I have practiced this since seeing this video. I had a client who in the middle of a session said they wanted to have another spot redone. I told them lets try it out real quick to see if you like it. they told me they didn't have the script. I told them to play me the original track and record this take. got it done the first try. They were impressed had me do another spot then and there. So while landing one gig I booked two more because of this so I want to thank you for posting this. It has added another tool to my arsenal.
Being a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) I liken this to interpreting for my parents. Having to listen to a person speak, while simultaneously signing the words. Although they are similar -I feel like what you did is a bit more complicated. I’m very impressed! ❤️
This technique is called "shadowing." Interpreters use it to practice their memory for improving the skill of simultaneous interpreting. It's challenging at first but once you practice it's gets easier.
Mike, I did radio and voiceover work for 24 years, and I am thoroughly impressed! I know exactly how difficult simultaneous listening and speaking is. VERY! It takes considerable timing, concentration, and a great amount of confidence in your own delivery. However, I can well understand that people outside the business don't know that.
Yes that is very challenging and I dont think I could do it. But We the audience hear 2 voices and get very confused because we are simultaneously playing back the words in our heads subconciously. My theory is that we thr audience then proceed to get confused because we are tryimg to listen tp the demo listen to Mike AND interpet these words at the same time, whilst Mike only had to listen and Repeat. Its confusing and props to Mike that seems very challenging but it may beeasier than we may think.
hes also speaking the words he just listened to while the new phrases are playing in his ear. so hes is outputting as hes inputting but its different material on each end.
Ear prompter work for voiceover work - exactly! Saves time, money etc. Takes a TON of practice but if one has what it takes to do ear prompter work, one must go for it! Gotta LOVE Mike Rowe! You ROCK Mike!
I love doing this. Makes people freak out. Another handy thing this talent can be used for is holding the phone to your ear and reading out the pizza specials while listening to a message, or live list of deals. Sometimes the live operator stops and I say, "Talk over me. Just read me all the special in a row. My phone's speaker volume isn't good enough, but I'm loud enough." BTW, Toronto Rogers Cell phone folks, 2004-2005, you have heard my voice. I was the greeting-guy on the messages
When I talk to my Dad on the phone, because he wears a hearing aid, he puts me on "speaker". For some reason, when my Dad does this I hear a clear, loud echo of my own voice about 1/2 second later. I find it EXTREMELY difficult to talk while listening to myself talking 1/2 second earlier. I have absolutely no idea how Mike Rowe can do this so flawlessly. I imagine a U.N. translator must have this same ability.
I used to work at large scale trade shows, and the industrial actors we hired had little tape recorders in their pockets, and a pause button that ran to their hands, in case something broke the continuity (Like a drunk guy asking the actor/ newly minted chemist a question that needed to be responded to before the show could go on.) I maintain to this day, that this is an impossible task. I'm with Kristen, my mind was blown then, as it is now. Well done Mike!
Excellent tutorial of how it's done. I sometimes do the same while driving and listening to spots on the radio. You can practice almost anywhere, except when I'm on my motorcycle in traffic. LOL loud pipes!
The difficulty level of talking over a scratch track is unbelievably difficult. I guess that’s why this makes this video so amazing. The amount of training and experience that Mike has is incredible. I, even with practice, don’t think I could achieve what Mike just did here. It’s like being a human tape recorder or machine. First time seeing the scratch tracks being made with a voice over. Pretty cool
I'm South African, I've been doing radio for 16 years and I do voice over work too, I'm the only person I know,a part from well you mike, that can also do that, just the way you did
I work in radio and when i was first starting to learn how to voice commercials this is basically how i would practice. Whilst driving to work i would switch stations and always have commercials going. I would listen to each sentence and then try repeat it back with the same pace and energy levels and such. As i would be speaking the next line would be of course going to air so you would have to remember that at the same time. Found it a great way to learn.
"I'm not convinced it's anything special..." I wouldn't call it special either. It's tough for sure, but not uncommon. Every language interpreter has to learn how to do this with the added challenge of translating every word you repeat to a different language in real time. One drill we had to do was to just repeat the source language recording without translating it, letting the recording run as long as possible before we repeated it while simultaneously counting down from 100 to 1 in written form on a notepad. I guess it was supposed to train our memory and multitasking skills.
