FAQs and answers
I have the answers to all your questions…
What kind of studio do you work from?
A purpose-designed, acoustically-sound voiceover studio in my home, complete with strategically positioned bass-traps, acoustic panels and sound deadening materials.
What equipment do you use?
I voice using an Aston Spirit microphone running through an Apogee Duet interface, and record into TwistedWave software in any format required via an Apple MacMini M2 Pro. NOTE: I record cold, raw and clean with no added compression, processing or sound-sweetening of any kind (unless specifically required).
How quickly can you turn a script around?
I once turned round a short script sent from a London client – whilst I was in Australia – within 10 minutes. Voiceover is all I do, and I do this all the time from my studio, 24/7 (unless I need coffee, which means a quick trip to the bakery)! If I receive a script of, say, up to 300 words, and I’m supplied with a comprehensive brief including a voice-over-guide I’m required to follow (for pace, style and tone), footage, music, pronunciations, and timings, I can normally deliver clean audio within 60 minutes. Or less.
What are your rates?
My basic session or studio fee depends on the client and usage. B.S.F. represents the initial cost to book me, my voice and my recording studio facilities. I also require information as to where, and for how long the audio is going to be broadcast/used, for example, radio, TV, cinema, YouTube, social media, internet, podcasts, on-hold/IVR etc. Once I have these details, I can more accurately quote the usage fee. Costs vary across platforms and mediums, and are also affected by the duration of usage. Contact me to discuss.
What do you charge for re-takes and pick-ups?
Depends on the scope-of-work. Usually, one round of small pick-ups are included as part of the initial quote. However, if the script or any part of it is changed, re-written or amended after the final/approved script has been received and voiced by me, additional fees may apply. The cost is calculated in relation to how much needs re-voicing.
What’s the best way to get the script recorded 100%, first time?
Two words: ’live direction’. I welcome an online, live session using the agency or client’s VOIP of choice. I also welcome any other personnel who really need to attend the session. Having said that, I usually find that ‘less is more’, meaning, the more people listening in, the longer the session takes and the greater the chance of any technical glitches occurring such as buffering, drop-outs and latency. None of these tech-glitches go down onto the recording, but it can be frustrating for those present. A live, monitored and directed session alleviates the need for any re-voicing – and gets the job done, first time.
Where can I listen to samples of your voice?
There are dozens of samples of my work available here.
How long have you been a professional voiceover/actor?
I made my first professional ‘paid for’ radio commercial as a voiceover in 1984 whilst working at my regular job as Music Director for the ABC, Australia. I’ve been voicing now, full-time, for over 30 years.
Can you handle pronunciation of non English words?
As long as I’m supplied with a recording of someone clearly saying a word, name, place or phrase, absolutely. I regularly work with clients in the UAE and across Europe, pronouncing many different (and sometimes difficult) names and places in several different languages.
If your voice is heard by ‘millions of people across the planet’, why haven’t I heard of you?
The thing about voiceovers is that they are often completely unknown outside the industry (apart from well-known actors and celebrities who voice content, of course). Whenever I’m asked what I do for a living, after conversing for a few minutes, I can usually find something which the person I’m talking with has heard on radio, TV or across the internet. Fundamentally, we’re shy folk!
Do you offer any other services associated with voicing?
As part of what I do as a voiceover/actor, I often correct grammar, add punctuation and occasionally suggest alternative ways of saying something if what I’m given to read doesn’t sound right when voicing a script – especially if the text has been translated into English from another language. After years of reading many thousands of scripts, this is something which comes naturally to me. Plus, it usually helps the client’s audio sound more natural and flowing when the right words or phrases are used and pronounced accurately in conjunction with the right punctuation. I’m very proactive, especially in ‘live’ sessions, and, if the client asks for input, I’m keen to provide.
What else do you do/have you done which might be associated with voiceover?
For over 45 years, I’ve sung in many bands, covering genres from pop/rock and punk/indie to an intimate 5 piece jazz combo. Between 2008 and 2013 whilst living in Australia, I could be found crooning out front of two 20 piece jazz/swing/lindy-hop BigBands (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Harry Connick Jr., Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole etc.). I don’t sing on ‘jingles’, per se, but I’ve been known to add vocals to various singing projects which required me to be able to carry a tune. I’ve written and voiced poetry, compered at live events in the UK and Australia, interviewed and introduced many actors, celebrities, artists and bands in studios and onstage, written and read news content for radio as a journalist, commentated at many outside broadcasts/functions and performed improvised comedy (think ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’) in various teams, as well as being one of the co-founders and writers in a five-piece comedy troupe, acting in sketches and warbling original and parodied tunes
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