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Power Surges and Your Voice Over Studio

We were enjoying a nice pleasant Christmas day when all of a sudden lights and appliances started to flicker. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw sparks shooting out from a nearby outlet. The smell of burnt electronics filled the air. After a few moments of flickering, popping, and zapping, we still had power but it was limited. A few lights worked but faintly. A few items worked but not many. Our neighbors’ houses and outdoor Christmas lights were all shining bright while ours went dark.  And what just got fried? Oh my God, what about my home studio and office?!

With more folks working from home offices these days, is this what you want to be asking yourself?

WHAT HAPPENED?

After a panic call to an on-call electrician and the power company, we discovered a neutral power line that runs from the utility pole to the house broke. The neutral line allows power sent to the house to return back to the power line. If it breaks, the circuit is broken, power cannot return, and all of that power is sent surging rampantly through the house frying everything in its path.

We lost our modem, router, stove, a few vent fans, security system, radon mitigation system, battery chargers, hot water heater, and furnace.

Oh no! What about my studio? My laptop, microphone, audio interface, and speakers? My voiceover work?! My website development work?! My livelihood?!

Panic set back in as I tried to start everything up. With a gush of relief and a prayer of thanks, it was all spared. Why? Most likely it was farthest down the line away from the surge with items upstream taking the brunt of it. Plus, the circuit breakers on that side of the house worked, and my studio and office gear were all on surge protectors. However, this was barely enough to save my studio. Had it been further upstream closer to the surge, it may have blown right through the circuit breakers and surge protectors, so this was a complete stroke of luck.

I didn’t care that we didn’t have heat in the middle of a New England winter – I’m ok layering up. I didn’t care that we didn’t have hot water –  I can handle a cold shower. They are actually quite invigorating.

I was just thankful that I could still work! I was never more happy to record an audition or send a work email than I was then.

TIPS TO PROTECT YOUR VOICEOVER STUDIO AND OFFICE

Power surges are most likely during storms with high winds, heavy snow and ice, or thunderstorms. Lightning strikes occur quite often but you have time to take precautions before storms hit. However, surges are most common from downed power lines or other random surges without warning.

There is no way to predict a random power line break. And remember, power companies do NOT cover storm related surge damage. But there are steps to take to protect your voiceover studio, recording gear or home office equipment.  Any one of these items alone may not be enough protection, but a combination of these steps will give you the peace of mind and protection for your voiceover home recording/office setup and to always be available for your clients.

• Install WHOLE home surge protectors
• Use power strip surge protectors and/or Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
• Unplug your studio/office equipment when not in use, especially during storms
• Inspect home wiring
• Have backup gear – an extra laptop, mic, interface (if possible)
• Back up your work data on external hard drives/flash drives/cloud services

As a New Englander, I love the home improvement show This Old House. Many episodes cover home electrical systems, but here is an article that covers more detailed power surge protection for your home.

This Old House – Electrical Protection

So enjoy your next holiday with the peace of mind that your pricey home recording studio, gear, and/or home office is protected and you can remain up and running for your clients at all times. Take some time to review your power setup so you don’t lose your livelihood in a flash.

Source Connect. If you’re a voiceover, I hope you know what it is. As the pandemic hit this year, studios shut down and talent were forced to scramble with home studio setups. Most voiceover jobs are done from home studio anyways, so for many, this is business as usual.  But for those who work exclusively in studios, this was a huge challenge. Regardless of the circumstances, Source Connect is a critical life line for home studio talent to connect and record directly into other studios worldwide. So here are a few “Tried & True” tips for your next voiceover session.

SET IT UP

Approaching a Source Connect session is the same as a phone patch, Zoom, or any other client directed remote recording session. Set up is needed well ahead of time.  Source Connect has a few options available. A full perpetual license or a monthly license, and even a free 14-day trial is available to see how it works for you. Source Connect NOW is another option that runs through Google Chrome, but you may find that some clients and agents may require a paid version of Source Connect. Do your homework and do the free trial run to make sure everything works well ahead of time, such as ensuring your ports are mapped – more info on that here. Then you can decide on paying monthly or for a perpetual license. Some folks may opt to forego a paid license until booking a job and be Source Connect “ready”; however, do you want to risk any registration or setup snafus just before a voice over session? Save and stress, or pay and prepare? Your call.

TEST IT OUT

Do a test run! A day or so before your session, ask me (send me a note below!) or anyone in a VO Facebook/LinkedIn group or forum for a quick connect test.  Some clients may even ask for a test connection beforehand as well, so be prepared well ahead of time. Gear setups vary widely from person to person and there very well may be incompatible components that you’ll want to iron out well ahead of time.

When you confirm that the software works, prepare yourself just as you would for any VO recording session. Hydrate, warm-up, log in early, review the script, make your notes, etc. Jot down names of folks on the other end to keep track of who you’re emailing afterwards too. After working with them for a while, I like to connect with them on social media, so it’s good to make sure you search for the right names.

