It's a familiar scenario...
A client has organised a directed session so they can offer live feedback while I record.
Normally, directed sessions are booked in 1 hour blocks.
But a LOT of scripts don't take 1 hour to record.
They take a few minutes to read -
3-4 takes plus chat is 30 minutes tops.
And this is when 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗘𝗗* can happen...
(*𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 - 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶)
The client thinks they've got what they want.
But they still have session time to 'use up'.
So we end up recording more takes...
Really, just for the sake of it 🤷♂️
The thing is - this can be the 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗧 thing to do.
Too many takes =
❌ Too many options to navigate which are all essentially the same.
𝙊𝙍
❌ Lots of takes done wildly different for the sake of it which were never going to be be viable.
And all because the client wanted to use the studio time they'd paid for.
So my solution?
On c͟e͟r͟t͟a͟i͟n͟ projects, I suggest a 'split session'.
If a client is confident that they have what they need, any time left over in the session can be used in the future for pick ups/revisions.
So if we've taken 40 minutes - that means there's 20 minutes 'in the pocket' should a line need tweaking once the VO is in place.
Now like I said - this is project dependent.
And I also establish a time frame for such an offer.
But it's a different way of utilising the benefit of my home studio.
I don't have to 'rehire' a space for a pick up session.
I don't have to travel to an external studio.
I just have to press record again.
Since beginning to offer this, it's proven very useful -
particularly for clients not that used to working with voice actors.
They're not so concerned about having missed something.
Which means the session itself is often more focused.
What's a change you've made to improve customer service?
By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor