Read The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over Online
Authors: James Alburger
There are many different types of voiceover projects, and recording sessions come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of format styles.
A demo session is for a project that has not yet been sold to the client. It will be a demonstration of what the ad agency is recommending. The client may or may not like it. The ad agency may or may not get the account. A demo is a commercial on spec (speculation).
Mel Blanc, one of the great animation character voices of the 1950s and 1960s, once gave the following definition of working on spec:
Working on spec is doing something now for free, on the promise you will be paid more than you are worth later on. Spec is also a small piece of dirt!
(Mel Blanc, from
Visual Radio,
1972, Southern California Broadcasters Association)
Ad agencies, television stations, and radio stations often do projects on spec when they are attempting to get an advertiser’s business. The potential profit from a successful advertising campaign far outweighs the cost of producing a spec commercial—provided the agency lands the account.
Demos will not air (unless they are upgraded by the client), and are paid at a lower scale than regular commercials. In some cases, the demo serves as an audition for the ad agency. They may have several different voiceover performers booked to do the demo session. It is not technically an audition, since completed spots will be produced. Instead, demos are intended to give the advertiser a choice of performers for the final commercial. If the demo is simply upgraded, your agent will be contacted and you will be paid an additional fee. If a separate session is booked, you will be contacted, scheduled, and paid an additional fee.
A
scratch track
is similar to a demo in the sense that it is the preliminary form of a commercial. The major difference is that a scratch track is used as a reference for a commercial that is already in the process of being produced. Scratch tracks are most often used for TV commercials and other video productions, and serve as a reference track for the video editor before the final voice track is recorded. A scratch track will often be voiced by the producer, director, or sometimes the editor or audio engineer, and the music, sound effects, and other elements of the spot may or may not be in their final placement.
As a voiceover performer, you may be providing the original voice for a scratch track, or you may be providing the final voice that replaces an
earlier recorded voice used on an already-assembled scratch track. Either way, your job will be to perform as accurately as possible to the existing timing. The process is similar to
ADR
(Automated Dialogue Replacement) used in the film industry, except that you are working to an audio track instead of lip-syncing to a picture.
Just as for a demo session, your performance for a scratch track may be good enough for use in the final spot. You or your agent will know if the scratch track session is for a demo or a final commercial, and you will be paid accordingly.
This is a session for production of a final commercial. Many engineers refer to
regular sessions,
to differentiate them from demos, tags, scratch tracks and so on. The only difference between this type of session and all the others is that it is for a complete production.
There are two basic session setups:
single session
and
group session
. At a
single session
, you are the only person in the studio, but this does not mean you are the only voice that will appear in the final project. Other performers, to be recorded at another time, may be scheduled for different sections of the project, or for the tag. There will be only one microphone, a music stand, a stool, and a pair of headsets. Many recording studios also have monitor speakers in the studio, so you can choose to wear the headset or not. Let the engineer make all adjustments to the mic. You can adjust the stool and music stand to your comfort.
Multiple-voice, or
group sessions
, are often the most fun of all types of sessions simply because of the ensemble. Each performer normally has his or her own mic, music stand, and headset. Depending on the studio, two performers may be set up facing each other, working off the same mic, or on separate mics in different areas of the studio. A group session is like a small play, only without sets. Looping is almost always done as a group session with from a few to a few dozen voice actors in the studio.
There are a variety of script formats used in the business of voiceover. Radio, television, film, multimedia, video game, and corporate scripts all have slight differences. Regardless of the format, all scripts include the words you will be delivering and important clues you can use to uncover the building blocks of any effective performance.
Let’s walk through a session from the moment you enter the studio, until you walk out the door. Much of this is reviewed from other parts of this book; however, this will give you a complete picture of a studio session. After reading this section, you will know what to expect and should be able to act as if you have done it all before. Although the studio session process is very consistent, there are many variables that may result in variations on the following scenario. Just “go with the flow” and you will be fine.
Once you enter the studio lobby, your first contact will be the receptionist. Introduce yourself, and tell her which session you are attending. If the studio is in an office building and you paid to park in the building’s parking structure, don’t forget to ask if the studio validates.
The receptionist will let the producer know you are there. If you don’t already have the script, you might be given your copy at this time, or you might have to wait until the producer comes out of the control room. Depending on how the session is going, you may have to wait awhile.
