Here is a quick breakdown of my first year expenses in being a fledgling booth junkie.
First. CRAIGSLIST IS YOUR FRIEND. I have only purchased 2 items retail - laptop and one mic, everything else is second hand. I look at craigslist every day.
Microphone: CAD e-100 $100 Craigslist
Computer: Macbook pro $1200 retail
SE Reflection Filter - $100 craigslist
Interface: Apogee Duet for Ipad and Mac – $250 (Craigslist)
Sound treatment: OC703 Acoustic insulation panels – $300 for the room. (Craigslist)
Mic Stand. On Stage Stands MS7701B Tripod Boom Microphone Stand
XLR Cable
$20 retail maybe?
Demo recording sessions and production - $800
Voice Acting classes - 500
Total outlay over 1 year about $3,000 including recording and products a demo. Many of these purchases are with earnings from gigs.
Since I already had a computer I started winning gigs with far less than $1500 in cash outlay. I started with moving blankets attached to my walls and added sound treatment as I could get it. Some kind of sound treatment for the “booth” is absolutely essential. This cannot be overstated, and should be a priority. You won’t win ANY gigs with a noisy echo-y room.
Sometimes treating an entire room with acoustic panels isn’t always practical. In a pinch you can create a small box that surrounds your microphone, creating a tiny acoustically treated room.
I’ve found that the DIY options work in a pinch and are perfect for the budding booth junkie, but quite often the professional options will yield better results. If DIY isn’t your thing, then consider the following options:
Kaotica Eyeball
sE Electronics Reflexion Filter X
One of the most effective ways to reduce hiss and background noise during silent sections (between words and sentences) is to use a Gate Plugin, in Audacity this is called the Noise Gate. The idea, if you use it, is to adjust the level reduction to a low, but not silent level. Try different settings, see what works for you.
Sound on Sound magazine has a good writeup on ReaGate, the Gate plugin that ships with Reaper, my preferred DAW.
It is ALWAYS best is to get your mic as far away from any source of noise, as they are extremely sensitive. A big culprit for noise is your fan on your computer. Make sure your computer runs as quietly as possible, or move it away from your microphone.
You can get super long USB extension cables
No matter what mic you choose, the most important thing is to be aware of the noise all around you, if you can hear your computer fan, then the mic can too, but 10x better. Same for your room, is it echoey? (Most are.) Are there cars zooming by outside your window? Look into some techniques to reduce the echoes. I started with moving blankets on the walls, then moved on to making homemade panels out of OC703 that hang on the wall like pictures.
Owens Corning 703 24”x48”x2” Fiberglass Boards
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A budding booth junkie posted several questions on Reddit
What kind of temporary setup can I make to help reduce echo/background noise? Would just draping a blanket over myself and the microphone work as a cheap solution?
Blanket Forts work great. Surrounding yourself with dense, but soft things works, Moving blankets, comforters, etc.
Another thing is what kind of post production is normal for voice over work?
Whatever the client wants, some want MP3, some want WAV. Generally speaking, you want to learn about Compression, Limiting, Gate and Noise Reduction. Audacity’s noise reduction is easy to over-do. Practice with different settings. There is no magic formula that works for everyone. Do your best to eliminate noise BEFORE it enters the microphone.
... how close should I be to the microphone, and how close should the pop filter be to the microphone, or does that not make much of a difference?
You can get different effects at different distances, “working the mic” is something that you practice and learn. Generally, 8 to 10 inches from the mic is good. Try to place it slightly off from the direct blast from your breath. Pop filters only get you so far, try different placements of the mic to see what works best.
...should I just jump right into fulfilling requests here or should I make some demos and get feedback first?
Feel free to start trying out peoples requests. Definitely record the airchecks! (go back and do older ones too – they’re great practice!)
Find and purchase a decent microphone. For example, for a budding new voice artist some popular microphones include:
Find and purchase a way to connect that to your computer. Could be a just USB cable, could be an audio interface, Some popular audio interfaces include
Find and purchase a DAW. This could be the free Audacity, it could be
Audacity – this is free, but more difficult to use productively, in my opinion.
Learn how to use the equipment. Learn how to use your DAW. Figure it out, ask questions, seek advice. Search: VST, Compression, Limiting, Gating, dB, ACX Recording guide.
Treat your recording space to sound acoustically dead, and free from outside noise.
Now that the “tech” part is handled, start on your body of work. You need to read, record, and critique yourself every. damn. day.
Read, record, and critique yourself. Ask strangers if your recordings suck. Visit the RecordThis Subreddit to get feedback on your recordings**
Seriously, repeat step 7. Find a coach if needed.
Are your recordings clean, crisp, well acted, convincing? No? See Step 7.
In your DAW cut up the best parts of your recordings into a 1 MINUTE DEMO that shows your acting ability, vocal range, etc. Don’t have 1 minute of good work? See Step 7
Search for talent agents in your city, request a meeting and share your demo. They may hire you, they may send you away to get better, then may offer advice. They may ignore you, if they do take it as a sign that you are not good enough, yet. See Step 7
Create account on Voices.com or other site. Audition for everything you possibly can. Expect to audition at least 100 times before you get a job. See Step 7.
Create an account on ACX.com. Audition for everything you possibly can, Expect to audition a lot before you get a job. See Step 7.
??? (See Step 7)
Profit.
.
