Craig Anderton writes about an experience he had recently in which he was trying to finish a, in his case, video editing project and his laptop hard drive wasn’t robust enough to keep up. He found a rather creative solution to his problem that I thought might be interesting to read and apply for those times when we’re working work on the road on a large VO project.
Tools
Something important for April
(Update: I’m bumping this to the top of my blog again today, since it’s now the last day of April.)
During the 2007 edition of Dan O’Day’s International Radio Creative and Production Summit, I learned that Steve Stone and I have something in common beyond the fact that we both do voiceovers. And it’s that point in common that prompts today’s post. It’s a letter Steve has written and is distributing as far and wide as I can. And no, aside from our common work interests, this has nothing to do with voiceover. Here is Steve’s letter…
———————————————-
April is here, and with that something very close to my heart. It’s Autism Awareness Month. Even more specific is World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday April 2nd. Autism has become a silent epidemic. Did you know that one in every 150 children born today will be effected by Autism?
I’m truly blessed to have a wonderful wife (Leslie) and family. We have three young children, Jacob (9), Joey (5) and Julia (4). When our first child Jacob was born, my wife and I had no idea what was waiting for us. As Jacob got older, he wasn’t developing socially like other kids his age. He would throw tantrums that lasted for hours, he would obsess over the same toy, or word, he couldn’t look in our eyes, and what crushed me was that when showing him affection….it wasn’t reciprocal. There were many nights my wife would cry herself to sleep because of the stress, and the not knowing what was ailing him. Soon after at the age of 4, Jacob was found to have Aspeger’s Syndrome (AS).
WHAT IS ASPERGER’S?
Asperger’s syndrome is a developmental disorder that is part of the autism spectrum. Signs and symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome include:
* Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject
* Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures
* Showing an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes
* Appearing not to understand, empathize with, or be sensitive to others’ feelings
* Having a hard time “reading” other people or understanding humor
* Speaking in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast
* Moving clumsily, with poor coordination
* Having an odd posture or a rigid gait
It’s an everyday struggle, Jacob has been in therapy for more than four years. The constant battle with anxiety and his paralyzing rigidity is overwhelming at times for my wife and me. To make things twice as hard our middle child Joseph has been diagnosed with Asperger’s as well. Again make no mistake Autism is an epidemic. I’m not asking for your money, I’m asking for your help in raising awareness.
After all we are in the “media” business right?
HBO recently debuted a documentary called “Autism: The Musical“, which has received great reviews for it’s intimate look into the world of Autism.
There is also a feature film documentary that is making the rounds at film festivals, about a teenage boy with Asperger’s.
http://www.billythekiddocumentary.com/
The most comprehensive information can be found at
Autism Spectrum Disorders can be overwhelming for parents and families, early intervention is key.
I’m happy to say that both Jacob and Joey are making great strides, and are learning to cope.
Thanks for your time.
Steve Stone
——————————————————
Thank you, Steve. Cinda and I also have a son with autism. Brian is his name. He is our youngest son. He’s 10 and doing amazingly well. But, we too want to be sure you know about the importance of this month and this day. Thank you for reading.
Common sense answers for your home studio questions
If you’re trying to get a home studio set up and things aren’t going so great, or you have one but the sound leaves a lot to be desired, check our Dan Lenard’s Home Studio Master site.
Microphone stories
My friend Willie Edwards offers a link on his VO Mic Test blog that takes you to a wonderful NPR story about John Peluso and his microphones.
A voiceover booth where ever you want
My friend Charlie Glaize emailed a link today to Voice Over There, a mobile voice booth based in Southern California.
Mary’s Source-Connect experience
My friend Mary McKitrick has written an excellent and informative article, published at VoiceOverXtra, about her experiences with installing Source-Connect.
Something important for April
During the 2007 edition of Dan O’Day’s International Radio Creative and Production Summit, I learned that Steve Stone and I have something in common beyond the fact that we both do voiceovers. And it’s that point in common that prompts today’s post. It’s a letter Steve has written and is distributing as far and wide as I can. And no, aside from our common work interests, this has nothing to do with voiceover. Here is Steve’s letter…
———————————————-
April is here, and with that something very close to my heart. It’s Autism Awareness Month. Even more specific is World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday April 2nd. Autism has become a silent epidemic. Did you know that one in every 150 children born today will be effected by Autism?
I’m truly blessed to have a wonderful wife (Leslie) and family. We have three young children, Jacob (9), Joey (5) and Julia (4). When our first child Jacob was born, my wife and I had no idea what was waiting for us. As Jacob got older, he wasn’t developing socially like other kids his age. He would throw tantrums that lasted for hours, he would obsess over the same toy, or word, he couldn’t look in our eyes, and what crushed me was that when showing him affection….it wasn’t reciprocal. There were many nights my wife would cry herself to sleep because of the stress, and the not knowing what was ailing him. Soon after at the age of 4, Jacob was found to have Aspeger’s Syndrome (AS).
WHAT IS ASPERGER’S?
