A voice artist buddy of mine, Kris Daniels, recently documented the ups and downs of improving studio acoustics whilst building a voice booth (read about it here) which reminded me of a recent solution from Harlan Hogan for those who have a less than ideal room to record in. It's a booth-in-a-box which can transfer a hollow sounding hotel room, bathroom etc into a studio without having to deploy power tools or a hammer.
Here's a little voice over related seasonal fun. I wonder how many of my voice over buddies will be too busy trying to identify the gear in the studio ?
Time to take a seasonal nostalgic trip to the 70s with this short clip from British TV. If you received a gift of aftershave in the 70s, it was usually Brut 33, Hi Karate, or Denim. The Denim commercials stay in my memory as they followed the same theme, quite risque for the era ie:- hairy chested, medallion wearing guy would have his denim shirt slowly unbuttoned whilst the coolest sounding baritone voice would deliver the tag... Denim, for men who don't have to try too hard ! I doubt you would get away with such a campaign these days.
The voice belonged to Bill Mitchell, a Canadian born voice artist and actor who would hop from session to session in the studios around Soho in London. Movie trailers, national ad campaigns and radio liners, Bill could rattle them off in no time. He also had a dry sense of humour, hitting the UK charts with a parody of the Telly Savalas song If in 1975 under the pseudonym Yin and Yan. Bill passed away ten years ago. Hear more of his work here, you'll love it.
Search for books on voice over and you'll find plenty to choose from. Quality and relevance vary from book to book, but one of the best ones I have discovered over the last couple of years is Joan Baker's Secrets Of Voice Over Success. Rather than a technical manual or a step by step how to do book, Joan approaches the subject in a simple but effective way. She collars America's top voice artists and lets them speak for themselves. The result is an interesting formula with the likes of Don La Fontaine, Joe Cipriano, Dave Fennoy and many others revealing how they got their start, their methods and tips for people new to the industry. Don La Fontaine and Jo Cipriano appeared on the Paul Harris show to publicise the book, the proceeds of which go to an Alzheimer's charity, giving a lively, interesting and amusing insight into their work. Here the interview here.
Ah ha ! Caught you ! Did you think it was that simple ? Opinions amongst VO and production people about the best mics are like.... er well, you know the phrase that ends in everybody has one ! So I'm not going to express an opinion either way. One thing I have found in my short time in this business is what sounds great on one voice sounds not so great on another.
Then there's mic snobbery balanced against mic envy. The guy/gal with the most expensive mic will always hear But it's not what you have, it's how you use it ! So if you're in the process of setting up your home studio and you've heard all the blurb from folks saying X mic is better than Y mic, you may be interested in the following blindfold mic test from Transcom. Try it out - no cheating now ! You might also want to read the opinions of a radio/production guru over at the Audiomasters Forum.
My own mic ? I like my Rode NT1A(pictured), but only because it suits me. Other products are available...as they say !
I was recently asked to provide the voice for a demo TV commercial. Whilst a very enjoyable project to work on, unfortunately I wasn't invited to the pristine orchards of Greece to carry out any research :)
Thanks go out to Jef Bray who holds the copyright for the attached.
Sunderedis a new science fiction novel with a difference - it's a podcast novel penned by gifted author Raphael Tehan, who chose me to voice the introductory trailer and a number of elements.
Sundered is due for for release this month and has already generated excitement amongst podcast and SF buffs.
Blue Orange Consulting provide a wide range of E Learning services and recently produced the following promo for their Camtasia Studio promo using my voice.
First of all, welcome to the Blog. I'm Alan Bainbridge, a voice over artist based in North Yorkshire, England. You can find out more about me by checking the profile. Better still, visit my website, The Vox Junction, to listen to my demos and find out more about my services.
I intend to use this blog to showcase examples of my latest work and generally update anyone who may be interested with latest news about Vox Junction.
