Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Praxis19
Nov 4, 2009

No justice no peace ACAB
I would be very hesitant to say I'm "serious about making money," I more just want to get back into it and maybe down the road try to get serious if it works out. After re-reading my post it's really garbled, so here's what I meant; what should I look to do first? After reading more of the thread, I'm guessing doing exactly what you asked for, recording a bunch of samples. The OP just seemed focused on finding JOBS, and I don't think I'd be anywhere near ready to go looking for jobs.

As for setup, the full extent of it is this mic which I bought a few years ago, along with a stand and I think a pop filter? If it did come with one I never used it. I've only ever used Audacity for sound editing. That mic is also currently at my parent's house, since I'm still living with my undergrad roommate and hadn't seen the point of keeping it with me.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Lumpen
Apr 2, 2004

I'd been happy, and I was happy still. For all to be accomplished,
for me to feel less lonely,
all that remained to hope
was that on the day of my execution
there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should
greet me with howls of execration.
Plaster Town Cop
Duolos, if you want some practice before jumping into the deep-end, please consider volunteering your talent at LibriVox. They're a community dedicated to creating free audiobooks from copyright-expired texts. You can claim just a chapter or two within any of many ongoing projects. They have coordinators who manage the volunteers and put the projects together, and they have a great process for making sure your production techniques and editing are up to snuff, with plenty of help and advice.

I did a few stories there for a fairy tale book and it was a very valuable low-pressure low-stakes experience to get practice with everything that goes into making acceptable audiobook narration.

Now I'm doing my second audiobook contract on ACX, so I'm livin' the dream, man.

SwitchbladeKult
Apr 4, 2012



"The warmth of life has entered my tomb!"
This might sound like a dumb question but is the ability to do “funny voices” a requirement? The OP said that you really need have a good natural speaking voice, which I have, but I really lack any sort of ability to do accents or impersonations. Well, I can do a few but they are mostly super exaggerated voices like Doctor Rockso and the characters from the Rejected cartoons. I would like to do narrations, voiceovers, and character voices. Is that normal or is everyone in the business like Phil Lamar?

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.

There's absolutely room for "non-comedic" voice talent. It's a very good skill to have to be able to stretch your voice though, and it can help your "normal" voice to practice these hard out of range styles. Also most "exaggerated" voices honestly just simply aren't very good. Like if you can only do things like Apu, you can't do voices.

Nebulon Gate
Feb 23, 2013

JossiRossi posted:

There's absolutely room for "non-comedic" voice talent. It's a very good skill to have to be able to stretch your voice though, and it can help your "normal" voice to practice these hard out of range styles. Also most "exaggerated" voices honestly just simply aren't very good. Like if you can only do things like Apu, you can't do voices.

If your voices are relegated to the following:

1) Arnold/Stallone
2) Apu/Other ethnic stereotype
3) Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys
4) Going "BWAAAAH" as Hank Hill
5) The Emperor

You should step up your game.

titties
May 10, 2012

They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

I only do the one voice and it is the drizzling shits.

In other news OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

I believe I mentioned that I was part of a student consulting team this quarter that was developing marketing plans for a couple of local non-profits. I posted an ad mock-up that I wrote and voiced a couple of months ago for the local community garden. The garden people never showed up for the presentation.

However, the representatives from the other business showed up and we were pitching ideas about community outreach and building goodwill in order to incentivize volunteerism, forging reciprocally beneficial relationships with other small businesses in order to foster the local community and share resources, and marketing marketing I shipped my pants.

At some point, caught up in the feel-good friendly marketing talk, I offered to write and voice a 30-second spot as a gift to their organization. I knew that there was no way they would consider it since I am a rank amateur and terrible at voice to boot. So anyway, now I have to write a spot for local radio consumption and possibly record it in a real studio.

They are going to know I'm a loving poser. Please advise.

Ishamael
Feb 18, 2004

You don't have to love me, but you will respect me.

titties posted:


At some point, caught up in the feel-good friendly marketing talk, I offered to write and voice a 30-second spot as a gift to their organization. I knew that there was no way they would consider it since I am a rank amateur and terrible at voice to boot. So anyway, now I have to write a spot for local radio consumption and possibly record it in a real studio.

They are going to know I'm a loving poser. Please advise.

They'll only know you're a poser if you act like a poser.

I know because I am a poser who has gotten a lot of VO jobs by acting like I knew what the hell I was doing. :)

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.

titties posted:

I only do the one voice and it is the drizzling shits.

