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10 Things Every Home Studio MUST Have to Create High-Quality Voice Over Audio

September 23, 2020 by Debbie Grattan

Even with the best voice, the best script and the best editing and direction, your voice over project is not likely to make the cut without one other key ingredient: a well-equipped home studio that can produce quality voice over audio. The overall quality of your recordings is only going to be as good as the methods and equipment you use to capture and control the sound.

With more than 25 years in the voice over industry, I’ve landed on the essential components that I need in order to create the high-quality voice over audio my clients expect. Here are the top 10 things every home studio must have to do the same.

1. High-Quality Microphone

The higher the quality of your microphone, the better the quality of your recordings.

If you’re serious about a professional voice over career, the microphone is one place you don’t want to skimp. At all. Sure, there are dozens of microphones available in the lower price range – but investing in a really good mic is one investment you will never regret.

The microphone is the main tool you use to capture your voice. The better it sounds, the better you’ll sound.

My years of experience have made me a big fan of Neumann microphones. My current model is the Neumann TLM 102 Microphone. This particular mic is rather small and compact, yet its sound quality and versatility are amazing.

When I upgraded to this mic several years ago, I sound-tested four other very high quality microphones along with this one in my studio. I believe the TLM 102 was actually the lowest priced of all of the mics tested, yet when comparing the sound of my voice on all five mics, it was clear that this was the right mic for me. Someone with a different tone or register might have chosen a different option. So, the best mic for you may not be the most expensive mic that you can find. You should find the best quality mic that is a good fit for your voice but at the most reasonable price point.

My favorite features of the mic include:

Compact size: Doesn’t get in the way of viewing my scripts or screens
TLM technology: TLM stands for “transformerless.” That means the typical output transformer you find in microphones is replaced by an electronic circuit, which results in low noise and high clarity.
Built-in boost: There’s a vocal quality known as “sweetness,” which makes vocals really stand out. This mic has the capacity to enhance that quality, adding smoothness and dimension to vocal recordings.

2. Microphone Accessories

Microphone accessories, like a microphone stand, shock mount and pop filter, can help enhance the sound quality even further.

The exceptional sound of a quality microphone can easily be ruined with excessive noise from other sources. These can include handling, mechanical interference and popping sounds made from fast-moving air when you’re speaking or singing. Three accessories can help decrease the chances of all of the above.

Microphone stand: This keeps the mic steady and stable while freeing up your hands for other things. I actually have my stand mounted to the wall on a versatile boom arm. It is important that the mic stand be free standing and NOT attached to your desk to avoid extraneous noise and vibration. Even a floor stand can pick up vibration.
Shock mount: This piece of equipment supports your mic. It’s designed to reduce noise caused by mechanical vibrations and handling.
Pop screen: Noise protection that reduces or altogether eliminates popping sounds in vocal recordings. I definitely prefer the metal screen vs. the fabric screen.

Another perk of high-quality microphones is often finding some of these features already included. For instance, the Rode microphone I use as a backup/travel mic has a built-in pop screen. My TLM102 came with two types of shock mounts and I tend to prefer the elastic suspension style.

3. Audio Software, Quality Computer

Also known as a digital audio workstation (DAW), audio software is what you use to record and edit.

Recording and editing software is a must, as is a quality computer that’s compatible with the DAW you choose. Slow or outdated computers can really kill your efficiency and productivity.

My DAW of choice is Adobe Audition Audio Software. It has tons of useful features that let me easily edit, clean up and enhance my recordings. It also has capabilities for restoring damaged recordings, adding music to fit an exact duration of time, and expertly exporting recordings.

I originally used Sony Sound Forge which worked great for many years… Until Sony sold it to another company who completely failed on many levels. I was forced to change software programs a few years back, and it was kind of a painful transition. But, the way I do things now is much more speedy and efficient for editing.

4. Mic Preamp, Processor

A mic preamp amplifies the microphone signal, while a processor provides additional power to the preamp. They’re often combined in a single unit.

