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The iPad2 For Voice Over:
Cool And 'Green' In Dallas  By Kara EdwardsVoice Actor
August 5, 2011 I recently took on a voice over e-learning project involving about 40,000 words - and this week it expanded to 60,000 words.
With a project that size, there is no way I'm going to print my scripts. It would take a ton of paper and ink to do so. My Macbook came in quite handy for this project at first - I loaded up the scripts, placed my laptop on my copy stand, and off I went!
Unfortunately, there is scorching heat around the country now. And I'm in Dallas, where the past several days have been hovering around 110 degrees. Ouch.
HOT IN BOOTH
I don't care how good your air conditioner is, there is no way it's keeping up with temps like that.
When I'm in my WhisperRoom, I can't have ventilation running while I record, because the fan is too loud. It's rare that the heat really gets to me (I open the door or run a fan between takes and drink plenty of water), so I hadn't been overly concerned.
However, as I recorded this e-learning project, I noticed the heat was bothering me more and more.
LAPTOP GETS HOT
Then, it hit me. My laptop was acting more like a heater than a computer and was increasing the temperature inside of the booth - a lot!
As if to confirm my theory, during one of the sessions my laptop fan kicked on twice - delaying things by several minutes.
COOL WITH iPAD2
So, I took off to the Apple store for an iPad 2. No fan noise, no heat.
I can read my scripts easily, and thanks to the Pages and Numbers functions, I can even edit them on the fly!
I posted something on Facebook about how great my iPad2 was, and a fellow voice actor said that he would love to read more about how I'm using it on the job.
I figured others might be curious as well, so this article was born!
HOW I USE IT Here are a few ways that in only three days of owning my iPad 2 I've used it for voice over:
1. Numbers and Pages These were two of the first apps I installed on the iPad.
Numbers opens XLS files, and Pages handles docs. You can edit on the fly if a client needs you to do so, and can expand the screen to enlarge the copy.
I'm saving ink and paper, and the lit screen means I don't have to strain my eyes. (I currently use LED lights in the booth, but the iPad is much brighter.)
2. Splashtop What a cool app this is! Thanks to a couple of recommendations on my Facebook page, I decided to give this a shot.
This app allows me to link up to my iMac, giving me full control of my desktop in the booth.
Now I can start and stop ProTools without leaving my Whisper Room!
The only negative is that it 'squishes' your desktop. Or at least, it squished mine. Then again, I am using a 27" iMac!!
All of the icons on my desktop began overlapping each other, making it hard to find the sessions I needed.
Hopefully once I take the time to clean up my desktop this issue will be remedied.
3. Email Previously, if I was in a session and a client needed to email me an updated script, I would have to step out of the booth - go over to my iMac- open the email and print.
Now I have instant access to my email, and with the preview function on the iPad2, I can open scripts instantly.
4. Recording I'm adding this not from my own personal experience, but from what others have told me about using their iPad to record voice over files.
In fact, one of my dearest friends - Kyle Hebert - recently texted that he is using an AT2020 mic with the camera kit to do high-quality recording when he is traveling.
I didn't believe it could sound good, so he sent me a recorded sample. Well, wow. I was impressed.
It sounded as good as my mobile set up, but it takes up much less space than my laptop, audio interface, etc.
And less is certainly more when you don't want to check your luggage at the gate!
5. Twisted Wave Again, this is not from my own experience. My friend Beau Weaver mentioned this on my Facebook page.
Apparently Twisted Wave not only created a recording app for the iPad, but also created a remote app that allows you to directly control Twisted Wave on your main computer from inside the booth.
This seems much like Splashtop - but I'm guessing it's less buggy and squishy.
6. Words With Friends OK- this does nothing to help my business. But it sure is fun! :)
MORE TO LEARN I'm sure there are a million other functions and apps I have yet to discover. Note: I want to make sure I'm not coming across as telling you that a gazillion dollars must be spent making sure you have the latest technology.
Quite the contrary. When I realized my laptop was on the fritz, I chose to buy an iPad2 instead of another laptop. It was about half the price, and did everything I needed my laptop to do.
Plus, I'll save a ton of money on ink and paper. Win win!!
Feel free to comment and share your favorite apps and uses - both for VO and for fun! ABOUT KARA ...
Kara Edwards is a professional voice actor working full-time from her ISDN-equipped studio. Credits include Disney, AT&T, McDonald's, Nintendo, YouSendIt, as well as DragonBall Z and Yu Yu Hakusho from the Cartoon Network, the Solty Rei DVD series, the hit pre-school series Raggs currently on PBS, and many more. She also voices and produces monthly audio versions of the popular children’s magazine Highlights High Five and Ask Arizona for the Highlights website. Web: www.karaedwardsvo.com. Email: kara@karaedwardsvo.com |
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Ben
www.benmarney.com
I'm doing exactly the same as you in two respects - eLearning (it's 99% of our wor !), and buying an iPad 2...it's been the best investment ever made, I'm saving on printer ink and paper, and use Dropbox to sync all my scripts as it's on all the Macs too (I've got the 27" as well !). Only issue is it crashes Dropbox a bit on iOS 5 - but it's early days !
DH
Thank you,
Christi Bowen
www.christibowen.com
You can also add a PDF file to the Barnes & Noble Nook.
I do not yet own one of these devices. My computer is in my studio and I read my scripts from a 22 inch monitor.
In order to minimize fan noise, I have created an insulated black box for my laptop. This year, I'll invest in the ever so silent Mac Mini!
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this article and for sharing it.
We are working on a new set-up in our house where I will be recording (studio/office, 2 rooms). I run a Mac as wel,l and was thinking of purchasing a different monitor for the studio from which to see and perform copy, with the Mac laptop running in the office. However, after reading your article and listening to the recent webinar on Twisted Wave put on by VoiceOverXtra, I am now thinking that perhaps this is the way to go. Thanks for all of the extras and names of apps as well.
Thanks!
Judy Fossum
Judy Fossum VoiceOvers
Thank you SO much for this great article! I really appreciate your insights and tips and advice on how you’re using technology to your best advantage. I don’t have an iPad yet but after reading this, it’s obvious I need to put one on my shopping list. :) Super valuable stuff in this meaty article! Thank you!
- Maxine
Not ready to give up traveling with my laptop cause there's so much more functionality with it but, placing the iPad into the PortaBooth for my script was heavenly! No need for a light source, no worry about formatting the script to be legible, no need to find the business center where I can print out the script. It was great! And being able to whip out/use the iPad when I was meeting with the director left him with the impression that I'm tech savvy. :-)
Thanks, Kara!
Thanks for including this on your site! One additional iPad use I discovered just today: When I'm producing Highlights I can now load the magazine up on the iPad and keep it next to my iMac. No more moving windows around to fit the script and ProTools on my desktop, no more toggling back and forth. Another app I was told about (but forgot to include) is DropBox. Moving files from my desktop to the iPad is a breeze now! One more I'm exploring on a recommendation is SoundHound. Looks like a cool way to share audio blogs or work that I've done on Facebook, etc.
Thanks again!
Kara