Hell, while this still confused me, ive been practising atleast isolation single voices and talking over a larger number of people for years now. I spend alot of time sitting in voicechat with anywhere from 5 to 10 people and often there are 2, sometimes 3 conversations happening at once and somehow we learned to just talk through each other even though we hear everyone talking out of the same speaker at the same volume.
I haven't done this, but I have become adapt at letting the words on the script go through my eyes, bypass my brain and go straight out of my mouth! I used this for a petroleum industry website that explains what are the equipment names.
That was awesome- I don't think I could be able to do that. Best voice on TV- Love Dirty Jobs and love Deadliest Catch (I wouldn't love DC without Mr. Rowe narrating).
Hey Mike, I teach Radio and TV Announcing at my alma mater and am just about to teach ear prompter. A student of mine forwarded this link so I could see it and possibly share it with the class. Of course I was thrilled he was doing any research on my upcoming topic and then I watched and loved how you demonstrate it. I usually do the demo live in my class which of course I will still do but I will accompany that with this video. Thanks for putting it out there!
Repeated the tape WHILE it was playing. I was personally actually pretty amazed, as I thought this was impossible. Then I tried it and it's actually pretty darn easy.
It saves time because the video is already made to voice cues, as you can see the keywords light up when he speaks them. It would take awhile for him to fit his voice to the already set cues, where it would be easier the other way around, so he just matches his cues to the other guy's. It's also pretty hard to talk while someone else is talking in your ears.
Mike - I'm going to take a stab and say that's a skill you picked up while woodshedding. It's a very useful one that I never thought would apply in this biz. I'll have to practice mine a bit. BTW - thanks for being the archetype that so many CD's are referencing now-days, it makes my job a little bit easier... :)
When doing voice overs, its much slower to have to read whats on paper and figure out the tone its supposed to be said, then go back and record it. Its much quicker to record it as he's hearing it. He can possibly record the entire thing at once. He gets the idea of the tone immediately, and because hes used to the world of voice overs, can even identify when a different tone might fit better than how the "demo" voice is saying it. Its all done on the fly, so it saves time.
My wife is a speech pathologist and she says this technique is called delayed auditory feedback. It's used as a treatment for stuttering. I'm sure Mike doesn't stutter much. Such a pro with a great voice!
I used to work on a phone help desk and had no major issues with the jammer, just a couple pauses in a one minute test. It's not that hard for people who have to deal with crappy phone lines with lots of echo.
I’m sure most will agree that a voice capable of keeping someone’s attention is one where the speaker ANNUNCIATES their words and keeps a consistent volume. There is nothing more distracting than a speaker that garbles the end of a sentence because they’ve run out of air. Don’t be lazy, take another breath and continue. Who remembers Don Pardo ?? He was the best !!👍
Hey is that a NEST thermostat next to the light switch there? I give Matt a 3.5 out of 5 on light dimming, it was really average and not as exciting as Mike makes it sound to be. Now that hearing and repeating is quite amazing.
Hey Mike, I was at the Jamboree where you gave your work Smart AND Hard speech. Just wanted to say that it was awesome to have you there and I don't think anyone else could have given a better speech. Have an awesome time! Did you stay to watch 3 Doors Down?
that was awesome. My brief time doing VO I couldn't do that. I could do line by line but that took too long and didn't flow correct in the end anyway :(
that's what a degree in communications will get you...the ability to tranform a scratchover.good job! good team. hey are you going to work with fuzzy doors again? I love Brian for some strange reason.I don't know why....
Hi Mike, This is similar to the shadowing exercises I have been doing with students for years. I am really glad that there is an actual application for these skills. I'll be re-introducing this to my classroom. There are a couple of small differences in the way that I am doing it as a second language teacher, but I think this may be the practical application I was looking for. I'll be subscribing and will eventually send an email or two. :D yoroshiku ne.
