![]() ![]() SOME OF THEM RECORD FROM HOME.Īudiobook narration is traditionally done in a studio, but for narrators who have proven themselves in the industry, recording from home is an option. ![]() "An elderly woman with a severely hunched back and hands that flutter like a bird will sound very different than an elderly woman who was a prima ballerina in her youth and still keeps her hair pulled back in a perfect bun." 6. “I’m looking for whatever each character says about themselves or other characters, including their physical description, which affects how somebody sounds," she says. Gilbert also keeps an eye out for any description she can use to build characters when doing her first read. ![]() So if I can mark them so my eye sees them coming up, I don’t have to go back and say the line again." Accents, hard-to-pronounce words, and character names are other things narrators look for. "If I don’t know he whispered it until after I say the line then I’ve wasted time. One example is something LaVoy calls "active attributions"- "Like 'she said loudly,' or 'he screamed,' or 'she whispered,'" LaVoy explains. While skimming the text, narrators are searching for specific terms. No matter the time crunch, reading the book through at least once beforehand is essential. "I like to enjoy my reading in the studio as much as you would the first time you pick up a book." 4. "I’m not looking for shortcuts, but I don’t like to get bogged down in too much detail on the first read because then it’s not fresh when I come to it in the studio," says Simon Vance, winner of 14 Audie awards. This usually means giving the book a quick scan rather than an in-depth read. "It’s never predictable." If a last-minute assignment comes in, narrators may have to cram all their research into a single, caffeine-filled night. "The publishing world is fast, so we have to be ready to respond and make room in our schedule for what comes up," says Tavia Gilbert, who has recorded over 500 audiobooks. Sometimes audiobook narrators are given a few weeks to study the material and plan out their performance, but that's a best-case scenario. THEY MIGHT GET ONLY ONE NIGHT TO PREPARE. In addition to recognizing outstanding audiobooks across genres, there are Audies for best narration by the author, best narration performed by multiple voiceover artists, and best individual female and male narrators of the year. THE AUDIOBOOK INDUSTRY HAS ITS OWN OSCARS.Įach year, the Audio Publishers Association hosts the Audie Awards to honor the best in the industry. She says jokingly, "Doing an audiobook is like being in a play where finally everyone says their lines right." 2. She initially made connections in the audiobook world through her work as a theater actress, but after getting more involved in the audiobook industry, she found that narration has some advantages over acting on stage. “I had never owned an audiobook, listened to an audiobook, or thought about it as a job,” says January LaVoy, a voiceover artist who's narrated books by James Patterson, John Grisham, and Libba Bray. Several of the audiobook narrators we spoke to started out at the theater, not in a recording booth. Mental Floss spoke with a few industry professionals to learn about what it takes to excel at the job-including their diligent voice-care regimens, the one thing they always look for during research, and the spoilers they sometimes get from authors. The recent boom in audiobooks means that the voiceover artists who bring them to life are especially busy. Contrary to the old idea that audiobooks are “cheating,” scientists say that listening to your literature stimulates the brain just as much as reading it does. New technology has made it easy to listen to large audio files on the go, and the resulting surge in listeners has helped the format slough off some of the stigma of decades past. Once associated with dusty library cassette tapes, audiobooks are more popular than ever. ![]()
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