In my quick daily perusal of the audiobook narration community chatrooms – there was an interesting question that whizzed by me this morning – I looked for it again just now, but it wasn’t coming up fast enough, so I’ve moved on…. symptomatic of life these days and it goes to the heart of the question I think I saw… Are you still having fun in voice narration?
I didn’t get into voice narration via the technical field – as did many highly reputable narrators: Karen Commins comes to mind. I came in through voice acting, essentially through the right brain stem… and according to Daniel Pink in A Whole New Mind, our time as right brainers (intuitive, conceptual, connecting people and ideas, creative and highly interpersonal) is coming…..just doesn’t feel like it’s here quite yet. Until then, we and our ilk have been on learning curves of various steepness in our dogged determination to learn audio production so that we can, yes, have fun narrating again. I’m at the mid-point in my 3 book audiobook producing commitment with ACX. And I find my challenge is to re-connect with the joy I had as a narrator; blissfully ignorant of mouth noise and breaths I have to edit, and what is that weird hum happening in the room? I find myself not re-living the author’s fabulous story, but having to listen as I read with 3 sets of ears: Narrative, of course, but also Directive (I could have done that better – I have to do that section over, I think I lost her accent!) and Productive: (That was a gasp not a breath! Did I just whistle my “th’s” again? What the….?!?) You get the idea. I take solace that I am having more fun now than when I began, but there is so much to think about and pay attention to the more I know about production, and I have to work hard to keep faith in my abilities. And to keep faith that on the other side of this steep hill I’m climbing….. this will get fun again.
I’m working with a client who has a great voice – you know – the kind of voice where everyone says “You have a great voice – you should record audio books!” He’s in the legal profession and yes – his voice has a natural – what used to be called a “radio-fry” quality to it. And so he started working with me because he likes to read out loud and he has a great voice.
Well OK. We started on fiction of course. That’s where many people who have been told they have a great voice want to start. But for most of his adult life, whenever he read fiction out loud, he was reading to his kids. So it didn’t matter if I asked him to read Dr. Seuss or Stephen King, his association with “Fiction as a Child’s Realm” was just really strong. The range of pitches would become extreme and forced, the rate of the narrative would slow down, and suddenly I was two years old and sucking my thumb.
We worked with an actor’s approach – Who/What/Where/When/Why are you telling this story? Sensory imagery: see/hear/taste/feel/smell the story. But no matter the choices he made in his head, the audience was still under 12. What to do?
We went on the ACX site and looked for a male, middle-aged adult, non-fiction audition. He chose a narrative set in the Civil War, and suddenly – maybe because the story is “real”, he could tell it with authority and expression. We worked to give the factual text a POV, some drama, an escalating sense of narrative action – and hey – he started to sound like a Narrator. Now, I know plenty of professional narrators who will not touch non-fiction material. The challenges of bringing it to life are just too daunting….all those pesky facts and dates and place names and God help us – scientific terms! The need that so many non-fiction authors have to cram their sentences full of historical research and scientific asides, which, for a narrator, can be tricky to voice and difficult to “breathe through”. I know from two non-fiction texts I voiced last year as a way to learn editing – that the experience was really a trial by fire. You can know that, at the end of it, you have survived, and learned much along the way. And if you have found the pace and flow of this narrative and managed to bring it to life… you have accomplished a great deal against significant odds.
All that said – I have a fondness for a true story. And apparently, among narrators, non-fiction has a reputation for being difficult to voice. A producer called me recently and asked if I would be interested in narrating a non-fiction book written by a particular politician campaigning for office. He asked primarily because he knew that I have a background in training and development, and maybe therefore, some “street cred” in the non-fiction realm.
It has a reputation as a different planet – nonfiction. But with many similar elements to the more imagined world of fiction: the energy and thrust of a story may be more of a challenge to find, but it is there – lurking under those pesky facts. My client and I worked on what facts to “throw away” – to de=emphasize in favor of the more active notes in a narrative. He’s progressing. So he may have a future in non-fiction narration once he retires from the legal profession….should he so choose.
