Hello From TN

FortKnox · 07-01-2009, 12:56 PM

Hello all. I'm FortKnox from Clarksville, TN and let me tell you about myself.

Every since puberty people have been telling my I have a deep and wonderful voice and that I should do something with it. I didn't think much about it till senior year of HS when in the 1st day of my TV Broadcasting class the teacher told me I have a wonderful broadcasting voice. That is what give me the idea to consider broadcasting. So, after HS I went to college and got a Associate Degree in Radio Broadcasting and got an intership at the local radio station and then moved up to part time employee and it was a fun job.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that everyone there said I was a good worker and had a great voice I was barely able to do anything with it. IE I voiced only a few PSAs at best and wasn't able to be a DJ even though everyone else and there mother at the station was one. And a few of them sucked.

So, after some 2 1/2 years of working for minimum wage and no upword movement I said "Screw it I need to make some real money." So, I quit and got a good paying job and didn't think much about radio for a few years.

After a few years I decided to do voice overs since I'm a fan of it and it seems like great fun. All I had for a demo were some stuff I did in college and a few PSAs from the station but, it was a start I guess and sent them off last week. I've only heard back from one so far but, it's a scam. But, hopefully something will turn up.

Thanks.

FortKnox

Clintonnobles · 07-01-2009, 01:58 PM

Welcome fellow TNian. VO is a hard Road no doubt. Broadcasting is even more of a challenge now that big corps own most of the stations.

Anyway, glad to hear you are looking back into it and I wish you the best.

I have one suggestion. Forget the stuff you did from college. That is several years ago from what it sounds like and I am sure your "wonderful" voice has improved since then. Click the link below and look over some scripts. Select a few and practice on them. See what fits you best now and make a new demo. Might want to post some things in the forums to get some feed back before you fork out some hard earned cash for a demo though. Great group of guys and gals here that are always ready to lend a helping hand.

What set up are you using?

(practice voice over scripts, demo voiceover scripts, copy for demos, free download)

JoeActor · 07-01-2009, 02:02 PM

Hi FortKnox - Welcome!

I'll echo what Clinton said - skip the old stuff.
You may need to take a few classes to get up to speed before making a demo.
Also, Radio and VO are two different animals.

Might want to read this very good thread:
Random Thoughts for Newbies

Hope to hear more from you on the forums - cheers!,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com
www.SoundsGoodToYou.com

FortKnox · 07-01-2009, 02:18 PM

See that's the bad thing I don't have any kind of mic/audio setup and a old, slow computer. But, I'll be looking around the city to see about studios.

Clintonnobles · 07-01-2009, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FortKnox

See that's the bad thing I don't have any kind of mic/audio setup and a old, slow computer. But, I'll be looking around the city to see about studios.

That is going to be costly. Around Knoxville, there is one place that rents for $30 an hour, however, you have to bring your own equipment.

You can get a decent set up for not very much. This will work for Auditioning, but when you get gigs you'll need better stuff. It seems that you are in a place right now were you need to consider yourself a very new VO. Don't think of it as coming back, look at it as starting a new career. I will list out my initial set up for auditions and I still use it for the most part. It didn't cost me a lot, but it worked for what I needed.

Laptop (now this cost me $1,000 when I first got it, but I didn't buy it for my vo, however, It is what I use it for mostly now.) with 4gb ram, 250 gb hdd plus two 500 gb externals that I hook up to it when needed.

Sterling Audio ST51 (Sterling Audio ST51 Large Diaphragm FET Condenser Microphone and more Condenser Microphones at GuitarCenter.com. $100) This worked good for picking up the warmth of the voice.

M-Audio Mobile Pre-amp (M-Audio MobilePre USB Portable Audio Interface and more Audio Interfaces and Convertors at GuitarCenter.com. $150)

This was my audition set up. I took a cardboard box and lined with some foam mounted it on my wall and recorded in that. Worked good and got me gigs. It doesn't take a lot, but you really have to have your own stuff to really make a shot at a viable career.

JoeActor · 07-01-2009, 03:08 PM

... I agree. The studio route will be too costly (unless you have a friend there...)

Might check out TigerDirect.com for a computer.
They have some great specials.

And if you're just looking for a cheap-n-cheerful mike, you could try the MXL-990-USB - I use one for my travel mike (with a laptop).

Clintonnobles · 07-01-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeActor

... I agree. The studio route will be too costly (unless you have a friend there...)

Might check out TigerDirect.com for a computer.
They have some great specials.

And if you're just looking for a cheap-n-cheerful mike, you could try the MXL-990-USB - I use one for my travel mike (with a laptop).

I have almost bought one several times for traveling. But I just don't know about putting that much through a usb? Seems like it would be taxing.

JoeActor · 07-01-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clintonnobles

I have almost bought one several times for traveling. But I just don't know about putting that much through a usb? Seems like it would be taxing.

Not to get too far off topic, but I'm using an older Sony Vaio and it seems to do just fine...

My ideal would be small, lots of ram, with a solid state drive.

Paul Plack · 07-01-2009, 03:54 PM

Fort,

An old, slow computer might be enough to get started. Audacity, an audio editor available as a free download, can run under Windows 98SE with as little as 64 MB of ram and a 300 MHz processor. Not recommended, and you might have to disable your antivirus software to make it record properly, but it would be a start.

