Setting Up Your Voice Over Studio
Let’s face it. If you’re going to be an India voice over talent of some type, it won’t be long before you’ll realize you need your own studio. And when you’ve seen some of the lavish studios out there, it can be a frightening concept –– the space, all the audio equipment, the specialized furniture –– especially for an amateur announcer that may not have thousands of dollars to spend (in this economy? I don’t think so).
The good news (particularly for newer Mumbai voice talents) is that it doesn’t have to be that way! With the advent of today’s digital technology, setting up your own voice overIndia studio for narrator projects can be less costly than you might think.
Let’s start with the basics ... space. You’ll need to find a room or area with the least amount of ambient noise as possible. When you’re doing voice over India work, you don’t want a bunch of hiss in the background. To cut down or eliminate the ambient noise, you can purchase sound-absorbing panels (very expensive) or simply purchase the textured bedding foam you find at bed and bath retailers. Cardboard egg-crate works well, too. This is a much more economical way to go for a nubie announcer or a Mumbai voice over talent just starting out. If you don’t have enough material to cover a whole room, some voice over India pros choose to create a “whisper room,” which is nothing more than a box just big enough the India voice talent or the narrator and a mic.
Now you’ll need a decent microphone. Forget those cheesy VoIP mics that plug right into a computer. An India voice talent needs to have a professional cardioid mic. These can range from $100 on up and are one of the most important parts of the game for voice over Mumbai experts. Be sure to get a good mic stand and pop screen as well!
Since most professional mics come with either an XLR or ¼” jack and the input levels may vary, you’ll need a good mixing board. Don’t let that scare you. Large, multifunction boards can cost thousands of dollars, but all you’ll need to start out is a small board with just a few input and output channels. For example, when I started my Mumbai voice over, announcer and narrator business, all I had was a $100 Yamaha 8-channel board. Small enough to fit on my desk. It worked beautifully (I’ve upgraded since then).
Many professional studios invest in expensive amplifiers, CD players, voice effects, dynamics processors and the like –– a good way to go if the voice over India artist has enough money. With today’s technology, however, you can cheat if you’re on a budget. Current digital audio mixing and editing software usually comes standard with loads of effects, equalizers and dynamic processing for narrators, announcers and India or Mumbai voice talents. So, use the money to buy a good, fast computer with a decent sound card and the right editing software. When you’ve got all the pieces, the mic should go into the mixing board, the mixing board goes into the computer, the computer goes back out to the mixing board and then to a monitor or good stereo so you can hear what you’re working on.
