Vox Daily

Michael Turnbull wins it all at The Great Voice Company

Greetings,

I recently touched base with this years winner of the Great Voice Company's Voiceover Actor of the Year, Michael Turnbull.

I've known Michael now for a couple of years, even though he resides in Juno Beach and we're (Voices.com) up here in London, Canada. The beauty of the Internet :)

Michael discovered his vocal talents after an early retirement at the age of 52 and was eager to start working for himself, embarking on a new career in voice-overs.

He has been studying the art of voice acting since 2003, and commenced his vocal education at The Great Voice Company with Susan Berkley.

The Great Voice Company, located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, is a voiceover academy founded by Susan Berkley in 1987. Susan's institute focuses on helping public speakers improve their vocal presentations and also trains voice actors.

As a part of Michael's prize, he received a monetary award, some gift certificates to audio stores to purchase equipment and five training sessions.

An article was written about Michael by a community newspaper based out of Fort Pierce, Florida called Hometown News following his award. If you have a couple of minutes, I invite you to read the feature article.

To read the article, click on this link.

Congratulations Michael!

All the best,

Stephanie

Can you believe he (Bugs Bunny's voice) was allergic to raw carrots? Read more here :)

Greetings,

If Mel Blanc were still with us today, he'd be 98 years old :)

Mel Blanc was and continues to be one of the most influential character voice actors inspiring voice actors everywhere.

Mel found his niche as a character voice actor and was a glistening gem in the Hollywood Golden Age of animated cartoons.

Working with Warner Brothers, starting out in 1936, Mel voiced infamous characters such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and many others.

His natural voice was that of Sylvester the cat but without the lispy spray for the Hanna Barbera studios during his career with their company in the 1960s. Who could forget the line "Suffering Succotash"?!

Did you know that Mel was the voice of Barney Rubble on the Flintstones and Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons, too?

If you'd like to read a really great mini biography about Mel Blanc and his creative achievements, click on this link.

You'll find out tidbits about his life and learn interesting trivia about Mel Blanc, including the ironic fact that he was allergic to raw carrots!

"That's All Folks!"

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Melvin Jerome Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989)

P.S. Do you have a favorite Mel Blanc character voice? Leave a comment!

This is really going to stir things up!

Greetings,

Last week, I alluded to the fact that something exciting was going to happen, and now that the long weekend has passed, it's time to start spreading the word.

InteractiveVoices is changing our name. We're going to be Voices.com!

In the spirit of this future change, let's take a look at our past:

Established in 2004 as a voice-over marketplace (InteractiveVoices.com), our roots run deep in the audio recording business, originally founded as a recording and production studio in the year 2000.

A combination of industry expertise, marketing, and education has nurtured and secured the foundation of Voices.com.

I thought I'd share our mission statement with you as noted on the Voices.com website.

As the largest database of voices online, Voices.com sets out to achieve the following:

1. Make it easy to find voices regardless of language, location, and voice type.

2. Give everyone who uses their voice professionally the ability to be found and heard online.

3. Create a living database of every voice type and language in the world.

4. Be the definitive news source for reporters, journalists and bloggers.

5. Provide talent career guidance and the tools to conduct business online.

You will all be pleased to know that many aspects of the current service you receive will remain the same, including our management team, mailing address, and toll-free telephone number.

We will soon have a different name, and to put it bluntly, a much better name!

What's changed so far?

Here's one:

The new logo, as you can see, is strikingly similar to the current InteractiveVoices logo.

In addition to a new name, Voices.com will receive an updated look and feel, which will prove comfortable and familiar to you. Several new features are in the works at Voices.com, many of which were requested by you, our customers.

Early feedback from the business community has been contagiously positive, generating buzz from all angles and spreading like wild fire.

Why are we changing our name?

Company CEO, David Ciccarelli says, "Voices.com is a name that encompasses the entire industry, dropping the interactive media connotation, opening more doors to our customers. Voices.com is short, obvious, descriptive, and memorable.”

I couldn't have said it better myself :)

If you want to help spread the word, blog about this and or link to the new Voices.com website.

The official launch is September 2006.

Cheers!

Stephanie

Join the fight and stand up for the voice-over industry with us!

Greetings,

Do you know the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" I sat down and thought about it and found the statement and the concept to be absolute silliness.

You can always improve upon something, whether it be an outlook on life, a voice-over demo, or business practices.

After a bit of pondering, I was inspired to write about the health and future prosperity of the voice-over trade, particularly online.

Finding voices has become simplified for businesses to a formidable degree, and posting voice-over jobs has streamlined the voice seeking process even further.