My first home setup was a $400 emachine PC with 160 MB of ram and a 400 MHz Celeron processor. CoolEdit Pro ran great on that machine. (Still would, if I kept it offline and ran just the original load of Windows 98SE with no anti-virus.)

As for the great voice not getting you work in radio, there's no easy way to put this...lots of people with great voices can't convincingly relate a piece of copy off a printed page. Some people with great voices wind up leaning too much on the voice, and too little on good acting. It's hard to know without hearing you, but you may need to get good coaching and work without headphones to escape the box.

There are always lively opinions here, and some good tips. Good luck!

FortKnox · 07-01-2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Plack

An old, slow computer might be enough to get started. Audacity, an audio editor available as a free
As for the great voice not getting you work in radio, there's no easy way to put this...lots of people with great voices can't convincingly relate a piece of copy off a printed page. Some people with great voices wind up leaning too much on the voice, and too little on good acting. It's hard to know without hearing you, but you may need to get good coaching and work without headphones to escape the box.

There are always lively opinions here, and some good tips. Good luck!

Oh I understand about the whole voice thing but, my problem was I was never given a shot at it. If I was giving a shot and it didn't work out I wouldn't have mind it. But, moving on. Thanks.

07-01-2009, 12:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
FortKnox User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 7	Hello From TN Hello all. I'm FortKnox from Clarksville, TN and let me tell you about myself. Every since puberty people have been telling my I have a deep and wonderful voice and that I should do something with it. I didn't think much about it till senior year of HS when in the 1st day of my TV Broadcasting class the teacher told me I have a wonderful broadcasting voice. That is what give me the idea to consider broadcasting. So, after HS I went to college and got a Associate Degree in Radio Broadcasting and got an intership at the local radio station and then moved up to part time employee and it was a fun job. Unfortunately, despite the fact that everyone there said I was a good worker and had a great voice I was barely able to do anything with it. IE I voiced only a few PSAs at best and wasn't able to be a DJ even though everyone else and there mother at the station was one. And a few of them sucked. So, after some 2 1/2 years of working for minimum wage and no upword movement I said "Screw it I need to make some real money." So, I quit and got a good paying job and didn't think much about radio for a few years. After a few years I decided to do voice overs since I'm a fan of it and it seems like great fun. All I had for a demo were some stuff I did in college and a few PSAs from the station but, it was a start I guess and sent them off last week. I've only heard back from one so far but, it's a scam. But, hopefully something will turn up. Thanks. FortKnox

07-01-2009, 01:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
Clintonnobles User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 124	Welcome fellow TNian. VO is a hard Road no doubt. Broadcasting is even more of a challenge now that big corps own most of the stations. Anyway, glad to hear you are looking back into it and I wish you the best. I have one suggestion. Forget the stuff you did from college. That is several years ago from what it sounds like and I am sure your "wonderful" voice has improved since then. Click the link below and look over some scripts. Select a few and practice on them. See what fits you best now and make a new demo. Might want to post some things in the forums to get some feed back before you fork out some hard earned cash for a demo though. Great group of guys and gals here that are always ready to lend a helping hand. What set up are you using? (practice voice over scripts, demo voiceover scripts, copy for demos, free download) __________________ www.clintonnobles.com

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07-01-2009, 02:02 PM	#3 (permalink)
JoeActor Administrator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,896	Hi FortKnox - Welcome! I'll echo what Clinton said - skip the old stuff. You may need to take a few classes to get up to speed before making a demo. Also, Radio and VO are two different animals. Might want to read this very good thread: Random Thoughts for Newbies Hope to hear more from you on the forums - cheers!, Joe J Thomas www.JoeActor.com www.SoundsGoodToYou.com

07-01-2009, 02:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
FortKnox User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 7	See that's the bad thing I don't have any kind of mic/audio setup and a old, slow computer. But, I'll be looking around the city to see about studios.

07-01-2009, 03:08 PM	#6 (permalink)
JoeActor Administrator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,896	... I agree. The studio route will be too costly (unless you have a friend there...) Might check out TigerDirect.com for a computer. They have some great specials. And if you're just looking for a cheap-n-cheerful mike, you could try the MXL-990-USB - I use one for my travel mike (with a laptop).

07-01-2009, 03:54 PM	#9 (permalink)
Paul Plack User Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Murray, Utah, USA Posts: 492	Fort, An old, slow computer might be enough to get started. Audacity, an audio editor available as a free download, can run under Windows 98SE with as little as 64 MB of ram and a 300 MHz processor. Not recommended, and you might have to disable your antivirus software to make it record properly, but it would be a start. My first home setup was a $400 emachine PC with 160 MB of ram and a 400 MHz Celeron processor. CoolEdit Pro ran great on that machine. (Still would, if I kept it offline and ran just the original load of Windows 98SE with no anti-virus.) As for the great voice not getting you work in radio, there's no easy way to put this...lots of people with great voices can't convincingly relate a piece of copy off a printed page. Some people with great voices wind up leaning too much on the voice, and too little on good acting. It's hard to know without hearing you, but you may need to get good coaching and work without headphones to escape the box. There are always lively opinions here, and some good tips. Good luck!