For best results with your recordings, both a mic preamp and processor are essential for your home studio. Most microphones have very low outputs, and a preamp ensures the output is boosted to a usable level. While most audio interfaces and mixers have built-in preamps, they may not be powerful enough to achieve the most professional results.

You can find the mic preamp and processor combined into a single unit, which is the case with my Harman DBX 286s Mic Preamp/Processor. This piece of equipment is a full channel strip processor with a quality preamplifier and four different processors. Each processor brings a different benefit to the sound quality. The four processors can be used independently or in any combination with the others.

Be aware that sometimes producers and engineers prefer that you NOT use any processor on your recording. I now use just a touch of processing on most recordings, but for many years I recorded very raw audio and let the producer tweak it to whatever degree they needed. You have to be careful with processors and not overdo it.

5. Mixer

Mixers are used in home recording studios to combine and process audio signals, and then route them where they need to go.

In addition to letting you combine and route audio signals in a convenient way, the best mixers even let you change the dynamics of the sound. While it’s true many DAWs and other software programs have audio mixing capabilities, some voice over artists prefer the real knobs, buttons and faders you find on the hardware mixers.

I am one of those artists. I use the Mackie Onyx 820i Pro Mixer. This compact mixer allows me to quickly and intuitively adjust audio levels and other attributes to produce the exact sound I’m going for. It’s also one of my favorite pieces of home studio equipment. They don’t make them anymore, but a couple years back I bought a second Mackie Onyx, just to have as a backup.

6. ISDN Voice Over Equipment

Officially known as Integrated Services Digital Network, ISDN enables recording studios to connect with voice over talent working remotely in their home studios.

In the old days, you used to have to show up in person to record with a client in a professional recording studio. Today, all you need is a connecting platform to connect your DAW/computer to the recording studio. ISDN was the original in this regard. ISDN has been around since the mid-1980s, and although there are now several competing platforms (Source Connect, ipDTL and even Skype) it remains to go-to standard for remote recording sessions for most recording studios and many voice over actors across the world.

CAVEAT: Be aware that ISDN is a soon-to-be-extinct dinosaur (although how soon nobody knows) so if you are a new voice talent, you probably won’t want to invest in ISDN and instead use something like Source Connect. That being said, I still prefer ISDN sessions over all other options.

The quality of the audio is so good on ISDN, you feel like you’re standing in your client’s recording booth, wherever that may be. It’s also good enough to capture the recording on the client’s end, which means you don’t have to record, edit and upload the files yourself. All is recorded in real time as if you were actually in their studio.

I’ve been using ISDN for twenty years, and my ISDN voice over equipment of choice is Musicam Suprima LC and Telos Zephyr.

There are other good less expensive alternatives to ISDN, my preference being Source Connect. Most VO talent and production companies are moving away more and more from ISDN, mostly because of telephone company costs involved and the fact that phone companies are phasing out this service over time.

7. Studio Headphones

Studio headphones are a lot different than your standard headphones. Those differences are what make them essential for home recording studios.

Even the highest-quality pair of standard headphones isn’t going to be useful for recording. They simply aren’t designed for the job. Studio headphones are. Being designed for the job means:

Providing accurate sound. Studio headphones give you the authentic sound of your audio, whereas standard headphones tend to automatically modify the audio in some way to make it sound more appealing. While you may want your music to sound better when you listen to it, you don’t want your voice to be enhanced in any way. You want to know exactly how it sounds as you’re recording it.
Having a wider frequency range. Standard headphones typically can’t detect background noises or other distortions that occur at extremely high or low frequencies. Studio headphones can. This allows you to remove the distortions as needed.
Being higher quality. Studio headphones tend to have superior construction. This makes them more comfortable, durable and longer-lasting.

8. Studio Monitors

You need at least one computer monitor to use your audio software, and adding a second one comes with many additional benefits.

I lived with a single computer monitor for years, as that’s technically all you need to access your DAW. The monitor can display your audio software controls, allowing you to use your keyboard and mouse to control your recording sessions in real time.

When we installed a new voice over recording system, I had a second studio monitor installed. Wow. It makes a huge difference in my productivity. The second monitor gives me access to everything else during a recording session. This includes emails, computer files, scratch videos the client sent via Hightail or DropBox, videos or online information, and even Skype.

