Casting Voices

What goes through the minds of the people you are targeting your messages to?

If you use an amateur to record your voice over, apparently not much!

‘When a script is read by a professionally trained voice, 83% of information will be retained by the listener.
If the same script is delivered by an untrained person, retention can drop to 45% or lower’

- A study by the ‘Fondation de la Recherche Psychologique

That's telling isn't it?

How important is it then to hire a professional voice actor?

Very!

If the goal is to have your message both heard and retained, the solution is obvious...

Feel free to comment on that statistic if you like :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Are you going to any conferences this year?

We're right smack dab in the middle of conference season (NAB just wrapped up in Las Vegas) and there are more conferences coming up this year to attend.

How do you decide whether or not they are worth every penny?

Measuring Value

The price of conference tickets should be equal to the perceived value of what you are going to receive.
From a business point of view, investing several hundred dollars, even for a day, to be in the same room as industry leaders and people you wouldn't be able to meet with otherwise, network, and learn first-hand from experts renowned in their specialty fields is worth the price of admission.

Attending a conference should also recharge your batteries and inspire you for a long period of time once you've gone home. That alone could be priceless for someone who needs a little pick me up.
These aren't guidelines for just conferences centered around voice acting but any conference in general.

Justifying Costs

As an aside, it costs money to put a conference on, and part of the fee you pay to attend goes toward costs associated with the venue, food, speakers and any materials that are being provided to you.
It isn't uncommon for a conference to cost $500 or more to attend. Generally conferences that cost several hundred dollars also provide food and drink throughout the day.

Some people have absolutely no problem dropping thousands of dollars to attend a conference while others squirm at the idea of spending a couple hundred.

What have your experiences been like attending conferences?

Are they worth the investment?

Add a comment to join the conversation!

Stephanie

If you work with union talent you are likely aware that there is a potential strike on the horizon for the Screen Actors Guild this May.

Usually, AFTRA and SAG are joined at the hip, but things have become a little messy recently to say the least.

Do union politics influence your hiring decisions?

Let us know by leaving a comment.

If there is anything to be said about the voice over landscape online, there is one major division that tends to separate voice actor from voice actor...

Where's The Fissure?

That chasm is whether a talent is a member of a union or is a freelance non-union professional.

While union and non-union talent can't see eye to eye, it's no secret that there are issues between the two major unions, and also within the unions themselves.

Do Union Politics Affect Your Hiring Decisions?

My question to you as someone who hires talent is:

Do you work with union or non-union talent and why?

Best wishes,

Stephanie