I’ve spent a few of my breaks at work over the past few days working on an audio clip for the NPR series Sound Clips. I’ve got a small but nice Olympus hand-held digital recorder I use for detailed meetings, and the sound turned out rather badly on my first few tries.
I generally just set the recorder on a table as I meet and dictate notes, but this time, being a bit more self-conscious, I kept the recorder close and my voice low.
Result? Disaster. I maxxed out the sound levels the entire time after I got my “sound” going. Then, of course, my batteries died and I had to put off the project yet again for another day.
As I write this, I’m listening to attempt number three. Much better – I can hear the sounds and my voice in stereo, though my normal speaking voice still maxes out the recorder’s ability. I still need to do something for all the noise; I’ll probably take some fleece and make my own mike cover. I also need to move my recorder a bit further away from me, maybe another foot or two.
I’ve also just about got done what I want to say; introducing the sound, explaining how it fits into my daily life. So far I’ve been working extemporaneously, but I’ll work out a short script and do a few more takes before I submit it.
This little sound project is a lot of fun. Experimenting with my equipment to see what works; figuring out how to set up my sessions to do voice work on a semi-pro basis and maybe bring in a little pin money or work on a career change. I’ve done a bit of exploring on the ‘net to see what has changed online in the industry in the past few years (from the time I decided to give it a shot until the time I’ve actually gotten to it). It’s the internet, man. Everyone’s doing it. I’ve got to work to distinguish myself.
Note to self – do not move the recorder closer to the sound. Lifting the damper is enough.
And why do I still sound as if I have a stuffy nose? Oh, wait. I do. Garr. I hate these never-ending colds and allergies that sneak up on me now and then. Maybe I should make some limited-edition “smelly cat” recordings and take advantage of my changed voice before I go back to – what did my friend Suzanne call it? My “phone sex” voice.
My life is changing from what it was a few years ago. I have kids, I have a longer commute, I have school-days coming. We’ll have to see how flexible and employable I can be. Maybe this will just be a bit of fun, maybe voice work will become something more.
But I definitely need to work on all of those “um”s.
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