[VO MegaThread] So...You Want To Be A Voice Actor

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > [VO MegaThread] So...You Want To Be A Voice Actor

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

Name: Adib

Specialties: Deep, confident, authoritative, announcer/broadcaster, reciting all kinds of passages and excerpts. I can also do this in Persian, and people have also given me props on my Buk Lau (think of the Asian voice done by OwnagePranks) impression, so I can do that too.

Tindeck: http://tindeck.com/users/adib - I don't have anything uploaded here, though.

IMDB/Portfolio: I have a reading of Poe's "The Raven" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oedWRWNPL-k
Also did a promo ad for a school performance here: http://soundcloud.com/adibm/swag-entertainment-audition

Contact: adibmasumian@gmail.com

Payment: Just contact me by e-mail and we'll work something out.

I use an AT2020 Audio Technica USB microphone.

I'd also like to testify to Voices.com being a giant scam. In addition to everything mentioned in the OP, I personally tried them out for one month (thank goodness I caught them at a $9.95 special) and completed around 45 ads, all for nothing. I recommend that you guys try someone else and steer clear of Voices.com.

Adib fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Jan 26, 2012

# ¿ Jan 26, 2012 20:02

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 20:26

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

I'd like to do the big news voice.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2012 17:18

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

Here's my submission for the big news voice. Let me know if I should change it somehow:

Incidentally I also finally got around to recording the Summerset Hills prompt. I initially did the first recording without looking at previous advice, but I later found The Joe Man's tips on the previous page for this particular prompt and decided to re-record it in a more casual (and less news reporter-y) style. Here are both takes respectively:

Please let me know what you all think!

Adib fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Jan 30, 2012

# ¿ Jan 30, 2012 03:02

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

Stinkmeister posted:

A bit of feedback, take it or leave it. You're doing a nice job of reading it pleasantly, there's nothing here that's painful to listen to, but it's not clear that you're trying to affect the listener in any way. Remember that every commercial is trying to get the listener to do something (e.g. move to Summerset Hills).

You can do this in a lot of ways. For example, you can help them (I know you've been looking for the perfect place to live, I know just the place: Summerset Hills). You can inspire them (come on, you've been talking about moving for months, it's time to get off your butt and move... to Summerset Hills). You can even scare/intimidate them (these houses in Summerset Hills are perfect, but they're not going to be around forever!). Pick a tactic and commit to it. Fully. Way more than you think you have to. You've got an interesting voice, and your speech is good, but put your energy toward affecting the listener, and I think you'll have much better results.

That's just my opinion, though. Take it or leave it.

This is indeed very helpful advice! I did notice that I could have been coming off as a little uninterested in the listener per se and too focused on how I articulated the passage. I'm glad that you confirmed that suspicion�now I can work on it.

Appreciate the tip!

# ¿ Jan 30, 2012 05:20

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

Leofish posted:

The first part of it was okay. Your THIS was just about where I'd want it. THIS is the WORLD. NEWS. CHANNEL. The World News Channel is a big deal. Really hit the name of the station. The WORLD. NEWS. CHANNEL. We are AUTHORITATIVE AND IMPORTANT. Leave a very brief pause in between each word (but not too long) to really emphasize the name.

But you really threw away Slate. Poor Slate! He's the reason folks tune in. He's the star of the show, even if it is a news show. Slate knows his stuff and you should listen to him because he is AUTHORITATIVE AND IMPORTANT.

Here's SLATE CASPIAN. His name is just as important as the name of the World News Channel.

I like your voice. It's got depth, and you could really make it resonate if you worked at it.

Oh dear! Sorry Slate�I didn't mean to steal your thunder!

Here's a second take in the hope that he'll accept my sincerest apologies.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2012 20:27

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

I second Stinkmeister: you are GOOD.

The Joe Man posted:

First take is absolutely atrocious so let's just skip to the 2nd take.

2nd take is less atrocious. Is that your natural speaking voice? It sounds like you're trying to do an impersonation of your dad.

That hurt my pride a bit, but I guess that's why I needed to hear it!

Yes actually, that is my natural speaking voice. I've had a deeper voice than my dad (and most of the people I've ever met in person) basically ever since I hit puberty, so I would have to use a much higher register if I were trying to impersonate him.

The voice that comes out of my mouth may sound contrived�atrocious though it may be�but I guarantee you it's genuine. I mean, obviously when I'm angry or yelling I have a much more prominent lilt in my tone�just like the rest of the world�but then, that's not my "natural speaking voice."

