I sound like a dweeb!

I know, lots of folks hate to hear their own recorded voice.

Actually, I think I just don't have the right voice for VO work.
Why do I care?  I'm putting together some videos for my day job.  These will be for operator training and some pre-sales info.  I don't intend for these to be slick, commercial-looking videos, but I'm confident I can shoot some decent footage and put an OK video together.
I have software so I can generate some canned background music suitable for a corporate video.  Since there is a budget of ZERO for the project, I'll be the voice "talent" on the video.  I think my reading is ... OK - certainly good enough for the task at hand.  We have some videos around that were voiced with a free clip-on computer mic and a monotone reader.

I was messing around with a new microphone the other day (RODE NT2000) and recorded a few bits comparing the Rode, a Studio Projects C3, and also ran them through my little Mackie VLZ mixer and my Sebatron VMP tube preamp.

Just as an FYI, I'll post all 4 files here, but the fact that there are 4 files is more of a tangent than the topic here.  These are raw recordings - I've done nothing with EQ or compression on these files.

My question for the voice pros around here - any tips for techniques I might try to sound less like a dweeb?

I had the mics side-by-side with the capsules as close together as I could get them and recorded both mics simultaneously.  I just didn't trust my ability to read the same twice in a row.

I recorded samples with a Mackie VLZ mixer as well as a Sebatron VMP preamp.  No HPF was used.  The Seb was set with the 15dB pad - no HF EQ or LF EQ.

Recorded through a MOTU 24i into Samplitude.  Files are 16bit 44.1 KHz WAV files - about 8MB each.

http://www.cheap-tracks.com/mp3/nt2000-c3/nt2000_mackieVLZ.wav
http://www.cheap-tracks.com/mp3/nt2000-c3/spc3_mackieVLZ.wav
http://www.cheap-tracks.com/mp3/nt2000-c3/nt2000_sebVMP.wav
http://www.cheap-tracks.com/mp3/nt2000-c3/spc3_sebVMP.wav

Slow down.

Speak from your diaphragm.

Relax, you sound fine.

Ultra is basically right - but there are ways of achieving this, and they aren't quite so obvious, perhaps...

I know, lots of folks hate to hear their own recorded voice.

Actually, I think I just don't have the right voice for VO work.

I don't think that I do either - but since I still do some occasionally, and I don't get a lot of complaints (and I spent years training others to do it better than me...), I'll offer you a couple of tips, which you can ignore if you want.

You don't exactly sound like a dweeb - but nevertheless there are a few things that you might like to consider that might help you get the message across. The first is that when you talk, people assimilate what you're saying in the gaps in your speech. Pacing and reading everything off the page like you've practiced it a lot is fine for adverts, but gets right in the way of conveying information once. People need assimilation time. I find that the best way to slow down (and this improves the articulation too) is to concentrate on pronouncing the ends of words correctly. And, allow enough time to breath sensibly at the ends of sentences - this fixes a lot of the timing issues.

The most important thing about writing and delivering scripts yourself is to say out loud what you want to say until it's most comfortable, and then write down exactly what you said. You end up with ridiculous words like 'this'll' and my favourite 'shouldn't've', but if this is the way you speak comfortably, then it's what you should do in your script. You also end up with shorter sentences, and have fewer subjunctive clauses, and this is always better when it comes to aiding understanding, because it leaves more assimilation gaps, and doesn't require people to reference back to the earlier part of the sentence.

I'll say that last paragraph again; spot the difference:

The most important thing about writing and delivering scripts yourself is to say out loud what you want to say until it's most comfortable. Then write down exactly what you said. You'll end up with ridiculous words like 'this'll' and my favourite 'shouldn't've'. But if this is the way you speak comfortably, then it's what you should do in your script. You also end up with shorter sentences, and have fewer subjunctive clauses. This is always better when it comes to aiding understanding, because it leaves more assimilation gaps. Also, it doesn't require people to reference back to the earlier part of the sentence.