Let me get this right, you only hear the voice on the scratch track in the headphones, correct? If it were to be playing like we heard it in the video, followed by your own voice, I would have a complete headache at the end of the day. Do you ever have multiple takes when you're doing this? Like starting to laugh about something, etc. Gotta love bloopers! Very interesting stuff!
I would like to request Mike to try the QI speech jammer challenge (search youtube, apparently even Stephen Fry couldn't do it). Apparently it is near impossible to speak if you hear a your own voice, delayed by milliseconds, playing back to you when you speak. I won't be surprised if Mike beats it with his pure awesomeness.
understand the commanders intent, must identify those variables that allow the network to exist and thrive this is the cornerstones of attack the network" It sounds like they're training for cyber warfare or something and need the soothing voice of mike rowe
I think there must be a sweet spot, because usually people don't get bothered by their own echo, which is really just their voice repeated back to them, but in a different manner
Mike's recent participation in the "Deadliest Catch" Hawaii adventure is troubling - the level of fakery is off the charts. Did even one of those fish ever enter a boat ALIVE? Sheesh!
A voice over is when you record your voice over a video. It's nothing secret, if that's what you thought. I don't know why he's saying what he's saying in the voice over though.
I used to do that to annoy the other kids when I was in elementary school. I was really good at it, everyone hated me. This could've been my career. Regrets.
I tried a lot of different speech jammer settings (I read you have to find one that works for you? maybe not..) and could never get it to work for me. I had a friend try it and he was instantly stuttering. However, there's no way in hell I could do what Mike Rowe just did.
Some say it's 0.2 second delay. Also if it is not that hard, you may not be listening to your delayed voice loud enough. It should be so loud that you can't even hear your real time voice.
The difficulty is this: most people, when given headphones and told to repeat what they hear in a fluid manner, will automatically listen to the sound of their own voice, thus missing parts of the audio. It is more difficult than you imagine. Voice acting is rather difficult, especially when you have to repeat the same phrases (sometimes a simple"No") several times with different inflections.
I have practiced this since seeing this video. I had a client who in the middle of a session said they wanted to have another spot redone. I told them lets try it out real quick to see if you like it. they told me they didn't have the script. I told them to play me the original track and record this take. got it done the first try. They were impressed had me do another spot then and there. So while landing one gig I booked two more because of this so I want to thank you for posting this. It has added another tool to my arsenal.
Love this guy. He’s so REAL and has the best voice on t.v.
Mike Rowe, the only guy who doesn't get mad at the guy in the Skype call using his speakers.
Being a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) I liken this to interpreting for my parents. Having to listen to a person speak, while simultaneously signing the words. Although they are similar -I feel like what you did is a bit more complicated. I’m very impressed! ❤️
This technique is called "shadowing." Interpreters use it to practice their memory for improving the skill of simultaneous interpreting. It's challenging at first but once you practice it's gets easier.
Does anyone else realise what that's from? That's from the NSA training video that they re-done for the movie Snowden... Holy crap
god what a beautiful voice...
Really enjoyed watching this. Great job, great voice.
"How the Universe Works" Very educational and Mike Rowe makes it that much more enjoyably education.
Mike, I did radio and voiceover work for 24 years, and I am thoroughly impressed! I know exactly how difficult simultaneous listening and speaking is. VERY! It takes considerable timing, concentration, and a great amount of confidence in your own delivery. However, I can well understand that people outside the business don't know that.
You are a true master.... I learn a lot from listening to your Vo's....Thank you, Mike!
Yes that is very challenging and I dont think I could do it. But We the audience hear 2 voices and get very confused because we are simultaneously playing back the words in our heads subconciously. My theory is that we thr audience then proceed to get confused because we are tryimg to listen tp the demo listen to Mike AND interpet these words at the same time, whilst Mike only had to listen and Repeat. Its confusing and props to Mike that seems very challenging but it may beeasier than we may think.
I thought I was drunk...
hes also speaking the words he just listened to while the new phrases are playing in his ear. so hes is outputting as hes inputting but its different material on each end.
Ear prompter work for voiceover work - exactly! Saves time, money etc. Takes a TON of practice but if one has what it takes to do ear prompter work, one must go for it! Gotta LOVE Mike Rowe! You ROCK Mike!
