I’m very excited about leading my full-day certificate program in eLearning voiceovers next week (3/22) as part of the special pre-conference offerings of the eLearning Guild’s Learning Solutions 2011 conference in Orlando, Florida. The indefatigable Juli Balding at the Guild sent me a note on Friday that my session looks like it will be full!
Those of you attending my program should have received an e-mail from me via Juli outlining how we’ll be spending our day together, and talking about the equipment you need to bring with you. If you are registered for my session and haven’t received that note, please contact Juli or me immediately, as it’s important for you to have all that information in advance. On registrant has asked how I feel about headset mikes, and my answer is: I think you should use something better for eLearning voiceovers. Good USB mikes are available for under $100 these days. That said, bring whatever mike you choose; I’m just offering my opinion based on my own experience.
So, if you’re attending, what will we be doing that day? We’ll be working on a mix of skills. First, we’ll look at what makes a good eLearning voiceover script. And then we’ll work together editing samples I’ll provide, and writing new samples, and hearing how the new versions sound. Then we’ll focus on your voice: we’ll cover the very basics of how the human voice works, and practice some very entertaining exercises together that will help improve both your diction and your delivery. We’ll also go over some key tips & tricks for delivering an engaging “performance” in a voiceover. We’ll spend a little bit of time going over the basics of getting yourself ready to record, and then we’ll break for lunch!
After lunch, we’ll go over the essentials of voiceover recording and editing (we’ll be using Audacity, the free audio software program, but this is not an extended class on how to use Audacity!). Then, I’ve arranged a generous time slot in the afternoon for you to practice recording voiceover more voiceover samples. I’ll be walking around the room, and working with each and every participant one-on-one on whatever area they feel they most need input.
At the end of the day, we’ll each share a sample of the work created during the day. The tone throughout will be communal and constructive, and we’ll have a lot of fun while we’re at it. Our day will be part writing/editing boot camp, part The King’s Speech, part techno-tweaking, and a lot of practice–it’s going to be a full day! We will be in the Kahili/Lily room on the 2nd floor at the Disney Hilton.
If you’re already registered for my program, I look forward to working with you on Tuesday, 3/22. If you’re considering signing up but haven’t done so yet, there are only 1-2 slots left as of this writing, so I’d encourage you to sign up asap. I am limiting class size so that everyone gets lots of practice and feedback. Click the Learning Solutions logo on this post to visit the sight and register. And if you have any questions between now and then, post a comment here and I’ll reply. See you soon! 😀