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Joe Szymanski’s Studio B[log] -

Headphones - love 'em or hate 'em, part 1

I'll admit, I've always been a sucker for headphones as far back as I can remember. I love discovering the nuances and subtleties of music and spoken word that can only be found when you're that close to the source. My trusty Sony 7506's were my constant companion as I ventured into broadcasting and eventually, voiceover. These days, three out of four voice coaches will tell you to get used to not wearing headphones in the booth. In theory, it's good advice. I'll paraphrase how it's been explained to me by my coach.

We hear ourselves talk all the time, a combination of the sound waves that comes out of our mouth around our cheeks and into our ears, and the vibrations we feel rumbling through our chest cavity and beyond. In normal conversation, our voice sounds far different than it does when we hear it from a speaker. It's why when many people first hear themselves on a voicemail recording, they freak out. Because in their own head they sound completely different.  Since "normal" and "conversational" are both words to describe what many of us are trying to achieve in our reads at this place and time, replicating it means getting things out of our way that inhibit us from authentic communication. When we talk to a friend, we typically don't give a rip about how we "sound." We don't worry whether we're coming up or down on this word or that, punching a certain phrase or ending our sentences with a nice bit of growl. Ha. If we did, we'd sound ridiculous and fake. Truth is, we give each word just the right feeling and emphasis automatically without even thinking about it, simply by keeping our mind on the message of what it is we're saying. It's so simple, and yet amazing.

But when performing with headphones, it's as if we're broadcasting to ourselves over a little radio. And let me tell you, I can be very critical of me when my voice is put under that kind of auditory microscope. Where every little nuance is noticed, every flaw magnified. The result is that we tend to edit ourselves in real time not even realizing we're doing it. We constantly make little itty bitty changes in delivery based on how we think each word is sounding -- a completely subconscious thing but it comes at a cost. Since we're listening to our voice and our performance so closely and so loudly thanks to headphones, we're actually disconnecting a little from the message, putting that energy instead into figuring out if we're sounding like we think we should sound like. Authenticity gets lost and the performance isn't as strong as it could have been. One thing I remind myself often is that it's not about my voice. It's about the message I'm communicating. My voice doesn't matter. My point of view does. My opinion does. My voice will just carry that point of view and opinion.


All that being said, often during a session, a producer will be listening in on the phone (which of course will be tied into your mixing board and headphones via a phone patch.)  So you'll need be able to communicate with them somehow. Many suggest taking a pair of earbuds, putting one of them in your ear and turning it up when the producer talks. Or leaving it very low. That way, you aren't hearing a booming voice in a closed-ear set of cans that make you want to force things a little more, but you'll still be able to hear a producer giving you direction.

Now, here is where I stray from that train of thought a bit and my coach actually supports me in it. If you can teach yourself to ignore your voice in your headphones and break through that stumbling block with a sharp mental hyper focus entirely on the message in the copy, that's a pretty powerful ability that can make you and your reads even stronger. And sometimes, you have no choice but to wear headphones, particularly in the promo world as audio often gets piped down the ISDN line while you read along with it. Are your reads going to suffer because you aren't used to hearing yourself through headphones? I think it could be a little dangerous to go back and forth between taking them on and off, session to session. So to stay consistent, I choose to keep them on all the time. For me, it works.

This year, I am choosing to make a major change in my use of headphones based on some examination and even conviction about some things that I've come to realize in my life over the past month or two. I'll elaborate a little more over the coming days.

-Joe

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Filed under  //   gear   headphones   studio   voiceover  
Posted March 8, 2010
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Got earplugs?

I could use a pair.

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Posted March 6, 2010
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Time to clean the studio?

Uh, yeah I think so. That's a full 13 inches of clutter pictured here.

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Filed under  //   clutter   studio  
Posted March 3, 2010
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Art Institute spot

This is a fun campaign to be involved with. I love the vibe. That's original music too by Rob at Market Street Sound.

