What makes you pick up an audio book?

While some people love hearing their favorite stories read aloud to them, others prefer to collect the performances of their favorite narrators, regardless of the content.

Which audiobook selection philosophy do you follow?

How do you choose the audiobooks that you listen to?

While some of you may subscribe to the works of an author or like a particular genre of literature, there's also a group of you who might also make your decision based upon who is narrating the audiobook!

To give an example of who those narrators might be, they could be professional voice actors, well known actors from film, and perhaps even the authors themselves.

A few examples, if I may:

Professional narrators who have been featured on VOX Daily in the past year include Marc Cashman, Bettye Zoller, and Janis Panizza among others.

Film actors who have ventured into narrating audiobooks include Liam Neeson, David Suchet, and Kelly Ripa from the Regis and Kelly show.

A great example of an author narrating an audio book is Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, who enjoys reading his own material for audiences.

Another person synonymous with reading their own works is children's storyteller, Robert Munsch.

That's a look at listening to audiobooks because of the narrator.

Now, what about listening to an audiobook simply for the love of the content?

I think I'd listen to just about anybody who could read a Maeve Binchy or Isabel Allende audiobook because I am a big fan of those two writers.

When it comes to non-fiction or historical works, more emphasis would be placed on the content for me than the narrator, but that's just my take on things. You could liken this to going to see a movie in a particular genre that you find appealing regardless of who is acting in it.

Maybe the actors provide an extra incentive to go see the movie, but for those who are content centric, having a favorite actor in the mix just makes the story come to life all the more. In this case, the actors are nearly irrelevant because content is preferred over performance.

So, now that we've looked at the two different philosophies, what does it come down to for you?

Content OR Narrator?

Share your thoughts by leaving a comment here on this article.

Cheers,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Wallenrock

Have you read “A Field of Darkness” by Cornelia Read?

Ever listened to it?

If you have and it’s among one of your favorite audiobooks, you’ll be happy to know that Hillary Huber, narrator of “A Field of Darkness” has been nominated to win an Audie Award!

This week, I caught up with Hillary Huber, an Audie Award nominee in the category of Mystery for her work on the audiobook “A Field of Darkness”, a novel written by Cornelia Read.

I first heard about Hillary’s nomination from Karen Commins earlier this year and wanted to save this article for the week of the Audie Awards in New York City, so here we are.

Under the direction of Pat Fraley, Hillary Huber masterfully recorded “A Field of Darkness”, an audiobook in the Mystery genre.

Hillary is one of 700 nominees who were entered into the Audie Awards this year and given her talent and expertise in the area of recording for audiobooks, she is a prime candidate to take home an Audie to showcase in her Los Angeles recording studio.

When asked about her experiences with the audiobook and the nomination, Hillary confided:

“A Field of Darkness was a fabulous project from the get-go. I contacted author Cornelia Read and discovered that we had led virtually parallel lives – raised in Long Island, a move to upstate NY, then Colorado and finally landing in California. Each of us had a parent split for Hawaii. It’s just crazy. The cool thing is that Cornelia funneled all of this history into her protagonist, Madeline Dare, and therefore I got her through and through. Pat helped me prepare the other characters as well as figuring out the thematic threads. I’m not a mystery book reader and his insight was very helpful.”

Praise for Hillary Huber:

Madeline Dare, born into Long Island Society and raised amid the wealthy of California, is married to a Syracuse Railroad worker and writing for a small town newspaper. Dare dislikes Syracuse and her working-class in-laws while, at the same time, rejecting her upper-class upbringing. Upon learning of a twenty-year-old murder in the area, Dare investigates the crime, which is intertwined with her cousin Lapthorne Townsend. Hillary Huber reads this slow-moving mystery with a steady, even voice. Huber follows each shift in time and location as Dare daydreams about her life before Syracuse, remembering Lapthorne and all her adventures with him. As Dare seeks to uncover the truth about Lapthorne's life, she is forced to examine her own.

M.B.K. 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]

Source: AudioFileMagazine.com

About Hillary Huber

Hillary Huber is one of the most successful voice talents in Los Angeles. Her Audiobook narrations have garnered her consistently glowing reviews as well as a 2007 Audie nomination for A Field of Darkness. Hillary records in her own facility, Crooked Mile Studios.

Photo © Hillary Huber

Did you know that there is an annual awards show just for audio books?

The Audies®, are taking place in New York City this Friday June 1st, 2007, acknowledging literally hundreds of people in the audio book industry.

Want to learn more?

The red carpet will roll out this Friday evening at the Rainbow Room in New York for the Audie Awards, affectionately known as simply "The Audies®".

As cited on AudioPub.com, The Audies® is the only awards program in the United States entirely devoted to recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment. This year, more than 700 entries were submitted for consideration for these prestigious awards.