Try both aloud - hopefully you'll see what I mean. Once you get some of the basic stuff right, you'd be amazed at how much of the rest just falls into place. One thing that will happen is that you will sound more relaxed, and whoever is listening to you will also feel more relaxed - they will feel as though you are talking to them rather than at them. If it's to be a VO, then you have to imagine that you are only talking to a single person, a few feet in front of you. That's quite important when it comes to an acceptable delivery - it's what all good radio jocks do.

Oh, and stick a pencil in front of the mic you end up using - there are plosives!

If you can get a family member or friend to sit opposite you this can help. Looking up and smiling at this person will help with the timing and make your delivery lighter. It will also stop you sticking your head in the script. Lifting the head helps to open the throat and vocal chords and therefore give a more relaxed sound.

Also take your time as it is so easy to remove any slightly long pauses from within Audition.

Zemlin,  you've got a very good voice for industrial work like this!  It's quite pleasant and sincere, yet authoritive as well.  But I concur with all of the suggestions above:  slow down... even if you read sentences rather quickly, build in those pauses Steve demonstrated.  If you think you are r e a l l y...   d r a g g i n g...   t h i n g s...   o u t... it's probably about right.  Remember, you can easily trim out a bit of extra pause and retain good sound, vs. trying to insert some breathing room when words are squashed together.

Do relax... you sound just a bit uptight, compounded by the frantic pace to get done.  I'd love to have such "raw" talent to do voiceovers at my work.

I'm thinking I might run off some computer generated music and play that in the background while I read.  That might encourage me to pause longer.  Also, if I think about the footage that will likely be going along with this script, I would certainly want to pause and let the image sink in for a few seconds before moving on.

I will try to open up my throat a little more while reading and see what that sounds like.  Thanks for all the suggestions.

Karl, it'll all fall into place when you can say it without sounding like you're readng it, I can hear in your voice that you're telling the listener "hey I'm not comfortable with this, I'm reading it". The professional jocks and voice talents also learn to dramatise the reads, it involves a little bit of acting, doesn't matter what the subject or audience is, it always sounds much better when you are sounding enthusiastic about what you're saying. A smile here .. a bit of expression with your hands and even your eyes, all these things will add something to the read. It's all down to one simple thing: sound like you mean it. And if you have to act that a little then act it. There are those who will say "be yourself" - rubbish.. when I'm "myself" I am in my joggers and flip-flops and very relaxed, I mumble under my breath and don't make any effort at all to project my voice or make it clear, too relaxed to "perform" .. just act your voice-over a bit and pretend you're talking about something really interesting. Here's the correct mind-set for you... your boss has lent you his beach-house for a vacation, but your wife doesn't want to go, you would go into "sell the idea" overdrive right? Listen in your mind to how your voice changes when you describe the place to her and all the things you can do, and how she'll have a wonderful time. You are acting a bit, you're selling this great idea. You're sounding a bit excited and smiling a bit. Become that "mr persuasive" in your reads and you'll nail it down.

http://www.cheap-tracks.com/mp3/nt2000-c3/vo_test_retake.mp3

an improvement?

Zemlin,

Let me first say I have always been a fan of your work.  Its always been stellar, and this post is also stellar work!  Your voice is clear and bold, very industrial as one of the other posts stated.  OK yes I would agree for you to slow down, but I think I can help you a little more than just saying that.  To me, it sounds like you arent very familiar with the material you are reading.  Now that doesnt mean you have to research what you are reading to the umpteenth degree, but proofread it a thousand times to make it sound like you OWN what it is you are talking about.  I simply love your voice, and with practice I believe you could become a branded VO for a product, station, or idea.  I havent listened to your other post yet (mostly cuz this machine Im using at work is very very slow).  You are on the right track, I would love to hear the final product!


Smiles,

an improvement?

