Karen Commins

VIDEO — Removing a mouth click from your recording

17 October 2010

In olden days — say, 5 years ago — home recording studios were not common among voiceover talent. Today, though, having your own recording studio has become a necessity to compete in this industry.

Recording yourself requires one skill set. Editing the recording requires another one.

I am meticulous about editing out undesirable sounds to provide a pristine recording to my clients. This :41 video shows you how to isolate and eliminate a click from your recording. I use Pro Tools LE, but this technique should work with any audio editing program.

Since editing is done in real time, you can just imagine the amount of time needed to edit your recording of a long video or e-learning narration, much less an audiobook! When quoting a price for a job, you always have to factor in the time required to edit the audio. In fact, the general rule of thumb that I use is to expect 2 hours of audio editing for every 1 hour of finished recording.

Was this video helpful to you? Are there other audio editing techniques that you would like to see? I look forward to your comments on the blog!

The intelligence of water crystals

15 October 2010

Today is Blog Action Day. On 15 October each year, bloggers from more than 100 countries come together and blog about a single important issue, and this year’s topic is clean water.

Living where I do, I don’t even have to think about clean water. It’s something I often take for granted, especially while constantly sipping from a large bottle of water during my voiceover sessions. Through this blog article, I doubt that I could even cause a ripple of action that could cause improvement to the 70% of the earth that is covered in water. However, I want to raise your consciousness about the power of water to reflect the words you speak and enhance your life.

(I admit that the rest of this post may sound like a bunch of New Age woo-woo, but I hope you’ll keep reading!)

If you’re a long-time reader, you know that I believe firmly that nothing is more powerful on this planet than the words that you think and speak. Wars have been fought over words. Love is expressed through words. The power of Blog Action Day comes from the fact that words from around the globe are written, read, and discussed about a single, unifying topic.

Recently, I saw fascinating research about water from Japanese researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto. He discovered that crystals formed in frozen water look different based on the specific thought directed at the water. According to some of his literature:

I always stress the energy is vibrations, and vibrations are life. Words are vibrations. Words, therefore, are life … The sounds of words are nothing less than a divine gift from nature. Water crystals are illustrating this divine gift in their design.

Water is a medium that receives and understands even the subtlest vibrations. Water captures vibrations naturally. Even when these vibrations are characters, or letters representing language, water shows us the energy they contain in the forms of crystals. Water is attempting to communicate something to us. Negative emotions prevent the water from crystallizing. Positive emotions allow it to develop to beautiful hexagonal shapes.

Water makes up 70 percent of our bodies, and there is little doubt to me that the information in the water goes a long way in the formation of our health, as well as our attitude toward the world and the attitude of the world around us.

Dr. Emoto explains on his site how the photographs are made. I respect his position in not giving permission to reprint his pictures on other sites, so you’ll have to look at them on his site or do a search to find them elsewhere. The frozen crystals either have perfect symmetry and immense beauty or are misshapen blobs, depending on the words associated with each one.

For instance, a picture representing LOVE AND THANKS is awe-inspiring perfection. A picture made for the word WAR is quite startling because it kind of looks like an explosion from an atomic bomb.

The pictures for tap water in various cities are quite illuminating. Even though you think your drinking water is clean, the water crystals tell another story. Based on the pictures of the crystals, we should all move to Vancouver for the cleanest water!

I have a deck of Dr. Emoto’s Water Crystal Oracle cards. On one side of the card is the picture, and the word appears on the other side. In the past, I have kept a card under my water glass to focus attention on some aspect in my life that I wanted to improve or heal. In writing this post, I’ve decided to use the RESONANCE, HARMONY, TRUTH, and PROSPERITY cards in my voiceover booth. Since water mirrors the vibrations of our words, I want the words that I speak as a voice talent to be in service of those 4 things.

As I said at the beginning of this essay, I don’t have to think about clean water for myself. Thank you for joining me and others around the world in using the power of our words today about in promoting clean water for everyone. This one blog post may not cause a ripple of action, but together, we are a force of nature!

