So, the other week I got an email through the website asking about my voiceover studio – it was from a new voice who wanted to know more about the set-up. I started the reply, but time got the better of me, so here I am to continue it.
In the first part of this, I mentioned microphones – quite a big part of being a voiceover, really! 😉 In this part, I’ll cover the rest.
You can spend thousands on gear for your voice over studio, get all the latest equipment, all singing and dancing….and a few months later, its all out of date. Technology moves at such a fast pace. My actual voiceover booth is minimalistic – microphone, microphone stand, iPad, headphones, sound proofing, stool – thats it. No need for anything else, it clutters up the space and, depending on size, can play havoc with acoustics. Incase you’re wondering, I use the iPad for the voice over scripts, doing my bit to save the trees.
Outside of the voiceover booth, I have another studio, where all the editing gets done and the computer sits. For actual editing of the audio, I use a MAC with a mix of pro-tools and Adobe Audition. Most other voiceover artists Ive spoken to, tend to have one or the other, I grew up using Audition(or Cool Edit) as it was back then, I know it like the back of my hand, however Pro-Tools offers so many more features that Id be stupid not to get it and know how it works – the benefits of it are amazing and I just can’t draw myself to get rid of Audition.
I also have an ISDN and phone patch. I can dial other studios, using the ISDN, and do a voice over session as if I’m actually there – its like a phone line but just crystal clear and better quality. I use the phone patch for clients who’d like to listen into the voiceover session via phone, a feed from the mixing desk goes to the phone line, so they hear the final mix and they can also talk to me whilst I’m in the studio, without it interfering with the recording.
Final part of my studio is the sound proofing, Ive double sound proofed the studio, nothing gets in, nothing gets out! First of all theres sound proofing panels directly on the walls and door, then on top of that are acoustic foam panels. The foam panels would’ve been fine, but I like to be thorough!
As ever, if you’ve got any questions or need a voiceover, get in touch here. You can hear recent voice over samples here.
Neil
