Aubrey Parsons: The Interview

(I ended up getting quite a few questions for Aubrey and a couple for me too. So I’ll start with the questions for me first and then move onto Mr Parson’s interview!)

Questions for Dave

How do you choose your narrator? 

Back in the day, I put a sample from Grimm Up North on the platform used by Amazon for audiobooks. A number of different voice artists, at least a dozen, then upload an audition. Aubrey was the clear winner.

Do you give him instructions or ask him to correct things, a bit like a director in films?

When I send a new manuscript to Aubrey, I can provide additional notes if I need to, such as voices/accents of a new character. So, a little like a director, but Aubrey is so used to the main cast now that he pretty much nails each book!

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Questions for Aubrey

How do you go about the narration? Do you go to a studio or not?

Everyone has different ways of approaching narration. Some narrators like to give dry reads (where the narrator just reads the book aloud without any acting). I think this can be a bit emotionless though. I like to ‘act’ the books as I record them and give life to the characters.

I start by reading the book and making character notes. I’ll speak with the author and ask them to give me a rough guide for the main characters: age, where they are from (accent), and a little background to give me an idea of the characters character! However, since I’ve been working with Dave for so long, he just lets me get on with it. He tells me that when he writes for Harry, he hears my voice in his head. That is the biggest compliment a narrator can have!

Once I’ve read the book and made character notes, I go through and highlight all the characters in their own colour, to make it easier to change character voices as I narrate. It's a slow process but, it makes things easier in the long run. 

After all that, I start recording. I use a music production software called Presonus Studio One which is favoured by many narrators for its ease of use. Any mistakes made are fixed as I go along – believe me, after a few hours of recording it’s easy to start stumbling over words!

Each finished hour of audio takes around 3-4 hours to record and produce. Once the audio is recorded, it’s checked for any slip-ups or sound errors. I’m lucky enough to have my own studio at home. I have converted a room in my house into a sound-proof studio. I can also remote link with other studios as sometimes a producer might want to listen in on the recording process to make suggestions or edits.

My working day consists of getting up at 6.30 am so I’m in the studio by 7.30am and I try to produce around 2-3 finished hours of audio per day.

Do you have a sound engineer or do you do it all yourself?

Some narrators record their audio then send it off to a sound engineer to edit and produce. I have a background in music production as I was a professional singer for 35 years. (I still dabble occasionally). So even before I became a narrator, I had my own little studio. 

Since I had a background in production, I decided that I would ‘engineer’ myself. However, occasionally a publishing house will ask me to travel to their studio to record. In which case I just sit and read out loud!! With Dave’s books, all the audio is recorded and produced by me. 

How many times do you read the book beforehand?

I normally only read the book once and highlight the different characters as I go. I have a confession to make now: Since I am so comfortable with the Grimm series, I am as excited as you to read the books. So now, when I narrate the new Grimm books, I narrate blind. Which means that as I’m narrating while I read the book for the first time. Because just like you, I don’t want to know what happens in the end! I find that the emotion I give is more genuine. There have been a few occasions where I’ve had to stop narrating because emotions have got the better of me. The attack on one of the main characters in book eight was one of the hardest pieces I’ve ever had to narrate, but I'll have to keep that to myself because I don't want it to be a spoiler for anyone.

Do you have a "musical ear" for picking up accents?

What a great question. As I mentioned I spent many years as a professional singer. I found that certain songs didn’t sound right unless sung with the accent of the original singer. For example, New York New York performed by Sinatra would sound awful if it was sung with a standard British accent. So, over the years I developed an ear for other singers’ accents. Then when I became a narrator, I used the same technique for the spoken word. I’m not a mimic, in that I can’t impersonate as such, however I’ve always found it quite easy to change my accent as my ‘normal’ voice is quite generic – almost RP (or received pronunciation the standard for British English), even though I’m Welsh!

How long a passage do you read out in one go?

Ha! OK. I would love to be able to narrate an entire chapter in one go. Some chapters can be up to an hour long. Most are around 20 minutes. With the best will in the world, the longest I can go at a time without making a mistake or tripping over a word is about 5 minutes. Hey, I’m only human!

What do you do with the "outtakes" if there are any that is? A Christmas special?

