I received feedback with my rejection but I need help to correct it.
A little background, if you'll bear with me ...
I am a 65-year-old female, retired physician, and I signed up for VO class with Groundlings out of curiosity. The instructor was more positive and encouraging than I would have every imagined, saying I had a unique, 'natural' older voice that was in demand. I read the VoiceOverVoiceActor book by Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal, and decided to get started in my walk-in closet. I recorded the sample on my laptop in QuickTime, and found websites where I could change from m4a to mp3, from mov. to wav., and from stereo to mono. I uploaded my sample which was rejected with the following feedback. I am not sure where to go from here. Can I continue to record on my laptop (Mac Air)? In QuickTime? Whatever advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated. Sample (in 2 formats):
http://deardrroth.com/VoiceBunnyAudition.m4a
http://deardrroth.com/VoiceBunnyAudition(1).wav
Feedback:
-There is audible room echo (reverberation) impacting your recording. Please ensure you record in an acoustically treated space. If you already have acoustic treatment, it may not be adequate.
You\'ll find tips on acoustic treatment on our community page: https://bit.ly/2MrNsSV.
-The volume of your audio is undesirably low. Please normalize the volume level to -3dBFS, as per our quality control requirements.
-Your recording sounds undesirably over-processed, which is impacting the quality of the deliverable. It may be due to EQing, or a noise gate, for example.
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Hi Lorraine,
Thank you for reaching out to us here.
Firstly, what a wonderful background, it's always fascinating to hear what brings people to the voice over world and I love hearing people's stories!
VoiceOver Voice Actor book by Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal is a firm favourite for many and rightly so. I personally feel its wealth of knowledge presented in such an informal manner is second to none... But I digress.
Your instructor is certainly correct there is a demand for older voices, especially for ones that sound so endearing and natural as yourself.
Many people can act like they have a mature voice, but it's rare to come by real voices in the industry - Particularly, those who have their own home recording studios/spaces and can do all the technical side too.
I'm curious to know why you record using QuickTime on your laptop? :)
If I'm not mistaken, doesn't the Mac Air have GarageBand? If not, you can download GarageBand from the Apple website for free.
GarageBand is used for audio recording so will make life much simpler as it will save files in WAV formats, saving you all the hassle from finding websites to convert them. Also, when converting audio files the way you have been doing it really reduces the quality of audio. Therefore, the feedback remark about sounding over-processed is most likely due to you converting the audio file in this way.
There are better digital audio workstations (DAWs) out there to use for recording, however, I've heard some people use GarageBand and it works for them, plus it's free!
Regarding your recorded samples.
Which microphone do you use? Some microphones are internally loud which also can affect the audio quality, so it would be useful to know what equipment you are using.
The volume of your audio is very low. We require that the audio level is normalized to -3dB, but again, this should be an easy fix once you are using an audio recording program.
There is some reverberation heard in your audio. You mentioned you record in your walk-in closet, which is great. Many of our voice actors on here use the same. Make sure to cover all hard surfaces in your recording space. Such as; a laptop, desks, script stands, as these can reflect sound frequencies. If you wish, you could supply some images of your recording set-up and I can try offering some advice on areas that may need extra acoustic treatment, etc?
Hope you are having a lovely week!
Kindest regards,
Samantha
Samantha, thank you for the quick and comprehensive reply, and especially your kind words! I always though I had a mousy, scratchy voice and was surprised when my instructor said otherwise.
The computer internal microphone is what I have been using. I did have GarageBand on my Mac Air, but I only used it many years ago when I was creating ringtones for my iPhone. I had not used it in years, so when I got a message that my computer was "nearly out of space" I deleted it. I went to download it again, but I do not have enough space to install. So now I am stepping through the moves to delete or transfer enough data to make space for GarageBand.
In the meantime, I am sending 2 pictures, one of my closet space and an area that I think may be best for recording. Your thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you again so much for your help.
Lorraine
tinyurl.com/ptr4rtdm
Hi Lorraine,
Oh far from it! You certainly don't sound like you have a scratchy voice or mousy one to me - I think we are the most critical of our own voices! Some of my acting friends can't stand to see or hear themselves back, haha, it's just one of them funny things. Ah, but I really am waffling on.
The second picture with all the clothes on either side will certainly be the better option to record from, as the clothing should provide some good sound damping.
Make sure to cover the white shelf top with a blanket or towel to prevent the reflection of sounds also.
This post on our community page highlights some of the ways to effectively add acoustic treatment to your recording space and might give you some inspiration too: https://bit.ly/2MrNsSV
Ah, you are using the internal mic to record. This also will be where most of the rejection issues are coming from.
There is no easy way to say this, but first, you will need to purchase a good microphone to get into voice work.
Depending on budget, I'll give you a list of some which are reasonable and budget-friendly.
Here are 10 good condenser mics under $100.
Audio-Technica AT2020.
Behringer B-1.
Blue Yeti Nano.
Samson C01U Pro.
Blue Snowball.
Behringer C-1U.
Audio-Technica AT2010.
Tonor Q9.
Most of the microphones listed above are XLR mics, which means you will need to get a USB audio interface in order to record your voice. Here are some suggestions for good, budget-friendly pre-amps:
https://www.gearank.com/guides/cheap-audio-interface
Understandably the cost adds up when buying a mic then having to get an audio interface, so alternatively there are some USB condenser mics. These mics connect directly to your computer and don't need an audio interface. Nevertheless, the quality isn't as good or clear as an actual XLR condenser microphone, but they are good to start off with. Then once the money starts generating, you could buy the other gear mentioned above.
Here are some of the best budget USB condenser Microphones.
Mackie EM-91CU.
Blue Yeti Nano.
Blue Yeti.
Audio-Technica AT2020USB+
Rode NT-USB.
Blue Yeti X.
Shure MV7.
Hope you have a great weekend! :)
Wishing you all the very best,
Samantha
Thanks again so much, Samantha! I will get a good microphone and audio interface, then re-download GarageBand when I've cleared enough space for it. I greatly appreciate all your time and help!
Waffle on!
Lorraine