February 2008 Archives
Right this minute, I'm watching a recent episode of Trading Spaces. If you haven't watched the show, teams of 2 people trade houses for 2 days and re-decorate one room of the house. This episode features some feuding neighbors who can't abide each other. Even more interesting to voice talent is that Neighbor A has a small child and craves absolute peace and quiet, while the Neighbor B has active, noisy teenage sons who have a heavy-metal garage band.
So far, I have seen nothing about treating the door and windows, as those are major sources where sound escapes. I know they have a limited budget of $1000 on this show, but I think the designer doesn't have a good grasp of soundproofing techniques. She chose to build a stage, which might look cool, but won't stop the noise problem the way an interior room would have.
Neighbor A is redoing the garage studio for Neighbor B, and their priority was soundproofing. I became somewhat of an expert on soundproofing techniques when we decided to build the room for my stunning studio. Soundproofing is achieved by creating mass separated by air space. I therefore thought perhaps the designer would build a room within a room.
The designer decided instead to cover the ceiling and walls with carpet padding. Carpet padding is in the category of sound absorption. It changes the characteristics of sound within the room but does not necessarily prevent the sound from leaving the room. Given the amount of carpet padding they are installing in almost every inch throughout the room, it certainly will help reduce the noise. However, If I were the teenager with the band, I would be concerned that I am not hearing true sound.
Soundproofing is also what Neighbor A would need to do their own home in order to prevent the unwanted sounds from entering their house. I live in such a noisy area that we replaced all the windows with triple-pane windows and built a room according to specifications found in Building a Recording Studio by Jeff Cooper. My room has 2 layers of 5/8th-inch sheet rock, which is thicker than normal 1/2-inch sheet rock. I also have 2 layers of ceilings separated by heavy insulation, 2 sets of doors at each entrance and no windows.
As for the TV show, I guess it's more important that the warring neighbors gain some harmony and empathy than to be totally accurate in the description of the materials. I have to say that the finished studio really looks awesome!
When people find out that I'm a voice talent, they often ask me to "do a voice". They seem disappointed when I respond "you're pretty much hearing it now." Many people expect all voice-over professionals to record zany voices for cartoons and movies. They often don't realize that voice actors are also the people who record the radio and TV commercials, audiobooks, documentaries, training programs, games and phone systems.
While practice is necessary for proficiency, much of any kind of voice-over work depends on your mental state when performing. The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the voice is the door to one's emotions. Whatever you are thinking and feeling is instantly heard in your voice. For instance, I'm sure people have said to you things like "you sound tired" or "is something wrong?". Your voice mirrors your thoughts and emotions.
Much of my voice-over work is in corporate narrations and training programs. Recently, one of my contacts, an educational specialist who is producing and narrating some internal training programs for his company, asked me how not to sound like he was reading a eulogy at a funeral. I gave him the list of 12 tips show below, listed in no particular order. I thought others may find them helpful in making your narrations more natural and conversational.
2) Articulation and diction are essential to properly convey the message. A voice-over narration should be transparent to the listener. You want the audience to be concentrating on your message and not distracted by the manner in which you are presenting it. Over-enunciation can be as distracting as sloppy enunciation.
3) Speak at your normal pitch. If you change your pitch because you don't like the sound of your voice or think that people want to hear something else, you are not being authentic to yourself. The recording suffers because you are concentrating on the sound of your own voice rather than the message that you intend to convey.
4) If you need more energy, stand up while recording. I sit when recording long narrations. When doing so, the key to maintaining energy is to sit up straight and not let your chin dip down toward your chest.
5) A smile adds warmth to any word, but a smile throughout the piece could sound forced and inauthentic. The sound of a constant smile erodes our trust in the spokesperson. Think of the used car salesman that we all try avoid -- "friends, have I got a DEAL for you!" :)
6) Stay hydrated; drink plenty of water before, during and after the voice-over session. As you speak, you are expelling saliva. A dry mouth is frustrating when performing a voice-over but actually could be the starting point for a number of more serious health problems.
7) In your mind, picture one person to whom you are presenting this information. This shouldn't be a random person but instead should be someone who would actually be interested in obtaining the information you are providing. As you perform the script, speak as if you are having a quiet conversation with that person. If your volume is too loud, it shows that you aren't aware of your context. The images should have the starring role, with the narration blending as a supporting player.
8) Practice the text out loud prior to recording. Mark the script with words to emphasize and places to pause.
9) Read using chunks of phrases. You usually can mentally read several lines ahead of the point where you are speaking. By paying attention to your phrasing, you won't sound like you read to the end of a line and paused at an inopportune moment to send your eyes down to the next line. I'm reminded of old typewriters when I hear this type of narration, and I instantly stop listening to the message because the veil of transparency was dropped.
10) Breathe from your diaphragm and not your chest. Chest-breathing is more shallow, so you cannot get enough air to sustain you through longer passages. Better breathing also makes your voice sound fuller and richer.
11) Don't let your pitch drop at the ends of sentences. It can sound rushed or that you are not interested. In either case, your listeners will detect the change and again would not be thinking about the message.
12) Relax! If you are holding tension anywhere in your body, it will be heard in your voice. Totally lose yourself in the words in the script, and let them be your only point of thought while producing your recording.
While I mostly record narrations, I love to perform character voices. I look forward to the day when someone wants to hear one of my voices, and I demonstrate something as famous as Nancy Cartwright voicing Bart Simpson! :)
I blame the cake.
You would think that a person who has always loved words and makes money as a voice-over talent – a career built upon interpreting words -- would have started playing Scrabble in childhood. I can remember the first time I ever played Scrabble. Almost unbelievably, I went through my life without playing Scrabble until last May, as Drew and I finished a cruise and wanted to do something on the last night on-board the ship.
I lost that first game but won a new hobby. We bought a Scrabble game when we got home, but we didn’t play it often.
While watching the Ace of Cakes show on the Food Network one day, I saw a Scrabble cake designed for a person who is a tournament Scrabble player. It was the first time I ever heard of Scrabble tournaments. At that moment, I decided I would win a Scrabble championship.
I have an extensive vocabulary. I used to whip through the find-a-word puzzle magazines, and I always liked to play Boggle. Once I decide upon a goal, I achieve it. With my intrinsic love of words, I thought a Scrabble tournament win couldn’t be far away.
I’m sure this same kind of thought process goes through the minds of many people who suddenly decide to get into voice-over work.
Sometimes they see a celebrity on TV who gleefully recounts how voice-over jobs allow them to dress casually, go without make-up and pick up a massive check for an extremely small amount of time. Maybe newcomers read an interview about a voice talent talking about how great it is to do work in their pajamas from their home. In any case, so many starry-eyed newcomers seem to think, “I know how to talk. I’m going to be a voice-over star making millions of dollars while still in my pajamas!” I wish I had a dollar for every time someone approached me with the line: “People always say I have a nice voice and that I should work in voice-over.” I always advise that folks interested in learning any new skill start with a book because it requires a minimal investment of time and money to learn whether you want to pursue the topic. I direct people interested in voice-over to my recommended list of books and previous blog entries like this one. In my mild-mannered quest for Scrabble dominance, I didn’t take my own advice about getting a book, at least at first.
Continue reading Voice artist and (future) Scrabble competitor.
Karen Commins
Voice Actor
Voice Actor
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