My full setup has two monitors in both my office and my recording studio (four total). It took some design and detailed understanding of how to get this all setup. Fortunately, I have a husband who has knowledge in these areas and was able to consult with the right people to figure out what we needed.

9. Sound Card or Audio Interface

A critical part of your sound chain setup, sound cards and audio interfaces allow you to get the sound into and out of your computer.

Many professional voice over actors still like to use a sound card, as it can greatly affect the recording quality of your microphone. I use the Echo MiaMIDI computer sound card, which was easy to set up, easy to use, and helps with my audio editing when I’m using Adobe Audition.

However, going with the common theme here of things no longer being available, you can’t find this sound card anymore. I hear more and more that the audio interfaces are more common and preferred these days, so I suggest you do research on those for this aspect of your recording setup.

10. Soundproof Treatment

Soundproofing enhances the quality of your recordings by keeping unwanted noise out of your studio.

Whether it’s a truck going by outside or footsteps in the next room, external noises can be picked up by high-quality microphones. While you can get rid of some unwanted noise during the editing process, it’s not always possible to get rid of all of it. Besides, it’s preferable to spend the time and effort during editing working to improve the overall recording, not fix things that are wrong with it.

There are dozens of different soundproofing options, from professional installation to DIY varieties.

Watch out for tricky things like the sound of water running through pipes in the walls, air conditioning or furnace noise and, of course, the dreaded lawn equipment noise. One of the most important decisions is which room to convert into your studio. We had to move from a room located in the front of the house to a walk-in closet on the backside of our house, just to avoid the neighbors’ lawn equipment.

You can enhance the quality of sound in your studio even further by combining soundproofing with an acoustic treatment. Acoustic treatments are designed to absorb excessive ambiance to make the acoustics in the room sound better.

And, while most people pay attention to the walls and ceiling, it’s easy to forget about sound-proofing the floor. A thick pad can do wonders for knocking out low frequency vibrations.

In Conclusion…

With these 10 components in place, your home studio will be equipped to produce high-quality voice over recordings indicative of true professional. You’ll also enjoy a setup that lets you perform your work in the most efficient and effective way. Doing your research and investing in quality equipment is definitely worth the time and effort, as it will provide you with everything you need to produce exceptional recordings for years to come.

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Obstacles that Can Get in the Way of Following Your Dreams

July 26, 2020 by Debbie Grattan

Following your dreams takes a lot of faith and courage. But it also requires persistence – the ability to keep on keeping on regardless of the obstacles that may crop up. And there can be many. While you may think obstacles only come from outside forces, the opposite is also true. In fact, the greatest obstacles tend to be those we create for ourselves.

Be sure to also check out part one of this two part series on Following Your Dreams.

Self-Doubt

Even the most successful and seemingly confident people have experienced self-doubt at some time in their lives. It’s a perfectly normal human trait. Those who have followed their dreams to success are the ones who have overcome it. Overcoming self-doubt involves nipping it in the bud. Realize when it’s plaguing you and then make a conscious effort to change your mindset.

Tips to help you conquer self-doubt include:

Surrounding yourself with positive, successful people
Paying attention to the positive feedback you get, not negative comments
Not worrying what other people think. Base your decisions on what you think is right, not what you think other people think is right.
Not comparing yourself to others. You don’t do yourself any favors by gauging your success as it compares to the success of others.
Set a series of smaller goals, in addition to your big goal, so you’re consistently achieving a series of wins.

Frustration, Giving Up Too Early

No one said following your dream would be easy, or that attaining it would be instantaneous. It can take incredibly hard, incredibly tenacious work to make it happen. You have to be in it for the long haul, no matter what. If you give up too early or too easily, it’s not going to happen.

When Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was trying to raise money from investors to make his coffee shop dreams come true, he hit a major brick wall… More than 200 of them, in fact. He spoke to 242 potential investors during the year he was trying to raise money – and 217 of them said no.

