A very common question I find myself being asked quite often lately is, “Do you think South Park has fallen off and jumped the shark lately?”
Well, I think that South Park has had several seasons in the past where a few weak episodes pushed the panic buttons on their most loyal fans (myself included). Personally, I feel that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are like Eminem, Howard Stern or John McEnroe in that they are at their very best only when something really pisses them off. This usually gets their creative juices going and we get episodes that really communicate real passion and some of the best modern day social satire available. Now a days they practically own Comedy Central (all the execs that were there to police them in the past have all moved on so they can just about get away with anything and that’s usually not the most creative environment to be involved in). Plus, they’re loaded so who can be angry at that?
But that’s not what this post is about.
South Park plays Guitar Hero
I want to help potential voice over talent to benefit from my experience, trials and successes.
I get a lot of questions regarding the type of voice over equipment one should invest in if they’re serious about getting into the business. They mostly ask for suggestions and advice on different brands they’ve heard of out there. There’s also always a thin ulterior yearning that’s hidden in their voice: if I spend X (usually low to mid four figures) amount on a microphone, will it book me more jobs?
If you’re serious about voice over and all the rewards and benefits you can achieve from it, spend less time on equipment and technical issues and spend more time on discovering who you are as a person and developing your reads into something that can turn into voice over money in the bank.
Read this post. Get into a class. Maybe this simple post will help start your career on the right track. Above all, listen. LISTEN. LISTEN.
Listen to radio commercials. Listen to TV spots. Listen to the narrators on all those reality shows people are so crazy about. Don’t just listen. Study.
But you still want to know more about equipment. I know.
“What kind of mic do you recommend for voice over?”
There’s the Sennheiser, there’s the Neumann, there’s the built-in mic on your laptop, there’s a USB mic you bought at Best Buy, etc. etc. The choices are infinite. Some microphones are expensive, others are less so. Here’s the truth: prices don’t have a direct correlation to the quality of the mic.
More importantly, the prices, quality, design, omni or uni directional specs have NO BEARING ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR READ or your ability to deliver a booking worthy performance.
This is what I tell every VO talent and actor who ask me if buying one of these super expensive mics will improve their chances of booking a job. Then I follow that up with this real life story:
“There’s this client who I used to rep who still works very consistently every year by just working the VO circuit. He leads a very fulfilling life and supports his entire small family of three (probably more soon) very well. One of my favorite stories about this client is that a few years back he was surfing down in Baja California when he received a phone call from his voice over agent about a last minute car campaign copy that he may want to participate in. This call was completely unexpected and quite frankly unwelcomed at the time (the dude’s in Baja chilling with his lady and vacationing after all). Luckily he had his small $600 laptop with a cheap $40 USB connect mic that he always had in his “work” bag. He got into the back seat of his rental, covered himself and the mic with a heavy blanket (to kill the echo noise inside the car as well as the crashing wave noises outside the car), spent seven minutes to record three takes and sent in the audition from his cell phone wi-fi connect. He got the job and was the voice of this particular car campaign for just under a year and made something in the ball park of $250,000 on just that one job alone.
The point of that story is obviously to make most readers of this post very jealous and pissed at their 40-50 hour work week. But secondly, it’s really the epitome of how unimportant expensive equipment is at the end of the day. More importantly, it’s to re-emphasize just how important your reads are.
A great cost effective mic ($100.00) that’s perfect for voice over auditions.
I’ve been receiving a lot of compliments and good feedback on this particular $100 mic. It’s not expensive, it’s easy to use (just plug and use) and the sound quality is extremely good. I have access to all the Neumanns and the Sennheisers in the world. But really, when I recently heard some of the stuff coming from the Snowball, I was beyond impressed. For the purpose of auditioning, it is more than sufficient to satisfy all your VO needs. If you’re fortunate enough to book the job, that’s when you can either have the buyer book a broadcast ready studio to re-record the job or you can schedule it yourself and take care of it.
For some of the more advanced and experienced VO professionals, you can invest a little (or a lot) more for a mic you think compliments your voice best. Microphones are very much like cars, clothes — or more to the point — instruments. You need to test out as many as you can to find the right fit for your voice.
My experience has informed me that Neumanns tend to give your voice a bit more “body” and “richness” that you may otherwise not have. But if you already have a deep, full voice, this may be overkill for you. Sennheisers have a tendency of giving out “crisper”, “cleaner” sounds that weed out a lot of the miscellaneous environment noises that you may not have as much control over (if you live in Los Angeles like me, those leaf blowers can drive you nuts in the middle of auditions!)
Really, dude? At 7:00am? You couldn’t wait like, maybe a couple more hours?
But if you’re in the market to make such a large investment, do yourself a favor and test out as many options as you can.
How should I prep my recording room?
Try to find a small room. Perhaps a closet? A small den? Never a bathroom.
Try to set up shop facing a corner. The sounds have less room to bounce thus less echo.
If you only have access to a big echo filled room, buy some soundproofing foam at a music store.
You may be able to find something comparable at a home improvement store.
I’ve had clients who’ve used heavy blankets to temporarily cover hollow room space. Just make sure your sound is as clean as possible. If people are noticing the echo in your room more than your read, you may want to make adjustments until it deadens all those extraneous distractions.
You may also want to work on a better read.
“What sort of recording / editing software should I buy?”
In the past I’ve used Adobe Audition and Sony Soundforge to record voice over on a PC. At home I use Soundtrack Pro or Adobe Sound Booth on my Mac. Many of these programs are way more than enough to record voice over. I also have a lot of other jobs and geek interests that I like to satisfy. But if your primary focus is voice over, you’ll do just fine with either the Sony Soundforge Basic if you own a PC or the built-in Garage Band on your Mac.
Each program works differently to record, edit and convert audio files but that’s really part of the fun. If you’re not too technically saavy, it’ll take you a little while to figure it out. Write your steps down. Take notes. But once you do, you’ll be guaranteed to feel a great sense of accomplishment. Besides, most modern software programs are so user friendly, it won’t take you long. Go online and Google your question and search your answers out. But by all means, get it done. Not only will you feel great, you’ll also empower yourself so much more by needing less from others.
“Apple or Mac?”
They’re both the same. Maybe you mean “Mac or PC?”
“I haven’t booked a job in weeks / months, what’s the matter?”
Maybe you suck? I don’t know. Leave me alone, I’m watching South Park and trying to figure out if they jumped the shark or not.
Posted by cap
Posted by cap
Posted by cap
