VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Chuck Davis · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:58 am Post subject: VO at sea?

KAte just booked us on a cruise next month. I can get online from the ship. Knowing full well that if I tell clients that I'm available on a limited basis...there will be some that need stuff anyway, I'm bringing the mobile set-up.

This should be an experience!

BTW - @Diane - I didn't plan on going anywhere but to Faffcon this year.
Guess I'm always on vacation again. Wink

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Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:07 am Post subject:

ahoy, matey! faffcon is hardly vacation ( Wink

) ...
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Chuck Davis · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:23 am Post subject:

True dat. I was thinking more from a travel perspective.
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Bob Bergen · CM Joined: 22 Apr 2008 Posts: 979

Just know Chuk that ship Internet is done by satellite and is notoriously slow and weak. I've spent a fortune attempting to use it for vo. I do a lot of cruises and have just decided to let vacations be vacations when it comes to cruising. I just leave the studio at home. Ya gotta get away every once in a while and it just isn't cost effective. What I will do possibly is record auditions on the ship and send in via wifi at a port. But the timing of the port has to work with the deadline of the audition. The bottom line is, sometimes ya just gotta get away and let the vo go for a lil while.

todd ellis · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:35 am Post subject:

Chuck Davis · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:53 am Post subject:

Good point guys. I was wondering about the sat speeds. I'll probably bring the stuff anyway...not with the idea of auditioning unless it's something really important.

I usually tell clients that I'm avaialbe mostly on an emergency basis...and with nothing faster than a 24 hour turn-around. I send out the emails two week's prior to leaving, repeat 1 week out and finally 24 hours before departure.

Someone....always forgets.
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Bish · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:58 am Post subject:

Just a thought... I've never cruised, but I've heard some horror stories from friends about the stability of the power... up/down and as spiky as you like. It's probably not an issue as it'll all be (I'm guessing) USB on a laptop that's floating across it's own battery. But it may be worth doing any recording while not connected to an outlet.
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Lee Gordon · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:30 am Post subject:

Bringing the portable recording gear on the cruise is really just a counter-measure to Murphy's Law. As long as you have it with you, you shouldn't have any clients contact you for an emergency VO. If you leave it at home, someone will.
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Monk · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:50 am Post subject:

voice over and whale watching... epic.

Smile

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Chuck Davis · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:58 am Post subject:

Think we already did that.....

'cept we didn't see any Whales. Rolls Eyes

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Lynne · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:12 am Post subject: Cruising

Not sure if you've ever cruised before, Chuck. I'm not that experienced at it myself; only taken a couple. But internet access on the two I went on was only in one specific area (not in your cabin at ALL), usually in the middle of a very noisy spot...like the bar...and it was something like nine bucks a minute! Crazy! Good luck on trying to do anything more than check in on e-mail. (Cell phones don't typically work either...) 'Course, I guess it depends on where ya'll are cruising to....But, ya, just relax and have a GOOD TIME!!!
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ccpetersen · Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:51 am Post subject:

What Bob Bergen said.

I work onboard ships several times a year as "entertainment staff" and I know from experience that the onboard internet is:

1) tres expensivo (think 70 cents a minute, unless you buy a package of several hundred minutes);

2) slow to spotty and can go out at any time, particularly as it is second priority to ship's communications;

The ship has ambient noise you can't get rid of in your recordings. There is NO entirely quiet place on a ship. I know. I've tried. Even tried the pillow pyramid in my stateroom. You still get the low rumble of the ship's engines, even in the library on the top deck.

I'm working pretty much exclusively on Celebrity ships these days, and they do have some conference rooms that I've used, but I still get noise (A/C, engine rumble). You could probably filter that out if need be, but just be aware of it.

Princess ships are similar, as are Holland America. Not sure which cruise line you're on.

The electrical is an issue. Not every ship has 110 outlets everywhere. Sure, there'll be one in your cabin, but the conference rooms and library seem to be european standard outlets. so, you'd need to bring along a converter. And an extension cord or better yet, a power strip with a cutoff on it.

That being said, if you DO take your audio gear and have to upload some work, you will almost always find a cheap place on shore to upload files from and it won't cost you 70 cents a minute to do so. There are internet cafes in every port. Ask a crew member where THEY go and go there. Wink

Last year in Bermuda I uploaded files from a little place in the port area that was charging a few bucks an hour for high-speed access.

Good luck!

carolyn
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hearmatt · Joined: 14 Jan 2011 Posts: 1 Location: New York

I'm taking a cruise in a few weeks myself and not sure if I should take my equipment. I'll be in port in Bermuda a few days so I'm not concerned about wifi speed, just the ship being quiet enough to record.

If I take my stuff I'll let you know how it goes.
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ccpetersen · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 12:26 pm Post subject:

Matt,

Depending on where you make port in Bermuda, there are some pretty inexpensive places to do email checks. Several of the cafes in the Dockyard Area have access, and there is a place where many crew members go that's in the second story of a gray stone building about 100 yards from the pier. I forget the name of it, but there's a prominent sign hanging out front.

In Hamilton many places have internet access, so you should be in good shape for uploads and downloads at a reasonable price.

have a great time!
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Chuck Davis · Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 4:03 am Post subject:

Thanks everyone for the tips and advice! Sounds like I'll be able to give anyone that's going to need emergency VO that week a good idea ahead of time when they can expect to receive anything they send my way.

The best part is....I have a great excuse to step away from the mic completely for a few days. Smile

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