Double Dutch

After much use, even the sharpest knives get dull.

 

Can a voice-over pro ever take time off?

Do you have to be available 24/7?

Is it okay to shut down your business for a few weeks of R & R?

Will your facebook fans unfriend you?

Will your Twitter followers desert you?

Will your voice-overworked agent ever talk to you again?

Let me answer these questions with a question:

What won’t happen if you don’t do it?

BALANCING ACT
I am a big believer in a balanced lifestyle. As a European living in the States (the number 1 “no vacation nation“), I see a lot of people around me who are absolutely addicted to their jobs. Modern technology has made it easier than ever to stay connected and become a burned-out, boss-pleasing slave laborer.

Excuse me. Have we forgotten our history?

On January 31st, 1865, The U.S. House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States. It read:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

I guess the keyword is involuntary servitude.

We are free people, living in a free country who earned the right to free themselves of any free time. Instead, we have chosen “voluntary servitude”.

Now, that’s what I call progress in a society built upon the principles of “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!”

But let’s put the cynicism and sarcasm aside for a moment. If you’re pursuing happiness as a full-time freelancer, you are in charge of your own destiny. You set your own hours. You determine your own rates. You’re the only one who can call it a day and shout from the roof tops:

Give me a break!

You’re self-employed. You embody your service. Literally. If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will. If you don’t guard your boundaries carefully, good people with the best of intentions will step on them and leave you depleted.

TRAPPED & TIRED
A few weeks ago, I was asked to do a presentation in front of hundreds of people. Prior to that, there was a reception and -of course- you can’t have a reception without background music. It’s a known fact that most musicians aren’t capable of staying in the background. No matter the crowd, they have to be LOUD.

I knew that if I were to schmooze prior to my presentation, I would have no voice left, even though my vocal cords are well trained.

As they say: “If you schmooze, you lose.”

Besides, the next day I was going to New York for a recording session and my voice had to be in top-shape in order to sell well.

So, I was left with a choice. Either slip something into the drinks of the band that would have them running to the restroom in a matter of minutes… or hide myself from the crowd until it was time to go on stage.

The first option was obviously more entertaining, but I ended up hiding in the basement. Unfortunately, an overzealous janitor came down, turned off the lights and kicked the door shut, leaving me trapped.

This is where cell phones can save the day. I called the organizer of the event:

“Hi, it’s Paul.”

“Paul, where are you? We’ve been looking all over for you!”

“I am trapped in the basement. It is dark in here. Rats are nibbling on my feet. Please rescue me!”

That day, instead of being a voice-over, I became a voice-under.

I think you get my point.

In order to give your all, you sometimes have to get away from it all. But avoid being locked up.

GO AWAY
Now, in an ideal world you would just pack your bags and go where no one can reach you. But what to do when you’re waiting for that all-important callback or that once-in-a-lifetime chance to audition for something you can’t afford to refuse?

In that case, you need to take some gear on the road and improvise. Rather than spending a few hours going over all the options, I suggest you read Harlan Hogan and Jeffrey Fischer’s classic Voice Actor’s Guide to Recording at Home and on the Road. It’s jampacked with practical information and I highly recommend it to anyone remotely interested in a voice-over career.

Here’s what I take along on my travels:

• a laptop
• a microphone
• a CEntrance MicPort Pro
• earplug-sized headphones

A MicPort Pro is a nifty mini audio interface/preamplifier that plugs directly into your microphone. On the other side there’s a USB cable that plugs into your computer. In other words: this device can turn any microphone into a USB mic. It has phantom power, a headphone jack and two knobs for setting the record level and the headphone volume.

So… after all that subtle product placement, let’s get back to the original question: Can you take off for a period of time without ruining your career?

Here’s an experiment you should do at home:

Fill up your watering can to the brim and start watering your plants. Keep on watering and watering and watering… until there’s no more water left.

I don’t have to tell you that -in order for those plants to grow- you need to water them regularly. An empty watering can is useless. The moral of the story:

You can’t give what you don’t have.

Now, why is that so easy to understand when it comes to our plants, and why are we surprised that “We the People,” are so stressed, so drained and left without an ounce of creativity?

Take my advice and get lost! Recharge your batteries. Discover that you have significant others in your life who’d love to get to know you. It can’t be all work and no play… Your job is just a means to an end.

TAKING TIME OFF
Be sure to let your voice casting sites and agents know that you’ll be gone for a particular period of time. If you must, bring your gear, but promise yourself that you will only do what is absolutely essential. Otherwise, you’ll get sucked into obsessive email checking, incessant instant messaging and frantic Facebooking.

Only use your cell phone when you’re stuck in a basement and someone’s thrown away the key.

When you come back from your well-deserved vacation, notice how refreshed, alert and full of energy you are.

People can see it in your face. They hear it in your voice.

Now you’re ready to wow the world again!

Paul Strikwerda ©2011

PS This article first appeared in the international section of Internet Voice Coach, a voice-coaching community dedicated to people finding and refining their voice.

Technorati Tags: Centrance, Harlan Hogan, Internet Voice Coach, Jeffrey P. Fischer, MicPort Pro, Nethervoice, no vacation nation, Paul Strikwerda, taking time off, Voice Actor's Guide to Recording at Home and on the Road, voice-over, voiceover, voiceovers, voluntary servitude

It’s been a few months since Harlan Hogan came out with the VO: 1-A Microphone. Made by MXL, this is the first mic designed for voice-over performers by a voice-over professional.

