Voice of Simeon

Possible New Podcast Client

A Lego Youtuber I found a few months ago, MandRproductions, who does a lot of Lego set reviews, upcoming Lego news, Lego MOC reviews, etc.
Just recently, I found out he also has a podcast too, called Bricks and Bits. I gave an episode a listen, and I thought it was pretty good. He usually has around two guests (and I believe a co-host), and they talk about Legos, Star Wars (they're big Star Wars fans as well), videogames, movies, and what they're up to on their Youtube channels.
The only problem is that the audio quality was not the best and could use some audio editing work. For example, there are background noises, repetitions, trailing thoughts, etc. So, I decided that I would offer to edit the podcast. But, if I just messaged MandRproductions and said, "Hey, I can edit your podcast," he would ignore me. So, I then decided that I should edit the first ten minutes of one of his podcast episodes (he has done around 75 episodes), add in some intro music to "spice it up" (with music I paid copyright for), then send it to him. I do understand that even then, he might not respond because he probably gets many emails from fans.

My Editing Workflow January 2020

  • Download episode through Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.
  • Momentarily silence guest audio channel in multitrack (if guest)
  • Capture white noise print of the channel, then start the noise reduction process
  • Process auto gate at -35 decibels (anything under -35 decibels will be removed)
  • Process equalizer to raise quiet areas and lower loud areas
  • Raise volume to -6 decibels
  • Silence host audio file in multitrack, then repeat everything above
  • Edit out "um"s, "uh"s, filler words, repetition, breaths, clicks, background ambiance, folly noise, etc.
  • Look for large audio gap silence, then cut them out
  • Save file
  • Repeat process above on any intros, ads audio inserts, etc.
  • Attach the extra file pieces to the main episode file
  • Save file
  • Send to client either dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

Creating a New Demo

I recently listened back to my demo reel on Fiverr, and as I did, I knew it was time for some editing. Some of the voice files in my old demo reel were from earlier this year or even last year, and I thought I should update it. 

I kept some voice files from before in my first reel (about 6 or 7), but most of them are from recent jobs. Here's my new one:

This second demo reel is only for Fiverr though. In my most recent blog post, I talked about considering voice acting on the site, Voice123.com. The demo above took only about two hours to edit. Though I would really like to make several demos to prepare for Voice123 (it's still undecided). The reason I should make several is that since Voice123 is a pro site, clients would want to see my best work, and so I should keep categories organized. 
Most pro-voice-over sites require several demos for types of voice-overs you specialize in, such as character, narration, commercial, etc.

As you'll see in the video with the image slide, each voice file is a different type of voice-over. I was able to fit in character VO, educational VO, narration VO, and commercial VO (Voice Over) 

Interested in Voice123.com

I've been interested in a site called Voice123.com. It's a site for all the pro voice actors. My past voice over coach recommended it along with a few others. I checked it out, and it's very professional! All the voice actors had some stunning voice over demos, and I was pretty impressed! I've enjoyed Fiverr (I've been on it for half a year now), but I'm not getting as many gigs as I'd like to. I know, Voice123 could be harder, in fact definitely will be to get voice over gigs, but I think it would push me to learn more. Although, the only thing holding me back is the monthly fee. It's kind of expensive, so I'd have to be making enough to pay it off, and still make extra money. But, I would have an advantage since there's practically no one under 16 on there, so if directors need a young teen voice, I would have a good chance. If I do join, I hope it works out. If so, this could be a very giant step forward in my voice over dream.

Helping a Family Make a Home Studio (Part 2)

I decided to write another blog post about helping the family make their home studio. When going over the things to get, the mom of the family said that she had been to a recording studio to record her singing voice. I know that her singing is excellent since I've heard her voice a few times. 

She said that when they finished recording, they added a lot of effects that made her voice "sound like a robot." I knew what she was talking about. 

Many people add TONS of effects to their voice to make it sound better. There's nothing wrong with effects, but you can get carried away with them. 

I think it's ok to use a small bit of it to give it that cherry on top. But if you overdo it, you'll sound like, well, a robot! 

I used to add a lot of compression effects to my voice to make it pop, but I soon learned it sounded fake. It didn't make me feel like I was listening to a real human being. Now, I don't add any effects to my voice, unless it's a commercial type gig (I can explain why, but it would take too long). Of course, excluding the little bit of noise reduction and dynamics processing!