Imagine a lobster!

Usually when asked to produce a radio commercial that is not just an announcer extolling the virtues of a product, I am sent a script that gives some indication of where the action takes place. This needs SFX to paint the picture. For instance, at the races (horses hooves, crowds etc), in a park (rustling leaves, ducks splashing in the pond and quacking, birds chirping, ambient outside noise). The sounds in the background will place the listeners subconsciously wherever you want them to be. Occasionally one has to stretch the imagination. One client asked me to place the idea of his radio commercial as a silent movie with Charlie Chaplin. A use of some old fashioned piano music and a whirring projector was the best I could come up with. Another asked me to ‘start commercial with couple sleeping peacefully on their comfy new mattress’ (I suggested a light snoring noise but this was rejected!). But last week I was completely beat. A client  asked me if I would produce a commercial for him. I asked him to send me the script which he said was for a new seafood restaurant. When it arrived it appeared that a woman was…

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Pay to Play Sites

There are always discussions of whether the Pay to Play sites are worth being on, whether they are working for the voice seeker or the talent, and if they are a useful tool. Here is my perspective. Having been on a number of sites in my early days, I have settled with just the main two, Voice123 and voices. When I started out, I auditioned like crazy…everything that came my way. I used these auditions to gain experience in recording myself and learning new voice delivery skills. I soon started to win auditions and build relations with a number of clients from all over the world. Now I am busy all the time and hardly ever audition. When I do, I choose only auditions which I know would suit my voice and which are of higher value than the $50 to $100 postings, leaving them to the other people who are starting out on their voice over career. But the other benefit of remaining on these sites is that it gives me another exposure for seekers to hear my voice other than just my own website, and I get direct messages or invitations to audition. These I nearly always do….

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Microphones

There are endless blogs about microphones. Each one suits one person and not another. It depends what the mic is being used for and the tone of the voice being recorded. I seem to have built up a selection of mics, some expensive (a Neumann and a tube Rode) and some cheap. But I always seem to come back to the same mic which seems to suit any job I do. It’s a Rode NT1A. This is an inexpensive mic that I bought when I was starting out for £150. I have a deep voice and with close mic work it can make the voice shake the speakers. Back off and it picks me up. Shouty shouty and it copes brilliantly. Maybe I should just buy another one as a backup and forget about constantly wasting money on trying out new mics that I rarely use!

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Preparing for a session

I often read blogs from other voice overs about preparing for a session. Much talk of eating an apple, taking in a glass of water, ritually conducting a series of breathing exercises, vocal warm ups, changing the lighting to suit the mood of the recording in hand, mark the script etc etc. Then I think about what I do for a session. Firstly I never seem to have the time to do any of these and find myself thrown into sessions with more often than not no chance to even study the script. I glance at the script as I rush from the printer to the studio and think on the run about the direction I am given and the style of vocal delivery I am going to use. Then I am in front of the microphone, a few knob twiddles….and I am up and away. Any vocal coach will tell you that this is completely wrong, but I find that the initial instinct is 99% of the time correct. One thing I always do is go and get myself a large steaming mug of tea (or take the risk of asking my wife to make one for me!) –…

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