In other news OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

You'll be fine. This is certainly within your ability, and worst case if you do feel like you've dived too deep we'll help you out here. Ishamael is totally right as well, just make sure your answers are confident, even if you yourself are not. Trust me, you are leagues ahead of what I would consider amateur as well. Trust me, the people you need to make sure to avoid are those that think they have all the answers because they often know so little they don't realize they know nothing.

blinkeve1826
Jul 26, 2005

WELCOME TO THE NEW DEATH
This

Ishamael posted:

They'll only know you're a poser if you act like a poser.

and this

JossiRossi posted:

You'll be fine. This is certainly within your ability, and worst case if you do feel like you've dived too deep we'll help you out here. Ishamael is totally right as well, just make sure your answers are confident, even if you yourself are not. Trust me, you are leagues ahead of what I would consider amateur as well. Trust me, the people you need to make sure to avoid are those that think they have all the answers because they often know so little they don't realize they know nothing.

are full of truth.

Your success, in this line of work or any, is so much determined by the way you handle yourself and your work. The fact that you were savvy enough to even have the idea to approach this organization with your idea says a lot about that. Now, that being said, take a second and assess this realistically for a second. This isn't a nationally-airing promo on NBC or something; this will be a locally-airing radio spot in what I am guessing is a small market. (I don't remember where you live, but I don't think it's in the middle of NYC or LA or anything, right?) You are writing and voicing it as a gift to this organization. You do have some experience, even if it is primarily in practice (and they don't have to know that that's the case). And for a local, non-paid spot, you can definitely get away with recording this on a USB mic, provided you adequately soundproof (a lot of echo is an amateur giveaway). If you are nervous about that, you can post or email me a sample of what you sound like on your setup right now and I'll tell you if it's unusable (although from what I recall from earlier samples of yours, I think you're fine). Anyway, if you go into this thinking, "Oh no, my first real live official voiceover spot!" you're gonna be a nervous wreck, yeah. But if you go into it thinking, "This is exactly what I've been doing for the past several months; now I'm just going to let someone else use it", there's no pressure there.

This is going to be a great learning experience for you--the next time you're asked to do a spot like this, you'll be able to confidently begin without the whole "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING" freak out beforehand.

An important truth of the world to recognize and embrace is that no one knows what the hell they're doing. One you realize that, things get a lot less scary. If you are satisfied with and confident in the work you provide, your clients will be, too.

Ishamael posted:

They'll only know you're a poser if you act like a poser.

This is worth repeating. There is no magical point at which you transform from "wannabe voice actor" into "actual voice actor". The only thing that changes is how YOU label yourself. Right? It's not like you pass a test to become a certified voice actor, or have some initiation ceremony, or record exactly 55 voiceover spots; it's a completely arbitrary designation. The same person can honestly say "I'm trying to get into voiceover acting" and "I've been training for voiceover acting for the past several months". One sounds like someone who doesn't know what he's doing yet; the other sounds like someone I'd consider giving a shot, someone who has more to learn but already has a solid start.

At my first voiceover class ever, I read a Brooklyn Brewery commercial script with a classmate that another classmate had written. He approached the company with it, explained that they could use it for free if they purchase their own airtime, and that week I had a commercial airing on Long Island radio. It wasn't the most amazing piece of work I've ever created (it was my first voiceover ever), but it was completely appropriate for what it was--a free commercial airing on local radio. Both of the following statements were true about this experience:

"A commercial I recorded in my voiceover class made it on the radio."
"I just recorded a commercial for Brooklyn Brewery that's currently airing on the radio in the New York metro area."

Which one do you think I used in telling people about it??

Eventually, you will gain more experience, credits and confidence, where you won't have to feel like you're "faking it 'til you make it". But until then, present yourself in the best light possible. Why not??

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

This is important to keep in mind:

blinkeve1826 posted:

Both of the following statements were true about this experience:

"A commercial I recorded in my voiceover class made it on the radio."
"I just recorded a commercial for Brooklyn Brewery that's currently airing on the radio in the New York metro area."

Which one do you think I used in telling people about it??

I can say, "You can hear my voice on two continents."

That sounds pretty impressive even if the circumstances that led up to that are a little silly. It's like padding a resume properly - you weren't some grungy dish pig, you were the Head of Cookware Maintenance.

Cerys du Lys
Aug 9, 2012

This is kind of a weird question/situation, but I figure most of you have experience on the narration side of things, and I'm on the opposite side so I don't really know what's up sometimes.

How much editing/"perfection" should I expect from a narrator for something that's longer?

I realize the answer is probably as much as possible, but I don't know if that's exactly it or not, too.