That being said, it is just as easy for people to undermine noble processes established to protect both business clients and professional voice actors.

Did you know that there are websites out there that are just trying to make a quick buck off of you?

It's probably not a shock to some of you, as you may have visited sites that seem to 'run themselves' and do not disclose contact information about the company and support team.

These leech-like sites bubble up from time to time, are found out, and with some muscle are extinguished by the voice-over community.

As a company that is working night and day to preserve a thriving and healthy voice-over marketplace, with an emphasis on properly serving and educating clients while equipping talent with business tools, resources and personalized support, I felt like I needed to say something about this issue!

This brainstorm also gave me a greater respect for the unions and all that they do to ensure that voice actor rights are protected, their fundamental needs met, and their work acknowledged.

My thoughts are these:

If talent thoroughly researched online companies, including the management team and access to genuine and useful human support, they would not waste their time on faceless, nameless voice-over sites whose only aim is to profit from your career and mislead clients, telling them that they will get voice-overs for the cheapest prices anywhere... Obviously, they do not intend to help you succeed.

The likelihood of getting burned by someone trying to cash in on your voice would be diminished or even eliminated if a little research is pursued.

How would this goal be reached?

It's simple. Talent would stop joining such listing sites and others who are already registered would have their details or profiles removed.

What would happen?

Those sites would fold due to lack of funding, participation, and traffic. Respect for our industry would be restored on several significant fronts once this is achieved.

How long would this take?

Everything takes time, especially something of these proportions. Education is key and actions speak louder than words. This needs to be a worldwide effort.

Who is responsible for this?

It needs to start with you, the voice talents and voice actors. Voice talent need to become aware of shady business operations and not fall prey to them.

Some voice professionals also need to realize their worth and charge appropriate rates for their work, not let websites that have no stake in their livelihoods dictate their fees.

Some Criteria to Look for when Evaluating a Web Service:

• Can you contact the owners or support staff by phone?
• Are there names on the site that you can reference if you need assistance?
• Is there a company section or history of the company that you can check?
• Is there a mission statement? What are they up to?
  
• Do you feel comfortable being associated with the website?
• Is there any evidence of effort being put in by the owners to help you find work?
• Do all of the features of the website work? i.e. Does your demo play when clicked on?
• Are there testimonials on the site from people that you can contact directly?
• Does the site look thrown together, is the grammar poor, are there any spelling mistakes?

In other words, we're here for the long haul and are looking forward to ushering in a new era of voice-overs with you.

Will you join the fight? Stand up for the voice-over industry with us!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Be sure to tell us first - then, we'll tell the world!

Greetings,

It has been our great pleasure and honor to help break news for voice actors and share success stories on the InteractiveVoices blog.

You may have noticed several articles about your colleagues throughout these pages and wondered how you could be featured.

Just follow these easy steps:

1. Let us know about your news event or story by sending us an email
2. Include a few paragraphs about your story for our editorial team to work with
3. If applicable, include a photograph to be sent via email (i.e. promotional images, etc.)
4. Click 'Send' on your email program, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!

Right now, you are reading a blog, kind of like an online newspaper but for communities online, helping to spread news to other communities outside of the Internet, including major news outlets and magazines.

Did you know that there is a Google search engine dedicated to blogs? It's called the Google Blog Search. Some blogs are so trusted that the traditional news media uses them as sources for their stories.

If you want your news to reach the blogosphere (the name lovingly giving to the blogging world) and journalists around the globe, there's no better way than to share your story with InteractiveVoices first!

Best of all, there are no editorial or distribution fees if you come to us with your news.

We're fanatical about spreading your voice acting success and truly want to help you reach a greater audience!

If you need to get the word out, send me a quick email to get massive PR, fast :)

Cheers,

Stephanie

You will hear the difference that quality makes

Greetings,

Matt Gilcheck is a non-union talent, hailing from Jenison, MI in the United States of America.

Matt is no stranger to radio, having been employed as a Production Manager at radio giant Clear Channel Broadcasting and as a Production and Imaging Manager at Citadel Broadcasting.

In addition to management roles, Matt has over 12 years of experience as an on-air personality on Rock, Top 40 and Country radio stations.

Matt has featured 6 voice-over demos on his website for you to listen to, including:

• TV Promos
• Audio Book
• Commercials
  
• Narration
  
• Telephone On-Hold
  
• Radio Imaging

If you're interested, you can email him directly from his website with your script and details.

Experience speaks volumes, and with Matt Gilcheck as the voice of your station, you will hear first hand the difference that quality makes.
Your audience will also congratulate you on finding such a solid station voice.

