Hart Voice Overs

So I was updating wordpress today and something hung. Did a manual install and all of my customized stuff has gone “poof.” I’ve got the site back up and running, sort of. As you notice it looks different. That’s about all I can do until I get back to studio and pull the backup off a hard drive.

Well, I finally got around to upgrading my site to Word Press 3.0. Took a while and I had to do it manually as the automatic upgrade kept hanging but it works. I did manage to lock myself out of my stats and the WP support team is off until the 16th. Oh well. Thank goodness for Google Analytics.

Let me know if you find any bugs or glitches.

My radio friends Salt and Demetri the Greek at 96 Rock are partnering with the Greater New Orleans Foundation to raise money for their Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund.

All of the money raised goes to help provide financial, counseling, and basic human services to fisherman effected by the Gulf Coast oil spill.

Demetri and his wife, both gulf coast natives, kicked off the fundraiser by donating $3000 of their own money.  If you’d like to learn more or donate check out the “Fill the Spill with Rock” page.

Sailing is my passion in life (well, aside from raising my son and enjoying being daddy).  Voiceover and audio production are how I finance it.   I recently took my first overnight sailing trip of 2010.

It’s wonderful out there and sailing solo is a very spiritual experience for me.  (more…)

I’m nearing completion on the new voiceover booth.  The walls are basically done, I’m just working on tuning the space now trying a few placment options and tricks and working on finding the optimum sound in the sweet spot of the room.  Here’s a 2 minute video tour of my new voice booth.  Enjoy:

Picked up 360 square feet of Johns Manville Insul Shield for the new booth and studio today. I bet I currently have the best sounding truck bed in the southeast.

I decided to make some new stands for my studio monitors recently. This is a pictorial on how I chose to construct them.

My goals for this project were to get my monitors off my desk bridge to make room for a second video monitor, make stands that wouldn’t compromise the audio response, and that were heavy enough my three year old son wouldn’t knock them over. It also gave me a chance to test out the stain color I’ve selected for the new construction. (more…)

I haven’t posted much about the design and construction of my studio, mostly because I don’t want to give you the impression I’m unable to work for you.  I am available and ready for your project.  With that in mind here’s an update:

The new voiceover booth is coming along nicely thanks to the generosity of some fantastic people that know much more about acoustic design than I do.  The isolation walls and ceiling are done.  Over 300 square feet of acoustic insulation is on it’s way.  The new door should be delivered on Monday or Tuesday of next week.  It’s a heavy beastie but it has to be to provide the kind of isolation I want (and feel that you as my client deserve).

The Hart Voice Overs Booth

Today I got the flooring installed. Boy it looks pretty. And it won’t mess with the high frequencies in the voice range the way carpet does.

The new floor in Hart Voice Overs Vocal Booth

I’ll have the door system installed next week. The acoustic insulation should arrive in about another week. As soon as it gets here I’ll be able to treat the walls and hang a “cloud” on the ceiling. Then the new booth will be ready to go!

I’m very excited about the upgrade to this booth and I hope you, as a client or potential client, are excited about the great enhancements it will provide for your projects with Hart Voice Overs as well.

photo credit: re_birf

How do you write good copy for voice over?

Writing for the spoken word can be dramatically different than composing a piece that is meant to be read.  Take a magazine article or newspaper and read it out loud and you will quickly see what I mean.  You have to think about the context, the target audience, the speaker’s point of view… and on and on.  A lot goes into good VO copy. (more…)

I’ve got lots I want to blog about but I’ve been so busy with studio construction and school work today I haven’t had the time. So just know I’ve got some good stuff coming this week  including the best ways to  hang acoustic foam and several cool iPhone apps for the sound professional.

For today, ponder this if you have a few minutes:

“The safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” – C.S. Lewis