Lessons Learned MG Stevens Lessons Learned MG Stevens

I Can Do It

I can do it. Four little words we use individually, I dare say, dozens of times a day uttered throughout our speech as we engage in conversation. Combined as ordered above, they become a mantra for today. At the same time, the phrase harkens back to our toddling days where we fought…

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Something New?

Try something new…That sounds scary. Who would want to do that? Well, maybe then, just mix it up a little. Again, that sounds scary. Who would want to do that? Quite possibly, someone who is stagnating where they are or someone who has lost motivation or someone who needs a fresh perspective or someone who actually really does thrive at new tasks even if they are scary at first.

That was me when I quit my day-job and went into Voice Acting full-time. It may have seemed cold-turkey to some, but I can assure you much planning and preparation took place. Hopefully I didn’t stay in the procrastilearning phase too long. Hopefully I jumped at just the right moment. Time will tell.

As I was preparing to go full-time as a voice actor/voice talent/voice over person/VoiceOver artist (now that’s a conversation for a later post), I took all my ideas, training up to that point and knowledge gained and made a ginormous list of everything I could think of. I called it my VO Major To-Do List. It took days for the first rough draft and then weeks spent tweaking on it. I went through each item carefully to make certain it needed to be on the list. Then I started numbering each item based on when that particular item might need to happen. For example, purchasing a room treatment like acoustic foam might need to come before doing an audition. Some items were all grouped together with a single number because I knew I’d do those things together at a similar time, if not, the exact same time.

Going back to my opening sentence, “Try something new…,” at the top of this post, I can say in all certainty that two years ago, I had never heard of 95% of the things on my VO Major To-Do List. Never even heard of them. Not, didn’t know they worked. But, never heard of them. That would make them new to me. And, no secret here, but I am having the best time. I’ve learned so much! I have so many more skills in my life toolbox now. I know how to connect my microphone, headphones, and computer to my interface. I know how to work my DAW. I know how to determine my noise floor. I can edit audio. I can produce and have produced an audiobook. I still have lots more to learn. And I can’t wait…

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Headphones…Where to Start?

HEADPHONES…A rather critical element for a voice actor. I had no idea when I first started in VO how important these babies are. Here are my first pair of CANS, as the jargon goes, and they were freebies. Here are a few considerations when choosing your first pair:

  • Comfort - You’ll be wearing them a lot…for your reads and for playback and for editing and for when you fall asleep with them on…and the list goes on. Comfort is a key consideration. Try them on and see what you think.

  • Open Back, Closed Back, or In-Between - Who knew there were so many different types? The open/closed refers to the outside part of the cans that sits over or on (more on over/on coming up next) your ear. Basically open is open to outside sounds and closed is closed to outside sounds. Closed is going to keep out a lot of outside sound but not all. In VO we need to hear ourselves when we’re recording and when we’re editing. Extraneous outside sounds would be distracting and make it difficult to determine what’s being recorded. Pros often prefer closed back, but there are advantages and disadvantages to open, closed, and in-between. So know the basics going in and do your research.

  • Over-ear, In-Ear, or On-Ear - For me this really relates back to comfort. Personally, I have never liked things in my ears. So for my comfort, I rule out in-ear no matter what I’m using them for. But, many people like this type especially for listening to music or podcasts on their phone. Newer and better versions for all these types of cans are regularly showing up on the market. Again, try out different types and find what you like best.

  • Price Point - Of course, free is always good, but the old adage of “you get what you pay for” can certainly apply. Don’t think you have to start with the most expensive pair out there, either. You do have to start somewhere, and remember you can upgrade as soon as you are able.

Happy VO-ing!
-MG

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