He'd make a great analogue interface for an AI
I love you Mike for the work you do, and this trick earned you a new subscriber. :D
I love doing this. Makes people freak out. Another handy thing this talent can be used for is holding the phone to your ear and reading out the pizza specials while listening to a message, or live list of deals.
Sometimes the live operator stops and I say, "Talk over me. Just read me all the special in a row. My phone's speaker volume isn't good enough, but I'm loud enough."
BTW, Toronto Rogers Cell phone folks, 2004-2005, you have heard my voice. I was the greeting-guy on the messages
When I talk to my Dad on the phone, because he wears a hearing aid, he puts me on "speaker". For some reason, when my Dad does this I hear a clear, loud echo of my own voice about 1/2 second later. I find it EXTREMELY difficult to talk while listening to myself talking 1/2 second earlier. I have absolutely no idea how Mike Rowe can do this so flawlessly. I imagine a U.N. translator must have this same ability.
I used to work at large scale trade shows, and the industrial actors we hired had little tape recorders in their pockets, and a pause button that ran to their hands, in case something broke the continuity (Like a drunk guy asking the actor/ newly minted chemist a question that needed to be responded to before the show could go on.) I maintain to this day, that this is an impossible task. I'm with Kristen, my mind was blown then, as it is now. Well done Mike!
Excellent tutorial of how it's done. I sometimes do the same while driving and listening to spots on the radio. You can practice almost anywhere, except when I'm on my motorcycle in traffic. LOL loud pipes!
The difficulty level of talking over a scratch track is unbelievably difficult. I guess that’s why this makes this video so amazing. The amount of training and experience that Mike has is incredible. I, even with practice, don’t think I could achieve what Mike just did here. It’s like being a human tape recorder or machine. First time seeing the scratch tracks being made with a voice over. Pretty cool
I'm South African, I've been doing radio for 16 years and I do voice over work too, I'm the only person I know,a part from well you mike, that can also do that, just the way you did
Great ear prompter technique Mike. Wow! Takes a bit of practice but once you have it down,you've got it!
Like riding a bicycle!
He's got that technique down!
I work in radio and when i was first starting to learn how to voice commercials this is basically how i would practice. Whilst driving to work i would switch stations and always have commercials going. I would listen to each sentence and then try repeat it back with the same pace and energy levels and such. As i would be speaking the next line would be of course going to air so you would have to remember that at the same time. Found it a great way to learn.
Awesome. This insight into the voiceover world is great for me personally this IS what I want to do with my life.
"I'm not convinced it's anything special..." I wouldn't call it special either. It's tough for sure, but not uncommon. Every language interpreter has to learn how to do this with the added challenge of translating every word you repeat to a different language in real time. One drill we had to do was to just repeat the source language recording without translating it, letting the recording run as long as possible before we repeated it while simultaneously counting down from 100 to 1 in written form on a notepad. I guess it was supposed to train our memory and multitasking skills.
Hell, while this still confused me, ive been practising atleast isolation single voices and talking over a larger number of people for years now. I spend alot of time sitting in voicechat with anywhere from 5 to 10 people and often there are 2, sometimes 3 conversations happening at once and somehow we learned to just talk through each other even though we hear everyone talking out of the same speaker at the same volume.
I like how Mike narrates HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS.
And this is why you are "Mike Rowe."
I haven't done this, but I have become adapt at letting the words on the script go through my eyes, bypass my brain and go straight out of my mouth! I used this for a petroleum industry website that explains what are the equipment names.
That was awesome- I don't think I could be able to do that. Best voice on TV- Love Dirty Jobs and love Deadliest Catch (I wouldn't love DC without Mr. Rowe narrating).
OK, now I'll need to give this method a go. I'd always transcribe things first.... But this is such a time saver!
Mike,
You are a voice-over KING!!
Miss seeing you mike :( hope you get a new show soon!!!
Fascinating. He is the absolute king, and best of all, a great patriot!
You're always a pro, Mike. I'm impressed but not surprised.
Wow Mike!