What’s your preference – non-fiction or fiction? And why?
The last few weeks have been filled with all things Steve Jobs – and as it should be really – his were amazing contributions to our way of life – he was a true maverick and a catalyst for change on a major scale. One of the pieces that came out recently was by Carmine Gallo titled “Steve Jobs and the 7 Rules of Success”. I was struck by number 4: Say No to 1,000 things….especially in light of some recent things I have said Yes to this week.
“Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned to Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the “A-team” on each product. What are you saying “no” to?”
Well… When 4 out of 6 ACX auditions for stipended book projects came through with offers – I did say “no” to 1 of them. And “yes” to the remaining 3. I’m going to be a busy bee for the next few months – and that’s just fine by me. In addition, I will get at least $100 per recorded hour along with whatever Royalties may come through.
There is a lot of controversy about taking on Royalty share projects. The narrator takes on the bulk of the work at sizable risk. There is also the larger picture: it seems as though “A-team” narrators won’t touch these projects, hoping to force the industry to start coughing up real money for real quality. And that’s completely understandable. These narrators are saying “no” to their 1,000 things.
Personally however, I don’t know whether I can really consider myself “A-list” and not because I am not good enough as a narrator. I’ve won an Audie Award, I’ve had fabulous reviews and done my share of narrating, and I’m proud of my skills – and if voice acting were all that is currently required, I could sit out this phase in the industry too I suppose. But I truly want to perfect my technical expertise in audio production, as Malcolm Gladwell says – I also need to put in my 10,000 hours toward mastering my skills. And without opportunity for refining those aspects of my work, all I feel I am doing by saying “no” is posturing. I’m speaking only for myself here, of course.
I really want to work as a narrator and a producer. Consistently. For Good Money. And so do you. We all need to start the ball rolling someplace, to build our 10,000 hours, and I have chosen to start by saying Yes to 3, and No to 1. A step towards my thousand, and 3 more towards my 10 thousand. How far along are you?
Hey – couple of overdo updates: I’ve been doing some voice coaching with a client who is struggling with nasality and a pronounced pitch pattern, and I have discovered some interesting material on vocal pitch patterns. This is a special interest of mine – if you listen to any number of voiceover commercials - it’s pretty easy to discern a pitch pattern at play in the voice artist. If it’s consciously applied for a reason – great – but many pitch patterns are simply habitual, and if it is really pronounced – it can make the listener tune-out. So I’m reading a book SET YOUR VOICE FREE by Roger Love and in it he quotes an experiment a student of his did on vocal patterns. After listening to the pitch sequences of a random sampling of people, this guy could accurately guess which profession the person belonged to – simply by gauging the pitch range! He determined this by converting the speaking voice into actual notes on a scale – so bankers had a pitch variation of 1, (the distance of say, middle C to the next note – a D) while artists and singers had a span of notes that comprised a 5th or a 6th (from middle C to G or A). It’s an interesting concept to play around with – try an experiment next time you’re in a group of strangers and see how close you come to determining something about a person based entirely on their pitch range…..
On another note: Audible has created an audition service for those interested in producing and narrating audiobooks. It’s very comprehensive – authors, narrators and producers are encouraged to participate, and good news – it’s FREE! The idea is that those who really are determined and talented will rise to the top – and that’s obviously who they want to deal with – so Click Here to sign up !
It’s like anything else – isn’t it? A new skill, a different direction, following a dream….it takes time, focus and patience….and if you are at all like me – those things are usually in very short supply. But for some of us who have been juggling too many half done projects and/or other people’s priorities….like spouse, family, boss (fill in yours here_____), the approaching New Year is time to Put Up – as in put something out there – be it demo, audiobook, regular auditions – or Shut Up. as in go do something else that matters more.
So, I will assume that voiceover work is mattering more to you right now than other priorities – at least it’s in your top 3. I think “resolutions” have too many holes in them – I prefer the retro term – GOALS and here are mine for 2011:
Independently Produce/Voice 3 – 5 audiobooks: I am upgrading my studio and will be all set on the new software system by Jan. 1,2011.