Audie Awards are given out to the best of the best in 31 categories including:

• Audiobook of the Year
• Fiction, Abridged
• Fiction, Unabridged
• Literary Fiction
• Mystery
• Thriller / Suspense
• Romance
• Science Fiction
• Inspirational / Faith-Based Fiction
• Classic
• Non-Fiction, Abridged
• Non-Fiction, Unabridged
• Biography / Memoir
• Personal Development / Motivational
• Business Information / Educational
• Children's Titles for Ages Up to 8
• Children's Titles for Ages 8-11
• Children's Titles for Ages 12+
• Inspirational / Spiritual
• Humor
• Short Stories / Collections
• Original Work
• Solo Narration – Male
• Solo Narration – Female
• Narration By The Author or Authors
• Multi-Voiced Performance
• Audio Drama
• Audiobook Adapted from Another Medium
• Package Design
• Achievement in Production
• Spanish Language
• Judges' Award: Politics

The Audies® Finalists are being featured through AudioFileMagazine.com in a podcast called Earshot. Click here to listen.

Stay tuned for more coverage on The Audies®, complete with a feature on Hillary Huber, voice actress and narrator nominee in the Mystery Category.

Best,

Stephanie

Photo © TheAudies.com

Ever wondered what the difference really is between Voices.com and voice123 on jobs?

If it all comes down to jobs for you, this article is must-read. It answers the age old question.

Discover the truth here at VOX Daily.

Some people say it appears that voice123 has more jobs posted at their website.

Why is that?

The reason why it appears that voice123 is yielding more job opportunities is because Voices.com declines approving numerous jobs that do not meet our Job Posting Guidelines.

It comes as no surprise to us to see the same jobs we turn away posted at voice123 which many of you have noted are of a lesser quality.

Clients whose jobs are not approved at Voices.com are encouraged to contact talent directly and request price quotes in that manner. We stick by our guidelines and respect your need for professional opportunities being posted through our service via the auditioning process.

If we were to approve all of the jobs that we receive, I could say in all confidence that those opportunities would exceed what voice123 is posting at their website.

However, the overall quality of those opportunities would plummet.

I'm certain that more jobs with some at lower if not ridiculous budgets (or lack thereof) would not be welcomed with open arms after all of the hard work we've done to make sure that only the best opportunities are presented to you!

Some interesting news to share:

A fact you may not have heard (it's been recently updated), is that for every one job (1) posted at Voices.com, another fifteen (15) voice talents are contacted directly by different clients for direct job offers through Voices.com via the search engine and the Featured Voice Talent Directory as well as the Movers & Shakers list.

That's quite the ratio!

The rub lies in getting more of those really great jobs.

It is something that we work at every day and the results are coming in steadily. Marketing plays a role but in the end, it all comes down to relationships and nurturing each customer in order to sow seeds for opportunities that will last bringing more work and better work opportunities over time.

Many a seed has been sown and we're looking forward to seeing the results of our continued efforts. It's an exciting time.

Great things are happening for us, and as they say, overnight successes are years in the making. We've been at this now (operating a voice over marketplace) for 3 solid, wonderful years, so there are a lot of irons in the fire, if you will :)

Clients use Voices.com because they trust us and they trust that you will get the job done right, on time and within their budget.

If you haven't downloaded the full comparison chart, you can do so here.

Any thoughts on this?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Live in or around Toronto and want some voice over training from a real pro?

Guess what? We're bringing Debbie all the way from Beautiful British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario!

To register for Mic & Me in Toronto on June 9th and 10th, 2007, simply click the "Register Now" button to get started on the road to learning from and working with top Canadian voice over coach Debbie Munro!

See you there :)

Over the weekend (June 9 - 10, 2007), Debbie will be teaching a two-day Voice Workout workshop catered to all levels.

The Voice Workout gets students behind the microphone using professional equipment, taking direction from one of the top instructors in North America.

Using her knowledge and passion for the industry, Deb Munro will direct participants through their scripts, pushing them more than thought possible, regardless of a students level. Debbie will also share tips on how to help develop strong professionals and introduce practical tools to use over and over.

Staying on top with the current trends is easy when you are in the know with Debbie Munro!

Details:

To sign up on a per day basis, the cost is CDN$212.00 and the fee for both days is CDN$375.00. Prices will go up after June 4th, 2007 to $250 on a per day basis and $424 for the weekend, respectively.

Lunch is provided by Ryerson for $12 per day.

The Mic & Me Workshop will take place at Ryerson University’s International Living Learning Centre in Toronto, ON Canada on Saturday June 9th and Sunday June 10th, 2007. Classes run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Here's a Google Map to Ryerson University for those of you outside of Toronto (Front entrance is on Jarvis and the back entrance is on Gould):

Best,

Stephanie

Just how does the new Voices.com work?

Watch this new video produced by the team at Voices.com, including a thorough explanation of SurePay.

It's on YouTube as well, so you can share it with your friends easily. Check it out!

To your success!

Stephanie

Wonder how the new SurePay Service is going?

SurePay is our new escrow service as mentioned in the Official Voices.com User Guide.

Hear from some of the first people to use SurePay and learn more about how this process works!

