{"id":34233,"date":"2026-01-08T07:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T12:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/?p=34233"},"modified":"2025-12-05T14:26:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T19:26:14","slug":"7-skills-to-help-you-crush-your-self-engineered-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/08\/7-skills-to-help-you-crush-your-self-engineered-session\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Skills to Help You Crush Your Self-Engineered Session"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you\u2019ve been working in the voice-over industry in the last twenty years, but particularly in the last five, you know that rarely do you get the privilege of just \u201cshowing up and acting.\u201d The transition from in-studio to home studio work has brought increased accessibility and flexibility, but this has also meant that in order to keep up, actors must acquire a myriad of other skills in addition to performing. Being the best actor for the part will get you the job, but home studio sessions also often require us to be engineers, editors, copywriters, localizers, and notetakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Soundgirls<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most working actors today, especially those living outside of a major market, have accepted this plate-spinning as a reality of our current industry. But for newer folks, these supplemental duties often lurk in the shadows \u2013 until you\u2019re in the midst of a session and a client says, \u201cCan you play that back?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t panic! There are a few things you can prepare for ahead of time that will make you a rock star in any self-engineered session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost, engineering!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clients who cut out the middleman of an ad agency or audio production company will often expect you, the actor, to handle the recording of the audio on your end. (And it\u2019s a good habit to get into even if they do record on their end \u2013 stuff happens.) In its simplest form, this means that you\u2019ll hit \u201crecord\u201d in the DAW (digital audio workstation) of your choosing, while simultaneously dialing in to a conferencing platform or phone call to receive your live direction from the client. Make sure to test this with a colleague ahead of time, if it\u2019s your first session. I like to keep my DAW window visible while I\u2019m reading the script, just so I can always have an eye on it to make sure it\u2019s still recording. In between takes I\u2019ll also periodically hit \u201csave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-engineering also includes minding your gain \u2013 especially if you\u2019re on a gaming or animation session, which tend to utilize a wide dynamic range (i.e. you might go from whispering in one line to shouting in the next). Get familiar with your setup so you can anticipate those changes and not waste any takes due to clipping or inaudibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll also want to make sure to test your audio setup on all major conferencing platforms ahead of time (including Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, and phone patch), so you understand the quirks of each, and ensure that your audio sounds great in all of them. None of these commonly-requested platforms allow for the client to capture your organic audio on their end, so you\u2019ll be fully responsible for recording and delivering a high-quality product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slating<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a live session with an engineer, the engineer will usually slate the takes out loud before you begin to record. But since you\u2019re the engineer in this situation, you\u2019ll need to do that yourself. Slating \u2013 i.e., saying \u201chere comes take one,\u201d<\/a> before reading the script \u2013 helps everyone stay organized. You can either just say the number of the take, or say the number and then follow it up with what you\u2019re about to do. If the client asks for three versions of the line in a row, you can say, \u201cHere\u2019s take one, ABC,\u201d then read the line three times. If the client asks for an alt (alternative) line, you could say, \u201cThis is gonna be take four, alt.\u201d Slating is a unifier that helps prevent confusion when the client is searching for their favorite takes later. Which leads me to my next point\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping track of takes and selects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, the client will be taking notes as you read, but on occasion, they\u2019ll ask you to track their \u201cselects\u201d for them. Selects are the client\u2019s favorite takes that you\u2019ve provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s advisable to confirm the client\u2019s selects with them before you wrap. If the client is expecting you to put their selects together into one edited file for final delivery, having the slates that we talked about will make it much easier for you to find their favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most common asks is for you to time your takes and report that timing back to your client. This is especially common in commercial work, where ads have hard time limits; but it can also happen in any genre where the picture is already locked, and you only have a set amount of time to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t necessarily recommend that you run a stopwatch while you\u2019re reading the script, unless that helps you. Instead, just record at the speed that feels natural, and then stop the recording and use your DAW\u2019s tools to calculate the length of the last take. (You may need to edit out mistakes on the fly in order to get an accurate time.) Given enough time and practice, your brain will start to be able to deliver a 30-second read without much conscious effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copy services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may be asked to make script edits in the middle of a session. This can happen for several reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n