Jodi Krangle

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Jodi@VoiceoversAndVocals.com

Jodi Krangle

Taking Your Show On The Road

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      Taking Your Show On The Road - Jodi Krangle - voiceoversandvocals.com

I just recently went to my first podcasting convention (MAPCON, now the Independent Podcast Conference in Atlantic City) and had the privilege of meeting a lot of super talented and passionate people who create and have services for, podcasters (of which, I am now one!).  One of the topics that came up time and time again, was sound treatment.  How do you get the best sound for your podcast?  How do you get rid of echo, cut down on ambient noise, and travel with your sound equipment while still putting out a decent show?

A lot of people will tell you that it’s all about the microphone.  And it’s true that if you use a microphone that’s highly directional and of decent quality, you can get pretty good sound.

BUT – without the right recording environment, your audio still isn’t going to sound very good – no matter how expensive your microphone is.

I’m here to tell you – it’s all about the sound treatment.

As a voice actor, I have a 5×4 sound treated booth that has thick, insulated walls and a similar ceiling and floor, all carpeted so there are no sharp edges or surfaces for sound to echo off of. (I’ve included a picture below of both the inside and outside of my booth.) It makes for an almost entirely dead sound that engineers prefer, because then they can go in and color that sound in post, the way they need it.  You probably don’t need this elaborate a set-up as a podcaster, but you get the idea.

The inside and outside of my vocal booth. (That’s “cubie” my gelatinous cube, holding my headphones. 😉 )

It’s not sound proof exactly, though it does filter out a great deal of ambient noise.  There are just some sounds – like rumbling trucks, planes flying overhead, and that sort of thing, that simply couldn’t be blocked out unless I had a 6 foot concrete box around me.  I do the best I can.

But if you’re not going to spend thousands of dollars on a sound booth, what do you do?

Here’s where a portable booth comes to the rescue.  Usually made of things like foam or moving blankets around a metal frame, they’re able to be carried around in a flat case and opened up where you need them – a bar, a hotel room, a podcasting convention or anywhere else you might travel to.  You could even set it up in a permanent place in your home rather than building a full sized booth.

One of the companies I’ve been using for years – and I currently have several of their models – from the first one, on up to the newest one – is Vocal Booth To Go (full disclosure – these are affiliate links – but I wouldn’t affiliate with a product I didn’t believe in!).  If you visit their website, you’l see a variety of options available to you.  But the one I’m most familiar with, is the VOMO.

It’s a bit large for me to take on a plane if I’m flying internationally (just somewhat awkward as it’s flat, but fairly square and large and I’m not an overly tall woman. If you’re a tall man, for instance, you may find it easier to carry) – but if I travel by car or domestically on a plane – WOW is this thing handy.  You can set it up on any table, or bring along the convenient tripod, unfold it, and away you go.

Also, unlike some other options you might see that offer this same sort of thing, it’s less bulky, and larger around – so you don’t get a “boxy” type of sound when you record.

They do have some older versions of this portable booth, in case that price tag is a bit much for you at the moment.  They all work with the same idea – and virtually the same materials.  They just come with different options, and some are more “portable” than others.  But I’ve been using these for years – and have loved them since the first one.  So even if you go for an older version, you’ll find it extremely helpful when taking your podcast – or your voice overs – on the road.

There’s also a dedicated website specifically for this portable booth option.  (And if you check out the photo gallery and click on See All Pictures, you’ll see me, using one of them, right in the center of that collage.)

Here’s a video from voice actor, Simon Hill (a fellow Canadian), all about how he uses his VOMO while he travels – and some of his really helpful tips to make the most of your recordings while on the road.

Are We Too Busy?

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      Are We Too Busy? - Jodi Krangle - voiceoversandvocals.com

We’re always so BUSY.

Ok.  I know that’s a pretty general statement.  And it might have a lot to do with the fact that I live in North America. There are places in the world that are much more relaxed about their days than we are here.  I get it.

But I’ve been noticing around me that there’s a lot of emphasis on being “efficient” with our time.  On getting the most done with what little time we seem to have to do it.   There are lots of reasons for this, of course.  The industrial revolution made “efficiency” the thing.

But jobs are changing … and attitudes about “work” are changing a lot more slowly.  Everyone’s after a “side hustle”.  The “gig economy” seems to be the new buzzword.  And sure – turning something we love into a career that makes us money, is definitely helpful to our well-being and self-worth.  But what happens when you take this idea too far?

What happens when doing what you love, becomes a chore?  What do you do to just ENJOY yourself, then?

This is entirely my own opinion – and I’ll own it.

We’ve forgotten how to just relax.

I understand that we all need to make money to put a roof over our heads and food on the table.  I think it’s admirable that there’s a whole movement out there helping people find a good work-life balance outside of a regular 9-5.