The producer or engineer will come out to get you when they are ready, or the receptionist will let you know that you can go back to the control room. Or, someone might come out to let you know that the session is running late. There are many things that can put a session behind schedule. Remember, this is a hurry-up-and-wait kind of business.
When you enter the control room, introduce yourself to the producer, the engineer, and anyone else you have not yet met. You can be certain that anyone in the control room is important, so be friendly and polite.
If you did not receive the copy earlier, it will be given to you here. This is your last, and sometimes only, opportunity to do a quick “woodshed,” or script analysis, set your character and ask any questions you might have about the copy. Get as much information as you need now, because once you are in the studio, you will be expected to perform. Get a good idea of the target audience and correct pronunciation of the product’s and client’s names. Make notes as to attitude, mood, and key words. Mark your script to map your performance so that you will know what you are doing when you are in the studio. The producer or engineer may want you to read through the copy while in the control room for timing or to go over key points. When the engineer is ready, you will be escorted to the studio.
In the studio, you will usually find a music stand, a stool, headphones, and the microphone. Practice good studio etiquette and let the engineer handle any adjustments to the mic. Feel free to adjust the music stand to your comfort. If a stool is there, it is for your convenience, and you may choose not to use it if you feel more comfortable standing. Some studios will give you the option of performing without having to wear headphones, but for most you will need to wear them to hear the director. Find out where the volume control is before you put on your headphones.
Make sure your cell phone is turned off, or better yet, leave it in the control room.
The microphone may have a
pop stopper
in front of it, or it may be covered with a foam
wind screen
. The purpose of both of these devices is two-fold: first, to minimize popping sounds caused by your breath hitting the microphone and second, to minimize condensation of breath moisture on the microphone’s diaphragm. Popping can be a problem with words containing plosives such as “P,” “B,” “K,” “Q,” and “T.” If the wind screen needs to be adjusted, let the engineer know. If the mic is properly positioned, the pop screen may not be needed.
When the engineer is ready to record, you will be asked for a
level
or to
read for levels
. He needs to set his audio controls for your voice. Consider this a rehearsal, so perform your lines exactly the way you intend to once recording begins. You may do several reads for levels, none of which will likely be recorded. However, the producer or engineer may give you some direction to get you on the right track once recording begins. Some engineers will record your rehearsals, which occasionally are the best takes.
The engineer will
slate
each take as you go. You will hear all direction and slates in your headphones. This is not the same as slating your name for an audition. The engineer may use an audio slate or identify the project or section you are working on, followed by “take 1,” “take 2,” and so on. Or he may simply use flag markers inserted into the digital project. Before or after an audio slate, you may receive some additional direction.
Do not begin reading until the engineer has finished his slate and all direction is finished. You will know when you can start by listening for the sound of the control room mic being turned off. If you speak too soon, your first few words might be unusable. Wait a second or two after the slate, get a good supporting breath of air, begin moving, then begin speaking.
As you are reading your lines, the engineer will be watching your levels and listening to the sound of your voice. He will also be keeping a log sheet and will time each take with a stopwatch. He may also be discussing your delivery or possible copy changes with the producer or client.
After each take, expect to receive some direction from the producer. Do not change your attitude or character, unless requested by the producer. Do not comment about things you feel you are doing wrong, or ask how you are doing. Let the producer guide you into the read he or she is after.
Marc Cashman (
www.cashmancommercials.com
) has compiled a list of common direction terms from some of the top voiceover resources available, including prior editions of this book. Here’s his list:
1
Accent it:
Emphasize or stress a syllable, word or phrase.
Add life to it:
Your reading is flat. One expert advises:
“Give it C.P.R.: Concentration, Punch, Revive it!”
Add some smile:
Simply put, smile when you’re reading. It makes you sound friendly and adds more energy to your read.
Be authoritative:
Make it sound like you know what you’re talking about. Be informative.
Be real:
Add sincerity to your read. Similar to
“make it conversational.”
Be genuine and true-to-life in your delivery.
Billboard it:
Emphasize a word or phrase, most always done with the name of the product or service.
Bring it up/down:
Increase or decrease the intensity or volume of your read. This may refer to a specific section or the overall script.
Button it:
Put an ad-lib at the end of a spot.
Color it:
Give a script various shades of meaning. Look at a script as a black and white outline of a picture that you have to color, with shading and texture.
Don’t sell me:
Throw out the “announcer” voice, relax; the read is sounding too hard-sell.