For a general idea of my current situation, I have someone narrating an audiobook of mine that's ended up being a little over 2 hours long. I really enjoy the way she narrated it, and I love her voice and her tones and she basically brings the story to life in a really good way. This is kind of important to me, since it's told in first person, and it's a romance(with flirting/some erotic parts), so it's just kind of harder to do right(in my experience listening to these, at least) and even harder to find a decent narrator who will accept something like that(and isn't exorbitantly costly).

She's independent, not attached to any particular production studio, so I don't want to expect too much, and I personally just think she does a great job overall, but I did notice a few small issues with the audiobook(plus some retakes that weren't edited out). She did mention that if I wanted anything fixed/changed then to let her know, so I'm unsure if it wasn't fully edited yet and she just wanted sign off on the initial reading, or what. I've worked with other audiobook narrators and none of them have done this, but I did like she she did it somewhat, though she seems a bit nervous in back and forth messages. In a worst case scenario I'm trying to figure out how I should do this and what I should accept in terms of quality? I don't know if that makes sense, and I have no real audio work background so all of this is sort of newer to me.

We're doing a royalty share, but the book is one of my better sellers and I believe it will work out for her in the end, especially because of her great storytelling tones. I'm considering offering her a bonus, too, but I don't know if that's standard? It's not for ACX, but for narration work in generally, is it? I can't see anyone turning down free bonus money, but who knows.

I took notes and noted ~13 lines double said(messed up, slight pause, redone). I don't think this is too bad considering the entire thing is about 2 hours 20 minutes long? Is this going to take a long time for her to fix, though? Mainly, I have more books that I'd like her to narrate, and she's expressed definite interest, but I don't want her to get super discouraged having to fix stuff that takes forever, either.

I'm not quite sure how much to expect in those regards. I've worked with one narrator who didn't have the best ambient noise set up/editing, but the books sounded pretty good and she was willing to deal with a kind of weird genre, so I think it worked out overall. Another had amazing editing, but she didn't really bring the story to life as much as I would have liked, and it was more... dull? Not bad by any means, but nothing really exciting. This current one is basically the best storyteller I've worked with, and maybe she'll be working on the editing now, but if it's less than "super amazing" is that a good trade off? Exceptional story telling at the cost of a few mistakes?

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.

Cerys du Lys posted:

This is kind of a weird question/situation, but I figure most of you have experience on the narration side of things, and I'm on the opposite side so I don't really know what's up sometimes.

How much editing/"perfection" should I expect from a narrator for something that's longer?

I realize the answer is probably as much as possible, but I don't know if that's exactly it or not, too.

For a general idea of my current situation, I have someone narrating an audiobook of mine that's ended up being a little over 2 hours long. I really enjoy the way she narrated it, and I love her voice and her tones and she basically brings the story to life in a really good way. This is kind of important to me, since it's told in first person, and it's a romance(with flirting/some erotic parts), so it's just kind of harder to do right(in my experience listening to these, at least) and even harder to find a decent narrator who will accept something like that(and isn't exorbitantly costly).

She's independent, not attached to any particular production studio, so I don't want to expect too much, and I personally just think she does a great job overall, but I did notice a few small issues with the audiobook(plus some retakes that weren't edited out). She did mention that if I wanted anything fixed/changed then to let her know, so I'm unsure if it wasn't fully edited yet and she just wanted sign off on the initial reading, or what. I've worked with other audiobook narrators and none of them have done this, but I did like she she did it somewhat, though she seems a bit nervous in back and forth messages. In a worst case scenario I'm trying to figure out how I should do this and what I should accept in terms of quality? I don't know if that makes sense, and I have no real audio work background so all of this is sort of newer to me.

We're doing a royalty share, but the book is one of my better sellers and I believe it will work out for her in the end, especially because of her great storytelling tones. I'm considering offering her a bonus, too, but I don't know if that's standard? It's not for ACX, but for narration work in generally, is it? I can't see anyone turning down free bonus money, but who knows.

I took notes and noted ~13 lines double said(messed up, slight pause, redone). I don't think this is too bad considering the entire thing is about 2 hours 20 minutes long? Is this going to take a long time for her to fix, though? Mainly, I have more books that I'd like her to narrate, and she's expressed definite interest, but I don't want her to get super discouraged having to fix stuff that takes forever, either.

I'm not quite sure how much to expect in those regards. I've worked with one narrator who didn't have the best ambient noise set up/editing, but the books sounded pretty good and she was willing to deal with a kind of weird genre, so I think it worked out overall. Another had amazing editing, but she didn't really bring the story to life as much as I would have liked, and it was more... dull? Not bad by any means, but nothing really exciting. This current one is basically the best storyteller I've worked with, and maybe she'll be working on the editing now, but if it's less than "super amazing" is that a good trade off? Exceptional story telling at the cost of a few mistakes?

