(Being excerpts from a training lecture delivered to participants of the recently concluded Association of Voice Over Artistes (AVOA) Training Week)
I am not here to teach you the basics – that is what training schools were built for, and I will leave that aspect for the other more versed resource persons. I think I was invited to speak with you more so as to explain how you can better your professional performance. So all I will embark on right now is to give you some professional tips – how to behave, how not to behave, how to improve yourself, do’s and don’ts and overall attitudinal perception. Most times in this profession you need more than just voice, or the delivery – your personal aura can also either expand, or belittle you.
Basic Microphone manners –
The first consideration is the kind of microphone you are using and its sensitivity. The more sensitive the microphone, the less you need to project your voice to get the desired effect and recording level. You need to understand all the different kinds of microphones, how each one works, and which ones are best suited for your voice.
Second is environment. You should understand how sound operates. Sound waves like to bounce about and reflect freely – that’s why we operate within controlled environments, which are padded with specially designed soundproofing materials. When performing ensure that alien sound interference does not dilute or infract upon your output at all. Exterior scenes usually have special microphones. So we go back to Number 1 rule – know your microphones!
Third is the positioning of the microphone. Over time each individual carves out his or her own style of posture before a microphone. Positioning is important so as to check unwanted ‘popping.’ Some may like the microphone positioned above the individual’s mouth, others slightly aside. Whichever your preference, your mouth should not be at the same level with it. Some people have a tendency of wanting the mic to be level with their mouth, which causes the mic to pick up on everything, including that unwanted pop on the “P”. Simply by placing the mic higher, and slightly slanted so that it is level with the bridge of your nose or such, will eliminate the problem in 98% of cases since unlike your voice, the pop only travels a very small range above your mouth.
Simple Studio etiquette –
Being a skilled voice actor is partly about the quality of your voice, it’s also about techniques, skill-sets and behavior that you’ll develop through application and experience. Here are a few I’ve learned.
• Never use noisy jewelry in session. If you like your bling, take it off before you record.
• If you have change or keys in your pocket, put them in your bag or just somewhere where they won’t jangle when you move.
• Don’t wear a watch that ticks, beeps or chimes.
• Do turn off your cellphone.
• Don’t wear nylon shirts. Static and rustling noises will happen.
• Don’t wear leather trousers, jackets or shirts. These don’t rustle; they have a more pleasing flatulent sound!
• Do understand that a booking is for the duration you’re booked. If your time is up, politely leave the studio.
• Do arrive on time, maybe a bit early. It’s hard if you’re an in-demand artiste, booked back-to-back at different studio locations and have to travel halfway across town. Make a polite phone call to your client or producer, asking for a leeway.
• Don’t play with the studio’s costly equipment. Sound booths can be cluttered with cables. If some technical equipment is in your way, ask the engineer to move it, don’t do it yourself unless asked and never ever touch the microphone without being asked.
• Don’t spill stuff. Just about everything in the sound booth has an electricity current running through it. Always be extra cautious of any liquids – you might be a great voice but you won’t work at that studio again if you fry a couple of dollars worth of equipment by knocking over your glass of water.
• Always be script silent. Learn to turn the pages of your script over without making a sound. You should be able to flip through your local newspaper without any noise in front of a mic. Laying out your pages in a sensible manner before recording will assist you in this. Practice this at home – it’s very useful. Remove all pins, clips, etc., before performance.
• For those who work with cameras – Do learn to take cues from a TV monitor, screen wipe or sound beeps or pips. Register what the cue-lights mean (sometimes there’s more than one), learn to read and work from a time-code and read the script brilliantly. And learn to do it all at the same time.
• Try to eat before the session, a while before the session too, but not too much garlic as you don’t want to offend. Munching on something prior to getting in the booth will help stop those annoying tummy rumbles that can hold up a session. As we’re talking about food and drink, always take your litter with you when you leave and it’s a nice gesture to bring out your empty water glass. Don’t expect the studio staff to rush out and buy you a meal! Come with your own, or make your own arrangements – don’t be a star! And, please don’t chew gum!
• Don’t have coffee or tea in session because if you add milk, it will bring on phlegm and that can tighten the vocal chords. Instead just opt for a glass of water – it’ll keep your voice lubricated and your lips moist but not wet. This also has a way of stopping annoying mouth noises that the engineer will normally have to edit out.
