CVAP Journey - Step 2: Explore Your Voice

 Hey, Voicemates! I'm delighted to see you here again. In this post, I can't wait to share some exciting new content with you. Prepare to have a great time as we explore our voices together. So grab a cup of your favorite drink, sit back, and join me as I relate the events and lessons I've learned throughout my second week of CVAP. 

That week was quite eventful. We even went later than 5 p.m. compared to the first week, but don't get me wrong. Every second was definitely worth it, as our minds were brimming with informative lessons!

The morning session was primarily technical. Sir Bryan, our trainer, presented us with the basic equipment required for professional voiceovers. He even recommended some of the better ones available, which I believe will be beneficial to individuals who have not yet purchased such equipment or who want to upgrade theirs.

The Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW, is software that allows one to record, edit, and produce audio files. He taught us how to navigate through two of the most popular DAWs: Adobe Audition and Audacity. Prior to CVAP, I was already familiar with Audacity, which is the most popular free DAW among voice artists online. And in this session, I was excited to learn more about how to use the program to make my recordings sound more professional. But that is not all! The coolest part of the morning session for me was when our trainer took us on a virtual tour of the CreatiVoices Studio. I've never been to a high-quality, professional recording studio, and this tour allowed us to experience the world of voice acting from the comfort of our own homes.

After the technical aspects, we learned about niche (/nēSH/). A niche is a location, occupation, status, or activity to which a person or item is most fitting. Therefore, in the voice industry, it is the kind of voice best suited for a voice artist. Is our voice suitable for voiceovers, such as radio and television ads or public service announcements? Is our voice suited for voice acting in radio dramas or dubbing? These questions bring us back to self-awareness. We reflected on questions such as what kind of voice we have, which characters we can do, what types of projects we frequently work on, and which ones we actually enjoy doing. Even as I pondered these questions, I had to come up with a specific answer. I'm glad Sir Bryan advised us to explore the different types since we're just getting started. Sooner or later, we will find our niche, just as we discovered the purpose of our voice.

The afternoon session, like the morning session, was packed with useful material that would help us find our niche. Papa Lem, the head trainer of CVAP, helped us develop our voices and find out what we could do with them. He shared with us Sir Choy's formula for creating a variety of voices. He gave us various lines and asked us to read them to them using different elements of voice. As we were doing the exercises, I found myself having so much fun that I volunteered to do them as much as I could. I held back, though, to give the others the chance to show our voicemates what they got. I was glad to see that there were others who were as eager as me to explore their voices.