Mastering Home-Based Voice Over: Lesson 4
The Science Of Voice Over (Part II)
. . . . . .
Leave a comment or question you have below the video thumbnails.
Complete list of lessons in the course
Lesson 1:
Introduction | The Art Of Voice Over (available 8/25)
Lesson 2:
The Commerce Of Voice Over (available 8/27)
Lesson 3:
The Science Of Voice Over (Part I) (available 8/29)
Lesson 4:
The Science Of Voice Over (Part II) (available 8/31)
Lesson 5:
The Mindset Of Voice Over (available 9/2)
Video 6:
Next Steps (available 9/4)
After you’ve watched the video, please ask questions!
What has always been a challenge for you when it comes to your home recording space?
How have you tackled lowering your noise floor? Where in your home do you record?
What else makes you really frustrated when it comes to being a VO talent?
I’ll read them all, and respond to as many as I can.
These videos are amazing, thank you!! I’ve struggled with reading my entire life, I still do from time to time. So personally, *I* listen to audiobooks. The thought of starting a VO career with audiobooks is horrifying to me. What drew me to VO was doing Commercials and IVR work. Do you still suggest starting out in the audiobook world, for someone like me?
Casandra, you are not alone. I grew up in a family of readers, the only one who really hated it. I’m CAPABLE, and frankly, I LOVE cold-read auditions! But recording audiobooks is honestly not the same thing as reading for pleasure, at least not for me. I’m reading aloud for someone else’s pleasure! I’m ACTING, but with only my voice! You may find that you enjoy books more, if someone is willing to pay you to read them. 😉
… on the other hand, if you can make a living with commercials and IVR, then why bother with books? I know, that’s not the most helpful answer. But I wanted to let you know that you’re not alone. Cheers!
How do we accurately determine if our space is at -60dB?
Thank you again.
Another terrific lesson, David — thanks so much for answering my question about how to pursue IVR work! Really looking forward to watching the fifth lesson tomorrow.
Best,
Greg
Hi David,
Your comments re: maintaining Delivery throughout a project is spot on. Some of the longer projects I’ve done, 6-8hours, were recorded in one long day and there is no way in Hell, read that Heck, I sounded the same throughout. It’s an important point to remember and a stress-reliever for both beginners & experienced alike. Respect your commitment to these videos. As I get ready to re-engage after a sabbatical by choice, you’re first on my list. Thanx for all you do.
? ~Tom j Dolan
What a treat this series has been! Although I took the ACX Mastermind class at the beginning of 2020 (which at this point seems lightyears ago), I found every one of these videos to be invaluable to my continued learning. It took getting a couple of books under my belt to really bring to light what I still didn’t know. These videos have really drilled down further in some important areas for me. Thank you so very much!
You’re so welcome!
Hi David,
Thanks so much for your PRICELESS information. To respond to you, YES I now know so much more than before I started these lessons which I’ve shared with my agents. I doubt if I’ll be turning down any more VO auditions due to lack of knowledge thanks to you . LOL THANKS SO MUCH! GOD BLESS!
How do you deal with the inevitable heat that comes with sound dampening materials and having to switch off a/c for recording?
Some people simply use a fan or personal cooler like the Evapolar when not voicing. Others use proper baffled inlet and exhaust ductwork to ventilate their spaces. What do you use?
Are shields that attach to the mic stand behind the mic to stop sound reflections effective?
Not at all. Items like the Kaotica Eyeball, and curved shields, are protecting the area that the mic usually rejects sound from anyway, especially if the mic is set for a cardioid or hyper-cardioid pattern, effectively not picking up that sound to begin with.
Can the iZotope RX software help with the noise floor?
It can remove noise electronically, but it, of course, can’t lower your noise floor. That requires better soundproofing. And when something like a filter or plugin removes “noise“ electronically, it always in some small way affects the quality of your voice.
Just want to thank you again for sharing these nuggets with us.
It’s important to put whatever we can in action immediately… that said, I signed up for Cleanfeed and after listening to lesson 4, I reached out to the right holder that I did a couple of jobs for to say hello and ask how he was following the storm. Anyway he wants to meet with me this week to discuss narration of some short stories for Audible! The importance of maintaining relationships after work is completed is a valuable lesson.
It’s amazing how the relationships we make are so easy to maintain…if we just do the human thing! Good for you!
Hi, David,
Do you have a course on your stair-step method?
Thank you for your patience and encouragement,
Jen Imai
We talk about and explain various aspects of the Stairstep method in seven of our courses as it’s used in both auditioning and production. Thanks for asking!
Hi David: I just finished video 3 & 4 and again, fantastic content! Thank you! The level of detail in these videos is so helpful and also your answers to the questions. I shared your link with a friend who is a professional VO but now getting into audio books. I’m looking forward to video 5 & 6 now.
Thank you for sharing the link…for those of you who want to be like Kathleen Renish, the link to share is https://www.voheroes.com/go – and thank you too!
For after a person has trained and is ready to go: Could you speak a bit toward how to put a first commercial demo together? Are there specific companies people go to to have them produced that add the background music and sound effects, etc.? Where does one find these places? How long should they be? How many different samples?
David! Please share how you intuit if an audiobook on ACX is going to give a great Royalty Share return. I’m sure we each have to feel it out, but what are your guidelines? Thanks!
Hi David!
Love these classes! My friend and VO actor Rachel Kimsey suggested I take these courses and so I thank her and I thank you so much. My obstacle is that I am an on camera actor and my agent is supportive of me doing VO however, I do not have a VO reel. I have my perfect macbook air with M1 and I am expecting my new Blue Yeti mic this weekend. I guess I’m asking how do I present a reel when I have no content. Age old question I know. Thank you so much. Gene
Hi, David! First of all, thanks v much for this free lessons!!! Such a great help especially for those who are starting out. My question is, you think I would stand a chance in audiobook narration even if English isn’t my first language ? Well, I can speak English and kind of fluent about it but not on par compared to native English speakers. Will I get to book jobs in audiobook narration the me that is a novice too? Thanks a lot again.
Hi David,
A pleasure!
What can we do to get us started in searching for clients, and how can we be cautious on those who take advantage and possible scams?
Do we need to have a VO website already before start looking for clients?
When re-recording, how can you have a consistent fluid sound…sometimes if sounds like a different person or an obvious edit.
I have been enjoying these!
Where does one find IVR jobs? Are these usually posted on P2P sites?
Thank you so much. I almost didn’t sign-up for these. I thought they were going to be more of a giant infomercial to purchase your product. However, you struck the perfect balance between helping people (with some tips and information to chew on) and promoting your Pro product. Great work and thank you for being real! It has made me more inclined to purchase your Pro!
When are you going to talk about learning Audacity?
Hey David thanks for all these insightful gems! You mentioned not to use phone (software) and also not to record in the bathroom and I do both! I use WavePad on my iPhone, and set up a compact foam booth studio in my bathroom to record! Is this ok? In the process of setting up source connect from there and would love to hear your thoughts beforehand! Thanks again