The Newbies Guide by Azure
So you wanna be be a voice actor huh? It
takes lot’s of effort baby and don’t forget we have to do
lunch...Er forget the last bit. The amateur world has it’s similarities
and it’s differences to voice acting in the real world. People from
all over the globe can work together on projects as diverse as they are/
but what do you need to get started? Well first we'll run through a little
jargon you might have seen on the site:
AVA -Stands for amateur or aspiring voice artist
RP -Radio play, a big genre of production think the audio version of Hitchhikers Guide and you're ther
Audio Drama- Same as an RP, basically plays performed in audio
Fan Dub- In this case dubbing means putting in your own voices usually to an anime. If you see anime on TV then it's been professionaly dubbed into English. A fan dub is an unofficial amateur dub.
Fan Sub - A fan sub is an unofficial subtittling of an anime often used as reference for dubs.
Raw- A term often relating to unsubtittled anime.
Right that's the Jargon out of the way into the good stuff...
Forgive me If I sound patronizing, but I know for a fact that I.T teaching in most schools leaves a lot to be desired. Unless you get professional training you can be left bumbling about. So I’m writing this tutorial to help as many people as possible get started.
I’m writing with a PC in mind as I’ve never used a Mac for voice acting and I don’t know it’s in and outs, but the MACed among you should follow easily. Some stuff is essential some isn't.You need to judge.But I'm doing my best to write a tutorial that covers most of our FAQs...
>A PC with a sound card. Duplex is helpful but not essential ( Duplex enables you to listen to sound and record at the same time)
-To set up recording you need to go to your PCs mixer and make sure that the "mic" option is set to mute. ( That's an output if you leave that on your PC will act like a Megaphone great for parties but not good for anything else). You then need to make sure that on the Recording section( Options>Properties>recording)that Mic is set on and you'll have to adjust it's volume slider until your recording sounds good. Oh and make sure your microphone is switched on I always forget that ^^,,
< the location
of your sound mixer in windows bottom right of the starrt bar
>A Microphone. Make sure it’s the right type to fit in your PC. The ones you hold or the ones on stands work best. If you are starting out cheep bargain ones will do! Headsets aren’t so good but quality is the most essential thing If your mic records a nice sound then use it. Some of the best ones I’ve owned have come free with £5 bargain bin games.
There are two types of audio input now available for your computer analogue and USB.
-Analogue are the old fashioned type and will fit ( assuming you have the right type) into the audio in socket in thr back of your PC.
-USB microphone- Just like Analogue these come in headset and stand types. Unlike Analogue the sound is going straight into the computer so you should get better quality for a lower price. You'll need a newer computer for this but mosy USB microphones are simple. I recommend the Logitech USB microphone which comes on stand.
->A recording program. Sound recorder is OK but you’ll really want something a little more sophisticated. I suggest one of the following:
-Cool Edit/Adobe Audition - Cool Edit recently got bought out by Adobe hence the rename. You might however want to keep your eyes out for Cool Edit 96 which is free and despite warnings not time limited. However the trouble with Cool Edit 96 is that there's no direct way of making mp3s.
-Audacity- By far one of the best free Audio Programs out there. Supports wav, ogg and mp3. Highly recommended especially if you're just starting.
-Goldwave -For a commercial program Gold wave is a little behind the times, however it does support mp3 and gives some good recordings.
-Nero Wave Editor- saves as .wav only , this program usually comes with the Nero CD burning software so you may already have it. It records nicely and has a great selection of filters. Not something I'd get specifically but if you have it, it's well worth you playing around with it. You'll need a seperate mp3 converter if you use it.
>A quiet room - You should try as much as possible to record in a quiet environment it can be difficult but your family arguing about who ate the last of the chocolate ice cream won't help.
>Patience -You may or may not be successful immediately persevere and you'll reap the rewards :3
>Compression/Audio Formats- You fit more in your suitcase when you pack it properly. That's why you need to be aware how to compress files. Wav is uncompressed audio often you'll need to save in a compressed format then zip it up.
-MP3- Mp3 is a method of compressing sound files smaller
than the standard .wav file. So for the sake of our e-mail accounts it's
preferable. Some programs allow you to save straight into it if not I
suggest WINLAMA-Came free with my PC radio. Good quality but has an irritating
habit of putting .wav as part of the mp3 files name.grrr
-ogg- Not as commonly used yet but on the increase. Ogg files work pretty well, Audacity already supports it. Not an essential format yet but keep it in mind as it often works very well.
-Zipping- When you pack for holiday if you fold your clothes you can fit more in. If you're not tech minded think of it like that ^^,, It makes things a bit smaller and mean you can pack multiple files together which is simpler when you e-mail people things. You can get zip software from http://www.winzip.com/
-An E-mail account- Your files have to get somewhere somehow.........XD
Yahoo-Yahoo now allows 100 megs of storage so comes quite highly recommended.
