The Wonderful World of Audiobooks with James Romick
"I consider Voiceover as the 4th or 5th Phase of my 40+ year acting career. But never in my wildest imagination did I ever think that I would be recording and producing AudioBooks at home in my den from a vocal booth that I designed and built myself, stocked with some professional grade recording equipment and a spiffy DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) on my computer. But thus far, I have recorded and produced some 60+ AudioBooks with many more waiting in the queue.
While I do not, by any measure, claim to be an expert in the field. I have fairly successfully navigated the pitfalls and reaped the rewards of producing AudioBooks from my home studio. Make no mistake, AudioBook Narration and Production is a marathon, not a sprint. And, quite frankly, it is not for everyone. It not only takes time, effort, energy, patience, technique and vocal stamina, but also a financial commitment to obtain the best recording equipment, training and coaching that your budget will allow.
So, before you go out there to order your $10K StudioBricks Vocal Booth, or go to B&H and for that $3600 Neumann U87 Ai Condenser Microphone and that $300 Audient iD14 Audio Interface, and sign up for that $80 per month Subscription for ProTools, and spend bundles more on private coaching and classes, come and get an idea of whether AudioBook Recording and Production is really right for you." - James Romick
ALL LEVELS WELCOME!
PLEASE NOTE: This is a lecture only. No readings will take place.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
James Romick - After paying his dues performing in Dinner Theatres, Regional Theatres and Stock Theatres in the Midwest and up and down the I-95 Corridor from Maine to Miami, doing extra work and small roles in numerous films and on TV, studying audio engineering at the Institute of Audio Research here in NYC, and performing on Broadway for nearly 23 years, James has settled into semi-retirement at his home in New Jersey.
“For me, voiceover sort of came in through the back door. When I came to NYC back in 1980, there were only a handful of guys making a living at VO, and it was still that ‘big announcer’ style. Making a demo was expensive. Cassettes and duplication services were not cheap either. And there weren’t as many opportunities as there are today. So, I stuck to the live stage.”
“Now, with the advent of relatively inexpensive recording equipment, computers, software and the like, nearly anyone can dabble at being a VO artist. I’m pretty handy at basic construction, so I built myself a small home studio recording booth, outfitted it and dove in. Now I’m doing something I never thought I’d be doing in a million years. AudioBooks. 60+ and counting."