Hrm, personally I find it odd those were left in. When I do narration I make sure to do a full edit pass where I fix any problems, and then I should listen as I export it as well, but I'll admit I don't always. Frankly, when you are doing profit share you should be expecting a perfect product. There should not be any major issues, and there really really should not be anything like a retake still existing. If she's nervous it's possible she's not done too much narration before, so she might just be a bit green.

As for dealing with her, I'd personally be direct. Explicitly state how you like her work, but that you had some issues with what she sent you. Hopefully she's open to improvement (otherwise you'd no doubt have issues down the line anyway). You should not have to trade good performance for good quality. You can certainly get both. I chatted with you in Email back in Nov-Dec, and if you need/want some help in telling the reader exactly what she needs to be doing in terms of recording, or if you want some informal consulting where I work with the 2 of you, feel free to hit me up. I'd be more than happy to help out.

titties
May 10, 2012

They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

Ishamael posted:

They'll only know you're a poser if you act like a poser.

I know because I am a poser who has gotten a lot of VO jobs by acting like I knew what the hell I was doing. :)

That's encouraging. I think a lot of my anxiety here comes from the studio time being donated. I don't know if I'm supposed to expect any kind of feedback or direction, or if they're going to expect me to get it off in on take and get out. I don't think that's within my ability yet.

JossiRossi posted:

You'll be fine. This is certainly within your ability, and worst case if you do feel like you've dived too deep we'll help you out here. Ishamael is totally right as well, just make sure your answers are confident, even if you yourself are not.

I appreciate hearing that. It is always an option for me to record it at home and then pay someone :wink: to make it broadcast ready, which is initially how I pitched it to them. They offered to negotiate the studio time, which would be a much more valuable experience for me.


It helps to think of it in these terms. I keep telling myself that the person who currently does the commercials is an administrator in her field who probably didn't know the first thing about voice work. Still, I don't feel that confident with the performance aspect since I have to do A LOT of takes when I record. I don't want to make them sit through thirty takes when I'm recording on donated time and labor.

blinkeve1826 posted:

And for a local, non-paid spot, you can definitely get away with recording this on a USB mic ... you can post or email me a sample of what you sound like on your setup right now and I'll tell you if it's unusable (although from what I recall from earlier samples of yours, I think you're fine).

I do get surprisingly good quality considering that I have no gear and no soundproofing. Recording it from home is still an option, but if I did it would feel a lot like being a giant sissy.

blinkeve1826 posted:

my first voiceover ever

I like this story.

I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond. Once I get this written, I'll probably record it as a practice run and put it up for feedback so as to have something to post other than tears.

sebmojo
Oct 23, 2010


Legit Cyberpunk









The Joe Man posted:

I like this. I'm admittedly not the best at critiqueing non-American accents, but from what I've listened to so far, the one thing I can pick out is mouth-clicking. Either it's a weird click that's being picked up in post-production, or your mouth is kinda spitty and your tongue keeps clicking.

However, overall, it's pleasant to listen to.

Thanks for this. I'll work on the click, I think it's a vocal tic.

Ishamael
Feb 18, 2004

You don't have to love me, but you will respect me.

titties posted:

I appreciate hearing that. It is always an option for me to record it at home and then pay someone :wink: to make it broadcast ready, which is initially how I pitched it to them. They offered to negotiate the studio time, which would be a much more valuable experience for me.


It helps to think of it in these terms. I keep telling myself that the person who currently does the commercials is an administrator in her field who probably didn't know the first thing about voice work. Still, I don't feel that confident with the performance aspect since I have to do A LOT of takes when I record. I don't want to make them sit through thirty takes when I'm recording on donated time and labor.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the studio space. If they are donating the space, it wasn't being used at that time anyways. Use it as a learning experience and take advantage of it. Whenever you are in business for yourself (and that includes being a VO artist), you have to grab every opportunity and not look the gift horse in the mouth, I think.

Breath Ray
Nov 19, 2010
I'm perfectly comfortable with public speaking and even gave an interview on BBC radio last year, but when I asked my sister if I should become a voice over person she said 'well you've got a lisp and you can't pronounce your R's, so maybe not'.

What do you think guys, can I make it in the biz with these endearing flaws or am I just wasting my and everyone else's time?

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.

