How does a Voiceover Agency cope without the internet?

Terrific! On Tuesday afternoon the broadband connection to our office went down. Completely. It had been playing up all morning, but then after one of those wonderful “power cycles” to try to solve the problem, the internet failed. Completely.

How can you run an internet-based voiceover business without the internet? Quite Tricky.

Why the phone line (on which the broadband is carried) still works is a mystery to me – and my neighbour – who had the opposite problem a few months back.

After a frustrating call routed via India and a guy instructing me on how to diagnose the problem which involved a series of increasingly bizarre questions, a screwdriver and the BT socket, he gave up and transferred me back to the UK.

Eventually a nice man from BT was promised on Thursday morning who would come out to fix the problem on what the nice woman in Southampton called ” a free visit”. Quite why she was so pleased to speak to someone else in “the south” I don’t know. I was going to ask, and then reminisce about my seven years living there (working for BBC Radio Solent and Ocean Sound/Power FM) and my first ever professional voiceover engagement in Eastleigh, but I decided against it.

True to their word a nice little man from BT turned up today, got out his screwdriver and laptop, fiddled about under my desk and the mass of wires there and eventually diagnosed a faulty filter. He then apologised and said he’d have to charge me for the filter. (That’s fair enough I thought). Oh and for his time. So which bit of the this was a “free visit”?

Still, I am delighted that the voiceover business is back up and running again. Now to that backlog of emails….

What happens in a Voiceover recording session?

Over the past 15 years we have worked on hours and hours of audio and produced audio projects for clients ranging from corporate videos to fun commercial sounds and even long form narrative video game content. With a team of six sound engineers we pride ourselves on being able to bring copy to life. But how do we produce this audio using one of our many voiceovers on our books?

Firstly we look at the script and ask what the client wants in terms of a voice. They can either have some suggestions that fit in with their brand ethos and we can shortlist a selection of voices to that. Or we can supply demos when a client wants to listen to hear what different ages and voices would sound like to specific copy. We also tend to cast voices when a client leaves the decision to us. We read the copy, understand the clients target audience and then make a selection of the voices based on those choices.

Once we have an agreed and signed off script as well as a signed off voice we check in with everyone's availability. We love having our clients listening in on sessions and directing if they want to. We encourage them to listen in as we feel that it gives a better experience and a better final audio product at the end as they are listening live and can ask for safety and other takes as well. Our engineers are also skilled directors and can encourage the voices and speak their language so that clients get the best performance from them.

Once the session time and date has been agreed we ensure that our equipment and studio is ready for the voice. To voice copy is hard work. Recall presenting in front of people or talking for long periods. That is similar to working in a voice over studio. We ensure we make the voice as comfortable as we can with water, regular breaks and a seat should they need it. We set the microphone and video to the height that the voice over artist needs as well as ensuring all parties have the correct copy of the script.

Once in a session we take the time for the voice and client to get to know each other and then talk to the other one so they understand the style, tone and pace. After a demo take we go for a full take and record each take. We have delivered projects that have all the takes so that the client can have many options or in some cases we deliver the winning takes as the client wants one final finished product. Either way we can deliver.

The use of the voice over track really emphasises what a client is trying to promote, be it a brand, project or service or procedural process. We love audio and we encourage all our audio clients to work with our voiceovers for a unique audio production. Please get in touch to book.

How do I get the best performance from a Voiceover Artist?

Today we had a fantastic session with a client and voiceover artist. Maybe it was the stars being aligned, maybe it was the summer weather or maybe it was a collaboration with all parties completely on board with the objective.

The session was like any other session here at the Big Fish Media HQ. The client had sent the final signed off script over a week before and on checking on the voice actor's availability booked them.

When the time came, the voice-over was in the booth, already prepared with script and annotations in the margins. They had read the copy and understood the emotional position, the pivot point and the aim of the copy.

Being able to lift of all the nuances of the content and convey that to an invisible audience is quite a talent and one that our voices are able to do with ease.

The client was also on hand and understood the copy and what they needed from the voiceover artist. They had written the copy so that it made sense to speak and had directed sessions before.

As with every voice over session, our duty engineer asked the client to go through the aim and objectives of the video production so that the voice would understand the voice over genre.

Despite a technical script both client and voiceover developed an emotional intention that was perfect for this job.

