Hi guys, a merry Christmas and New Year from myself and my cat, Mimi, here in a freezing North London!
We took a luxurious 10 day break from the city and spent the holidays with family down on the South East coast. Now it's time to dive right back into the voice over journey!
The first thing I did when I got back to London was to get to work on finishing the booth. First I went to my local carpet shop and asked to see their offcuts. After 20 minutes hearing about the shopkeeper's UFC ambitions, we spent about £45 on some pretty ugly carpets, but it was more than enough to kill any sound reflection from the floors in our studio room. With the frame already completed (thank you Musician on a Mission !), it was time to hang the blankets to the sides, a duvet over the top and set up the Macbook, microphone and audio interface so we are ready to start recording! Obviously, the PVC pipes don't weigh a great deal, so the frame found itself bending slightly under the weight of the blankets. But with a fistful of Gorilla Tape, this was sorted and now, Barry the Booth stands tall over all it surveys!
So, as you can see from the pictures below, I am using an AKG C214 large diaphragm condensor microphone, along with a Scarlett 2i2 audio interface. After dropping so much money on a Macbook Pro, I felt the C214 would be the best starter mic. I can't pretend to be an audio expert, but after a lot of research, this seemed like the right choice for me. I didn't want to spend half the money only to have to replace the microphone within a year! As for the Scarlett, Focusrite are probably the most trusted name in interfaces, and it has proved easy-to-use. Final essential purchases were a music stand (so I can read the copy while still being able to use my hands) and a reading light.
I'd originally hoped to have my reels made by now, but unfortunately my producer has been incredibly busy with personal issues. The aim is to have them recorded by March. In the meantime, I was lucky to grab a Black Friday deal with Voices.com, one of several websites that voice over artists refer to as "Pay to Play".
Essentially these are job listings websites where clients can match with voices. Though probably too expensive for a real beginner (a years membership is typically up to $400 ! ), the Black Friday discount meant that I got it for $90 . On the advice of several talents more experienced than me, I snapped up the deal right away. It seems like a great way to make some money and experience whilst hunting for an agent.
In my next post I will talk more about my experiences with “Pay to Play”, my progression with producing the reels and anything else I may have learnt along the way :)
Till next time, George :)
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