It’s also true that things like access to quality education and healthcare, and a whole host of other things make it easier for some to do this than others.  But can we each find maybe a half hour a day to just do nothing?  What’s wrong with a little “me” time?

There’s a reason every airline tells parents to put their own mask on first during a crisis.  You’re no good to anyone else if you’re not taking care of yourself first.  I don’t mean that in a selfish way.  In fact, it’s the exact OPPOSITE of selfishness.  If you’re content with yourself, you can spread that feeling to others around you – whether it’s family, friends or complete strangers.  And that makes the world a better place.  At least around you.

So what can you do to have a little peace in your life, even for just a little bit?  Take a walk or go for a run, read a good book, meditate, listen to music and just close your eyes, even settle in on the couch and chill with something on Netflix that takes your mind off of things.  When you give your brain some time to just relax, it’s amazing what might occur to you.

And don’t feel guilty.  You’re allowed some time for yourself.  It’ll make you an easier person to be around.  It’ll help you discover things about yourself that will help you relate to other people better.

Personally, I’m an introvert.  So if I don’t have that time alone?  I start to go a little bonkers.  But there are others that get their energy from being around other people.  Nothing wrong with that.  Find the way you replenish, and cater to it.

Peace is often associated with quiet.  But it doesn’t have to be.

Find your peace – wherever that happens to be – and even if it’s only for a few minutes a day – you’ll be better able to handle all the “busy-ness” that life hands you.

Stillness might not be quite what you’re after (or your style), but have a listen to this TedTalk by Pico Iyer and see if it helps you find a few moments out of every day to just …be.  One of his more insightful quotes in this talk is: “If I really want to change my life, I might best begin by changing my mind.”

Take A Photo or Live In The Moment?

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      Take A Photo or Live In The Moment? - Jodi Krangle - voiceoversandvocals.com

Our world is a very visual one.  Especially now.  Facebook gives priority to video created on their own platform (Facebook Live) and LInkedIn is getting into that more and more.  Instagram is all ABOUT pictures – and one does say a thousand words. Twitter is bite-sized, yes – but still very visual.  A post that has an attached photo is likely to get a lot more attention (unless you already have a huge audience).  There’s a LOT of noise out there these days.  And a lot of it is in photo format.

Now, I’m not here to judge folks for their photo taking habits (though selfies are STILL kind of a mystery to me …) But when we’re so busy getting the perfect photo for Facebook or Instagram, are we really living in the moment?  Are we experiencing where we are instead of worrying about preserving it for “fans” on social media?

It’s so much easier to take a photograph now than it ever has been.  We all have a camera in our pocket.  And it’s basically a mini computer.  I’ll admit it.  I feel like I’ve lost my left arm if I forget my cell phone when I go out.  I’m just as guilty as everyone else when it comes to being addicted to my tech.  But precisely because it’s so easy to take a picture now, do we really value those pictures?  Do we plan them?  Do we try to show people how we see the world with our photographs, rather than simply trying to show the world how popular we are?

What would happen if you couldn’t just snap a picture on your phone and immediately share it on social media in digital format?  What would happen if you had to spend money and time to get those photos developed?  It wasn’t so long ago now, that that was the case.  And when photographs were a precious commodity that told the story of people’s lives sparingly, those little glimpses were valued.  Now?  Are they valued?  Photos are so commonplace that we hardly give them a second glance.  There are of course, exceptions to every rule.  But have a look right now on your social media feeds and tell me what you see?  Yes, there are some who have a really good eye for the perfect composition of an interesting photograph (I know several really talented photographers, in fact.  I’m looking at you, Irina, Seshu & Doug).  But more often what you see, is people taking pictures of themselves.

I recently ran across this particular segment on the BBC, about a photographer named Levi Bettwieser, founder and film technician of the Rescued Film Project, who is on a mission to preserve photos taken by actual cameras on film rolls and abandoned, for whatever reason.  In the case of one of his projects, the person taking them simply couldn’t afford the cost of printing them.  And considering it was twelve hundred rolls of film, that’s not too surprising.  But “Paul”, this photographer from the 50’s, preserved them as best he could. Because he felt they were important.  And he cared about his subject matter – mostly his family.

What struck me the most about this short video segment, was how preserving these photographs made Mr. Bettwieser feel about taking pictures today.  He says, “... We used to take pictures when they meant something.  But now we flood our lives with taking pictures of moments so that we can share them with others and so that we can get likes.”  and “Someone who only had nine pictures wanted to remember that one moment – and so I’d rather be in the moment and actually feel the experience then spend time trying to capture it and maybe miss out on the experience.”

So by spending all your time taking photos, are you missing out on the experience?

Just something to think about.

Here’s a link to the video segment I mention above (click on the photo below) – and also to an Outlook podcast called “Why I Rescue Old Rolls Of Film” – where he expands on the subject of his photo preservation experiences.

