Sound Advice (ePub)

I have been an audio engineer since 1994. I started in live sound, working in clubs with bands and musicians. Simultaneously, I got engineering jobs in radio and in a recording studio. After a few years I discovered the world of voiceover and realized it complemented some of my other strengths, having been a journalism major (essential to copy editing) as well as a bartender and hospitality major (essential to providing great customer service). I've been working as a voiceover talent since 2005 with a continuously growing list of clients and several respectable radio and television campaigns to my credit.

My goal in writing this book is to help you become a better voiceover talent, by learning how to be one of the engineer's favorite talents -the talent who: has a great sound, great technique, requires minimal editing, and has a great attitude. Even though engineers will be critical to your career, another goal is to help you engineer yourself as your responsibilities expand. As the voiceover industry rapidly changes, more and more voiceover talent are being expected to do their own production work, including their own recording, editing and some mixing. This is especially true for auditions. Those who can skillfully perform these engineering functions will be more valuable to those needing their productions quickly and more cost effectively. Being able to provide these services also allows you to generate additional income by using your studio for more than just your voice.

Lastly, I hope to inspire you to think more about how you actually sound, not just how well you deliver the words. Communicating is a voiceover talent's primary job and your delivery of the words is important. But by using your ears even more than your mouth, you will find that the delivery becomes easier, the message comes through better, communicating becomes more effective and your number of clients and paychecks will continue to grow.