1 “Oh s***” can wipe out 1000 “Attaboys!”

12 September 2010

The title of this article is a saying I heard early in my IRS career. Sorry if it offends you, but it really gets to the heart of stellar customer service. No matter how many great and wonderful things you do for your clients, the thing they will remember most — and tell the most people about — is the thing that got screwed up.

As Drew and I continue to repair and renovate our house, I’m finding no shortage of contractor stories to share with you that illustrate this principle. By observing other business operators, we can determine how to better service our clients in our voice-over businesses….and hopefully avoid some of those “Oh s****” moments.

Today, I actually have 2 contractor stories. First, I have an example of fantastic customer service from start to finish.

We decided to install some recessed lighting in Drew’s man cave. Drew called his friend Tommy Dunaway, an electrician who owns a business named Tommy’s Lighting and Electric. Tommy came out to discuss options and give us an estimate. When he came back to install the lights, he exceeded our expectations because:

1) He arrived exactly on time, which is a rarity for service provider at one’s home. Punctuality is key in voiceover as well. When I started my voiceover business, I assumed that all voiceover talent were punctual. Over the years, I’ve been surprised to read about people who didn’t show up or were late to sessions, didn’t return phone calls, etc.

2) He suggested features we hadn’t considered, like a dimmer for the recessed lights and a remote control for the ceiling fan. I do the same thing with my clients. For instance, if I was hired to narrate a marketing video for a trade show, I’ll also let the client know that they may want to use the same voice on their phone system, e-learning modules, and web site to enhance and solidify their brand. It may seem like a self-serving piece of advice, but it’s really about helping my clients achieve consistency in all of their communications.

3) He finished the job in LESS time than he estimated, so our bill was less than expected. He told me he always builds in enough time in the estimate to troubleshoot any problems — a tactic that voice talent would do well to emulate.

4) He cleaned up after the job was finished. (Remember this point because I’m coming back to it in the next story!)

Tommy told me that his business is mostly through repeat business and referrals. In my voiceover business, I always want to make it easy for my clients to refer me. With his terrific attention to detail and exemplary customer service, it’s truly a pleasure to refer Tommy to other people.

My second story is about my new roof. We learned about Everdry Roofing because someone there follows Drew on Twitter, which just goes to show you the growing importance of social networking in attracting clients.

I thought Everdry was going to be a second success story of stellar customer service. After all, they showed up when promised, explained shingle options, worked with our insurance company on our claim, and did a great job of cleaning up the nails and other debris from the yard.

They were providing exceptional customer service — that is, until the “Oh s***” moment.

In the picture below, your eyes are not drawn to my new roof, with its lovely architectural shingles and new ridge vent. No, instead you see the massive steel container stretching over half of my driveway. In fact, Everdry’s sign in my yard points directly to it.

The “Oh s***” moment from the roof installation has lasted all weekend.

The roofers were here Thursday and part of Friday. I wasn’t at all happy about the container staying overnight on Thursday since it blocks the garage. The project manager assured me at 6pm Thursday that the container would be removed Friday. Today is Sunday, and the container is still here. I haven’t heard from Everdry about their plans to remove it.

If Drew and I had 2 cars like every other household in Atlanta, one of those cars would be trapped in the garage or parked on the street all weekend. As it is, we have to cautiously back out over our grass to clear the side of the container.

To make matters worse, the smell of 23-year-old shingles removed from the roof and the other materials in the container is akin to the putrid stench of animals killed in the road. Every time I walk out of my house, that nasty smell hits me in the face. We’re still having 90-degree days, so you can just imagine how the smell grows as the day progresses.

As a voiceover talent, I always think of how to provide the best level of service to exceed my clients’ expectations. I certainly don’t want them to incur any inconvenience as a result of my actions!

For instance, it may seem like a small thing, but the manner in which you name and transmit your recordings to your agents and clients can be either an “Oh s***” or an “Attagirl!” moment:

If they have given you a file naming convention, use it.
If not, be very descriptive with your file names so that the purpose or script for each file is immediately evident.
If you have to revise a file, add a revision number to the file name so that you don’t inadvertently write over an existing file. Sometimes, the client may decide the original file was best after all or wants to make some other change to it.
Compress multiple files into a zip file so that the client only has to download one file.

