VOICE ACTORS - SET UP A HOME STUDIO AND GET GOING IN LOCKDOWN

Voice over is a profession with flexibility in the routine lifestyle. In 2020 when the entire world went under lockdown, then new trends started emerging in the working environment for different occupations. Voice over work is not strange as it is ultimately a flexible profession, and all you need is to set up a home studio, and then you are good to go. Those days are gone when you needed that bulky equipment to set up a professional studio for voice over work. But today, there are compact workable solutions for almost all the equipment required for the home studio setup. With many websites providing an option to hire voice actors online, you need to be ready to perform the task from your home studio setup, especially in these pandemic times.

First, you need to find out that quiet corner of the house to set up your home studio. If you are not sure about it because of the routine unavoidable sounds around, you can set up a soundproof recording booth. This is where you have to apply all your creativity and search out the ways on google, where your DIY efforts can give you a perfect booth. However, there are options to buy material online, but incurring this cost is ultimately your choice. You can design your booth as per your recording style and body movement needed inside.

Now, let us talk about the equipment required to set up the home studio.

Computer or Laptop

We will not go into the detail about the laptop or computer technical points, as you can work with basic machines if it is compatible with other hardware and software that you may install in your studio. Just ensure you have good storage options and the options to share the data with the client to go forward. These days this is such an easy and reasonable step by taking the help of cloud storage which gives you the sharing power too, along with data security. So, no matter you are a Mumbai based voice actor or sitting in Kerela, you can set up your home studio and share your voice recordings with clients across the globe.

 Microphone

This is the most important and the biggest investment in your home studio setup. If you check online, then you will find a lot of options. Let us try to make your choice easy. There are three types of microphones, namely Dynamic, Condenser, and Ribbon microphone. Dynamic microphones are ideal for live requirements, as they are sturdy and cheaper. 

Condenser microphones catch sound with precision. They have high accuracy in the sound recording and are best suited for voice over work when paired with a popper filter to move out the breathing sound. Ribbon microphones are the most sensitive microphones and also the most expensive ones. Due to their ultra-sensitive capacity for sound, they are used by professionals to catch the sound of multiple musical instruments in the room.

Ideally, a microphone comes with a stand but if not, then make sure you select a stand whose height suits your position with the microphone to catch the best sound.

To make it easier for you, if you are building a home studio for voice over work, then go for the condenser microphone with a good adjustable stand that works for your height, along with a proper pop-up shield to filter out unwanted sounds around. If you have this basic setup, you can not only do audio for a simple script but also offer professional dubbing services for a video. Ofcourse, once you create a timed audio, you will need to get the audio-video mixed by a video editor.

Audio Interface

The audio interface has two components – Preamps and AD/DA converters. USB can act as the cheapest preamp option. Commonly called preamp is nothing but a combination of Pre-Amplifier. Preamp collects the small-signal and then amplifies it to support as input for the bigger amplifier. Preamp maintains the signal flow from the microphone and makes an impact on the quality of sound. Ideally, there should be dedicated analog preamps for the best sound quality, but that is an expensive option, so voice actors prefer digital preamp.

AD/DA converters take the signals from the Preamp and convert them to digital signals in a format that your computer can process. These converters are important because they can clear out the gap of a small recording studio or a luxury one. So always look for professional advice in their selection. Using the right audio interface can help you offer high quality audio voice recording services to your clients.

Headphone

Headphone covering the ear and a microphone in front with a popper filter; this is how you always imagine any person while recording. So headphones are unavoidable equipment in the recording studio. Well! It's not a swag, but headphones are essential to cancel the system generated or other surrounding noises that can distract you while recording. There are many options in the headphone like wired, Bluetooth, open back or close back. 

Our suggestion is to choose the close back option as it is best to cancel the surrounding noise. Also, we suggest wired headphones, but Bluetooth ones are equally trending now. 

Whatever you choose, always try for comfort before finalizing as you are going to wear for hours. 

Now when you know what you need to set up your studio, then just go for it and keep the voice over going in the lockdown. If you are looking to get voice over jobs, simply register as a voice actor at voyzapp.com and get started!

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