Anything Can Happen in a Recording Session

I woke up in the morning expecting to do some writing, teach a voice lesson and have a coffee meeting. Instead I ended up trying to help an Italian politician I never heard of get the women’s vote. Oh well, that’s the life of a voice talent!

I got a call to do a voice over gig!...that day...in Italian (or maybe not. They weren’t sure yet)...and no idea what the content or project type was..and oh yeah, it was to take place an hour after I received the call. Phew. This business moves fast!

 “No problem!” I said. And why not? Here was someone offering me work in my chosen profession. What a fantastic opportunity!  And to top it all off, the call came from a production company I admire and have been dying to work with. I didn’t even consider turning them down.

 Off to the recording session I went!

I ran to the subway and then to the studio as fast as I could. Somehow, though, I remained calm. No, I didn’t get a chance to research the client (I didn’t even know who the client or product was). No, I didn’t know what language I would be recording in, but no big deal. I’m a go-with-the-flow kind of person right? I can roll with the punches alongside the best of ‘em.

Into the studio I go. Big smile on my face. 

“Thanks so much for bringing me in. I’m excited to get started!”

“Great! We are glad to have you. Here’s the copy. Please translate this into Italian.”

“...”

“The client sent it in English but they want it recorded in Italian.”

“...”

“Of course, they will pay you extra.”

“Hmmm I’ve never been asked to do that before. Oh well, I’ll give it a shot!”

I speak Italian, but translating on paper is a whole new ball game. People go to school just for that you know. I’m not one of those people. But no one at the studio seemed concerned, so I figured I won’t be either. 

I translated as quickly and as accurately as I could. I looked over the piece once. The client patched into the studio and we got started. 

Somehow, after all the craziness, the client was extremely pleased with my work. A victory right? Well, sort of...

Here is what I learned from my Monday:

1. I didn’t ask questions when I should have for fear of looking unprepared or unprofessional. I would go back and change that if I could. It was a successful session, but I still worried over it all night because I didn’t clarify certain things.
2. I was recording in Italian, yet no one involved in the session spoke Italian but me. This is how it is sometimes, and that’s ok. Prepare as much as you can and then just go with it.
3. Even if you are fluent in a language, if you are asked to do work in that language bring a dictionary. In this case I wasn’t positive I would be recording in Italian, and I certainly didn’t anticipate translating, but it would have been a good idea to bring the dictionary just in case.
4. I took my time and breathed through the whole experience. The absolute best thing I could have done for myself. As a result, I still achieved everything I hoped to that day, strengthened my relationship with an important production company, and made money I hadn’t planned on. 

Expect the unexpected. I get it now.

 

--Rachel F. Hirsch