I'm excited to say that SurePay has taken off very well!

There have been a number of business relationships formed and projects completed with the help of the new Voices.com SurePay Service.

Talent can be hired by clients using SurePay via three methods:

1. Through Public Leads (jobs posted to all eligible talent)
2. Through Private Leads (jobs posted to a select group of invited talent)
3. Direct Contact (Private Job Offer to one talent on their website)

For those of you new to Voices.com or to SurePay in general, here's an explanation of how SurePay works from a job posting perspective:

How SurePay Works

Once a Lead is approved by the staff at Voices.com, qualified voice talents will receive an instant email notification with details pertaining to the Lead.

Within the hour, the client can check back to view responses to their posting by clicking on their Responses tab. Clients can listen to MP3 samples and even compare quotes for their project all on one page. Once the client has found the best candidate, the talent is awarded the job by clicking “Select This Voice”.

By doing so, the client is making a Job Offer. Upon Making A Job Offer to a voice talent, the client will be prompted to attach a final script, confirm the deadline and final price including a modest escrow fee.

When a voice talent receives and accepts a Job Offer, the client will be directed to make a deposit with our SurePay Escrow Service.

SurePay is an Escrow service that holds the client's deposit in a neutral bank account, which only releases payment once they have downloaded the files and accepted the work as complete.

Once a deposit is made, the voice talent receives an email notifying them that the deposit was successful, allowing them to proceed with recording the agreed upon script. When a voice talent has completed the work, they will upload the files to their account at Voices.com. Uploading the files through SurePay makes them available to the client in their account as well.

Following the file upload(s), the client receives an email inviting them to download the audio files. If it all sounds good (what they expected from the contract), they click “I accept” to release the funds to pay the talent in full for their work.

To complete this business transaction, both the client and voice talent have an opportunity to leave Feedback about their experience working with each other at Voices.com. Feedback consists of a 5 star rating and a brief review providing further details to support the star rating provided.

~~

I took the opportunity to follow up with a few SurePay users to hear about their experiences.

Here are a couple replies that I've received since this afternoon:

“The new SurePay system took a great deal of guess work out of the process of negotiating and then expediting getting a project done. I like the idea that this also allows Voices.com to better follow the process. Having Voices.com act as a third party FTP file delivery system will be big help for beginners! SurePay takes some of the anxiety out of getting paid by making sure clients are honest upfront! Now that I’ve gone through the process, I know what to expect and know that my next job through Voices.com will be a worry free experience.”

Dan Lenard

"Using SurePay was a reassuring experience. It was great to see that my client had deposited the payment before I got started. Knowing that the money would be there when I was done allowed me to focus on my product rather than the business relationship. I also loved having the opportunity to rate my client. The system ensures mutual respect and trust."

Doug Rein

I received a question not too long ago about when the SurePay Feedback Ratings and Reviews would go into effect. The answer: Imminently and I'll keep you posted here on the blog.

Also, another question was asked about whether or not the Feedback ratings given to you by a client using SurePay would still count after the release of the new Feedback Ratings and Reviews system is released.

The short answer is yes. That's the whole point and the beauty of the shift to this method of feedback - you earned it, fair and square with a job to prove it!

For instance, the positive feedback ratings that Doug Rein and Dan Lenard have received will count when the new Feedback Ratings and Reviews are launched. Also, any work that you do between now and then using SurePay will also be recognized in your Feedback Ratings and Reviews as well as future Ratings and Reviews through SurePay.

It is wise to start using the service now as those already using SurePay are building up feedback ratings that will help them establish more business relationships at Voices.com among other things.

Thank you to Dan and Doug for sharing. There will be more success stories to come!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Konstantin Inozemtsev

The new Official Voices.com User Guide is now ready for download!

With anything new, it helps to have a play book or guiding light - here's yours for Voices.com :)

Get your copy of the PDF User Guide here at VOX Daily.

With anything new, there will be changes, a chance to learn and more opportunities to succeed.

Over the past couple of weeks, we've been working hard on preparing an excellent User Guide for you to help navigate through and use the new Voices.com to your full benefit and advantage.

Complete with pictures and a feature chapter on SurePay, this PDF is a must read for anyone who uses the Voices.com web service.

Although it may say "A Beginners Guide to Getting Started at Voices.com", this means everybody!

We are all new to these changes and feature additions, so please note that everyone who use Voices.com, regardless of talent level or experience, are all "beginners" in this sense.

Download your copy here.

Cheers,

Stephanie & The Voices.com Team

Are you a Canadian voice over talent in Ontario?

Have you been looking for a workshop to attend that you didn't have to travel to the USA for?

Voices.com is bringing top voice over coach Debbie Munro and her Mic & Me Workshop series to Toronto this June! Learn more about this awesome opportunity here at VOX Daily.

We're teaming up with top Canadian voice over coach Debbie Munro to present Debbie’s Mic & Me Workshop, a two-day intensive voice over education that covers vocal technique and the business of voice over itself.