By being organized and forward-thinking, you can rack up the “Attaboys!” and “Attagirls!” in providing stellar service to your voiceover clients. If you have other examples of stellar service, please leave a comment on the blog!

Make it easy for your clients to want to refer you

27 August 2010

Since Drew now is a Divemaster in the Dive Immersion Program at the Georgia Aquarium — a job, by the way, which seems to beat out voiceover talent for the coolness factor in the minds of other people — he no longer needs a home office. We are converting his office to a man cave, and we need some additional storage space.

We decided we could accomplish our storage needs by adding one more cabinet to our garage. A few years ago, in our ongoing quest for beautiful organization, we hired Premier Garage to renovate our garage. As repeat clients, we thought it would be a quick, easy, and painless process for them to install the new cabinet, especially since the company has an office and manufacturing facility about 2 miles from our house.

What could be simpler than installing a new cabinet

in a beautifully organized garage of a repeat client?

To date, Premier Garage has been to my house an astonishing 4 times over multiple days, with a 5th trip scheduled next week, for this cabinet installation! Yes, the job should be simple, but this company is too disorganized to plan and execute it.

1) The tech arrived with the wrong size of cabinet and no door handles. What happened to the adage of “measure twice, cut once”?

2) The tech came back another day with a replacement cabinet, which was STILL the wrong size. I wondered why they didn’t bother to check it before they left the office.

3) On the third attempt, the tech came with the right size of the cabinet shell, but the doors were the wrong size. He also didn’t have the interior shelves.

4) This morning, the guy was were here to install the correct doors. Again, we have no handles and no shelves! In addition, the cabinet has holes in the back wall caused by incorrect drilling that must now be filled. “Measure twice, cut once” is definitely a foreign concept to these folks.

In addition to the various screw-ups with the actual cabinet installation, the techs have irritated me in 2 other ways that demonstrated a lack of respect and concern for their customer:

On 3 of the 4 visits, we were given an arrival window of a 30-minute time period, yet the techs still showed up late without even a courtesy call.
Today, the tech backed into the driveway up to the garage threshold and left his truck running while he worked, which filled my garage with the lovely smells of gas fumes and truck exhaust on a day that promises to be quite hot.

The easiest and most gratifying voiceover job for me is one with a repeat client. I look at the last session for that client and copy the same Pro Tools settings to the new session. I know the type of file transmission that the client prefers. I communicate about the turn-around time at the project outset and then work to beat the deadline. The client has no concerns about the quality of my recordings or my speed and efficiency in completing the job for them because I proved myself to them the first time and pride myself on maintaining a consistent high level of service.

In short, a job with a repeat client is an opportunity to exhibit consistency and reliability. If you are reliable and consistent, a client will turn to you automatically when they need voice talent. What’s more, they are happy to refer you to other people who could utilize your services.

In his excellent and highly recommended book titled Work Like You’re Showing Off: The Joy, Jazz, and Kick of Being Better Tomorrow Than You Were Today, Joe Calloway refers to consistency as the gold standard:

You can count on me. You can believe in me. If I say I’ll do something, I’ll do it. Put it in the bank. Bet the farm on it. It doesn’t matter whether or not I’m in a good mood, have a headache, forgot to pick up my clothes from the cleaners, had a fight with my daughter, lost my keys, or didn’t sleep last night. If I said I’ll do it, then I’ll do it.

What’s more, I’ll do it every time.

If you can say all of that, and back it up, that’s more than showing off. That’s delivering the goods. That’s the gold standard. If you consistently do what you say you’ll do over a long period of time, the world will beat a path to your door. Nothing demonstrates the essence of showing off, in the most positive sense of the phrase, than rock solid consistency. There’s an old saying that goes, “Amateurs work until they get it right. Professionals work until they can’t get it wrong.”