Why was the session such as success ensuring both voice and client were happy with the results?

1. Timely and Signed off Scripts : In this way the client can be sure that they have the final version which is necessary for the voice to practice with. Too many changes late on mean that everyone gets confused and mark ups can lead to more confusion.
2. Voice actor talent : Quick to inform of their availability and as they are both talented and professional, they know how to prepare for a session, with breathing exercises as well as sight reading skills.
3. Client communication : The client understood how sessions work and what words and emotional stances the voice needed to hear to place their voice in that role.

The result? A great session with all the takes the client was after in the time they needed. The voice over was happy as they were able to add in their years of experience of this technical subject and know how to elevate the copy from just reading to story telling.

If you would like to have one of our voiceovers to engage your target audience with your brand, product or service then please contact us - we would be happy to help!

What does an Audio Engineer do?

We have a small school of sound engineers. They interact daily with voices and with clients ensuring the highest quality audio for voice over recordings. But what exactly does the sound engineer do?

They are the oil in the voiceover machine. They are the cogs that ensure that more than the tech stuff works. They are the gel in the voiceover salon of quality.

A sound engineer is charged with endless abilities to ensure that the audio for the client is professional and archives more than the client needs.

They need to be technically skilled in operating the desk with all its various faders and combinations. They need to understand what needs the client has so that the best audio and performance works for them.

They also need to talk to the clients and voices to ensure that the narration is better than best. But what else would they need? Below is a list of a few things that make a sound engineers day.

1.      Headphones: here at Big Fish Media we use the audio workhorse Beyerdynamic DT 100 Headphones. Closed back for no audio seepage and reliable. We have them all over the office as well as in the recording booth for tip top listening.

2.      Good chair: an essential item for a sound engineer. They spend a long time recording and editing everything from commercials to video productions to IVR for well known multinational companies so a comfy chair is key. In fact anything to make their work environment attuned to working comfortable so they can achieve audio magic.

3.      Good ears and fast fingers: Sound engineers are always on the listen out for sound. From breaths to blips to mouth noises, they are the gatekeepers of good audio. They are the hum hunters hearing out any quirks or mishaps and always ensuring they can get a safety take. They have fast fingers, playing the desk and keyboards like a Beethoven of the Beats. 

4.      Fast thinking: Recording audio and especially voiceovers requires a high level of concentration. Not only are our sound engineers listening out to what works and what doesn't for a client but also adapting fast to an ever changing situation. Clients often want to hear takes back and the engineer needs to be on it to assess which take is wanted and what part of that take fits well with the other take. 

    

 5.   Director: Sound engineers need to be exceptionally engaged to have the confidence to stop a session, suggest pick ups and time checks with the client as well as ensuring the voice understands what the director and/or client wants.

If you would like to get in touch with our team of studio engineers making our voiceovers sound exceptional contact us today

Why Should I use IpDTL for Voiceovers?

ISDN, Source Connect, Skype, Phone patch and IpDTL. There is a whole list of services that we use as a recording studio for our voiceover projects with clients. However the one we find ourselves use more and more on a daily basis is IpDTL.

So what exactly is it? How do you pronounce it? And how can you make it work for you?

IpDTL is an internet based communications provider that allows you to record almost perfect quality audio in various locations. As an ISDN replacement it works rather well. 

IpDTL is an acronym and stands for Internet Protocol Down The Line. It is a bit of a mouthful but as our voicevoers are a talented school they can narrate the name easily. 

We have often called it IpDittle – to be quick but there is something to be said articulation wise to actually saying I P D T L. If ever there were consonants and a vowel to make you work the mouth muscles, these are them!

We use ipDTL with our voices and clients as well. It makes live recording easier, clearer and cleaner. After much tweaking we find the best way to use it is to open it with Chromium as opposed to Explorer or Chrome itself. 

We simply send a link, people connect and voila – great connection, with little or no latency and a much more solid ISDN alternative. Just the thing when we are recording our voiceovers.

We still have ISDN but ipDTL works well for us our voices and our clients. Simple, easy and effective and we have been using it for four over years and we find it a worthy service.

Using ipDTL is easy as pie (hopefully not a fish pie though). Simply go to the website, select your best option and away you go. For versatile voiceovers, it’s a great choice.

How can I record an authentic Vintage Voiceover?