I usually do not use headphones (cans) when I record so I rely on in-studio speakers. However, headphones are a must during these sessions. Any sound going through in-studio speakers will feed back through your mic resulting in a terrible echo effect, so mute your speakers and use headphones.  There may still be a delayed echo chatting with the client or engineer but it goes away when recording.

BACK IT UP

And one of the biggest tips is from a session when the audio engineer’s computer software glitched in the middle of the session. He had to do a reboot of his entire system. We didn’t lose the whole session recording but a few lines that we were working on were lost. He asked me afterwards if I had recorded the session. Even though I was set up ready to record, sadly, I forgot to hit record. Thankfully I only needed to record a few lines afterwards but this was a good reminder to record on my end in case of those nasty gremlins messing things up.

Who knows how next year will shape up. Chances are that Source Connect will be an expected standard feature of any home studio. So remember these “tried & true” tips – set it up – test it out – back it up!

~CTV – “Tried & True”

Have you auditioned for voicover jobs that you thought were perfect for you, and didn’t land? The world of voiceovers can be funny and frustrating at times. Think of all the auditions that we send out, all in the hopes of landing each and every one. There are some you think you nailed but no call back. And there are some that you don’t expect to land and you end up getting the job.

What Are The Chances?

So, funny story. Before I went full-time with my voiceover career, I worked at a few other jobs. One of them was at an online university. One day, the school put out a notice that they were holding a voice competition as they were looking for someone to help with some marketing and promotion projects. Wow! A voice contest? Here? Perfect! I was already doing voiceovers part-time and here my current employer is looking for a voice talent. What are the chances of that?! After all, I had already landed many other jobs with companies like McDonalds, Nationwide, Hewlitt Packard, Nikon, even other colleges. So, yeah, I was feeling confident.

Everyone in the building – 1000+ people – were invited to try out. Auditions were sent in and reviewed, and eventually a shortlist of finalists was made.  To help decide the winner, they held a blind listening competition for the final candidates in front of everyone who worked there.

I didn’t make the finals – I wasn’t even in the top 10. Actually I don’t even know where I ended up. And you know what? I was ok with it.

A Voice Doesn’t Fit Every Job

I don’t know the reason, nor did I really care. Just like all of the other hundreds of auditions that I didn’t land before, this was no different. You can drive yourself crazy wondering why. But it all comes down to a simple fact.

My voice does not fit every job.

My voice may not fit every client. It may not appeal to every producer, creative director, promoter, or every person. My voice may fit a certain audience for one project, and a whole other audience for a different project. Everyone has different preferences. If you think you are going to fit every one of their preferences all the time, then you need to rethink your approach.

Handling Rejection

Sure, there were plenty of jobs for which I thought I would be perfect, but then nothing.  I thought back to all of the jobs that I auditioned for that were a complete long shot, and ended up landing!  I thought back to times when clients may not have preferred my voice at first but eventually hired me.

Whatever the reason, this just goes to show that auditions are subjective and sometimes don’t make sense. The reason may not even be anything you did wrong. But don’t be surprised when you don’t land the job. Don’t get angry about why you didn’t get a call back. Don’t demand reasons. Perseverating over an audition is completely counterproductive.  Get in the mindset of submitting your audition and forgetting. Submit and forget. Let’s say that again – submit and forget. Just enjoy the jobs you land and be thankful that you do appeal to someone.  Like an old Weather Channel commercial said, “how can you appreciate the sun, if you don’t have the rain.”

~Cameron

So you’re interested in getting started in voiceovers. What is the one burning question that you would ask to help you get started in voice overs? Think of it. Do you have it? Ok, now, DON’T ask it!

That’s right – if you’re new the voiceover world, do this BEFORE you ask.

Your homework!

Questions like “How do I get started in VO?”, or “How do you get work?”, or “What is the best voiceover mic?” are very common and perfectly legit questions for those new to the trade. The answers are out there in Facebook groups, websites, podcasts, Youtube, etc. You’ll find the VO community very helpful and giving, but asking for the secret formula without doing your homework FIRST, may result in a little newbie jeering. I’m not a fan of that kind of treatment, so here are some tip to help you get started on your research

Ok, so where do you start?

When folks interested in getting started in voiceovers asked me similar questions, I started sending them some “Intro To VO” tips from my experiences to help point them in the right direction.  I wanted to share that template with you here:

So You Are Interested In Getting Into Voiceovers?

“I heard you were interested in getting started into voiceovers so I’ll help out as best as I can.  My voiceover (VO) journey started on a whim after some time as a radio meteorologist and ski reporter but it took a LOT of time – like weeks and months – researching a transition into the VO world. I can’t say whether or not you have what it takes, but I’ll pass along a few links to point you in the right direction.

