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If you are a voice over artist, you know the struggle of having unproductive studio sessions when nothing gets accomplished. This can sometimes happen in a live recording session or an audition. While sometimes it is inevitable for you to have a bad recording day, mostly a little bit of preparation and planning before the actual studio session, can help you to avoid these unproductive sessions. Here is a list of five ways you can become more productive in the studio:
- Start with Prioritization: Not enough can be said about starting your day by prioritizing your task. To get your daily chores and studio work done, you need to maintain a proper and meticulous track and utilize your time wisely. You can maintain a list of all the ‘to-do’ items to be worked on during your studio time and can keep a tab on how many things can be completed in a day. This will help in ensuring an established workflow and will improve your overall efficiency. You can also create a checklist and prioritize the workflow according to your preference and schedule. As your production and recording hours are the ‘golden hours’, you need to have a proper schedule so that you make the most of your day. Planning helps in accomplishing things in a better fashion and small adjustments in your day-to-day work can help you achieve better results and the necessary motivation to record a quality advertisement, E-learning or animation voice over.Some people may find it easier to maintain their plan of action for the full week in one go, while others may get motivation from writing a daily plan each morning after they wake up. You can plan your day while sipping your morning cup of joe or before sleeping. Spending a few minutes to list out your priorities before getting started with your daily studio activities will effectively get you focused for the tasks ahead.
- Work in an ergonomic workspace: What makes a studio set-up ideal? The answer is the workspace where one has easy access to everything, without needing to constantly set-up hardware from scratch every time one is working on a new voice over recording. You can use the initial time to set-up the workplace and then use the exact same set-up as it’ll help you to get a better access to things and you won’t have to fret every time you need to set up the place. For some, this means making sure the microphone is positioned correctly and headphones are within arms length to the side. Also, to save time, have all your hardware plugged in and ready to go. Whatever your preferences, get in the habit of starting each session by setting up in the exact same way, as you’ll soon become a master of quickly getting ready to record without wasting time.The essential point is that your studio environment should be a positive, comfortable, inviting, inspiring space with an established workflow that you can ease into without needing to spend unnecessary time to set up every day.
- Stay away from distractions: Getting distracted by your email notifications, Social Media feeds, phone calls and text messages? Solve the problem!As a professional voice actor online, work on your studio through a dedicated studio computer that just has your demos/samples and your professional voice over recordings. Do not install any games as these serve as a means for distraction. Switch off your phone or keep it in silent mode, until you finish your studio work.Also, the objects in your studio should not become a distraction or a hindrance to your workflow. Practicing work cleanliness is conducive to an increase in production output, but it is more of a personal choice. Work in an environment that boosts your productivity and does not act as a hindrance during working.
- Take scheduled breaks: Your brain gets overworked if you work too long without taking any break. This directly has an impact on your productivity and you might feel weary instead of feeling accomplished. Take quick five or ten minute breaks frequently throughout the day to stay fresh and focused.Also, stay well rested and practice a good sleeping schedule before your studio session. Maintaining good vocal health and doing warm up exercises is also essential. Physical exercises release stress and infuse positive thoughts that can help you while doing the recording. Refrain from talking too much or practicing extensively before the session. Avoid caffeine, alcohol as these tend to dry up your throat. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water and keep a water bottle handy every time you are inside the studio.Also, try to take the day off when you don;t feel well. Putting a stress on your voice will do more harm than good. Therefore, take necessary breaks and offs, whenever required.
- Practise the script: Practise the script extremely well and understand the context and character before going for the recording. Practising the script also helps you to become familiar with the premise of the story and helps you to enact the character with better emotions. Sometimes, it’s not uncommon for a paragraph that is written very well — one that is concise, understandable, and informative — to be challenging to read aloud. Find a way to bring clarity to any difficult section, by inserting pauses to break up a hard section. Mark the script, if and when necessary. Break down the sections, highlight difficult words and read aloud all the typical phrases and sentences. Practising the script beforehand can help you tremendously with delivering the emotion and focusing on the details and the dynamics of the character.
Studio recording is an art in itself and the more you practice better work ethics, the better you become at delivering professional voice over recordings. If you are trying to get better voice over opportunities, Voyzapp – a leading voice over agency India, can help you grab new voice recording projects easily.
You can always increase your chances of a successful voice recording studio session by planning meticulously and following a work methodology. Do not stifle your creativity and get things done easily by having an enjoyable recording experience!
