Home Studio Tips

Starting out

Musings at the Mic

– BY SCOTT THOMAS

 

“Can I build a home studio for under $300?”  Home studio mixing board

Recently, I was discussing home studio tips and that question was posed to me.  True, there was a time when a home studio was rare in the world of voice overs.  Back in the day, the idea of a $300 home studio would’ve sent most casting directors into a fit of laughter.  But in light of all the advances over the years, the answer to the question today is a resounding yes.

Now, don’t get your hopes up about how cheap and easy it is to create a home studio, and off you go making six figures.  I’m referring to a “starter kit” here, if you will.

If you’re serious about voice over work as a career, you have to come to terms with the fact that this is a business, and like all businesses, you will have to spend money to make money.  Understand that you will be investing in your career for your entire career. 

That said…you have to start somewhere, so let’s get this ball rollin’ and dive into some home studio tips.

Your recording space is as critical as your mic.

Having a “clean” recording is not an option – it’s rule one.  When you send your recording off to another professional, any and all audio issues could very well become glaring indictments on your level of professionalism and experience.  The last thing you want is some sort of buzz, hiss or hum under your read (and God help you if there’s a lawn mower or dog barking in the background).

One of the first things to determine in your home studio is your noise floor.  In layman’s terms, the noise floor is a measurement of how much background noise your studio puts out.  To determine your studio’s noise floor, simply record your room for thirty seconds (without you in it).   Your noise floor should be -60dB or better (quieter).

There’s sound proofing, and there’s sound treating.

When creating a home studio, you gotta’ know the difference.  Sound treating deals with reducing sound reflections within the recording space – or putting it simply, reducing that echo effect you get in an empty room.  Sound proofing is reducing levels of exterior sound from getting inside your recording space.  The former is much easier and much cheaper, so let’s go there first.

If you have a carpeted closet with plenty of clothes and space for you to record, that could work nicely (until you get the itch to go to Home Studio Phase Two.   But I digress).   Other cheap forms of sound treating a recording space include moving blankets, drapes, carpet & even egg cartons.  If you have a flexible budget and care about aesthetics, acoustic tiles can be found at a decent price, depending on the size of your area.

Exterior sounds will go right through acoustic tiles.  Duh.

Sound proofing a recording space is much more involved than sound treating.  You’ll never block 100% of exterior sounds from entering your studio, but if you achieve that -60dB level with your noise floor, you’re on the right track.  If, however, you have to deal with planes, trains & automobiles, lawn mowers and barking dogs on a regular basis, you’ll have to do your research on sound proofing fundamentals.  One of the best forms of sound-proofing is mass, so consider lining walls with mass loaded vinyl before adding acoustic tiles.  There is no such thing as a completely sound-proof room, but the MLV blocks out 80 to 90 percent of the exterior noise, so it works for my studio.

Just remember that upgrades will be a constant part of your voice over journey.  So get yourself that mic, plug it in and start recording your voice.  Find a good coach, and practice, practice, practice.  Listen to the critiques, and then practice some more.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Before you know it, you’ll be writing blogs about how you did it.

 

 

Finding Your Voice in Voice Over

Starting out

Musings at the Mic

 – BY SCOTT THOMAS

 

There are a lot of factors that come into play when considering what genre (or genres) you’re going to pursue on your voice over journey.  One of the first questions to ask yourself is:  What makes me stand out?  Sometimes, an accent or vocal trait does the trick – like a melodic Irish accent, or a deep baritone voice.  Maybe long-form narration comes easy to you.  Perhaps you’re fluent in multiple languages.  There are any number of traits, talents and abilities that might separate you from the pack.  Knowing your strengths and playing to them is what finding your voice in voice over is all about.

Voice actors are everywhere.

Make no mistake:  there’s a lot of competition in voice over – and it’s not just local, not just national –  you will be competing with voice actors across the entire planet! – so it’s best to have something that sets you apart.  It’s also crucial to know what to do with it.

Let’s say for a moment that Charles is a budding voice actor.  He’s really good at character voices, impersonations, and he also has a knack for performing a host of accents and dialects.  To do all this, Charles has to alter his voice in one way or another, which is a skill not all voice actors possess.  This of course, sets Charles apart.  If he’s really good at it, this could be his ticket.