Breath Ray posted:

I'm perfectly comfortable with public speaking and even gave an interview on BBC radio last year, but when I asked my sister if I should become a voice over person she said 'well you've got a lisp and you can't pronounce your R's, so maybe not'.

What do you think guys, can I make it in the biz with these endearing flaws or am I just wasting my and everyone else's time?

Got to give us a sample! Also, we all have some problem or other with our voices that we have had to train out. It really depends on a lot of factors though of course. I can't really say without knowing the particulars, but I know some issues are bigger than just altering tongue or mouth position can fix. And even with a lisp, depending on the project while they might be rarer, you never know when there might be call for one in a project.

BonoMan
Feb 20, 2002

Jade Ear Joe

Darth Vader/James Earl Jones VO needed! (With a Shakespearean twist)


Length: No time requirements. Just two simple lines.

Due: Mid-day June 13th (tomorrow!) is the drop dead for me to get audio in. The sooner the better of course.

Notes: You don't have to do your own post processing, but if you already know how to do a Vader voice then have at it (just send me a clean alt too).
This is to VO over someone on camera. It's for the William Shakespeare's Star Wars book trailer which we shot last week.

Script:

"In time thy powers have weak become old man."
"I find thy lack of faith... disturbing."

Pay: $50. Not much I know, but it IS for an actual Lucas authorized production so that's always cool!

The Joe Man
Apr 7, 2007

Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

BonoMan posted:


Darth Vader/James Earl Jones VO needed! (With a Shakespearean twist)


Length: No time requirements. Just two simple lines.

Due: Mid-day June 13th (tomorrow!) is the drop dead for me to get audio in. The sooner the better of course.

Notes: You don't have to do your own post processing, but if you already know how to do a Vader voice then have at it (just send me a clean alt too).
This is to VO over someone on camera. It's for the William Shakespeare's Star Wars book trailer which we shot last week.

Script:

"In time thy powers have weak become old man."
"I find thy lack of faith... disturbing."

Pay: $50. Not much I know, but it IS for an actual Lucas authorized production so that's always cool!

Wasn't planning on recording today but hopefully it helps you out:



Raw take so do whatever you want with it. Let me know if you need it emailed as an attachment if you're unable to download it from there, I can send it over late tonight after work.

blinkeve1826
Jul 26, 2005

WELCOME TO THE NEW DEATH
I'm teaching TWO online classes and TWO classes in NYC this summer!

All the info's on my website (http://www.listentomelanie.com/classes.html), but basically, the 6-week class covers the basics of the business, technical and creative aspects of voiceover work, and different types of VO work including commercial, animation/character, and long-form/narration voiceovers. The NYC classes are held in real recording studios, and all of the classes are a GREAT value for the price. Those who take one of my classes will also be eligible for exclusive industry workshops I'll be putting together with industry professionals (casting directors, agents, video game developers, etc) later on. If you refer someone who also signs up, you BOTH get $10 off. (I'm happy to stack this, too--if you refer three people who also sign up, they each get $10 off and you get $30 off!)

The online classes are $159 through June 19th, and $179 from June 20th on. As I've mentioned before, goons get a $10 discount on any of my classes and private sessions through 2013; when prompted during registration, type "SA and then your username (i.e. "SA blinkeve1826").

Please spread the word; these will be fun and professionally valuable. If you're curious about VO work, thinking about making this a professional endeavor rather than a hobby, or want to take your professional VO work up a notch, this is a great opportunity to do that! Feel free to PM or email me (melanie at listentomelanie.com) if you have any questions.

titties
May 10, 2012

They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

BonoMan posted:


Darth Vader/James Earl Jones VO needed! (With a Shakespearean twist)


Pay: $50. Not much I know, but it IS for an actual Lucas authorized production so that's always cool!

I'd have liked to get in on this, but the window I can record in each day is kind of small and I missed it yesterday.

I am guessing that this thread wasn't your first choice and that this was a last minute / last resort kind of thing. Generally, though, you'd have gotten a lot more responses and auditions if we'd have had a little extra time. I know it's only two lines and should be real fast, but still.

Thanks for posting this, though.It's nice for some of us to have something to work on that isn't Summerset Hills, the neighborhoods of which are currently entering into their third stage of building.

BonoMan
Feb 20, 2002

Jade Ear Joe

titties posted:

I'd have liked to get in on this, but the window I can record in each day is kind of small and I missed it yesterday.

I am guessing that this thread wasn't your first choice and that this was a last minute / last resort kind of thing. Generally, though, you'd have gotten a lot more responses and auditions if we'd have had a little extra time. I know it's only two lines and should be real fast, but still.

