You’re In VO If . . .

You know you’re in voiceover if you recognize the voices doing commercials, narrations, etc. on TV as friends or colleagues you’ve met at a seminar. Or if “Name The Celebrity Voicing That TV Commercial” is a common game at your house. You’re a VO if someone can refer to “Four Guys In A Limousine” or “Bloopers Soap” and you’ll know exactly what they mean. You know who voiced the Academy Awards this year. You can totally relate to “Santa’s Session in Hell”. You’re conscious of the noise level of your clothes, and avoid people with colds like they have the plague.

You probably know all kinds of exotic remedies for preventing colds and if you get one how to sound normal through it all. You know what a neti pot is. You rarely eat dairy (clogs the throat) or wheat (runs the nose). No wait . . . that’s me. I also keep protein water in my booth in case my stomach starts to growl during a long session. Microphones will totally pick those growls up, usually during your best take. And speaking of microphones. If you’re a VO, you’re constantly in search of the ultimate microphone, the one that makes you sound rich and delicious. Neumann, Horch, Sennheiser, Gefell are all familiar names.

Here’s another VO thing. Right now I have to make an appointment with the dentist for my annual check-up and I’m dreading it, but not for the reasons most people dread going to the dentist. Even a simple teeth cleaning means I’ll be sibilant (lots of ssss in my tracks) for several weeks. And something more complicated involving novacaine? Forget about it, I’m out of commission for half a day. But it must be done, so I’ll make the appointment and hope a big job doesn’t come in that week. Or I’ll time it so the dental cleaning appointment is right before a vacation.

I’m fresh out of thoughts about weird VO stuff at the moment, but feel free to add your own. I have to call my dentist 🙂