When I first wrote about it in August, Harlan claimed that this mic  “will sound great on about 99% of the population”. That’s quite a statement, and as always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

So, what’s the verdict? Before we can answer that question, we have to ask ourselves a different one: What makes a good voice-over mic?

A good microphone is like the ideal partner. It has to be, because you’ll be spending a lot of time together (and usually in a cramped, dark space). Personally, I love my mic because it’s such a good listener. But as in any type of committed relationship, what works for me, might not work for someone else.

BANG & BUCKS
Just as it does not make sense for a budding violinists to get a Stradivarius, beginning voice-overs should get a decent mic that doesn’t break the bank. But simply because something is relatively inexpensive, doesn’t mean that it will only take you so far.

My wife is a professional flutist, and the instrument she’s playing is a true work of art. Her students often complain that they don’t sound so well, because they’re playing on an entry-level flute. It’s a common excuse for those who forgot the way to Carnegie Hall.

At that point, my wife will take the cheap flute out of their hands, and she starts playing the inferior instrument. You should see the eyeballs pop out of her student’s sockets and jaws drop to the floor, because she sounds better than Jimmy Galway. After that, no more excuses!

HOGAN’s SLOGAN
So, is the VO: 1-A “The Voice Over Microphone made for Voice Over Performers”?

George Whittam has a Bachelor’s degree in Music and Audio Technology and he runs the well-respected ElDorado Recording Services. He gave the Harlan mic a spin,  along-side the venerable Neumann U87.

Mind you, the new Harlan mic costs $249. You can get the Neumann for about $2,700 on eBay. Is that even a fair comparison? George concludes:

“While the U87 has that smooth, almost dull top end in comparison, the VO: 1-A’s response is almost identical to my ear across nearly the entire frequency spectrum.  The VO: 1-A is slightly hyped at the top, but not overly so, and sounds very even and natural all the way down.”

We’re so impressed with VO-1a that we’ll begin bundling it in our “The Audition” package beginning in 2010.  Coupled with the MicPort Pro, the two work wonderfully together either as a budget home studio setup, or as a travel companion for the working voice actor. “

You can read the full review on George’s blog.

Steve Cunningham reviewed Harlan’s mic for the February 2010 issue of Radio And Production Magazine. He writes:

“In use the microphone provides a nicely balanced sound with a bit of high-end crispness, but much less than I have found in other MXL microphones. The low-end is present and certainly meaty enough for Big Voice male voiceover, but the proximity effect was not nearly as pronounced as I had expected it to be. (…)

Self-noise in this microphone appeared to be on par or slightly better than other sub-$200 microphones I have tested. In particular, the VO:1- A is noticeably quieter than the Audio Technica AT2020, a microphone I had recommended to students on many occasions. But for general voiceover work, including soft and intimate reads, noise was not an issue during my evaluations.

I had several opportunities to test the VO:1-A with both male and female voice talent. Overall, I would have to say that I preferred the VO:1-A over several of the mics in this price range that I have recommended to voice talent in the past. (…)”

MY TWO CENTS
By putting his name on this mic, Harlan put his reputation on the line. Based on his career, his writings and products like the Porta-Booth, Harlan’s got it down. If you’d ask me, his voice-over mic is a safe bet for those who’d like to get their feet wet in the voice-over business. Yet, there’s always a chance that it might not be the right mic for you. If that turns out to be the case, are you going to be stuck with it? Harlan Hogan:

“Every microphone will sound different on different voices but most retailers and manufacturers don’t allow you to try and return their microphones easily. I vowed we’d change that approach with the VO: 1- A and you can buy one, try one and return it with no questions asked – it only seems – and is – the right approach.”

Well, it turns out that Harlan was right on the money. His signature mic took the voice-over world by storm, and it has received countless favorable reviews from voice-over colleagues such a Julie Williams, Dave DeAndrea,  Linda Ristig and Dan Lenard. I have used it for about two years and I never heard a client complain.

PORTA-BOOTH
As for his famous Porta-Booth, Harlan’s new and improved version is on the market. This is what the new Porta-Booth Pro looks like:

To me, it appears to be a cross between a bowling ball bag and a pet carrier. In fact, should you choose to take your cat to the vet in this contraption, the feline cries of anguish will be nicely muffled by the isolation  foam.

Remember: these types of portable booths will take care of unwanted reflections, making your recordings more dry and less boomy. They’re not a substitute for thorough soundproofing. If you want to protect yourself from the sound of snowblowers, weed whackers and noisy neighbors, you should read my guide “Building a Vocal Booth in a Budget.”

Harlan’s new booth is $349.00 and the optional Porta-Stand is $100.00 and this includes two adjustable shelves and a set of four hooks for headphones, etc. An angled (sheet music) holder is also available.

A  limited number of these contraptions sold out quickly when they were first offered. They can be ordered from Harlan’s Booth-tique. Catnip not included.

Paul Strikwerda © 2010

www.nethervoice.com

PS For more Harlan Hogan factoids, read my article “What about Bob?“

PPS Although it’s pretty obvious that Mr. Hogan is one of my voice-over heroes, I am in no way compensated for featuring his products on this blog and I’d like to keep it that way.

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