Voiceover Training with an Engineer!

Voice over training can be learned from many angles.  I always tell my students they would benefit from coaching not only with me to understand what the people on the ‘judging’ side of the mic are looking for but also with an actor who has a solid booking track to teach them the tricks they are using themselves that are clearly proven to be successful.  There are many other avenues as well for understanding voice over strategy, and one of them comes from inside the recording studio itself:  your engineer.

                Recording engineers are the unsung hero of the commercial.  We see the fabulous director parading around the room throwing ideas at the writer, the voice actor, etc….but it’s the engineer who not only puts it all together but sits there, often quietly, absorbing all that’s happening around him.  Over time, engineers can actually make great directors, because they have heard it all.  My criteria for choosing an engineer to mix a voice over demo  I am producing often comes back to his directing ability – because most engineers can mix well, but seeing the bigger picture and intuiting what the actor needs to do for that spot is taking it to a whole different level.  An engineer who understands the performance  aspect will also understand better what that spot needs surrounding it – the right music choices, appropriate sfx, etc.

                I asked the talented Brent Rogers, engineer at Rex Studios in Portland, OR his thoughts on what makes a great voice actor.  Here are his thoughts:

“I think the most important thing for me is that the voice has a pleasing timbre and/or unique style of delivery.   Also, I’m very impressed when the talent can read well while facing technical challenges.  An example from the other day was VO expert Mark Rossman.  During our last session he was reading from a printed spread sheet with dialogue that gave him start times in timecode form.  He had to read the page while reading the timecode while listening to the original audio in German to see if he was on track with the video that was being displayed.  He would also add just the right accents and emphasis on certain phrases and jargon that made him “sound like” he knew what he was talking about.  And, I like character actors who develop a character for a client and then stay in character consistently over time and multiple versions of the spot.”

                Well, I thought I knew it all about voice over training until I heard this fresh perspective on what else can make a difference in a performance.  I like these insights so much I think I will go grab a few more rare candidates  and start up the interviews again…..back to you with those soon.