Using a Phone Patch in Your Voice Over Home Recording Studio

 How will a Phone Patch enhance your voice over job opportunities?

The latest trend in voice overs is to have your own home studio. This allows you to work from home and to accept work from anyone in the world. Often the scripts are sent to you via email and you interpret the script, record it, and return the finished files to the client. However this process requires that you fully understand the requirements of your client so that you can direct your own performance. But what if the clients wants to listen in and direct you as you record? This adds another layer of complexity to your studio setup so you can supply this capability with your studio gear. An easy and inexpensive way of doing this is with a Phone Patch.

A Phone Patch allows two way communication with the client

A Phone Patch is a electronic box that allows you to connect your mixer or digital audio interface to standard telephone lines. When you talk into your microphone the mic signal is routed to the telephone as if you are speaking into a telephone receiver. And when the client speaks, their voice is routed into your headphones. Also, when properly set up, you can play back recorded tracks for the client and they can hear that as well. Overall the experience feels like you're in a studio with the client in the control room speaking over the "talkback" mic.

Allowing instant adjustment and correction of your performance gives you a much higher probability that the client will be satisfied with the end results. This reduces the need for retakes or pickups at a later date and makes the entire recording process more efficient and quicker.

You should add Phone Patch capability to your studio

Today's voice over market includes online casting. This gives you the opportunity to perform for clients all over the world. And you want these clients to feel as comfortable hiring you as the talent who lives down the street. Directing with a phone patch session will make them feel just like they're in the next room. They will experience your personality. They'll be able to judge your response to direction. You can solve pronunciation questions immediately. You can even chat about the weather or the Yankees chances this year. Remember building rapport with the client is an important part of voice over marketing. We all want to work with someone we like.

Analog and digital hybrids

The actual box that you buy to create a phone patch system is called a "hybrid." There are two types. The older version is analog and passive, meaning it doesn't require a power supply. The newer versions are digital and need power to operate. There are two benefits to the digital version. One is much greater separation of incoming signal from the outgoing signal. A regular phone needs to lower the incoming voice so it doesn't feedback into the outgoing signal. Callers don't want to hear their own voice coming back or worse a loud feedback whine. A digital hybrid can lower (attenuate) the signal by 50 dB. The second advantage is, since the unit is powered, you can supply gain to the signals. That means if you can't hear them or they can't hear you, you can turn the volume up. The analog hybrid does mix a bit of the two signals together but still provides 20dB of attenuation. And usually the phone signals are adequate so yo don't have to turn anything up. Also if you're using a mixer you can supply some gain with the mixer.

Hooking it all up

I can't go into specifics for each piece of hardware and recording software but you will need a mixing board or a separate audio interface to hook up the hybrid. Most of the audio interfaces have "virtual" mixing capabilities which you can access from your recording software. So here's the secret to hooking it up.

The hybrid has a phone connector--the typical "phone jack"-- on the back to plug the phone line into. (You can also plug a regular phone into an additional jack so you can use the phone line as a regular phone.)

The hybrid also has a "line in" connector to which you supply signals that you want to go down the telephone line to the client. And it has a "line out" connector which supplies your mixer with the telephone signal from the caller.

There are five different signals that you will have in a typical session:

1. Your Microphone in--plugged into the mixer providing your voice to the recording software and to the clients telephone
2. The Playback Tracks in--routed into the mixer so you can play back the recorded tracks and hear them in your headphones and have the client hear them on their phone.
3. The client's voice in--coming from the telephone line via the hybrid's "line out" into the mixer.
4.The signal out of the mixer to your headphones
5. The signal out of the mixer back via the hybrid's "line in" to the client's phone for them to hear.

To achieve this you need to create a "mix" of signals for your headphones and a "mix minus one" signal that goes out to the telephone as follows:

Mix of inputs to you headphones:

1. Your Microphone
2. The Playback
3. The Client's voice on the phone

Mix of inputs to the telephone via the hybrid.

1. Your Microphone
2. The Playback

Exactly how you do this is specific to your hardware and software but this gives you the outline of what you're trying to achieve. The important point to note is you DON'T want the clients voice going back out to the telephone (hence the "minus one".) This will create the dreaded feedback loop.