Over the weekend (June 9 - 10, 2007), Debbie will be teaching a two-day Voice Workout catered to all levels.

The Voice Workout gets students behind the microphone using professional equipment, taking direction from one of the top instructors in North America.

Using her knowledge and passion for the industry, Deb Munro will direct participants through their scripts, pushing them more than thought possible, regardless of a students level. Debbie will also share tips on how to help develop strong professionals and introduce practical tools to use over and over.

Staying on top with the current trends is easy when you are in the know with Debbie Munro!

So, when and where is this all happening and how much does it cost?

There are options to either attend on a per day basis or to register for both days of the Mic & Me Workshops in Toronto.

To sign up on a per day basis, the cost is CDN$212.00 and the fee for both days is CDN$375.00. Prices will go up after June 4th, 2007 to $250 on a per day basis and $424 for the weekend, respectively.

The Mic & Me Workshop will take place at Ryerson University’s International Living Learning Centre in Toronto, ON Canada on Saturday June 9th and Sunday June 10th, 2007.

To learn more or register for the workshop(s), contact Voices.com by calling 519-488-5575 or emailing stephanie@voices.com. PayPal payments are accepted (before I had said VISA and Mastercard, but that's just through PayPal - edited May 24).

Register For the Mic & Me Workshop in Toronto

Debbie is taking about 12 students per day, so these spots will fill up soon!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Here's a Google Map to Ryerson University for those of you outside of Toronto (Front entrance is on Jarvis and the back entrance is on Gould):

Best,

Stephanie

Photo © Debbie Munro

Feeling under the weather?

Not quite yourself? Got a nagging ache that won't go away?

We know how you feel 'cause we've been there this week!

Discover 10 ways to avoid getting rundown at VOX Daily.

I'm writing this post a tad later than I would have hoped thanks to the flu.

As a matter of fact, many of you whom I've spoken with recently have also been feeling sick, incapacitated or have suffered complications that have no doubt impeded your ability to put pen to paper or even step up to the mic.

Our family bug hit just after Mother's Day and completely wiped us out on Thursday night going into Friday and Saturday. What an awful thing it was!

Some of you may know that it was also a holiday weekend in Canada (Victoria Day was yesterday, May 21) and the office was closed.

For most businesses of the brick and mortar variety, a statutory day off would have come as a blessing if you were ill, but when you run an online business or accept work through the Internet, it seems like you are trapped by the tireless world that apparently works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on the web.

Holidays aside, it became evident very quickly that too many of us out there get sick because of not getting adequate rest due to pushing too hard to 'get things done'.

But how do you do that when everything needs to have been done yesterday and people expect automatic responses or reactions?

If you think about it, our society has turned into a machine that keeps plugging away long after we should be tucked into our beds.

Just because an email can be sent instantly doesn't mean that a response to an email needs to be fired off just as instantaneously... I've heard that concept several times over on podcasts and on radio programs about workplace stress or stress in general.

Overworking and trying to solve every minute problem that crosses our paths or email boxes can be very taxing on your health, regardless of what profession we have.

What can we do to avoid getting rundown and sick?

Try these tips:

• Get at least 8 hours of sleep each night (the hours before midnight are worth almost twice the value of hours after midnight)
• Don't push yourself past your "limit"
• Know where your limits are and respect them - they protect you from burnout
• Respect the boundaries of others so that you don't pull them down
• Eat properly and make sure you have 3 square meals a day
• Cut back or eliminate activities that cause you anxiety like comparing yourself to others or over exertion
• Don't drink caffeinated beverages if you don't need to (moderation is key if you enjoy them)
• Be at peace with yourself, your life (family) and your career
• Be thankful for what you have, especially if it is your health
• Don't take anything for granted

Can you relate to my story?

Did you find these tips useful?

If you'd like to share your thoughts and perhaps some more tips on how to maintain health, please leave a comment.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Lise Gagne

Ever wondered what would happen if you got 5 of the top voice over artists in the US all in the same car?

You may have heard of this video already, but if you haven't seen it, this gem is available on YouTube.com.

Ready to see Don LaFontaine and his pals in a limo (Don's limo)?

Watch as Don LaFontaine assembles his team of top voice over artists...

Hope you enjoyed the show!

Have a great Victoria Day Weekend,

Stephanie

P.S. Leave a comment if you liked this movie!

Image © YouTube.com

We've heard you loud and clear about a particular aspect of the Feedback Ratings and Reviews and are doing something about it now, not later!

This decision was made based upon your emails, phone calls and live chats and we're going to deliver a swift solution to the ratings, specifically, the removal of the Top Rated list, and replace it with something new.

Want to know what it is?

The Top Rated list has always been an area of great publicity for many, yet recently, it has become a battle ground for what some voice actors are likening to popularity contests.

We had a meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss how we could deliver on our promise to make ratings more qualified, meaning limiting the ratings to only clients who work with voice actors through the Voices.com website.

