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Michael Robinett
Voice Talent
Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 4
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 Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007, 09:32 (GMT) Post subject: Total newb sayin' hi and askin a few Qs... |
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Hi there. I've got a few questions but first, I'll introduce myself.
My name's Mike, and I've been mimicking and making up my own voices and accents for 13 years, started when I was 5... Well, that's as far back as I can remember anyways. Wether it was doing completely random skits off the top of my head, such as my ongoing series "The Odd House" (a spoof of reality tv), or imitating characters or people like Yoda, Vegeta, and Bill Clinton (then again, who doesn't imitate Bill?).
I've got no professional experience, and I never really looked into doing voice overs untill I turned 18 and realized I sorely needed a job until I can pull my plans together. After a few unfruitful applications, I figured I'd do something I enjoy doing, something I'm pretty good at, and will benefit my later plans. Voice acting was it, after all, I often gave voices to any characters (and inevitably spoke the lines) in my short stories, so here I am...
Problem being, I have no clue the terms and such of the VO biz... Thus, my questions.
1st Q: What exactly does "Watermarked", "Produced", "Dry", etc mean?
2nd Q: Any useful tips for a total newbie? Unfortunately, I can't seem to scrounge enough money to join any unions/guilds at the moment, so SAG and the like are out of the question.... |
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Robert Jadah
Voice Talent
Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 2627
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| Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007, 13:44 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Welcome, Michael.
Some terms:
Watermarked - A background sound on auditions that ostensibly renders them useless. Meant to protect from unpaid, unauthorized use.
Dry - An audition submitted with voice only.
Produced - An audition submitted with music and - sometimes - sound f/x
Read This Forum - A suggestion that you do some research by reading through VoiceOverSavvy posts. It's kind of like homework, and will spare your mates and instructors from repeating a lot of basic stuff.
Voice On! |
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Joe J Thomas
Voice Talent
Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 1521
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| Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007, 14:58 (GMT) Post subject: |
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... nice to meet you Michael - Welcome!,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com |
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Kathleen Keesling
Voice Talent
Joined: 15 Jul 2006
Posts: 746
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| Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007, 03:07 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Welcome to the board, Michael. 
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SaVoa  No. 07006 |
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Brian Goodwin
Voice Talent
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Posts: 113
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| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007, 17:06 (GMT) Post subject: |
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It may sound a little goofy/nerdish, but read anything and everything aloud when you get the chance. The newspaper in the morning, magazines, that novel you're working on... If you see a bilboard by the side of the road (make sure traffic is moving slowly, I don't condone unattentive driving) try and ad-lib it into what a commercial for the same product would sound like. And (I do this all the time and it really gets on peoples nerves) when you're watching TV try to imitate/impersonate characters from your favourite shows or a really good commercial you hear.
Once you get used to being a goof and just having fun with it, start recording this stuff so you can get a feel for the mic and lose that, "Oh my, God! Do I actually sound like that?!?!" thought which most everyone has at first (assuming you have some form of recording equipment). Then find someone, or a few people, who you know won't sugar coat things and get them to start listening to your stuff so you can get some feedback on it. The voice over Idol section is a good place to start if you don't have contact with any pros from your closest large/major market.
Not sure if you already do this type of stuff but it helps me so I thought I would pass it along. Good luck, Mike. I hope this was somewhat close to being helpful.
-Goods |
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Michael Robinett
Voice Talent
Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007, 03:49 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Thanks for the info and suggestions everybody! voice over Idol section hmm? I'll have to check it out. I've only managed to skim over a few things on the boards, but unfortunately I don't have a whole lot of time but maybe an hour or so a day....
| Brian Goodwin wrote: | It may sound a little goofy/nerdish, but read anything and everything aloud when you get the chance. The newspaper in the morning, magazines, that novel you're working on... If you see a bilboard by the side of the road (make sure traffic is moving slowly, I don't condone unattentive driving) try and ad-lib it into what a commercial for the same product would sound like. And (I do this all the time and it really gets on peoples nerves) when you're watching TV try to imitate/impersonate characters from your favourite shows or a really good commercial you hear.
Once you get used to being a goof and just having fun with it, start recording this stuff so you can get a feel for the mic and lose that, "Oh my, God! Do I actually sound like that?!?!" thought which most everyone has at first (assuming you have some form of recording equipment). Then find someone, or a few people, who you know won't sugar coat things and get them to start listening to your stuff so you can get some feedback on it. The voice over Idol section is a good place to start if you don't have contact with any pros from your closest large/major market.
Not sure if you already do this type of stuff but it helps me so I thought I would pass it along. Good luck, Mike. I hope this was somewhat close to being helpful.
-Goods |
I already do some of that, but not as much. Still, that's some pretty good advice, I'll have to work on it...
Unfortunately, for recording equipment, all I have is a Logitech headset, and Audacity...
Another question. Anyone use Audacity? I was fiddling around with it, making a sketch based off an old episode of my reality tv spoof I was writing (for a web cartoon). Once I got 2 and 1/2 minutes of recording into it (after about an hour's work, trying to get the voices just right), I decide to play it back to see how it sounds... It's broken up very badly, sounding like someone keeps hitting pause and play over and over. Any way to fix this since I've only got 3 more lines to go before I manage to finish it?
Also, aside from Audacity (I don't think I'll be using it again after that screw up), any other good (free) programs you'd recommend? |
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Kathleen Keesling
Voice Talent
Joined: 15 Jul 2006
Posts: 746
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007, 03:53 (GMT) Post subject: |
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How about WavePad?
_________________
SaVoa No. 07006 |
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Michael Robinett
Voice Talent
Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007, 04:04 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| Kathleen Keesling wrote: | | How about WavePad? |
I'll give it a shot, thanks. |
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Kathleen Keesling
Voice Talent
Joined: 15 Jul 2006
Posts: 746
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007, 04:12 (GMT) Post subject: |
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I think this is the link...
http://www.nch.com.au/
NCH Swift Sound WavePad
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SaVoa No. 07006 |
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Debbie Deutsch
Voice Talent
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 1338
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007, 17:33 (GMT) Post subject: |
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Hi Michael
I've worked with Wavepad a bit...not a bad program.  |
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September Day Leach
Voice Talent
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 1526
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| Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007, 19:25 (GMT) Post subject: |
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welcome!
That Audacity problem happened to me when I was running too many program for my old comp's pitiful memory. If you've got a lot of stuff running, including spyware, it will bog down Audacity and make it skip. |
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Michael Robinett
Voice Talent
Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007, 23:58 (GMT) Post subject: |
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| September Day Leach wrote: | welcome!
That Audacity problem happened to me when I was running too many program for my old comp's pitiful memory. If you've got a lot of stuff running, including spyware, it will bog down Audacity and make it skip. |
Thanks for the info! Maybe now, at least untill I can get a better PC, it'll stop the problem... If not, then I just need to get a new PC, lol. |
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