If this happens to be your wheelhouse too, the next thing to identify is what voice over genre plays to these strengths?  In Charles’ scenario, being versatile with his voice could put him on a path to narrating audiobooks.  He might also consider pursuing roles as characters in video games or animation.  Of course, each path has its own unique challenges, so it’s best to learn as much as possible as you find your voice in voice over.

Hire a voice over coach.

A good, reputable voice over coach working with you one-on-one is not cheap.  It’s also one of the most important career investments you can make.  Keep in mind that most seasoned voice actors continue to work with coaches throughout their careers – to stay sharp and be the best they can be – so the sooner you embrace the idea of coaching, the better.

A good voice over coach will give you direction right out of the gate.  Of course, giving feedback on your reads is job  one, but they’ll also be able to gauge your strengths, and guide you toward genres that play to those strengths.  As you start out, having someone in your corner who’s been there, done that in the world of voice over, and has your best interests at heart, can really be a difference-maker in finding your voice in voice over.  If you think you know what avenue of voice over you want to pursue, that’s great…but have a professional confirm it, because in the world of voice over, there is no substitute for a good ear, or for good advice.

Different voice over genres have different buyers.

Okay, so you’ve confirmed what it is that sets you apart.  In finding your voice, you now know what genre(s) of voice over you want to pursue.  When the time is right, you’ll need to do some research and identify who the buyers are.  For some voice over genres, you’ll go directly to the buyer.  For others, it’s best to have a voice over agent who has the connections to land auditions for you.  There are also times when you’ll be contacting content creators, such as video producers and eLearning developers.  The list is vast and varied.

Researching online is all part of the discovery process…and just one of the skills in which you’ll need to be proficient.  After all, this is a business…so you have to approach it like one.  The actual speaking into a microphone part is the icing on the cake.  The fun part.  GETTING the job is a whole nuther matter.

Starting a Career in Voice Over

Starting out

Musings at the Mic

 – BY SCOTT THOMAS 

So…you’ve been told you have a great voice.  Yep…as far back as you can remember, people have dropped that line on you – at the checkout line…at restaurants…on the phone – you hear it all the time: “Wow! Has anyone ever told you what a great voice you have? You should totally have a career in voice over!”  Maybe that’s how the idea blossomed about starting a career in voice over.

Being told you have a great voice is nice, but beware: making a career with your voice is not easy. It’s kinda like someone suggesting you should become a long-distance runner simply because you have feet.

Seriously, having a naturally-gifted voice is a good start – but if you peek into the voice over rabbit hole, you’ll quickly realize there’s a lot more to it than simply having a good voice.

For one thing, how is your storytelling?

But wait. I’m getting way ahead of myself.

First – Ask yourself two very simple, and very important questions:

How? & Where?

First, how would I make money doing voice overs?

Be specific, because you may be surprised by how many genres of voiceover there are. Would it be voicing commercials? How about animation or cartoon voices? Do you have the stamina and versatility for audiobook narration? Maybe it’s the specific challenge of narrating eLearning modules, or the ever-growing world of corporate narration. These are only a few of the many avenues of VO you might pursue, and if you examine each one, you’ll notice they all require a different set of skills. More importantly to note, each one has a completely different world of buyers (the folks paying you to speak).

The second question:  Where would I record my voice overs?

These days, a home studio is a must. It could be as simple as a corner in a room, or a closet full of clothes…or, you could spend thousands on a professional vocal booth. Point is – all you really need is a quiet space with deadened walls. That’s it. Comfort and upgrades can come later – maybe after you confirm you have the chops for this. If cost is a concern, just know that these days, you can spend under $300 to create professional sounding reads. Let’s assume you already have a computer, so you can record, edit and convert your reads on software known as a DAW (digital audio workstation) – many of which are free. A decent microphone with the USB interface is where you’ll put your money. As you progress through this journey, upgrades will come – to your recording space, your equipment…and your talent.

Do I have what it takes for a career in voice over?

As they say, there’s only one way to find out. I’m just giving you a little food for thought so you can get past the paralysis by analysis.  If you’ve been standing at the edge of the voice over pool, debating whether or not you should test the waters, remember the two questions. If your answers give you confidence – then go ahead, take the plunge…and decide for yourself if the water is fine.

 

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