Questions for voice actors with a home studio
What stage of your voice acting career did you begin to record from a home studio? Is it something that a voice actor should strive to obtain in their professional career?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Britt Helms on -
With the recent advances in audio software, computer-friendly audio hardware and the internet, I'm not sure that there has ever been a better time to create your own home studio. You'd be surprised how many successful VO artists have never worked from a studio outside of their home. Yet, because they have a home studio and the ability to interact with their clients via the internet and telephone, they can stay busy.
There will always be those VO jobs that require your physical presence at an actual studio. But if you're having success from your home studio, you can decide whether or not you want to accept those jobs that require your physical presence.
Personally, I am using a Dell Optiplex computer with the Windows XP operating system. If I'm just recording voicing for a project, I tend to lean toward using Adobe Soundbooth software. It was really designed with VO work in mind as it records a single track of audio. If my project requires additional production, I will use Adobe Audition which allows you to layer multiple tracks to get your finished product. Currently I am using a Samson C01U USB-based microphone with good success. For me, it required some time to get it hooked up and working the way I want it to, but all-in-all, I am pleased with its performance.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you want to set up your home studio in a quiet place. You can use blankets and other sound absorbing items to help deaden the room. There are also sound deadening microphone boxes designed to place your microphone in that will give you the same effect.
If you Google "home studio", you'll get tons of links to sites with great information for setting up a simple home studio.
Good luck to you, and I look forward to hearing some of your work recorded in your home studio in the future.
Britt
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Permalink Reply by Maria DeSapio on -
Britt,
Thank you for all of your valuable input. Adobe Audition is coming up alot when I speak to people as is Audacity. I just have one more question. Which program do you suggest for someone of limited means who is a total beginner with using audio software (not afraid of technology though ^_^)?
Maria
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Permalink Reply by Britt Helms on
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Maria,
I'm glad to see that you're getting a lot of good informaiton from those that have been through the same process of building a home studio. If you're looking for a program that is easy to use - right out of the box - I'd suggest Adobe Soundbooth. It has many preset processing choices that make altering your voice to meet your client's needs easy. I must admit that I'm not familiar with Audacity. Adobe Audition is like Soundbooth, only it allows you to record or put effects on several tracks and play them at once.
I hope this helps,
Britt
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Permalink Reply by John Taylor on -
I started recording from home in 1998. I would recommend all voice actors have the home recording capability. One easy solution is to record your VO onto a flash drive recorder. You can buy an M-Audio Microtrack or a Zoom flash drive recorder for around $300. The advantage? You can plug any microphone into these portable recorders. (they have Phantom power and XLR inputs) You can also take your recording into a walk-in closet, or even a parked car if you need to find a quiet dead place. Plus, you'll have no fan noise from a computer. Simply drag and drop the files into your computer via USB for editing and emailing. For editing Adobe Sound Booth is excellent....I am a huge fan of Adobe Audition V3.0.(I started out on Cool Edit v1!) I have an M-Audio Microtrack that I use with my Sennheiser 416 on the road. Last summer my clients were unaware that I was back east at my Dad's helping out with a family crisis for 5 weeks. Check out this awesome home made Voice box from Harlan Hogan.....brilliant!http://www.voiceoverxtra.com/article.htm?id=ydeh2t9p
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Permalink Reply by Eric Morgan on -
Well, I only started getting serious about VO a year and a half to two years ago. I have been in radio since 1989. I was fortunate enough to have a close friend in the vo business who gave me good advice. I got my first mic, a Sennheiser 421 shortly after I got serious. At first I was plugging it in directly to my sound card with no pre amp or anything. I still have the radio station studios available, so it gave me time to build. In January of this year I bought an Audio Technica AT4040 and an ART Tube Pre amp. HUGE improvement over my old setup. I recently made a trade for my Sennheiser and picked up a different pre-amp. I can do most everything from home and it sounds better than the $100K + studios at the station. With that said, the station has phone patch and some other stuff I don't have. But, for overall sound, I win!!
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Permalink Reply by Maria DeSapio on
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Eric,
Would you suggest that a VA book some jobs outside of having a home recording studio before they build their own? Thanks!