Colonial Sanders is another great example of persistence. He was 65 years old when the restaurant he owned failed and he went to plan B. His plan was to share his special chicken recipe with restaurants for free, in exchange for the restaurants giving him a percentage of the chicken sale profits. He got 1,009 rejections before someone agreed to his plan.

Those are two great examples to keep in mind when you feel frustrated and feel like giving up. Remember their stories, along with the old sales adage that says you’re going to get 20 “No’s” before you get a “Yes.”

Not Pushing Hard Enough

Not only are rejections par for the course, but they can also be an indication that you’re on the right track. If you go out of your way to only get a yes and avoid a no, you’re probably not pushing hard enough, according to author Andrea Waltz. She says this type of behavior “leads to a mediocre life where you’re always in your comfort zone.”

The success of your dreams is not where you are in your comfort zone, but above it. You have to grow and meet it if you want it. A few ways to push harder include:

Imagining yourself getting to your next level. Focus on what that next level is, and what you need to do get there.
Taking on a little bit more than you think you can. Challenge yourself to bigger and better things all the time.
Looking at how other people got where you want to be.
Remaining inspired and motivated. This can come from inspirational quotes, videos, images, meditations and support from someone on your side.

World Events, Such as COVID-19

Once you get past all the self-made barriers stopping you from following your dreams, you may still face forces beyond your control. What’s going on with the coronavirus is a prime example of this. With so many businesses operating on limited hours or, in some cases, not at all, you may think this is the worst time to follow your dreams.

That’s not necessarily true. You can still do the legwork for following your dreams. Perhaps you can enroll in classes or training you were too busy to tackle, or catch up on your industry reading or networking. You can also look for opportunities within the situation, rather than excuses for letting it slow you down.

Look for a need, and then offer to fill it. In my voice over business, for instance, I’ve made sure clients know I’m available for new messaging, commercial spots, retail in-store announces, IVR system recordings and more providing updated information or changing schedules due to COVID-19.

One final tip is to stay positive and optimistic. This is another mindset you can learn to cultivate with repeated efforts over time. As Sam Altman says in his “How to Be Successful” post: “I have never met a very successful pessimistic person.” So don’t let outside circumstances – or your own thinking – take you down and out. Keep moving forward, heading onward and upward instead.

Be sure to also check out part one of this two part series on Following Your Dreams.

To Follow Your Dreams (or Not) – Confessions of a Working Voice Over Actor

June 18, 2020 by Debbie Grattan

The very phrase “follow your dreams” can fill us with bliss. For a working voice over actor, it’s something society, pop culture and Disney movies reinforce at every turn. While following your dreams may sound like the only course of action you would want to consider taking, is it really the best road to success in our competitive and ever-changing world?

Maybe it is. Maybe it’s not. But you’ll never know until you try it, right? On the other hand, it could entail a big risk without a guarantee of reward. The risk may feel just too great, especially considering the uncertainties we’re now experiencing.

Some may feel the decision boils down to only two options. So what to do?

Pursue the “dream job” that you think will be fulfilling and rewarding on all levels?
Pursue a solid way to make a living that may not be very fulfilling emotionally but will meet your needs financially?

Flipping a coin may not be the best way to decide. I’d like to instead share my thoughts on some of the pros and cons of each scenario, along with my own experience landing on a solution that was fulfilling, rewarding and financially profitable.

Let’s look at the pros and cons first.

The Pros of Following Your Dreams

Since most of us dream big (because we’ve been taught to do that), following our dreams can be a huge risk – but it can also come with huge rewards. It can make us feel excited, alive and fueled with passion. We may expect the work we’ll be doing in our dream job will feel more like joy-filled play than actual work. Enjoying what you do and making money at it – what could be more amazing than that?

Another huge benefit of following our dreams is to live without regrets. Research says 98% of the population dies without fulfilling their dreams, which is a scary thought. Following our dreams ensures we at least gave them a try and won’t have to live with the remorseful thoughts of what could have been.

The Cons of Following Your Dreams

While we won’t have those regrets if we choose to follow our dreams, we may not have an easy road ahead of us, either. Our culture glorifies certain professions as “dream jobs” – such as actors (and yes, even voice talents), athletes, rock stars and celebrity personalities.