Thanks for posting this, though.It's nice for some of us to have something to work on that isn't Summerset Hills, the neighborhoods of which are currently entering into their third stage of building.

I can still take recordings through today and hell maybe tomorrow if I really push it.

And yeah it was definitely an "oh poo poo" moment where all of the other elements fell through. I wish I could've given more of a heads up. Hell I didn't even know the thread existed until like two days ago! It's a nice resource that I will be taking advantage of again in the future. We have some fun new book trailers coming up and it'll be fun to take a break from using our local resources (who are great, but man it gets tiring hearing them in the same thing over and over).

The Joe Man
Apr 7, 2007

Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

titties posted:

Thanks for posting this, though.It's nice for some of us to have something to work on that isn't Summerset Hills, the neighborhoods of which are currently entering into their third stage of building.

That's it; drop and give me 30.







30 separate recordings of Summerset Hills.

titties
May 10, 2012

They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

BonoMan posted:

I can still take recordings through today and hell maybe tomorrow if I really push it.

Great! Maybe this isn't too late, then. I looked up some clips for reference, here are a couple of things I noticed:

1.) Vader's voice is a lot faster-paced and much sharper than the one I hear in my head, so that's kind of what I was going for. It's a lot different from the booming voice that I associate with older James Earl Jones.

2.) You indicated a pause before "disturbing". When I watched the clip, the delivery was sort of stacatto and I didn't notice a pause, so I included one of each.

3.) I can only do a decent James Earl Jones voice while saying "WELCOME TO VERIZON".

These aren't as clean as my recordings usually are, I was really fighting the room last night and it shows a lot more than usual.

This one is completely raw, room noise and all:


This one has been cleaned up a little:




The Joe Man posted:

That's it; drop and give me 30.







30 separate recordings of Summerset Hills.

I don't know about thirty, but here's one to get things started (it might be worth 2 or something, I don't know)


E: Thanks to all the encouragement from the thread, I think I'd like to be added to the talent section of the OP.

Name: titties

Specialties: Listless douchebag, growly listless douchebag, growly space marine, military comms chatter

Tindeck: http://tindeck.com/users/rock_band_mic

Contact: PMs are preferable, if not we can do e-mail or something

Payment: cash, sexual favors, paypal

titties fucked around with this message at 11:04 on Jun 14, 2013

Android Blues
Nov 22, 2008

Hi! Voice acting is a hobby I've been trying to get into, and while I'm not that good, I do really enjoy it and feel maybe there's a kernel of potential in the stuff I can put out. I'm hoping this thread can maybe help me practise and be a source of specific critique/stuff to work on.

Name: Android Blues

Specialties: I'm a woman with a fairly deep natural voice, but I have decent range and can go up or down a ways. I tend to do best with emotionally vibrant 'character' voices (happy/sultry/angry/aggressive, that kind of thing), and would like to get better at more naturalistic reads. I can do a pretty wide stable of women's voices, and some men's voices too, although I don't quite have the resonance for the really low/gruff ones.

Tindeck: is here.

Contact: PMing me is fine, or you can hit me up at amnesiophila at g mail dot com. Anything's good!

Payment: Paypal'd be grand, although getting paid isn't really what I'm here for of course and likely a distant prospect anyway. :)

Android Blues fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Jun 14, 2013

Captain Walker
Apr 7, 2009

Mother knows best
Listen to your mother
It's a scary world out there
Talking of resume padding: I have a college degree in Theatre Arts and 10+ years of experience acting on the local stage, with generally positive reviews. However I don't have the "look" for most film/TV/theatre roles my age (i.e. I am a chubby young nerd). Is VO a logical next step? I'd like to pursue ~show business~ as a career and I feel like my voice is strong enough to carry a performance.

BonoMan
Feb 20, 2002

Jade Ear Joe

titties posted:

Great! Maybe this isn't too late, then. I looked up some clips for reference, here are a couple of things I noticed:

1.) Vader's voice is a lot faster-paced and much sharper than the one I hear in my head, so that's kind of what I was going for. It's a lot different from the booming voice that I associate with older James Earl Jones.

2.) You indicated a pause before "disturbing". When I watched the clip, the delivery was sort of stacatto and I didn't notice a pause, so I included one of each.

3.) I can only do a decent James Earl Jones voice while saying "WELCOME TO VERIZON".

These aren't as clean as my recordings usually are, I was really fighting the room last night and it shows a lot more than usual.

This one is completely raw, room noise and all:


This one has been cleaned up a little:





Thanks for these, I'll send them along with The Joe Man's.