Now, I will think of this every time I hear or see you. 🤭😂
Hey Mike, I teach Radio and TV Announcing at my alma mater and am just about to teach ear prompter. A student of mine forwarded this link so I could see it and possibly share it with the class. Of course I was thrilled he was doing any research on my upcoming topic and then I watched and loved how you demonstrate it. I usually do the demo live in my class which of course I will still do but I will accompany that with this video. Thanks for putting it out there!
Repeated the tape WHILE it was playing. I was personally actually pretty amazed, as I thought this was impossible. Then I tried it and it's actually pretty darn easy.
Total multitasking. Another reason why M.R. is the man!
Three words... IMPRESSIVE AS ALWAYS!
I became very good at that when I was a kid by mocking my older brothers to tears. I still do this, in the car, while listening to boring commercials.
It's amazing how much you narrate. Watching Deadliest Catch reruns that are broadcast in the UK just sounds weird without your voice
It saves time because the video is already made to voice cues, as you can see the keywords light up when he speaks them. It would take awhile for him to fit his voice to the already set cues, where it would be easier the other way around, so he just matches his cues to the other guy's. It's also pretty hard to talk while someone else is talking in your ears.
The only man in the world that can use the phrase "keepin' it real" and it would go uncontested.
Mike - I'm going to take a stab and say that's a skill you picked up while woodshedding. It's a very useful one that I never thought would apply in this biz. I'll have to practice mine a bit.
BTW - thanks for being the archetype that so many CD's are referencing now-days, it makes my job a little bit easier... :)
Great pipes you got there Mike! Nice clip of reality behind the scenes
When doing voice overs, its much slower to have to read whats on paper and figure out the tone its supposed to be said, then go back and record it. Its much quicker to record it as he's hearing it. He can possibly record the entire thing at once. He gets the idea of the tone immediately, and because hes used to the world of voice overs, can even identify when a different tone might fit better than how the "demo" voice is saying it. Its all done on the fly, so it saves time.
My wife is a speech pathologist and she says this technique is called delayed auditory feedback. It's used as a treatment for stuttering. I'm sure Mike doesn't stutter much. Such a pro with a great voice!
I envy people in VO, it's one of the coolest jobs I can think of doing. But we can't all have a voice like Mike Rowe.
I've thought of doing the EXACT same thing. Now I know it works. Thanks, Mike Rowe!
I am so goddamn jealous of that golden voice.
I used to work on a phone help desk and had no major issues with the jammer, just a couple pauses in a one minute test. It's not that hard for people who have to deal with crappy phone lines with lots of echo.
I’m sure most will agree that a voice capable of keeping someone’s attention is one where the speaker ANNUNCIATES their words and keeps a consistent volume. There is nothing more distracting than a speaker that garbles the end of a sentence because they’ve run out of air. Don’t be lazy, take another breath and continue.
Who remembers Don Pardo ?? He was the best !!👍
Hey is that a NEST thermostat next to the light switch there? I give Matt a 3.5 out of 5 on light dimming, it was really average and not as exciting as Mike makes it sound to be. Now that hearing and repeating is quite amazing.
Hey Mike, I was at the Jamboree where you gave your work Smart AND Hard speech. Just wanted to say that it was awesome to have you there and I don't think anyone else could have given a better speech. Have an awesome time! Did you stay to watch
3 Doors Down?
Mike, you need to do NFL films!! You are perfect for it!
Oh Mike, your poor mother. I hope he doesn't have another headache. Lol. Love your show.
As a VO wanna-be, I'm super impressed that you can do that, Mike.
That inspires me to give that a try the next chance I get.
I was so glad to see someone was given those related videos. I was beginning to think "What the HELL does RUclips think I'm interested in?"
We definitely need to come up with a superhero persona for Mike! VO Man!
that was awesome. My brief time doing VO I couldn't do that. I could do line by line but that took too long and didn't flow correct in the end anyway :(
"The 6 pillars, attack the network"
what the hell is the us government needing mike rowe to voice this random stuff over
VOICE OVER WORK SOUNDS LIKE OUR SCHIZOPHRENIA !!!!!!!!!!!!
