For many years, recording voiceovers was the exclusive domain of commercial studios. Even a simple voice audition meant a trip to a studio, an ad agency, or an agent's office. Today voiceover actors are increasingly producing voice tracks for corporate narration, radio spots, animation, games, and other dialogue projects from their own home studios. Many have learned that to survive in this highly competitive field, they need to learn and master basic home recording production techniques. "The Voice Actor's Guide to Recording at Home and On the Road, Second Edition" shows both aspiring and established voiceover actors how to set up and effectively use their own inexpensive -- but professional-sounding -- personal recording studio to make professional-quality home recordings quickly and easily. Everything is covered to help you get auditions and jobs, from setting up your studio with the right hardware and software, recording at home, and production basics, to promotion, podcasting, and advanced production. This new edition of this bestselling bible for voiceover home recording has been completely updated to cover all the exciting new technology and delivery options currently available.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was looking for a book to explain how to record one's voice on a home computer. This very practical, easy-to-understand guide to voice-over recording comes through loud and clear, with excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Best of all, these guys "get" direct-to-computer USB recording, mixing software, the Internet, and other modern technologies, integrating them with timeless recording advice gathered in real careers.
Hogan and Fisher tell you what works, and why what you think might work, won't. Rather than showing off their geek-speak chops, they use regular English and even poke fun at the technical lingo in the process of demystifying it. Other home recording books lavish excessive technical verbiage on how to pad your walls. These guys offer practical solutions (including "move") and even show how to make a portable acoustic foam-lined mic box. You will discover exactly what you need to buy -- although the USB-audio-interfaces section is surprisingly short -- and how to use it. They won't tell you exactly what mic to buy, though, and it's for your own good.
Warning: the jokes are abundant, mostly terrible and distracting, especially the comments from "Prunella," whose parenthetic remarks, although they mercifully trail off, are the editorial equivalent of lip smacks. (The full harshness of this comment will be appreciated upon reading the otherwise excellent text.) Failed humor notwithstanding, the tone ends up being warmly self effacing and encouragingly user-oriented. These guys take seriously the job of helping you, including a strong index and glossary, and plenty of URLs.
Chapter 12, Advanced Production Techniques, is alone worth the price of the book. Embedded in an economically worded step-by-step script for editing recordings are the exact frequencies to manipulate to address problems such as thin sound, dull recording, and sibilance. You end up feeling as though you have two buddies in the recording business; telling you every tip they know, and hammering on mistakes that could ruin your project. Don't let the light tone fool you: this is a seriously great book!
Hogan and Fisher tell you what works, and why what you think might work, won't. Rather than showing off their geek-speak chops, they use regular English and even poke fun at the technical lingo in the process of demystifying it. Other home recording books lavish excessive technical verbiage on how to pad your walls. These guys offer practical solutions (including "move") and even show how to make a portable acoustic foam-lined mic box. You will discover exactly what you need to buy -- although the USB-audio-interfaces section is surprisingly short -- and how to use it. They won't tell you exactly what mic to buy, though, and it's for your own good.
Warning: the jokes are abundant, mostly terrible and distracting, especially the comments from "Prunella," whose parenthetic remarks, although they mercifully trail off, are the editorial equivalent of lip smacks. (The full harshness of this comment will be appreciated upon reading the otherwise excellent text.) Failed humor notwithstanding, the tone ends up being warmly self effacing and encouragingly user-oriented. These guys take seriously the job of helping you, including a strong index and glossary, and plenty of URLs.
