The Magazine of Santa Clarita readers always send me great questions about the voiceover business. This month, a voice actor asks about ISDN.
Q: I need to know some basic info about doing an ISDN session. I just landed a job with a big company that should take about an hour of recording time. I’ll be driving to Burbank this coming week to a recording studio that’s set up for ISDN. I have 20 years of experience as a broadcaster, so being in a studio is no big thing. But getting this job will be a quantum leap forward for me. Having said all of that, I know nothing about doing an ISDN session! I’d appreciate anything you can tell me! First off, basic stuff like: after they’ve done voice levels on me how will I know when it’s time to start recording, will I get a cue from the engineer? Should I state my name before I start? Do I then do a 3-2-1- countdown then start talking? What sort of directions should I expect? Will the client (who’s in another state) be talking to me in the studio through my headphones? I hope none of this sounds too silly to you. I just don’t want to appear uneducated when I walk into that studio. — Cordially, Bob J., Los Angeles, CA
A: Bob, an ISDN session is virtually the same as an analog phone-patch session (if you’ve had one of those before), except the client is in one studio and you’re in another, and the two studios (and engineers) are communicating directly via ISDN protocol, where all of the V-O tracks generated in your studio are being digitally “captured” by another studio.
Over the next few articles, I’ll share with you the tips I gave Bob to make sure his session went smoothly.
Cashman Commercials © 2010
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, CA.
Marc can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com.