VO Tips for the Non-VO Pro: Clothing
Hey, I like the way your clothes sound…said no one ever.
Hey there, Joe Passaro here. I’m a professional voice actor and former history teacher/scholar. I’ve played Columbus in the Zombieland: Double Tap – Road Trip video game, AZN in the Street Outlaws: The List game, and have voiced many commercials, web videos, and eLearning modules.
These videos are primarily meant for the non-voiceover professional—people who need to record their voice and get a decent sound without having to take a course, read a book, or do the years of training, etc. And because… there are already tons of videos and guides on how to be a voice actor.
Voicever Clothing: Why Does it Matter?
Alright, this video is about what you WEAR when recording. Voiceover clothing is something you probably haven’t really thought about much, but it can be a seriously annoying problem.
So, we’re about to record, we checked the script, our DAW, microphone, made sure the guy with the leaf blower next door has stopped for lunch, maybe even did some vocal warmups, so we start and get through a long section of the script only to listen back after and hear lots of low-volume rustling. Is it my mouth making noise? The A/C kicking on? The neighbor’s leaves flying against my windows warning me that my house is about to be ripped off the ground in an apocalyptic tornado storm in southern California? Nope. It’s my clothes. Can you hear them?
Obviously what I’m wearing is a bit of an exaggeration. But even outdoorsy pants like the Eddie Bauer water-resistant pants I’m wearing can make noise when I move. My wife can actually hear me walking down the hall with these babies on. The problem is the material. Best solution?
Solution:
I’ve found cotton clothing to be the quietest voiceover clothing. And in general I try to wear as little clothing as possible—just a t-shirt and shorts usually. I haven’t recorded naked yet…though I suppose if the character demanded a certain…shall we say, carefree attitude…I could probably go full monty.
If you have any questions or would rather have me voice the project for you altogether, reach out direct at joe@joepassaro.com.