Drop the mic!

August has come and gone. And, as always, I was torn between riding the general wave of relaxation or staying on the job.

August is a tricky month. Many clients go on vacation and the volume of recordings drops sharply. It makes sense to seize the opportunity for a summer break. Still, ironically, I usually received very important projects after days without going to the studio. Like the lottery, it’s impossible to predict when they arrive and, consequently, I never know on which days I should travel.

August, August… Should I stay or should I go…

There are two other options for dealing with the golden summer month. One is to take my laptop, portable hypercardioid microphone and interface while traveling, and record voice-overs in in the comfort of my soundproofed car or in the slightly uncomfortable makeshift audio booth built with pillows, mattresses, and blankets in the hotel room. The audio quality leaves a little to be desired, but it can work for some jobs, always with the client’s consent. For other, more demanding voice-overs, there’s the ultimate option of renting a studio near my resting location. Unless they are closed for their annual break…

August, August…

This year, a little bit of everything happened. I hesitated to go on vacation but I gave in when I realized that there were few requests for voice-overs in Portuguese (and in English with a Portuguese accent, which have been popping up more and more). I traveled and had to record auditions in the car. I paused my vacation for two days to come home to work. I went back on vacation, lost jobs, recorded other auditions.

August, August…

And, who would have thought, one of the auditions, recorded inside a pile of pillows and towels to reduce echoes, in the attic of a handmade beach house, in the center of a small island with the sea 500 meters away on two sides of home, with the sound of seagulls and the laughter of tourists beyond a sheet of metal used as a roof, was approved by the client and, moreover, thanks to the magic of a friend sound engineer, was polished and used by the client as the final voice-over?!