We're transitioning even faster now away from the ratings system toward limiting feedback to only those people who have completed a financial transaction through Voices.com.

In plain English, only those people who've hired you can rate you.

It makes absolute sense and it is the manifestation of what you have been asking for.

What are the benefits of a feedback system based solely upon financial transactions?

• All ratings and reviews are associated with a business transaction between a voice actor and a client who worked together at Voices.com
• Recognizes people who work professionally and consistently
• Quickly identifies voice actors who are hired frequently for their talent and abilities
• Acknowledges that work is procured and completed at Voices.com
• Signifies the professionalism of a voice actor and dedication to pursuing their craft online

Other websites like Guru.com, eLance.com, Freelance.com and eBay are all transactional based. This helps them to maintain the quality of their service and be accountable to their customers.

I'd like to answer a few questions up front, if I may, the first being why we are going in this direction.

Simply put, it's what you asked for. No more ratings based upon non-existent relationships with clients or talent "gaming" the system. No room for abuse or manipulation.

Sounds great, but somethings gotta give right?

In order for the new system to be fully implemented we'll need to start fresh and remove all existing feedback ratings.

We will only be including transactions processed through SurePay in this metric because those are truly the only transactions that we can track and espouse as work that we have concrete proof of that has been completed at Voices.com.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

We welcome any positive feedback that you may have confirming that we've made the right decision.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie and the Voices.com Team

Want to expand your voice acting abilities?

Try reading a book by Dr. Seuss!

It's not just child's play, it's good for your voice acting career.

Discover what a good old fashioned dose of Dr. Seuss could do for you!

Where can you find free, accessible, entertaining and challenging copy to read to help you develop voice acting skills integral to your success and vocal conditioning?

At your local library, of course!

After years of reading books and of also reading stories to children, I've found that books by the late American author Dr. Seuss, also known as Theodor "Ted" Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), are by far the most energizing and useful publications where exercising your vocal and acting techniques are concerned.

Last week, we featured a video by Rodney Saulsberry teaching you how to incorporate tongue twisters into your warm up routine.

This week, I'm trumpeting the works of Dr. Seuss, the benefits of reading his materials aloud and also provide you with some titles to look for either at the library or in your home collection.

All of Dr. Seuss' books embody challenging vocal tasks that take preparation, skill and stamina. They may look cute, but these kiddie books pack a powerful punch!

OK, so maybe you're not yet sold on the whole Dr. Seuss will improve my career thing, but that was just Act I. Drawing the curtain again, welcome to Act II :)

Dr. Seuss was a smart guy who liked creating endearing characters, new words, rhyming passages and instilled didactic, cautionary techniques in his storytelling. It is these attributes and qualities of his books that have kept them on shelves and in print decades after their first go round at Random House in New York.

I mentioned that this fellow was a smart cookie, but just how smart? Although he wasn't a real doctor, there's no questioning his genius!

Dr. Seuss planned each page carefully as a vocal exercise that involves every inch of your mental power, acting ability, and vocal prowess.

Here are some of the benefits of a Dr. Seuss Workout:

• Better articulation
• Breath Control
• Phrasing and Timing
• Characterization
• Develops Sight Reading / Cold Reading Skills
• Interpretation

Another benefit I didn't mention is that if you are reading these to your kids or children in your care, they will enjoy your storytelling and you will also enjoy the pleasure of having an appreciative audience to test your voice acting techniques out on.

If you're looking for some Dr. Seuss books to help you develop particular skills mentioned above, I recommend the following:

Rhyming, Phrasing, Voice Acting: Hop On Pop, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Phrasing, Breath Control, Articulation: Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat In The Hat (50th Anniversary this year!)

Characterization, Stamina, Emotional Variance: The Lorax, How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Do you have a favorite Dr. Seuss book that you return to again and again? Is there one that you like to practice with?

Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. "The Lorax" is an environmental cautionary tale. Just to let you know, if you're doing a cold read (sight-read) of this book when performing for kids, you may wish to substitute words such as "stupid" with "silly" and "shut up" with "be quiet" - I'm always careful with what I recommend and wanted to be sure that you either read it ahead of time or sub those in during your first run-through :)

Image © Seussville.com / Doctor Seuss

Are you a voice actor who also uses the Voices.com website to outsource work?

If you are, you're invited to attend a webinar hosted by Erica Bontje of Voices.com tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT (Wednesday May 16, 2007).

Learn more about how the service works from a client perspective and experience aspects of the new Voices.com!

As Erica blogged about last month on Casting Voices, the time has come for some great new features to be introduced at Voices.com!

We’re working hard to make finding, hiring and compensating voice actors (that's you) easier than ever before for clients who rely upon our web service to do business online.

With these new features, you'll be able to be invited to specific job opportunities (Public Leads) posted at Voices.com, or for a job that you are one of a select group of talent to audition for (Private Leads).

Beginning Wednesday May 16th, Erica will be hosting weekly webinars introducing the new features to clients who hire voice actors.

