FREE VOICEOVER LESSONS: BASICS/TECHNIQUE PT. 1, MICROPHONE PLACEMENT

I discontinued voice-over training and coaching, and for years still received inquiries about how to start a voice-over career (which simply has no concise response.)  While no longer teaching, I have decided to post increments from my Basics Training Event Workbook here, with a link to an audio track narrated by me.  It's my hope to help those interested in learning more about voice-over and what's involved in starting a career.

The 9th in the series of voice-over basics is on the Microphone Placement.

 TCVO Presents…

SPRING INTO VOICE-OVER!

© Teri Clark Linden, 2014

Microphone Placement

As with the voice, where you place your mouth in relationship to the microphone also effects your sound. The best way to discover this for yourself is practice. Get a microphone, download free Audacity recording software on the Internet and play around with how close or how far you are from the mic, whispering or shouting, talking at the mic directly or from a side angle, walking up to the microphone speaking, etc. Here are a few basic tips:

Distance

Basic, traditional distance from your mouth to the microphone is five fingers (standing directly in front of the microphone place your hand with your pinky finger touching the mic (or pop filter) and your thumb touching your lips. Close-up distance from your mouth to the microphone is three fingers. Same methodology as above – remove pinky and thumb.

Setting Levels
A good engineer will set your microphone with you in front of it. Then, she will move to the engineer booth where she will set volume levels with you reading the copy in front of you. Keep reading the copy, even if over and over, until the engineer tells you to stop. Your levels are set, you are planted. If you do walk-ups to the microphone for effect, remember where your first mark was (I use a pen or pencil at my feet before moving). For narration or audio book jobs, I have been asked to set different volume levels based on scenes where I may be shouting or getting very quiet. This is something for you and your engineer to discuss.

Effects

Yelling
Never yell into the mic. You will sound horrible and distorted and cause damage to your sound engineer’s poor eardrums (not to mention the fact you may never be asked back!). There are a couple of ways you can get a “yell” effect at the microphone. One way is to step a good foot directly back from the mic. If you do this, remember where your engineer placed you initially when setting levels and try to walk back into that spot. The other way is by turning your head away from the mic (staying planted) to the left or right at approximately 10 or 2 o’clock.

Whispering. Pat Fraley suggests not whispering into the mic as it doesn’t sound that great, but instead lowering your voice to what is called “Sotto Voce” at the close-up distance at the mic (or even closer – I feel I’ve swallowed the mic at times) creating a very soft effect. Think about volume used talking to a sleeping baby or an aside to someone when you don’t want the others in the room to hear.

Groups

Not very common, but it does occasionally happen (like at the agent’s office when auditioning in a group read for a voice-over) where you find yourself with 1, 2 or even 3 other people around a microphone, and most likely with script in hand. If one- page (and okay with the person who gave you the script) fold up your script into the tiniest one page possible, retaining all of the lines you need of course (this usually means getting rid of extra white space, Halo Data or video description in the case of TV commercial voice-over copy). 

© Teri Clark Linden, 2014

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO FOR FREE VOICE-OVER LESSONS: BASICS/TECHNIQUE PT. 1, MICROPHONE PLACEMENT, NARRATED BY ME!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR FREE VOICE-OVER LESSONS: BASICS/TECHNIQUE PT. 1, MICROPHONE PLACEMENT!

FREE VOICE-OVER LESSONS: BASICS/PROFESSIONAL PROTOCOL PT. 1

I discontinued voice-over training and coaching, and for years still received inquiries about how to start a voice-over career (which simply has no concise response.)  While no longer teaching, I have decided to post increments from my Basics Training Event Workbook here, with a link to an audio track narrated by me.  It's my hope to help those interested in learning more about voice-over and what's involved in starting a career.

The fourth in the series of voice-over basics is an introduction to Professional Protocol, which I have broken down into four points and will addressed over the next 3 blogs.
TCVO Presents…

SPRING INTO VOICE-OVER!

© Teri Clark Linden, 2014

PROFESSIONAL PROTOCOL

Attitude

Teri’s Golden Rules

Session Etiquette

Professional Apology

Attitude

In my opinion, there are two ways to define a professional performer: whether or not they belong to a professional performer’s union or by their attitude.  You can be a professional actor, member of the acting unions and still display amateurish behavior behind the microphone and to those around you.  On the reverse, you might not yet have your union cards but act completely professionally, treating those around you with respect and courtesy.

You can also choose to have a positive attitude regarding auditions and bookings, by not getting discouraged with jobs you don’t get and appreciating (rather than feeling it’s deserved) the ones you do.  Treat every voice-over audition or job you get as an invitation to a party.  Be thankful for the opportunity.  When around others, keep in mind they all desire the same end result, and that is to get the job done well, whether recording an audition or project.  Your positive attitude goes a long way in this business and will get you known and remembered as someone easy to work with.  No one likes an egomaniac.  No one likes being around negative people, or being criticized, especially in front of others.  