Voice Over Research/Forums/Websites

Just about everything I learned about VO was from online forums so this is a great place to start. You’ll find that the voiceover community is very supportive.  Here is a real good one – http://vo-bb.com/phpBB2/  You will find a LOT of info on these forums and sites, so take the time, dig through all the threads and soak it all up – it’ll take some time. A particularly good area is the “Where To Start” section where you’ll find some very informative sites like these…

• https://iwanttobeavoiceactor.com/
• http://www.audioconnell.com/workshop/the-voiceover-entrance-exam-free-voice-over-e-book/
• Todd Schick has a good site with some good FAQs
• Voiceover Xtra
• World-Voices Organization

Voice Training & Coaching

A voiceover coach is key to evaluating your skills and finding your voice.  Coaching takes time and commitment so be prepared to invest. Even experienced VOs use coaches on a regular basis and it’s fine – even recommended – to have more than one coach.

If you’re looking for a hands-on, in-studio learning experience in the New Hampshire area, a voiceover friend of mine hosts a class that can help.  But for online coaching, Gabrielle Nistico, Julie Williams, Marc Cashman, are a few that offer their expertise and may have some helpful online videos.  Marc Scott can help you with the marketing/business aspect of voiceovers – check out his Facebook Vopreneur page for a lot of great info. Many other coaches can be found through the Voiceover Xtra link above.  Many voiceover talents come from acting/drama backgrounds so they have those acting chops that translate well to the microphone.  Local schools/community colleges or theaters (improv) are great opportunities to develop those skills as well. 

Working with a coach will prepare you for the next step – your demo.

Voiceover Demos

A demo is a sample of what you can do. This is your “business card” or “headshot” to potential clients and is the MOST critical aspect to connect you with voiceover work.  It depends, too, on what kind of work you’re going for, whether commercial, narration, e-learning, etc. Here is a site with some examples – http://www.demosthatrock.com/portfolio.html .  A professionally produced demo is not cheap!  Unless you work as a sound engineer or producer, do NOT self-produce your demo!  I tried it myself early on and it most likely cost me work.

Getting started in voiceovers with a reputable voiceover coach and demo producer is absolutely key! Working with someone local would be best for in-person coaching and recording in a professional studio. I worked with a coach and studio in the Boston area but it tooks weeks of coaching, practice before getting into the studio to record my demo. You may even work with other voiceovers for dialogue portions of your demo.

Studio/Tech/Gear

To get started in voiceovers, you’ll need to record in a home studio.  Among the previous “getting started” sites above, there are numerous other studio/gear resources.  The Voiceover Bodyshop guys (Dan Leonard and George Whitam) have a great podcast series, “Tech Talk”, and other topics.  Here’s their Youtube and Facebook pages to browse through previous episodes.  If you are focusing on a website at some point, the recent episode with Joe Davis from Voice Actor Websites is a good one – they helped me build my site and for a reasonable cost. 

If you like videos, the Booth Junkie (Mike Delgaudio) has been making VERY informative videos for a long time – he does a great job talking about the basics and goes out of his way on actual demonstrations.   Here’s one about setting up a studio. He does a lot of other studio/gear tutorials, microphone comparisons, and all sorts of other very helpful industry topics. 

VO Rates

Each VO has their own rates based on many individual factors. Here are some resources that give you an idea of voiceovers can charge. Here’s the Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) site that shows general rates – plus they have a lot of other great resources, such as studio tech, demos, etc. The Edge Studio is another good site with similar resources around rates, studio tech, etc.

Everyone’s circumstances are different so rates may vary widely, but please understand how offering rates well below industry (non-union) standards can impact the industry as a whole. There has been much debate about it over the years so take some time to read up on that.   

Getting Voice Over Work

After doing a LOT of homework, preparation, and a demo, you can then start marketing your voice. However, that topic is way more involved and would take more than a blog post to cover, so I am only going to touch on it briefly. The business of voiceover is 80-90% marketing and the rest is actual recording so this will be the bulk of your work going forward. You could test the waters with “pay-to-play” casting sites.  These are subscription sites where you pay an annual fee, and get access to auditions for various jobs, or “leads.”  One of them is Voice123 that I’ve had a lot of success with, but there are others like Boldago.

But you will need to go directly to the source – talent agencies, video production companies, ad agencies, and marketing companies. This means emails, calls, social media, and networking in various ways to get your voice noticed. Marc Scott offers coaching on self-marketing – plus he has many videos and podcasts that cover this topic. One of my good friends, Nikki Lu Lowe, now offers a great coaching course called “The Drive” which covers the business of voiceover and setting it up for success.

Well, these are only just a few of the many resources that have helped me but these should get you started. Like I said, it takes a LOT of time reading and researching – like weeks and months, even years. Absorb as much as possible. It’s an ongoing learning experience, too, so don’t stop after hitting just a few websites.  I’m still researching even after 15 years, because industries change and evolve.  You will eventually hear common themes and ideas about the business that will shape your approach to the world of VO so that you can start defining your path. 

I hope that this is a good start for you. I wish you luck in your voiceover journey!”

~Cameron Thomas