David Boreanaz voices the "Quest For The Cup" commercial series profiling each of the Stanley Cup contending teams as they strive for greatness this NHL playoff season.

Have you seen these promos yet?

If you're a Bones (TV show) or a Buffalo Sabres fan, here's an opportunity to get an inside look at what makes David tick.

When you think of actor David Boreanaz, you're likely thinking of his on-camera character roles as Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Sarah Michelle Gellar (1997 - 2003) or in his current role as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth on the FOX drama Bones.

That may be the case for almost all of us, but now we have another item to associate with David and his voice specifically.

David Boreanaz is now the current promo voice for the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, narrating :30 spots that depict the unique journeys of the teams who made it thus far, sharing their stories on the road to glory.

A native of Buffalo, NY and longtime Sabres fan, David has embraced his new role as promo voice in the battle for Lord Stanley's Cup with a new vigor and athletic intensity.

David's voice will be heard on the "Quest For The Cup" commercials and for as long as the Buffalo Sabres are still in the playoffs, he'll be writing the Buffalo Sabres celebrity blog at NHL.com.

Has anyone seen these promos yet? If so, what do you think?

Best,

Stephanie

P.S. We've also got a Sabres voice over connection at Voices.com - Ralph Hass! You can watch a video of Ralph doing his Buffalo Sabres VO gig here.

Photo of David Boreanaz courtesy David's Buffalo Sabres blog on NHL.com.

Giving and receiving feedback is an important part of any business transaction. As either a buyer or seller at Voices.com, feedback is used to show your professionalism and provide a measure trust.

Feedback Manager

As mentioned earlier, you'll have a central location ( within your Profile ) to manage all feedback received, and all feedback given. In the Feedback manager, you can see exactly who has left you a feedback rating ( the 5 stars ), and their review ( the text portion ). You can also reply by returning feedback by clicking "Respond" in the "Action" column. Once you've responded, the text will say "Done" and the icon changes to a check mark, letting you know the process is complete.

General Feedback

By default all feedback is published on your website, however you can delete any feedback that is not related to a financial transaction. This still lets you receive feedback from auditions, and gives you a better idea of who is listening to your demos or considering hiring you for work. If you feel the feedback given was unfair, you can either delete the feedback or respond by leaving feedback for the client.

Payment Feedback

Payment feedback operates in a similar manner and allows you to send and receive feedback when a deal is done and a job actually completed. Payment Feedback is identified by a ($) icon.

Important Changes Starting Today

In the past, we've allowed anonymous website visitors to leave feedback ratings for voice talents at Voices.com. We've since limited to feedback only to registered users leaving feedback for each other.

For the updated feedback system to remain trustworthy, we will be removing all anonymous feedback ratings from the system. As a result, your star ratings, VoiceRank, and position on the Top 100 will likely change. There is no need for concern, as this is a change for the good and will provide greater transparency for the community of members. We appreciate your understanding.

Your Professional Image

We understand how important it is for you to maintain a professional image, and believe that these changes will improve the integrity and accountability of Voices.com and the community of people like you who use the website as their primary point of business.

If you have a question, concern or comment, share your thoughts below.

Have a great day!

David

Never get stiffed or hear "The check's in the mail" again!

When you work with clients using our new SurePay system at Voices.com to get the job done right, good things will happen.

Want to learn more?

This is by most accounts the crown jewel in our newest generation :)

I'd like to introduce SurePay to you, something that will make your life a lot easier and payments steadfast.

SurePay is an online payment system developed by Voices.com for the voice over marketplace. It allows clients to quickly and easily hire you for voice-over work.

Let's break it down, step by step:

The Job Offer

The process starts with a “Job Offer”. Job offers originate from one of three places. You can receive a job offer:

1. After responding to a “Public Lead” that many people have received being selected as the voice talent the client desires to work with.

2. After responding to a “Private Lead” that a few people were invited to being selected as the voice talent the client desires to work with.

3. Directly from your personal website at Voices.com. Clients often listen to several voice talents when they first visit Voices.com then contact the person they’d like to work with. In this situation, there is no need for an audition (they already love your voice), so the client can simply send you a “Job Offer”.

Viewing the Job Offer

You can view all “Job Offers” under the new “Jobs” tab within your account at Voices.com.

The Job Offer consists of four unique sections:

Contact Information

Complete contact information is displayed from both parties (you and the client), so you’ll know who is offering you the contract and which company they work for. If you need to clarify some details you can pick a phone and call them or send them an email.

Job Details

Each job has a unique ID as well as the job title and final script as a file attachment. It’s recommended that you download the script and read it in its entirety before accepting any job offers.

Payment Details

In this section, you’ll see the deadline for completing the work, terms of payment and your professional fee (ex. $1000.00). You’ll also see the SurePay Escrow fee, which is 10% added on top of your professional fee (ex $100.00) and the total to be deposited by the client ($1100.00).

Agreement Details

If the client has any special instructions regarding technical requirements or artistic direction, you’ll see those comments here.

Take a look!

Take Action

At the bottom of the “Job Offer” are three buttons; “Yes, I Accept”, “Make Counter Offer”, and “Sorry, I Decline”.

By clicking “Yes, I Accept”, you now have a legally binding agreement between you and the client. This will keep everyone accountable, and will avoid misunderstandings about the original project requirements. Congratulations, you’ve landed a job!

By clicking “Make Counter Offer”, you have the opportunity to reply to the client and may suggest changes to any of the Job Offer details, such as terms of payment, number of included revisions if applicable, deadline or even price. When you make a counter offer, you can also leave comments below the clients comments, similar to a thread. This thread is your communication history and is always attached to the job details.

By clicking “ Sorry, I Decline”, it’s recommended you let the client know why you declined their job offer. Perhaps you weren’t comfortable recording their material, or maybe you are simply too busy or better yet, on vacation. Whatever the reason, have the courtesy to leave a one or two sentence reason as to why you had to decline the project. By doing so, you’ll show them that the professionals at Voices.com know how to communicate, and you’ll keep the door open for future opportunities should they be given.

The Counter Offer

If you’ve sent a “Counter Offer” back to the client, they now have the option to click “Yes, I Accept”, “Make Counter Offer” or “Sorry, I Decline”.

- When the client clicks “Yes, I Accept”, you’ve got a deal!

- When the client clicks “Make Counter Offer”, the counter offer is sent back to you and the cycle continues, until you reach a deal by someone clicking “Yes, I Accept”. If you’ve ever purchased a home, this is often how the transaction occurs. This is negotiation in its
simplest form.

- If no deal can be reached, either party can click “Sorry, I Decline” at anytime, and the negotiation is terminated.

Most jobs will result in a fair agreement (you did negotiate after all) and so the next step is for the client to make a deposit.


The Deposit

The deposit is for the full amount as displayed in the “Payment Details” of the agreement. In our example, this amount would be USD $1100.00.

Your client is prompted to send a deposit of $1100.00 to Voices.com’s secure escrow account. This is a neutral bank account that will hold the money in trust until the job is completed.

As soon as we’ve received the deposit, you’ll receive an email notification informing you that “You Have New Funds” being held in trust. With the deposit managed by Voices.com, you can record the work with the confidence that you'll get paid.

The Recording & File Delivery

Same as you do currently, you’ll record the script in your recording studio (or at a local recording studio). If the job requires music and sound effects, you’re responsible for adding those too.

Once the recording is complete, you simply login to Voices.com, click on “Jobs” and you’ll see that your next step is to “Upload Files”. You can upload a single file, or continue to upload multiple files if need be. When you’re done uploading the entire project, just click “I’m Done Uploading”.


Downloading the Files & Accepting The Work

You’ve fulfilled your end of the agreement, and now the client just needs to download the material and accept your work as complete.

An email notification is sent to the client letting them know that their files are ready for download.

They login to their account at Voices.com, and proceed to download all the files. After they’ve listened to your work and have confirmed that you’ve done an excellent job, the client completes the process by clicking “I Accept”.

If they are not completely satisfied and require a revision (or need changes made), the client will click "Request an Edit".

Your Payment

When the client clicks “I Accept” this action also notifies Voices.com to release your payment, which is sent to you by PayPal.

PayPal is fast, easy and secure. It’s free to set-up a PayPal account if you don’t already have one. Payments sent to your PayPal account through Voices.com are then withdrawn into your personal or business bank account.

Giving & Receiving Feedback

The final step is for you to leave feedback on the financial transaction.

Giving and receiving feedback is an important part of any business transaction. As either a buyer or a seller within an online marketplace, feedback is often used to see if the other person is trustworthy and operates their business with integrity.

Your Feedback consists of a “Rating”, a 5-star rating with 1 being a poor experience, and a 5 being an excellent experience, as well as a “Review”. “Reviews” are written comments offering an explanation and reasoning for the above “Rating”.

Congratulations!

You made it! You’ve reached the end of the SurePay process and the end of this post.

If you like the idea, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Have a great day,

Stephanie

New vocab lessons from Voices.com!

To get comfortable with the future lingo ahead of time, read this brief glossary of terms.

Thanks for your great responses so far to our innovations!

Today we're announcing some new terminology for you that will be introduced in the new generation of the Voices.com website.

Leads: Formerly known as "Jobs", the Leads tab includes all public and private work opportunities created by clients that you can respond to.

Responses: Clients manage your auditions in an area called "Responses". From this single view, they can Send an Email, Add to Favorites and Select this Voice - which means they select you and make a formal "Job Offer". Clients can even leave you a Feedback Rating & Review by jotting down some comments in a text area. It's never been easier for busy clients to give you some suggestions or let you know how much they appreciate your interest in their projects.

Jobs: These are actual Jobs that you are working on for a client at Voices.com. The process starts with a "Job Offer", which is created when a client selects you as their voice of choice. Clients can create Job Offers from (1) within their Responses to their postings, (2) directly from the search results and (3) directly on your personal website at Voices.com. The "Jobs" section lets you view a "Job Offer", negotiate back and forth, reach a deal, then accept a deposit. With the deposit managed by Voices.com, you can record the work with the confidence that you'll get paid. Once the recording is complete, you simply upload your finished audio files through Voices.com, and the payment is released to you. No more need for FTP servers or sending large files via email.

Payments: Payments are actual financial transactions processed through Voices.com. You can view "Jobs" with "Deposits" (money held in a secure Escrow account) as well as "Invoices" that have been paid in full. Clients, not voice talents, will be charged a nominal fee for Voices.com to manage the delivery of audio files and process the financial transaction. As a voice talent, there is no added cost to you, and you're guaranteed to be paid for your work.

At this point, I'm sure there will be plenty of questions. If so, leave us a comment so we can better address any concerns you may have.

We'll share more with you in the coming days!

Best,

Stephanie

What will your Voices.com website look like?

Well, that's up to you!

Discover some updates to the Profile, Files, Themes and Feedback Sections - you're going to love it!

Your Website

All voice talent websites are getting a fresh, updated look!

The core elements will remain the same with a few slick additions.

We've added the ability for clients to "Request a Quote", which sends you a Private Lead, or, clients can immediately make you a "Job Offer" (more on this later), literally bypassing the entire auditioning process, making the hiring experience easier and more enjoyable for both you and your clients.

You'll also notice a number in brackets beside your star rating. Clicking on the number lets you and other visitors see who has rated you and what they said. We call this feature "Ratings & Reviews". You will be able to manage everything related to those items in the Feedback section of your Profile.

Check out this voice talent website at Voices.com to get an idea of how you could fashion your own website using the new tools that will be made available to you.

Profile

We added some on-page help that provides suggestions on how best to complete your Profile.

We've even added sample voice descriptions such as:

Sample 1: Jim's voice is quite versatile and has been referred to as genuine, charismatic, and hilarious. Ranging from characters such as the stereotypical football coach to a doting father, Jim is able to cater his performance into a voiceover that works perfectly for your project.

Sample 2: Annette has a wide spectrum of vocal capabilities. Trained as a classical singer, Annette's vocal elasticity and burnished tone color shines brilliantly through commercials, telephone recordings, and children's audiobook narration projects.

Files

The Studio will be organized under the "Profile" tab. Note the change!

This will help you to edit all elements of your website in the same place - convenience at it's best.

All the same functionality applies, and with a new wide-screen design, it's easier to see all your files on a single page. If you have more than 10 files, we've added "Next 10" and "Previous 10" buttons, so you can navigate through all your multimedia files.

As a security measure, we've limited file uploads to .mp3, .wav, and .aif files for audio and banned potentially malicious file extensions such as .exe, .php, .asp and dozens of others.

Sticking to MP3 is a great idea for your demos. They'll play better in the Flash Player as well as take less time to load.