Cheers,

Stephanie

What do Mac Mcdonald and the Gershwins have in common?

Greetings,

Cruising the Google news once again, I found an article of interest regarding an on-air personality at 1070 WINA Newsradio.

According to their website, Mac Mcdonald's role will change on WINA starting June 1st. At that time, Mac Mcdonald will no longer be on the WINA Morning Show daily, as he has been for the past 10 years.

The University of Virginia has expanded his role as the Voice of the Cavaliers, limiting voice-over activities outside of announcing for the university.

Listeners at the station need not fret for long because Mac will still be heard broadcasting football, basketball, baseball, and lacrosse on WINA. Periodic guest appearances on the show to discuss UVA athletics are also in the works.

Here's a direct quote from the WINA website:

"The WINA morning team will not be the same without Mac's wonderful humor and charm, but we understand the Universities need to fully utilize his talents, and we wish him all the best!"

What a wonderful tribute to a voice that has been with the station for 10 years!

Have any of you enjoyed the thrill of live announcing at sports events and matches?

As the Gershwins would say, it's "Nice work if you can get it!"

Leave a comment sharing your experiences and give a shout out to the teams you announced for, whether they be little league, in the minors, college or professional teams respectively : )

Cheers,

Stephanie

P.S. My personal all-time favourite announcer would have to be Foster Hewitt, legendary voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Foster announced at Maple Leaf Gardens for decades from his infamous gondola in the rafters of the Gardens.

He coined the phrase "he shoots, he scores!" and was also well known for his sign-on at the beginning of each broadcast, "Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland." - source, Wikipedia.

Foster Hewitt.
© Photo: Hockey Hall of Fame

Dave Christi goes to New York and sits in David Letterman's chair...!

Greetings,

I'm honored to break the blogosphere news for Dave Christi and Cumulus Media from Grand Junction, CO. Dave was just named as a 2006 Radio-Mercury Awards finalist.

He's going national :)

Creative Service Director’s ad chosen as finalist in prestigious award from the Radio Creative Fund which honors effective and creative Radio commercials.

InteractiveVoices Press, Toronto, May 23, 2006: When the Radio Creative Fund recently announced their finalists for their 2006 Radio Mercury Awards, Dave Christi, the Creative Service Director for Cumulus Media in Grand Junction, found himself on the list.

“For me,” said Christi, “this is the “Oscars” of Radio advertising. I know it sounds cliché, but it really is an honor just to be chosen as a finalist.”

The chosen ad, “A to Z of Signs”, was a sixty second spot written and produced by Christi for Grand Junction’s “Your Sign Company”. The ad is a finalist in the Radio-Station Produced Category.

As a finalist, Christi will be attending the awards luncheon in New York on June 8, 2006. The luncheon will be attended by representatives for some of the largest ad agencies in the nation including DDB Chicago, Foote Cone & Belding NY, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

Finalists in the Radio-Station Produced Category include Salem Radio Los Angeles, Clear Channel Creative Services Group and Clear Channel Phoenix, Entercom Seattle and Portland, Bend Radio Group, Univision Radio, Zimmer Radio Group – Joplin, and Cumulus of Grand Junction.

This is Cumulus Grand Junction and Dave Christi’s first time as a finalist in the Radio-Mercury Awards.

About the Radio Mercury Awards

The Radio-Mercury Awards were established in 1992 to encourage and reward the development of effective and creative Radio commercials. Approximately 14,000 commercials have competed for over $2.4 million in prizes. The Radio Creative Fund (RCF), a non-profit corporation funded by the Radio industry, governs the Radio-Mercury Awards. For more information on the Radio-Mercury Awards visit www.radiomercuryawards.com.

About Dave Christi

Dave Christi began his Radio career in 1987 in Salt Lake City, UT. He has worked for stations in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and now currently serves as Creative Service Director for Cumulus Media in Grand Junction, Colorado. Christi also runs an audio production company, Dave Christi Productions, from his home studio. He lives in Grand Junction with his wife, Judy, and three children, and has two children in Indiana. For more information about Dave visit www.DaveChristi.com.

Best wishes to Dave and the Cumulus Media team in Grand Junction, Colorado!

To your success,

Stephanie and the InteractiveVoices Team

P.S. Listen the MP3 here or at Dave Christi's website.

Seasoned BBC Radio News reporter Rebecca Wood shares 12 Demos

Greetings,

Rebecca Wood is an incredibly talented performer, affiliated with British Equity and located in London, England.

