VO Professional: Keep Cool, Stay Loose

Though I had other topics planned for this week, I must admit that as the temperature began bumping up into triple digits, it’s been tricky to maintain a clear train of thought. As our vegetable garden wilts in the heat, and the squirrels seek splooting spots, it seems appropriate to consider how easily we can be impacted by our environment, but how difficult it might be to recognize it.

Way back when I was messing around with “computer music” systems, I read an interview with Peter Gabriel in which he described the new creative studio he was setting up. Among the many ideas which he articulated was the insight that computers were exceptionally consistent – they didn’t tire or slow down over time. The catch was that we humans tend to do both those things. The key point was that we don’t typically notice when that fall off occurs, which is how we often end up doing 28 takes on an audition.

In the cold light of day (ahhh…. “cold”….), we would acknowledge that excessive quantity of takes is a less-than-optimal approach. But, while we’re chasing down that “perfect” take again and again, it’s easy to lose sight of all the diminishing returns. When the heat of summer pushes us out of our booths, that’s actually a blessing.

Preventing that dive down the multiple-take rabbit hole is one of the reasons I still like to step away from the microphone to listen. Even though I can run playbacks from inside my booth, the act of walking back out to my desk helps to put a little space between things. Whether you call it a “pause that refreshes” or “a moment of zen” doesn’t matter as much as actually finding that separation.

Have you tested your studio’s audio quality to make sure it meets professional standards? For a free review of your vocal recordings, please use the upload tool on my Audio Review page.

Please share! If this resource has been helpful to you, please share with one of the buttons below!
You can also sign up to receive these and other advance announcements via email each week.