Why don’t you join her to learn the details first-hand?

Register for the Webinar by clicking on the button below:

Cheers,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/bubaone

One of the newest features to roll out today is the improved Feedback system.

Want to know how it works and how it affects you?

Read this post and discover how the system has changed to benefit you!

Earlier this morning, I was talking to Laurynda about ideas for the blog and how I could help her through the writing of an article.

We both thought that introducing the Feedback System would be an excellent post! Laurynda has been receiving a great quantity of questions regarding this since the feature roll out, so address it publicly we shall!

First of all, Voices.com has a Feedback System. This isn't new, it's improved.

Essentially, the Feedback you receive at Voices.com comes in the form of star ratings, reviews (new), and now transactions processed through SurePay (new).

While we were building this feature, we anticipated several of your needs, including the need to be given feedback, the need to give other people you have worked with feedback and the ability to receive reviews regarding your services or vocal abilities.

Let's look at the first way of receiving Feedback.

Star Rating

Any registered client of the Voices.com service can leave a star rating for you either on your website at Voices.com, through the search or via an audition that you submitted through our site.

Pretty straightforward, right?

OK, now onto the second way.

Reviews

Reviews are new. You may remember that we had them ages ago, but they took a hiatus and are now back, newly improved.

You can receive reviews from registered clients at Voices.com. You can also review the person who reviewed you or respond to a review.

Something else that you can do is monitor reviews and delete any unjust or unfounded reviews from clients who have not worked with you through the Voices.com SurePay system.

Do bear in mind though that if you delete a review, it will affect your VoiceRank in some capacity.

When a rating has been removed, the value of that rating (what it is worth) is removed from your overall VoiceRanking score. VoiceRank is determined by website completeness, Favorites and the total number of ratings you have received. The only improvement you will see by removing feedback is your average Star display on your website.

As of today, this feature is edging closer to completion (comments cannot be left with a rating at present). Reviews will be coming soon.

Reviews Through SurePay

All reviews that result from the SurePay process remain to objectively document your project history and relationship with a client who contracted you through Voices.com.

In the future, we'll be moving toward a system that favors reviews generated through the SurePay system, making sure that work you have done for clients is given more weight, priority and precedence over any other form of feedback on Voices.com.

After all, people are coming here to Voices.com to hire a voice actor, so presenting clients with feedback primarily based upon working relationships (similar to eBay) is the best and most complementary option when promoting your services as a professional voice actor working online.

I hope this article has helped. Over the next several days, you will see other features mentioned here completed and further explained to you.

Have a great day,

Stephanie

If you're using brand names such as McDonald's, Ford, or Pepsi and you actually didn't record for them officially, read this post.

David Bourgeois at Voice Coaches commented on my previous post about demo critiques and raised a very important point; one that could save you from bearing the nuisance of legal activity!

Unless you are the voice of an official campaign, it may be safer to stick to fictitious company names or leave the product and or company name out altogether.

What's in a name? Find out at VOX Daily.

I'd like to introduce the VOX Daily community to David Bourgeois, President and Creative Director of VoiceCoaches.com.

Over the past couple of months, David has become a fan of VOX Daily, commenting on posts that interest him with vigor, veracity and a unique perspective on the industry.

One such comment (the one that inspired this article) recently was posted to an article I wrote earlier today about the critiquing of voice over demos. One of the points David highlighted in his comment was about the use of national brand names and trademarks in voice over demos.

His point of view?

This is what David's comment on my previous post was.

I think it would do everyone, particularly beginners a dose of good if you take everything David said in this comment (and in general) to heart:

One other area I want to address is the unauthorized use of national brands and product names on a demo. Regardless of the fact that a lot of people do this and, worse yet, many of those teaching in our field suggest doing this, this practice is a pretty bad idea.

First off, though it's a grey area, you technically can't use and replicate a trademarked brand name without permission from those who own the trademark. Now in reality, I wouldn't imagine Pepsi is going to pursue legal action against you for making up a fake Pepsi spot on your demo, but they could.

Here is the more important problem. By using well-known national brands on a demo, you are misrepresenting yourself as a professional. Voice Actors, even at the highest national level don't often have faces or names attached to them like actors in visual media do. So if I get a demo with a Ford truck spot on it, am I to assume the voice actor on that demo did that spot? Further more if I throw that demo in with a few others to present to a client, will the client know the difference. Worse yet, will the client feel I am misrepresenting the talent to them?

At our studios we have a very simple solution to this. Demos that arrive with fake national scripts for products or companies that are currently on the market are discarded. I just met with an ad group and many agency reps echoed this.

Rather than misrepresenting yourself, develop your own copy, or work with a friend who can help. At the very least change the national brand names in the scripts you read!

There are many folks out there who will make a number of excuses for this, but, at the end of the day, using national brands on a demo makes it very hard for those doing the hiring and casting to make accurate decisions... unless you really did do the Pepsi spot!

David Bourgeois and the crew at VoiceCoaches.com are right!

