Editing Your Voiceover Demo

 

You’ll need to start with a digital file. Your demo CD is in a format that allows it to be played on a stereo. You need to “rip it” to convert it to a wav file (Windows) or aiff file (Mac). CD burning software usually contains a ripper or you can find a shareware or freeware program online.

 

Open the Audacity program and select Project, Import Audio. Browse for the file and open it. When the file opens, you’ll see 2 tracks, one on top of the other. Click the green play button and start listening. Replay the section you want. Since there’s no way currently to mark the file as you are listening to it, there is some guesswork involved. Here’s what we suggest.

 

Highlight the portion you want to work on, but be generous. Include a little of the piece before and a little of the piece after. Go to Edit, Copy. Go to File, New. Paste the edited section into a new file.

 

 

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Use the Zoom In tool (magnifying glass with plus sign) to make closer edits. You’ll be able to zoom in so close you can actually see where one sound ends and the next begins. You can use fades to make your edits sound even smoother (Highlight a little piece of the beginning of a clip. Go to Effect, Fade In or Fade Out).

 

Now save the file in uncompressed format and close it. Go back to the original file and select another section. If you want to string 2 pieces together for one vocal style, it’s easy. First, edit one piece and save it as your Warm/Sincere read, for instance. When you copy the next section, instead of creating a new file, open the existing Warm/Sincere file. Put your cursor at the end of the edited piece. Choose Edit, Paste and continue the editing process.

 

When you are finished editing your demos, export them as MP3s and you can upload them to the website.