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Voice Over on the Road

April 19, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

So You’re Leaving the Booth

It happens, even in the time of covid, we leave our studios. As a professional voice talent, we have work we can predict, and the joy of work we cannot predict, that comes in at a moment’s notice and can have a pretty tight turn around time. As a working mom, whether I’m home or traveling I’m always juggling my responsibilities as a small business owner and my role of a mom, this year more than ever. This year, my high school juniors are looking at colleges. And as if looking at colleges for twins is not challenging enough, their interests do not overlap at all. Emma is targeting schools with Speech programs and STEM programs. Jack is looking for International Relations and Russian. So, we are doing two completely different college searches at once. What does this mean for me as a voice actor? It means I’m leaving the booth for the first time in a year and I need to be prepared. Voice over work should never prevent travel, it just means you need the right set up for your voice over travel rig and to take the necessary steps when planning.

What’s in The Travel Rig

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent Rush Jobs Pc ImgThe point of the travel rig is to sound like you sound in your home studio when you are on the road so that you can provide clients with a continuity of service. I have tweaked my rig quite a few times over the years, and finally invested in a quality set up that I am pleased with. I now bring:

  • A VoMo booth to go
  • A Sennheiser MKE 660 microphone
  • Sennheiser headphones
  • An AUD Appollo MK II Preamp
  • A MacBook Air with Twisted Wave

The reason this set up works, is that an  effects stack works was created that gives the same sound to the finished audio of that recorded in my booth. It is quite remarkable.

If you are still in the pillow fort phase, here is a video that might be helpful from when I was using pillow forts as well:

https://youtu.be/b2kGnHYRA_o

To Bring Or Not To Bring

Now that I have this amazing set up, does this mean that I never take off or that I bring the travel rig everywhere? No. For instance, this weekend I am away Friday night through Sunday. I left the rig at home. I did have one booking come in from an international client. I asked if they could please wait until Monday and that worked out, but if not I was willing to let the gig go. Sometimes you just need a break. Typically, I evaluate what I’ll be doing, how much free time I’ll have, and how much I typically earn that time of year. For example, the last four years in a row July has been my highest earning month of the year. If I go anywhere in July, the travel rig is coming with me. June, in contrast is a slower month. It might be safer to travel without it or to plan travel for that month. Tracking your trends in a CRM can be helpful for you to make such calls. Ultimately, we are all entitled to a break, but you have to weigh how disruptive it will be to your long term success. If your client hires another talents, and then that talents gets then ongoing work instead of you, can you live with that?

Professional Procedures to Take

Ultimately the point of the travel rig is to serve your clients well. If you know travel is coming up, and you are starting a project that might have pickups or script changes you should let the client know. You might also discuss with them the option of recording on your travel rig from home so that the audio matches. If you will have limits to your availability while on the road, it is great to give your regular clients a heads up. If they are used to a speedy turn around and you will have a delay, they’ll appreciate the notice. If you send out a newsletter, the newsletter is a great place to let clients know when you’ll be out of the studio. If you are on regular rosters that send you work, they appreciate the advance notice as well. Typically two weeks notice before travel is  standard, and that way clients have the chance to decide of they want to work around your dates and you can decide whether or not you need your rig!

Last Thoughts

Ultimately, there are a lot of ways to get great sound on the road, from pillow forts made out of comforters to tiny mics that plug into your phone. It makes sense to decide what your goals are: ranging from auditions to booked work to pickups, and then determine what gear best meets your needs.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Studio/booth, Voiceover Tagged With: booth, college visits. professional voice talent, gear, good service, headphones, MacBook Air, mic, microphone, mics, preamp, quality audio, response time, RUSH Jobs, sennheiser 416, sennheiser MKE 660, set up, studio, travel, travel rig, VO, voice actor, voice over, voiceover, working mom

VO Workflow Tips From a Pro!

April 11, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

As a working mom, there are only so many hours in a day. In order to maximize my time, whether I’m in the studio recording or in my office space doing client out reach and marketing, efficiency matters. Over my years as a voice over professional, I can tell you that these tips have made a difference for me in terms of my work flow. While every voice actor has to find their own flow, my hope is that some of this helps you too:

1. Choose the DAW the Works for You

Signal FlowDepending on which voice actor you ask, you’ll get a different answer to the questions “What’s the best DAW for VO?” I have used Audacity, Adobe Audition, and Twisted Wave. I may be proficient in all of them, but I LOVE Twisted Wave. To be clear this does not mean that other DAWs, from Reeper to Pro Tools don’t have immense value, but for me, I am quick and good on Twisted Wave. It serves my purposes well. And when I have a client who needs total production with music, I hire a professional engineer to mix it down anyway, so I really can do all that I need to do on Twisted Wave. Some of my favorite features are the shortcuts, multiple effects stacks, and ease of file splitting.

2. Put Phone in Airplane Mode

Airplane modeWhen I am in my booth, I turn my iPhone and Apple Watch to airplane mode. I do this because when I develop a good flow, I do not want the phone ringing to interrupt me. I do offer one word of caution: if you are doing a live session and you coincidentally cannot connect with your client, and have all your devices in airplane mode, it can be quite frustrating if they are unable to reach you. So, while you may not want your phone in the studio for a directed session, perhaps before you silence everything you should make certain that you connect.

3. Do All Recording Then All Editing at Once

This is a wonderful tip that I got from he amazing Kim Handysides. Before I learned this, I used to record an audition, edit an audition, and submit an audition. Upon Kim’s suggestion, I started recording my auditions the same way I record and edit eLearning. I record all of the auditions I’m doing in a given block of time. I drop markers in them, edit them en masse, split the files, and then submit. It really does go much faster this way. If you have shortcuts in your computer for things like your name and your email, then naming your files will go even faster. If you do not know how to use markers and split files, learn today, it will change your life.

https://youtu.be/kI8lIKLN0Sg

4. Plan Your Week With Your Goals in Mind

Weekly Planner SampleLike many in voiceover, I am constantly revising my business plan, shifting my focus from commercials to explainers to elearning to targeting specific industries. As I revise my plan, my goals change. While I have a planner or agenda that I love, I find that mapping out my strategy for the week helps me to keep my mind on the big picture. As auditions and work pours in, it’s easy to get caught up in the little things and push off the tasks that we think can wait, but in doing so, in pushing off those marketing emails and that LinkedIn outreach, we are pushing off the pursuit of our longterm goals. It is so important to always have an eye on your “why.” If you lose site of that, and you are just buys submitting audition after audition, you can easily get stuck in a rut.

5. Arrange Your Equipment for Efficiency

  • Laura Schreiber' Studio is Arranged for EfficiencyIf your fan makes noise,  only have a monitor in the booth, and put your computer outside the booth. After years of running to get ice packs, I got out my drill, made a hole in the wall to the desk, and hooked up a monitor. This has saved me so much time over the years.
  • You may a need dedicated printer for your booth, so that you are not constantly running to other parts of your house when you need to print work related items.
  • I have two pairs of cans, in and out of booth, so that I can edit or direct where I’d like.
  • Place hooks in thoughtful places. I have a hook for my cans on the wall which has been the biggest life saver. I also have a hook under my desk for cables. This has been useful as well.
  • Shelving can be quite strategic. I built a custom shelf for my preamp. It is perfect.

The point is that my equipment is arranged in a way that supports my work flow. From the angle of the monitor to the placement of the electrical outlets, it has all been done with efficiency in mind. It all matters.

After years in the business, I can say that I am constantly learning from my peers and improving my set up and choices. Be willing to try new things, you might be shocked at how it revolutionizes your work day!

Filed Under: Voiceover Tagged With: air plane mode, audio, booth, cans, DAW, editing, editing audio, effect stacks, efficiency, file splitting, goals, headphones, markers, monitors, phone, printers, recording, studio, studio equipment, tips, twisted Wave, voice actor, voice over, voice talent, voiceover, working mom

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