I've been doing mixing for years and this still makes me scratch my head. It's best to write it down and diagram it on a piece of paper. And save the paper so you don't have to decipher it again at a later date!

If you don't have an audio interface or mixer--other phone patch alternatives

Suppose you have a really simple recording system. Just your trusty USB mic and your laptop. Without the mixer or interface you cant use the telephone hybrid but there are other alternatives that can work almost as well. Remember the goal is for the client to hear you when you talk and for you to hear the client give direction. Here are some other ways to do this.

A wireless portable phone and a headset. I used this for years. The portable phone is connected to your landline (or VoIP phone such as a cable phone, Vonage, or even the remarkable MagicJack.) You then plug a headset into the receiver and clip it to your belt. Put the headset on and put your headphones over it. Voila! The client can hear you talk and you can hear them direct.

The same set-up with a cell phone. Simpler cell phones have a headset jack. Newer phones may need an adapter to use a headset but the principle is the same. A similar result can be achieved with a bluetooth hands-free device but I think the audio quality really degrades between the bluetooth and the cell phone.

You can use Skype. Skype is like an internet phone. It's free for Skype-to-Skype calls but there may be a charge for phone-to-Skype. With a little time spent in the "preferences" you can have Skype recognize your microphone as the input device and your headphones as the output.

These alternatives all provide the two-way communication you need for a successful voice over session. The only drawback is you can't directly PLAY BACK the track if the client would like to hear it. I used to worry about this but, believe it or not, I've never had a client ask for a playback!

You should have phone patch capability in your voice over studio

Phone patch capability enhances your voice over service. Being directed in a session can speed up the session, provide a more acceptable read, demonstrate you ability to take direction and reduce the need for picks and retakes at a later date. It will also be required for the more sophisticated--and lucrative--jobs. So use one of these methods to add this to your studio and kick your voice over service up to a higher level.

If you live in the Los Angeles area you should look into my live Voice Over Classes. For those who live in other ares I also offer Online Voice Over Classes which offer the same quality of instruction in a modular, online format

William Williams is a voice over talent, instructor and coach located in Burbank near Los Angeles California. With experience as a marketing director, commercial and animation producer and voice over talent he knows what's required for excellence on "both sides of the glass." For 25 years he has been the owner and operator of Aliso Creek Productions, a full service audio production company specializing in radio, TV, and industrial audio, and voice over instruction and coaching. William has produced or performed in hundreds of commercials, videos and animation projects.

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Using ISDN in Your Voice Over Home Recording Studio

Will ISDN enhance your voice over job opportunities?

The latest trend in voice overs is to have your own home studio. This allows you to work from home and to accept work from anyone in the world. Often the scripts are sent to you via email and you interpret the script, record it, and return the finished files to the client. However this process requires that you fully understand the requirements of your client so that you can direct your own performance. But what if the clients wants to listen in and direct you as you record? This adds another layer of complexity to your studio setup so you can supply this capability with your studio gear. This need can be met with an ISDN connection.

The grandaddy of remote monitoring (listening in, commenting and recording from a distant location) is the ISDN connection. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network and it provides a constant direct digital connection over telephone lines to a remote studio.

ISDN has two major advantages.

ISDN allows you to send high fidelity (20-20kHz) audio signals from your studio to the remote studio. This allows you to speak into your microphone while the remote studio receives your signal at high quality in their studio. The producer, director and engineer can hear your performance clearly on their monitor speakers as though you were in the other room, so they can hear the subtlety of your performance and catch any stumbles in your performance. More importantly, since the signal is high fidelity, it can be recorded on the remote studio's recording equipment and used immediately. Back in the day, this eliminated the need to send tapes recorded at your studio via overnight express in order to deliver your performance to the distant studio.

The director can also speak to you over a phone quality line to give you performance notes and you hear this direction in your headphones as if s/he were in the control room next door. You can speak back to the director through your mic.

So ISDN has two benefits: High fidelity sound quality for remote monitoring and recording. And real-time delivery through the ability to record this high fidelity sound in the remote location.

So why shouldn't all voice over talents run right out and get ISDN?

One issue is cost. ISDN can cost several hundred dollars to install and set up and there is also a monthly charge for the line of about $60.00. You also need an ISDN CODEC. This is a box that receives the analog signal from your mixing board and converts it to the digital signals that are sent over the ISDN line. This codec can cost around $5000.00. So unless you're doing enough high-end jobs that require ISDN you may never recoup your investment.