We imagine living a life full of fame and glamour, working every day on projects that feel exciting and artistically fulfilling. We likewise envision feeling constantly validated by doting fans, or even just by our own satisfaction that we are truly “living the dream.”

But the harsh truth is that this level of success is reserved for a small percentage of professionals in each field. In the most-pursued dream careers (especially in the arts), only a handful makes it to a level where they can earn enough money to make a living. And only a few from that group ascend to the level of success that fits the profile of what everyone is chasing. The vast majority often find themselves in a perpetual struggle to make ends meet.

We may not make enough to fulfill our financial needs, or we may find that the dream job is a lot more work than we anticipated.

Being a voice talent, for instance, may seem like a glamorous job. Parts of it are. But other parts behind the scenes require extremely hard work and don’t feel very glamorous at all. Voice training, honing your acting skills, learning the mechanics of editing and other software, constantly auditioning for the next job, becoming a great marketer, adapting to the ever-changing market, and the day-to-day operations of running your own business are just a few of those parts.

Cons May be Ongoing

Then there’s the constant rejection. Even as someone who has been a working VO professional for the past 25 years, I am rejected daily, usually multiple times per day. I lose far, far more jobs than I win.

Sometimes a voice talent will snag one of those jobs that is truly fulfilling and provides the sort of validation and fulfillment to inspire them to keep marching on. But most of the time you’re on your own. Being a working artist requires an incredibly thick skin, and unfortunately many find that their dreams are too fragile to persist in the face of the rejection and daily grind that is required.

Yes, work can feel like play at times – but other times it’s undoubtedly work. A dream job is still a job, and sometimes fueling such passions is incredibly exhausting and consuming. This particularly holds true on those days when you feel, despite all of your hard work and joy for the craft, you’re just not getting anywhere.

Once you’ve invested all you have into pursuing your dreams, you may end up disappointed. Reaching that part of the journey can feel both depressing and liberating. Depressing because the dream did not unfold as you envisioned. Liberating because you know you gave it your best shot and you can now move forward in a different direction that may bring more rewards.

How to Balance the Two Options to Create a Third

The cons of pursing your dreams may appear to outweigh the pros by a ton. Yet nothing can outweigh the passion in your heart for doing something you truly love. I faced this same dilemma years ago when I began my own career. What I wanted involved a tough road ahead, yet it was something I absolutely knew I had to try.

I made it work by finding a happy medium. This involved:

Having a more general dream job goal
Keeping realistic expectations
Being flexible
Never giving up

General Goal, Realistic Expectations

As a young college graduate, my dream was to be a working actor. I didn’t set out to be a star or to win an Academy Award or even be on Broadway. I just wanted to make my living as an actor.

Fast forward 30 years later and I have been able to achieve my goal in a way that I did not know was possible when I set out on my journey. Having a more general dream job goal actually worked to my advantage. I was able to adapt and evolve over the years all while staying true to my dream.

Flexibility

On the road to becoming a working actor, I was open to working at other jobs until I was able to get a foothold in the business. Perhaps pursuing your dream job as a side gig while working a full-time day job can give you a good taste of what’s possible and what “living the dream” would look like – warts and all.

If you’re a performer, maybe gigging in a local coffeehouse or performing in community theatre is enough to give you what you want. Such a setup could feed that creative desire inside of you while also ensuring you are financially stable enough to pay the rent and put food on the table. With something else to support you, the rejections will not seem as emotionally and financially crushing.

Never Giving Up

Keeping my eye on the prize was another great motivator – and it still is. For me, the rewards consistently exceed the rejections, the risks and the ongoing hard work required to maintain a career as a working actor.

If your heart is truly set on a path you want to take, there are ways you can weave your dream into your life to make it a possibility. Set a general goal with realistic expectations, be flexible enough to adapt your plan as needed, and keep your eye on the prize.

Also keep your eyes open for opportunities. So much of the dream job appears to boil down to luck: being at the right place at the right time, knowing the right person, stumbling into just the right circumstances. With a little luck, a lot of hard work and ongoing perseverance, you never know what might happen.

