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Voice Over Recording In The Woods - A Surprise on My Vacation

You'd think it would be a pretty good bet that I could take a week off without having to record any audio. After all, I've had to actively submit auditions for every voice over job I've gotten. So you might imagine my surprise when I got an e-mail on the 2nd day out (why was I checking e-mail? Brand new iPhone...but that's a different story:)) I received an offer for a voice over job I hadn't even auditioned for. And they couldn't wait a week. It was take-it-or-leave-it. So I decided to give it a shot. Here is all the equipment I had with me.

1. iPhone

2. Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

3. Netbook computer with an 11 hour battery life

We were going to be doing some singing, which is the only reason I had the recorder. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway, here is how it went. The client e-mailed some scripts and instructions. I used my iPhone to read the scripts, holding it in one hand, and recorded all my parts while holding the Zoom H2 in my other hand. Once I had recorded all my files, I ejected the SD card from the H2 and put it into my netbook. I used the Internet Tethering feature of the iPhone to connect my netbook to the web, downloaded Audacity, and edited the audio files (noise gating and reduction, cutting out bad takes, etc.). Finally I uploaded the files to the client's website.

It was definitely a first for me. What made it work was that the Zoom H2 can record at up to 24-bit/96kHz on its stereo mic setup. The client specifically requested a minimum of 24 bit and a 44.1 KHz sampling rate. I could not have done it with a really cruddy mic.

So now I know there is no reason to ever fear losing out on a recording gig when I'm on the go, which means you can too. All 3 required items fit very easily into a quite small hand bag or back pack.

Happy recording!

Learn to record and produce professional-sounding audio from home. Home music recording or voiceover recording, fun and short video tutorials show you how. We'll show you how to start with a $0-$5 budget, and then how to improve your studio for a few dollars at a time as your knowledge and confidence increase. If you would like to start doing home recording on computer, visit us here: [http://www.homebrewaudio.com/voice-over-recording-while-camping-the-zoom-h2-s...]Voice Over Recording

Home Brew Audio main page: http://www.homebrewaudio.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Voice-Over-Recording-In-The-Woods---A-Surprise-on-M...] Voice Over Recording In The Woods - A Surprise on My Vacation

Talking Heads 02: Great Audio - Good Audio

There is often a battle between getting great audio for a talking head video, and providing a great LOOKING talking head. But, you CAN have both.

Set up the mic close to the mouth whether it's a headset mic on a small boom, a wireless mic, or a stand mic. One of the most over rated mics is the lapel mic that most users position by clipping too far away from the mouth because there is a cute little clip on the mic that just screams to be clipped to a lapel, tie or shirt collar. None of these locations provide great audio.

The best location for a mic is in front of the mouth, a few fingers' widths away. This way, the talent is not required to yell which produces echo. They can talk comfortably in a soft tone which allows for great, natural dynamics. Best case scenario is really a high quality boom mic on a small fixture that suspends the mic in front of the mouth at a fixed distance. This is usually achieved via a headset.

If you don't have a fancy-schmancy mic boom like on Letterman, make your own. We used part of a mic holder, coat hanger and duct tape to bring the mic very close to the mouth from the bottom up while not being on camera. We also own a couple of directional mics we've fastened to ceiling heater vents, ceiling fans, and once actually used a mic boom (that was fun for a change). Directional mics work great as long as the talent is not moving around; thus the talking head application.

Recapping; Make sure the mic is as near to the front of the mouth (where the sound actually comes out) as possible for great, not just good, sound. If you can, do this with an attractive and practical setup using an on camera mic. If not, use something rigged off camera that works just as well.

The test is that if it sounds clean and close in headphones during the shoot, it will sound the same when your viewers are watching the video on the web, or on that mail out DVD.

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Talking Heads 04: Setting Up the Camera

So, we're all somewhat on our own; which is really a good thing. We can each choose cameras that produce good looking video compared to other talking head videos which are already out there. No one need purchase $50k cameras and complex lighting and audio gear. Most talking head videos will do just fine being recorded with a late model, higher end, HD web cam; with a couple of caveats.