© Teri Clark Linden, 2014

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MY NARRATION OF TODAY'S LESSON ON PROFESSIONAL PROTOCOL.

CLICK HERE FOR THE YOUTUBE VIDEO OF TODAY'S POST ON PROFESSIONAL PROTOCOL.

FREE VOICE-OVER LESSONS: BASICS/DEMO

I discontinued voice-over training and coaching, and for years still received inquiries about how to start a voice-over career (which simply has no concise response.)  While no longer teaching, I have decided to post increments from my Basics Training Event Workbook here, with a link to an audio track narrated by me.  It's my hope to help those interested in learning more about voice-over and what's involved in starting a career.

The third in the series is an introduction to voice-over demos. 
TCVO Presents…

SPRING INTO VOICE-OVER!

© Teri Clark Linden, 2014

DEMOS

The first thing (after training) you need for your VO career is a VO demo.  You can’t get an agent without one.  There’s no point in having a website without one.  You can’t market yourself without one.  You need one and that’s that.  In Pat Fraley’s “Demo World” he identifies six demo types and suggests that professional voice-over talent “are now encouraged to create and maintain from two to six of the “Top 6 Voice-Over Demos” which are:

Commercial

Animation/Character

Interactive/Gaming

Narration

Audio Book

Promo/Trailer

I have been able to broaden my market to include every genre mentioned even those not controlled by agents, primarily through my home studio use.  

What you need starting out

You are just starting out, and in a smaller market, so you will need to focus on a commercial demo first.  Jason Sasportas, my agent at Stewart Talent in New York, says this about getting your first demo: “I strongly encourage talent who are brand new to the business to avoid putting together a reel until they’ve had considerable training and are very comfortable with their reads.”  This is mainly because demos are very expensive (the well-produced ones that is).  Jason says in New York they generally run about $1,400, and I think that’s about the same for Chicago and LA, maybe a little more in LA.  

As a producer of commercial demos, I would say the key to keeping the cost low is having as much of the material ready to go before you step into the recording booth.  I work with my students to build a script library full of versatile copy and styles, hopefully picking out selections that are not only written differently but, more importantly, show off my student’s vocal ability and range.  

Combination Demo

In the Midwest you can get away with producing a demo type called a “combination demo,” which is basically a commercial demo with maybe a bit of narration, accent, or character, thrown in towards the end.  This is acceptable because our smaller markets might not support enough work in other genres to warrant separates demos.  Of course, say for instance your forte is cartoons and you want to market yourself as an animation voice-over talent from your home studio, then by all means get an animation demo made.  If this is the route you want to go, then I strongly suggest going to where the best teachers and producers for this genre are, and that’s LA.  

Personal Style

While you are here in the Midwest though, get a commercial/combination demo made to have as your base.  Once you have all your versatile material, cuts and bits totaling no more than one minute and are ready to record, you shouldn’t be more than five hours in the recording booth, on average.  It depends how talented and creative you are behind the mic, and how talented and creative your producer/engineer is behind the table.  Pat Fraley says a demo shouldn’t be too heavily produced (the music and sound effects shouldn’t overshadow your performance).  He also says you need to develop a “personal style” and that needs to come forth first thing on the demo.  You need to grab the listener in the first five seconds.  Five seconds!  When speaking to personal style, think about your strengths as a performer.  What do you really like to perform?  What interests you?  What do you feel confident with?  Is it cartoon voices and comedy, or do you have a husky and smoky voice, or a penchant for storytelling?  The more you practice your voice the more confident and aware you become of your ability, which goes back to what Jason Sasportas said about training and being comfortable with your reads before getting a demo!

Research & Rates

In a smaller market like Dayton, Ohio I recommend contacting recording studios and asking about commercial voice-over demo production.  Be specific.  Ask if they produce commercials and work with voice-over talent (maybe they just produce musicians).  If they do produce commercials, find out if their engineer also directs.  Ask if they have any samples you can hear.  Find out rates for their advertising clients (charge per hour for studio time, which should include engineer, mixing, music and sound effects – any “post-production”) and see if they offer a reduced rate for demos.  In Detroit, most do, though your time may be “bumpable” if a full-price paying client needs your time slot and you may have to reschedule.  Still, the difference between $300, and $125 an hour at five to eight hours can be a big one, and its worth checking into.  