Fade in/fade out:
Turning your head toward or away from the microphone as you are speaking, or actually turning your entire body and walking away. This is done to simulate the “approach” or “exit” of the character in the spot.
False start:
You begin and make a mistake. You stop, the engineer refers to this as a
false start
and either goes over the first slate or begins a new slate.
Fix it in the mix:
What is done in postproduction, usually after the talent leaves. This involves fixing levels, editing mouth noises, etc.
Good read:
You’re getting closer to what they want, but it’s not there yet.
Hit the copy points:
Emphasize the product/service benefits more.
In the can:
All recorded takes. The engineer and producer refer to this as having accomplished all the takes they need to put the spot together.
In the clear:
Delivering your line without
stepping
on other actors’ lines.
In the pocket:
You’ve given the producer exactly what they want.
Intimate read:
Close in on the mic more, speak with more breath, and make believe you’re talking into someone’s ear.
Keep it fresh:
Giving the energy of your first take, even though you may be on your twentieth.
Let’s lay one down:
Let’s start recording.
Less sell/More sell:
De-emphasizing/stressing the client name/benefits.
Let’s do a take:
The recording of a piece of copy. Each take starts with #1 and ascends until the director has the one(s) they like. Also heard:
Let’s lay it/one down.
Let’s get a level:
The director or engineer is asking you to speak in the volume you’re going to use for the session. Take advantage of this time to rehearse the copy. Any shouts or yelling will require you to turn your head 45 Œ 90 degrees away from the mic. If the mic needs to be adjusted, the engineer will come into the booth. Do not move the mic unless instructed to do so.
Make it conversational:
Just like it sounds, make your read more natural. Throw out the “announcer” in your read, and take the “read” out of your delivery. If it sounds like you’re reading, you won’t be believable. Pretend you’re telling a story, talking to one person. Believe in what you’re saying.
Make it flow:
Also heard as:
Smooth it out.
Avoid choppy, staccato reads, unless the character calls for it.
More/less energy:
Add more or less excitement to your read. Use your body to either pump yourself up or calm yourself down. Check with the engineer (i.e., do a level) to make sure you are not too loud or soft.
Mouth noise:
The pops and clicks made by your mouth, tongue, teeth, saliva and more. Most mouth noises can be digitally excised, but make sure that you don’t have excess mouth noise, because too much is an editing nightmare and will affect your work. Water with lemon or pieces of green apple can help reduce or eliminate most mouth noise.
One more time for protection:
The director wants you to do exactly what you just did on the previous take. This is similar to “that was perfect, do it again.” This gives the director and engineer a bit more selections to play with, should they need them in post-production.
Over the top:
Pushing the character into caricature.
Pick it up:
Start at a specific place in the copy where you made a mistake, as in:
Pick it up from the top of paragraph two,
or
Let’s do a pick-up at the top of the second block.
Pick up your cue:
Come in faster on a particular line.
Pick up the pace:
Pace is the speed at which you read the copy. Read faster, but keep the same character and attitude.
Play with it:
Have fun with the copy, change your pace and delivery a bit, try different inflections.
Popping:
Noise resulting from hard consonants spoken into the mic. Plosives, which sound like short bursts from a gun, are most evident in consonants like B, K, P, Q and T.
Punch-in:
The process of recording your copy at an edit point in real time. In a punch-in, as opposed to a “pick-up,” the engineer will play back part of the copy you recorded and expect you to continue reading
your copy at a certain point. The director will give you explicit directions as to where in the script you will be “punched in,” and you will read along with your prerecorded track until your punch-in point. From there, you’ll continue recording at the same level and tone you originally laid down.
Read against the text:
Reading a line with an emotion opposite of what it would normally be read.
Romance it:
Also “Warm up the copy.” Make it more intimate.
Run it down:
Read the entire script for level, time, and one more rehearsal before you start recording.
Shave it by…:
Take a specific amount of time off your read. Also heard as “shave a hair.” If your read times out at :61, the director might ask you to “shave it by 1.5 seconds.”
Skoche more/less:
A little bit, just a touch more or less. This can refer to volume, emphasis, inflection, timing, attitude, etc.
Split the difference:
Do a take that’s “between” the last two you just did. For example, if your first take comes out at :58, and your second take comes out at :60, and the director asks you to “split the difference,” adjust your pacing so the third take should be in at :59. Or, if your first take is monotone-ish and your second one is very “smiley,” and the director asks you to “split the difference,” adjust your read so that the third take will be somewhat in-between the first two.
