It was a close call.
Have you ever left your car parked for several days and then tried to start it, especially if it were a cold morning? A little slow out of the gate and a tad rough, but after idling some it smooths out. Hold that thought...
That's how yesterday's shoot started. I hadn't used my voice, for all practical purposes, for a few days...oh, sure, a few tests here and there, but as I drove up in the increasing fog and rain with the elevation change, there was undeniable swelling in my throat. Among myriad items I made a little bottle of salt water that I first used at 8:30a. I pulled over on a turn-out, got out of the car, and snorted saltwater up each nostril, as that seemed to best get to the swelling around the vocal cords. It wasn't pretty or neat, but there was no one around to see it, except maybe a deer or a squirrel off to the side.
I always carry a 'shoot' bag which has everything from make-up, ear prompter, scripts, directions, and for the day a veritable apothecary of items: herbal teas, honey, lemon, Chloraseptic spray, lozenges, Advil, Kickapoo Joy Juice, Vick's Vaporub, pseudoephedrine, a couple of packets of TheraFlu, and that saltwater...just wanted it all available in case I needed it.
I arrived at the factory and began small talk with the director, meeting the photographer and his assistant, etc. So far 'okay'...I'd never met or worked with any of them, so for all they knew that was my normal voice. I did mention up front that my 'allergies' had been giving me fits...you have to be careful how much info you throw out and go with the flow.
As luck would have it, the first scene we filmed was in the production room where floor cleaning chemicals were auto-loaded into containers, labeled, and boxed, an elaborate array of conveyor belts and fascinating machines that did the work. It made for a good bit of ambient noise in the background...instead of a boom mic, they used a lavaliere mic on my shirt, and the room-noise helped mask my voice a little. I was pleased that my voice got a tad better as I practiced, and like the 'sitting car' paragraph above, my voice improved just enough where I was not as worried as before. Mind you, it was far from 'normal', but I felt I could make it work.
For given scenes you do multiple 'takes' as they tweak camera and light positions, background conditions, and re-takes when I flub a word. Ah, yes...they had NO teleprompter and did not communicate that in advance, which is exactly why in the acting world you HAVE to be prepared for anything if you want more work. Nobody likes a drama-mama on set. The shoot would have been sunk had I not taken my ear prompter kit...and so I quietly put it on, laid down my tracks on the recorder as we did each scene, and the ship sailed, as they say.
After a scene was completed, there was always a lag time of 15 minutes or more to shift locations and reset the equipment. After the first scene, my voice was dry and scratchy, and I went to the very thing I brought that I knew would fit the situation perfectly: the Kickapoo Joy Juice. Not available on store shelves, Saddle Pals, just the ingredients...I made up a small bottle of my honey, lemon, and Rock & Rye, and a quick little swig burned and coated my throat in a good way. Quick, easy, and looked like ice tea...desperate times require desperate measures, and that combo worked, along with swigging water with a goodly amount of lemon juice after the Kickapoo.
Bottom line, I made it through the day well enough...being my own worst critic, I know it was not my best work by far, but the client was happy and that's what always matters most. Too, a HUGE help was the decision the client made to handle the mountain of voice-over work this coming Monday in a sound studio, which is fun and relatively easy work as I don't mess with wardrobe. The voice will be fine, and I'll be in my slouch clothes, and the client will be happy once again.
Possibly one of the best things about yesterday, though, was that I slept through the night for a solid 7-8 hours, which for me is a rare thing of late. Now if I can only get Mercy to go out in the rain this morning....!
Have you ever left your car parked for several days and then tried to start it, especially if it were a cold morning? A little slow out of the gate and a tad rough, but after idling some it smooths out. Hold that thought...
That's how yesterday's shoot started. I hadn't used my voice, for all practical purposes, for a few days...oh, sure, a few tests here and there, but as I drove up in the increasing fog and rain with the elevation change, there was undeniable swelling in my throat. Among myriad items I made a little bottle of salt water that I first used at 8:30a. I pulled over on a turn-out, got out of the car, and snorted saltwater up each nostril, as that seemed to best get to the swelling around the vocal cords. It wasn't pretty or neat, but there was no one around to see it, except maybe a deer or a squirrel off to the side.
I always carry a 'shoot' bag which has everything from make-up, ear prompter, scripts, directions, and for the day a veritable apothecary of items: herbal teas, honey, lemon, Chloraseptic spray, lozenges, Advil, Kickapoo Joy Juice, Vick's Vaporub, pseudoephedrine, a couple of packets of TheraFlu, and that saltwater...just wanted it all available in case I needed it.
I arrived at the factory and began small talk with the director, meeting the photographer and his assistant, etc. So far 'okay'...I'd never met or worked with any of them, so for all they knew that was my normal voice. I did mention up front that my 'allergies' had been giving me fits...you have to be careful how much info you throw out and go with the flow.
As luck would have it, the first scene we filmed was in the production room where floor cleaning chemicals were auto-loaded into containers, labeled, and boxed, an elaborate array of conveyor belts and fascinating machines that did the work. It made for a good bit of ambient noise in the background...instead of a boom mic, they used a lavaliere mic on my shirt, and the room-noise helped mask my voice a little. I was pleased that my voice got a tad better as I practiced, and like the 'sitting car' paragraph above, my voice improved just enough where I was not as worried as before. Mind you, it was far from 'normal', but I felt I could make it work.
For given scenes you do multiple 'takes' as they tweak camera and light positions, background conditions, and re-takes when I flub a word. Ah, yes...they had NO teleprompter and did not communicate that in advance, which is exactly why in the acting world you HAVE to be prepared for anything if you want more work. Nobody likes a drama-mama on set. The shoot would have been sunk had I not taken my ear prompter kit...and so I quietly put it on, laid down my tracks on the recorder as we did each scene, and the ship sailed, as they say.
After a scene was completed, there was always a lag time of 15 minutes or more to shift locations and reset the equipment. After the first scene, my voice was dry and scratchy, and I went to the very thing I brought that I knew would fit the situation perfectly: the Kickapoo Joy Juice. Not available on store shelves, Saddle Pals, just the ingredients...I made up a small bottle of my honey, lemon, and Rock & Rye, and a quick little swig burned and coated my throat in a good way. Quick, easy, and looked like ice tea...desperate times require desperate measures, and that combo worked, along with swigging water with a goodly amount of lemon juice after the Kickapoo.
Bottom line, I made it through the day well enough...being my own worst critic, I know it was not my best work by far, but the client was happy and that's what always matters most. Too, a HUGE help was the decision the client made to handle the mountain of voice-over work this coming Monday in a sound studio, which is fun and relatively easy work as I don't mess with wardrobe. The voice will be fine, and I'll be in my slouch clothes, and the client will be happy once again.
Possibly one of the best things about yesterday, though, was that I slept through the night for a solid 7-8 hours, which for me is a rare thing of late. Now if I can only get Mercy to go out in the rain this morning....!
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