- Voiceovers for YouTube Videos Tips & Tricks

We had a large crowd at the Vidsummit 2014 conference on video marketing and video advertising. I was surprised and happy that everyone wanted to know how to get better audio, so here are a few of those pointers. Buy a better mic! A $30 mic isn't going to sound as good as a $150-$200 mic. There are many great USB mice in that range. Stay 8" to 10" from the mic. Most people are too far away and it makes it sound hollow. If you done have acoustical egg crate foam, buy some and stick it up where you record. Make sure the mice is sitting on foam or at least a towel, not a hard surface. Buy a noise reduction filter from WAVES NS1 is amazing. Warm up your voice before you record so the voice is open and naturally warm sounding:)

- Microphone Techniques - Finding the Sweet Spots for Your Voice, with Your Mic

It's not just about setting up your session, hitting record and the laying down some voiceover tracks.
Whichever mic you use, try recording at different distances and at slightly different volumes with your voice. Do many different takes where you speak louder and then slightly softer, while you vary the distance. Take a good tour to keep refining which sounds you like better. The interaction between the electronics in a mic and a specific voice involve many variables, so you have to experiment to discover the many different sweet spots for the various tones of voice you might want to use. When you speak softer and closer to the mic it's obviously more intimate AND there is more saturation in the sound that is recorded. Speaking softer and then using more "Head Room" in your spoken tone will give yet again a different effect. The important thing is to become very familiar with your own recording set up and how to best present the sonic identity of your voice based on each job.

- How to Record at home when you have no space or budget for a VO Booth

I get a lot of questions from VO artists about how to record at home when there is no space for a recording booth and no budget for setting up even a small portable unit. The solution that works surprisingly well is hiding in your clothes closet. Part your clothes in the middle and stick a small bar stool in there.  Cover it with a very heavy blanket then set your mic on it with a table mic stand and pop screen. Your clothing will deaden most of the ambient room noise and you can use the Waves Filter NS1 to take out the rest of the "room noise". The newest and best noise reduction in my opinion is now made by Izotope RX4. Pick what's best for you:)

- Learning To Work The Mic

It's important to stay 8" to 10" from the microphone (depending on what you're recording of course). When your recording something that gets loud it's important to back off a bit or turn a little to the side.
Aside from that common sense, there is a great opportunity to have greater "saturation" when you're saying something that is more thoughtful by moving in much closer and speaking more softly.
This gives an intimacy to the sound of a persons voice and is a very persuasive sound. Learning to "Work the Mic" can bring a much richer harmonic landscape to your recordings that is much more personal that just reading well at a good recording level.

Speed Drills To Improve Articulation

We have been working in class at speed reading for the mouse print. Whether you can speak quickly or not, trying to go as fast as you can helps you improve the clarity and efficiency of your speech. When you return to normal reading speeds the phrases are more spontaneous and idea driven. It's also a great way to feel how the ideas ought to be grouped. The energy in consonants and vowels is always even in your "Day Voice". When you try and speak quickly it helps even out the energy distribution so you will sound more natural when you return to a normal pace.

Character Voices Must Not Obscure What You're Saying

Last night in class two people were doing some amazing character voices but it was hard to tell what they were saying. Sometimes we get so caught up in the character voice that we forget that the words and ideas are still the most important thing. We have to make sure we are easily understood. Everything has to be idea driven and clear or we are making our very cool character voice the most important thing instead of what the character is saying.

VoiceOver Recording Tips

A number of people have been asking why their recordings sound hollow. There seems to be an invasion of hollow recordings.

The general problem is that people are standing way too far from the microphone.
There is much better saturation if you stay about 8 to 10 inches from the mic.
This will give you a nice firm clean recording signal with much less room noise.

VoiceOver Success by Yourself

The most important element for voiceover career success is persistence. If you never take a voiceover lesson from anyone and record and playback your readings, you will be amazed at how much you will learn. Keep refining your reads until they sound natural and convincing to you.