Yes it is better - but it still doesn't quite 'flow'. And, repeating the product name, rank and serial number twice in pretty quick succession makes it sound even more like a read, I'm afraid. I think that for this to work well, it needs to be more like you'd describe it to me on the telephone when I rang with an enquiry about it - under which circumstances I'm sure that it would come across more spontaneously.

The good news is that since you can clearly change your delivery style, then there's a much better chance that you are going to come up with a version that really works soon! Some people have a lot of difficulty changing aspects of their delivery, and this is much harder to work with.

What BFM said about your state of mind is quite important - Trying not to sell it, but persuading somebody to buy it is where this should be at. Try to imagine that the person on the phone had asked you an intelligent question about a part of the product - how would you reply? That's where you need to be.

http://www.cheap-tracks.com/mp3/nt2000-c3/vo_test_retake.mp3

an improvement?

Yes much better. You sound much more comfortable with it now. If you want to improve it further, I would re-write the script for speaking, there are words in there that are normally used in writing but not speech, so they are kind of dificult to say because you wouldn't normally say it this way. Writing for audio and writing for reading are completely different; it's still sounding a little bit like an air-hostess pointing out the emergency exits before take-off .. you know kind of like an official message and it never sounds real.

The mic audio quality is very good btw.

I'm fairly certain the pace will be significantly slower once I have video footage to work with.  Point taken on the name/rank/serial thing.  I was questioning that myself and would likely have dropped the second once I have more script to work it into.

As far as ownership is concerned - I designed the machine, so I certainly do take ownership in what I'm talking about.  Making it sound that way may be a different challenge.

For this read I put the script on a music stand to free my hands and tried to be more sincere with my delivery.  I'll work on making it more "first person".  

I'm a lot happier with this read - I think a quieter voice helped a lot.  If this is as good as it gets, I'll be fine with it - but I'm generally not the sort to stop at "merely adequate" - even if I know I won't likely get to "Great".  Thanks for the additional tips - I'll keep working on it and will post another sample when I get around to another shot at it - which will likely be when I'm doing it for keeps.

I think I need to find an alternative phrase to "differentiate".  That is in my working vocabulary, but I seem to have trouble getting it out smoothly.

I was travelling across country for the last two days, and yesterday on the car radio heard a programme about the use of the pause in comedy.

It can be heard at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/

Navigate to Tuesday's archived audio.  It isn't particularly relevant to the subject at hand, but it did come to mind when I listened to your last mp3. Steve is right about the flow. For example, it should be "in the world today" in triumph, not "in the world..................today".

When I worked full time in radio, we used to hear the news readers walking down the corridors practising the pronunciation, pacing and flow of their next "read" on a regular basis. The thing that always struck me was that it was always the better readers that you heard doing this, and I always put it down to them having the confidence to practise.

And if that guy presenting the R4 programme can get away with it you should be fine. I'd be hopeless.

Try a confident smile too Karl, you're talking about something you're particularly happy with/proud of so sound like it.

A method used by TV a lot that lifts the stuffiness out of a technical subject is a two-header, you could try splitting your read into three or four main points and get someone else to ask you about it, then edit them out for your final production, and hear the difference. Be careful to start your answers factually, so don't say "Oh It is" and "Well its" or "Yes" or "That's right", start with "The Alcoa blah blah is ...." and "What sets this apart more than anything else is it's ability to...."

When I worked full time in radio, we used to hear the news readers walking down the corridors practising the pronunciation, pacing and flow of their next "read" on a regular basis. The thing that always struck me was that it was always the better readers that you heard doing this, and I always put it down to them having the confidence to practise.

I think that what they realised was that they have to be believable - and that's not quite as easy as it sounds - practicing is everything. OTOH, some readers achieve this without too much difficulty, simply by being aware of some of the techniqes involved - which are more extensive than people generally realise.

On the side of the teleprompter in our old studio I stuck a headed post-it note that I'd come across that seemed curiosly appropriate. It said:

"The secret to success is sincerity. Once you can fake

that, you've got it made..."
Jean Giraudoux[/list:u][/color]