When listening to Rebecca, quality, assurance, and grace flow generously from her voice, giving the impression that Rebecca is sitting right beside you. Her interpretations are timeless and nurture an intimate environment of comfort, trust and sophistication.

Rebecca Wood's background is as rich as her voice implies, drawing on her experiences as a seasoned BBC Radio news reporter and commercial voice talent recording national advertisements. Rebecca has perfected her art over the years, graduating from intensive programs at both theatrical and vocal institutions.

Rebecca has featured 12 voice-over demos on her web page at InteractiveVoices, including the following voice styles:

• On-Hold for Telephone
• Corporate Narration
• TV Promos
• Radio Ads
• Shakespeare Sonnet
• Auto Attendant for Telephone
• Science Podcast
• Montage 1
• Montage 2
• Detinox Cradle Cap Shampoo TV advertisement
• Detinox Teething Gel TV advertisement
• Detinox Colic Drops TV advertisement

Let her voice do for you what it has done for her blue chip clients!

Visit Rebecca and contact her directly for more details.

Cheers,

Stephanie

This is going to be good

Greetings,

I thought I would let you in on something...

We're preparing some big and exciting changes for the voice-over marketplace!

Great strides toward achieving goals that will benefit everyone in the voice-over market are in the works, whether you be a voice talent providing voice-over services or a client who needs to find voice talent to record for your projects or campaigns.

That's all I can say for now, but I'm happy to relay that it won't be much longer until the cat is out of the bag.

Keep your ear to the ground, and you might hear some early rumblings...

Your Friendly Voice-over Blogger,

Stephanie

Apprentice winner steps up to the microphone for Jeffrey Katzenberg in 'Over the Hedge' Audition

Greetings,

As professionals in the field, it's no secret that recording voice-overs can be fun, but did you know that on the last episode of the Donald Trump show "The Apprentice", the winners of the task (Lee and Sean) were awarded with the opportunity to record voice-over auditions for the new animated film "Over the Hedge"?

This prize included flying to California on a private jet to meet and audition for DreamWorks Animation Studios Executive, Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Donald Trump has friends in high places, and voice-over of late has quickly turned into a glitzy profession that everyone wants a piece of.

Imagine that... what you do everyday is prize worthy!

Any thoughts on "The Apprentice" voice-over prize audition with DreamWorks?

Cheers,

Stephanie

Mesh was the greatest conference we've been to yet (the food was good too!)

Greetings,

The mesh conference in Toronto was amazing! We got back late last night after plenty of networking and learning. Did I mention the food yet... conferences are always good for food, but this food was great!

I really wanted to thank the entire mesh team for all of their hard work. mesh was a screaming success!

I also wanted to take the time to personally thank Rob Hyndman, one of the mesh organizers, a business lawyer for technology companies in Toronto, for helping me out at the end of the conference. For those of you who saw an ambulance outside the MaRS Collaboration Centre, it was for me. I had a little difficulty breathing but I'm fine now (perhaps due to too many coffees, sleep deprivation and unheard of Web 2.0 excitement, and maybe the impromptu alarm going off at lunch).

Rob listened to my plea and was the first person to come to my aid, ensuring that I received immediate medical attention at the MaRS facility.

For those of you who live in or frequent the city of Toronto, MaRS is conveniently located in the Toronto Discovery District, surrounded by hospitals and educational institutes in the heart of a beautiful, vibrant and architecturally stunning centre. If anything were to happen to someone in Toronto, there is no better place to be with respect to close proximity to internationally recognized hospitals.

I even received a follow up call from MaRS this morning to see how I was doing, and they were very relieved to hear everything was well. They looked after everything including paramedics, ambulatory transport to Toronto General Hospital and the MaRS property manager Randal Froebelius even wrote a personal note and communicated the information to the appropriate parties, making sure that our vehicle was not ticketed for being in the Impark lot past closing time because of our unexpected emergency.

One of the paramedics, ironically, happened to be from London which was a comfort in itself. He's a former native of the community of Byron, and he still goes home to visit his parents. He was familiar with our neighborhood and with cheery conversation, exuded a homegrown calm and warmth. If you know the young gentleman that I'm referring to, please let him and his parents know how much we appreciated his assistance.

I did a bit of research this afternoon and found that I may have suffered a panic attack, which has never happened to me before, but apparently is more prevalent in women, starting between the ages of 20-30.

The two main causes for a panic attack could either be suffering from an illness that when aggravated mimics a panic or anxiety attack, or in my case, something traumatic happening directly before the attack occurs (i.e. the alarm going off coupled with strobe lights flashing for roughly 20 minutes in the basement of a building - that's pretty traumatic).

You can visit the site I researched here.

On a much happier note:

Many conferences are hollow, one-time affairs, but mesh, even through its inaugural conference, proved to be something very special and much more than that.

While it's true that the mesh conference was a great networking and learning environment for creatives, techies and bloggers, it was also a community comprised of people who truly care and reach out to each other.

Thank you again and we're looking forward to next years mesh!

Sincerely yours,

Stephanie and David Ciccarelli

P.S. It isn't until you need it the most that you truly value our healthcare system (Medicare) in Canada. Tommy Douglas, thank you again and again :)

Is the best voice for the job that gets the gig, right?

Greetings,

There are two completely different perceptions that are currently observed in the voice-over marketplace about the process of how voices are hired for work.

The auditioning process is either viewed as a competition OR as a client choosing the best voice for their project from the group of applicants who replied to their job posting.

Why are we purposefully highlighting the difference between competing and choosing?

We're focusing on this issue because we care deeply about this industry and want the absolute best for it, including the best for you and our community at Voices.com.

Another reason why we're identifying this issue is because there is a greater need for awareness about how voice talent are 'promoted' in the voice-over industry by specific voice-over websites.

To be honest, the distinctions between the two terms should matter quite a bit to professional talent, because the words being used to promote you are directly related to how you are perceived and are treated by clients at various services.

Let's put it all on the table...

Competing means that you are jockeying for the top position, and that there can only be one winner.

The term "Competing" gives permission to the client to treat voice talent like dirt, and to be frank, abuse you, your time, and your skills. For the client, it's a passive experience. For you, it can be demeaning and stressful.

It doesn't help anyone, clients or talents, to be in the mindset that this is a competition where it is okay to 'let talent compete' for voice-over work...

You apply for jobs - you don't compete for them! There is something fundamentally wrong with that concept.

Bottom line, it's a terrible phrase to sum up how voice talents are selected. "Competing" gives clients the notion that it is perfectly normal to run you through the mill.

Now, for a breath of fresh air:

At Voices.com, clients engage in three distinct activities; searching, auditioning and hiring. None of these include the concept of competition.

True, your fellow colleagues are working toward the same goal - landing the job, but just because you don't land this job, doesn't mean there was no value created by getting your name and voice out there.

Let's stop referring to the audition process as a competition and move towards educating more clients about how to treat voice talent.

We can change the industry, and with your help, it'll change faster. The implementation of your ideas will spark an even better future to look forward to for voice talent everywhere.

Are you looking forward to a brighter future for the online voice-over marketplace? We are!

Together, we can make it happen.

Cheers,

Stephanie, David, Carol and Laurynda

A voice that brings extra life to your project

Greetings,

Have you ever heard of Jamey Lewis? If you're in Nashville, TN you might even know Jamey!

For those of you who don't, allow me to make an introduction to him for you. Jamey is billed as "A different breed of voice talent" and has a voice that brings extra life to your project, makes people listen on multiple occasions and yields new flavors of energy...

Jamey has 20 years of public speaking experience and 5 years in the Internet broadcast business.

Jamey Lewis, voice talent, has 3 demos for you to review on his InteractiveVoices.com web page:

• Audio Book Demo
• Commercials and Characters
• Straight Reads of Commercials

Cheers,

Stephanie

Are you here too?

Greetings,

We're writing live from the mesh conference in Toronto at MaRS!

If you're at the conference and we haven't had a chance to meet, leave a comment on the blog (I'll be monitoring it) and we'll meet up!

Gotta love this wi-fi connection :)

We have our InteractiveVoices tags on, so you'll know who we are.

Looking forward to meeting in person!

Cheers,

Stephanie and David

You'll never forget to lock your car and hide your valuables again!

Greetings,

The British, always first to start new trends, are out to set a new standard in crime prevention by means of celebrity impersonation voice-overs at parking meters in Sheffield.

After much creative thought, six distinct voice-overs mimicking high profile British celebrities were recorded for this intiative by UK voice talent Stuart Smith, owner of Celebrity Voiceovers Ltd.

Stuart recorded voice-overs mimicking actor Michael Caine, footballer David Beckham (soccer player to North Americans), David Dickinson, Lily Savage, Jeremy Clarkson and Rolf Harris, cautioning car owners to hide their valuables and lock their cars.

The article, published on a South African news website, iol.co.za reported the following:

Superintendent Mick Webster of South Yorkshire Police said the idea to have celebrity voice-overs came about after early talking messages were deemed too boring.