Stay in character:
Your performance is inconsistent. Whatever character and voice you commit to, you have to maintain from beginning to end, take after take after take. Focus. Be consistent with your character and voice.
Stepping on lines:
Starting your line before another actor finishes theirs. Sometimes the director wants actors to “overlap” their lines, or interrupt. Others want each line “in the clear,” where there is no overlapping or stepping.
Stretch it/Tighten it:
Make it longer/shorter.
Take a beat:
Pause for about a second. You may be asked to do this during a specific part of the script, like in-between paragraphs, or inside of a sentence or in a music bed. A good sense of comic timing is particularly helpful.
Take it from the top:
Recording from the beginning of a script.
That’s a buy/keeper:
The take that everyone loves—at least the director loves. If the client loves it, then it’s accepted.
That was perfect—do it again:
An inside joke, but a compliment. Usually the producer wants you to reprise your take “for safety” (i.e., to have another great alternate take).
This is a :15/:30/:60:
Refers to the exact length of the spot in seconds, also known as a read or take.
Three in a row:
Reading the same word, phrase, sentence or tag three times, with variations. Each read should have a slightly different approach, but all should be read in the same amount of time. The engineer will slate three in a row “a, b, and c.”
Throw it away:
Don’t put any emphasis or stress on a certain phrase, or possibly the whole script.
Too much air:
Noise resulting from soft consonants spoken into the mic. Most evident in consonants like F, G, H, and W, and word beginnings and endings like CH, PH, SH, and WH.
Under/over:
Less or more than the time amount needed. If you were
“under or over”
you need to either shorten or lengthen your delivery and
“bring it in”
to the exact time.
Warm it up a little:
Make your delivery more friendly and personal. Whatever makes you feel warm and fuzzy is the feeling you should inject into your delivery.
Woodshed:
To practice or rehearse a script, reading out loud. From the old days of theater where actors would rehearse in a wood shed before going on stage.
Wrap:
The end—as in “that’s a wrap!”
You will hear many other directions. Do your best to perform as the director requests. There is a reason why he or she is asking you to make adjustments, although that reason will sometimes not be clear to you.
One of my favorite directing stories is one that Harlan Hogan tells about a session he once voiced. He had just completed a delivery that the producer said was extremely good, but wasn’t quite where he wanted it. In the producer’s words, “…that last take was a bit burgundy, I’m looking for something a little more mauve.” With direction like that, what could Harlan do? So he delivered the script exactly the way he had just done, and the producer’s response was “…now that’s what I’m looking for!” Go figure.
Producers usually have an idea of what they want, and may or may not be receptive to your suggestions. Find out what the producer is looking for when you first read the script. Once in the studio, you should be pretty much on track for the entire session. If you get a great idea, or if it appears that the producer is having a hard time making a copy change, by all means speak up. You are part of a team, and part of your job is to help build an effective product. If your idea is not welcome, the producer will tell you.
Recording studio equipment sometimes has a mind of its own. There are times when the engineer may stop you in the middle of a take because of a technical problem, and you may have to wait awhile until it is corrected. Once corrected, you need to be ready to pick up where you left off, with the same character and delivery.
If you left your water in the control room, let the engineer know and it will be brought in for you. If you need to visit the restroom, let them know. If you need a pencil, let them know. If you need
anything
, let them know. Once your position is set in front of the microphone (on-mic), the engineer will prefer that you not leave the studio, or change your position. If your mic position changes, you can sound very different on different takes, which can be a performance continuity problem for the engineer if he needs to assemble several takes to build the final commercial. This can be a problem when doing long scripts or lots of takes. If you must move off-mic, try to keep your original mic position in mind when you return to the mic.
Be consistent throughout your session. Changes in dynamics may be useful for certain dramatic effects, but, generally, you will want to keep your voice at a constant volume or in a range consistent with your character. If your performance does call for sudden changes in volume, try to make sure they occur at the same place for each take. This becomes important later on, when the engineer edits different takes together. If your levels are erratic, the changes in volume may become noticeable in the final edit.
You know what the producer wants. You stay in character. Your timing and pacing are perfect. Your enunciation and inflection are on track. Your performance is wonderful. The producer is happy. The engineer is happy. And, most important, the client is happy. That’s it! You’re done, right?
Not quite.