Pat Fraley in LA is an amazing voice-over talent, teacher and demo producer.  He offers an Audio Book workshop where at the end of two days you have not only learned about voice-over in the Audio Book world but you walk away with a top-tier Audio Book demo.  Pat also offers private coaching and will produce your demo in a recording studio working with an engineer.  Trained by Pat, I feel confident directing and helping students find their vocal strengths and variety (and personal style) and getting them ready to record a demo.  For the past couple of demos I coached my students toward, I attended their recording session at RMS Recording studios in Detroit for the first hour, being on hand to help direct what we had created working one on one, and working a bit with the engineer and producer to determine what kind of effects and music (if any) we’d like under the voice-over, placement of the pieces, etc.  I also jumped behind the microphone for my male students and did a name slate for them.  I recently talked with a recording engineer who said he did a demo for a talent where it became apparent very quickly the actor had no training.  They did not know what they were doing behind the mic, so all their scripts sounded the same and were the same style.  Yes, you need training.  

You don’t need to wait years before getting your demo either.  There is a lot of prep work for demos you can do on your own that costs little money.  Edge Studios on the Internet offers free practice scripts.  So do magazines in the library or transcribing commercials you record on the television.  Practice and playback your voice on an array of recorded scripts on your own and find a voice coach to work with to help you with training.  Together, you can work towards creating a viable basic demo to begin marketing yourself as a voice-over talent.  Once you begin to make money and gain more skills, you can work toward refining your demo and laying down tracks for a second genre, like character or narration.
© Teri Clark Linden, 2014

CLICK HERE FOR MY AUDIO NARRATION OF VOICE-OVER LESSONS: BASICS/DEMO

CLICK HERE TO WATCH ME NARRATE ON BASICS/DEMOS ON YOUTUBE

Blogging in the morning!

FREE VOICEOVER LESSON:BASICS/VO DEFINITION & GENRES

After discontinuing voice-over training and coaching and for years receiving inquiries about how to start a voice-over career (which simply has no concise response) I have decided to post increments from my Basics Training Event Workbook here, accompanied by an audio track narrated by me.  It's my hope to help those interested in learning more about voice-over and what's involved in starting a career.

This second in the series excerpt is about voice-over definition and different voice-over genres.

TCVO Presents…

SPRING INTO VOICE-OVER!

© Teri Clark Linden, 2014

VOICE-OVER DEFINITIONS & GENRES

According to Miriam Webster on the Internet, one definition of “voice-over” is “the voice of an unseen narrator speaking.”  The definition expands to include “voice of a visible character” and “recording.”  Going forward I’ll sometimes refer to voice-over as “VO,” an abbreviation used commonly in the voice-over world I have been performing in for quite some time now. 

I practice voice-over acting, using techniques and talent acquired over the past few decades at the microphone recording in several different voice-over styles, or “genres.”  Mainly, I lend my voice to radio and television commercials and audio books, and once in a while narrate corporate business projects, or “industrials.” (Industrials are used primarily to promote policy or training within a company, without advertising it to the public world, either recorded for employees to access in-house or through the Internet.)  Whichever voice-over genre I work in I use acting as a way to give the best performance and vocal quality as possible.  I also utilize an array of voices depending on the project (there are quite a few characters and cartoon voices out there in commercials, audio books and industrials.)  Below is a list of several voice-over genres I have come to identify through my years as a professional voice-over talent:

Commercials (Radio,  Internet & Television)

Animation (also called “Character” in some markets)

Narration

Audio Book

Trailers (Major Motion Picture Previews)

Promotional & Radio Imaging (Radio Station Identification)

Gaming (Interactive, Video Games, Arcade Games, Amusement Park Rides)

Acoustiguides (The voice in the headphones at an exhibit)

Phone System Prompts (also called “IVR” or “Interactive Voice Response”)

Talking Toys

Film Dubbing & Voice Match (also called “ADR” – Additional [or Automated] Dialogue Replacement [or Recording], or Looping)

In VO Basics I’ll focus mainly on commercials.  Just because a script (also called “Copy”) is created to sell a product, doesn’t mean it can’t tell a story, elicit emotions from its listeners or be full of characters in its advertising.  Recently, I rarely get copy that calls for anything other than being “real” and “conversational,” even though the part I’m reading for is labeled “Announcer.” Also, there are many funny commercials needing character voices for people as well as animate objects (think “Scrubbing Bubbles” and “Raid Ants”).  This is where acting skills are a must.  

Improvisation skills are also essential in a successful VO career.  Improvisation is un-scripted performance where actors create characters and story on the spot from within their imagination (think Second City Chicago where many performers get scouted for Saturday Night Live).  Improvisation and acting training will give you the ability to think on your feet at an audition to make your performance stand out from the rest, give several reads that all sound different, and perform during a recording session when the client is out of ideas and gives you my number one impression of the worst directing advice an actor can receive: “Try something different this time.”