The standard web cam setup clips on one's computer monitor which is usually too close to the talent. More distance is required from lens to face in order to avoid Big Nose Syndrome. Big Nose Syndrome is what the curvature of the lens does to a human nose when the face is too close to the lens. But, simply rolling the desk chair back away from the computer monitor on which the camera is clipped also moves the speaking voice further from the mic than was intended. Thus, echoey noises and unclear dialogue.

Backing off just enough to reduce the Big Nose Syndrome, yet stay close enough to the mic for relatively clear audio is the trick. Like all things new, run some tests to see how you do. If you have an alternative audio source that will work simultaneously with your web cam, it would better to use it instead of the webcam's onboard mic. A headset mic, or shotgun mic from off camera are almost certainly to produce better quality audio than the webcam's mic. Because the point of talking head videos is more the dialogue than the visual element, more care should be taken in making sure the audio is clear.

The head can either fill the screen (not my personal choice) or portray a head and shoulders shot.

To save time, you could go out and purchase a camera that renders its finished product in web ready file extensions like FLV, MPG, etc. We simply upload virtually any video we shoot to the EZWeb server and let the embedded EZWeb Tool render out the best current format. This certainly simplifies things.

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Voice Over Jobs: Where to Find Them and How to Get Them

Making The Recordings

That last part might scare some people, but don't let it put you off at all. If you have a computer, you won't need to spend more than about $35 to start making professional sounding voiceover recordings. And that's only if you don't already have a half-way decent mic. $35 is about the minimum price for a USB mic that can yield good quality audio. Then if you don't have any recording software yet, simply download the free tracking and mixing program called Audacity. To figure out how to make recordings with Audacity, do an internet search for tutorials. There are lots available.

Audition for The Jobs

Once you have some demo recordings you can upload them to your Voices.com profile. But the real potential is in auditioning for open jobs. Voices.com will send you notices when voice over jobs get posted. All you have to do is go to the listing for the job, find out what kind of voice-over they want, quote your price and send the recording in for your audition. Each job posting will have specific details, like what their budget range is (the minimum is $100), and what type of voice they need. The listing will also usually (I'd say 90 percent of the time) contain an attached script that will have parts of what the client is looking for. I highly recommend you record from that script for your audition.

This is called a "custom" audition and will be much more targeted to what the client needs, which will increase your chances of getting the job. One thing to be careful of at this stage is protecting your recording. If a client is looking for just one paragraph for the entire job, and they provide that paragraph as the audition, anyone who reads the entire thing will have given the client what they need already. Less scrupulous folks can (and have) simply use the audition to fill their job without having to pay you. Preventing this is pretty easy. Either don't read 100% of the script, or insert a "watermark" to make it impractical for the audition to be used as a final product.

Getting the Jobs

Here is where knowing the reality of a situation can make the difference between success and failure. Before doing any of this, you should know that as with any acting job, voice over jobs are highly competitive. I would venture a guess that you will get a job about every 100 auditions. This sounds bad but really it isn't. If you know it going in, you won't be ready to throw in the towel when your 50th audition still has not yielded one job. Do at least 100 before even starting to get discouraged. The people who succeed in this business are the ones who are persistent and focused.

There are lots of tips on the web about how to make the best recordings for voiceovers, how to increase you odds of getting jobs, etc. One such source of advice is the Home Brew Audio website. However you decide to proceed, good luck in your new voice-over career!

Learn to record and produce professional-sounding audio from home. Home music recording or voiceover recording, fun and short video tutorials show you how to start with a $0-$5 budget, and then how to improve your studio for a few dollars at a time as your knowledge and confidence increase. If you would like to start doing home recording on computer, visit us here: [http://www.homebrewaudio.com/voice-over-jobs-where-to-find-them-and-how-to-ge...]Voice Over Jobs

Home Brew Audio main page: [http://www.homebrewaudio.com]www.homebrewaudio.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Voice-Over-Jobs:-Where-to-Find-Them-and-How-to-Get-Them&id=5723487] Voice Over Jobs: Where to Find Them and How to Get Them