VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Lizden

Hi all!
It's late...and I just saw this, so figured I repost this in CHAT from new member Steve O'Sullivan

Lizden · Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:42 pm Post subject:

Hey Steve!
First: Welcome! Laugh

I had this problem when I was starting out as well....I would also speed up, which sounded Oh-so-lovely! Wink

I think part of it is a bit of nervousness.
When practicing, try to start off in your natural pitch and be really conscious of your sound...also make sure you're breathing. If you forget to breath you'll tend to pitch higher as you try to finish a phrase on no breath.

Marking your script with where to pause may help you to remember to breathe.....we wouldn't want you passing out in the middle of a read Wink

Others who are truly trained actors will most probably have great insight...but this has helped me! Laugh

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Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
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heyguido · Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:50 pm Post subject:

Okay.... I'll play.

Take off the cans.

Don't listen to signal to noise ratio... Don't listen for mouth clicks.

Listen to what you hear in the room and in your head.

Don't stop when you stumble, and read it till you own it.

As you relax, and become comfortable with it, your natural pitch will come thru.

Learn that feeling, and remember it.
_________________
Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

Lizden · Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:57 pm Post subject:

heyguido · Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 11:07 pm Post subject:

Thanx, Liz..... And, welcome, SteveO.

cool

_________________
Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

Frank F · Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 11:14 pm Post subject:

Increasing volume with a pitch increase is normal. One of the culprits is most of us speak softly with other people and when we get excited we increase the volume, tighten our larynx, and thus raise the pitch of our voice.

OK, we have the problem and the reason for it, but I have not welcomed you to this island of sanity in the wild world. So, Welcome Steve!

First, stand about ten feet from your microphone, record and read the copy as you normally would. Listen to the recording and determine how loud or soft your voice is and how uncomfortable you sound. Remember each sentence is one thought - complete to the punctuation.

Next, try to speak while recording to someone (in your mind's eye) who is ten feet behind your mic. Picture your spouse or significant other and talk with them. Can this person hear you now? Listen to the file and how your voice did not change in pitch, just volume.

Add some excitement to the descriptive words which need stressing. Massage the words. Go over the top! Pay homage to each and every word in every sentence. Record everything and listen back.

Practice speaking with your imaginary friend who is ten feet behind the mic often. You will soon find this level of volume becomes natural when you are recording and your pitch will not rise but your excitement level will.

Oh, and what Don says: "...take off the cans!"

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

Lee Gordon · Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 1:04 am Post subject:

And position yourself where you won't accidentally whack into anything and don't be afraid to "talk with your hands." It may seem counter-intuitive to use hand gestures for voiceover, but it can be helpful.

And, yes, lose the cans.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
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Philip Banks · Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 2:37 am Post subject:

If you are pre-occupied or as is more often the case distracted by expert advice you will continue to get frustrated and confused.

Removing headphones is about as effective as stuffing a Hake in your boxers but it is has become the Scientology of the VO world, in time all nonsense becomes fact and wisdom. See gear and critique section for more details.

So, what to do? Talk to someone, really believe you are talking to someone, say to them what needs to be said. Ignore YOU and your voice pitch, just tell me something and I'll listen. In order to believe and communicate one must first believe in communication and NOT VO Scientology.

ballenberg · Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 4:46 am Post subject:

While there are different thoughts here, many of them valid, they tend to focus on acting issues. As Frank points out, an increase in pitch is a normal response, especially to excitement. But it isn't always desirable in VO.

The trick with vocal production is that changes usually need to be brought about by visualization tricks and exercises--not acting exercises, but speech exercises. It's what singers do--and while what we do vocally is less demanding, the principles are the same.

My suggestion for Steve is to head to Barnes & Noble, and browse some books on voice production, looking into low vs. high larynx and volume vs pitch. Then grab the best book and try some of the exercises. It takes time because it's not entirely a conscious process.

Hope this is some help, Steve.

Another thought is that broad smiling will definitely increase the pitch of the sound.

If extra help is needed, I can recommend an excellent speech coach ( read: different than VO coach) who works with actors--I think she'd prefer not have her email address scanned by Internet spiders, but I'd be happy to send her contact info on to anyone who'd like it--Just PM me with an email address and I'll pass it along.

Moe Egan · Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 5:06 am Post subject:

First of all- Welcome to the monkey cage Steve-

If I"m understanding you correctly, this puts me in mind of the old add 'If you want to get someone's attention, whisper.' Not all lines that demand energy demand extra volume. A basic acting technique is to try to deliver the lines in need of extra energy, or oomph in different ways- as a mom, my kids know when I am talking low through my gritted teeth, I am restraining myself, watch it. Try diverting the energy to places not in your mouth or throat- if that makes sense- your read will be richer, and more real- it's something we do automatically without thinking when not behind a mic, so it takes practice to do it on command- which leads to the next insight- a basic stage acting course is always a good idea for VO types - except for those with exceptional God given abilities who live in Scotland- just cause you can't see us act don't mean we aren't actors.
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

Bish · Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 5:47 am Post subject:

Welcome to the madhouse! You've probably had a taste of us at out worst... now let's shoot for something a little better ... once the coffee, chocolate, cake, and llama are looked after Smile

Most of the time, I go headphone-less as well. Not because I'm being over-analytical about what I'm hearing or being distracted by my own voice... I'm just very conscious of them physically and sometimes they take me out of what I'm doing. This is true of traditional cans, ear-buds and the modern in-ear implements of torture.

I have a lot of trouble with the lead-in to a piece. I agree that (most) copy should have a natural ebb and flow of energy and pitch. My issue is sometimes where to start (the hardest word is "Hello"). If I'm having trouble, I always tack on a sentence in front of the copy... something fitting that let's me have my initial "burst" and has me settled by sentence two... the real start.
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Philip Banks · Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 5:55 am Post subject:

bransom · DC Joined: 06 Nov 2008 Posts: 650 Location: St. Louis, MO

Hi, Steve. Welcome. As an exercise, try whispering the script. Think about whispering it as though you were whispering to a sibling that you just saw Santa Claus in the living room. Youre really, really excited but must be extremely quiet. Can you convey the excitement while maintaining a full whisper? Think about what vocal changes you made to convey the excitement while still maintaining a whisper.

Now try to make those same changes while reading at a volume.

Good luck!
_________________
Bob Ransom
"I really need a pithy quote here."

Lapianoman · Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 7:52 am Post subject:

Welcome Steve! To supplement the previous advice about whispering, I think you might find this video from Nancy Wolfson to be helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5BeI-lYvgw
_________________
John LaPiana
Voice User

Monk · Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:08 am Post subject:

God given talent.

The key phrase is "talent" If it's not given, it can sometimes be learned.

Seek out a decent coach to help you. Philip is too far, (but his rates are reasonable as long as a Full English Breakfast is included)

Voice work is being able to interpret a script, and that's acting. Some say you either have it or you don't. I think it can be taught with practice.

So find a good coach, and take some lessons. It will make a difference with your delivery.

Now as far as God is concerned....
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