Click here to watch.

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Filed under  //   Art Institute   commercial   video  
Posted February 26, 2010
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Who says doing VO isn't dangerous?

The real perils of this job...

  

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Filed under  //   out-takes  
Posted February 25, 2010
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When Wikipedia tells too much

Wikipedia is a cool concept to begin with but becomes even better when you consider all of the fringe topics it covers that wouldn't be included on any other reference site. And thanks to it's tremendous search positioning in Google, I find more and more that its my go-to if I want to learn about something quick. However, beside the fact that some of the info could be a little questionable since anyone can update an entry, there's another downside - too much info.

Case in point: Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" which I Wiki'd this evening after seeing the trailers pretty much everywhere in the past few weeks. There's a short plot summery which is helpful, BUT which also contains a pretty major spoiler for those who haven't seen the movie. Since it doesn't hit theaters until Friday, that's pretty much all of us. It could have been such a great twist too, had I not known it was coming. Lesson learned. Wiki your way around with care!

By the way, "Score SAY zee" or "Score SEH zee"? Leonardo DiCaprio says the former in the interviews, Rummell, the latter on the trailers. It's one thing when someone butchers my last name ("siz MAN ski" is usually the first guess from people) but this is one of the greatest movie directors of all time we're talking about. Maybe Wikipedia knows...

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Filed under  //   Shutter Island   Wikipedia  
Posted February 18, 2010
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Andy Serkis is crazy-good

Last year, I saw the clip below and it sucked me in. Andy Serkis (Gollum, from the Lord Of The Rings trilogy) was just such an evil genius in his vocal portrayal of the character. So under my tree on Dec 25th was The Screwtape Letters audio dramatization, thanks to my lovely wife. I proceeded to forget about it and recently noticed it gathering dust. So, it's high time to dive in. Should be epic.

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Filed under  //   Andy Serkis   audio drama   The Screwtape Letters  
Posted February 17, 2010
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The Perfect Woosh

Oh my word. I've so been there. Have you?  Thanks for the link, Hieu!

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Filed under  //   post-production   sfx   sound design  
Posted February 12, 2010
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At home with Scott Rummell

Trailer master Scott Rummell is featured both in print, and in video, by the OC Register. Yes, headphone hair affects us all.

Article:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/rummell-233771-voice-movie.html

Video:


Admit it: you're trying your hand at the warm up he does, aren't you.

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Filed under  //   Scott Rummell   voiceover  
Posted February 12, 2010
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How's your sound?

Dan Nachtrab once said to me, "If you want to roll with the big boys, you have to use big boy toys". Of course, he was drinking an Arrogant Bastard at the time as I recall, but I'm glad to say he doesn't embody that name.

So, can your home studio hold its own against the best studios in New York or LA? If you're not sure, George Whittam of ElDorado Recording Services has generously offered to take a listen. Here's the info straight from him:


We'd like to offer you a FREE Valentine GIFT

Are you concerned that the files you send off for auditions are sounding up to industry standards?  If you'd benefit from a professional's objective opinion about your sound quality (not your performance), this offer is for you.  For those who submit a sample recording to us by midnight Sunday February 14th, we'll schedule a 15 minute evaluation conducted personally by George Whittam with you on the phone, Skype, or send a detailed email (your choice).  

Here are the rules:
1-  File must be 1 minute in length or less
2-  File format is MP3 Mono 128kbps
3-  Sample contains your voice, nothing else
4-  Include 10 seconds of silence at the end so George can hear the noise floor in your recording
5-  No noise reduction processing allowed, that's cheating!
6-  Send it to info@eldorec.com with the subject line "My free Valentine gift"
7-  In your email, be sure to include your name, address, preferred method of contact, schedule preferences, and don't forget to attach the file! 

Providing service to the voice-over community is the reason we exist, and we love to do it!

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Filed under  //   George Whittam   microphone   sound quality  
Posted February 10, 2010
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