Please also check out the part two of this series on Following Your Dreams.

How Our Voice Over Business is Taking a Positive Approach to COVID-19

March 25, 2020 by Debbie Grattan

Today we are talking about COVID-19, voice over and how your business can deal with the current uncertainty in the world. With all the craziness going on due to the coronavirus, it may be easy to fall into the trap of negative thinking, even for those who usually dwell in a fairly resilient mind set. Our lives are shifting every day and there’s plenty of uncertainty right now. Our hearts go out to all those on the front lines; the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, first responders, police and fire personnel, bus drivers, truckers, janitors, post office staff, fast food workers, grocery clerks and more who are taking care of those most ill and providing some normalcy for the rest of us by keeping essential services up and running. You are all heros.

We realize that everyone has a different story and situation, so if you are struggling with the current circumstance in ways that we aren’t addressing here, we send our prayers and wishes for the highest and best outcome for all. Faith is a fantastic tool.

With so much uncertainty and fear pervading our world today, my family and I have decided to do what we can to take a positive approach to COVID-19 by consciously focusing on the things for which we are grateful and the help we can provide. We are truly blessed with good health and prosperity, even in challenging times, and have found opportunities to try some new things that may lead to even better situations after we get past this crisis. Here are a few examples.

Home and Family

Our health and safety comes first, as does yours. If you and your family are healthy and safe, you have the top item on the list covered. Having a roof over your head is another positive, as is the ability to take the recommended precautions and remain home as much as possible. We are blessed that our business was already set up to do this, so that is an unexpected bonus.

Since moving from Southern California to Michigan back in 2004, we have enjoyed the opportunities that go along with having a fairly large home in the Midwest. That’s part of the trade from moving from metropolis to Midwest…there’s more social distancing, naturally. We have plenty of living space for practical comfort in home and work life, (since home also includes the family business), and that extra space makes it easy to stay stocked up and prepared for a long quarantine. It also provides enough room to give every family member plenty of personal space – a great blessing when things get a bit stressful. Since we were already home-schooling our youngest (who is now fifteen years old), we didn’t even have to deal with the transition of no public schools in session. So, for our family, this was a pretty seamless transition.

I’m sure for other families and businesses there are different sets of challenges, and everyone has to start from a point where they are, and move forward. My wish is that using a spirit of gratefulness for the things you can be thankful for, will lead in a positive direction, for more good to flow.

The Business End of Things

Working remotely may be a big change for some, but it’s been a part of our routine for the last twenty-five years. So, we’ve been able to take this adjustment in stride and continue working without a hitch. Speaking as someone who is accustomed to working from home, I would encourage anyone new to the concept to focus on the positive aspects (of which there are many). Think of the commuting time you’re saving, lower fuel costs and reduced carbon footprint, home-cooked lunches and the ability to work in your slippers. Of course, there’s also the additional time you get to spend with your family. We’ve been enjoying the extra time we’re getting to spend with our daughter, now home from college for several more weeks due to the closure. That is an added bonus for us, though not what she had hoped for.

Being a business owner comes with a lot of risk, but because of that, in our current situation, we fortunately don’t have to worry about the possibility of being laid off or downsized. Even though some activity may be slowing, many of our clients still have voice-over needs and we’re continuing to provide the high-quality services that we always have. Much of our business is in the telephony and narration genres, so even if there is some slowdown in retail advertising for awhile, there are still plenty of projects in the works. We are thankful for our loyal and long-term clients who continue to send business our way.

I’m assuring my clients, it’s basically business as usual in my home studio, which is equipped with everything I need to do my job. We also have ISDN/Source Connect/phone patch capability, which makes it easy to connect for live, remote session work with clients anywhere in the world. Most of the live TV world is now using the technology we’ve been accustomed to for years.

