Riding the Learning Curve – Tuesday VO Tech Tip

My Recording At Home workshop, which covers key steps for setting up a usable VO recording space, ended last weekend. It is so wonderful to watch voice actors in the class sessions develop an understanding of the equipment and how to start using that gear to capture their performances. 

It’s gratifying seeing the lights come at this part of the learning curve. Most students at the beginning have neither a microphone nor a properly treated space in which to record. By the end, they are either recording or understanding the steps they need to take to do so. What once seemed a distant achievement is now just a series of simple steps to take. I really enjoy helping to demystify that part of the VO process. 

Teaching workshops benefits me as well. Having to explain something succinctly forces me to pull things apart and observe them from all angles. I truly learn something with each class session. 

That continual reassessment provides a helpful reminder that nothing in our business remains static. As AI advances, and large language model tools such as Chat GPT impact so many industries, we cannot help but feel that influence as well. In the the VO industry, each of us regularly faces the challenge of learning anew. It’s exactly the same position we were in when we didn’t know what the “48V” meant on our first audio interface.

One important path to success in this business is being comfortable with continual learning. It’s that process which lets us adapt when old methods don’t work, both in the studio operations or when we’re on the microphone. For each tool used in my studio today, there must be a dozen which have been discarded over the years. Some became efficient, while others simply became less useful over time. A few simply didn’t matter any longer (though I still cannot bring myself to discard my old tape splicing block). 

Each tool requires a unique learning process and opportunity to stay fluid in an ever changing technology. That continues to serve me well as technology continues to evolve.

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