Voiceover Answerbase
A collection of my answers to VO and Voiceover questions. Ranging from basic "how-to's" to detailed VO studio fixes and hacks.
VO Weekly Workflow – Studio Foundations
Many people come into voice acting with an aversion to the technical details of recording their voice. The studio side of things may be uninteresting to them, or they may have genuine dislike for working with screens and technology. Compounding this, a lot of recommended VO studio solutions involve fairly complicated software or a more-expensive-is-better attitude towards gear. There’s often a “recipe” provided with no explanation of why a certain step is necessary.
VO Weekly Workflow – Batches and Stacks
The new Twisted Wave update now allows you to apply a Batch Process to any open file. Since that appears as a menu item, you can also apply a specific keystroke to activate that Batch Process. That actually makes it even more efficient to invoke when you are ready to send off a file.
VO Weekly Workflow – Remain Flexible
Software may seem solid and dependable, but is often ephemeral. It’s helpful to consider whether your studio could still function if core tools went away. Flexible and redundant systems are a key aspect in any business. Because we have to be our own IT departments, it's easy to lose sight of how dependent we can be on specific pieces of software.
VO Weekly Workflow – You Can’t Outrun Acoustics
You can't overcome acoustics. There's always an effect from the surfaces and dimensions of any enclosed space. That's why I always encourage anyone setting up a home recording space to budget for treatment within the room. It is that important.
VO Weekly Workflow – Raw Should Sound Good
Our frame of reference for audio quality can be a bit skewed. When we start recording ourselves, our reference point for that quality is often the fully produced spots which we hear everywhere. But it's our raw sound that matters.
Weekly VO Workflow – Refining The Studio Space
Before we end up in the momentum of this year, perhaps it’s worth pausing to look for those things that have become clutter and distraction.
Weekly VO Workflow: Stepping Back
It feels good to step back into the studio after some time away. This is the time of year when it becomes obvious that stepping away to perhaps find a broader perspective can be an important asset in our VO journey.
Weekend Extra: Lists – The Gathering
In going back through my 2025 notes for posts and emails, I realized a few snippets never coalesced into full posts. Given that it’s the season completion, here a few of those scattered thoughts.
Weekly VO Workflow: Process Over Perfection
As the calendar wraps around, we seem hard wired to take stock. There's a tendency to lean into numbers and give ourselves a pass/fail for goals achieved. Tracking numbers and identifying causes provides hard data to refine our approach and patch failing systems. As we tally our efforts, there may be some solace in recognizing the challenges of a difficult economy, impact of world events, immediate pressures of unique situations, and all those things out of our control. None of us pursue life in a vacuum.
