Class Session 1
Mikhail Cucuk for Role
Full details of homework is on Closing Credits
Really nice read!
Your projection level felt more like an intimate read close to the microphone without much projection. However, for this assignment we were looking for a read like you were in a gym full of people without a microphone where you need to project your voice as though you’re speaking to someone at the back of the room. Think about speaking from your diaphragm to really push that sound and fill the space. This will help ensure that everyone can hear you clearly, no matter where they are.
0:29 Read “entrée” as “entry”
0:53 For repeated words, look for ways to say the words differently - “change-up” to keep it interesting - varying pace, pitch, etc. in the way you read the words. I did hear some variation, but there is room to explore variations even a little further to make it even more lively.
When you misread or have a little stumble (happens to everyone and it’s okay!), it’s highly encouraged to start again at the beginning of the sentence or paragraph or a point that would make it easy to remove and replace the mistake during editing. If you just keep going and don’t return to a solid point that makes it easy to edit out the mistake, you may need to come back later and re-record as a pick-up, and it becomes challenging to make it sound the same as the original recording. So, a good rule of thumb is to record so that it’s easy to edit later. When the mistakes are then edited out, it will sound like you read everything perfectly.
1:19 Read “purchase” instead of “purchases” - be aware of changing words and dropping or adding “s”
Try adjusting your microphone so that you speak just passed the mic at a slight offset to limit plosives.
Overall, it was a really smooth, suave read. Very confident and assured. If we did a second take for the homework, I would have liked to have heard one that was brighter and more energetic and excited about the topic at hand. That would have contrasted nicely with your first read. Something to think about when doing auditions too - when you give two takes make sure they are completely different as this shows your range to a casting director. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your highly detailed input. I'm not used to shouting -- it tends to cause clipping and I have to compress it so much that it robs it of the emotional impact. And it seemed very counterintuitive for me to read it loudly and boisterously to an imaginary person across the room when it's called a lullaby. As in, it's meant to lull you to sleep. But I'll remember what you said going forward. And I'll find a way to make my recordings maintain their levels without clipping.
Heh heh, yeah, that name is technically a humorous misnomer. (The original script was actually performed by a comedian.)
So, with louder portions to avoid clipping, what you can do is often called "riding the gain". This means, you turn the gain down when you are recording louder sections, and turn it up when you record quieter sections. Sometimes this is even done impromptu during recording and is a skill to acquire; it helps to have marks on where to turn the gain knob to in advance. Another tactic some people use, which is one I also use, is to use an audio interface with two inputs that allows you to connect an XLR microphone using a splitter cable. This lets you to record from one microphone into two inputs. I keep my first input at regular talking level gain and the second one at a lower gain for louder portions. I record with both tracks in Reaper all of the time and so if I need to replace a clipped portion in the normal gain I simply use the second track recording and adjust the levels so they sound the same - just without the distortion. It was a useful tip I picked up in the audio engineering class (which I also highly recommend).
The 201 class is excellent for helping go beyond your comfort zone and really expand your range as a voice actor - it's nicknamed the emotional roller coaster. I felt that class was really helpful for me to start drastically improving in my performances and highly recommend taking it after the 101 class. :) I'm not much of a shouter either, so I can empathize with how you feel.