[NOTE: this blog requires a response to a question buried several paragraphs below]
The call to do a substantial narration project began while I was at VOICE 2008. Of course!
Could an important and lengthy job like this come at a time when you can utilize your own comfortably-arranged private studio?
Heck no!
Ah, but I'd come prepared! Laptop, USB mic, pre-amp, mic stand…all the appropriate cords, cables, editing software…heck, I even brought a printer.
Long hours into the night I worked on the project…every night I was in LA. Then, a week later, vacationing at a friend's cabin at Lake Tahoe, more copy. Again, I was prepared with my handy Zoom H4 portable recorder.
Since then, I've been called-upon to "augment" the narration… you know…"re-do's". That's been a challenge, 'cause while my portable set-up is more than adequate by most standards, it doesn't match the really fine quality of my home studio.
So, in a sense, I've had to "dumb-down" my subsequent re-do's to match the sound of my portable rig.
Now, here it is 60 days later, and I've done, what?….12-14 re-do's. The client is very picky. The copy is VERY technical, and the country of origin is India, where they certainly know how things should be pronounced in English…right? (I kid).
Actually, it's not the words "deffuzification" or even "802.11n" that are the hang-up. I've done 4 re-do's alone on the proper pronunciation of the name "Zadeh" (they can't seem to settle on how it should be said).
So here's my question: do you have a pat formula to charge for re-do's? If so, what is it? Some re-do's have been several pages in length, some several paragraphs, and some just a sentence or two. I like this client. I'd like to stay his client…. but this is turning into quite the monument.
I'd appreciate any wisdom you'd like to impart, and I may even compile the responses in a future blog.
Thanks!
CourVO
