Re-takes – Advice from a Voiceover Pro

My colleague voiceover artist Tom Dheere recently posted some really helpful tips in his Good Karma Network newsletter about re-takes.

I had an email conversation with Tom and he graciously let me reprint those gold nuggets here. Tom was working on an audiobook when he wrote these tips…but, of course they can be applicable to most every voiceover scenario in one form or another.

Retakes usually are needed for a few reasons:

Technical Issues (feedback, low gain, static, etc.)
Background Sounds
Script Errors
Me Being a Doofus (I mispronounced a word, inadvertently changed a word, inserted a word, flubbed an accent, or stressed the wrong word)

These are all common errors, many of which you can minimize.

TIP OF THE WEEK: Here’s what you can do to minimize the amount of retakes needed:

Read the script. I know that sounds obvious, but I mean REALLY read the script. I try read it three times before I record. Once to enjoy it & understand the story, once to break down the characters, and once to review spelling and grammar.

Ask questions. If I’m not sure about something, I ask the publisher. If he’s not sure, he contacts the author and gets back to me. Once in a while you may get to talk to the author directly, but I’m not always sure that’s best. Writing something and reading it aloud are two different disciplines and it’s the publisher’s job to bridge them.

Take notes. I always build a pronunciation guide. Sci-fi stories tend to have a lot a big real words and even more fake words, some of which don’t feel organic. Get the correct pronunciations and practice them. Also, I like using accents so I track how each character speaks and make sure I get the subtleties right.

Have fun! If you do your homework and enjoy the session, your acting will shine through.

Thanks Tom!

Another exciting bit of news is that my podcasts have been approved and are now in the iTunes store to download and/or subscribe to!

The podcast names are: stefsvoice4u Broadcast
- audiobook narrations, travel, inspiration, travel and events; and
AudioMysteryTym
episodes of The Violet Strange Mysteries [searchable by AudioMysteryTym or stefanialintonbon].

Took some time, but we got there in the end!

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Thames Festival – London

Seen & heard at #Southbank #thamesfestival – 1. elegant lady & equally elegant dog! 2. Well I’ve got my finger cuffs w/ me..lady to her male friend

The sun’s shining. The smell of a plethora of cuisine & drinks are in the air. Music, entertainment, fun.

It’s all good!

Cheers…break’s over – back to the festivities…

crepe n cider

morrisdancer2

September is National Voiceover Month

Several of my colleagues in the States have started a movement to name September as National Voiceover Month. It’s good to have something to mark the contributions that voiceover people worldwide have made to society and the economy, I guess.

I did a podcast recently as my contribution.

You can listen to it here:

stefsvoice4u Broadcast – September is National Voice Over Month

My colleague, Stephanie Ciccarelli of voices.com [www.voices.com] – explains the occasion in her recent blog:

“A voice over is a spoken word performance given by an actor who is heard but not seen. Voice overs are produced most often to educate, inform or entertain and can be heard via many different mediums such as broadcast, video games, film, telephony, audiobooks and more.

If you’ve ever heard a voice over and were the better for it, now is the time to celebrate!

Voices.com is pleased to help spread the word about what’s going on…
What’s a Voice Over?

What is a voice over and why might you appreciate voice overs?
A voice over (also referred to as “VO”) is a recorded vocal performance that can be heard in advertisements on radio, television and on the Internet. Voice overs are also consumed via educational materials, public service announcements, narration, talking toys, character voices in cartoons and more.

The human voice is not only part of who we are but plays an important role in how we communicate and express ourselves. Voice over narration tells a story, and when most effective, reaches not only our ears but our hearts.

Because of the nature of voice over, it is sometimes easy to forget that there are people behind the voices. That being said, National Voice Over Appreciation Month is also a time to recognize professional voice over talent and their work.

How We’re Celebrating
At Voices.com, we’re celebrating Voice Over Appreciation Month in a number of ways, including an Open House at the Voices.com Offices, hosting a gathering of voice over professionals and producers and through our sponsorship of the US-based voice over unconference FaffCon. We are also pleased to sponsor and be present at Voices of Vision, a Canadian voice over training and networking event to be held in Toronto on September 23-25, 2010.”

Cheers…

Stefania