VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[HeatherMasters]

The more I learn about engineering, the more I realize I don't know. As of now, I have learned a few basic techniques that work, and just went with it. The problem is that when something goes wrong, I have no idea how to fix it, because I have no solid foundation on why I'm doing what I'm doing. Is there any type of coaching offered for VO engineering? I've researched, but all I can find is training geared toward music production.
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Heather

www.heathermastersvo.com

[SteveToner]

How about some books? Again, most are geared toward music production, but if you ignore what's not relevant to VO, they should be able to provide a decent foundation. There might even be a couple of books that are specifically focused on VO engineering, not sure. But start here, since this is somehow available free :

https://mikethevideoguy.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/modern-recording-techniques-7th-ed-d-huber-r-runstein-focal-2010-ww.pdf

And if in looking it over, it looks useful, then I would suggest buying a hard copy (there is now an 8th edition). Not advocating copyright theft here
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www.TonerVoice.com

[Lee Gordon]

Dan Lenard is doing a webinar on that topic next Wednesday (11/9). It costs around 40 bucks. You can get the details at www.voiceoverxtra.com.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[FinMac]

What do you want to learn?

What software are you using ?

I know that George Whittam has some videos on TwistedWave on YouTube.

Then there is this webinar on the basics of audio processing...

http://www.edgestudio.com/voice-over-home-studio-201

There should be a lot of information out there on the internet, or is it that you want to take a class ?
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www.scottsvoiceover.com - An American voice in Finland

"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

[juliaknippen]

Hi Heather! When I started out I took a few of Dan Lenard's webinars. I highly recommend them. Another Dan (Friedman) has a book that you might find useful, and he also does webinars himself. Here's a link to his book:

http://sound4vo.com/thebook/

George Whittam is also excellent teacher and he does webinars all the time.
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[DenaliDave]

It depends on what DAW you are using.

If you have a library card here in town you can take Lynda.com classes for free. They're web-based video tutorials and pretty highly regarded.

Normally, it's $25-$35/mo for access to the Lynda.com tutorial videos, but free with our library cards. I was pretty impressed to learn that, there's all kinds of neat perks our library cards get us that never get advertised!

Youtube is another great place to learn things. There are a lot of great tutorials on there for even TwistedWave!

Right now I'm learning how to do production for actual music...I have a friend who wants to record some vocals for a few songs she's written.
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
www.alaskamic.com

[Bruce]

YouTube. There must be hundreds of videos out there on how to use the most popular recording programs. Many are by thick accented foreigners, but at least they're out there.



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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Bish]

As has been demonstrated in another thread (in Gear) the tech stuff can be a total rat-hole. The trick is not to bury yourself in stuff you don't need because it will just obfuscate the stuff you do. I started building my "solid foundation" about forty-five years ago... so while it comes easy to me, I absolutely appreciate that to someone without this foundation, it actually is rocket science!

Get the basics as they pertain to you mic chain. Get a handle on what the levels are... basic dB nomenclature, optimal levels, signal/noise ratios. Try to get familiar with frequency response curves and what particular frequency bands mean to you and your recording. With that stuff nailed, you can venture into compression and other treatments and understand what's happening.

I've heard good reports about Dan Friedman's book (Sound4VO) if you want a hard-copy reference. Dan knows what he's talking about and puts it clearly.

... and as Bruce said... YouTube... but that can be another rat-hole all of its own!
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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.

[HeatherMasters]

Thanks so much for all the advice.
Dan Friedman's book Sound Advice was what got me to the point I am now. It was extremely helpful getting the basics down.

As far as youtube goes, I have watched oh, so many tutorials. Some have been quite helpful, like the audiobook mastering tutorials by NuanceTone. Most of them however, use lingo I can't follow, and I always end up with questions afterward, and no one to ask.

Dave, I was not aware of the library option, which is so cool! I do have a $40 fine right now though, so we'll see

What I'm really looking for is some one on one hands on time where I can ask questions, and go through the techniques to really make sure they gel in my head. Thankfully, someone offered to coach me a bit, so I'm pretty psyched.

Thanks so much for the help all!
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Heather

www.heathermastersvo.com

[Bruce]

$40 fine eh? Here's hoping they have an amnesty day sometime soon.


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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[samowry]

I always consider library fines as donations for their great works.

I donate a lot.

[HeatherMasters]

Unfortunately, library fines make me bitter. My cycle is check out 15 or so books for my littles at a time, and repeat this every few weeks for a few months. Then, I forget about a batch of books, return it 2 weeks late, get an astronomical fine, and then swear I'm never going to the library again. Months pass, until mom guilt sets in, and the cycle repeats. Sigh...
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Heather

www.heathermastersvo.com

[DenaliDave]

I haven't been to the library in 20 years, so I'm not sure if I have a fine or not...

Kind of afraid to go in there and see about reactivating or getting a new card!

As for learning -- I've found that when you don't know where to start, a good place is by learning to do specific things you want to do/fix!

Each little problem I learn how to solve or skill I master is like a puzzle piece. Eventually the pieces fall together into place and I find myself using several skills in combination to get a more complex task done.

I'm not sure there's to many tutorials out there for TwistedWave itself -- I know there's some stuff on YouTube though. The reason I like TW is because it's pretty simple to use, but does contain some powerful features.

On the other hand, if you want to do mutli-tracking with music beds or have fun making/recording music on the side...TwistedWave might not be the best tool for the job. It's wonderful for recording and editing, but I find it a bit lacking on the production side.

I will say that the batch processing in TwistedWave is nothing short of magical, and can save you a LOT of time!

If you're on the Mac, Garage Band is great. It's sneaky, and I chuckle now at how smart Apple is to include it for free. You see, Garage Band is pretty much Logic Pro X at its heart. You can even open Garage Band projects in Logic X.

If you ever decide to move from Garage Band to Logic, you'll instantly recognize a lot of things and feel at home. Logic even has a way to hide the advanced stuff and nearly resemble Garage Band. It's very easy to move into.

And the nice thing about Logic is the price. It's $199 vs. $600 for ProTools (or a monthly subscription).
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
www.alaskamic.com