Maria
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Permalink Reply by Eric Morgan on
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Maria,
You know, my opinion is that it depends where you are financially. The reality is that having a setup at home is a huge plus, but if it is out of the financial question, you can work from a local studio or whatever. The great thing is that you can put together a very nice setup for not a lot of money. For me, it just adds options. I work in a production department with a radio cluster here. I have full access to the studios. Once I go home for the day though, I don't want to drive all the way back to the station to do an audition for a :15 second VO. I can just hop into my quiet little room and do it. I email it from home and there ya go. I am not making a bunch of money as a VO, although I hope to someday, but I have made and am still making enough to upgrade home equipment and have a little fun that my day job would not allow me to afford.
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Permalink Reply by Troy Duran on -
I went fulltime freelance about 3-4 years ago, although I've had a home studio since about '94. I would strongly encourage anyone doing vo to build their own studio. With a home studio your market is worldwide.
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Permalink Reply by Maria DeSapio on
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Troy,
Did you decide to create your studio out of preference or did you design it with the intent of expanding your marketing abilities?
Maria
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Permalink Reply by Keith Jacobs on -
I put together a studio as soon as the hardware/software came of age! I wanted a home studio back in the late 1970s, but it cost over $100,000 to do the type of multi-track recording and editing that I wanted to do. Since I had access to radio station production rooms, I just had to wait for my own studio until multi-track PC recording/editing matured. Then, I dove right in.
I would save some money and start with Audacity recording/editing software and instead spend some bucks on a good mic. Later, you might want to upgrade to Adobe Audition, which is what I use.
Popular recording mics include Neuman TLM103, Neumann TLM193, Shure SM7B, Sennheiser 416 (used a lot in TV/Film V/O), AKG C414. By investing up to $1,000 in a good mic, you can build from there. It is worth every penny. This is the one place NOT to skimp.
The sound card in your PC matters too, but most are adequate. I use a really expensive solution here because I need audio processing. So I have an Orban Optimod PC1100 (about $1,400). You don't have to go there.
Unfortunately, hardware and software is not all you need. These items must be set up correctly! This is an art. Buying a bunch of gear does not get you any closer to finding voice work either. The hard part is finding the gigs! Once you have that covered, then you can buy all the toys you want.
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Permalink Reply by J S Gilbert on -
It would appear these days that if you aren't an established voice talent, then the expectation is that (among other things) you will have and be able to operate a home recording studio. This becomes more important depending upon the market(s) you intend to work in. If you're in Los Angeles and looking to get into v.o., a home studio may not be necessary if you plan to work mostly in Los Angeles (for example). Your jobs will be conducted in professional studios. A home studio would allow you to work for out-of-market clients, practice and audition
Also, you might want to note that most of the people responding here have extensive backgrounds in broadcast- very valid points, but from a very different perspective than you. Being able to self-direct and engineer yourself to a highly competitive level, while at the same time focus on the performance aspects of your work is quite difficult for most voice actors, even experienced ones. In fact, I would defy any professional voice actor to disagree with me when I say that performing in a professional studio, with a competent director available, allowing you to concentrate completely on your job as a voice actor will almost always yield the best results.
If you have the finances, I might research putting in a quality home recording studio, which at this point in your career would allow you to practice properly at home and develop your craft and allow you time to develop skills and confidence at engineering and self-directing. The goal would be that at some point you would be able to audition from home if needed and also use the studio for out-of-market projects.
Eventually and dependant upon changes and developments within the industry, you may look at your home studio as your primary work facility.
DOn't be so eager to jump into using your home gear. You will gain very valuable insight and experience by auditioning in oyur agents booth and at clients. Additionally, working in differenet environments will provide you with numerous opportunities to network and learn and grow.
You may want to work out a relationship with some local studio for any projects that would require you to be responsible for providing a studio. Make sure that you work for appropriate fees to cover the cost of the studio. I know actors who have been doing this for several years becuase they simply wish to focus on their craft and not on the other aspects (engineering, editing, uploading, etc.)
I hope this helps you
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Permalink Reply by Britt Helms on
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Great insight, J S.
You present some interesting points that bring a whole different perspective to whether a home studio is needed or truly even beneficial to talent just starting out.
Britt
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