And remember, the receiving studio needs an ISDN line and codec as well. It is useless to supply ISDN service to your client if they don't have access to an ISDN studio on their end. Renting an ISDN studio can cost up to $250.00 an hour.

Also, as broadband internet becomes universal, the recording process is changing. You now record your jobs as digital files, not a 1/4 inch tape. So the second and more important benefit of ISDN--real-time remote delivery--has disappeared. You can now record your work in high fidelity on your computer and upload those files to a client's server in a matter of minutes.

ISDN allows two way communication with a remote voice director.

ISDN still does allow two way communication with a voice director in a remote studio. But this communication can also be achieved with the use of a PHONE PATCH, which is a much simpler and more universal means of communication with the client for simply receiving direction. However a phone patch transmits and receives telephone quality audio which is not high fidelity. You should pay close attention to your own recordings and performance to assure they are high quality and to catch mistakes that the client might not hear over the phone.

I have found that ISDN is requested mostly by "media" companies. Companies that produce movie trailers or TV promos, or companies that produce material for broadcast--live interviews, syndicated programs and so forth. Perhaps in the future, casting companies and voice over agents may require it but many of them haven't caught up with the new world of talent with home studios.

The moral of the ISDN story

So what's the moral of the story? Hold off on installing ISDN capability until a pressing need--and the corresponding ability to pay for it-- arises. For now, stick to a phone patch.

If you live in the Los Angeles area you should look into my live Voice Over Classes. For those who live in other ares I also offer Online Voice Over Classes which offer the same quality of instruction in a modular, online format

William Williams is a voice over talent, instructor and coach located in Burbank near Los Angeles California. With experience as a marketing director, commercial and animation producer and voice over talent he knows what's required for excellence on "both sides of the glass." For 25 years he has been the owner and operator of Aliso Creek Productions, a full service audio production company specializing in radio, TV, and industrial audio, and voice over instruction and coaching. William has produced or performed in hundreds of commercials, videos and animation projects.

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Using "Delete" and "Silence" Audacity Edit Commands for Voice Over Recording

Today's voice over talent is required to have their own home studio. And along with the equipment required, you need recording software to actually record sounds to your computer as digital files. One software program I recommend that works just fine for voice over recording is Audacity. In a job where you're rarely doing more than recording one track of audio it is more than adequate for auditions and jobs. Along with the basic skills of recording, playing back and exporting your audio, you find very quickly that you need some basic editing skills to clean up your performances and finalize your tracks before export. Here are two editing commands that can speed up your production and improve your final product.

The "Delete" and "Silence" editing commands

There are two editing commands in Audacity that you'll find very useful. They are "Delete" and "Silence". You'll find them under the "Edit" heading in the top toolbar. Here's how you use them and some useful applications.

You use these commands by first highlighting the section of your recording that you want to edit. You highlight a section by placing the cursor at the beginning of the required section and "clicking and dragging" to the end of the desired selection. (Click and hold down the click button while you drag the cursor along the soundwave to the end.) If you've done word processing you should be familiar with selecting text this way. By the way you can unselect by clicking anywhere on the waveform. To make sure that you've selected only the sound you want, you can press the play button or the spacebar. Audacity will play only the highlighted sound.

Selecting the editing commands

Now you're ready to select an edit. Let's look at what each command does. "Delete" does what it says--it eliminates the section of audio you have just highlighted and pulls the recording together at that point. Just as in word processing if you Delete a highlighted sentence it disappears and the text below is pulled up.

"Silence" works differently. When you select Silence, the audio that is highlighted is replaced by digital silence but the space where the audio had been remains the same.

In the old world of tape, Delete would be similar to cutting out the section of tape you don't want and pulling the two ends together and splicing them. Silence would be equivalent to erasing that section of tape but leaving the blank erased tape in place.

So to perform and edit you highlight the sound you want to edit, hit the space bar to hear that your selection is, in fact, what you intended, and then select Delete or Silence from the Edit menu. Very quickly you'll realize that this goes much faster if you learn the keyboard shortcuts for these commands. They are Ctrl-K (Command-K on Macs) for Delete and Ctrl-L (Command-L on Macs). (I use Kill and siLence as mnemonics.)