New Opportunities – Coronavirus, COVID-19 and Voice Over

In addition to the usual types of projects that come in, we’re also seeing opportunities to help businesses and organizations deal with COVID-19. A couple recent examples include:

Company Phone messages regarding COVID-19, which are urgently needed by many businesses and organizations
Revised messaging about changing schedules, for hotels, showrooms and other large venues
Advertising messages and PSAs including the “we’re all in this together” common assurance to customers
Science and Medical VO regarding PPE and Clinical Trial work

Our daughter (and teen VO talent), Natalie, is now home from college for the rest of the semester. That makes her more available than she was when living on campus. This has actually simplified our work flow quite a bit, so it’s a welcome change.

Make This a Positive Change

Even if your own work has taken a downturn, you may find new opportunities to customize your services, products or offerings to help fill a need that didn’t exist before. Creative thinking can go a long way toward finding solutions, new streams of income and innovative ideas that otherwise may have never been born.

Many great discoveries and innovations happened by accident or when someone “took a detour” or “got off the beaten path.” That is exactly where we find ourselves right now. Outside of our comfort zone, outside the box and off of our usual path. Take time to look around and notice what you may never have noticed if this situation hadn’t happened. You may find something that is life-changing or transforms your business.

Once you get into the groove of thinking positive and counting your blessings, the days are suddenly lighter and brighter than they were before. We can and will get through these trying times, and a positive attitude will make it that much easier. Here’s hoping you get into that positive mindset – and that you and your family stay safe. Let’s all get to the other side of this thing as soon as possible so life can begin to get back to normal, even if it is a new normal.

Please also check out my followup post to this one, “How to Feel Good and Stay Positive in a Negatively Focused World.”

Contact me if you need any messaging or other voice-over work related to COVID-19 or any other projects you have brewing. I’m open to meeting tight deadlines and always happy to help.

Set the Video Foundation

The first step in any effective eLearning video is to set the foundation. That means writing a script and creating a storyboard. Storyboards let you map out each scene’s audio and video to ensure they work together. Having the entire video outlined on a storyboard saves you tons of time and makes production much easier.

Tell a Story in The eLearning Video

People love stories. They’re intriguing and memorable, which makes them the ideal format for learning. Telling a story with an eLearning video can involve creating different characters to carry out the action, but it doesn’t have to. The main goal is to use the traditional story arc formula to attain and then retain the viewers’ attention. The formula can be condensed into three parts:

Exposition, or story beginning
Conflict, or climax
Conflict resolution

In an eLearning video that explains a product, for example, the story could break down into something like:

Introducing the product
Introducing a common problem that nothing seems to resolve
Resolving that problem by using the product

Choose the Optimum Video Length

While 60 to 90-second videos may work for quick explainer videos, the optimum video length for more extended eLearning content is seven minutes. A University of Rochester study provides strong evidence for this as well. The study looked at the average time students spent viewing video for their online courses. It found students watched the greatest amount of video content when the video length was nine minutes or less.

Students watched less of the video content when videos were more than 11 minutes long. Once videos hit an even longer length of 15 to 40 minutes, students ended up watching no more than three minutes of the video.

Make the Most of Your eLearning Video Visuals

eLearning videos tend to be most effective when they showcase what’s being explained. Static images can be a waste of valuable video space that could instead be used to demonstrate how to use or do something. This could be how to use a product or service, treat customers in difficult situations, or successfully complete a project or task that’s part of the eLearning curriculum.

Use Videos Strategically

You can certainly use a longer video to cover an entire lesson on a specific topic. But you can also use videos in various ways throughout the eLearning experience. You can use shorter videos to break up text documents and emphasize a point. Or use a short video at the beginning of a lesson to grab attention, another in the middle to demonstrate a specific task, and a third at the end to summarize the points made throughout the lesson.

Videos likewise work well when paired with hands-on training exercises. Your video could explain a task while your viewers are actually attempting the same task in real life.

Invest in Quality Audio

Quality audio refers to several things. One is the quality of the recording, which needs to be crisp, clear, and free of background noise. It also involves the voice over artist you hire to narrate the eLearning video. Because eLearning requires careful listening, you want a voice that is likable, pleasant, and trustworthy.

Steer clear of voices with too much breathiness or other distracting qualities that could possibly detract from the learning process. You can find additional qualities to look for in eLearning voice over narration in a past blog post.