Gmail-Google is offering a HUgE 1 gig of space however you need someone to invite to you, I haven't had much of a chance to test it yet.
You want a role right? Well the majority of parts are cast in a similar process of online auditioning.. I'd say there are three main categories of voice acting. Some more Jargon for you XD ( we have our own yay! Trekkies eat your heart out)
Audio drama/ Radio Play - the same thing. Basically audio stories like you might hear on the radio Blues Legacy of a Hero is nan example of an original RP. Sometimes they can be fan fics or adaptations of comics, video games etc.
Fan dub- You get some video put on your own word and there you go!! well not that simple acting in these may require you to download the original and match your words to the pictures *faint*. Can be serious or parody. E.G. my Tenchi Gxp fan dub was serious but was for one ep( as these things can be) and Negavisions Sailor Moon Stars is a massive serious SM dub (www.negavision.com). Some dubs can also involve things like video game cut scenes.
Games- Sometimes amateur games need you too this can vary a lot. From game mods to whole games. For example Tierra remade the classic Kings Quest to involve speech.( http://www.tierraententertainment.com)
Animation- A lot of animators need voices now Flash is the most common.
Being Jargon happy people we call the person making a project the producer. When they are ready to cast they'll make a casting call. This usually involves posting in amateur voice acting forums and/or on their site.Read instructions carefully as producers may vary this process depending on their own methods and set up. The VAAs section can be found here in Auditions and Casting .Common posts look something like the following examples which I made up on the spot in a real post I'd expect more detail ;3:
Information: "Hi! I'm doing a radio play called a beginners guide to voice acting. It's about some people who get sucked into a world of anime and various other stuff. Open characters are here dead line is 13th March 2003. "
Audition lines may or may not have character information but you'll find
a few lines written below. Unless specified producers prefer them recorded
separately. It's good practice to write your VA name and the character
you are auditioning for in the file.Read the whole post before you do
anything!! Let's take a look shall we?.
"Open characters :
Vee Aye( female, English accent preferred. Medium range (ie not high pitched like Excel or low like Faye Valentine)
Line 1: ARG! someone asked me about being a VA again
Line 2: (Screaming) OH NO!!!! someone ate the last of the pocky.
Line 3: yay! I can do this VA stuff!! "
You pick the character you want and record your audition lines. You may have to record them in wav then convert to mp3 but you'll end up with three files. Isuggest you save them to their own clearly labeled folder.My Va name is Azure so I'll end up with three files:.azure_vee_1.mp3, azure_vee_2.mp3, azure_vee_3.mp3.
Pay attention to instructions ! the producer will list any special requirements here
"No more then three auditions in one email please. Everything needs to be zipped in mp3 format. please send to my email genericproducer1@asite.com, oh an include a txt file with your details."
ah! this producer wants a text file for their reference!That means I need to go into wordpad write up my VA name, who I'm auditioning for. Then my email and if I have them instant messaging ID, if I have a VA resume site then I'll include the URL too. I then save it into that directory zip it all up and e-mail it to the producer. A good producer will email back or post received auditions on their post. If they don't get back to you wait a while before you email and check they got it!! When the producer casts they'll make their decision known. They may not have time to e-mail you If you aren't cast but it's nice when they do. If you don't hear anything e-mail politely to check but DON'T HOUND THEM XD . If you didn't get the part the producer may be nice enough to tell you why but if you didn't get it don't be rude. ^^,, you may have been perfectly fine but someone may have fit the role better. Try, try and try again. If it's your first time let the producer know and they might help you out.
What happens when you get cast?! Things can change a bit here..
Basically you'll be sent a script. In general the lines need to be recorded
separately like when you auditioned. Lets have a look at my example script:
"Veeaye: Hi all!
bob:yo!! how are ya!
Veeaye: I'm cool, ( shocked ) is that a dinosaur?? "
So I'd record two lines in this mini script. veeaye1.mp3 which would contain the line " Hi all!". I'd have my next line (I'm cool)in separate file saved as veeaye2.mp3
As a producer I like to name my files to help me out. I've posted an
example here from my Tenchi Fan dub Scene one to demonstrate how import
following instructions is.
"Dear VAs please save your line names the same as they appear
in the script
001Mom: Thank you and sorry about your wait.
002Yoshiko: Are you busy?
003Mom: He'll be home shortly. Help me before it's too late.
004Yoshiko:huh?
005Seina:( 5 sec panting)
006Yoshiko:Before it's to late?
007Yoshiko: oh! I see what you mean "
The VA playing Mom would record two lines 001mom.mp3 and 003mom.mp3. Not everyone does this method but I find it helps me to mix faster.
Please make sure you follow instructions and dead lines it makes us happy. When your all done you can email your finished lines to the producer. Sometimes they may ask for retakes please try to follow direction!!! When you get going you may want to make a demo and a resume but that's next time ^^,, leave me alone I'm tired.. Phew!!! that's the basics taken care of! *faints*
Good Luck!
Above Audacity a great programe for recording