One of the most enjoyable voiceovers I ever did was an online calculus course for Cengage Learning. I spent maybe 60 hours recording things like:
[audio:http://heatherannehenderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ELearningCalculusSample.mp3|titles=ELearningCalculusSample]At the time I was doing this job, my father was very ill, and my siblings and I were sharing the care of him. I’d go into each session and concentrate on making sure that Y = 2 ÷ (5 + z) didn’t sound like Y = (2 ÷ 5) + z . . . and for awhile, my worry and stress were forgotten.
A recording booth is many things to me. It’s where I earn a living, of course, but it’s more than just the gig. It’s a place of intense concentration and creativity, a place where I work hard and love what I’m doing. It energizes and centers me, and the hours fly.
(What’s not to love when you get to do ads like this?) [audio:http://heatherannehenderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/MeadowviewYogurt4.mp3]
When I’m in my home studio, especially, I lose all sense of time, because I can’t hear the noises that anchor me to the rhythms of an ordinary day. Garbage trucks will come and go; the UPS guy might tromp the front steps; my husband will come home from work, fix dinner, and watch the game . . . and I’m oblivious. (Well, except for the rugby World Cup — I’m watching those games right alongside him! But I digress.)
I glance at the clock on my monitor and it’s 3 PM; I glance again, and it’s 8.
My booth is so insulated, in fact, that if someone knocks on the door I usually jump out of my shoes. I now ask friends and family to text instead (e.g., “I’m standing outside your door”) — it still startles me, but less!
So to all my lovely clients who appreciate that I make money and/or art for them: let me assure you that the pleasure is mutual. And to my husband, who built me my rockin’ home studio: I promise I’ll finish in time tonight to fix you dinner and catch the the NZ-Australia semifinal.
How about you, dear readers? Where is your time machine — what makes the hours fly?
