VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Larissa Gallagher · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:34 am Post subject:

Just read through this chain and wanted to a) thank everyone for their input and 2) state that in all my research into audiobook work from other forums/social sites etc., NEVER have I found as much interesting and educated information within such a relatively short chain. Yay and double Yay - VO-BB.
Smile

Pam · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:03 am Post subject:

Let me add my kudos on this thread and to Mr. Kafer as well. Excellent info and Jeff thanks for sharing all that you shared.
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COURVO · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 6:54 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the cred Mr. Harrison...

After 30 years of reading roving prompter copy written by inexperienced 23-yr-old producers just out of college, I can sight-read ANY copy and make it sing....just like a pianist can step up to the keyboard with a fresh piece of music and you'd never know. That's not bragging... it's the result of years of hard work.

So...no, I don't pre-read my audiobooks, and I'm finding only growing opportunity in this area. I DO "scan" it briefly for style, intent, and flow.

If I had to read every book before I narrated it, I think it would tip the equation against my doing them...too much time NOT dedicated to the actual recording.

You can usually tell in the first chapter what kind of an author you have in your hands.

Sure, sometimes, I have to stop the recording and take a sentence again 'cause I read it wrong the first time. But...who among you remembers the right inflection for every line AFTER carefully reading the book first? Not many, I'll wager.

I know lots of VO's who are mostly commercial, promo, or ad copy voice-actors (like the inimitable PB, I assume) who seem to abhor the long-format medium. The other day, VO pro Zurek exclaimed he didn't know how the audiobook narrators do it...!

CourVO
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 7:00 pm Post subject:

So what do you, Dave, if the author suddenly mentions that the main character has a Canuck accent on page 250?

This happens all. the. time.
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COURVO · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 7:09 pm Post subject:

Jeff,

I go back and record the first instances of this character.... If it's a main character, I'm screwed. It's only happened to me once that I can remember.

It's one of the things I purposely "scan" for.

BTW, Jeffrey has personally helped me in my narrations with unadorned feedback, and it was what I needed. He's made it possible for me to move forward in this area.

Thanks, Jeff!

CourVO
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 7:47 pm Post subject:

Apparently you like to live on the edge, my friend.

The Canuck accent above is not an fictitious example. The last book I did, Area 51, the main character was supposed to have a Canuck accent. But it wasn't revealed until page 256. But due to the rush nature of the job (the author wanted it out in time for some promo thing) I didn't have time to pre-read. When I came across the problem, I emailed the author and we worked it out, without much of a problem.

The key to avoiding this problem, if you can't pre-read, is to ask the author if there are any accents or speech patterns you need to be aware of. Most will gladly tell you. I often get several pages of character notes. And I love them.

The question that often comes up is "But what if you're doing a book by Stephen King or some big name author? You can't just email him!!"

My answer is "If I'm doing a book by Stephen King, I'm getting upwards of $650 per finished hour and I damn well better pre-read the book."

And you're welcome, Dave. Countless people have given me advice and help. I do my best to pass any bit of info I have along.
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JimRon · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:01 pm Post subject:

Jeff,

A few questions for you:

Do you charge more for narrations with accents than narrations without?

Do you take the lead and assume the characters are to be voiced with the appropriate accents? Or do you discuss that with the author prior to recording?

I know I have more questions for you, but since this topic was already going i figured i'd start here.

jim
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COURVO · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:34 pm Post subject:

Great point, Jeff...I try to talk to the author beforehand whenever possible. I get a real kick out of talking to them, and most of them seem pleasantly surprised -- even glad -- when I call.

You can even get to the "big guns" like Stephen King sometimes through the publisher...and he's about as big as big guns get.

Maybe for a Stephen King book I'd actually READ through the book before narrating. (not!).

CourVO
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:59 am Post subject:

Diane Havens · Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:25 am Post subject:

Reading the book, prepping, researching terms/words/accents, creating character voices, consulting the author and/or print publisher on direction are all part of the deal, and should be taken into account when accepting a book for production. I usually plan an entire week to take care that end of things if at all possible.
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Adam Verner · Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:51 am Post subject:

Wow, Dave - props to you if you can record with just a scan like that Smile

There have been books that, in retrospect, were simple enough I could have pulled them off with just a pre-scan. I usually read through each book first; as Diane says:

Scott Pollak · Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:20 am Post subject:

These are among the several reasons I prefer non-fiction. First of all, I simply prefer non-fiction, biographical, etc. types of novels. But also because of the weird characterization stuff that Jeff has brought up. It's much less of an issue in non-fiction work.

Ironically, today I just finished the final story in a collection of FICTIONAL works that Jeff is helping to edit, and the damn thing was loaded with Italian phrases. I speak NO Italian. None. Nada. Niente. I'm sure the author is going to get a good laugh and a lot of forehead slaps when he hears me attempt it.
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:16 pm Post subject:

What Diane said. To do the job right, you really need to read the book ahead of time and do the proper research. As a matter of fact, some publishers will pay you for extra research time if it goes beyond a few hours.

And rarely do I look at the pre-read as work. I look at it as "Cool, I get a new book to read for free."
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COURVO · Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 7:30 pm Post subject:

I'm with ya Scott...obviously the non-fiction reads are easier to pull-off without a read-through first...and naturally non-fiction is what I'm best at, and prefer.

For lots of dialogue and characters...I'm sure my "scan" would end up being almost a full-on read-through.

Merry Christmas!

Dave Courvoisier
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702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."