The rest of my clients, by their own admission, don’t have a definite script interpretation in mind; and that’s okay. They’re still able to describe in general terms what they want, but leave the line by line interpretation to me.

 

I use my phone patch primarily for delivery of voicemail. Some clients don’t have systems they can simply feed recorded messages into. That’s likely to change as voicemail systems incorporate more computer software and end-user features. As you can see, the benefit of having a phone patch is minimal; but it can make the difference in your ability to accept voicemail projects. It’s a one-time expense and, in my opinion, worth the investment if you intend to provide voiceover services for automated telephone systems.

 

ISDN is a telephone networking system that uses a specific protocol resulting in very clear transmission quality, and allowing for real-time voice transmission. ISDN is used by voice actors to transmit their voices to recording studios miles away. Think of ISDN as a very long and efficient microphone cable and you’ll get the idea. The phone patch brings the director to your studio; the ISDN brings your voice to the director’s studio.

 

How often have I needed an ISDN connection? Never. When I did voiceovers in the 80′s, that technology wasn’t available. There was no digital recording at all. It was all analog recording onto reel to reel magnetic tape. I managed to skip over the two decades during which ISDN was a popular and necessary tool for voice actors. Given the current quality and affordability of home studio recording equipment, I haven’t had any problem providing voiceover services without ISDN capabilities. In addition, I’m in South Florida and a very short distance from any number of commercial record studios with ISDN equipment. Studio fees can always be charged to the client who feels compelled to record at his or her end.

 

One more thing: you can’t really double-up and use an ISDN service both for remote voiceover recording sessions and your Internet needs. Current ISDN technology isn’t robust enough at consumer pricing levels to handle today’s broadband needs and chunky audio file transfers. You would still need DSL or cable broadband IP services, which for now don’t transfer voice data as flawlessly as ISDN. In other words, you also can’t turn around and use DSL for your real-time remote audio recording needs. That may change. IP technology is advancing and voice over IP (VOIP) is becoming more flawless. Ultimately, VOIP may fill the ISDN gap in home studios, if the availability of quality digital audio equipment has left any gap to fill.