Put in place a system for online auditioning: I either do a whole slew of these voice auditions sent by Voice 1-2-3, or I feel overwhelmed by amount of auditions I receive and pull the plug on all of them!
Start doing the audio for an established nationally syndicated magazine/news source. This one scares me a little and that’s usually a good thing….do any of your goals scare you a little?
Get 3 -5 ongoing Voice Coaching clients: That’s right, I’ll do for you what I would love to have someone do for me – support you in your voiceover career goals. I’m a good Voiceover class teacher, but I’m really good one on one. Make this the year you get going on that dream. Give yourself a New Year’s present of launching yourself out there and onto the voiceover map. See more about my classes and coaching options here under Something New…. And have yourself a magical holiday!
We love lists don’t we? I know I do. When I need to read something and I don’t have time to really absorb it – which is, truthfully, MOST of the time – I will read the article, blog post or book that gives me a nice – bulletized concise and easy to remember LIST.
But as a female voice talent, I can’t say I love to encounter them as part of voiceover copy. And I’m not alone. A client I was working with recently indicated they were having trouble directing VO talent on this very topic. Problems like: (see the LIST !)
So here’s a quick list of things to keep in mind when reading voiceover copy lists:
AND…if you encounter questions in the copy – like the ubiquitous symptom list that comes after “Are you experiencing….” in medical voice copy, please find at least some of these to REALLY ask, (pitch the ending up) as in NOT make rhetorical (pitching the ending down).
Try these tips and send me a “list” of how they worked for you!
A friend of mine who does lots of corporate reads had coffee with me the other day and we got into a discussion about differences between voice-overs and voice acting. This guy makes good money as a “Corporate Voice” so I tend to appreciate his expertise. But when he declared that there is “no acting” involved in what he does – I had to say “wait a minute”. Elements of voice acting – that is, emotional elements, are in any and all voice-overs – unless you want no response from the listener – in which case – why bother? His point was that corporate reads are informational only – he doesn’t think about trying to elicit anything at all from the listener – except that they walk away informed. This really rankled me – and he laughed at my rankled-ness (all the way to the bank apparently). But I couldn’t let go of the conversation. I am a female voice talent with experience in business and corporate voicing, an Audie award, and an ongoing voice contract with GMC for 10 of my 20 years in this business – and here my very successful friend is shaking my tree on whether one can do “voicing” – without “acting”. So I ran to my James Alburger “The Art of Voice Acting” Third Edition to grab some language… Here’s the distinction according to Alburger: A voice OVER has one or more of the following:
So…..why would an advertiser hire a voice like this? Good question. I don’t think my friend is giving himself enough credit for the acting he does do, but I digress. Let’s look at voice ACTING. According to Alburger, all of the following apply:
OK – so now the question is really one of whether the bullets under voice ACTING apply to Corporate voice-overs. He says, with some exceptions, that mostly they don’t. I say, with very few exceptions – that even if the “story” and the “helping” and “emotional” aspect of a corporate read is not apparent, if the copy has integrity – those elements are still there. Subtle perhaps, but present. Think of an effective corporate voice presentation or ad campaign – like the TV campaign for the oil industry that was running for months – you’ve seen it – the tall leggy blonde in the black suit – giving us a virtual tour of how great the industry is for our economy etc. The oil industry is trying to combat our emotional response to the BP oil disaster and offshore drilling (yuck! no more! We’re killing baby pelicans!) to one of (job) security and rationality (yeah wind and solar, but America runs on oil and we always will). And who didn’t want to be like her? Calm, knowledgable, in control (and rich, tall and blonde). I closed my eyes and listened to this ad – a voice of authority, very corporate, very informational on the surface – but you betcha she was trying to elicit an emotional response…all the way to the voting booth right now!
So I don’t think you sacrifice the voice of authority required in so many corporate reads with an emotional element – I think you reinforce it. And you connect with the listener on a level that’s deeper than content and intellect….and that’s the realm of voice ACTING. My friend and I are going to have coffee again next week – and this time I’m bringing Alburger!