Asperger’s syndrome is a developmental disorder that is part of the autism spectrum. Signs and symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome include:
* Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject
* Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures
* Showing an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes
* Appearing not to understand, empathize with, or be sensitive to others’ feelings
* Having a hard time “reading” other people or understanding humor
* Speaking in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast
* Moving clumsily, with poor coordination
* Having an odd posture or a rigid gait
It’s an everyday struggle, Jacob has been in therapy for more than four years. The constant battle with anxiety and his paralyzing rigidity is overwhelming at times for my wife and me. To make things twice as hard our middle child Joseph has been diagnosed with Asperger’s as well. Again make no mistake Autism is an epidemic. I’m not asking for your money, I’m asking for your help in raising awareness.
After all we are in the “media” business right?
HBO recently debuted a documentary called “Autism: The Musical“, which has received great reviews for it’s intimate look into the world of Autism.
There is also a feature film documentary that is making the rounds at film festivals, about a teenage boy with Asperger’s.
http://www.billythekiddocumentary.com/
The most comprehensive information can be found at
Autism Spectrum Disorders can be overwhelming for parents and families, early intervention is key.
I’m happy to say that both Jacob and Joey are making great strides, and are learning to cope.
Thanks for your time.
Steve Stone
——————————————————
Thank you, Steve. Cinda and I also have a son with autism. Brian is his name. He is our youngest son. He’s 10 and doing amazingly well. But, we too want to be sure you know about the importance of this month and this day. Thank you for reading.
When you need more than an audio interface
Check out the new toy Some Audio Guy is blogging about. A mixer and audio interface in one, and best of all for those of use who use Pro Tools, compatible with the M-powered version.
Cost effective and quite effective
My buddy who blogs by the name Some Audio Guy has an interesting post up about how he helped a friend deal with some significant audio problems to the tune of only 30 dollars. Good stuff. Well worth a few minutes of your time.
Industry Resources
Stephanie has posted a gold mine of links and valuable information on VoxDaily.
I think this one is worth bookmarking on its own.
When you need a stopwatch
Many times when you’re reading copy, you need to check the length of what you’ve just read. Especially for commercial or promo copy. My friend Charlie Glaize emailed me a few days ago with a terrific web site that might help you out the next time you need a stopwatch and don’t have one handy.
A video on voice booth construction
Michael Minetree has posted a video of his work building his very high quality voice booth on his Echos forum. It’s a big file (22 Meg) so even on a broadband connection it will take a while to download and play. But, I think you’ll find the wait is worth it.
Update: Or, even better, Michael has emailed the YouTube info.
Very interesting, Michael. I look forward to further updates as you get closer to completion of this massive project.
Build-it-yourself DAW
My friend Lou Zucaro has written a long, very detailed, and extremely helpful post on his voiceover blog about how he built his own digital audio workstation. As he says, the choices he describes are his own and might not be the same choices you would make; but there’s a lot of great information that will apply, if you decide to take this plunge.
The vital art of self-evaluation
There were many highlights during VOICE 2007, but one I’ll not quickly forget was the presentation by my friend Connie Terwilliger on Self-Evaluation. Connie is now making that presentation available as a 2-CD set on her web site.
Caring for your microphone
There’s some good information from Karl Winkler, brand manager for Neumann USA, on the care of your condenser microphone on the Disc Makers site. My thanks to my friend Rob for posting this link on the VO-BB.
Want to know more about Audacity?
Audacity is a remarkably powerful audio editing program that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux computers. It also happens to be free. Yes, free. It’s part of a movement that’s called Open Source. Not only does it run on all 3 kinds of computers, but it looks and works the same on all 3. So, if you’d like to know more about Audacity, you’ll want to spend a bit of time with this post on the blog of my friend Some Audio Guy.
Talent isn’t enough.
It’s your professional mindset that gets most of the acting work for you.
The title and first line are, together, a quote from one of the top ten grossing stars in the history of film. Reading, thinking about, absorbing, internalizing the valuable comments of other successful performers can give you extremely useful insights into your own career. Bob Fraser has assembled an e-book called I Wish I’d Said That–1001 Quotes for Actors. He’s selling it for just 7 dollars. (I, by the way, don’t get anything from him if you buy this e-book. I just thought you should know about it.)
More thoughts on the sound of your room
In case you don’t see it in the comments to my post of a couple of days ago, Some Audio Guy has written some brilliant observations about room treatment, adding a booth (or not) to your voiceover studio at home and has provided some excellent links to further reading on the subject, over on his blog.
Dealing with mouth noise and other challenges
My friend Kitzie Stern writes about some of ways she’s learned to deal with mouth noise and similar challenges when in the voiceover booth. From soft clothing to Breathe Right strips there are several valuable suggestions. By the way, be sure you read the comments, when you’ll find an interesting recipe from Stephanie Ciccarelli, not to mention quite the word picture from Kitzie.
Harlan Hogan on ISDN and alternatives
Harlan Hogan has posted a long message at the Voice123.com blog about ISDN and some of the Internet based alternatives to ISDN, including Source Connect and AudioTX.