VO Studio Weekly Workflow: Tech Fails, Our Reaction Matters

Setting up a new monitor mount on my desk. Realized that my first idea would have the adjustable arm banging up against the wall behind my work area. Another example of plans meeting reality... To which the voice actor can again say, "ok... that didn't work. How can I fix it?"
Setting up a new monitor mount on my desk. Realized that my first idea would have the adjustable arm banging up against the wall behind my work area. Another example of plans meeting reality… To which the voice actor can once again say, “ok… that didn’t work. How can I fix it?” …which can be a highly beneficial practice to develop.

Recently I had a Source-Connect “Studio Check” session in advance of a VO recording project. As sometimes happens, the client wanted to confirm my studio’s audio quality before the actual recording began. The plan was to use Source-Connect 4 so we traded S-C ID’s and scheduled things. However, there seemed to be a bit of trepidation around using the current version, though the client didn’t mention specifics. As it turned out, I logged on through Source-Connect 4, echo tested my connection and then idled in “online” mode for a healthy 5 minutes past the appointed time until a phone call came in from an unknown number. That call turned out to be the studio’s engineer reaching out with the issue. For some reason, their contacts resource did not function in Source-Connect 4, meaning the studio could not see or connect anyone who should have appeared in their address book when they opened the app.

The engineer asked if there was any way that we could run the test and subsequent session using the prior version of Source-Connect. For whatever reason, their full address book showed up with no issues in version 3.9. 

A quick pivot during the session

“No worries!” I said. Even though I had removed the recommended 3.9 port mapping when troubleshooting internet issues a couple months back, a recent testing had confirmed the older version still worked. Within a few minutes we were up and running with Source-Connect version 3.9. The rest of the test proceeded flawlessly, we disconnected the session, and had a trouble-free recording session a few days later.

That quick remote connection interaction underscored a point I try to make whenever teaching studio setup and operation: things will always go wrong. As counterintuitive as it seems, starting with that mindset takes the pressure off of us.

Clients remember how you handle problems

If we assume that things will always go wrong, the occurrence won’t be a surprise. That lets us take a breath and figure out how to fix things. We no longer have to devote any energy to being shocked. Any client worth having knows that things can go wrong. The important thing to them is what you are doing to address that issue. Being a responsible voiceover professional means providing additional options. While most of us did not get into voiceover in order to become our own studio tech and on-call IT person, being able to adapt and offer solutions can go a long way. Calmly picking up the pieces and moving forward gets remembered. Ultimately, we are simplifying any issues for our clients, which is why they will choose to work with us again.

Refinements and mindset

Creating “redundant systems against failures” can be as simple as having a box of replacement USB and XLR cables, a backup microphone, an old working interface, or a simple recording app on an older computer or even your phone. It might include having a battery backup system or even a power generator. Even knowing there are alternative connection methods can save a session. If things get really upside down, it might mean simply having the confidence to say, “I don’t want to waste your time right now. Can we connect later after I’ve solved this?”

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.

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One Response to “VO Studio Weekly Workflow: Tech Fails, Our Reaction Matters”

  • Saundi Harrison-Cooksey
    3 months ago

    This was great Jim. Something similar happened to me this week. I always start early for any booking session, at least 30-45 mins prior. Well for whatever reason, when launching SC v3.9 it showed porta not mapped, several iterations later of fwd port, reboot, shut down, Google etc, still couldn’t get ports mapped I called he client, 15 mins prior to state I maybe a bit late. Meanwhile I did panic inside, I started thinking of other options, like SC v4.0 , CleanFeed etc, in the end SC v4.0 worked and I was 5 mins late for the session.
    I remember the client later saying so glad you started early and you had a backup method. Oh yea, and this session was a last minute “are you avail today” type of booking.