When you can do so, it is in your best interest to take the "Better to be safe than sorry" approach.

As David intimated, if you record and mention the name of a brand that you didn't actually do voice work for, you could get in hot water with the courts.

Although it is unlikely that a company the size of Pepsi will chase a person down for using their name in this way, they very well could.

To add to David's thoughts, I wonder if the voice actor who had actually been hired to voice a particular spot that had been incorporated by other talents in their demos would have a right to ask that they remove the piece from the demo so as to prevent confusion, particularly if they say that they are the voice of "ABC" campaign and others are voicing the same copy.

Technically, that could do some damage to their reputation if a client wants to hire the Pepsi voice but then backs out because they can't find the real voice actor or they think that the voice actors who are recording that material (illegally) are the actual voice and the true talent loses work over it.

This is one of the reasons why our team at Voices.com produced the Voice Over Script Collection (original and public domain narration) and the Commercial Scripts for Radio and Television Ads (original works). All of the commercials are free of brand names (all fictitious) and are royalty-free for you to use so as not to have to worry about having problems with corporations or other voice actors.

Could voice actors along with the companies they record authentic material for big name clients effectively take their own peers to court over some name dropping in a voice over demo using the copy they recorded?

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Share them here and let's get this conversation rolling!

Best,

Stephanie

Photo © VoiceCoaches.com / David Bourgeois

Looking for ways to improve your voice acting or voice over demo?

At VOX Daily, we've compiled some of the most applicable and interesting tips from industry professionals on the Hot Seat Panel at VOICE 2007, sharing them with you to learn from and prosper by!

Check some of these tips organized by category. I'm sure at least one of the nuggets of wisdom presented will be of use to you.

When getting started or as a pro testing the waters in a new niche of voice over, it is always wise to have a few pairs of ears listen to your demo to give you their perspective.

For instance, a couple of Mondays ago, Nancy Wolfson offered four demo critiques in her Acting for Advertising teleseminar with Anna Vocino at the end of the class, dishing up great advice with her agent ears. Those fortunate to have their demos reviewed were encouraged and given some constructive feedback to help improve their demos.

One gentleman was even told that Nancy would change his demo at all. What a compliment!

At any rate, the art of critiquing demos is industry wide and a portion of the closing day of VOICE 2007 focused on just that.

I took some notes that I hope will be useful to you, generic though they may be. Take these tips into consideration when listening to your own demo or the voice over demos of others. They might just help you out in same way :)

Here we go, random tips from the panel as noted as per the "Hot Seat" at VOICE 2007:

Variety

• Have variety!
• Have variety in tempo (speed, pacing)
• Variety is in the emotion and attitude – focus on those aspects
• If you have a radio background, be sure to change up the pace and sound
• Don’t have “too long” spots or too “similar spots”
• Lots of different attitudes and emotion – no one trick ponies
• Something really good at the beginning and then something funny – anything you can do to get a producer to listen more than once is good – if they like it, they will pass it along to others

Interpretation

• Have a sense of conversation
• Don’t be “on the edge of reading”
• Try not to have negativity in your demo
• Communicate and tell the story - Subtleties can change the tone and open communication very quickly
• If you can’t picture yourself making money doing a certain voice, don’t put it in your demo
• Get control over your voice and make sure that variety is in the mix
• Leave the announcer voice out of it
• VO actors are not salespeople but persuasive and effective communicators
• Don’t be all things to all people – your demo should highlight your talents and not what the producer wants

Money Voice

• Use your money voice first (signature voice), don’t “save” it until the end
• First :06 – money voice sets up the flow - You have to win in the first :06
• Different agents have different ideas and will very often ask you to rearrange your demo to help them better market what they consider to be your money voice

Commercial Voice Over Demos

• Don’t put two character voices in a row in a commercial demo
• Strong comedic punch needs to be followed by something that’s unimportant so that people can laugh through it
• If there is a movie trailer, leave it out of your commercial demo – trailers are promos
• Conversation evokes emotion

Production

• Aim for solid production value and diversity of sound
• Don’t have a long intro
• Have something good enough at the start to get a listeners attention
• Leave at least :02 between tracks if you have multiple tracks
• Personal reads are best without sound effects, dry voice is nice sometimes
• Any expletive / deleted bit should or could be placed at the end or could act as a second intro
• Have as many tracks as you want in your demo, but send people what THEY want (i.e. if people want to hear narration, send them narration!)
• Spend lots of time sequencing the demo
• Production should complement the voice (on all speakers)
• So long as the people who are receiving a compilation demo know that it’s not specific to a given style, it’s OK, however, it is very good to be specific
• There is still value associated with having a CD with your voice over demos on them that you can send to clients or agents, so be sure to have a number of promotional CDs available for those who request them

It takes a lot of courage to throw your hat in the ring to be a demo critique done, but it is worthwhile and will help you in the long run if conducted by a professional instructor, demo producer or trusted peer.

Have you found any of these tips useful?