Keep these video tips in mind, and you’ll be well on your way to creating an eLearning video that’s engaging, intriguing, and highly effective at meeting your goal. Check out samples of my eLearning, instructional, and tutorial videos for a look at effective videos in action. Also, feel free to reach out for a custom quote or audition if you need narration for your next eLearning project.

Why Voice Over Actors Don’t Need to Lose Sleep over TTS

October 22, 2019 by Debbie Grattan

Technology is moving so fast it can make our heads spin, especially in the world of text to speech (TTS). As voice over actors, we’re certainly aware of TTS – and some of us may even fear the technology is advancing us right out of our careers. But it’s really not. Despite the rapid advances in the field, TTS remains unable to replace the real deal. Keep reading to find out why.

How TTS Has Advanced

Text to speech (TTS) is a system that converts the written word into the spoken word. Simple enough, right? But it gets more complex from there. TTS systems store speech units that can include phones, diphones, words and entire sentences. It then puts those speech units together in specific combinations to create synthetic speech that says anything – all using the voice that initially recorded those speech units.

While the first talking machine was initially introduced back in 1939, advances in the world of TTS over the past several years have been more rapid and dramatic than over the past 75. Some of these advances include the ability to:

Incorporate a model of the vocal tract and other human voice characteristics to sound more human.
Correct synthetic speech mispronunciations, adjust regional pronunciations, add emphasis, and other tricks through Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML).
Produce robo calls that stop and ask “Can you hear me?” or wait for a reply, like a human would, before continuing their spiel.
Copy lip-movements for dubbing.
Fix small errors in voice over recordings with synthetic edits.
Create a model, or “voice bank,” of a real person’s voice for later use as synthetic speech

Once TTS began to converge with machine learning, big data and artificial intelligence (AI), it became smarter, more realistic and, as mentioned earlier, a perceived threat to some in the voice over industry.

Potential TTS Threats to the VO Industry

There is no doubt the advances of TTS have aroused a number of concerns across the voice over industry, with some of the most common outlined below.

Losing Ongoing Royalties

The royalty structure keeps giving us a steady flow of money each time our voice is used, regularly paying us even though we’ve already done the work. If we are recording into a voice bank, are we going to get royalties every time our voice is used to create synthetic speech? Probably not. While we can likely expect to be paid a large amount for the initial recording session, we may lose out on royalties each time our voice is used down the line. After all, how can we be paid royalties for a future recording that uses our voice but we didn’t technically record?

No Control Where Your Voice is Used

Since technology allows for a pre-recorded voice to be used to create any type of message or project down the line, voice over artists may fear they won’t have a say in the type of work that will be attached to their voice. Some work may be unacceptable, but we may have no control or say over the matter.

Being Prohibited from Future Spots

If we offer buyouts on our voice banks, we could be limiting our careers without realizing it. For instance, let’s say our voice is used for a car company. We would then potentially be prohibited from doing all spots for all other companies in the future – even though we didn’t know we’d be associated with a car company at the time of the buyout.

Continuously Declining TTS Rates

Recording sessions for TTS are no longer in the $50K range. As the technology advances, the rates continue to decrease. Methods of capturing and synthesizing voice take far less recording time, which means far less pay for the voice over talent.

Why Voice Over Actors Don’t Need to Fret

While TTS concerns may feel valid for us voice over artists, we don’t have to lose sleep over them for several reasons. For starters, TTS still harbors many limitations – like the inability to spontaneously generate the infinite human range of emotions and vocal techniques.

Being able to create synthetic speech by simply typing in the words you want it to say is also not something that can yet be done. And synthetic speech, no matter how advanced or finely tuned, has still not shown it can match the multiple nuances and components associated with a real human voice.

Ongoing payments may still even exist. In addition to a recording fee, we could arrange licensing agreements that outline when and where our voices can be used down the line. Turning our TTS fears into the framework for a clear-cut contract can help ensure we have all bases covered – and continue to thrive in our profession.

VERSATILE

EXPERIENCED

PROFESSIONAL