Demystifying the Voiceover with Avid Vocal Studio

Sheldon works with students Lonny Schmitt, Jan Bogard, and Jim Howland.

Breaking into the highly competitive world of voiceover work can be a challenge, and as with most endeavors in the entertainment industry, it helps to have an edge. Bobby Sheldon knows this.

Sheldon, a veteran voiceover pro for more than 20 years, helps hone the talents of aspiring voiceover artists, offering a series of workshops from his Bremerton, WA-based Mediamaxx Productions. His Blue Collar Voiceover Beginner’s Boot Camp is an intensive two-day seminar covering basic narration, audio books, TV and radio commercials, promos, trailers, and character acting for animation.

Sheldon’s remote classroom workspace is equipped with a wall-mounted big screen, portable ASC Tube Traps and other acoustic treatment panels. “We get some really great sound out of the space,” he reports. “We take some of the spots we read in class and create full-blown radio commercials, with music and effects, using Avid Vocal Studio. The results are just superb.”

As Sheldon explains, the training is intended to equip students with all the tools necessary to compete in the real world of professional voiceover work. “In addition to the actual training in technique and performance, we give our students a production package to take home,” says Sheldon. “It includes a microphone stand and boom, a pop filter, some headphones, and a 15-foot USB cable so they can set up their own home studio and get started right away.”

The main focus of Sheldon’s take-home package is Avid Vocal Studio, which Sheldon also uses to teach the course itself. Avid Vocal Studio, which includes a copy of Pro Tools SE and the M-Audio Producer USB microphone, is a big part of Sheldon’s emphasis on empowering his students by training them with the same software they will encounter in professional studios.

“By the time they get home, they’ve gleaned an understanding of not just how to approach a voiceover session and how to perfect their technique, but also a good familiarity with the actual software they’re going to be using,” he says.

Sheldon points to Avid Vocal Studio as both affordable and accessible, two important qualities for students just starting out. “Before I started the workshops, I spent months reviewing the different software options” he says. “I wanted to make sure I was giving my students a high-quality product that was user-friendly, but wasn’t going to cost an arm and a leg.”

Anthony Zendejas practices with the M-Audio Producer USB mic.

Ease of use is, as Sheldon points out, of paramount importance in voiceover production. “When you do voiceover work, you often work solo and have to wear several hats,” he says. “You’re an engineer and technician, but you’re the talent first and foremost, and that’s where your attention needs to be focused. That’s the big advantage of Avid Vocal Studio. Everything is laid out in a very intuitive fashion. It’s easy to create a new voiceover project using the Pro Tools SE ‘Podcast’ template. From there, it’s a simple matter of recording, editing, and if needed, selecting and applying an effect. Sure, they can get into fine-tuning things if they choose to, but for most of what they’re doing, the plug-in presets work great. It allows them to spend their time and energy on developing their voice-acting chops, without getting bogged down in technical stuff.”

As Sheldon observes, the Avid Vocal Studio package contains everything an aspiring voiceover student needs to create a professional-quality demo reel, or to deliver a broadcast-ready radio or TV spot. “Particularly for voiceover work, the only thing you need is a really quiet space to set up in,” he says. “You just plug in the microphone and the headphones and away you go.”

The class liked Avid Vocal Studio so much that they recorded a commercial for it. 

(Main dialog voiced by Lonny Schmitt and Nita Wilson; tag by Jim Howland).