• Don’t drink sparkling drinks of any kind prior to or during a session; always drink the still or flat variety – like juices. Would you want to engineer for someone who was gurgling and burping through their session? No wines, no beers, no alcohol!
• Do practice your plosives on mic so that you don’t pop; every time you see one of those plosive words coming up get ready to slightly turn your mouth away from the mic when you hit the word – this’ll direct the pop sound away from the mic’s diaphragm and you won’t need to re take the line…practice makes perfect. I don’t always use a pop screen when I record and you shouldn’t need one either. And they don’t really work very well, anyway. Either you use one or not you will pop if you don’t take precaution!
• Do practice dropping in. When you do drop-ins, match your breaths, cadence, timbre & vocal pace at the drop-in point. As the drop-in point approaches, read aloud, along with run-up. This will create a seamless flow between the pre recorded piece and your drop-in point. It’s a talent you should learn. You help the engineer – he will look forward to working with you again!
• Don’t show off!
• Do read ahead. When you’re reading the script learn to read ahead so that you can work out where the text or the thought is going, before you actually get there vocally. In most voice sessions you’ll have to read a script cold, if you work on this technique, you’ll not need copious retakes and drop-ins to complete your session. The faster you are, the more your employer has time to mix and therefore save money…that is a plus in your favour.
• Do practice adjusting the overall speed of your reading/performance, a paragraph, a sentence, a word – learn how to adjust by seconds and frames and you’ll eventually develop a stopwatch in your brain.
• Don’t breathe straight into words as you begin speaking and don’t gasp an intake of breath when you finish, this makes editing more difficult for the engineer and will mean more re-takes. Always start from an open mouthed position and always be topped up with breath before beginning your take, a slow quiet exhalation before recording is useful too. Learn the silent breath…make the engineer think you don’t breathe.
• Don’t make a meal of it if the engineer says they forgot to record your last take – you can do a good read more than once right?
• Do practice Latin and other languages. There’s bound to be a French phrase cropping up somewhere in your first 20 jobs. People who do medical or technical voicing should earn 10 times the normal hourly fee. We don’t, but we should. If you’re capable, it’s just another way to bring in the ‘kado.’
• Don’t overlord it. As a voice artist you’re probably getting paid more per hour than the studio staff get a week. You may be worth it, but who’s to say you are. Leave your big fat ego outside the studio.
• Do be cautious about your body movements and chemistry. Just about every studio now records in digital formats. This means that a lot of noises that used to be covered by tape hiss aren’t.
• If you are sent a script beforehand, do read it before the session. Find any problem areas and suggest changes prior to recording- it may impress. However, the script may have been approved by committee, so the producer or director may not be capable of changing a single word. Be sympathetic to their problems – practice those tongue twisters so that you can say anything.
• Don’t blow your nose/cough/sneeze into the microphone.
• Don’t not ask questions (I know it’s a double negative). Always ask something; asking questions make you look like you’re on the ball. Every pro does it and if you want to be pro, shouldn’t you? Don’t wait until you’re in the middle of a take to say, “Oh uhmmm how do you want this word pronounced?” Don’t begin your read without asking (if you can’t tell) 1) to whom you are reading 2) what the intent of the script is.
• Do befriend the receptionists, studio hands and staff at the studio. Clients will ask reception to recommend a good voice. The more the receptionist likes you, the more your chances of a recommendation. Even the studio hands will one day be engineers and could go on to being directors…their memories are better than an elephant’s.
• Don’t overstay your session unless you’re invited to hang out, just tell an amusing anecdote, say goodbye and leave. There’s mixing and other stuff to be done and you’re not needed for that.
• The quality and the level of your headphones can alter your performance by resulting in too loud or too soft a read, for example. So do ask for more or less audio level if you need it. In the end it’s up to you to make your performance work.
• Do have fun in your sessions, enjoy them, this job can be a lot of fun and you’ll meet some really terrific and talented people. Don’t get aggressive or abusive if you don’t like the way a session’s going, life is too short and you don’t need the ulcers.
(To be continued)
God’s guidance always.