In
this Issue: |
| 42%...Read it and Weep
........recently from the Ottawa Citizen |
| Producer's Corner..........Welcome
to Bruce Valeriani of Blue Bear Sound |
| Getting started.............Your
At-Home Voice Over business by Peter Drew |
| Now for the Funnies....Featuring
"Jack Nicholson" and "The Comedian" |
| Let's Link up............improve
your web site rank. |
| Some Scary
Stuff ............(almost) robot vocalizer....Nuance.com |
| Web site
Tips...............from Glen McInnis |
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| 42%...Read
it and Weep
It's hard to get your mind around the figure: 42
per cent of Canadian adults have low literacy. That is, four out
of 10 Canadians, aged 16 to 65, either can't read store signs or,
say, dosage instructions on a medicine package, or can read only
the simplest of messages, a limitation that makes it difficult for
them to, for example, learn new skills at work......more
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| Harlan Hogan's
new book "Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording"
is now on sale at Amazon.com
and Harlan Hogan.com |
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Producer's Corner...
The Bane of Sibilance
One can have the best recording voice in the world and that lofty
description can be completely dismissed as amateur by one characteristic:
sibilance - the exaggerated 's' or 't'
sounds one hears on recordings.
Most speakers have a certain level of natural sibilance to their
voice, but the characteristic gets amplified during recording
because what the mic picks up tends to be very different than
what our ears do.
So what can be done about it? Mic selection and placement are
crucial.
Studios have a wide variety of mics in their mic locker to accommodate
a wide range of voices/instruments. Thankfully, if you're only
producing your own voice recordings, you need only choose the
right mic for your voice. And there's no other way to do this
than try them out... or buy an hour or two at a local studio and
try theirs out, you'll likely be able to home in on a particular
model that suits your voice. Dynamic mics (rather than condensers)
are also less prone to exaggerated sibilance problems.
The other important aspect to reducing sibilance is mic placement
- point the mic slightly down and off-side relative to your mouth
- this avoids the direct air blasts that cause popping and produces
a slightly darker sound (due to variations in a mic's pickup pattern.)
And if all else fails, invest in a quality de-esser. This is
a unit, similar to a compressor, that is designed to dynamically
reduce the level of these problematic consonants.
Until next month!
Bruce Valeriani
Bruce Valeriani
owns and operates Blue
Bear Sound in Ottawa, Canada, accommodating all your
recording needs - whether it's audio, video, and/or multimedia.
For more information on recording, check out the Articles
page on the studio website... or for professional production
of your demo at extremely reasonable Canadian prices,
contact Bruce at 613-822-0726 or by email at info@bluebearsound.com.
Blue Bear Sound Recording Studios
"Putting the sound back into recording!"
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Marketing
on line
By Peter Drew
Starting your At-Home Voice Over Business
Thinking of getting into the voiceover business full time, specifically,
opening your own in-house voice-over studio? Good for you! It’s
a really great way to make a living!
OK. You’ve got the dream. Now let’s see what it takes
to make it a reality. First question for you: What do you think
is the most important thing you need to launch your business? A
great voice? Surprisingly, a great voice isn’t all that important
for success. Talent? Well, yeah, you’re gonna need some talent,
.......More
| Peter Drew, a card-carrying member of the
Commercial Voices cadre, provides voice overs for all electronic
media. Have a comment about this article? Please visit Peter
Drew Voiceovers and drop him a line via email. While you're
there, check out Peter's demos and additional articles on the
voice-over business. |
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The Funnies.........
The Service is better than the food - Jack 'Nicholson' in the
Box...here.
If you've ever been on either side of the glass in a voice over
studio, this is for you! It's on the Apple Web site now
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/comedian.html
Got any new funnies? Send file or link to Rick
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Improve
your web site rank......
With all the hoop la about web site optimization and multi
tune ups that are supposed to help us in our web site ranking
in Search Engines one tip seems to remain constant. The more quality
reciprocal links you have, the better. This is your invitation
to link up with CV and we will do the same with your site. The
only criteria is that it be somehow related to the VO industry.
Whether you are a VO talent, writer, producer, musician, ad agency
or production house, come along for the ride with CV. Click
here send us your link request. You can check
out our current links by clicking on "Links" at the
top of this page.
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Human
Voice duplication?
It's getting there but............naw............I don't
think so Tim.
Hey! Even a robot can do this VO stuff??? Type in something like
this "Welcome to Commercial Voices.com. We specialize in sounding
human." Click here.
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Web
site Tips
Sending audio embedded in your email
Here is a nice idea on how to send a greeting or a short
message embedded in your email. The audio will play and be heard as
long as the recipient(s) has their speakers turned on. We must warn
you that this is somewhat intrusive so our suggestion is to only send
these to friends and friendly clients who might not be annoyed. It
works well and is very easy to do with Outlook Express but is somewhat
of a challenge if you are using Windows XP. Click here for the info.
http://www.crystalbaymedia.com/email
sound/
Do you have a topic you would like to see addressed in the monthly
tip? Email your question or idea to info@crystalbaymedia.com
Tips provided by Crystal Bay Media
www.crystalbaymedia.com
Email Glen: Glen McInnis
Mention this newsletter and you will receive a 10% discount on
any of CB’s services:
• Web site design and maintenance
• Custom web applications
• E-learning
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