We love people who do what they say they will do. Consistency is the foundation of success and the great business builder. Consistency is the definition of integrity.

I told the tech on-site today that Premier Garage is not making it easy for us to want to refer them due to their inconsistent, unreliable, and sloppy approach on this job. Hopefully, you can learn from their many mistakes and make it easy for your clients to want to refer you! If you have other tips about gaining referrals, please leave a comment on the blog!

4 Customer service tips from a tree service

22 August 2010

A recent episode with the Chipper LLC Tree Service painfully reminded me of 4 important customer service principles that should be embodied by every business, including your voiceover business. First, though, I’ve give you a brief synopsis of the situation.

BEFORE: Two well-established Bradford pear trees with full foliage

rose high above the roofline on the left side of my house.

One of the Bradford pear trees in my front yard had a dead branch that needed to be removed, so we called a tree company based on their positive reviews we saw online. We decided that we’d also like to have the highest limbs of the trees trimmed down; they had never been pruned, were extremely tall, and overhung the roof. These trees are 15-20 years old and very well-established, but the limbs can become brittle and break in an Atlanta snowstorm.

The estimator came out last month. After Drew discussed our expectations of the work to be performed, the estimator wrote this information on the ticket:

Trim + top out + Remove debris
2 Bradfords in front — just top out a little higher than gutters
Remove 2 Bradford saplings in front

In our minds, this description meant that the overall height would be reduced in line with the top of the roofline (i.e., “just top out a little higher than the gutters”) and some limbs trimmed to give each tree a smaller shape, just as we had requested. We were completely horrified to discover that the crew who came back the next week to perform the work butchered our stately trees down to leafless sticks!

AFTER: I still have 2 Bradford pear trees on the left side of my house,

only with no limbs or leaves to provide shade in this sultry Atlanta summer.

Naturally, we were quite upset that A) our beautiful trees were demolished, and B) the work was not done to our specifications. The trees not only look terrible, but we’re concerned that they may have incurred irreparable damage and would need to be removed. Since the work was performed on one of the hottest, 95-degree July days, the trees could have endured a shock from which they may not recover.

We called the owner of the tree service to ask for the remedy of removal of our trees at no additional cost to us. As calmly as possible, I explained that the “trimming” was far more extensive and destructive than we ever imagined it could be. We had never planned or wanted to remove the trees, but now we thought we would be forced into that action.

In addition, the trees were now an eyesore to us and all residents in the 200+ houses in our subdivision since all of them must pass my house every time they enter or leave. Finally, I stated that we have a very active neighborhood email list in which homeowners are constantly requesting referrals for various services.

Here comes the part where voice talent and other business owners can learn how NOT to run your business!

The owner said he had told his estimator countless times that the estimator needed to explain to a customer how Bradford pears would look when they are ‘topped out”. In fact, he continued, they had a page on their web site that showed customers what to expect, not that anyone had pointed it out to us. When I finally saw that page, I learned that the phrase “top out” has a very special connotation to the tree cutter holding the chainsaw — cut off everything! We learned too late that “topping out” is actually a last-resort measure to save trees before you remove them.

Okay, BUT….we never intended for our trees to be “topped out”! How were we supposed to know the common phrase meant something very specific to them? Obviously, if the owner has had this conversation more than once with the estimator, the company has an existing communications problem.

He flatly stated it would cost an additional $300 for them to come back out and remove the trees. The call quickly turned ugly, making my attempts to find an acceptable compromise futile. The guy completely insulted me with his terrible attitude. He was arrogant, angry, and abusive; I should have hung up on him.

He rudely demanded that Drew “needed to own up, be a man, admit that he lied [to me], and call the estimator a liar.” If Drew did all of those things, they would come back for $200. It would a loss to him if he had to send a crew back to my house without pay. He then made a comment about not wanting to take the customer’s word over that of his estimator!

Say WHAT??!!!

My problem with the trees is unresolved, but I wanted to tell you this story today so you’ll keep these 4 tips in mind as you solve problems for your voiceover clients.

