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…)

Multi Track Mix in Adobe Audition 3.0

Panning

Let’s be technical for a bit – and I’m going to use tech terms and jargon in this posting so be prepared if you’re new to the production game.  This post is for all you creative services directors, production directors – whatever it is you call yourselves in radio these days.  Me?  I prefer prod guy (or girl) or if I’m feeling particularly cocky: prod guru.  Yesterday I was working on a piece with a very high production value.  Lots of compression, reverb, EQ, various whooshes, stutters and gizmos.  You get the idea.  I decided to spice it up a bit more with some creative panning and that’s when I broke one of Hart’s rules: (more…)

My friend and excellent VO pro Dave Courvoisier has discovered a very promising new website/application called chirbit.  It holds a lot of promise for those of us that work in the audio industry, whether voiceover or radio.  Dave had an excellent back and forth with the chirbit developer and posted about it on his blog Voice Acting in Vegas:

The site struck me as a delightful use of the potential of audio and social networking.  I eventually asked the originator of the site – Ivan Reyes – if he’d mind responding to a few pointed questions about Chirbit, specifically the possibilities for voice-actors.

It looks to me like the future holds a lot of promise for this way cool application – Chirbit.  Check it out by clicking on the quote.

This weekend I was painting my voiceover booth when I realized how much painting and voiceover acting have in common.  Now I bet you’re saying to yourself, “Brian you’ve sniffed too many paint fumes.”  You’re probably right but humor me and keep reading.  I think you will agree with me in the end.

I spent a part of my life as a professional painter almost by accident.  I worked with a construction company for a while and ended up being quite good at painting so eventually the boss made me the “go to” painter.  I mention this so you know that I actually do have a legitimate perspective in comparing voice over to painting.

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I realize many of you are coming to my site and saying, “but where are the demos”?

Please bear with me.  The site hasn’t even been up a week yet and I want new demos to go with the new site.  It’s a work in progress and I had no idea how much excitement Hart Voice Overs would generate in it’s first week.  But I know you can’t decide if you want to talk to me without something.  So here is an overview of some of what I do from my other site, Brian Hart Productions.  Please ignore the phone number at the end, it’s no longer valid.  My new number is (251) 752-9221.

Brian Hart Overview

This demo is mainly showcasing my audio production but my voice is also featured throughout.  There are more demos on that site you can listen to as well.  I know you’ll like what you hear and if you decide I might be a good fit for your project please contact me for a free audition and quote.

Contact Brian Hart

I understand the thought of hiring a voice actor can be overwhelming to many so I have written an article called “How To Hire a Voice Over” as a service to my clients and prospective clients.

I have done my best to explain the process as concisely as possible but the article does have a good amount of meat in it.

If you find the online version hard to read you may download the PDF version instead:

How to Hire a Voice Over by Brian Hart

Please  leave a comment if you find “How to Hire a Voice Over” helpful,  if you find that I need to clarify or correct any information, or  if you have your own thoughts on the process you would like to add.

The article begins after the jump:
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photo credit: Calil Souza

Dan O’Day emailed to let me know he is hosting a live teleseminar on how to develop a website for voice actors on February 24th at 9pm Eastern time.  It really caught my attention since I am currently creating Hart Voice Overs.  According to Dan the teleseminar will be 100 % Non-Technical and discuss why “your website isn’t working for you and how and why you need to fix it immediately.”  I subscribe to some of Dan’s newsletters and check his site often.  He is always full of great information.

Registration is $79 and a download of the teleseminar will be available to those who register.

For more information go to Web Sites For Voice Actors

photo by Brian Hart 2010

Ah, the weekend.  Time to practice  my sheetrocking skills.  This morning I’m sanding the first skimcoat of joint compound and applying the second coat in my new voice over booth.  Ultimately there will be three coats of joint compound before I’m ready to prime and paint.

The basic application of joint compound is the same in a studio as it is in a home and there’s plenty of information available on the web for you to read.  But there are some other considerations you need to keep in mind for a studio project. (more…)