Monday, May 18, 2009

Dreaded Audio

Some of you might recall that I am a technical writer for a software company. I write training manuals. Well, lately we've been on a big push to convert our instructor-led training to e-learning, so it's been a zoo. Four new softwares to learn, a whole different perspective on learning/etc. And then last week, the most dreaded moment of all - recording audio.

I am one of those people who absolutely HATES hearing my recorded voice. I am also one of those people who will swear and be damn that I do NOT really sound like that. So what if my company spent a million dollars building a recording studio, and the microphone alone cost more than I make in a month.....that's still not how I sound, I swear!

So I head to one of the sound booths on recording day, ready to just get it over with. That wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. First off, my allergies are simply horrid right now and they give me asthma. So I was in the sound booth with coffee and chapstick. Also, I found that standing straight gives me more air in more lungs, but standing for a long time leaves me just as short of breath. Some of the audio sounded like an x-rated phone call.

Then there was the group of people who thought the RECORDING STUDIO was a great place to have a staff meeting - a loud staff meeting. Yeah, the fact that none of them had card access and that the room was labeled RECORDING STUDIO shouldn't have filled them in on the fact that hey, maybe, just maybe, someone was RECORDING! Idiots. I had to go get the audio guru to change all my settings to screen them out.

But then hammer guy started. Yeah, they're doing build-out on the floor above me. What are the odds, right? And of course, dude started hammering every single time I was in the middle of a long paragraph. And not just hammering - hammering each nail at least five times - right above my head. C'mon, people. This is a corporate building. It's made of steel and sheetrock and cheap cabinetry. No one should take five hits to get a nail into sheetrock or cheap cabinets. Heck, my cat can pull a nail out of sheetrock with her paw and she doesn't even have claws. So I'd tried recording the same slide five times and almost got done when hammering dude started again. I lost it and yelled "get a nail gun, you weakling."

The people having the meeting were amused. Hammer dude probably wasn't, but I don't care.

So what about you....do you like your voice on tape?

Deadly DeLeon

16 comments:

LuAnn said...

That is too, too funny. I don't really think much about my voice on audio one way or another. I do, however, have an aversion to e-books in general. I can't sit still that long, so when I'm trying to listen, I get distracted and before you know it, I don't remember a durn thing I just heard!

Caroline said...

LOL! Very entertaining!

I don’t much like my own voice either. But, I don’t do much to have it recorded so I guess I can’t complain.

Thanks for lightening up my morning.

~Caroline

Keri Ford said...

There was an episode of NCIS where they were talking about voices, ect. I dont' remember all the details, but according to Abby, how sound recorded is really NOT how you sound in person. (she said a lot of stuff that back up her statement)

And since, ya know it was on tv and all, it's probably true :O)

Estella said...

I hate my recorded voice. It makes me sound about 5 years old.

Tori Lennox said...

LOL! That sounds like something from a sitcom. :)

And I hate my recorded voice too.

LuAnn said...

Whoops! I meant to say "audio books."

Refhater said...

LMAO!

I hate hearing my voice on tape. I think it makes me sound like Fran Drescher from the Nanny TV show.

Jana DeLeon said...

LuAnn - I can only listen to ebooks in a car. And even then, I tend to start thinking about something and zone out.

Jana DeLeon said...

You're welcome, Caroline! Glad I could entertain you on a Monday. God knows, we usually need it!

Jana DeLeon said...

Keri - Well, if Abby says so then it must be true. That girl give anal-retentive a whole new meaning. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. :)

Jana DeLeon said...

Estella - that probably wouldn't work for adult learning. But I think I sound like a total hick. I threatened to do a Jeff Foxworthy version that went something like (suck snot up nose) "now, what we gonna do is poke this here button on the computer"

Jana DeLeon said...

Tori - I would love to sell an idea for a sitcom, but I can't imagine writing that much humor that quickly every single week. Those people on SNL amaze me.

Jana DeLeon said...

LOL - Luann - me too!!!!! Lord help, it's Monday all day.

Terry S said...

A million dollars to build a recording studio that didn't include heavy duty sound proofing???? I'd be looking for an embezzler myself.

Hate to hear my own voice but gotta tell you, audio books sure make all those mundane chores around the house and yard much more positive experiences. How much better for me to be entertained instead of thinking how much I HATE what I'm doing. That alone helps with my procrastination problem for those chores.

Becky LeJeune said...

I can't stand my recorded voice. What's worse, when talking to machines, I tend to ramble so I hate leaving messages even more.

Jana DeLeon said...

Yuck Refhater! I wouldn't want to sound like the nanny either. Now, built like her....whole other story.