Friday, August 13, 2021

The importance of having a good recording space

For many voice-over artists, especially new ones, dealing with unwanted sound reflections off of walls and surfaces, as well as outside noise, is a common challenge. You can have an expensive microphone, but if you're not in a good recording environment, your voice-overs are going to suffer. It's sad to see so many new/unaware voice-over folks having their auditions or work rejected not necessarily because of how they voiced the copy, but because of negative sound related issues. You don't have to build an exceptional recording studio, but get into a space where you're not going to have your voice-overs sound like they were recorded in an echoing cave or tiled bathroom floor.  You Tube videos are full of awful audio; hum, hiss, a way off mike voice, distorted audio, "cheap microphone sound" with lots of sibilance-you name it. 

Foam, sound blankets, and baffles are just some things that can be used to improve the sound quality of your  voice-overs. Do some research on Google about this or go to You Tube and do a search about setting up a solid recording space before going out and spending a lot of money. And don't forget that large walk in closet that you might have could be a very good option to record in! You'd be amazed at some of the adequate, but not eye appealing recording spaces, voice actors use at home. Remember, the people who are hiring you to record don't see your recording space. They just want good, clean audio that adds value to their production. And check with headphones on to make sure your computer fan isn't heard in the background of your recording. If it IS, create some space between your laptop and the microphone.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

"Set It and Forget It!" and "Mr. Microphone"

 So, I hadn't seen Ron Popeil in a very long time and thought he had moved on to that big infomercial lounger in the sky a while back.  That is, until he passed away recently. Some of you reading this are very young and asking, "Who's Ron Popeil?" I would say one of the most successful marketers of all time. Everything he touched turned to gold. (OK. He had a few flops, but not many). He was known for inventing and TV marketing unique products; many of them in the over millions sold category. In case you've forgotten, here's a partial list of some of his hits:

1. Veg-O-Matic

2. Pocket Fisherman

3. Mr. Microphone  (The TV commercial for this one was absolutely hilarious. Hey, he sold over a million of them! I have the link to the commercial at the very bottom of this post. ) 

4. Smokeless Ashtray (Just what my Mom needed when Dad broke out his cigars in the living room.)

5. Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler 

6. Dial-O-Matic

7. Automatic Pasta Maker

8. GLH Formula Number 9 Hair System

 9. Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ Oven  ("Set It and Forget It!")

10. Electric Food Dehydrator

11.  Solid Flavor Injector


I took a few moments to check out some of his old TV infomercials on You Tube, and not only was he an inventing genius, he was quite funny in how he pitched his products on air.  As a kid, I watched many of his TV infomercials over and over again that just kind of drew your attention in.

I read his thoughts on being successful with his sales pitches and he said "Find out what people need and want and market to that."

Many of today's infomercials have taken their cue from him as to how to produce their shows. He seemed to always have a bonus to throw in with the deal. Famous for, "But wait! There's more!" (If you're desperately dating someone, say that at the end of the night.  OK, maybe not.) 

It's estimated he sold over a billion dollars of products through the course of his career. That's a lot of Veg-O-Matics.

Here's a link to the very funny "Mr. Microphone" TV commercial. 

                                                 



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