VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Lizden · Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 1:36 pm Post subject: Voices in my head...and NOT Moe!

OK...this was a first for me.

I was at a new client's studio in NYC on Wednesday to do the VO for an infomercial.

Turns out I was dubbing the English voice-over that was originally in Ecuadorian Spanish.

What they insisted upon was playing the Spanish in my cans "for timing" at a low (but not low enough!) volume as I spoke the English VO. I did ask them to turn it down a bit, but they still wanted me to hear it.

Being the pro I am Rolls Eyes

I did it, and managed to actually go into my "interpreter mode" from years back but it was strange.

Have any of you ever had to do a session this way?

Like I said, it turned out OK....the engineer and the client were happy, but it was definitely a new one for me!

Any tips on doing this for the next time (short of telling them to turn off the foreign audio!)

Liz
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Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
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Frank F · Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 1:43 pm Post subject:

Yes!

Tip #1: Move the cans off the ears to the back of the head,so you can actually hear the other "voice" just ever so slightly. If that does not work, see the next step.

Tip 2: Ask and ye shall receive. If you do not let the engineer know you are having a problem, he/she cannot adjust the volume for you. So ASK to turn the volume DOWN. If that does not work, see the next step.

Tip 3: Start talking in Italian/Vietnamese until they notice and ASK them to turn the volume down. If that does not work, see the next step.

Tip 4: See tip #1

Toodles

F2
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Lizden · Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 1:47 pm Post subject:

Hey Frank,

I actualy had a really good relationship with the Engineer and he did turn the volume down (3 times!) as much as HE felt comfortable doing Rolls Eyes

I'll have to brush up on my Vietnamese I guess!

BUT!

I LOVE the "Move the Cans" advice. That's going into my tool box.

THANX!

L.
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Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

Moe Egan · Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 3:30 pm Post subject:

Those translation with original foreign words in your head are TOUGH! I've done that a couple of times - voiced over the original Cantonese- you have to zone out of the buzz in your ears. Rock on Liz! Congrats for surviving the session!

A few weeks ago, I did a VO to a marketing video that was already done with a scratch VO track....THAT was a female dog of a session. I had the scratch track in my ear (which was in English - much harder not to listen when you can understand what is being said) as well as the Engineer and the client in my ear "pick it up a bit", "Slow down on the next section", the video running in front of me, and the engineer visually cuing me each time the narration kicked in again (he had done the scratch track so he knew when the cues were coming).....

I felt like the plate spinner on Ed Sullivan (yes, I'm that old to remember him)....but after that session the engineer said to the client "That is the hardest thing a VO talent has to do...and I knew Moe could handle it."....make all that cold sweat worth it. Still beats working in a factory cutting my ass Shocked

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~~~~~

Lizden · Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 3:46 pm Post subject:

Thanks Moe!

Bruce · Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:52 am Post subject:

With most videos like that I just work from timing. You have 14 seconds for this section, and 25 seconds to read this part. It takes a tiny bit more work on their part to write that down on the copy, but today's video editing makes sliding narration around to fit so easy that I have no idea why they need to have you read over another language. Old habits die hard I guess.

Sure, it might be a good idea to watch it once in the original language to get the emotional level, but even then, emotion levels don't always translate evenly either.

Quel frommage,

B
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bobbinbeamo · Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:01 pm Post subject:

Wow. I've had to do v/o's with a copy change while listening to myself doing the original spot, to synch up - no big. But I find it hard to imagine trying to voice something while listening to the spot in a foreign language and get the timing dead on. Amazing, Liz!
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Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:01 am Post subject:

did you see this yesterday, liz?

http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20070923.html
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todd ellis · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:09 am Post subject:

holy crap! that's funny. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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Lizden · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:32 am Post subject:

YES!
And I was laughing while reading it...and my husband was giving me a really weird look! Rolls Eyes

Liz
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Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

jrodriguez315 · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:43 am Post subject:

I had a session like that last Thursday. It was Turkish and the engineer wanted me to hear the original Turkish guy "for timing". We've done this before so I am used to it but it is sometimes distracting. I use both the Ask him to turn it down and the Move cans off my ears methods to work this way.
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