Chapter 12, Advanced Production Techniques, is alone worth the price of the book. Embedded in an economically worded step-by-step script for editing recordings are the exact frequencies to manipulate to address problems such as thin sound, dull recording, and sibilance. You end up feeling as though you have two buddies in the recording business; telling you every tip they know, and hammering on mistakes that could ruin your project. Don't let the light tone fool you: this is a seriously great book!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the best Voice Over beginners help book I have found. My only criticism was on the advanced production techniques. Since I am trying to learn how to use "Pro Tools" their advise left me in the dark when they only discuss procedures using other audio tools. But other than that, the book was very useful.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a voice over and director of a training program. I was never trained as an engineer but to be competitive today, you have to have some technical knowledge of how to record at home. These guys have made it fun to learn how to do it and have done a very thorough job of laying it all out in a very easy-to-understand way. Plus they offer very clever ideas for home and on the road recording.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A thorough primer for the at-home voice talent
I own both this book and Dan Friedman's Sound Advice. While I benefitted from Friedman and it got me up to speed more quickly (it being a shorter read), Voice Actor's Guide to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Swiss Caesar
Great resource for beginners
This is just the book I was looking for on setting up a home studio for audiobook recording. There are a lot of hokey jokes but it helps make the material less intimidating.
Published 11 months ago by Barry Ezell
Great for beginners and pros
Having recorded commercials in studios for years, it was time to go with the trend of setting up a home recording studio. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Rodd Wayne
good pick
Well written and I appreciate the humor which keeps it from being a dry read. Basic, good info that you need to know or be aware of in the world of voice recording and setting up... Read more
Published 16 months ago by randrifter
Review
I don't like it. I wanted a book with lots of information, integrity and credibility. What I got was a lot of bad gags, lame inside jokes and cryptic one-liners. Read more
Published on January 30, 2010 by Ronald T. Hardgrove Jr.
best "how to" on voice recordings I've ever seen
This is the most useful (and fun) book on the actual process of recording the voice for acting, demos, audio books and so forth I've ever seen. Read more
Published on December 5, 2009 by S. Cook
Excellent instructions on voice-over artistry
The two authors, Hogan and Fisher, are well known and highly respected within the industry, in their own right. Read more
Published on August 23, 2009 by A. Soifer
A true classic
Thorough, helpful, enjoyable to read and something I'm sure I'll be going back to for information time and again!
Published on April 13, 2009 by M. E. Craver
Voice Actor's Guide should be a part of EVERY Voice Actor's Library!
It's an enjoyable and informative read from beginning to end. Once you make Voice Actor's Guide part of your reference books, you find it's a gift that keeps on giving. Read more
Published on March 3, 2009 by Daniel Wright
Great book even for experienced voiceover astists
I made the right choice with this book! Very helpful even for experienced and non-english speaking voice talents, like me. Read more
Published on February 19, 2009 by Jorge Velasco
Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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sound space, wave hammer, whisper room, multitrack software, external audio interface, acoustic foam, voice actor, voice demos, phone patch, phantom power, microphone preamp, recording chain, peak meter, dynamic mic, mic preamp, pop filter, condenser mics, audio interfaces, audio software, recording space, recording software, pickup pattern, mic stand, audio gear Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Voice Actor's Guide, Assembling Your Home Studio-Hardware, Basic Production Techniques, Sound Forge, Working the World Wide Web, Tweaking the Right Location, Home Recording-Away, Navy Pier, Teleportation-Long-Distance Direction, Adobe Audition, Profitable Promotion, The New Paradigm, Assembling Your Home Studio-Software, Comfort of Home-Seven Easy Steps, Adobe's Audition, Real Media, Sample Script, Sony Vegas Pro, Required Tool of the Trade, Windows Media, Advanced Production Techniques Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
sound space, wave hammer, whisper room, multitrack software, external audio interface, acoustic foam, voice actor, voice demos, phone patch, phantom power, microphone preamp, recording chain, peak meter, dynamic mic, mic preamp, pop filter, condenser mics, audio interfaces, audio software, recording space, recording software, pickup pattern, mic stand, audio gear Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Voice Actor's Guide, Assembling Your Home Studio-Hardware, Basic Production Techniques, Sound Forge, Working the World Wide Web, Tweaking the Right Location, Home Recording-Away, Navy Pier, Teleportation-Long-Distance Direction, Adobe Audition, Profitable Promotion, The New Paradigm, Assembling Your Home Studio-Software, Comfort of Home-Seven Easy Steps, Adobe's Audition, Real Media, Sample Script, Sony Vegas Pro, Required Tool of the Trade, Windows Media, Advanced Production Techniques Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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