You don’t have to live in a big city to take acting classes.  Most towns will have a community theatre where you can get your feet wet in acting.  Universities, community colleges and community centers are a good place to look.  Improvisation specific classes may be harder to find in smaller towns, but good acting teachers will always address basic improvisation in their basic acting classes.  If all else fails there’s the Internet, with an array of resources to find instructional material and maybe even an on-line course.  Some of my favorite books on acting are Respect for Acting by Uta Hagan, Acting in Film by Michael Caine, Sanford Meisner on Acting by Sanford Meisner.  (Please know I am not trying to sell books here, but only offering my opinion on a few that I personally have found helpful and like!)

CLICK HERE FOR MY AUDIO NARRATION OF VOICE-OVER DEFINITION & GENRE!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH ME NARRATE FREE VOICE-OVER LESSONS FROM MY WHISPER ROOM RECORDING BOOTH!

FREE VOICE-OVER LESSONS: BASICS/INTRO/ABOUT ME

I discontinued voice-over training and coaching, and for years still received inquiries about how to start a voice-over career (which simply has no concise response.)  While no longer teaching, I have decided to post increments from my Basics Training Event Workbook here, with a link to an audio track narrated by me.  It's my hope to help those interested in learning more about voice-over and what's involved in starting a career.

The first in the series is an introduction and a little background on me, Teri Clark Linden.

TCVO Presents…

SPRING INTO VOICE-OVER!

© Teri Clark Linden, 2014

This workbook is designed to compliment my “Spring into Voice-over Event,” which I created as a basic introduction to voice-over performing.  In it you will find information which I hope will help you decide if pursuing a career in voice-over is right for you.  Please keep in mind this information is based on my opinions and experience working as an actress and voice-over talent professionally for 25 years.  I am also acting in part as a translator sharing with you what I have learned first-hand from training and working with voice-over masters over the past decade, as well as from on the job experience.  This information is a guide, and my hope is there will be at least some information that will resonate within you and that you will find useful.  I do not hold a magic vision into the future and cannot tell you whether or not you have what it takes to be a successful voice-over talent.  No one does.  You know you the best.  You need to trust yourself and your instincts above all others as you move forward toward researching this new career in voice-over.  I will help guide you with information and training to the best of my ability, but ultimately, the choice is yours.  Thank you for trusting me to help you with your choice, and enjoy your endeavor and this Event!

Regards,

Teri

About Me

As you know, my name is Teri Clark Linden.  I was born Teri Lynn Clark and for years went professionally by “Teri L. Clark.”  I got married and when my son was born, he was given “Clark” as his middle name, and I officially became “Teri Clark Linden.”

For most of my life I have resided in the northern Midwest, primarily in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois.  I have loved acting since I was 13, took my first drama class in middle school, and have been performing in some capacity ever since.  My parents still remind me of a joke I made early in my career when they asked, “Is anyone else in your family an actor?”  I replied, “Yes.”  We all are, but I’m the only paid professional.”  I acted in plays in high school and received a BA in theatre from Roosevelt University in Chicago.   

For several years after graduation I worked in Chicago and regionally as an actress before relocating back to Michigan, where I lived for the next 15 years.  In Detroit, I performed at all the union theatres as well as commercially on camera and in voice-over.  In 2006, I set up a home recording studio and began marketing myself as a voice-over talent.

I was soon represented by a New York agent and narrating audio books, as well as auditioning from my home for local and national voice-overs.  I gained a reputation in Detroit for being a top voice-over talent and had clients booking me regularly without auditioning.  Also during this time I was regularly asked, “How do you get into voice-over?”  In 2009 I realized a need for professional voice-over training in Detroit and decided to host Sherri Berger (VOU Chicago) for a 2-day weekend basic training workshop.  This was so successful that I began coaching students privately and producing more training workshops.  I hosted Pat Fraley from LA for an “Accent on Dialects” workshop and several workshops on character voices and film looping with Pamela Lewis (Talking Funny for Money).  Between 2006 and 2010 I also continued my training.  Aside from absorbing information from the masters I hosted with every workshop, I traveled to Chicago and LA to study with Pat Fraley (my mentor and now friend) on several occasions.  Today, I still re-visit materials gathered over the years on the art and technique of voice-over performing, as well as look for new training opportunities.  I highly believe in training, and that you can never stop refreshing what you already know or that you can always learn something new.

My husband’s career brought our family to Ohio in 2010.  Initially saddened to leave what I had built in Detroit, I believed and still believe that new doors open where old ones close, and am able to now bring my talent and teaching to the Dayton area.  While not on stage acting in plays in the capacity I was in Detroit, I am auditioning and working regularly in voice-over and on-camera, specifically narrating audio books and acting in motion pictures.  

I am fortunate with the support of my family to work in a profession that is also one of my passions, and I am thankful to be able to share it now with you.

© Teri Clark Linden, 2014
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO AUDIO NARRATION BY ME!

In my booth recording today's blog.  Video available on YouTube!