It's funny you mention those notes about the Vader voice. I said the exact same thing the other day when we were laying down scratch tracks. We looked up the references and everyone in the room was all "wow that is not like it was in my head!"

As for the pause it was written that way in the book (... disturbing) but I like it better without it.

Android Blues
Nov 22, 2008

I edited some stuff out of my previous post and shunted it up to here after realising that it was silly to have it where it was. Sorry!

At the moment there's just a single character read up on my tindeck (here), but I'll be adding more to give a better idea of my range in the near future. It suffers from a bit of sibillance, sorry - that was a problem that only cropped up when I converted the .aup to an mp3, and I'm not totally sure how to fix it. I have a pop filter, but it feels like there's still some popping happening too. I'll try to deal with that stuff better in future uploads!

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.

Android Blues posted:

Hi! Voice acting is a hobby I've been trying to get into, and while I'm not that good, I do really enjoy it and feel maybe there's a kernel of potential in the stuff I can put out. I'm hoping this thread can maybe help me practise and be a source of specific critique/stuff to work on.

Name: Android Blues

Specialties: I'm a woman with a fairly deep natural voice, but I have decent range and can go up or down a ways. I tend to do best with emotionally vibrant 'character' voices (happy/sultry/angry/aggressive, that kind of thing), and would like to get better at more naturalistic reads. I can do a pretty wide stable of women's voices, and some men's voices too, although I don't quite have the resonance for the really low/gruff ones.

Tindeck: is here. At the moment there's just a single character read up on it, but I'll be adding more to give a better idea of my range in the near future. It suffers from a bit of sibillance, sorry - that was a problem that only cropped up when I converted the .aup to an mp3, and I'm not totally sure how to fix it. I have a pop filter, but it feels like there's still some popping happening too. I'll try to deal with that stuff better in future uploads!

Contact: PMing me is fine, or you can hit me up at amnesiophila at g mail dot com. Anything's good!

Payment: Paypal'd be grand, although getting paid isn't really what I'm here for of course and likely a distant prospect anyway. :)

Hello! So, I don't really think the Dota line readings are a really great way to demonstrate your voice. It's a lot of short little bits and you never really get a good feel for the voice. Could you detail what your equipment and workflow is like? You mentioned having a pop filter but it sounds like it is far too close to the mic and so is not being terribly effective. Also, could you do a recording in a more normal voice? This is a great piece to do a reading of for something a bit low key.

quote:

Getting that promotion at work must feel good. Why not celebrate moving up by moving to Summerset Hills? The neighborhoods of Summerset Hills are now entering into their third phase of building! Choose from dozens of single-family homes on pie shaped lots tucked away on Lilies Fair Court, perfect for young families and parents who want a safe and secluded street on which to raise their kids. With homes selling quickly, you’d better act now so that you can move into your dream home before the first snowfall! Open houses are being held every Saturday and Sunday from 12 until 4. To learn more about the Summerset community, visit our website online or call 555-3125. Summerset Hills: move in today and stay for a lifetime.

You mention more voice acting than anything else, if you have something you'd like to record instead that is more in an acting vein you can try that as well. However, the summerset is good to help pinpoint recording issues as well so there is good reason to give that one a go regardless.

titties
May 10, 2012

They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

JossiRossi posted:

Hello! Read Summerset!

I was going to suggest it too, the neighborhoods of Summerset Hills are a thread mascot and our most beloved subject. It is the measuring stick by which future performances are evaluated. I posted a classic interpretation of it this morning; here it is if you'd like a reference point:

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.

titties posted:

I was going to suggest it too, the neighborhoods of Summerset Hills are a thread mascot and our most beloved subject. It is the measuring stick by which future performances are evaluated. I posted a classic interpretation of it this morning; here it is if you'd like a reference point:



I missed the recording earlier. All I can say is, "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww yeeeaaaahhhhhhh".

Lumpen
Apr 2, 2004

I'd been happy, and I was happy still. For all to be accomplished,
for me to feel less lonely,
all that remained to hope
was that on the day of my execution
there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should
greet me with howls of execration.
Plaster Town Cop

BonoMan posted:

Script:

"In time thy powers have weak become old man."
"I find thy lack of faith... disturbing."

Hey just for the hell of it, I did this quick at the start of my audiobook session today.


Probably too late but whatever.

BonoMan
Feb 20, 2002

Jade Ear Joe

Lumpen posted:

Hey just for the hell of it, I did this quick at the start of my audiobook session today.


Probably too late but whatever.

Thanks for all the replies guys! I sent these all off...still waiting to hear back.