Oh boy, I honestly don’t think I could put an out-takes clip out there! It would end up sounding like a Derek and Clive special! Either that or it would just be a collection of coughs, sneezes and tummy rumbles! Saying that, I have had some really funny outtakes where I’ve just started giggling at a section of text in a book that is so funny it makes me laugh. That happens at least two or three times with Dave’s books! Maybe one day!

How do you remember all the voices? Each book has a multitude of characters and I can’t imagine keeping track. Do you record yourself and give a listen before a character is going to be in a certain chapter?

Oh boy, this is question I get asked a lot. With Dave’s books, the main characters aren’t so much of an issue because they are like old friends now and they live in my head. However, characters keep getting reintroduced. So I have to keep my wits about me. Every time a ‘new’ character pops up, I have to refer back to notes from previous books to check if they have appeared before. If they have, I go back to which ever book they appeared in and listen back the recording to make sure I have continuity. I do keep written notes for each book regarding characters, accents, and backgrounds. But I still have to go back and double check voices. It can really slow recording down, but it’s a really important process. 

Has Dave (or any author) introduced a character, and you just think, “I can’t do that accent”? 

Dave hasn’t, because he trusts me to just get on with it. Which I have to say makes my job sooooooooo much easier. However, I have worked for authors in the past who have been very, very particular about a character’s accent. Sometimes they go into great detail about what they want. I then spend a long time working on the accent. Then when I present the recording to the author… they don’t like it, and eventually end up realising that it’s best just to leave things to me.

After a while, characters end up taking on a life of their own. Both in written word and when the narrator gives life to the character. Only once have I fallen out with an author over this. He changed his mind so many times on how he wanted the characters’ voice to sound that, in the end I had to give up and we parted ways.

What accent is the most challenging? As a Scot I find your Scottish accent quite passable. Do you keep working on them?

Firstly, what a lovely compliment, thank you. I admit that many years of watching Still Game gave me my Glasgow accent! Also I’m lucky enough to have spent time working in Edinburgh so I’ve picked up a few tips along the way. The most challenging accents for me are Canadian and Norfolk. I just can’t seem to get my ear in with those! 

How do you keep coming up with different variations on the same accent (e.g. all the Yorkshire accents in Grimm)? 

I just panic and something comes out. I really don’t know how I do it, but the sheer panic of yet another character turning up somehow forces me to dig deep. Occasionally I will base a character on a celebrity. A few I’ve used as templates are Jonny Vegas, Ian McMillan (Matt Dinsdale), Sean Bean, Lucy Beaumont (Liz).

Do you ever want him to introduce something really different, for example an American or Welsh person, just so you can mix it up a bit?

Yes. Most definitely. However, if I did, it would have to fit the context of the story. I’m lucky in that I produce for many authors and I am able to use many different accents. I’ve narrated a couple of books for American authors in a totally American accent – their listeners presume I’m from the US so I’m doing something right! Since I’m Welsh, I have managed to slip a Taffy accent into a few books!

Do you have a favourite accent?

I’ve become very fond of the ‘northern accents and quite often find myself slipping into a dales accent when talking with friends! I love the Dublin accent, but I really love the Glaswegian accent. There is just something very honest about it. Also, no one in the world can use the ‘F’ word like the Scots!

What’s the most difficult accent or aspect of narration? 

The most difficult thing about accents is being able to keep them up without slipping into some other accent. I often find myself having to re-record sections because I’ve been using Grimm’s voice, and then find myself going ‘all Bristol’ for another character. For some Reason, I keep giving Grace’s dad Arthur a Bristol accent…

Good narration requires total concentration. You can’t be thinking about what you’re having for dinner tonight when you are trying to record a passage. You must read and understand the text and give it the emotion and cadence that it deserves. If I’m working long hours on a book, I have to keep focused or I end up sounding like I’m reading a shopping list!

How tricky is it getting women’s voices right?

It’s so hard. Really hard. In my early days I used to sound like ‘Hinge and Bracket’ when I attempted female voices [Dave’s note: Readers of a younger disposition may have to Google that reference!]. Then I realised (after listening to narrators like Stephen Fry) that as a bloke, the worst thing you can do is try to sound like a woman. You just end up sounding like a bad drag act. The secret is just to soften your voice slightly with a very slight raise in pitch. The voice for the wonderful Margret Shaw however, is a law unto itself!