Readers of The Magazine of Santa Clarita continue to submit great questions about the voiceover business. This month, a voice actor writes in about mouth noise.
Q: I’ve been listening to some of my readings from the V-O class I’ve been taking, and I always have that dry mouth “crackly” sound going on. Why is this? I drink water. The other students don’t seem to have that. It’s annoying and distracting. How do I get rid of this? –Lisa S., Santa Clarita, CA
A: Lisa, here are the basic Do’s and Don’ts:
Do:
• Put lemon in a glass of water, grapefruit juice or any clear juice with no pulp. It strips away mucus and clears your mouth and throat.
• Use pieces of green apple, Granny Smith or Pippin. They’re supposedly extremely helpful in eliminating mouth noise and lip smacks.
• Bring water or juice with you into the booth. Make sure you keep it at arm’s length but nowhere near any recording equipment.
Don’t:
• Eat a heavy meal before a session. Rinse your mouth with water beforehand.
• Drink coffee, caffeinated tea, soft drinks, milk or dairy products or alcohol before a session. Caffeine constricts the sinuses and throat and coffee is a diuretic. Soft drinks contain sugar, which dries out your mouth, and milk causes mucus to form and sinuses to congest. As far as alcohol is concerned, it really dries out your mouth and impairs your ability to perform, on many levels.
• Smoke. There are myriad problems caused by smoking, the least of which smells up the control room, studio, booth and client. The main thing smoking does to your vocal cords and mouth is to dry up everything you need to be clear in your articulation.
Marc Cashman creates and produces copy and music advertising for radio and television, was named one of the “Best Voices of the Year” by AudioFile Magazine, and will be a keynote speaker and Master Class instructor at VOICE 2010 (in Los Angeles, June 2010). Winner of over 150 advertising awards, and a working voice actor as well, he instructs voice acting of all levels through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques in Los Angeles, California. Marc can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com .
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