1. Communicate clearly and agree on expectations at the outset of the project.

The tree service owner had encountered my exact situation so many times that he had a web page devoted to the subject. The estimator should have shown that page to Drew and asked, ‘is this the level of work you expect?”.

By the same token, I want to ensure that the client and I both are using the same terms and have the same idea for the kind of audio that the client will receive. On those rare times when someone asks me for “raw” audio, they still want audio that is edited so that it is free of mistakes and re-takes.

As another example, I have had clients asking for 8 kHz, 8-bit mono files for their telephone systems. Before sending the final recordings to them, I prepare them at the project outset by giving them a sample of that kind of file. They need to know that it won’t sound like a CD; it may not even sound good due to the hisses and buzzes that are inherent in such low resolution files.

2. Only take an irreversible action with your client’s full understanding and consent.

The tree company crew chief had a second chance to show Drew the web page before they ever made the first cut. He also could have checked in with Drew periodically as the work progressed to ensure that they trimmed the trees to match our vision.

In voiceover, you have to protect the raw audio that you have recorded. If you delete a section and then save the file, that section could be gone forever depending on your software.

One reason that I like Pro Tools is because of its non-destructive editing features. It actually creates a new file with every change, and effects are not applied to the original file. I could change or remove the compression or any other effect, bounce the file again, and have a new file as output — all while keeping the original recording intact. If your software doesn’t offer this functionality, it’s a good idea to save your original recording to a different name before you do any editing.

3. Expect that you won’t make money on every transaction.

While the overall goal of a business is to make a profit, you shouldn’t expect to make money on every single transaction. The goal of each transaction is to pursue cement a harmonious relationship.

The tree service owner didn’t want to come back to fix the mess his crew made unless we paid for it. He caused a problem for me, so I shouldn’t have to pay more for him resolve it. He should realize that he is actually going to lose a lot of money based on my negative reviews of his company to anyone who will listen!

In contrast, I offer unlimited free re-recordings if I have made an error in pronunciation or inflection if my client notifies me of the errors within a week of receiving the audio. I also outline my policy about charges for script revisions before accepting the project. However, in many cases, the client only needs something simple, like a sentence changed. Whenever possible, I am happy to quickly record and send these kinds of small changes at no charge.

4. Do whatever it takes to ensure your client’s satisfaction.

This one seems like a no-brainer, but as evidenced by my conversation with the tree service owner, some people just don’t get it!

It’s my mission to exceed my clients’ expectations! If I ever encountered a situation where a voiceover client was as upset with me as I was with the tree service owner, I would have offered to re-record their project at no cost. I even would be willing to refund part or all of the money if I could not meet the client expectations. I also would refer another voice talent in order to keep the client’s project on schedule.

When your communications with your client overflow with respect, honesty, and integrity, you won’t even have to think about providing quality customer service — you will BE the definition of it!

Edited 9/12/10 to include name and link of tree service in response to questions about it

So you want to get into voiceovers?

18 August 2010

First, let me say that I’m a voice talent who only markets myself. I don’t teach, mentor, coach, or hire other voice talent. Since I am a firm believer in the mindset that it is better to give than receive, I write this blog specifically to answer questions and help others achieve their dream of working as a voiceover talent.

This article contains numerous links to my other articles to give you an organized pathway through the blog and structured approach to investigating and planning your career. I encourage you to read all of the articles in the archives.

Career Overview

Many people become interested in voiceover because they’ve been told they have a nice voice. Most people have nice-enough voices; it’s what you DO with it that matters.

Declaring your intention is the first step toward changing your reality, so I applaud you for realizing what you want in life and having the courage to go after it! Like any other dream, success in voice-over requires continuous, deliberate action. I described how I got started on this post in my blog.

A voice-over artist needs to be able to be transparent when interpreting the author’s words and intent of any script so that you are the best service provider to the client. I think anyone who “evaluates your voice” would tell you that you have potential and then would be more than willing to take your money. A voice talent must be able to create their own characters rather than mimic someone else.