I do this to podcasts to keep myself awake in the car.
that's what a degree in communications will get you...the ability to tranform a scratchover.good job! good team. hey are you going to work with fuzzy doors again? I love Brian for some strange reason.I don't know why....
Hi Mike,
This is similar to the shadowing exercises I have been doing with students for years.
I am really glad that there is an actual application for these skills. I'll be re-introducing this to my classroom. There are a couple of small differences in the way that I am doing it as a second language teacher, but I think this may be the practical application I was looking for. I'll be subscribing and will eventually send an email or two. :D yoroshiku ne.
WOW, Mike that was awesome! Please stay awesome :D
Let me get this right, you only hear the voice on the scratch track in the headphones, correct? If it were to be playing like we heard it in the video, followed by your own voice, I would have a complete headache at the end of the day. Do you ever have multiple takes when you're doing this? Like starting to laugh about something, etc. Gotta love bloopers! Very interesting stuff!
Mike Rowe - you rule! I heard Marlon Brando did something similar only he'd have an assistant reading his lines to him in an earpiece.
Man, that is crazy. I lost it after a while. Very interesting...
IS THIS HOW THE UN TRANSLATES !!!!??????????????
mike started messing up then he said, uhh let's stop there hahah
It just goes to show, Mike Rowe is good enough for Government work.
I would like to request Mike to try the QI speech jammer challenge (search youtube, apparently even Stephen Fry couldn't do it). Apparently it is near impossible to speak if you hear a your own voice, delayed by milliseconds, playing back to you when you speak. I won't be surprised if Mike beats it with his pure awesomeness.
Basically every conference call I’m on throughout the week
understand the commanders intent, must identify those variables that allow the network to exist and thrive this is the cornerstones of attack the network"
It sounds like they're training for cyber warfare or something and need the soothing voice of mike rowe
Mike Rowe for president!
Unless you have a stutter. Stutterers are often able to speak stutterless when they hear their own voice slightly delayed.
You are an amazing human being.......very cool.
I think there must be a sweet spot, because usually people don't get bothered by their own echo, which is really just their voice repeated back to them, but in a different manner
Mike's recent participation in the "Deadliest Catch" Hawaii adventure is troubling - the level of fakery is off the charts. Did even one of those fish ever enter a boat ALIVE? Sheesh!
A voice over is when you record your voice over a video. It's nothing secret, if that's what you thought. I don't know why he's saying what he's saying in the voice over though.
Mike Rowe is a great man
Mike is a superhero.
I used to do that to annoy the other kids when I was in elementary school. I was really good at it, everyone hated me. This could've been my career. Regrets.
The master of all multi tasking.
If I was a movie actor I would do 3 of these types of movies a year.
Dont know how you do that it woul drive me crazy. . You did amazing job
This shows why not everyone can do voice work. Mike rules. That is all.
Oh My God!! No way!! How do you do this!! Impressive!!
If you don't use your budget you lose your budget. Mike Rowe is a hell of a way to make sure that doesn't happen, in my patriotic opinion.
Hey Mike, If you ever want to do the voiceovers for my videos, let me know! You work for free food, right???
Big fan of yours
I tried a lot of different speech jammer settings (I read you have to find one that works for you? maybe not..) and could never get it to work for me. I had a friend try it and he was instantly stuttering. However, there's no way in hell I could do what Mike Rowe just did.
I used to do that to friends all the time when I was a kid, just to annoy them. :)
I hope to be a great voice actor one day.
Some say it's 0.2 second delay. Also if it is not that hard, you may not be listening to your delayed voice loud enough. It should be so loud that you can't even hear your real time voice.
The difficulty is this: most people, when given headphones and told to repeat what they hear in a fluid manner, will automatically listen to the sound of their own voice, thus missing parts of the audio. It is more difficult than you imagine. Voice acting is rather difficult, especially when you have to repeat the same phrases (sometimes a simple"No") several times with different inflections.
Let me go pick up the pieces of my exploded head….lol!
MIke - 3 words! More Voiceover videos. (or was that four words?)
Nice job as always