So what are the real-world applications for these commands?

First we'll look at Delete. Imagine you're recording a short script and you stumble on a sentence. You wait a couple seconds and repeat ("pick up") the sentence perfectly and continue to the end of the read. You play it back and hear the bad sentence followed by the good sentence. Here's how to fix it. Highlight the bad sentence from its exact beginning to the exact beginning of the good sentence. Hit the space bar to hear that your selection is accurate. Now select Edit >> Delete from the toolbar or push Ctrl-K (Command-K on Macs) and the bad sentence will vanish as the good sentence is pulled up to replace it.

OK, let's look at Silence. This is useful for eliminating breaths. If you look carefully at the waveform of your performance you see small ovals of sound after phrases or sentences. If you highlight one of these ovals and play it you'll hear that it's most likely a breath. There's always a tiny space around the breath oval because you breath out to talk and you breath in to take a breath. Then you breath out to continue talking. So locate a breath on the waveform--look for the oval at the end of a sentence--and highlight the breath. Once again always hit the spacebar to assure you've selected what you intended to select. Now select Edit >> Silence from the toolbar or push Ctrl-L (Command-L on Macs) and the breath will be replaced with silence but the spacing will remain. (Note that if you used Delete the two sentence would be pulled together which would sound very unnatural.)

Practice and perfect your editing to speed up your auditions and your jobs

These techniques are useful for cleaning up auditions and for supplying "finished tracks" if your client requires that in a job. Learning to do these edits takes some practice but it's like knitting: if you practice, it will become so natural you can do it without thinking. Give it a try and soon you'll be Deleting and Silencing like Joe Pesci in Good Fellas!

If you live in the Los Angeles area you should look into my live Voice Over Classes. For those who live in other ares I also have Online Voice Over Classes which offer the same quality of instruction in a modular, online format

William Williams is a voice over talent, instructor and coach located in Burbank near Los Angeles California. With experience as a marketing director, commercial and animation producer and voice over talent he knows what's required for excellence on "both sides of the glass." For 25 years he has been the owner and operator of Aliso Creek Productions, a full service audio production company specializing in radio, TV, and industrial audio, and voice over instruction and coaching. William has produced or performed in hundreds of commercials, videos and animation projects.

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Top Five Ways To Create Atmosphere In The Theatre: Using Staging Systems

When people come to the theater they are expecting a powerful roller coaster of emotions, whether it be to laugh or cry. You need to create the right atmosphere and mood to perfectly position the audience for a truly mesmerizing show.

Creating atmosphere in any sized theater can be a complex task. Every aspect of the performance must be considered such as the stage lighting and sound to set the right tone and ambiance for the audience.

Yes acting is key but brilliant acting set against tired drapes and curtains, in a poorly lit room, with poor sound output is not going to make for a memorable show. It is a combination of all of these things that will make the show special.

Some tips on how to create this atmosphere include:

1. Stage lighting. This is very important because lighting can create many different impressions. It is practical in the sense that it can convey the time of the day to the audience who are watching a play. I.e. lighter colors for the sunrise or darker tones for dusk. It can also be highly symbolic. Colored lighting is very popular as it can instantly change the mood of a scene on stage.

2. Staging systems, such as sound systems, are also important. Having a good technical base to control the types of sounds the audience hear is very effective in creating mood. For example, setting up speakers around the room can mean that different sounds are played out around the theater to engulf the audience in the performance.

3. The set. The set can be a complex task because it is very difficult to keep changing the background of the set to convey the type of scene. However, props or small items can be brought onto stage to help with this.

4. The acting is obviously a key part to the performance and is a major influencing factor to how enjoyable and how atmospheric the play can be. One director says, "The acting is crucial but it is also everything that happens around that acting which can tie everything together. It is about the whole theater not just what is happening on stage."

5. Finally, to create atmosphere it is vital that there are experienced staff backstage who can help bring everything together by working efficiently and professionally backstage. Having relevant technicians on hand is important as any technical hitches can be dealt with quickly and with minimal fuss. The smooth running of the production will always show in a performance from the moment the audience member walks into the theater to the moment that they leave.

For professional stage lighting systems and stage sound design services check out PG Stage. Established for over 30 years.

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