Read, Read, Read…..then Read Some More

You can’t be successful in voiceover if you don’t like to read. Therefore, I refer you to the wealth of information I have written on my web site and blog, especially this entry titled A plan to break into voice-over.

Note that it includes a link to my recommended reading list. I always recommend that people start first with a book to get a broad overview of the industry. I continue to read voice-over books even though I’ve been working in this industry for over 12 years.

I also read a lot of blogs from my fellow voice talent. I’ve listed several I like on the lower right panel on my blog under the Links heading, but a quick search on-line will show you plenty more. The Vox Daily blog from Voices.com is one of the best in the business. I also listed numerous on-line voice-over forums that you can join.

Take Classes and Develop Skills

As I explain in this post about mentors, people often ask me to be their mentor when they really need a teacher. If you decide to take a class, this post has 10 questions you should ask a prospective voice-over teacher. When researching teachers, beware of 5 techniques of the “information marketer”.

You can research coaches online, starting with the Coaches Directory maintained by VoiceActorWebsites.com.

The Edge Studio Career Center contains practice scripts, podcasts with experts, and helpful tools like a word calculator and rate card.

Create a Demo

Voice-over is a business that is built on self-promotion and marketing. As with any business, you can expect it to have start-up costs. Before you can market yourself, you need to have a demo. Separate demos are needed for each target market (commercials, narrations, games, audiobooks, etc.). Before spending time and money to make a demo, you need appropriate training.
A good coach will tell help you select material for your demo that matches your voice and your style. You don’t want to be in a rush to make a demo because:
1) You only have 1 chance to make a first impression
2) You need to be able to instantly perform like the person on your demo.
3) Your demo is competing with those of professionals who have been working for decades.

Establish Your Home Studio

Although you will want to record auditions from home, I wouldn’t rush out to buy equipment immediately. I would first buy a digital voice recorder for daily practice. It’s important to read everything ALOUD and practice every chance you can! I have used and can recommend the Olympus WS-300M (only records in WMA format), the Olympus WS-801 (records in MP3 or WMA formats) or the Zoom H4N (professional audio equipment which records in MP3 or WAV). I like the Olympus recorders for practice because they are small, lightweight, only use 1 battery, and plug directly into the USB port of my computer.

Then, after you have developed some skills and are ready to market yourself, you can set up a home recording system. Pat Fraley outlines an economical setup in his The Gypsy’s Guide to Professional Home Recording Workbook and Companion CD. You may also want to read Harlan Hogan and Jeffrey Fisher’s excellent book The Voice Actor’s Guide to Home Recording.

Market Yourself

Once you’ve taken classes, created a demo, and established your home studio, you’re ready to develop a marketing plan. The books and resources listed in this post will help you start marketing yourself.

Also, I know that it seems like voice-over is not work, but you should realize that it takes a lot of work to generate jobs and a steady client base!

A voice-over actor must market herself and perform auditions continuously in order to get attention and jobs from others. To gain experience, you can:

Sign up with an on-line casting service (called a pay-to-play, or P2P, site within the industry) site like Voice123.com or Voices.com (create your own recordings contains more information about these sites.)
Perform voiceover for presentations (e-learning, marketing, etc.) on your day job for no additional pay
Volunteer to read for the blind
Contact production companies and radio stations
Network with professional associations

You also can create your own recordings. Practicing in this manner has a lot of value in terms of artistry, improvement and self-esteem. These recordings may or may not be used for promotion or payment.

You’ll find many more ideas for marketing yourself and your business in my blog archives.

Only after you gain some professional experience will you be ready to look for an agent. At that point, you will want to read the article Trying to get a voiceover agent?

Final Advice

No one can tell you the exact path you must follow, but just know that the dictionary is the only place where SUCCESS comes before WORK! 🙂

However, taking continual steps on your dream — whatever you decide to do — will bring fulfillment to your life! In any case, you must be the one to put forth action to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!

As I don’t get paid to write and dispense so much helpful advice, I’d be grateful for a donation to my PayPal tip jar.

Best wishes for your success in all of your pursuits!