Episode Summary: A VO’s Journey – Ep. 293: To Breathe Or Not To Breathe

Podcast: A VO’s Journey: Voiceover and more voice over
Host: Anthony Pica
Guest Co-Host: Gabby
Date: September 9, 2025
Episode Theme: The art, science, and business of breathing in voiceover—when, why, and how voice actors handle breaths in performances, and what that means for authenticity and production.

Overview

In this episode, Anthony Pica and Gabby delve into a nuanced but crucial topic for voiceover artists: "To Breathe Or Not To Breathe." They share their personal journeys as performers, debate technical and creative approaches to managing breaths, discuss tools and techniques—both manual and digital—and consider how the evolving landscape (including AI) is shifting industry standards. The episode centers on helping both aspiring and seasoned voice actors navigate when to leave breaths in, when to edit them out, and most importantly, how breath impacts listener immersion and storytelling.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Evolution of Breaths in Voiceover (02:04)

• Gabby offers historical context, noting how digital editing enabled the removal of breaths, which became the norm, especially in commercials. She recalls how this was often taken too far, creating unnatural audio and "overlapping" sound that lost its human quality.

  "At one point, it was so bad ... audio overlapping ... oh, my God, it was terrible. ... We don't sound human anymore, right?"
  — Gabby [02:04]

• Today, with AI voices increasingly present, breaths are one of the few markers of humanity that distinguish real performances.

  "The difference between them and us is that we breathe and they don't breathe."
  — Gabby [03:03]

The Risks of Overprocessing and the Suspension of Disbelief (05:08)

• Anthony explains the importance of not distracting the audience with unnatural or exaggerated breaths, which can break immersion—or "suspension of disbelief"—in narrations or stories.

  "We try to do everything we can to not pull people out of that suspension of disbelief... breaths can have a very similar effect."
  — Anthony [05:08]

• Excessively loud or abrupt breaths can disorient listeners as much as technical glitches on stage.

  "If you're listening in your car ... and all of a sudden the narrator is like gasp, you're like, what was that? Why?"
  — Anthony [07:18]

Techniques for Handling Breaths in Different Formats

• Long-Form (Audiobooks, Narration):

  • Natural, minimal breaths are acceptable and preferred over awkward silences or mechanical edits.

  • Removing all breaths but keeping the space is critical for a natural flow.

    "I would rather you submit a book with no breaths and keep the space. Whatever you do, don't delete every space where there's a breath ... There's no flow to the content."
    — Anthony [09:27]

  • Reducing breath volume is a common engineering practice; the listener shouldn’t notice breaths unless they're over the top.

• Short-Form (Commercials, Promos):

  • The choice often belongs to the producer, not the voice actor.

    "The decision to remove said breaths is not ours. It doesn't belong to the voice actor ... We let the producer make those decisions."
    — Gabby [10:48]

  • For auditions, keep breaths unless they're distracting. For final spots, removing or reducing is acceptable if required.

  • Leave the audio "raw" for producers and avoid over-processing.

Breath Control: Training and Practice (13:18)

• Both hosts recount their classical performance training—Anthony from acting, Gabby from choral singing—as foundational for learning when and how to breathe.

  "One of the very first things that you do as a performer, right, is learn how to control your breathing. Use your diaphragm ..."
  — Anthony [13:18]

  "A big part of chorus, choir, singing ... it's all about where you take the breath. If you're working in a chorus, the conductor is telling you where to breathe. Imagine that."
  — Gabby [15:13]

• Gabby advises marking copy for breaths using punctuation as guides, and practicing "breathe and hold" to control the onset and duration of exhalation during delivery. Anthony describes specific breathing exercises (in for 7 counts, hold for 4, out for 4) to build stamina.

Editing Tools and Cautions (18:00)

• Both hosts are skeptical about automated breath-removal tools like RX's "breath fix," citing the risk of them misidentifying elements of speech or making the result sound unnatural.

  "I don't trust it. I never mess with anything with breath ... I'd rather manually."
  — Gabby [18:01]; Anthony [18:11]

• They note that some DAWs allow custom hotkeys for efficient manual breath reduction, which is safer and more nuanced than relying on automation.

The Human Element: Non-Lexical Sounds and Performance (20:56)

• Gabri emphasizes the performance value of breaths and other non-lexical sounds (sighs, laughs, guffaws, teeth-sucking) to create authentic, conversational reads.

  "When real people speak, they sigh, they laugh, they giggle ... We naturally introduce this stuff into our speech. Actors know this and know this well."
  — Gabby [20:56]

• Anthony frames acting as "reacting"—even in a booth, the best voice actors react authentically to the material, and subtle breaths or noises are part of that realism.

  "Acting is reacting ... For us, a lot of that has to live in our head. But it is still a reaction."
  — Anthony [21:59]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Should we breathe or should we not breathe?" — Anthony, humorous framing [01:55]
• "The difference between them and us is that we breathe and they don't breathe." — Gabby on AI voices [03:03]
• "We try to do everything we can to not pull people out of that suspension of disbelief..." — Anthony [05:08]
• "If you're listening in your car ... and all of a sudden the narrator is like gasp, you're like, what was that? Why?" — Anthony [07:18]
• "The decision to remove said breaths is not ours. It doesn't belong to the voice actor ..." — Gabby [10:48]
• "A big part of chorus, choir, singing ... it's all about where you take the breath." — Gabby [15:13]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:04] – History and evolution of breath handling in the VO industry
• [05:08] – How breaths impact immersion and suspension of disbelief
• [09:27] – Best practices: what to do with breaths in long-form narration
• [10:48] – Roles and responsibilities in short-form (producer vs. talent)
• [13:18] – Voice and breath training for actors and singers
• [18:00] – Breath editing tools: pros, cons, and workflow tips
• [20:56] – Non-lexical human sounds as vital parts of modern, conversational reads

Closing Thoughts

• The decision to breathe (or not) in VO is a technical, artistic, and sometimes cultural one, best handled with sensitivity to genre, project, and audience.
• Authenticity and immersion are the top goals—when in doubt, aim for realism and avoid extremes, whether heavy breathing or total sterility.
• Both hosts stress ongoing practice, feedback, and community involvement as the path to mastery in this subtle but impactful craft.

Next episode: Mouth Noise!

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