Sound Advice: Voiceover from an Audio Engineer's Perspective
By Dan Friedman
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About this ebook
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.
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Sound Advice - Dan Friedman
SOUND ADVICE
Voiceover from an Audio Engineer’s Perspective
CoverPhoto.jpgDan 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
131849.pngTable 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,