Themes

The color themes for your website were extremely popular, so we decided to add more for you to choose from.

Not only are there new designs, but background images, too.

Here's a sneak peek:

Feedback

One of the most requested features is the ability to see who is rating you. Well, this is now a reality. You'll be able to see the name of the person who gave you a star rating, as well as any comments they left you in the form of a review. You'll have the option to "Publish" these comments or to keep them hidden.

That does it for today's updates for the Profile. If you have any ideas or recommendations, leave a comment below.

Cheers,

Stephanie

The next generation of the Voices.com website is almost upon us!

If you'd like to participate in our Beta program starting this Friday, we'd love to have your input and recommendations on how the website should operate!

Want to join us?

Interested in lending a hand as a Beta Tester at Voices.com?

Aside from getting an inside look at how the website will better able to serve you and meet your needs, you'll have the opportunity to make a direct impact the online voice over industry!

Ready to hear more?

Here's what you'll be doing as a Beta Tester:

• Accessing our development environment ( a secret URL )
• Logging in to your account
• Trying out the new features
• Making changes to your profile
• Viewing your website on different browsers ( Internet Explorer or FireFox )
• Replying to some test job postings
• Uploading files, editing file names, deleting files
• Offering general suggestions and recommendations
• Reporting any bugs that you find by sending us a brief email

The testing experience should take less than 30 minutes, although you are welcome to login as many times as you'd like to get used to the new system.

If you'd like to participate in the Beta Testing, simply leave a comment below, and we'll send you an invitation to login via email.

Thank you for your participation!

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Oksana Struk

Moving forward, the new generation of Voices.com will not only be equipped with VeriSign Security, but also an SSL Certificate.

Now folks, that's some heavy duty security and peace of mind.

But, just what is SSL? Find out here!

While many of you are familiar with the VeriSign Secure seal that you see on our website, the term SSL may be new to you.

What does SSL mean?

Definition of SSL: A security protocol that provides communication privacy.

The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a commonly-used protocol for managing the security of a message transmission over the Internet.

Secure Sockets Layer protocol is a method of passing sensitive information, such as credit card details, over the Internet. All communication is encrypted to prevent eavesdropping. An SSL URL is preceded by https:// instead of http://.

You might recognize the https:// from banking websites you may use. As mentioned before, the https:// signifies greater security and encryption.

Here's a picture of what the Voices.com website will look like with the new SSL certificate.

Along with the new SSL certificate, we'll have a VeriSign Secured™ Seal.

The VeriSign Secured Seal is the number one sign of trust on the Internet. Recognized worldwide, the VeriSign Secured Seal appears on Web pages secured by VeriSign SSL Certificates as a dynamic, animated graphic. Site visitors can click on the seal to verify website information in real time.

The next generation of Voices.com is coming soon, so keep your eyes out for it!

Best,

Stephanie

Is your voice on a current television commercial or movie trailer?

Are you being recognized in grocery stores for your commercial voice talent?

Whether it be local, regional or national coverage that your voice is enjoying right now, leave a note on the blog!

Seeing people from TV and being able to recognize them is one thing, however, it is much more of an acquired sense and talent to be able to identify the vocal talents of someone on the street as a member of the viewing audience.

Once in New York City I was with a tour group out on the town before a Broadway show walking around and taking in the sights.

One of those sights happened to be Katie Holmes (now also known as Mrs. Tom Cruise) walking discreetly down the street back in the good old days of the teen television drama "Dawson's Creek". Needless to say, it was quite the experience for several in our entourage who caught a glimpse and a snapshot of her.

While it's quite surreal to see celebrities out and about, it is equally if not more surprising to hear and recognize celebrities that you don't have a name to put to let alone a face.

One of the reasons why it is harder to spot a voice talent and commend them on their work is because oftentimes, you aren't "promoting" a product when you are going about your normal routine.

Unless you put on that voice that people would be familiar with, you may go unnoticed, that is, unless you use your signature voice at all times regardless of where you are and what you are doing.

For instance, many have realized that the bee in the Nasonex commercial is voiced by Antonio Banderas. Some voices are more easily recognized than others. The voice over Antonio performed in the Nasonex commercial is his signature voice.

Just as actors physically sell the products and persuade people to make purchases your voice sells to them on a number of different levels and often seals the deal with a tag or closing line that makes people remember that particular ad out of the thousands they are exposed to on a daily basis.

Your voice is working it too!

That brings me to my question:

Is your voice in the limelight right now?

Leave a comment with the market your voice is airing in, the product and any experiences you've had with fans :)

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Oleg Prikhodko

Rome wasn't built in a day, so we're going to need some time over the weekend to finish testing. Some areas of the Voices.com website will be inaccessible from late Friday April 20th through Sunday April 22nd in order to make a successful migration to the new, more secure servers.

What Next?

We're also preparing for the next generation of Voices.com, including dozens of new features and new ways to get hired that we'll show you next week!

So, that being said, please read the blogs at your earliest convenience! They may not be available this weekend, so if you're a VOX Daily fan or VOX Talk podcast fan (Episode 25 is now out!), get your fix sooner than later by visiting today.

Relax this weekend (we'll be slaving away, but you should go out and enjoy the sunshine!).

Best wishes,

Stephanie and the Voices.com Team

What comes after the job offer?

Does it always involve negotiation or do you accept the first offer that is presented to you?

Whether it's smooth sailing or back to the drawing board a few times, we want to hear from you!

We've all been there.

Negotiation is a part of life and is necessary when conducting business.

For those of you who do negotiate, how do you negotiate and what items are you usually negotiating?

Some aspects of negotiation may include:

Payment

How much you are being compensated?
When is payment sent?

Ex.
100% payment upfront, 50% payment up front and 50% upon completion, or 100% upon completion...

Usage rights

How will the audio be used and for how long?

Ex.
Unlimited usage - full buyout, Limited usage (13 week cycle for radio or television commercials), or internal corporate presentation only.

Turnaround time

When is the audio expected? Is it a short interval or do you have plenty of time?

Revisions

Are revisions included in the overall fee or are they additional?

Some food for thought.

So, how do you negotiate? What items do you stand firm on, and where do you compromise?

Have you ever had to simply make the decision to walk away from a deal?

Looking forward to reading about how you are empowered as a negotiator :)

Take care,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Chen Fu Soh

PayPal, check, money order, cash, credit card...

The list goes on!

How do you accept payment for your voice over services?

Leave a comment at VOX Daily!

After hearing some of your stories from the previous post, it's no wonder so many people are turning to new methods of invoicing clients and accepting payments for voice over services.

Does a check in the mail suffice when you're working with a new client, or do you need the extra cushion and comfort of being paid upfront for your work through online payment gateways like PayPal?

Leave your preferred billing methods in your comment. Also, if you use different methods for different clients, note that too.

It's good to know what your best practices are so that others can learn how to avoid being stiffed as well as establish a payment paradigm that works best for the voice over industry, especially online.

Let the conversation begin!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Ever had a client who didn't pay you for your work?

What did you do?

Did you ever get paid?

Share your VO trials and payment tribulations here.

It's probably happened to many of you at least once.

A job offer looks good, an agreement is made, the client promises to pay upon receipt of invoice, and wham... months later, you realize that the "check in the mail" never came.

Maybe for some of you, it's a bit more complicated than that.

Whatever your story is, we want to hear about it!

Share your story by leaving a comment on this article.

Best,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Christine Glade

Do you know how to interpret the signs?

Are clients easy to read?

Just when do you know that you've nailed a contract?

Share your stories at VOX Daily!

When you're working on a prospect or lead, sometimes there's a glimmer of hope or obvious indication that you will indeed be their voice of choice.

All of the pieces may seem to fit together - all they need to do is let you know verbally or in writing that you have their business.

The question is, just HOW do you know that you've nailed the job?

What clinches it for you?

This should be very interesting!

Looking forward to reading about your victories :)

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/John Kounadeas

Email?

FTP?

CD in the mail?

Where there is a will, there's a way!

Share how you get your finished digital audio products to clients.

In the new age of digital technology and email, we'd like to ask you how you deliver audio files to your clients.

As was mentioned earlier, you may employ email, FTP (file transfer protocol), or ship a CD in the mail with the finished work in the format and fidelity your client requires.

There's also a new piece of software out there called "Source Connect" by Source Elements LLC. From what I understand, you need to have ProTools and so does the person you are sending your audio to. This method is heralded as a potential solution to replace expensive ISDN sessions.

Perhaps you mix these up and it really depends upon each particular client and their needs...

Let us know!

Looking forward to reading your answers,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Feng Yu

On Saturday April 14, 2007 at 8:33 P.M. EST, the Voices.com website experienced an individual or group of individuals gaining unauthorized access to one of the Voices.com servers.

The people involved proceeded to delete website files such as the home page, sign-up page, post a job page and the search engine.

As a result, most website visitors are experiencing a "File Not Found" error message or a blank white page.

FeedBurner Alerts to the Rescue

Moments after unauthorized access, Voices.com administrators received an email notification from FeedBurner Alerts, notifying us that our RSS feeds were unavailable. The blogs, podcasts, videos and all images associated with Voices.com were also deleted.

Is Your Information Safe?

Yes. The database is complete secure and all your customer information is encrypted. The server that was hacked was the "Application Server" which has all of the pages and software code NOT the database server that contains member information. Your personal information is safe!

The Investigation

We called our web host, Rackspace, who immediately started their investigation. Rackspace is the most respected and trusted web hosting company utilized by banks, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. In short, we are in good hands.

What Next?

Rackspace and Voices.com coordinated a "server restore" which will restore all the files on our servers from the previous days backup. The server restore is currently in progress and expected to be completed on Sunday April 15, 2007 at 11:59 PM EST.

Why did it take 12 hours for this message to go up?

Just moments ago, Movable Type, our blog publishing platform came back online.

We Need Your Help

1. We are executing on our procedures, so please be patient. We are fully aware of the situation and are working tirelessly to deliver the service you have come to expect from us.

2. If you have any information as to who did this or the parties involved, please let us know. Although we cannot say precisely who orchestrated this act of war, we do have suspicions, suspicions that may very well be confirmed with your additional information.

3. Smile as there are worse things happening in the world.

If you have any tips or leads regarding this corporate sabotage attempt, please email me at stephanie@voices.com.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

P.S. We'll keep you updated as we find out more information.

UPDATE 1: The technicians at Rackspace ( our web hosting company ) have confirmed that the restoration process is complete.

UPDATE 2: We are currently testing our website and verifying all systems are a "Go"! The audio Flash player is now visible and we are currently linking the player with your voice-over demos hosted on the server. This process could take some time. Stay tuned...

UPDATE 3: Audio, video, text and image files are 50% recovered and everything is looking good.

UPDATE 4: Audio, video, text and image files are 100% recovered. The search engine has also been restored.

What's the life of a video game voice actor like?

Does it pay be a union talent in the field of video game voice acting?

Find answers to these questions and more by checking out the Voices.com interview with David Sobolov at VOX Daily.

If you're a voice actor who provides vocal talents for video games, you may be able to relate to David Sobolov, a member of SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and active video game voice actor.

This week, I had the opportunity to interview David about SAG related video game voice acting work and asked some key questions that may reveal some of the answers you've been looking for if you are wondering if you should be in the union to do this sort of work.

Here's my interview with David Sobolov. Enjoy!

Stephanie: How did you get your first SAG voice acting job for video games?

David: Auditioning via my agent in Los Angeles.

Stephanie: What is an average recording session for video game voice acting like? Can you record some of these jobs from your own studio?

David: The sessions are booked for four hours and what happens during that time varies wildly depending on the project. Sometime I have game play to record, disjoined lines my character says, sometimes 40 pages! Other times there's a substantial amount of dialogue for cut scenes. That's happening more and more. It took four sessions to record my part for Sony's Rogue Galaxy but my three parts in Fantastic Four took less than an hour! These gigs are almost never done from a home studio. They like to see you in person.

Stephanie: What percentage of your voice over work consists of video game voice acting with SAG contracts?

David: All my video game work is on a union contract. I'd say videogames make up about 1/2 my work these days.

Stephanie: Are many of these SAG video game voice acting contracts based upon ongoing work with past clients or does the work come from mainly new business and or referrals?

David: More and more past clients are calling me in or auditioning and bringing me in for multiple games. Just like any other part of the business, it's all about relationships and about the producers knowing you can give them what they need in a pinch. Once they figure out what you can offer and they like it you'll often hear from them again and again.

Stephanie: Have you ever been able to turn a non-union voice acting job into a SAG voice acting job for video games? If so, do you find it is an easy task?

David: YES! I recently turned down some non-union work and then the company called me a few weeks later to ask me to help them sign a SAG contract.

Stephanie: Is most of your work local (LA)? Does living in major hotbeds for union and video game voice acting work play a significant role in whether you are hired for a SAG voice acting job where video games are concerned?

David: Yes, most of my work is based in Los Angeles. I agree, you are much more employable doing SAG videogame work if you live in a major production center like L.A. or NYC.

Stephanie: Do people hire you directly for your video game voice acting work or do they go through your agent?

David: Happily, I have some very good relationships with casting directors I've worked with in the past and sometimes we email 'out of school' - although they always call my agent to book. That's the protocol out here.

Stephanie: What was your favorite SAG voice acting job in video games?

David: I loved playing the delicious villain Malebolgia in Spawn!

Stephanie: Have you worked on franchise / legacy games? If so, do you enjoy returning to characters you have voiced in the past? Are there any challenges where this is concerned?

David: I've been cast in games they intended to be legacy (such as Advent Rising) but sequels weren't meant to be. The only recurring role I've had on a videogame was in the game version of the TV series I did called Sabrina The Animated Series. They had me back to voice the role of Spookie Jar in the game.

Although I might not remember what I did on a particular day a few days later (because I create characters on the fly - a skill you really need to develop if you want to work in games) - I can give them what we did before in multiple sessions if they play a snippet of what we did the last time.

Stephanie: Finally, do you have any advice for people who aspire to be a member of SAG in pursuit of video game voice acting?

David: Voice acting is not just about putting on a fun character voice like a coat... you need to be a very good actor to work consistently. Keep acting whenever and wherever you can!

We'll close with that thought.

Are you a voice actor who records for video games or a fan of David's work?

If so, please leave a comment with your thoughts about this interview. We'd love to hear from you!

Best,

Stephanie

Want to be a video game voice actor?

Learn the biz of video game voice acting and secrets on how to keep Gamers happy with your performance by reading this wonderful article about DB Cooper's VOICE 2007 lecture "Infinite Ammo".

Get ready to rock!

On Friday afternoon, the delightful DB Cooper presented on video game voice overs. Her lecture was entitled "Infinite Ammo".

I'm happy to share some excerpts from this highly entertaining and illuminating presentation.

DB revealed that the place of voice acting in video games is evolving because the entire process of audio in video games is evolving.

As game design advanced, so did the place of audio. It became more sophisticated. For example, the music in Final Fantasy 7 was phenomenal.

In the infancy of video game voice overs, some of the voice acting was absolutely atrocious. Don't believe me?

Visit AudioAtrocities.com.

Infinite Ammo means...

That the importance of audio in gaming and voice over needs to be taken seriously.

Games begin their lives under a great deal of negotiation: disk space, bandwidth, budget and so forth. At present, only 20% of an entire budget is allotted for audio (this includes music and VO).

At this time, DB cued a cut scene for us to watch on the projector.

A Cut Scene is a brief movie that plays within the game that moves the plot ahead.

Everything sounds the same. Voice acting gets squeezed as the game is produced. Since the majority of video games are produced in Asia, the English versions need to be dubbed (or localized), including all of the dialog, street signs, and so on.

Fact: Everything in audio is rushed regarding the implementation of the creative into video games.

Question: "Is music a rush job too?" (sent in an email from DB to a composer friend)

Answer from pro composer: "No time to write, really, I have to do all the music for kids games ASAP with a tight deadline."

The gaming industry needs to realize that audio is important, and to the North American market, is almost more so than the visuals that the creators take such pride in at their studios in Asia.

Another Fact: All too often, the script is not even heard aloud until the day of the professional recording.

Imagine not having anyone read a script aloud after it has been localized from another language. Scary territory!

Video game dialog management is not fun. Video game voice acting "communications" is about how to save the most paper or make file naming consistent, not focusing on proper sentence structure and the seamless flow of dialog.

Oftentimes, the only requirement of the audio directors is to “just make it work”. Quite the task if you ask me!

Ideally, the audio director should be familiar with the script, understand the flow of the scenes he or she is directing, and will have a distinct idea of the best way lines will work in a scene. Unfortunately, there are times where the audio director doesn’t see the script much earlier than the actors do.

Audio directors are always brought into the game very late. After all, it would be absolutely senseless to make the audio director a part of the development team, would it not?

So, we've briefly covered the development of video games and where audio fits into the equation.

Now, let's talk about the art form of video game voice acting itself.

Less is More

When performing VO for video games, less is more.

Vocal acting for interactives (simulation-style teaching programs, video games, and Interactive tutorials) requires being LESS larger-than-life than most VO work. You need very little to convey a lot.

Cartoon voice acting is to video game voice acting as stage acting is to film acting.

Gamers really care about the critical quality of voice overs. If they don’t like the voice overs, they chat about it all over the web. There are websites and forums dedicated to ripping apart voice actors in video games - I mentioned one of them earlier in this post.

Here's a quote from DB Cooper on the subject:

"Gamers spend a great deal of time in the intimate company of the characters in a game, and can get very wrapped up in their characters’ lives, and the emotional bonds can be terrific. I enjoyed over 200 hours with Final Fantasy X, a game whose story had me in tears several times. Final Fantasy XII took nearly 160 hours to go through ONCE . In fact, I just finished the game a couple of weeks ago-- and it came out November. Believe me, if a game is well written, a gamer has a great deal invested in the protagonists. And Gamers really care about the critical quality of the acting. If it’s not up to snuff, trust me--the VO gets skewered across the globe via game message boards and chat groups."

How do we avoid this scenario?

Firstly, you should avoid “indicating”.

Indicating is a term used to describe the presentation of an emotion. In many cases, it's what you think it "looks like", especially when demonstrating the emotion on-camera or in person.

In the case of voice actors, what we think is what it "sounds like". It's playing the symptoms, not the cause.

“Breathing as acting” doesn’t sit well with anyone. If your character has been exerting himself, then coming into a conversation with authentic panting is fine for the first line or two, but no one wants to hear huffing and puffing throughout dialog, whether from physical exertion or emotion. . . it’s just too transparent an attempt.

Do you have a favorite television character or character from comic book or piece of literature? If you do, you are most likely attached to the main characters, or protagonists.

To give you an idea of how this concept translates to video game characters, the people who play the games, or Gamers as they are called, are very attached to their protagonists.

Gamers can smell bad voice acting techniques a mile away. As DB said, breathing as acting doesn’t work under any circumstances. Nobody wants to hear fake voices. People, particularly Gamers, prefer authenticity.

Exertion Sounds (Directly from DB's notes)

Exertion vocalizations are the HARDEST PART according to the voice directors.

Does your character handle weapons?

Practice with weights that match your weapon. Swing a 20 pound dumbbell to see what kind of effort a broadsword would require. Learn, if you can, when it is like to shoot a gun. Have you taken a martial arts class? What does it feel like to throw a punch, or to be hit? You need to be able to honestly “fight” because so many games include battles of one kind or another.

I know during the filming of Marathon man, Sir Lawrence Olivier supposedly chided Dustin Hoffman for staying up all night so that his character would look exhausted, saying “WHY NOT TRY ACTING”?

I say, why not try authenticity? Do some physical preparation.

~~

Now, some thoughts on Microphone technique

• Film actors are better at video game microphone technique and Additional Dialogue Replacement (ADR)
• To be a voice actor for video games, you have to be able to scream.
• Use the most imagination for the tiniest of lines. This will determine if your voice is loved or annoying.
• Exertion audio is the hardest to do but the most important and numerous of voice over lines in video games
• If you are familiar with martial arts, gun shooting or fighting, it will help you to prepare for a role.
• If you’re going for a role in an ongoing game series, research the games that came before your game.

Circling back to screaming, keep these facts in mind:

This is not an easy feat, or pleasant for that matter. Screaming uses the same muscles that you use when you throw up. You should back away from the microphone when called to do this.

Hot tip: Learn about the characters and the recurring roles if you're auditioning for a series. Gamers expect you to respect the characters and plot as well as the history of the series.

DB related, "You may wonder why there aren’t rehearsals for such a complex dramatic form."

When she began her research, she asked audio directors about rehearsals and the consistent answer was “There are none.” It’s all about cost constraint.

This is why being familiar with games is such a valuable asset.

This is also why you need to be ready to "act on a dime”.

When making a video game voice acting demo, Include instructions for how to play the game. This will show that you understand the game as well as researched it thoroughly.

Quick vocab lesson: A side is a script that only has one character in it.

To wrap up, Audio directors need VAs (voice actors) to do two things:

1. Give them a line reading
2. Improvise / ad lib

Don't know what line reading is?

A "line reading" is where you repeat a line exactly the way the director reads it TO YOU. It's like being a parrot.

Sometimes, the directors have a very specific way they want a line said, and they just need it in the character's voice. It's the opposite of improv.

Pat Fraley’s "series of three" combos are valuable because sometimes you’re unsure of what’s going on in a scene or if you don’t know your proximity to the other characters.

• Best, Contrast, Best
• Goldilocks (too hot, too cold, just right)
• Like the person you’re speaking to, don’t like, are very close to.

It’s a great way to give the director a bouquet of line choices and hone your skills as a video game voice actor.

Wow! We've finished covering all of the lectures from VOICE 2007.

What do you think of DB Cooper's lecture? Has it helped you in any way?

Leave a comment for DB here on the blog :)

Best,

Stephanie

Ever been on an animation weekend?

How about a voice-over intensive one?

If you live on the East coast, you have the opportunity to do so early this May 2007!

Join Bob Bergen for a weekend you'll never forget in New York City May 5 & 6.

While we're talking about Bob, he has a wonderful animation voice over weekend coming up in New York!

Here are the details:

Date: Saturday May 5 and Sunday May 6, 2007
Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Startrax Recording Studio, New York City, NY
Tuition: $400 total (includes both Saturday and Sunday)

* A non-refundable $100 deposit is necessary to reserve a spot (check or money orders - no credit cards, please) with the balance due at the start of the seminar.

Once the class is full, if you'd like to audit / observe the workshop you may do so for $75 per day.

You'll learn:

• Mic audition techniques
• How to create and sustain characters
• Do's and Don'ts of demos
• Tips on the business of the business
• Agent / Client relationships

and much, much more!

For booking information, contact Bob Bergen at bob (@) bobbergen.com

Note: Please include "NYC Weekend Workshop" in the subject line.

Who is the real Porky Pig?

How did he get there?

What keeps him going?

Read about Bob Bergen's extraordinary one man show "Not Just Another Pretty Voice" here at VOX Daily.

Growing up, Bob Bergen (then known as Bobby Bergen) was always doing voices, whether he knew it or not.

Bob's main goal in life from as early on as his 'tween years was to become the next voice of Porky Pig - a character voice acting role defined by Mel Blanc - a role Bob was determined to inherit from the master himself.

As most fans do, Bob picked up his telephone book and sought out every M Blanc in the phone book, hoping that he'd be able to speak with his hero and voice acting role model.

Not having much luck, he remembered that Mel's wife's name was Estelle, so he dialed up all the E Blanc's he could locate, and wham, Bobby Bergen found himself on the phone chatting with Mel Blanc.

The conversation (which was taped at the time) was interesting, revealing even.

Bob found out that Mel was to record at a particular studio the following week. After the conversation ended, as most fans would do, Bob then looked up the studio in the phone book and called in to "confirm" Mel's recording session - the receptionist then confirmed the time and date of the session, and, you guessed it, Bobby Bergen and his mother played hooky from school to go watch Mel Blanc in action.

At the age of fourteen, Bob Bergen already knew what he wanted to do, and that was to be the voice of Porky Pig. What better opportunity to glean those skills than to watch Mel Blanc in the booth?

Upon arriving at the studio, the secretary asked Bob why he was there. He answered that he was friends of the producers and they invited him to sit in. Satisfied, the secretary let him in to the room.

Once in the room, the producer asked him why he was there. Bob then told the producer that he was friend of the secretary. Again, the producer took no notice of the white lie and directed Bob to a place where he could watch the session from.

Finally, a budding Porky Pig got to see the legend perform live.

When he started recording, there was something odd about his technique. In one hand, Mel held a cigarette, in the other, some oxygen. In between takes, he would alternate between the two substances while young Bobby watched on, slightly confused.

It was said that Mel was told once that if he ever combined the two (cigarettes and oxygen), he'd be blown sky high, hence why he was so meticulous about keeping them apart. That may also just be commonsense, but still a good thing to be reminded of in the event those two should interact.

That wasn't the only thing out of line during the session.

After takes of Porky Pig and Tweety, the engineer would "speed up" Mel's voice.

Astounding!

While we're on the topic, Bob's Porky is not sped up, but his Tweety is to better match Mel's renditions.

Okay, back to the story at hand.

This must have been absolutely horrifying for Bob.

Bearing witness to substance abuse, recklessness and production tricks all at once that equally involved Mel Blanc in a recording booth doing the voices he knew and loved would drive him to say nearly anything.

In Bob's case, once Mel had exited the booth and approached him, his gut reaction was to say "You're not as good as I thought you were".

Open mouth, insert foot!

After that, Mel was out of the picture, minus the tape Bob replayed so many times that it finally broke. Remember, this was in the era of splicing and dicing with tapes, not digital wizardry.

Heart broken, Bobby moved on, grew up and eventually got the call to be the voice of Porky Pig and Tweety on Tiny Toon Adventures (a show I happen to have been in the demographic for, as Bob noted later that evening).

Bob has voiced the character of Porky Pig for over 14 years.

What keeps him going?

Maintaining the integrity of each character and paying tribute to Mel Blanc for the groundwork that he laid for future voice actors.

Now, that's only a snippet of the hilarious, side-splitting, tear jerking performance. If you go to Bob's show "Not Just Another Pretty Voice" at the Stella Adler Theater in Hollywood later this month through the end of May, you'll get to see what we all were privy to at VOICE 2007.

What I can reveal, however, is that there is a happy ending for taped telephone conversation recording.

Several years ago, Bob's mom called and asked him if there was any significance to this old tape she found packed away called "Phone Conversation with Mel Blanc".

Bob couldn't believe it. Back then, there was no hope that the recording could have ever been salvaged, but now, in this wonderful age of technology, it was only a studio visit away from being fixed.

And, that's what he did.

You can listen to the phone conversation between Mel Blanc and Bobby Bergen on Bob's website. They talk about the creation of voices.

So, what do you think?

The moral of the story is if you work hard enough, you will achieve your dreams. Bob did, and not every boy can grow up to become Porky Pig!

Please leave a comment with your thoughts and or feedback for Bob.

Best,

Stephanie

P.S. I am listening to Bob's conversation with Mel right now and it is giving me goose bumps! I'm nervous for Bob more than 25 years after the fact, but it all worked out swimmingly :)

Looking for a Character workout?

MJ Lallo brought the house down with her comedic personality and unique character voice acting techniques.

Learn some tips on how to make the most of your character voice acting career from a pro's point of view.

MJ Lallo's lecture on the Friday was all about putting technique into practice!

I'd like to focus in on several topics that MJ covered, including the Animation Advisor's organization, why it is so very important that you hire talented people to provide character voice acting services, and some techniques for you to try.

Animation Advisors

Animation Advisors is an organization MJ is involved with.

A part of what the Animation Advisors do is provide people with the steps they need to take to produce their animation project. They also strongly suggest that room for good voice talents is included in the budget.

You will save when you hire talented people

If you don’t hire talented people and hire other less talented people for less money (or for free), you will pay exponentially more in studio fees because the person you hired doesn’t know how to act!

Avenues for Work in Character Voices for Animation

Singing

Be sure that you can sing in different characters. Sometimes people hire actors who can’t sing (this happens more often that you would think) and they need to find a voice for those parts.

Being able to sing in character is a specialty skill - not everyone can do it.

Location

You don’t have to be in Los Angeles to get character work

Women Need to Step Up and Write!

Women need to start writing and producing more parts for other women’s voices. That's how the roles for women in animation voice overs will increase over time.

When creating a character, remember these points:

• Think like an animator
• Always think over the top in animation
• Nothing politically incorrect in animation

Idea: Explore all of the voices you have that stem from different parts of your body.

• Talk out one side of your mouth and then the other side
• Under bite
• Buck Teeth

You need to develop a vocal range in all of your characters and an arc in each character. The challenge after you’ve created that voice is that you then have to act.

Something to remember is that anytime you are not using your regular voice, you are doing a character voice over, even if it is a commercial.

Most importantly, try to relate to the people you are working with or talking to and your best performances will come through!

If you enjoyed MJ's lecture, please leave a comment on the blog!

Stephanie

Wine, cheese, Don...

Couldn't get much better than that!

Want to know more?

Keep reading!

Discover the magic that is Don LaFontaine, the King of Voice Overs.

As a young man, Don LaFontaine wanted to be taller (and, also an actor).

Along the way, he ended up in the army and somehow picked up the tools of the recording trade while working for the government.

Once those skills were honed, Don moved to New York and got a job at a recording studio. This is the very beginning of Don's journey to voice over.

Nowadays, Don is known for his voice, however, back in the very early '60s, he was known for his copy writing skills, crafting the movie trailers that he would one day be the voice of, part of a select group of entrepreneurs in the new world of movie advertising on radio and television stations.

One fateful day in 1962, an unnamed voice talent did not show up for their session to record a movie trailer voice over. Don being where he was at the time with the knowledge that he had (being the writer and all) was asked to be a substitute in his place to record the voice over.

It was the easiest $82.00 he had ever made and the first of millions.

For twenty years, Don was a casual announcer and producer. Then, he moved to Los Angeles and was able to work on movie trailers full time. 3,500 trailers later, Don sat confidently in his chair on the stage at VOICE 2007.

Now that we're through with our history lesson, let's dig in to what Don shared last week, shall we?

First off, Don said that all voice over work has a rhythm and you have to give it its proper weight. Just as in music, there is a rhythm to voice over performance.

Some voice talent are endurance runners while others prefer to sprint. Find your rhythm.

A quote from Don LaFontaine:

"If you are going to be successful, you have to have veracity and honesty - if you can fake that, you've got it made. Your heart needs to be fully behind what you read. Devote yourself to the service of words and you're halfway there."

Silence followed for a brief moment, then the inevitable question, "What's the other half, Don?"

"Wait 'til I die", delivered in true Don LaFontaine fashion.

To continue on that train of thought, Don encouraged writing to help develop the entire side of your creative personality. It's when your personal feelings ring through that veracity is realized.

Two of Don's favorite movies to work on were The Terminator and The Elephant Man.

When asked about his busiest days as a voice talent, Don stated that once he had 26 separate recording sessions, 200 spots in a day, including an entire season of spots for Cops! It's a wonder Don has time to sleep!

On another note, the room applauded when Don said that he was the biggest champion of women working in voice over. He also noted that the time is coming for women to really step up in the industry and record voice overs traditionally recorded by men.

Producers need to change their mindsets when in comes to trailers, that is to say, be more open minded when it comes to hiring women. Amen to that!

After the interview was completed, audience members were able to line up to ask questions of Don.

Of all the questions posed, the one with the answer that most piqued my interest was about maintaining vocal health.

Many of the suggestions Don gave were very similar to what the Vocal Department at UWO's Don Wright Faculty of Music presents to new voice students.

Here's a short list straight from Don LaFontaine:

• Don't abuse your voice
• Don't smoke
• Don't drink excessively
• Don't raise your voice
• Hydrate (drink water) frequently
• Don't overwork your voice

Don was also asked if his career could ever be duplicated. Will there ever be another superstar like him?

His answer was no, there likely will not be another person who reaches the same summits in their career and there certainly won't be another Don LaFontaine.

Don started out in the infancy of an industry and had the chance to help build and shape it. He wrote his own work and was the only one recording movie trailers for years. No, his career could not be duplicated.

The amazing thing is that Don had no formal voice over training. He worked hard for everything that he has. It is his determination, honesty, and instincts that have positioned him in the role he finds himself in today.

After 43 years of doing voice over, Don admitted that he has never grown tired of his job. He regards each page of copy as a new page. Each page is different.

Don's 43 years of voice over experience comes coupled with 43 years of AFTRA membership. Don revealed that eventually, if you are successful, you will find it necessary to join the union. Being a member of the union affords certain benefits, a pension and other perks. Don concluded that he had never been treated poorly by AFTRA.

After all was said and done, Don remained to have his picture taken and shake the hand of everyone who was there to meet him.

Kara Edwards snapped this picture of Don and I - thanks again Kara!

Did you like this article? If so, leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. Tune in to Jay Leno April 12th to catch Don!

Top photo of Don referenced from RickSommers.com

Bettye Zoller's audio book, "Speaking Effective English" has been re-released on Simon and Schuster's 2007 winter front-list.

Check out this interview with Bettye and learn more about how this CD can help you to speak more effectively.

Bettye Zoller's audio book, Speaking Effective English, with foreword by TV film star Edward Asner, has been re-released on Simon and Schuster's 2007 winter front list.

The CD set is very attractively packaged and educational, teaching people how to communicate more effectively in a wide variety of situations.

I had an opportunity to chat with Bettye about the book. I hope you enjoy this interview!

Stephanie: What inspired you to record the audio book?

Bettye: I first wrote and voiced an audio book way back in 1994 when three partners and I formed an audio publishing corporation. The company ended up concentrating mostly on doing corporate training and designing corporate training courseware. Clients included Southwestern Bell, Guaranty Bank, Reno Bell, Frontier Telecom, and many others nationwide.

My interest in writing started in childhood. I used to spend many hours at my aunt's old typewriter penning stories, pretending I was a newspaper reporter. And later, I worked for a weekly newspaper in Kansas City Missouri and was Associate Editor of a city magazine there as well. Journalism was always an interest. In fact, I won an honors scholarship to the famous Minnesota Journalism School (Univ. of Minn. at Minneapolis)!

However, eventually, music and acting won out and became my career focus. It's nice to know my love of writing is part of my life too.

Stephanie: Is there anything new added to this re-release?

Bettye: No. Nothing is added new. It is very important to note, however, that it's quite a compliment to be re-released as a TWO CD package by Simon and Schuster. The program originally was on cassette tape. It shows that the publisher believes the program is worthy of re release. It is!

Stephanie: How will your audio book help people to acquire new confidence?

Bettye: The audio book covers a very wide area including many topics from public speaking tips to telephone tips, from how to network more successfully to how to sell your product better. It even includes information on negotiating, what to do when you have a difference of opinion with someone but want to remain friendly with them, and how to state a firm opinion yet be open to others' views. It is a goldmine of information.

We also talk about improving voice and speech; clearer articulation, sounding more interesting when you talk, avoiding sounding bored or disinterested... it is a potpourri of info.

Stephanie: What is your target market? Are there certain groups of people or individuals who would receive more benefit than others?

The target market is EVERYONE who wants to improve communication in a wide variety of personal and professional settings. The CDs contain so many different topics and such worthwhile instruction that many people of all ages in all areas of life can benefit. That's why it's been a best seller worldwide!

Stephanie: Thanks Bettye! It was an honor to speak with you.

Bettye: My pleasure.

Bettye Zoller is available for author tours, lecturing and speaking engagements.

For more information or to contact Bettye, visit her website.

Stephanie

Has it been your dream to see your name on the credits of an audio book at Barnes & Noble or on Audible.com?

Have storytelling skills burning a hole in your pocket?

Bettye Zoller presented a fabulous lecture on the business of audio books and how you can find your voice in the 2nd largest growing sector of the entertainment business.

Bettye Zoller opened her lecture by sharing some objection handling regarding the number of voice talent out there in the market:

"There are not too many voice talents out there. Don’t let it discourage you. The only thing that is keeping you from success is you!"

Bettye first fell in love with recording when she was called upon to sing jingles in Dallas, TX. One session singing jingles made her more money than she had ever seen at once and more than a month’s paycheck. Upon realizing her potential in the field of jingle singing and voice over, she changed career paths and followed her dream.

Since that fateful day in Dallas, Bettye Zoller has enjoyed 34 tremendous years in the business, ranging from voice overs, jingles, roles as creative director and audio engineer.

Although you can have a specialty niche that you prefer to work in, Bettye cautioned that you can’t just do audio books or narration; you need to do anything that will make you money (commercials, telephone systems, and so on).

Early on in the presentation, a harsh reality was explained:

"Voice over people are just a piece of meat - the end of the food chain."

You could hear a pin drop after that one, folks.

Don't believe the statement? This is how Bettye supported it:

"Someone thinks they want to do something. Then they have to create the thing. It gets created, a client may get the final say, and then finally you get the thing planned and the last thing on the food chain is who is going to record the voice over."

Some tips:

It isn’t how good you are, however, in the casting director’s mind, it's often 'does this person fit the role'?

Advice: Leave your ego at the door. Don’t get disheartened if you are not chosen for a particular job, just move on.

Now, onto audio books specifically!

Sales of audio books are the 2nd largest growing sector of the entertainment business.

According to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), talent are being hired more and more for audio book jobs than ever before.

An exciting aspect of the audio book craze is that print and audio are now done simultaneously instead of a book having been written and then a voice narration added to it once the publication has proven its worth on the market.

By virtue of this shift in consumer demand, you can do any kind of project in the world from poetry, non-fiction, to fiction to children’s books and everything in between.

Now, don't pigeonhole narration into just the audio book category. If you do that, you'll be limited in your choices and income streams!

Audio narration is also corporate work, educational work for the government, the military, schools (educational videos), medical narration, and so on.

Significant observation: With narration, you are not selling, you are telling. That’s there difference.

When you record for a fiction project, you may be voice acting as well as narrating.

As a narrator, it is your responsibility to become a personality and embody certain traits that your audience wants and needs to hear.

As a narrator, you want to talk like someone another person would appreciate hearing from. In order to achieve this goal, it is of the utmost importance to show personality in your voice. Be a friend who teaches.

Before you start recording, always ask producers what they want you to deliver in a more dramatic way. Pay close attention to the mood that they want you to project. Narration requires more finesse and nuances.

Take all of the direction you can before you are nose to nose with a microphone - you may be reading for a seven hour project.

Don’t go to a session without being prepared!

Let's look at documentary and film narration.

A little known fact is that most of the time you will be narrating videos or films before the film is even shot.

The director may request that you record several varying reads at different speeds so that they have a few interpretations to pick from in order to include the narrative that best complements the finished film.

Curious to know which narrators are getting the jobs?

Browse books and find out who narrators are in shows, look them up on the Internet to hear more samples. Don’t listen to stars, try to listen to unknowns who were cast solely upon their talent.

Pick out the color words in a narrative. Color words can also be described as adjectives. The color words paint the picture you want to convey in a lyrical and beautiful manner.

Bettye took some time to draw names to read a variety of narratives, including Voices.com's very own Carol Mroz! It was a treat to watch and learn from Bettye observing her in action as a teacher.

There were several entertaining performances with lots of nuance and character voicing. Some of the reads really pushed people creatively and psychologically and everyone who was called upon rose to the occasion with style.

As we came to learn, narration isn't just about storytelling, it's also about being able to stretch out of your comfort zone with your voice. This may include character voice acting, gender roles, and voice ages.

Be able to vary voice acting ages in increments of 5 years. If you are older, young yourself up.

Memorable quote from Bettye:

"Doing voice overs is never having to say you’re sorry!"

Producers would rather you just start again than apologize and begin in the middle of a sentence, hence the never having to say you're sorry (if you feel compelled, save it for the end of your session!).

So, just how do you get through a narration for an audio book recording successfully?

• Vary the speeds and inflections used in straight narratives
• If voicing a multi-role script, be sure keep the narrator voice consistent and have distinct character voices
• Don't leave too much space in between character lines for continuity
• Understand what you are reading and now what is going on in the script

Ask yourself: Can you do a continuum of ages, feelings, interpretations?

If you can, this is what sets you apart from the announcer... in other words, your voice acting skills.

Q&A with Bettye

Q: If you have kids, does reading the bedtimes stories at night help?
A: Yes, reading literature to children will help. If you don’t have kids or other relatives, volunteer at the library to read.

Q. What is an average Audio Book Narration Demo length?
A: They are longer than regular demos. Want cuts that are from 30 - 45 long and a variety of genres, non-fiction, kids story, medical, bodice, violent one, poetry, etc. Usually about 4 - 5 minutes long. Some are longer, however, it’s up to you. Be sure to do characters. Don’t put anything on that demo that you wouldn’t want a leading NY publisher to hear. Make sure it’s good!

Never do anything that isn’t in the script without asking.

Q: Any advantage of benefit to joining the Audio Publishing Association to break in?
A: Yes.

Q: How do you give character zest over a long period of time?
A: Vary pacing, tone of voice, put as much interest in it as you can.

Q: When recording multiple characters on digital, do people ever record many characters at home to practice before heading into a session for the real takes?
A: Yes, some people do.

Quote from Bettye: "The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask."

If this lecture presentation or summary has helped or inspired you, please leave a comment!

Best,

Stephanie

A member of the Canadian contingent that came to VOICE 2007 in Las Vegas, Debbie Munro has some insight to share with you!

Find out what one of Canada's top VO coaches thought of the VOICE conference.

As Deb says, "We discovered that we’re still in the baby steps of something huge about to burst."

I met Debbie Munro in person for the first time in Las Vegas.

She flew in from British Columbia and we came roaring on a jet plane from Ontario...

Funny meeting in the US, eh?

To give you some background on Debbie, she is currently represented by Deborah Harry Talent and has been teaching across Canada for the past 5 years as a voice instructor/acting coach.

All patriotic lingo aside, I'd like to publish this note I received from Deb today about what she took from the experience at VOICE 2007 and also some insight regarding the future of the industry itself:

After spending a week at the first of it’s kind Voice Over Convention in Las Vegas (VOICE 2007) it is my duty to tell you to get on board soon if you want to make into the world of Voice Over.

We discovered that we’re still in the baby steps of something huge about to burst.

Even Celebrities have taken an interest in next years event and each US union (including interest from ACTRA) has climbed on board to recognize the growth and opportunity in this generous and exciting craft of Voice Over.

This event was much bigger than we anticipated and it was my honor to represent Canada at this prestigious, historical and life changing event.

If you’ve been told that there is no work available in Voice Over, let us prove different.

Allow us to show you the opportunity available outside of your local market and in the comfort of your own home. We are teaching you the skills necessary to advance in this wonderful craft but also the equipment and means to begin your own home studio business.

It takes a lot of work to get there, but starting now puts you in the veterans circle.

We predict BIG things to come in voice over due to technology and instructors/talent spreading the word and spreading the work.

This is a rare industry full of happy, excited, generous and talented individuals who leave their egos at the door.

All our best,

Debbie Munro & The Mic & Me Team!

Been looking for an opportunity to study with Rodney Saulsberry?

Have we got the perfect solutions for you!

Check out Rodney's teleclasses and on location workshops, starting as early as two weeks from now. Reserve your spot now!

I had the immense joy of meeting Rodney and getting to know him better at VOICE 2007.

You can read more about the Rodney Saulsberry VOICE 2007 Lecture on VOX Daily.

Before leaving for the conference, Rodney has sent me this earlier in the month to let you know about different classes he is offering this Spring and Summer.

You are welcome to read more about the courses below or visit Rodney Saulsberry's website to select the class that fits your schedule and needs.

You can take a teleclass and study from the comfort of your home or you can book a trip to sunny California and join Rodney in one of his commercial voiceover workshops.

Class: Promo and Trailer Teleclass (six weeks)
Dates: Thursdays, April 19 through May 24
Time: 8-9 p.m. Eastern Time / 5-6 p.m. Pacific Time

Class: Commercial Intensive Teleclass
Dates:Thursdays, June 7 through June 21
Time: 8-9 p.m. Eastern Time / 5-6 p.m. Pacific Time

Class: Voice-Over Workshop - One Day Only
When: Saturday July 14, 2007
Duration: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided.
Where: Los Angeles, California. Studio location TBA.

Class: Voice-Over Workshop - One Day Only
When: Saturday August 11, 2007
Duration: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided.
Where: Los Angeles, California. Studio location TBA.

For more information and to sign up, go to Rodney's website, http://www.rodneysaulsberry.com.

Let me know how your experiences are if you attend or participate in the teleclasses!

Best,

Stephanie

New to the Art of Negotiation?

Are you in for a treat!

Let master negotiator Gregory Best show you the ropes on how to negotiate and use your negotiation skills to your advantage in the business of voice over.

Day three greeted VOICE 2007 with the smiling face of Gregory Best and his toolkit for negotiating success in voice over business endeavors.

To start off, Gregory said that all small business owners and voice talent need to negotiate and a lot of negotiators are actors.

The clarification was also made that voice talent are small business owners, a very important fact to remember.

That's right, you are in business for yourself!

Negotiation can occur anywhere, including at home, in business and or at work, daily transactions, and even voice acting.

Simple Definition of Negotiation:

Negotiation is the process of overcoming obstacles in order to reach an agreement.

That being said, the primary obstacle is the distance between both parties. Each party has different goals, desires and needs to be considered when negotiating.

As you may have already discovered, the art of negotiation is present in nearly every aspect of business from setting a fee to agreeing upon services to be rendered.

3 Core Elements of Negotiation

1. Information is Everything

We need the right information to understand what the job entails, how your voice will be used, and so on. Get all the information you can to quote appropriately. Remember, get as much information as you give.

2. Time is Precious

Time is something that we need. You have deadlines. Deadlines force decisions.

For example, I will be getting paid by X date, or, we’ll look at a product by X date. While you can often set your own personal deadlines for projects, you need to respect the fact that other people you may be working with have deadlines to meet, too. Try to negotiate deadlines with others to make them work for you.

3. You Have the Power

We all have power. Most of what you see in the world is perceived power. People only have the power that you give someone and vice versa. It’s what you have and you need to use it effectively for yourself.

Telephone is one of the riskiest forms of negotiation. You are not in person, info flows too quickly, skip key points, math errors, no visual feedback (e.g. body language), time frame is limited to the length of the call.

* Use time to your advantage - preparation is the key of negotiating. Do research when time allows, always be prepared. Don’t be pressured by a perceived deadline.

In the end, it’s about wants and needs. Use the time you have to your advantage.

What makes a good negotiation?

Strive for negotiations where both parties are satisfied. You have to come to something that everyone can live with, not necessarily both smiling about it. You both have to have your needs satisfied. If it comes across as unbalanced or unfair, you won’t work together again.

What kind of a negotiator can make something like this happen?

PROFILE OF A GOOD NEGOTIATOR

Has the “negotiation mindset” or “negotiation consciousness”

• Attitude of those who make deals
• Everything is negotiable
• Assertive is stating what he or she wants and challenges everything

There's a difference between being a servant and aggressive when negotiating - be a servant.

AIMS HIGHER

• Value your services
• Respect yourself - you are you - no one else is you
• You can always come down but you have to aim high enough in order to come out with what you want
• Eliminate negative self-talk - be positive
• Self-doubt limits our ability to be assertive
• Learn to say no

REALLY LISTENS

• The best negotiators are good listeners
• Listen to the other side
• Don’t be thinking of your counter point

ASKS QUESTIONS

• Good negotiators, like detectives, ask questions
• Better understand the other side’s position
• Learn as much as you can - write down your checklist to better understand your position and don’t leave anything out

HAS HIGH ASPIRATIONS

• Top salespeople genuinely believe in the value of what they are selling
• Your expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy

IS PATIENT

• Most patient person is in the driver’s seat
• Being patient will force the other side to give in as their anxiety rises
• Flexibility - be able to change or shift gears

FOCUSES ON SATISFACTION

• Looks at situations from the other side’s perspective
• Realizes that everyone looks at the world differently
• How does the other person perceive the situation?

IS WILLING TO TAKE RISKS

• Reasonable risks based upon reliable information
• Have a plan of action if it doesn’t work out

IS A PROBLEM SOLVER

• Looks for mutually acceptable solutions - don’t take things personally, it’s only a game
• Doesn’t get sidetracked by personal issues when negotiating

SOMETIMES WALKS AWAY

• Always has an option
• Doesn’t mean you won’t return
• Avoid the “new car fever” mindset

The Negotiating Game

• Make it a game
• Don’t let it become personal
• Keep to the subject of the negotiation
• It’s not about personalities

Style Supercedes Substance!

Let's look at Who You are. Who you are is your reputation:

Develop Positive Attributes

• active listening
• warmth and sensitivity
• patience
• sharing of feelings and consideration of others
• integrity and ethics

You will run into all sorts of people when you are negotiating, and for these different people, you will need to adopt unique styles to negotiate with in order to come away with a mutually acceptable agreement.

For instance, there are the tough guys, the nice guys, the nitpickers, the procrastinators and many others. Gregory goes into quite a bit of detail on how to handle each of these personality types in the VOICE 2007 workbook.

To conclude, you need to have strategies in place BEFORE you go to the bargaining table.

Your game plan may vary, but always know what it is and be confident. Know what it is you want out of a negotiation and what you can compromise on.

One very simple but overlooked rule: If you don’t ask, you won’t get.

Remember to be patient, check your personality outside of the deal at the door, and never accept the first offer. Also, don't be the one to make the first concession, either. Concessions should never move slowly.

Have you learned a thing or two from this lecture recap?

If so, please leave a comment for Gregory to let him know what you think!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Copyright Gregory Best, 2007

The anticipation mounted as the third and final iPod Shuffle winner was being drawn.

A mass of people ran up to the stage to get their business cards in last minute for the drawing...

What follows could only be described as WOW!

Voice actor and baritone Matt Merback assisted with the drawing of the third and final iPod Shuffle on Saturday, selecting the business card of a very excited Debbie Andreen!

I remembered Debbie well because earlier in the week, she had stopped by our booth and had a nice conversation with me.

We both noted that the colour of her business card was green and rhymed with her surname - those things are memorable for those of you with unique names (little branding hint!).

Congratulations to Debbie, Kara and Jeff on your iPod wins. I'm glad that you're all enjoying them!

Stephanie

Just what is the psychology of voice over?

Something to do with left brain and right brain...?

To find out, check out James Alburger and Penny Abshire's lecture presented at VOICE 2007!

So, just what does psychology have to do with voice over?

James and Penny pointed out early on in their lecture that as a voice talent, you are responsible for delivering a specific message to a specific audience.

When you're in front of your microphone, you are responsible for communicating, motivating, informing, educating, inspiring, and last but not least, selling.

Most importantly, throughout this entire process, it is still important to remember that you are performing!

When you record a voice over or message, the intent is to connect emotionally with your audience and build trust. You are creating an "illusion of reality" in the minds of your listeners through the use of compelling characters in interesting relationships.

OK, so that's what you need to do as a performer and professional voice talent. But, what does that have to do with the big psychological picture?

Penny and James spent some time on how your brain works and why this is relevant to your success as a voice talent.

You have two ways of thinking:

• Judgmental Thinking
• Critical Thinking

Judgmental Thinking is not conducive to succeeding in voice over. It's all about talking down to yourself - that doesn't ever help now, does it?

Critical Thinking helps you to identify the areas you may need to improve upon and then move ahead to become a better voice over professional.

I won't get into too much detail (there was a lot here folks and I recommend that you look into the DVD of the conference or books by James Alburger), but for homework, I'll assign you to look up the terms Broca and Wernicke. These are areas of your brain and both play significant roles in how you produce speech and interpret auditory information.

These gems also help to block unnecessary info and prevent sensory overload.

Now, on to the idea of Left Brain and Right Brain.

If you are a typical Left Brain thinker, you are driven by logical and linear thinking; you're likely very good at math and word problems, fixing things and navigating around.

If you're a Right Brain thinker (I know I can relate to this one), you are potentially a performer, more creative and also less linear regarding thought patterns. So, even if your grandfather was a mathematical genius, but your right hemisphere of your brain is dominant, those traits may just pass you by!

As a voice talent, you need to use both sides of your brain to fully succeed in your endeavors. Both hemispheres of your brain need to work together.

Don't sacrifice one for the other or it will certainly show in your performance. You need to find an ideal balance between the two that you are comfortable with as a professional in the field of voice over.

Some key points to take away when performing:

• Add drama whenever it is appropriate
• Find emotional hooks in the script
• Stay in the moment of the story you are telling
• See and understand the big picture of the story
• Listen and respond
• Discover the subtext of the story
• Keep spontaneity in your reads

Actress Shirley MacLaine was once asked by James Lipton how she defined acting, to which she replied "It's all about listening and forgetting who you are."

Some key points to internalize for Effective Communicating:

• Interrupt - Get their attention
• Engage - Keep them listening
• Educate - Give them the info they need to know
• Offer - Give the listener an opportunity to take action

As mentioned above, there were many interesting aspects of James and Penny's presentation that I have chosen not to reveal here.

To learn more about these techniques and the Seven Core Elements of Voice Over in James' book The Art of Voice Acting.

Best,

Stephanie

Disclaimer: Several key points and topics in this post were drawn from excerpts from "The Art of Voice Acting" as published in the VOICE 2007 workbook. Copyright James R. Alburger - all rights reserved.

Just how many tricks did Pat Fraley smuggle out of Hollywood?

These tricks will astound you!

Learn from one of the masters in this hilarious post.

Pat Fraley delivers pure Edutainment!

After the morning break, the room was prepared for Pat Fraley's grand entrance (of which he was entirely oblivious), complete with everyone wearing Pat Fraley's signature black sunglasses as pictured on his website.

As Pat entered to the theme music from Mission Impossible, he was greeted by hundreds of supporters wearing sunglasses and a standing ovation. I later found out from talking to Pat and DB Cooper that the sunglasses were Frank Frederick and James Alburger's idea (also, DB thought it would be great, too) and that he was touched and blown away by the experience.

Now, to declare some of those smuggled tricks!

Pat began his presentation with a live demo which was incredible to behold. The number of voices that came out of his mouth in a mere minute and a half or so was immense.

A very quick revelation to start off with: Pat says that experience is not the best teacher, it's the slowest teacher. His job as a teacher is to expedite a student's journey.

A teacher's job is to also get their students work. Helping students make it in the industry not only improves their circumstances and boosts morale, it also drives referrals to teachers who have schooled successful alumni.

Here are three of the many tricks Pat talked about at VOICE 2007 (Pat has a product that he sells where you can get them all for a very good price, so consider these a teaser!):

A smuggled trick: Smile and you won’t pop p’s!

Another trick: Need to sound 'hurt'? Do this:

Make really believable exertion sounds. These occur after an act of violence or a fall. When you are creating these sounds, stress the vowels and use consonants to propel and separate unique exertion sounds.

Another way to make a more authentic exertion sound is to mildly give yourself the Heimlich maneuver to get a forced sound.

Now, here is one really Shameless trick.

Let's say you are called upon to audition for a character role online.

Pat suggested that you could pre-record your audition - Slate your name - ruffle the paper and read the character name as if you’ve never seen it before. This tactic makes people believe that you are very good at cold reads.

On the flip side, the danger is that they also may think that you’re not prepared for the audition.

Hot Tip: If you think it will be dangerous, it will likely be good! Working outside of the box is not a safe place to be, but you’ve got to risk it. This tactic truly depends on the copy you are reading. Make your own judgment.

Oh, couldn't help myself! Here are three bonus tricks:

Bonus #1: Slating Your Name in Style

Consider having a British voice talent slate your name at the beginning of your demo or audition.

Bonus #2: Series of 3

Have you ever heard of an ABC role?

Essentially, you prepare 3 takes when auditioning. The first is your primary interpretation (A), the second is different from the first (B), and the third is mix between takes one and two (C).

Most directors will end up casting your third take, in other words, your C role.

You could think of this as the Goldilocks method: Too hot, too cold, just right.

Bonus #3: Stupid Character Voices

When called upon to be a stupid, dolt, or brainless person in a voice over, make the interpretation sound naive, not stupid. It will become more charming, engaging and acceptable (non-offensive to others).

So, there you have it.

If you'd like to smuggle some tricks via Pat's CD (60 tricks, vocal skills and techniques), you can purchase it at his website PatFraley.com.

Julie Williams also gave a wonderful review of "Greatest Cartoon Voice Tricks Ever Smuggled Out of Hollywood" in VOX Talk episode #17 that includes other tricks not mentioned here (but presented at the conference) including Mel Blanc's "Baby in a Hankie", Nancy Cartwright's (Bart Simpson) "Little Man in a Can" and "Speaking Fake French" among others.

If you enjoyed Pat's presentation, please leave a comment!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Do voice talents and voice actors need headshots?

This topic came up on a panel at VOICE 2007 and there were many opinions presented.

What do you think?

During the conference, there was an agent present who worked with voice talent in addition to on-camera talent based out of Las Vegas.

The agent suggested that although voice actors don't necessarily need professional headshots, agents will often ask for them so that they have more material to market you with.

As Chris Wagner noted a comment left on the previous post, a professional headshot is one taken by a trained photographer with a high quality camera, not a friend or family member with a run of the mill or disposable camera.

Let's say that the VO market was really slow going in your neck of the woods...

If your agent had a professional headshot to promote you with, they could potentially land you some work in print, on-camera, or announcing / presenting at live events.

This logic is based upon the fact that many people who work in voice overs also pursue other performing art forms (acting, singing, dancing) or are print models.

That being said, I think agents also would like to know what you look like if you are from out of town and they don't know you from meeting in person. A headshot may give them more of a reason to remember you and refer you for gigs.

Now, the flip side...

Not everyone has an agent and not all agents require headshots from people they represent who do not work on-camera or at live events.

As many of you have noted, sometimes a photograph does not correlate visually with what you have to offer vocally (not a voice professional let alone your voice matching your physiology).

For instance, you could be a shorter, slender man with a big booming voice. If your photo betrays you in the slightest, you may lose work over it because your physical image isn't what the casting director had in mind for the role (even though the job may not be for on-camera work).

Providing a photograph could also give someone the opportunity to judge you with your photograph as primary criteria before even hearing your voice. This act or decision made by the client hiring voice talent could potentially stereotype you based upon your photograph.

But... what about the notion that showcasing a photograph builds trust?

There's a catch 22 where having a photo as a voice actor is concerned.

For those of you who have a headshot, why did you decide to feature one on your website?

For those of you who choose not to do feature a headshot, we'd love to hear why you made the decision not to.

Looking forward to reading your thoughts!

Best,

Stephanie

Need a website tuneup?

Chris Wagner's lecture on voice over on the World Wide Web will give you several ideas on how to renovate your online real estate.

Read, take notes, and apply!

Discover some of the hottest website secrets unleashed at VOICE 2007.

Chris Wagner was the first to lecture on the second day of the VOICE Conference (Thursday March 29, 2007).

A veteran of the computer industry, Chris works for Sun Microsystems and is currently a voice actor and the owner of WBCDesign. Chris carved a niche for himself in the business of voice acting online, 30 years in the making.

Chris began his lecture by sharing the results of a search he conducted on Google recently for the term "voice actor", a search query which yielded over 350,000 results.

In 1994, there were only 3000 websites on the Internet. To give you an idea of how far we've come in this the Information age digitally, this past month alone (March 2007), there are over 110 Million websites online.

By anyone's calculations, that's quite a number of websites to think about let alone rank above.

This lecture was engineered to help you build a proper web presence and reach your target audience. The first step is to know who you are targeting and what your message is.

A simple website design is better. When you complicate things, people get confused and it is easier to stray from your main objective which is converting traffic into customers.

Try to keep the number of clicks on your own personal website to a minimum. Saving people from having to click may earn you their business by keeping them focused on the task at hand while evaluating your website and voice over offerings.

According to Chris, you should AVOID:

• Sites more than 1 page long
• Information that doesn't correlate with your main message
• Automatic audio that cannot be turned off (install a mute or stop option)
• Multiple font types
• A hit or visitor counter
• Linking to unrelated websites
• Linking to your competition
• Poorly written text (copy)
• Reliance on search engines for all business
• Copyrighted material that you don't have permission to use
• Offensive materials that slander other businesses

Now, here's a list of things you SHOULD have on your website.

Website Elements

• Contact Information
• Voice Over Demos (current demos)
• Testimonials
• Links
• Professional Headshot
• Biographical Information (2 paragraphs)
• Credits and Work History

Delivery Options

• Email audio files
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
• Secure client login to FTP

Website Improvement Ideas

Keep in mind that you are never really ever "finished" working on or improving your website. Here are some great tips to build into your website maintenance and promotion regime.

• Follow a review schedule
• Make a list of changes / improvements
• Keep time sensitive material up to date
• Check your website on a regular basis
• Submit your website to major search engines
• Focus on Keywords
• Use domain name as part of your email address
• Do link exchanges with Voices.com and other marketplaces

Potpourri (A Hodgepodge of great ideas for you)

• Use web filters to stop spam!
• Make use of ID3 tag templates in recording software for demos to tag your audio
• Send a newsletter to clients that ties back to your website
• 1074 by 678 is standard for pixel size
• Place tracking software on your website (Google Analytics)

Lastly, your website should reflect your unique personality. After all, you are really selling you and your voice over services.

I hope you've enjoyed this article - it was one of my favorite lectures.

Looking forward to your comments,

Laurynda

Have a special memory of VOICE 2007?

Share it with everyone as a comment on the blog!

It's now officially one week since VOICE 2007 came to a close in Las Vegas, NV.

There were many wonderful events and speakers present, but what I'd like to know is what left a mark on you personally?

Maybe it someone (or the people) you met, insight from a lecture, participating in an activity, or perhaps renewed enthusiasm for your career.

Share your favorite moment or memory of VOICE 2007 by leaving a comment on this post.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

P.S. I'll be posting more on the lectures this coming week. Until my next post, happy holidays for those celebrating :)

Do celebrity actors draw in bigger crowds than established narrators in voice overs?

Who would you rather listen to?

I can tell this debate will be very interesting...

Share your .02 here at VOX Daily and let the conversation begin!

While we know that sometimes big name actors can sellout at the box office for animation voice over roles, do they enjoy the same degree of success or notoriety when they are on the narration side of the voice over business?

I received an email from Robin Rowan asking this very question.

Does it make a difference to Joe Public whether or not a celebrity actor from Hollywood is narrating, or are they happy to watch documentaries based simply upon their interests and narration quality, regardless of the status of the narrator?

Robin posed the following:

Spurred by the mediocre job (in my opinion) Sigourney Weaver did on the 11-part series "Planet Earth," I am curious to know how many well-known actors and actresses are also doing documentaries and movie narration (i.e., Tom Selleck narrates the IMAX movie "The Magic of Flight.") Is it a good fit? Peter Coyote is not terribly well-known as an actor, but he dominates the Discovery Channel as far as narrators, and does a fine job (a little overused, though).

Do people actually watch a documentary or other feature because of the famous narrator???

Well, I think Robin may have something there :)

What do you think?

Leave a comment on the blog with your thoughts and reference your favorite narrator in your reply.

Best,

Stephanie

Have you been following our "What if Life Had A Soundtrack" videos? Good news! We've just released two more for you (that's 6 so far, ladies and gents!).

Check them out here.

Fab news everyone... two new videos are available on YouTube.com for you to enjoy from our "What if Life Had A Soundtrack" series.

The two newest additions are entitled "Dinner" and "Toothpaste". The image directly beside this text is of our couple eating out at a lovely restaurant. It all seems innocent enough until a fight ensues for the last dessert.

"Toothpaste" begins as a documentary voice over with comedic elements stirring the pot on-camera. A superb piece which is entertaining and intellectually stimulating.

If you like the traditional narrator voice, you'll love "Toothpaste".

Last week before we jetted off to VOICE 2007, we released "What Makes a Man a Man" and its counterpart, "What Makes A Woman A Woman". Both are quite humorous and spot on. I'm sure you can relate to one of these videos.

You can comment on the videos and share them with your friends!

So, for your viewing pleasure, I'd like to invite you on this blustery, snowy morning from London, Ontario Canada to take a few minutes out of your day for some fun at the Voices.com Video Podcast Blog.

Just click here to watch the videos and be sure to share them on YouTube.

Best,

Stephanie

P.S. Keep warm fellow Canucks and northern friends to the south of the border!

You don't have to serenade your clients beneath their balcony literally, but it doesn't hurt to send them some good old fashioned "Love Notes".

Frank Frederick's lecture on the subject of getting your customers to love you was a hit with those who have a way with words.

Branding all the way along, you'll thoroughly enjoy this post for the sheer loveliness of it! Grab a tic tac and get ready for some Love Notes with Frank Frederick, The Voice.

To carry us through to the end of day one, Frank Frederick lectured on the topic of "How to Create a Brand that Your Clients Will Love".

Firstly, Frank started at the beginning (a very good place to start, you'll concur) and asked everyone if they knew what a brand was.

Do you know what a brand is?

Examples of some familiar brands include Coca-Cola, Ford, Disney, and Google. Another way to come up with familiar brands is to play word association games and ask questions like "What's your favorite car?", "What's the first company you think of when you hear the word computer", and so on.

Now that's fine and dandy for established corporate brands that have been around for generations, but what about your brand? What is your brand?

The real truth about the brand is that a brand embodies aspects of your personal identity... A brand identifies who you are, what you can do and what you do for other people.

To use an example, Frank Frederick brands himself as "The Voice". Some of your colleagues in the room have already branded themselves as "The Voice of Choice", "Puma Voice", and "The Voice Inside Your Head" among other brands.

After a few minutes, we participated in an exercise that examined the obvious, relative and subliminal messages that are simultaneously conveyed when a brand name is uttered.

Now, just how do you achieve brand awareness for your brand amongst your customers and target market?

You have to write them Love Notes in your customer services that you provide and the customer experience. If you brand with Love Notes, your customers will "absolutely love you".

There are three facets of creating a brand:

• Seductiveness
• Familiarity
• Mysteriousness

Every brand has a back story, something that confirms where they've come from and how the company got to where they are today.

Hot Tip: When you are developing your brand, you’ve got to have a back story in order to draw people into your community.

In the middle of the lecture, we were asked to break into small groups (essentially the 8 or so people who sat at our tables) and create our own brand based upon nothing other than the fact that we were to brand our table.

The creative juices were obviously flowing for many of the groups and I think there was also a lot of hunger in the room (edging in on 5 p.m. at the time).

A large percentage of the groups included a reference to food or beverages in their pitch, a couple even stating that they were a smorgasbord of voices or a vocal buffet. Another group played on the VO5 Hot Oil brand while others focused more on their universality, touting that they were voices for the world, from many lands, and so on. Several groups incorporated humor as tools to persuade and engage which were quite effective as well.

Something I'd like to point out (this was only a brief 6 minute exercise) is that if you do not have a solid company image or identity, it is incredibly challenging to come up with something definitive particularly if you have several different visions and little more in common than the industry in which you work and sitting together at a conference.

Those who stepped up to the creative plate found a way around that obstacle and really made a go of giving their table an impressive brand that people would potentially do business with.

To close the lecture, it was time for some crazy questions!

How Branded is your Brand?

The perception of a brand is called brand identity - a front of mind awareness. Create an identity that makes people listen. The most valuable real estate available to you as an advertiser are the minds of other people, specifically your potential or current customers.

Branding is the Heart of Marketing

Fact: Over 98% of people will do business with the first company that they think of.

That's quite a percentage there. Now, as Frank Frederick suggested, we need to do some critical thinking as to why certain brands are stronger than others.

"Why are they the market leader in that company?", Frank asked. The answers he received varied, but they all drew similar conclusions.

Successful and powerful brands speak to your emotions, deliver on a promise, and create an image. It may not sound like rocket science, but this area is not for the faint of heart.

From my own experience and those of the Voices.com team, branding takes a great deal of passion, charisma and guts in addition to creativity and know-how. To reiterate, branding to this degree is not just something you do, it is truly a way that you live.

How can you create an identity to make your customers love you?

• Listen to what your customers are saying about you
• Use familiarity to draw them in
• Incorporate seductiveness, or as Austin Powers would say, "Your mojo, baby".

Finally, Frank had this advice to share:

"Thrive on the intensity of passion: when you believe in yourself you make others believe in you too."

If you have some Love Notes to share with Frank, please leave them here for him on the blog as comments!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Disclaimer: Several key points and topics in this post, though interpreted and expanded upon, can be found in the VOICE 2007 workbook. Copyright Legend Corporation, Park City, UT - all rights reserved.

What kind of instrument do you have?

When it comes to voice quality and professional range, you need to know how to work that instrument of yours.

Find out what pro voice talent and coach Connie Terwilliger has to say on the matter!

When you're trying to figure out what kind of a voice you have, it's a good idea to start with something familiar to compare your instrument to.

Connie asked the question "What kind of piano do you have?"

For instance, your voice could be likened to a Steinway, a Young Chang, or a generic department store keyboard depending on the quality, tone, and physicality of your voice.

During the lunch hour, participants were given a homework assignment to listen carefully to their voices and note elements about their instrument that they hadn't thought of before. Many people realized that although they thought they had a neutral accent, others told them that they had a distinct regional accent.

Connie then delved into how accents can limit or expand your career options:

If you have a neutral voice, there will be more work out there for you whereas if you have a regional accent, the work will be limited to a particular niche or casting requirement.

Mid range voices that are resonant with no discernible accent usually get the jobs. The accent most associated with this type of quality is the Midwestern US accent.

Accents like a Southern accent or New England accent are more limited with regard to demand... although that is the case, there a lots of people out there who live in areas of the country that have distinct local accents. What do they do?

The answer to this quandary is to figuratively adopt another brain!

If you have a strong accent or personality that takes you away from what is expected, employ another person's brain when you work on projects that require a neutral accent so that you can perform better and more accurately when recording a straight read.

For those of you just getting started in the industry, it will be hard for those of you who have the most common voice types. Lots of people have your accent and by virtue of that fact, may sound the same.

What you'll need to do is find something special that sets your voice apart that allows you to market yourself in the best way.

The VO Reality of Today

• Lots of work today through online marketplaces and voice over websites
• More competition correlates with more opportunities
• You need to critically analyze your competition
• Figure out their voice demo strategies and you’ll learn how to improve yours.

What makes something the way it is?

Know Your Competition

Overall sound: Are their demos professionally recorded using a good clean microphone? Are they using different microphones? Is there a subtle sameness throughout the recording?

Tip: In your recording session, see if the producer can change the microphones halfway through the session or EQ the microphones a bit to sound like a different microphone.

Listen carefully: Do you hear pops, mouth noises, unusual sound? Tinny? No acoustics? What is it that makes a voice recording sound professional?

Flow of the demo: Does it move along quickly and hold your attention?

While we're on the subject, some voice over demos are way too long and often redundant. If the producer has to shut you off (or stop your demo while it is playing) they likely are thinking that your demo is:

1. Too long.
2. The same kind of thing (not versatile / is redundant).
3. Not what they’re hearing in their head as they’re casting for a job.
4. Great! They will often say “I love that voice” and set your demo aside.

What do you really want?

A seamless, quick, and interesting voice over demo that leaves them wanting more at the end.

One way to achieve this is to add dashes of variety throughout your demo. Variety manifests itself in pacing, diverse attitudes, reads, copy, music, and sound effects.

Caveat about going to a demo mill:

They have their favorite music, sound effects and copy and every demo sounds the same. You have to be your own producer, do the self-evaluation and know what’s good. Look for variety in subject matter and in product. Variety in pacing, mix it up, show them what you can do. In point of view, you don’t want all the same kind of spots (first person, second, third). Add variety in all production elements.

Back to the core of the article :) What else should you be analyzing?

Acting skills: Top notch, mediocre, painful? Pick material that’s right for you. It's good to experiment and practice reading copy. Play your voice over demo, then play it back again and analyze all over again.

Give a lot of thought to the scripts. Use scripts that you can work with to highlight your voice and style.

What else do you need to succeed in this business? Understand the business and where the opportunities lies.

Marketing

• Don’t record a demo before you’ve got a business and marketing plan in place.
• Networking is different from sales. Effective networking leads to sales. Use schmoozing skills.
• Be able to understand and evaluate opportunities.

Point of interest: Union talent may be perceived as more professional by people who have been working with union talent. Something to consider when running a voice over business.

Something else you'll need to do to remain competitive is to keep yourself and your tools updated; have a marketing budget in mind to help you reach your target audience.

Business Sense and Ability

When you run a business, there are many aspects to consider as an entrepreneur. If you've been with an agent for as long as you can remember and are just striking out on your own, pay close attention to the following elements.

• Negotiation: What to charge. The cost of doing business, tools, marketing, value of time, how long it takes you to work and so on.
• Bookkeeping: Need to have some bookkeeping skills.
• Collection: Following up and making sure that you get paid.

Professional Tools:

• A great demo
• A web presence / place to park your demo
• A real domain name and corporate email address.
• Recording capability

When you go out to build your home studio, start by listening to and comparing microphones, setup an acoustically treated room, get a clean sound card, and purchase pro recording software. It's wise to learn how use the equipment before you invest too much in equipment.

Perk: Have some technical skills before you get into the VO biz.

Final question that you'll need to ask yourself...

DO YOU HAVE THE TIME TO DEVOTE TO THIS ENTIRE PROCESS?

Do you have the time to gain a true idea of the costs, time, and the expertise required for starting a career, for maintaining it, and so on?

Part and parcel of a voice over career is maintaining it, operating it, and keeping up with new opportunities, whether related to performance or new technologies.

When you are auditioning, take a critical look at your work and the process:

Is it right for you? Can you actually do it and does the client want what you are going to send?

Use your self-evaluation techniques to be sure that you are auditioning for the right projects.

Recording the project: Make sure that your self-evaluation techniques are in check while directing yourself. Objectively listen. Continue to self-evaluate as you progress in your career.

What else can you do to help your career continue to flourish?

• Create new demos and update old demos
• Re-evaluate your niche
• Test new niches

Connie asked at the end "Do you have what it takes?

Being in the VO business requires skills in the following areas:

• Talent
• Business
• Marketing
• Technology

And those are just the business side of things!

If you are curious about more areas to develop in your career, you can also read Rodney Saulsberry's lecture about stepping up to the mic and overcoming obstacles in your voice over career.

Your comments are welcome!

If you attended Connie's lectures, please leave her a note here to let her know what you thought of her presentation.

Best,

Stephanie

P.S. I've published this post about Connie Terwilliger's presentations at VOICE 2007. Please note that much of this material was taken directly from her copyrighted materials in the Conference Workbook. Please contact her (connie @ voiceover-talent.com) before reprinting this content.

Curious about the Art of Science and Self-Evaluation where voice over is concerned?

Looking for a formula for success as a professional voice over talent?

Connie Terwilliger may just have the answers you're looking for!

Read about Connie's lecture from VOICE 2007 to conduct your own self-assessment of where you stand in the world of voice overs.

After the break on Tuesday morning, Connie Terwilliger took the mic and gave a very informative lecture on the different stages people go through when becoming voice over talent as well as equipping her audience with the tools necessary to define where they stood as voice talent.

Connie's lecture was entitled: The Art of Science and Self-Evaluation

There are four basic phases that people go through as they mature in the voice over career. These Four Basic Phases are:

• Wanna-be
• Newbie
• Part-time
• Full-time

To define them further, a Wanna-be is someone who has been told that they have a great voice and should use it to make money.

A Newbie has taken a couple of seminars, has an idea of the direction they want to go in, simple technical abilities, and a low cost home recording studio.

A Part-time voice talent still works a day job to pay the bills, is more educated in voice overs than a newbie and has the ability to record pro quality audio.

Lastly, a Full-time voice over person is actively working in the business and can pay their bills in voice over or a very closely related area.

Of those who participated in Connie's poll to see how many people belonged to each phase, a quick show of hands revealed the following:

Wanna-be - 6
Newbie - 40
Part-time - 40
Full time - 30

The exciting aspect of voice over is that everyone has the ability to learn from each other because everyone is unique and has different backgrounds.

In order to discover where your niche is in the business, research the industry and options available; essentially, explore what it out there and how you can apply your skill sets.

For instance, you may find that you are a fabulous writer or can create or put music together with words. These skills are relevant and in some cases, necessary components of working in voice overs.

Connie insists that you explore the industry!

Be sure to ask yourself some questions. Start off with these:

• What do you sound like?
• What is your true natural sound?
• What are you doing?
• What can you do with your voice?

Evaluate your potential. You should be constantly evaluating your choices, decisions, and route of your voice over career.

Finally, figure out all those things and find where you fit in the industry. You really need to know where you fit in order to find success initially before you can branch out.

Now for the big question:

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

• Talent: Is your voice in demand or does it need a bit of work? Find your signature sound. What’s your money voice? Big money takes something unique and special that grabs people by the ear. It's a combination of your body and acting know how.

• Business: You need to know that you can actually run an office and get invoices sent out. Follow up, due diligence, customer relationship management (CRM).

• Marketing: Marketing is a major part of voice over career. Market yourself by following up, meeting new contacts, and advertising your services.

• Technology: In today's world, technology places a large role in how voice talent do business. Research hardware and software but also know your limitations.

The formula for success is simple: Find the people who want to buy what you have to sell.

If you want to take the bull by the horns, follow these suggestions:

• Make demos that showcase that ability and then get it into the hands of the people who have the money.
• Listen to what you hear on the air, websites, anything that has voice over. Think about the many different ways that people are hiring voice over people to voice things for them.
• Some jobs will pay top dollar, some won’t. Some will challenge you and some are boring. There are some fun things in the industry but a lot of it could be dry, however, it pays very well.
• Suffer through names, addresses, etc. to do other fun projects
• Know the voices that are out there and what they are actually doing
• Where are people making money - who might have the money to pay for this spot?

Connie ended the lecture with an easy listening exercise:

• Listen for what the voice type is
• Identify the attitude of the character speaking
• Discern the product being sold
• Interpret the meaning of the words and not the words themselves

Ex.

Voice type: Urban, youthful, etc.
Attitudes: REAL PERSON - Hip, sexy, tough, warm, motherly, everything in between.
Product being sold: Target demographic, regional? Radio and TV?
Interpretation: Figure out what required voice over style is along with nuances and coloration of the words.

I've published another post about Connie Terwilliger's presentations at VOICE 2007. Please note that much of this material was taken directly from her copyrighted materials in the Conference Workbook. Please contact her (connie @ voiceover-talent.com) before reprinting this content.

Click here to learn about the second lecture.

Cheers,

Stephanie

Who got the second iPod?

A lovely lady with a long flight home!

Check out this post to find out who the winner of the second iPod Shuffle at the VOICE Conference was, sponsored by Voices.com.

With some help from two wonderful volunteers, we drew for the second iPod on Friday afternoon.

Kara Edwards' name was called out!

Here's a picture that was taken of Kara, Carol, and I with the iPod Shuffle.

Good times in Vegas :)

Stephanie

(from left to right: Stephanie Ciccarelli, Kara Edwards, Carol Mroz)

Have you read Rodney Saulsberry's book, "Step Up To The Mic"?

If not, this account from notes taken during Rodney's lecture at VOICE 2007 is an awesome preview of the book.

If you missed the conference or haven't yet read the book...

You've got to read this!

The conference kicked off with a lecture from Rodney Saulsberry author of You Can Bank on Your Voice and Step Up to the Mic.

We began the lecture with an entertaining stroll down memory lane, discovering how Rodney Saulsberry, a Detroit native and graduate of the University of Michigan, came to find himself in the world of voice overs.

Rodney's career in the entertainment business started in music on Broadway and then exploded on the small screen with guest starring roles in series including Taxi, Mash, Gimme a Break, 227, Hill Street Blues and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman with a recurring role on the day time soap opera, Capitol. The lecture was accompanied by a video presentation highlighting his on-camera work and voice over work.

Living in prime time, Rodney continued to pursue work in television and film which eventually lead to voice overs and voice acting. Some of Rodney's favorite roles comprise of Joe Robbie Robertson on the hit cartoon series Spider-Man, Chyron in the Animatrix, Ufwapo on Ahh…Real Monsters, Willy on Xyber 9, and has guest starred on many other Saturday morning cartoons that include Rugrats, Duckman and Static Shock.

The world of commercial voice over and movie trailers came calling. Rodney found that his background as a singer gave him the foundations he needed to find his "signature voice", also known as a money making voice, voicing commercials for Verizon, Twix, Zatarain's, Burger King, and Alpo to name a few.

The lecture was entitled, Step Up To The Mic.

It wasn't merely suggesting the stepping up to the microphone and recording something, not at all. What Rodney meant by this was the overcoming of obstacles in your way as a professional voice talent and how your personal journey, voice acting ability and attitude affects how your career will turn out.

Several times, Rodney emphasized the fact that voice-overs are a journey through life and how everything contributes to your signature voice, something we'll talk about in more detail momentarily.

There were three unique aspects of Rodney's presentation that I would like to share with you:

1. The Analogy of the Tree
2. Movie Trailer Lush Technique
3. STRIVE

1. The Analogy of the Tree

Imagine that you are the trunk of a tree. This is your 'signature voice'. Everything in your life has lead up to this voice including your training, background, and personality. The tree trunk is strong and robust, just as your signature voice is your most valuable asset where making money in voice overs is concerned.

Simply put, your signature voice is the voice you are hired for most often and makes you the most money. Remember the post asking which voice type you were? Very much like that.

So, if your signature voice is the trunk, what feeds the trunk? The roots, of course!

Rodney described the roots as outside influences.

If you listen to other voice overs and concentrate on what others in your field are doing, you can incorporate parts of what you hear into your signature voice. The roots of your tree keep you nourished and challenge you to continuously improve your craft and diversify.

The roots may also give you inspiration to try out voice overs or voice acting projects that are not within your comfort zone or realm of your signature voice. This is where the branches come in.

Branches are extensions of the tree trunk. Branches are numerous and not as robust as the trunk of the tree itself. Your branches are a mixture of what you hear and incorporate into your offerings as a professional voice talent outside of your signature voice.

For example, if your signature voice is in commercials, your branches may very well include promos, voice acting for animation, telephone voice work or corporate narration. While these voice over styles may not earn the bulk of your income, they certainly add to your bottom line.

Summary: Take all of your unique qualities and make it your signature voice. Your signature voice is what you get paid for.

2. Movie Trailer Lush Technique and Other Reads

The Lush Technique was one of the most popular on the presenter evaluation forms submitted about Rodney's lecture, so listen up!

Lush is a word Rodney uses to describe the pauses or breaths that follow a dramatic trailer read. For instance, if you had the typical line (this is not copy from the lecture - just a sample read):

In a world...(pause)
Where peace had reigned for centuries...(pause)
Two rival nations lost their way...(pause)
Abolishing the treaties signed by ancestors in generations past...(pause)

You get the idea. The "Lush" is all about spacing, timing and intrigue. Essentially, it's Lush that keeps you listening and on the edge of your seat. A very effective technique.

Rodney had several volunteers read dramatic trailers and comedy trailers incorporating techniques discussed.

Comedic trailers require a smile in your voice while dramatic trailers incorporate the Lush technique and a more serious tone.

Real Person Read

Rodney also examined the Real Person read, often a spontaneous, off the cuff delivery that makes people feel like they are listening to a real person and not an actor or an announcer.

To sound more like a Real Person, you might want to look at a USB Snow Ball mic to plug into your lap top computer, aptly named as it is shaped like a snow ball. Its a nice mic because it doesn’t bring out the bass frequency which in turn makes you sound more like a real person.

Some great tips when recording a session or auditioning for a Real Person read were to think of other names and talk directly to real people (do this in your head, not out loud).

For example, you could say:

"What do I want, (Rodney)? I want an adviser who understands that being really successful and really happy..."

Rodney also suggested that you shouldn't memorize the ad copy. Bring a pencil with you instead of a pen to make notes as directors often have more than one interpretation that they have in mind where a given read is concerned.

While in studio or at auditions, don’t feel the need to act with other actors. Stay focused. Another tip that you should observe before getting to the studio is not wearing clothes or jewelry that makes noise. Those condenser microphones are extremely sensitive, so watch out!

Side note from Rodney: The microphone companies have done all of the work and technology has come a long way. You don’t need to spend a lot of money because many microphones nowadays can do the job. Buy things inexpensively. ISDN may eventually be replaced by online options.

I think every voice artist took something different away with them at the conference, however, Rodney's Lush technique was most definitely a hit.

3. STRIVE

This last portion is all about your attitude and how a positive attitude can affect your career in ways you may have only dreamed of.

You can turbo charge your career by being positive. After all, most things in life are a state of mind to begin with :)

• You have to love your work to be passionate
• radiate confidence daily
• Knowledge is power
• Nothing changes if nothing changes

Hot Tip: The secret to not being overly concerned about one audition is to get lots of auditions. Don’t worry about one audition - it is not anything you should take personally - learn from the experiences.

Challenges and Stepping Stones

Don’t let the obstacles in front of you keep you down. Pick your friends well. Step over the obstacles to get to your prize.

Watch out for so-called competitive friends. These are people who sometimes don’t have you career or best interest at heart. Step over the rejections and so-called friends. When you step over these challenges you can make them stepping stones to learn from.

Taste your financial success. Build it, see it, taste it.

Lastly, put all of things things together and remember to STRIVE:

Stick to your objectives
Take your time
Renew your faith
Initiate new challenges
Victory is your goal
Excellence will be your reward

Staying positive results in:

• Feeling less stress
• Avoiding self-sabotage
• Having more energy
• Lets a positive attitude become your brand

Build a positive foundation by:

• Acquiring the right voice-over nutrients
• Putting together a team
• Getting the right coaching

A positive approach to voice-over work in necessary for:

• Auditioning
• Finding an agent
• Making a demo ( a minute )
• The CD Demo is still real - people still want it for various reasons.

Overcome Obstacles such as:

• Procrastination
• Rejection
• Difficult Copy
• Constant Changing of the copy

Work as a team in voice-over sessions by:

• Contributing ideas
• Give 110% of your effort and creativity

Useful empowerment exercises such as:

• Affirmations
• Interactive VO exercise
• The mirror

Here's a question for you: How has a positive attitude helped you in your career?

Several professional voice talent shared their perspectives in Rodney's new book Step Up To The Mic, A Positive Approach to Succeeding in Voice-Overs including Don LaFontaine, Harlan Hogan, Nancy Cartwright, Rob Paulsen and Frank Welker.

I have the book here with me and will be reviewing it on the blog in the coming months!

Above all, NEVER GIVE UP and Be Fearless.

"If you have the audacity to conjure up the tenacity to reach your highest voice-over capacity then I know that there is great success in you."

~ Rodney Saulsberry

I hope you enjoyed this review. Keep your eyes on the blog for more lecture reviews from the VOICE Conference :)

If you attended Rodney's lecture, be sure to leave a comment here for him on the blog!

Best,

Stephanie

P.S. Watch Rodney's video presentation from the conference here!

Disclaimer: Several key points and topics in this post, though interpreted and expanded upon, were drawn from Rodney's new book "Step Up to the Mic". Copyright Rodney Saulsberry - all rights reserved.