I went on an adventure over the last few weeks – looking for a new mic compatible with my Pro-tools software update. As a female voice talent with home studio and in need of quality mic-ing for a variety of voice overs and voice projects, – It had been recommended to me to look at the KSM 32 but yikes! The price! So I had a friend (a very effective “hunter-gatherer re: discount shopper” type) scan e-bay for me and we did that dance for a few weeks with nada to show for it and then…..found one for a little over $300 used at Daddy’s Junky Music online. Now, I know that there are some tech snobs out there who turn up their noses and turn down their amps on “Used” but hey, these days I can’t stand paying full price for anything – I have to at least have the illusion of saving $$! The term “Junk” in the store name made me a little nervous, as the possibility of shelling out a chunk of cash for exactly that increases with “Used” as it is – but….my experience on the phone with Daddy’s guy Bob – was terrific. And even though I had to do the transaction literally walking downtown on a busy street juggling coffee, laptop etc. we got it all done – my shiny (used) mic and spiffy case arrived this morning with its 60 day gaurantee. I’ll know if I got my money’s worth once it gets set up. Tell me some stories about your adventures in used equipment….
Ok. It’s a journey. I should know by now that something seemingly simple like “identify the voice you make the most money with” may not in reality be that simple. Many of us “artists of the spoken word“- female voice talents in particular pride ourselves on being versatile, but – hey – in a global market versatility doesn’t make the money it used to – specialty does. Stop mucking around and get specific. So – I’ve gone through the campaigns I’ve made the most money with from a running contract with GMC to the increasing number of healthcare spots I get called to read for and I think I’ve got it – the warm authority female corporate voice. If you want to announce your new healthcare clinic, expertise alone will not bring them in your door – but the sound of genuine warmth and experience will. I’ll find out if this works soon enough in the SEO class I am taking with Jenn Jaroszuk and Katrina Crowell – excellent by the way – but three sessions is NOT long enough! And I want to mention my recent subversive voice acting activities….what does Biddeford Municipal Airport and Chris Newcomb’s basement have in common? They were only two of the sound locations used in taping The Cleansed – the latest audiodrama written, produced and directed by the amazing Fred Greenhalgh of FinalRune Productions- profiled earlier this year in the Wall Street Journal. I was voicing an American military officer in an intriguing stateside emergency. It’s fun to voice someone 6 feet tall and 160 pounds at my 5’3″ frame – talk about a female voice of authority!
I can’t let it alone – maybe I’m one of those people who needs categories to make sense of the chaos – but I think the new Money Voices are open for invention…. Based on marketing trends and evolving demographics – I’d like to propose the following MoneyVoice designations – see if you might be one and then add some of your own….
The Middle-Age Meds voice: A hybrid built with 2 parts warm sincerity and 1 part corporate authority – with a dash of cynicism depending on the product….
Mr/Mrs/Ms Small-Biz Owner: This one combines energy, sincerity, and practicality and comes in lots of regional multi-age flavors: southern fried, mid-west nice and urban edgy….
Mr/Mrs/Ms New Parent: Another hybrid combining energy, sincerity and practicality with that sleep deprived – edge-of-hysteria-but-it’s-all-worth it sound that only real parents can truly know…
True Believer: This one combines Announcer authority with Born Again commitment – He/She has found The Answer in this product and because you are a very dear friend/relative/[potential consumer – you are the lucky recipient of the Message….
First Class: She/He has arrived….usually in some marvelous destination – You know the sound – Money, Authority, and Ease… It’s the voice of luxury, travel and expensive tastes – Dulcet Tones, Slower cadences, NEVER stressed – perhaps slightly southern or British Isles…you know you want to sound like this, to LIVE like this….so buy the car/fur/travel package already…
Oh that was fun. Now you have some and make up some of your own!
On another note:
I want to thank Bill Steele and Fred Greenhalgh for their contributions to the Audio class last night. Great information and experience and lots more questions to dive into. Fred’s serial audiodrama “The Troll of Stonybrook” may be the best five minutes a week you can spend – we are on Episode 4 now, so catch up and then stay tuned!
Happy Listening! KD