"Initially we had talking parking meters, but after a while the message became repetitive and people didn't listen to it, so we came up with an idea that will get people to take note," Webster said in a statement.

"The idea is that each celebrity voice has a saying of its own, and we're hoping people will be listening hard, keen to hear all six messages."

~~~~~

I reached Stuart Smith from Celebrity Voices Ltd in the UK, the gentleman who recorded the voices. He has been delighted with the response.

“When I was approached to record these voices I thought what a great idea being reminded not to leave any items in your car,” Stuart adds “We know in the UK that many people still leave satellite navigation equipment (Tom Tom etc) in their cars and being reminded by Simon Cowell or Michael Caine not to do this when parking the car is a great idea, so my company has decided to record a special Tom Tom voice to coincide with the parking meters to combat this. Let's hope this helps cut crime. If not, well, who knows, we might have to get Ozzy Osbourne on the case when you park your car!”

What an education! Before reading this article and learning from Stuart, who would have known outside of Britain that voice-overs were used at parking meters?

If you get a minute, read the full article and voice-over scripts for the various celebrity impersonations at your leisure on the iol.co.za website. They're sure to tickle your funny bone and keep your belongings safe!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Photo courtesy of Stuart Smith

Even the King, Richard Petty got involved... This must be good.

Greetings,

Disney and Pixar are about to release a new feature animated film called "Cars".

Would you be interested in watching a video of a voice talent recording session?

Well, you're in luck! A promotional cut with the films producer Darla K. Anderson is available for your viewing pleasure online, complete with appearances and session takes by Owen Wilson, Cheech Marin, John Ratzenberger, Bonnie Hunt, and more.

Alongside Hollywood stars are NASCAR heroes, Richard Petty, Mario Andretti, Darrell Waltrip, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.; a perfect fit for this automobile adventure.

The Hollywood voice acting crew consists of Cheech Marin, Bonnie Hunt, Owen Wilson, John Ratzenberger, Jenifer Lewis, Larry the Cable Guy, and Paul Newman.

If you're a fan of NASCAR and other forms of auto racing, you are sure to enjoy every minute of this new action-packed full length animated feature, complete with the voice talents of The King, #43, and wife Lynda Petty.

Richard and Lynda are also in the voice acting session feature. Richard is wearing his signature cowboy hat and sunglasses. The couple looks quite comfortable in front of the microphone.

"Cars" premieres on June 9th, 2006. Let us know what you think next month!

Cheers,

Stephanie

P.S. Visit the official Disney / Pixar "Cars" website to view the trailer and see the "Cars" showroom.

P.P.S. To watch the voice actor recording session, click on the movie poster above and be patient as it takes a couple of seconds to load (it'll say 'locating media', 'connecting to media' and 'buffering' before it starts to play).

Scott Shurian and Utah colleagues recognized by the press

Greetings,

It came to my attention that another great article has been published about talent, specifically those based in Utah. I was visiting Bob Souer's blog and read this specific entry entitled "You can be successful in voice-over in any market".

The article was published in Salt Lake City Weekly and featured several prominent voice talent in Utah, including Scott Shurian among others.

I thought I'd pass this story along for all of you to read. Other Utah based talent mentioned in the article include Eric Gordon (a native of Toronto who got his start as a DJ in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Canada), Ken Sansom, and Linda Bearman.

These professionals have a wide array of work to their credit and include clients ranging from Disney to CNN.

Scott Shurian is also a voice-over teacher and holds classes for aspiring talent, showing them the ropes and inspiring them to excel. In related news, Scott has a workshop starting at the end of May to continue for five consecutive Wednesday evenings in Salt Lake City.

It's limited to eight participants, so if you're in the Salt Lake City area and keenly interested, check out more information about how to register for the next workshop at Scott's website and learn from his unique teaching style, aptly named "Voiceatility".

You can request a brochure or call Scott toll-free - he's only a phone call away.

If you know about other local voice talent in the media, email me and I'll blog about their stories too.

Cheers,

Stephanie

P.S. Thank you very much to Bob Souer for breaking the story on his blog :)

P.P.S. If you missed reading the article about voice talent in the Toledo Blade, you can read it on our blog. Just click here!

Making the decision for your business.

Greetings,

Now, that you have solid idea of how to use PayPal at your Voices.com personal website, you'll need to choose between a Standard PayPal account and PayPal's Premium Business account.

PayPal describes their services for businesses as follows:

Premier accounts are for members who will have a high transaction volume, need to accept credit card payments, or would like access to our special features not offered with Personal accounts. Premier accounts include all the benefits of Personal accounts, as well as our special features.