Econosaurus
Sep 22, 2008

Successfully predicted nine of the last five recessions

Maybe a little off topic, but I'm trying to improve my speaking voice and diction without the goal of becoming a voice actor. What do you voice actors do to develop a clearer, more articulate speaking pattern?

titties
May 10, 2012

They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

I'm sure you could find a vocal coach that would tell you all sorts of awesome methods and tricks, but for me the best (only) thing I do for better diction is to make an effort to be conscientious.

Just like any kind of personal change, I think the first and most important steps are to determine what you need to change, and then just make an effort to be aware of what you're doing. Slow down a little and actually think about the movement of your mouth and the shapes it makes.

"Just think about it / try" sounds like a lovely answer, but just being cognizant of the issues you're having will allow you to address them.

Pay particular attention to words like "to", "for", and "can", because they are easy to mangle without ever realizing it.

Sometimes it helps me to think of the letters in the words as well. For example, I pronounce "through" slightly differently than "threw", as though through inflection I could communicate the "ough" part to my friends (who are not interested in reading and don't know the difference between the words and their spellings).

E: I know you're not interested in voice work, but you might try reading something and recording it anyway. You will probably cringe when you hear it the first time, but it would be a valuable tool in helping you identify what speech habits you could work on improving.

titties fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Jun 18, 2013

Nebulon Gate
Feb 23, 2013

BonoMan posted:

Thanks for all the replies guys! I sent these all off...still waiting to hear back.

I'll do a recording tomorrow morning if you're still taking. I'M STILL BETTER THAN YOU JOE MAN

The Joe Man
Apr 7, 2007

Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

Captain Walker posted:

Talking of resume padding: I have a college degree in Theatre Arts and 10+ years of experience acting on the local stage, with generally positive reviews. However I don't have the "look" for most film/TV/theatre roles my age (i.e. I am a chubby young nerd). Is VO a logical next step? I'd like to pursue ~show business~ as a career and I feel like my voice is strong enough to carry a performance.

Ehhhhhhhhh honestly I think you're better off focusing on acting and hoping to get noticed for the right thing. With 10+ years on stage you're a lot better off than starting with 0 years behind a mic. If you're decent with on-screen performance (with presumably a ton of credits to your name), I think it'd be a much surer shot at getting noticed. We're happy to help with anything if you decide to try VA though.

Econosaurus posted:

Maybe a little off topic, but I'm trying to improve my speaking voice and diction without the goal of becoming a voice actor. What do you voice actors do to develop a clearer, more articulate speaking pattern?

titties posted:

E: I know you're not interested in voice work, but you might try reading something and recording it anyway. You will probably cringe when you hear it the first time, but it would be a valuable tool in helping you identify what speech habits you could work on improving.

This will help. Also you could just read/record commercials for 40+ hrs/wk + 3mo straight to grind out any rough edges in your voice.

Winter is Cuming posted:

I'll do a recording tomorrow morning if you're still taking. I'M STILL BETTER THAN YOU JOE MAN

:dukedog:

I'm not James Earl Jones but drop the pitch a couple notches and there you go.

Nebulon Gate
Feb 23, 2013

The Joe Man posted:

:dukedog:

I'm not James Earl Jones but drop the pitch a couple notches and there you go.


Here's the Darth Vader thingamagig.



$50 plz. I did two takes. I think the second is stronger.

BonoMan
Feb 20, 2002

Jade Ear Joe

Winter is Cuming posted:

Here's the Darth Vader thingamagig.



$50 plz. I did two takes. I think the second is stronger.

Not bad, but the quotes are wrong!

It's "In time thy powers have weak become Old Man" and "I find thy lack of faith disturbing."

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Captain Walker
Apr 7, 2009

Mother knows best
Listen to your mother
It's a scary world out there

The Joe Man posted:

Ehhhhhhhhh honestly I think you're better off focusing on acting and hoping to get noticed for the right thing. With 10+ years on stage you're a lot better off than starting with 0 years behind a mic. If you're decent with on-screen performance (with presumably a ton of credits to your name), I think it'd be a much surer shot at getting noticed. We're happy to help with anything if you decide to try VA though.

A ton of local (read: unpaid) stage credits, and some student films. Also, I'm 23; 10+ years means since I was 12 and in Bye Bye Birdie at my middle school. I'm looking at VO as part of a bigger picture: help my speaking skills > get cast in more roles, VO and film alike. I sprung for a Yeti mic and I'll try to record a demo reel soon. I should mention I'm in the LA area so I'm perfectly situated already to one day be the next Troy Baker, or at least meet the current Troy Baker.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply