My friend and long-time mentor Charlie Glaize has given me permission to quote something he’s recently posted on the Yahoo! VO group. Charlie had been planning for a while to make a short trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Here’s his story …
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Whenever I leave town I always pack my full-blown mobile studio in a handy, small suitcase on rollers. It has all my accessories from firewire cables to an electrical power strip, to a small mic stand. I just drop in the hub of the studio, the Mac Book Pro, and I’m out the door.
However … this was a last minute getaway, and we were leaving Monday afternoon, returning late Tuesday afternoon. So, I figured, what are the odds I’ll really need to record much over 24 hours after a really busy Monday? … Besides, I am editing my niece’s wedding using iMovie on the MacBook Pro and I have it plugged into an external hard drive …. So, I decided to take “Mobile Junior” …. my Mac Book (not the Mac Book Pro) in a smaller travel bag, about the size of a brief case. That, a mic stand and a USB mic (a RODE, instead of the Sennheiser 416 that I usually hook to the MBox, which I didn’t want to pack this time), should do the trick, right?
Anyway …. a couple of quick jobs did come up … naturally. You may know how that is. You like being wanted and needed …. but not as you are headed out the door to the beach …. Yes, I was beach-bound from our friends’ condo, when I realized I had forgotten the Alltel high-speed modem that allows me to connect to the net wherever I can find a cell signal … just in case there is no Wifi connection available …. like then, at that “bare feet wanting to jump in ocean” moment.
My trusty Blackberry was keeping me up-to-date on client emails … and here came one now, asking for just 4 quick promos …. could I deliver them by Monday evening? Yikes! I could normally record and send from a hotel or condo if I could read from the computer screen while recording using Amadeus software and the USB mic. But without the internet, I couldn’t do that.
One solution … I have done this on other vacations, before buying the Alltel modem. I would go to a Wifi spot, download a script from the client’s email, then record in my mobile “soundproof booth” – you guessed it – my car … then head back to the Wifi hotel or wherever, and send the file.
Why would I stay where there is no Wifi? Good question. Last summer, it was a family reunion at Lake Junaluska, NC. Beautiful area, but all the family was staying in rustic old houses around the lake … with no Wifi or internet access, except in the nearby conference center. And this week? we were staying with some friends who did not have internet access …. arghhh!
To handle this week’s situation, I was able to use the Blackberry for reading the scripts while I recorded in my car! Yes, it was 90 degrees, but it was quiet for the 5 minutes I needed to record. It worked great … even though I still had to drive to a hotel nearby to send the sound file.
All this to say, for the folks who are recording on flash recorders, maybe a Blackberry – or, of course, an iPhone, might work for reading those scripts.
This leads of course, to my APPLE friends wondering why I have a Blackberry rather than an iPhone ….. we can get into that later if you like, or you can email me off list. But basically, I did not want to change from Alltel which has served me wonderfully from as far as California to Hawaii to Florida and New York with no problems. Also, I needed the “push” technology that Blackberry offers that the new iPhone is about to offer in a few days with their big upgrade. I DO want that iphone, but now, I am afraid I have gone too far with Blackberry and really like what it offers. I was not prepared to like it, but I really do! It’s mainly for email and phone use, and it works fabulously! Now, when Verizon buys Alltell in a few months …. maybe I’ll change service – and phones, then. Who knows?
So there you are folks. And my lesson …. always pack the full-blown studio!
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Thanks, Charlie. I agree and I’d suggest a second lesson: always deliver the goods for your clients, however many speed bumps you have to clear along the way.
Update: You’ll find this story on the VoiceOverXtra site as well.
I’d suggest a third. Do the recording, transfer the file to your blackberry and e-mail the file to the client.
I’ve done that several times with my own smartphone and if you have a 3G connection the transfer rate is pretty close to DSL. If all you can get is an EDGE signal, then it’ll be a while, but the file can transfer while you’re taking a shower.
At this point in time, if you have and use a smartphone for your VO, you ought to have an unlimited data plan anyway, so the bandwidth used shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
Alternatively, you can always take the smartphone and find one of the numerous maps with all the free wifi spots in your area and just use that (instead of having to drive to a local hotel, it might be at the local cafe’ across the street).
Greg,
Excellent idea. There’s also the option (if you’ve planned ahead for it) of using your smart phone as a wireless modem for your computer. At least some of them will do that.
Thank you for adding to the conversation.
Be well,
Bob
Thanks, guys. Looking forward to traveling with the portable studio on travels to Tennessee as well as LA in August for VOICE.
Bob, I appreciate your allowing for space on your blog for yet another fine idea exchange.
Charlie,
You’re welcome. Thanks for sharing your story with all of us.
Be well,
Bob