Thursday Jun 05, 2014

EWABS Episode 145 with Joe Loesch

Show Log

Episode 145, June 2, 2014

Guest: Joe Loesch

George will give tips about your work flow and efficiency

Dan’s Tip of the Week will be about using the EWABS clicker

0:02:06 The show begins and they succumb to “chit chat.”

0:03:40 George talks about your equipment—is it still costing you money? Pro Tools is the example. People stick with what they have because they paid for it and spent 3 years making it work…only they’re using it poorly! Is there a point when you need to revamp and work more efficiently. Your equipment and products might be perfectly good; but how productive are you? In ProTools, some folks “bounce” their audio in real time, for example. A fast workflow is key in this business. Sometimes a little training can improve your workflow.

0:07:28 Also, people end up settling on mic’s that can be the most expensive. Sometimes the least expensive mic can be the best for your voice. Why keep 4-5 extra microphones? Hold a “shoot out” of your mic and keep the best two.

0:09:18 Another way you’re wasting your money is by sending out lousy sounding auditions. Raw files aren’t good enough anymore. Send auditions in at the quality of the final product. Some processing is needed. Your “RMS” or volume should not be lower than the rest. Louder things can be perceived as better.

0:11:28 One more thing: losing out on jobs on sound quality problems you aren’t aware of! Pervasive sounds you may not notice will cost you work. So, look for an objective review of your sound.

0:12:50 Dan joins in the discussion. Hissing and hums mean your audition won’t make it past the slate. Expensive equipment that you don’t know how to use will just show how much you don’t know. Juan Carlos Bagnall said he judges equipment and recording quality in the first few seconds.

0:14:50 Break

0:16:52 They’re back. Dan has lots of Studio Suit! Come on down.

0:18:16 Audio question from Trevor Jones. He wants more toys. Is there any point to aspiring to better gear? He’d also like to get out of the closet into a booth. Will his sound get better? Should he sell his Sony 75-6’s to an unsuspecting victim?

0:20:30 Dan on aspiring to more expensive equipment. Get good stuff, learn how to use it, but the higher the quality of the equipment the more the quality of your recording space is important.

0:21:15 Does moving to a bigger space improve quality? George thinks anything smaller than 5’ x 8’ if it’s tuned acoustically, it makes no difference. You can get better quality in a larger room.

0:22:36 About headphones—absolutely a personal preference. If you like the sound of your headphones, go for it.

0:23:25 Tip of the Week—the EWABS clickers, a step beyond.

0:23:58 It begins. We all make mistakes, so be good at editing. Use sound codes, like a clicker, to mark your waveform.

0:24:50 One way is with a mouth pop. Another a beep you make, and a third is your clicker. Each can mean a different problem.

0:25:32 Dan records and shows how it’s done.

0:26:41 He can now edit visually. Dan uses the clicker to show the start of a slide, followed by the slide number. He then pastes over a copied piece of audio file with a marker, with the required time for the start and end of each slide. Dan uses pop sounds for mistakes and then more quickly delete the mistakes. He demonstrates. Dan names the markers as required.

0:29:25 You create a code for yourself to speed up your process.

0:30:38 Break

0:32:24 They’re back with Joe Loesch, producer and voice actor.

0:33:05 Joe recounts how he got into the biz starting in the 70s. Robert Redford inspired him. Joe’s career spans the days from tape editing to now.

0:37:00 Luck favors the prepared.

0:37:30 Joe now teaches in Nashville. He also teaches “Booth Camp” for John Florian’s “Voice-Over Xtra.”

0:38:56 Dan asks Joe his view of how the business has changed in the last 30 years.

0:41:37 Joe has written stories and other books for kids.

0:42:50 Joe has expertise in demos. He talks about how he got into making demos.

0:45:20 Dan asks what goes into making a demo. Joe says a lot of training. In this market your demo is your calling card.

0:47:07 Dan comments that you shouldn’t do a demo before you’re really ready. Joe advises taking baby steps. Hone your skills. He wants to hear confidence; it’s everything.

0:48:22 A Harlan Hogan break. Hear the VO: 1-A vs the Sennheiser 416, ElectroVoice RE20, and the Neumann U87: http://voiceoveressentials.com/content/vo-1a-voiceover-microphone.htm

0:51:00 They’re back for a quick tour of Joe Loesch’s studio. He describes the sound deadening in his space.

0:53:15 George asks Joe how his air system works. Joe describes it. He coils the flexible duct so that the air arrives silently.

0:54:13 JS Gilbert asks what the biggest challenge is now in VO compared to 10 years ago. Joe is just enjoying life.

0:55:29 Steve Tardio asks about Joe doing animation in Nashville, not L.A.? He tells the story.

0:56:06 Is most of your work from local connections, LA or NYC or elsewhere? Joe has a lot of friends in the business. He gets work through word-of-mouth.

0:57:18 Would you advice acting lessons for animation? Joe replied, “Absolutely,” and goes on to explain. Improv is great for voice actors.

0:58:11 Do you coach over Skype and what genres do you teach?

0:58:58 What percentage of time do you spend preparing compared to other audiobook tasks? Joe figures it should be 3:1.

0:59:34 To slate or not to slate? Joe always slates.

1:00:10 Do you use ISDN? Joe sees it going away. He doesn’t use it or need it.

1:01:00 George asks Joe as producer if he likes live sessions or for the talent to just send a file. Joe like getting the file. Dan says that makes making your auditions ready for use, to show the quality of your recording.

1:02:02 What do you to warm up? Joe uses tongue twisters. “She stood in the doorway of Burgess’s Fish Store Shop inexplicably mimicking him and welcoming him in.”

1:04:49 When you send a demo to an ad agency or production house, should you include extra material or just a short note? Joe says short note—no bio, no headshot. What matters is your demo. Don’t ask them to look at more stuff.

1:03:38 What mic do you use: Neumann U87 in the booth and an Avlex 79 outside the studio.

1:05:05 George asks about his advocacy of slightly produced auditions, and what Joe thinks about that? All Joe does in normalize because time is of the essence with auditions.

1:06:42 George asks if Joe does any front-end processing. He uses MBox and wants to look at FocusRite.

1:07:30 Joe asks if George and Dan will be at Voice2014 in August in Anaheim. Yes, both.

1:08:56 How does Joe avoid the “sore throat syndrome.” He works out and washes his hands.

1:09:23 What do you recommend for mouth noise and clicks? Lubricate, drink water. Eat green apple and chew thoroughly before swallowing.

1:10:54 Joe says goodbye and they take a break.

1:11:51 They’re back. Joe’s Route 66 Band will be in Kingman, Arizona, in August. See route66kingmanfestival.com

1:13:10 Announcements. Donate to the show, it’s not free to produce! Thanks to the donors.

1:14:45 George will be in New York City and do the show next week from Edge Studio. He’s got time Thursday and Friday next week for NYC-area VO help. He’ll be visiting at the PROMAX convention.

1:16:12 Next week’s guests: Debra Deyan and Colleen Marlow from the Deyan Institute http://www.deyaninstitute.com/home.html

1:16:29 June 16: George will be in Florida at Doug Turkel’s place, doing the show and helping host a “Marketing Masters Roundtable.”

1:18:20 Thanks to the sponsors.

1:18:39 Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter at EWABS_Show. Watch on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/ewabsshow

1:19:04 Closing remarks. Thanks to wives, Katherine Curriden, Anthony Gettig in the chatroom, Jack de Golia with show notes, Tim McKean for his work on EWABS Essentials, Lee Pinney for the podcasts.

EWABS Episode 145 with Joe Loesch

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