This Month’s Interview is with Kevin Redson, Guest Narrator

Welcome back, everyone. I am very pleased to say that this month, in place of a Guest Author, we have a Guest Narrator. Not any narrator either; Kevin Redson is the talented individual who voiced my book, ‘Wakeful Children: A Collection of Horror and Supernatural Tales on Audible! Check it out if you want to hear Kevin’s voice in action, so to speak! (No pun intended.)

So, while we have a professional narrator in our company, let’s find out a bit more …

1.Welcome, Kevin. Can you tell us where you are based, please?

I live in Lower Earley, a lovely little suburb just outside of Reading, Berkshire.

2. What sort of recording set-up do you have? Are you in a studio or in a built for purpose area in your own home? Something else altogether? Is it expensive getting started?

Thankfully it wasn’t too expensive for me to set myself up! I currently record in a home office, which presents all sorts of challenges when it comes to maintaining a quiet enough environment for professional-sounding audio. I’ve learned a great deal in the past couple of years about editing to remove background noise!

I’m actually in the process of moving house at the moment, into a slightly larger place, and I’m hoping I can convince my wife to let me set up a proper recording booth somewhere out of the way, to improve the quality of my work further.

I currently use a pretty standard HP laptop, since the computer itself isn’t a major factor for voice acting at this level, and I only have so much money! The microphone, however, is where the real work happens. I use an Audio-Technica cardioid condenser microphone running through a Behringer Phantom power supply, which now sounds much more technical than I intended. Since getting started, I’ve added a pop filter to avoid any ear-destroying plosives. Learned that lesson pretty quickly!

3. Did you have any sort of professional training before becoming a narrator?

None whatsoever, although the more I do this work, the more I wish I had. There are a lot of recording and editing skills that I’ve had to teach myself, which has taken rather a long time. I don’t necessarily regret how I’ve done things – the skills I now have really  feel earned – but I can’t help thinking how much quicker I could have gotten started down this path with some guidance.

4. What drew you to this occupation?

When I was younger, I actually wanted your job, to be a writer! While I never quite managed that, one thing I’ve always been is a voracious reader.

Another great passion of mine is animated film and TV, and I’ve always admired voice actors like Frank Welker, Tara Strong and Peter Cullen. As I learned more about the industry behind those iconic voices, I got it into my head that maybe some day I could be a part of it.

I’ve often been told in my day-to-day life that I have a voice for radio (or sometimes bingo announcing) and the more people told me that, the more I started to believe they weren’t just being polite. So, during a long-term leave of absence from my day job for medical reasons, my wife got fed up with me hanging around the house, and told me to just go for it! Excellent advice, and one of the best, most enjoyable decisions I’ve ever made.

I also don’t hate the sound of my own voice in recordings, which is an enormous boon!

5. In your experience, what is the most enjoyable part about narrating?

It’s going to sound a little maudlin, but I think it’s  the sense of happiness I feel from the authors upon hearing their work out loud. As I mentioned before, I’m no writer myself, so adapting the written word to spoken lets me still be a part of that story-telling process.

6. To follow on from that last question, what is the worst part about narrating?

The editing, hands down. I have so much respect for people who do that job full time, because listening to the same line repeated ten time with slightly different pacing or inflections can be absolutely maddening at times. Totally worth it when you hear the finished product, of course, but I had no idea just how much time and effort gets poured into getting from several rough takes with all sorts of background noise and clipped audio to a polished sound.

7. Do you use your voice in any other professional capacity? For example, acting, singing and so on.

Professionally? No. But I do love a karaoke night! I’ve toyed with the idea of acting, to be sure, but I’m concerned that my voice isn’t the only thing that’s really just made for radio.

8. Is there any particular piece of work that you would love to narrate, given the chance?

Big question... The dream would be The Lord of the Rings, but having listened to Andy Serkis’ version, I don’t think I’d do it justice. I’ve always loved Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, so if anyone ever offered me an opportunity to produce one of those, I’d probably pay them to let me!

9. Do you find accents challenging, or do you enjoy doing them?

I’d have to answer that on a case-by-case basis, I think. I’ve done some work which featured a very international cast, and looking back, the accent work had...varied results. I love any opportunity I have to work in a Scottish accent, my grandmother was from Edinburgh, and maintained a very strong accent even after decades in England, so I’ve always got the memory of her to pull from.

I’m always thrilled when I get a chance to put on a French or German accent. I’ve studied both languages and had many friends from those countries, and I can’t help but think of them and smile whenever it comes up.

I have learned, after innumerable attempts, that I cannot for the life of me nail down an Irish accent. Any attempt I make is an embarrassment to me, the Irish people, and the entire voice acting profession, so I avoid it like the plague!

10. Are you choosy about which genre you narrate? Is there any genre you would never consider narrating?

So far I’ve made forays into both spy thrillers and your own horror stories, and while there are obvious differences between them, there are also a lot of transferable skills. I’ve enjoyed both for different reasons, but I must admit the pacing and atmosphere of horror have been quite intoxicating, so if I had to pick a favourite...

I’m not sure I’d dismiss an opportunity to explore any particular genre out of hand, but I think there are some areas where perhaps my voice doesn’t necessarily fit the expected tone, so that would, I think, be more where my limitations would lie.

11. You must use your voice a lot! How do you ‘look after’ it?

I do, and recording days can be pretty brutal on the throat.

Proper hydration is absolutely key, I often have several glasses, mugs and bottles around me when in session, to avoid unnecessary trips out of the room. Beyond that, taking time to rest is important, including during recording sessions. An hour or two of constant talking is surprisingly tiring!

Your posture is surprisingly relevant, which is something I didn’t necessarily realise until I got started in this industry. I also didn’t realise how bad mine was! Proper posture can optimise your breathing, leading to a better sound and a much more comfortable time recording.

 Warm-ups are vital too, to avoid straining your voice. They can sound pretty ridiculous, and occasionally I’ll record them just to listen back to at the end of a long session and laugh at.

12 What would you define as being the absolute must-have piece of equipment for anyone starting out in narrating?

Beyond the obvious – a computer and a good, reliable microphone – a comfortable chair is my most vital piece of equipment. I don’t currently have room for a proper microphone stand, so my mic is firmly fixed to my desk. As a result, every time I record or edit, I’m going to be in that chair for a long time, and back pain is the last thing I want to worry about.

13. Where can we find you? Leave your social media links below so that people can like and follow.

I can be found on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557441160510

And on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kmredson?igsh=MWN6ZmU3ZDhtcDZmbQ==

14. Someone asked me this in an interview once and I thought it was a brilliant, funny question. I have repeated it only a couple of times myself, so now I am going to ask it of you. If there was an action figure made in your likeness, what three things would it have to feature to be a true representation? (Have fun with this one!)

Ah, the *real* question.

1.        A t-shirt with something vaguely amusing and intensely geeky written on it.

2.        A hat – either a baseball cap or a loose-fit beanie. I guess if it’s an action figure that comes with accessories , why not both?

3.        Prominent eyebrows.

I’ll admit, I struggled more with this question than probably any of the others. I actually asked my wife for input, and she insisted on the third one, as it wouldn’t be recognisable as me without them!

Thank you so much for joining us Kevin. It has been interesting finding out about the writing and reading world from a slightly different perspective. I look forward to working with you again some time in the future. I truly love how you narrated Wakeful Children.

For anyone interested in hearing the book, it is available on Audible. If you would prefer to read it, is also available on Amazon Kindle.

Thanks everyone. Take care and remember: a book in the hand is worth ten in the tbr pile!