Sound Advice: Voiceover from an Audio Engineer's Perspective

SOUND ADVICE

Voiceover from an Audio Engineer’s Perspective

Dan Friedman

Copyright © 2010 Dan Friedman. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1 (833) 262-8899

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-4520-3790-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-8412-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010909241

Published by AuthorHouse 09/26/2020

Table of Contents

Foreword

About the Book

The Talent and the Engineer

The Talent and Other Talent

Working at Other Studios

Your Studio, Your Sound

Your Room

Choosing Your Room

Acoustic Treatment and Sound Proofing

Your Audio Chain

Your Microphone

Large Diaphragm Condensers

Voice Over Mics Compared: Neumann U87 vs. TLM103

Dynamic Microphones

Shotgun Microphones

Choose Your Microphone

Which Voice Over Microphone is Right for You?

Microphone Technique

Microphone Technique for Voice Over Talent

Microphone Etiquette

Your Preamp

Your Mixer

Gain Structure

Aux Send/Return

Headphones

Speakers (or Monitors)

ISDN

My ISDN Journey by Kara Edwards

Source Connect

Phone Patch

Skype

Cables

Microphone Stand, Copy Stand and Pop Filter

Labeling Your Studio

Troubleshooting

Scripts: Paper or Monitor

Auditioning

Recording, Editing and Mixing-Traditional Tasks of the Engineer

Recording

Editing

Mixing

Computers, DAWs and Differences in Systems

Effects Processors

Compression

Limiters, Expanders and Normalization

Equalization (EQ)

Special Effects

Making Your Demo(s)

Additional Things to Keep in Mind

It’s Not Going Well

Working with Inexperienced Directors and Clients

Final Thoughts

Glossary

To my wife

Melodie, and sons Ben and Joe, I love you all.

To all of my family, friends and especially my Mom, thank you for a lifetime of love and support.

To John Brooks and everyone at ProComm, thank you for the best job in the world.

To Pete Turbiville, thank you for everything you have done for me and my career.

To all of the voiceover talents that I work with, thank you for the inspiration.

Foreword

There are a lot of books on the subject of voiceovers. Successful announcers write the great majority of them. However this book is unique in that the author is not only a successful announcer, but also a veteran producer, director, and engineer. Years ago, I took the Dale Carnegie course. One of their principles is to talk about a subject you’ve earned the right to speak on. In Sound Advice, my friend and colleague, Dan Friedman, speaks with the confidence and authority that he’s gained through years of experience.

A key to success in your voiceover career is repeat business. Sound Advice will give you the performance and technical tips that will set you apart as a talent clients like to work with.

At ProComm, we’ve watched a true revolution in how voiceovers are produced. In fact, we’ve been in the middle of that revolution as a virtual poster child for recording voice talent remotely from home studios. Prior to the mid-nineties, the skills required of an announcer centered on performance. Because the studio personnel took care of the other stuff, the voice talent’s technical expertise was generally limited to proper mic technique. However, around 1994, technology made it possible to record talent remotely over digital lines. This development was exciting because it leveled the playing field for those of us in small markets. No longer would it be necessary to move to New York or Los Angeles in order to be cast in national commercials.

Today, 80% of the voices we record are doing their work from a home studio. And that’s why Sound Advice is such a valuable resource. When your studio sounds great time after time, you’re much more likely to get called back for future jobs. Take Dan Friedman’s advice on designing your room and operating your studio equipment, and you’ll be well on your way to increasing your income.

Another business model that’s emerged in recent years is what might be considered an Internet talent agent. By that I refer to the new wave of sites that post a roster of voices, but don’t do the actual recording. Instead, they (hopefully) get you work, and you do the recording yourself. Examples of this are Voice123.com and Voices.com. For work of this type, you have total responsibility for the technical aspects of the recording. You’re expected to send the client an MP3 file that has not been reviewed by an audio engineer. This is all the more reason to have a good handle on how to operate a professional-sounding studio.

Whether you’re an aspiring voice talent or an accomplished professional, this book will give you a new perspective on the industry and how you can become more successful. Beyond the technical, you’re sure to glean many insights into what motivates someone to cast you for a particular job. As a performer, you may be looking for tips on how to make your reads sound more authentic. But just as important are the pointers on human relations that make producers appreciate you and recommend you to their clients.

So, thank you, Dan Friedman, for giving our industry such a great resource. And to the reader, here’s hoping you achieve results in your voiceover career that are beyond your wildest dreams.

John Brooks

President, ProComm Studio Services

About the Book

Writing about sound is not an easy task. I’ve heard it compared to explaining visual art to the blind. However, after years of working with voiceover talent, being asked the same questions and dealing with the same issues, I was inspired to give it a try. I’ve written this book to give you a sound engineer’s perspective on your career as a voiceover talent.

In this book I’ve tried to provide you with basic information about audio and equipment that is taught in recording schools. Hopefully, this information will provide a foundation for you to get to know your equipment better and understand how it works. Understanding your audio equipment is critical to helping you sound your best as well as helping you effectively communicate with those trying to help you when problems occur. I’ve also tried to address proper studio etiquette and many of the bad practices I’ve seen, heard and experienced from voiceover talents over the years. My intention is not to scold or criticize, but simply to provide those of you who are new to the business with information you may not know, and also to shed light on some mistakes that many of you, who have been in the business for awhile, may not know you are making.

This book is not about how to read scripts or how to be a successful voiceover artist. This book complements the many books that have been written about those topics. You may find it helpful to sit in front of your equipment as you read through some of the sections. Follow the procedures I describe and learn what the microphone, knobs, faders and other various elements in your studio can do. Most importantly, open your ears and really listen. Listen to how you sound and learn what you can do to bring out the best in your voice.

I am passionate about what I do and I know most of you are too. This is a great business.

Thank you for reading my book, I hope you find it helpful and enjoyable.

SOUND ADVICE

Voiceover from an Audio Engineer’s Perspective

Many books have been written about voiceover, the voiceover industry, how to be a voiceover artist, etc. Naturally, voiceover talents have written most of these books. Although these author/talents may be exceptional at their craft, they often lack an engineer’s perspective. The audio engineer is the guy (or gal) whose job it is to: listen critically, keep the session moving, record the audio, number takes, edit, mix and work with all of the (often strong) personalities in and out of the room. Essentially, the audio engineer is the guy behind the scenes whose job it is, with little accolade, to help make producers, directors, writers and talent look and sound good by creating great audio productions.

I have been an audio engineer since 1994. I started in live sound, working in clubs with bands and musicians. Simultaneously, I got engineering jobs in radio and in a recording studio. After a few years I discovered the world of voiceover and realized it complemented some of my other strengths, having been a journalism major (essential to copy editing) as well as a bartender and hospitality major (essential to providing great customer service). I’ve been working as a voiceover talent since 2005 with a continuously growing list of clients and several respectable radio and television campaigns to my credit.

As an engineer in the field of voiceover for more than 10 years now, I’ve worked with all sorts of talented (and some not-so-talented) people on both sides of the microphone. Although I am also a voiceover talent,