By Dan Friedman In Part 1 of this series, I discussed a very basic voiceover recording setup. In this installment of my three-part series, I’ll discuss the second of three types of voiceover recording setups. Each setup will cover reasonable price ranges that will, at a minimum, be capable of providing an acceptable level of […]
The Anatomy of Three Voiceover Home Studios – Part 1
Sound Advice by Dan Friedman
Voice Over Self Direction App Introduced

Close on the heels of Pat Fraley’s webinar on the importance of self-direction for the voiceover artist (see The Art of Self Direction comes an app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch: Voice Over Self Direction. The app was designed by long-time voiceover casting director and VO coach Mary Lynn Wissner of Voices Voicecasting. […]
Do I Need Pro Tools to have a Professional Actor’s Home Studio? (Part 2)

[See Part 1 of this article for a general overview of what software needs to provide for the home VO studio.] For Mac OS If price is your number one discerning factor for choosing software (it shouldn’t be), then look no further than Garageband. It’s included with every Mac computer, so that helps offset […]
Do I Need ProTools To Have A Professional Actor’s Home Studio? (Part 1)

This perennial question comes in many forms, but the answer is almost always the same: No! OK, let me elaborate on that… First, a little background on Pro Tools. Digidesign, now owned by Avid, created Pro Tools to meet the demanding needs of the professional recording engineer. Those needs include the ability to record many […]
How To Use Skype As A Phone Patch

First, you have to choose how you would like to use Skype, and whether the director or client requires that you have the ability to play back recorded takes. I’ll outline two different methods, the software and the hardware mixer methods. First a little about how to setup your Skype account to prepare for making […]
On The Road: Mixing the iPad With A DAW
AirTurn Provides Hands-Free Page Turning For VO

The AirTurn is a Bluetooth equipped foot pedal appliance that works with your iPad, Android, or regular computer monitor to turn pages wirelessly while you’re narrating. VoiceOver Insider editor Gary MacFadden spoke with Hugh Sung, a cofounder of AirTurn, Inc, and the VP of Marketing for the Boulder, Colorado-based business. VOI: Hugh, what’s the genesis […]
Headphones or Studio Monitors — Part 3

In Parts 1 and 2 of this series I discussed the benefits of using headphones or studio monitors. Now let’s look at some recommendations: My general recommendation is check your recording from top to bottom in headphones for background noises that might have gotten into the microphone and mark anyplace that needs to be re-recorded. […]