Oh – and just for giggles, check out this comedy routine.  Pretty spot on, huh?

My Interview with Voice Actor, Tracy Lindley, Creator of TheLinkedInEdge

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I sit down with Tracy Lindley to talk about her reasons for becoming an entrepreneur, how she got into voice acting, and how she decided to put together an online course about LinkedIn. You can find TheLinkedIn Edge here.  And if you’re interested in learning more about Tracy’s voiceover services, you can visit her website here.  During our discussion, she mentions the book, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story  And she also gives folks a discount on her course!  Though you’ll have to listen to get the discount code. 🙂

This episode was edited by the extremely talented Humberto Franco.

How D&D Keeps Me Creative (And Sane)… (Mostly)

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      How D&D Keeps Me Creative - Jodi Krangle - voiceoversandvocals.com

So today I’m going to reveal my really geeky self and talk about D&D (Dungeons & Dragons).  Why do I actually want to talk about this particular subject?  I go to conventions every once in awhile that are specifically for role playing and board gaming and all of that sort of thing. And I find that when I go to these sorts of things, they actually inspire me to get better at what I do (voice acting). And not only that, but they kind of inspire me to be a better person in general. It’s strange how that works, I know, but stick with me here.

So when I play a game with other people, it’s a collaborative event.  It’s something that we all have to work together to solve. There are problems that we need to overcome. There’s always some kind of conflict, which makes sense. And that’s life, isn’t it? So when we’re playing together, we have to collaboratively come up with solutions and coming up with solutions takes brain power. It takes working with other people. It takes thinking –  it takes empathy as well. So when I play these games it helps me think through problems, without having all that much in the way of consequences. I mean these are characters you’re playing, so it’s not a life or death situation. You can kind of experiment with problem solving in a way that really doesn’t have any consequences. Kind of cool. It also helps me take on different personas and for what I do in voice acting, that’s really helpful too in a kind of improv sort of way.

I’m not all that great in accents, honestly. So a lot of other people do that while I’m not. But it’s still a really useful exercise. And as I said, it brings me to conventions and conventions are ways to socialize with people. It gets me out there talking with people who share my obsessions, who share my particular blend of geekery. And it brings together a bunch of people who are sympathetic to one another. It’s a very rewarding experience.

I go to voiceover conventions for that reason and thoroughly enjoy them. I go to business conventions for that reason – to meet people in person so that you can actually get to know someone in a better way than you would be able to through social media.  We’re all on social media, yes.  That’s kind of a GoTo for a lot of people.  But it really gives you a nice connection when you meet people in person – when you can actually hear their voice, you can see the expressions on their faces while they’re speaking. You can understand where they’re coming from. So you get the real nitty gritty of a person where you only really see the highlight reels in social media.

So I bring up D&D because I think in general a lot of us could use a little more creativity in our lives. Now I know if you’re doing a nine to five, it’s really hard to do anything else. You come home exhausted, you take care of your responsibilities and you watch some Netflix. I get it. Sometimes there’s just a lot to do and it’s really overwhelming, but if you do something creative like draw paint, make music, write a story – and I know a lot of game masters who run roleplaying games and just love to build worlds and write plots for their games, which is certainly creative writing – it might just give you the outlet you need to stay sane and to continue growing.

Who knows? You might even find a side hustle from your creativity that won’t ONLY keep you sane but actually make you some money. I know folks who paint and make music or create gorgeous jewelry on the side. I haven’t written a song in a really long time, but I contributed to a talented friends music album as a backup singer just recently (and I’ll probably mentioned that in a future blog) and I had a blast doing it. I still sing karaoke online and at various voice conventions when the opportunity presents itself. I love singing and I always have. Being creative helps me to keep my mind open to possibilities.

And there’s a lot to be said for creative problem solving, which is what D&D teaches people to do. All that to say, don’t apologize for your own brand of creativity, or geekery, whatever that happens to be. Keep your mind open and you never know what the future holds.

Because this is such a beautiful story and truly captures the creative spirit of the game, please take a moment to read this Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/AntnHz/status/1165011404086284289

And here’s a TedxTalk that speaks more about how the creative spirit of D&D just makes better team members, along with some more about the game itself. You might find it interesting.  As you can see, the applications are endless.

Thanks for reading and keep looking for those silver linings. Until next time.

My Interview with ipDTL CEO, Kevin Leach

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Kevin Leach and I sat down for a detailed discussion about his journey into becoming an entrepreneur, his early influences, the world of connection services and the future he sees for ipDTL and its offerings.  If you’re not familiar, you can learn more about ipDTL here. This is a fantastic service for both podcasters and voice actors.
Thanks for talking with me, Kevin!

This episode was edited by the extremely talented Humberto Franco.