Any artificiality you're [accurately] detecting probably comes from my sticking too close to the script, an assessment with which I totally agree.

The Joe Man posted:

However, if that is your natural voice, you need to work on blending your sentences together naturally so it doesn't sound like you're reading from a script. This is very, very wooden. Listen to your "moving up" for the worst example of what I'm talking about. "safe and secluded street on which to raise their kids" is okay.

Thank you very much for not only highlighting this problem, but also for pointing to a specific occurrence. Now I see exactly what you're talking about. I'll try to be more vigilant about bridging those unnatural gaps.

The Joe Man posted:

You also have a slight saliva/tongue click problem as well.

I've actually noticed the tongue click problem before, but unfortunately I have no idea how to fix it (or at least work towards fixing it). That goes for the saliva problem as well. Any suggestions?

The Joe Man posted:

I think you're trying too hard to sound like an announcer and it's throwing your whole rhythm off. You're also speaking from the bottom of your throat and not resonating from the diaphragm.

Hmm. I'm not really sure I know how to control that, but I suppose I can try to imagine myself doing it and see where that gets me. As you can obviously tell, I have had no kind of voice training whatsoever�though I am planning on taking a "Training Your Speaking Voice" class at my university next semester, which I hope will help with my technique.

I'll try the script again tomorrow or the next day.

Thank you so much for your constructive criticism, The Joe Man. I can't get better if I don't hear feedback, so your taking the time to give me input really means a lot to me.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2012 05:07

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

Blamethrower posted:

Hello VO thread!

First off, i'm willing to pay �30/$50 via paypal to the chosen goon.

I'm looking for someone to record a narration for my short doc about the universe. The doc is made up of talking heads and shots of the universe created in after effects. A voice over will run thorough the doc providing an intro and connecting the questions. Ideally I would like it before Sunday 29th.(sorry for the short turn-around)

Specific request - it needs to be sent to me as a 16bit 48khz MONO .wav file.

---------------------------------
Script:

The Universe.

It is everything we know. Every star, every planet, every galaxy. Infinitely small and infinitely large, the universe is now known to be approximately 14 billion years old - a measurement taken from the time of the Big Bang. But what was the Big Bang?

Light cannot travel instantaneously. Light travels at a specific speed. Therefore, when you look out into the night sky, you are effectively looking back in time. The further away we look, the further back in time we see - enabling us to see all the way back to the big bang with the use of powerful telescopes in orbit.

The observable universe is a spherical region of space that we are able to see. Objects at the edge of the observable universe have had enough time for their light to reach us here on Earth, making them visible. The observable universe has a diameter of approximately 93 billion light years - making the distance from earth to the edge of the observable universe around 46 billion light years. In short, nobody knows what lies past the edge, as it is unobservable.

There are between 200-400 billion stars in the milky way. But there could be more galaxies in the universe today than there are stars in the milky way. How did all these stars and galaxies form?

-------------------------------------

Any questions or submissions - lamethrower AT hotmail.co.uk

Thanks goons!

This is wonderful; thanks so much for the opportunity. I'll probably submit my attempt over the weekend.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2012 12:27

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

Just sent you my reading as well, Blamethrower. Thanks again!

# ¿ Apr 28, 2012 14:09

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

This was my take:

# ¿ Apr 30, 2012 19:47

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

This question is a bit off-topic but it does have to do with sound acoustics and whatnot, so I'm hoping I can get some insight from you guys on this. They pertain to this sound clip:

http://soundcloud.com/adibm/noureddine-sabet-imani-reading

1. Is there a specific "name" for the little echo/reverb effect that can be heard throughout?

2. What kind of setup would you need to produce that effect? Any special sort of mic or environment?

The only reason I ask is because I want to do straight readings for a group of people like in the clip above. I think I'm somewhere between a bass and a baritone, so I think this kind of effect would help with dramatization and giving the piece an overall more "powerful" quality. Appreciate any advice I can get on this.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2012 04:46

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 20:26

Adib: Jan 23, 2012; These are strange times, my dear...

blinkeve1826 posted:

Out of curiosity, where are you located? If this is something you're seriously considering, have you taken any voiceover classes? Group classes in a professional studio setup are, in my opinion, the best and most cost-effective way to train and learn what it's actually like to do this in a studio as opposed to sitting behind a mic in your coat closet. Even if you go the private route, any voiceover teacher worth his/her salt will have you in his/her own booth or recording setup as part of your training.

I live in Austin, TX�fairly big and hip city. I wonder if those sorts of classes are available here?

# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 21:32

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