Hello. I've just finished my first attempt at an audiobook demo, and would be delighted if anyone might want to give it a wee listen and perhaps offer some, very welcome, feedback. All the excerpts are from stories that have been, or are about to be, presented on various podcasts I have the pleasure of working with. Thanks in advance, y'all. https://soundcloud.com/moonlandingnow/audio-book-narration-demo
Acting : A Little Less Than Two Minutes Of Your Time by Nicholas Camm
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Thanks for listening, Tejnoor, much appreciated. When I get my audiobook contract, you'll be the 1st to know ;-)
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Great job! You really pulled me in. Excellent voice and well read.
Many, many thanks Matt!
Thanks for listening and your kind words, Norma Jean. That demo was done before I got my full home studio up and running, and , boy, what a difference! Much, much good luck to you in the voice world. I think patience is the key (and an ability to sit in small, dark rooms for days on end!). As a sound engineer friend of mine said to me recently. "I've been doing this for 30 years and I still haven't stopped learning." Eek!
How did you get into this demo of an audio book? I would like to do that too.
Blimey, that's a big question, Lin! But, briefly, I volunteered for some short story podcasts, discovered I liked doing it and was good at it and decided to go pro with a home studio set up. Now I'm sending out demos to audiobook companies and making some pretty positive in-roads. It's a hard slog, with many gazillion hours spent researching on google, but I hope it will be worth it.
Cheers, Edward. I basically begged, borrowed and improvised. The mic is a Rode NT1a, (bloody brilliant) usually about £120, but the gods must have been on my side the day I found it in a Cash Converters. A Focusrite Scarlett audio interface, £120 ish. Reaper recording/editing software. I was almost suckered into buying Pro Tools because everybody says it's the industry standard. Pah! PT costs big money, Reaper is £40, stable, honest and, in my humble opinion, just better. I then lined an under-the-stairs cupboard with carpets and curtains and such, and, bingo, my very own walk-in home studio! Oh, and the demo above wasn't done in said studio, it was done with in a clothes horse with a dictaphone. I've just posted my latest demo in my projects, if it's of any interest. Hope that helps
Pretty much self taught, although I know a few computer savvy people who gave me some pointers at the start. But once you learn the fundamentals the software is mostly similar. It does seem quite daunting at first, but as a voice overer you'll only ever need the basics: a bit of EQ, basic compression etc. Reaper has a really helpful, friendly forum and there are oodles of how-to's on You Tube. I'm mainly concentrating on audiobooks, so at the moment I'm trying to get fluent with punch and roll (editing on the fly) recording, which should save a huge amount of time. It generally takes 2/3 hours of editing for a recorded hour of narration, which might seem a lot, but appears to be the standard. And it helps immensely if you enjoy the twiddly bits. Also, you could try Audacity, it's free, it does the job and I know many VO peeps use it regularly. I just found it a bit clunky, personally. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need some pointers (although I consider myself to be a permanent novice), and look into Linked In, they have some fantastic voice over communities with very supportive, generous types always willing to help.
Great.... most enjoyable and convincing. Loved it Nicholas. Want to hear more... Wow...
Almost expected to hear Alfred Hitchcock.
Such lovely comments make a boy's day, Janet! Thank you, indeed. Hopefully you'll be able to hear more soon. It's early days for me in professional audio, but I have high hopes. I do narrations for the StarShipSofa podcast, to keep myself in the mix. I'd be happy to send you some links if you fancy (and if you like sci-fi). And thanks again, it's great to hear I'm getting stuff right.
You are for sure, for sure, ( said with my best Irish accent.) Although, I am more of the Hooch Aye type. Nice to meet you Nicholas. You are brilliant!!!! Capital B. I laughed at the part with the mans bald head... You emphasise the appropriate words so well. I hung on to every word listening. To be so versatile speaking the parts of different characters...How much better can you get.... Mmmmm. I am looking forward to the... Hearing more soon part. Please do send some links for me. I am very keen to hear the sci-fi. You sure are getting your stuff right. Cheers...
Hee hee! I do a passable Oirish accent and my Scots isn't too bad, either. Although my Welsh sounds like Peter Sellers doing his comedy Indian! Here are a couple of links. The Kosmatka story is probably the most beautiful piece of writing I have had the pleasure to narrate (and not at all sci-fi); the Bloch is just out and out camp, pulpy, horror goodness and the Roberts is the 1st story I did for The Sofa, which got me to thinking I could do this stuff professionally. Thanks for listening, Janet. All the best luck in the world for your future endeavours. http://www.starshipsofa.com/2012/12/04/starshipsofa-no-267-ted-kosmatka/ http://protectingprojectpulp.com/protecting-project-pulp-no-20-robert-bl... http://www.starshipsofa.com/2012/08/22/starshipsofa-no-252-adam-roberts/
Wonderful...I shall enjoy. You have a better Irish accent than I... and I'm half Irish. Robin Williams did a great impression of me in Mrs Doubt fire.... GRINS.