Business accounts allow you to do business under a company or group name, accept all payment types for low fees, and accept payment from customers without PayPal accounts. Business accounts include all of the benefits of Premier accounts, as well as our special features.

To further compare these two options, visit the PayPal website.

Once a member of the PayPal web service, you can take advantage of advanced PayPal techniques, create invoices, and build trust and credibility with the PayPal logo, a graphic known and respected worldwide.

Best,

Stephanie

Contest closes August 31st, 2006. Click here for more details.

Greetings,

Last week, Michael Minetree, owner of MineWurx, a voice-over training studio, approached us with the news of his studios contest "Operation Voice Talent".

This contest is open to all aspiring voice talent regardless of location, and the winner will be selected by a panel of voice-over veterans selected by the MineWurx studio.

Here is some information about The MineWurx Project and what contestants can look forward to if selected as the winner:

The MineWurx Project – Operation Voice Talent

The winning MineWurx Project – Operation Voice Talent contestant will receive:

• 10 weeks intensive voice over training from MineWurx Studio
• A professionally produced commercial demo reel from MineWurx Studio
• Personal home voice over studio consultation meant to bring their sound as close as possible to acceptable standards for auditioning and recording, given the equipment they have or can afford.
• Coaching and direction on audition technique, marketing, branding, placement and positioning.
• Lifetime hosting of their demo on the MineWurx Studio Website.
• A Free copy of ActorTrack Software-for-Actors to manage and track leads, auditions and more.
• Exclusive opportunities to audition for MineWurx Studio Productions.
• The option to continue their training for another 10 weeks at a discounted rate.($100 dollars off the current 10 week price.)

The deadline for contest submissions is August 31st, 2006. Entries are reviewed as they are received, so the earlier you enter the contest, the better.

The winning talent can setup their lessons with the studio, starting at any time so long as the time slot does not conflict with another students session.

For complete Contest Rules, Eligibility and Structure Please visit Minewurx and take a look around.

Cheers,

Stephanie

How much visibility do you have online?

Greetings,

Have you heard about the Featured Talent Categories at Voices.com?

What are the Featured Talent Categories?

At Voices.com, you can select Featured Talent Categories that are listed on the home page. These categories allow clients to quickly listen to voice talents and MP3 demos that are specific to their needs. There are 16 categories to choose from.

If you'd like to take a quick look at them now, you can view them on our Home page and on the Featured Voice Talents page.

Why is it important to be in the Featured Talent categories?

The more places that you can be found, the greater the likelihood that you will be seen, heard, and hired. In other words, the more visibility you have, the more clients you'll attract.

Select additional home page categories where you would like to be showcased.

1. Feature the demo that you would like to accompany your featured category.
2. Enhance your web presence. Be found where the clients are looking.
3. Gain more opportunities to be contacted directly by an interested client.

Select and manage your Featured Talent categories here

Did you know thatyou can buy additional Featured Talent categories?

We've recently changed the price of additional categories, and now you can purchase them for only $19.95 a piece!

If you are a Premium or Preferred member who is interested in getting more exposure online, the Featured Talent categories at Voices.com are a fantastic way to reach more clients.

Any questions? Email Laurynda, one of our spectacular customer service representatives :)

Cheers,

Stephanie

What is PayPal and how do I use it?

Greetings,

What is PayPal?

PayPal is a third party service that lets you send money to anyone with email. PayPal is free for consumers and works seamlessly with your existing credit card and checking account. PayPal is fast, easy and secure.

This means you can easily accept online credit card payments from your clients for voiceover work.

Once you have set-up your free PayPal account, you can start receiving payments right away.

Voices.com makes it simple to get paid with PayPal. Your PayPal webstore at Voices.com acts as a gateway between your Voices.com website and your PayPal account.

As Voices.com member, you can create your own PayPal invoices. Once you've accepted your first online payment, you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner. And, you'll never hear "the cheque's in the mail" ever again.

Be sure that the email address you have registered with Voices.com is one of the email addresses associated with your PayPal account. By doing so, you ensure that payments will make their way safely to your PayPal account, right where they should be.

Have a great weekend and Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Stephanie

Let your friends know!

Greetings,

Just a short blog post today with an emphasis on spreading the word!

If you like what you read on the Voices.com blog, let other people know.

All it takes is a short email with a link to us and your friends, family, co-workers, and voice-over colleagues will all be in the loop.

Voice-over is just as much a community as it is an industry; let's keep it that way by sharing our knowledge, insight, adventures, and memories of this glorious line of work here on the Voices.com blogs.

Take care,

Stephanie