Recently I saw a TV documentary on the early life of the Rolling Stone guitarist and professional death-dodger Keith Richards. It was an enjoyable watch, but at first I was quite confused. 

The reason for my befuddlement wasn’t the half bottle of red wine I’d already quaffed, but the fact that I appeared to be watching images of Keith Richards as a baby with a voiceover talking about young Keith. 

Why would a camera crew be filming the baby, as yet not famous, Keith? Was this some amazing co-incidence that the newly-born boy had been chosen as the subject of a film about society in wartime Britain and the makers of this documentary had somehow unearthed this?

No, of course they weren’t images of Keith at all, it was stock footage of an anonymous baby with newly-recorded and very convincing voiceovers. 

I was very impressed with the authenticity of the voiceover, both in the acting and the recording and I would love to know who did it and how.

Perhaps someday I’ll meet the people involved at some Soho Soiree and I can ask them, but in the meantime, if I were tasked with recording something similar here at BigFish Media, here’s how I might go about it...

AUDIO 

Of course, the simplest way of creating a vintage-sounding voice recording would be to use a plug in effect within Pro Tools (or whatever platform you use)

Years ago I created some video spoofs of the old British C.O.I. Public Information Films. For ‘Silly Billy’, I recorded my voice on a modern microphone and used the free plug in ‘Vinyl’ by IZOTOPE to affect the whole audio file.

This isn’t just good for affecting audio, to make it sound as though it were on old vinyl; in this case I think it made it sound as though it was a convincing old tape recording. 

There are plenty of other plug-ins you can use to create a vintage effect, an excellent example being Speakerphone by 'audio ease'.

Another approach, and the one I think would produce more authentic results and be more fun, would be to use the type of equipment that would have been used in the old days.

You could record on to tape using an old cassette recorder.

I used this approach for a project recently. The small dynamic built-in microphone and the ferrous oxide tape in the cassette, produced some good results when I attempted impersonations of John Peel & John Lennon.

Using a vintage microphone, perhaps a ribbon mic, recording to your D.A.W. of choice, would also be worth a try.

VOICE

Then of course you’d need to get a convincing voice. People, especially on the radio or TV, don’t speak or sound like they once did. 

I’ve heard a lot of old style voiceovers where they have over-done the ‘plumminess’ of the voice and have used words or phrases that would not have been in existence or used in that way at the time. 

I would research existing material from the time period I was trying to emulate, then cast a voice actor who could get close to that sound. 

The amount of voiceovers who can recreate that kind of voice perfectly are few and far between, which made the voiceovers on the Keith Richards documentary all the more impressive.

How long does it take to record a 10 minute Voiceover?

How long does it take to record a ten minute voiceover? 

Clients who are after a bargain will say "oh it will only take you ten minutes to record". Not so.

Based on the standard of recording three words per second, ten minutes of finished audio (ie edited audio) is about two thousand words. For this we allow an hour's studio time. 

                                  It's later than you think

This allows us time to get the voice talent into the right tone and pace and style before starting the read properly. If our client - and our client's client is also listening, this can easily take the entire hour. 

It also depends upon how well the script is written. Often, a script will read well on paper but when it is read out loud by the voiceover artist, the client realises that it either doesn't make sense or is repetitive. 

Then that section of the script has to be hastily re-written or we need to record an alternative take.
      

                               How many alts do you want?

Sometimes we have time to do a second read in a slightly different tone or pace. Or "one for Lloyds" (ie an insurance read) in case their is a click or pop or mis-read word that no-one noticed during the first take.

Then the audio has to be edited (removing mistakes) and de-breathed (the breathing removed.) 

When pricing a job you will also need to bear in mind the time that you have taken to market or promote your services. And the money it costs. 

You will also need time to put quotes together, negotiate payment, the cost of receiving that payment (via credit card or PayPal etc), prepare the script by reading it in advance and send the audio to the client. 

You will need to bear that time in mind the next time you quote for your next voiceover. 

Why does my Voiceover Recording fade out?

Have you ever recorded a Voiceover artist and found that the audio has kept fading out on the recording?

It is odd I know but this happened to us a couple of times.

Our Senior Engineer Chris traced the fault to a tarnished jack in amongst our spaghetti wiring.

                                    Very Senior Chris

Luckily we always run a back-up for our voiceover recordings.

But now we are replacing these jacks with XLRs.

And a little less spaghetti.