Sprucing up your website just might be the ticket to get more work this Spring.

Greetings,

It's that time of year again, both around the house and online at your InteractiveVoices web page...

It's time to revamp, renew, and freshen up to attract new clients.

Now's the moment to shake off the dreariness of winter, and spring into action.

Here are some key areas of your web page that should get a little TLC (tender loving care) every so often.

Trust me, the level of maintenance that you dedicate to these key areas will often dictate prospective customer interest and determine whether or not you connect with clients online at the voice-over marketplace.

• Update your profile information and check for grammatical errors, correcting any spelling mistakes
• Showcase new demos and rearrange your Featured Talent categories
• Treat your web page like your business website: include your full client list, voice-over roles, and keywords that will make you stand out
• Take a look at the proposals you've been sending. Can they be improved upon?
• Read the InteractiveVoices Blog: there's no better source for relevant, entertaining, and educational articles tailor made for voice-over talents such as yourself

Our very best to you all,

Stephanie

Where do you draw the line?

Greetings,

As I was drinking my coffee this morning (a "double double" made at the office with Tim Hortons coffee, complete with hazelnut cream), I found an article that made my skin crawl.

Let me elaborate. The article, printed today on TBO.com, was about the dark side of political campaigns, using the Internet as a principal tool to discredit politicians and candidates, ranging from the local grassroots elections right up to the national presidential election of 2004 in the United States of America.

Several different tools of online political attack were mentioned:

• Bloggers gone bad, working for a rival party, purposefully misleading voters with false candidate biographies and information
• Fake videos being circulated around the 'net featuring presidential candidates
• Fraudulent websites, again, used as tools in smear campaigns
• Stage actors and voice actors impersonating political candidates

This brings us to a crossroads. As the voice-over marketplace, we choose which projects we approve or deny according to a code of ethics based upon Christian principles. Therefore, we do not approve jobs that are unethical, immoral, racist, prejudiced, malicious, adult, or those that promote slanderous content.

We've denied political smear campaigns in the past and other projects which never saw the light of day or your email boxes.

What it really comes down to is the voice talent and actors who accept these jobs, whether from direct contacts at their own websites or through agencies.

Each voice actor has the right to say "No" to malicious work, ensuring that they are not involved in something that could cause negative national or even global consequences.

Even though it may seem like this is out of your hands, it isn't. You have the power and the right to say No.

By refusing this sort of voice-over work, you are demonstrating true patriotism and brotherly love. Most importantly, you are remaining true to yourself.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

We only send you Quality job postings

Greetings,

I made reference to our guidelines in my last post and I'd like to share them with you.

This is the process we go through when evaluating job posting submissions. These guidelines determine whether or not a job is qualified to be approved.

JOB POSTING GUIDELINES

- No profanity
- No adult content
- No Gambling
- No racist content
- No slander or ill will
- No free voice-over requests
- The full script or sample of the script must be produced if requested by Voices.com staff members
- If the complete script is not yet available, the theme and project objectives need to be clearly communicated to Voices.com for project approval
- The client must select a budget range, starting at a USD$100 minimum commitment for voice-over talent compensation per talent

Jobs meeting our minimum requirements are approved and sent out to talent according to their project notification preferences.

You can manage your job notification preferences from your My Account area in your Profile.

The list is available to clients and voice-over talents in our Frequently Asked Questions database.

This is just one more way that we are working to assure a high standard of quality, financial compensation, and the moral content of the work that we approve for our talents.

To read the document in its entirety, you can download the PDF here.

Cheers,

Stephanie

Versatility and Experience

Greetings,

Dale Quashie is a non-union voiceover talent, based in New York, New York.

Dale's native language is English, and he can perform African American and Jamaican accents.

His voice has been described as deep, unique, ideal for movie clips, corporate, high energy for concerts or sales promotions, soft, and romantic as well.

With over 10 years of recording voiceovers for broadcast radio, television, movie clips, and telephone on hold marketing, Dale is able to meet the needs of his clients, offering them versatility as well as experience.

Dale Quashie works with many advertising agencies in New York and freelances with companies in Canada, England and the Caribbean, including Trinidad, Jamaica, and Barbados.

There are seven demos featured on Dale's InteractiveVoices web page, including:

• High Energy (For a Sales Promo)
• High Energy with Hype Radio Commercial
• Movie Clip Style
• Radio Station Promo
• Radio Station Stinger
• Soft Sell Radio Commercial
• Telephone Intro

Best wishes,

Stephanie