If you have a tip that you'd like to share, please leave a comment and we'll keep the conversation going!

Cheers,

Stephanie

P.S. Read the sister post inspired by David Bourgeois' comment!

©iStockphoto.com/Peter Finnie

This is the week we've all been waiting for!

Over the next few days, Voices.com will become more robust and usher in a new era of the voice over marketplace with exciting and useful features that will help you and people who hire voice actors.

It's not just a visual makeover, it's coming from the inside out!

If you thought Voices.com was awesome before... you're definitely going to love what you see unfolding this week!

These ideas have been a year in the making and will now be fully realized on the Voices.com website starting today!

We're rolling out new features over the next few days including everything we mentioned before, and of course, the SurePay system.

Here's a partial snapshot of the new Voices.com home page:

Pretty snazzy, eh?

Let us know what you think :)

Best,

Stephanie

Hot Cups image ©iStockphoto.com/Marguerite Voisey

Explore the tools of the trade and how they interact with each other.

Discover new recording studio techniques, written by Voices.com CEO, David Ciccarelli, a trained and knowledgeable recording engineer and honors graduate from OIART (Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology).

It seems like everyone is talking tech from Colin Campbell and Adam Fox on the VOX Talk podcast to Bobbin Beam as she builds her own voiceover recording booth.

This is one of my favorite topics too as a graduate from OIART, a prestigious audio recording school here in London, Ontario Canada, and with technology being such a popular topic of late, particularly talk of audio recording studios, I thought it would be appropriate to publish an article I wrote on VOX Daily about Advanced Recording Techniques.

For some of you, this may be a review, however, for quite a few people it will be brand new.

Hard Disk / Computer-Based Recording

One of the biggest trends in recent audio production has been to merge digital audio with computer technology to create a samplebased approach to sound recording. The encoding of audio data into digital memory or onto a storage medium provides us with a means for storing or manipulating defined blocks of digital data. This data can be stored as a soundfile such as .wav, .aiff or SDII.

Perhaps the most important difference that can be distinguished between a tape-based system (digital or analogue) and samplebased recording system is random access. Random access production refers to the fact that digital audio can be stored within a random access memory (RAM), or a disk based memory medium in such a way that the data can - virtually instantaneously - be accessed, processed, or reproduced in any order at any point in time.

Once developers began to design updated sample editor software, it was discovered that through additional processing hardware, digital audio editors were capable of recording digitized audio directly to a computer's hard disk. These devices, sometimes known as digital audio workstations (DAW), serve as computer based hardware and software packages that are intended specifically for the recording, manipulation, and reproduction of digital audio that resides on hard disk.

Commonly, such devices are designed around and controlled by a standard personal computer with the addition of a sound card which provides the input and output interaction with the computer.

There are multiple advantages to using digital audio workstations in an audio production environment.

• The capability to handle longer sound files. Hard disk recording is limited only by the size of the hard disk itself (commonly one minute of stereo recording at 44.1 kHz occupies 10.5 MB of hard disk memory or 5MB / track minute).

• Random Access editing. As audio is recorded on the hard disk, any point within the program can be accessed at any time, regardless of the order in which it was recorded.

• Nondestructive editing allows audio segments (often called regions) to be placed in any order, manipulated in any fashion without changing the originally recorded sound file in any way.

• DSP. Digital signal processing can be performed on a segment or entire sound file in either real time or non-real time in a nondestructive fashion.

• In addition to these advantages, computer-based digital audio devices serve to integrate many of the tasks related to both digital audio and MIDI production. Many DAW's are capable of importing, processing, and exporting sound files into formats such as mp3 or Real Players G2.

Recording Techniques

FILTERS
Also known as equalization or EQ, filters are used to increase or decrease the level in a specific range of audio frequencies. The most common filters are the simple bass and treble controls found on inexpensive stereo systems, which act on a broad range of frequencies. But other filters are designed to surgically boost or cut very narrow bands of the audio spectrum.

SHELVING FILTERS
As the simplest form of filter, shelving EQ boosts or cuts all frequencies above or below a fixed frequency. A bass shelving filter, also called a low-pass filter, boosts or cuts everything below its fixed center frequency. Likewise a treble shelving filter, also called a high-pass filter, boosts or cuts everything above its fixed center. A single control typically adjusts the amount of boost or cut.

These filters are useful for making broad changes like reducing boomy bass and wind noise. But encoders can easily be overloaded by too much bass or treble, so it's often wisest to use these filters to cut high and low frequencies to prevent artifacts.

BANDPASS FILTERS
These filters can be used to boost or cut audio on both sides of a center frequency. Bandpass filters are commonly used as midrange filters, because they have little effect on either high or low frequencies. The familiar graphic equalizer is just a set of bandpass filters tuned to different center frequencies.

More sophisticated versions, called sweepable bandpass filters, have an
additional control allowing you to change the center frequency. Bandpass filters are useful for increasing the intelligibility of a speaker without increasing hiss or background noise. A variation of the bandpass filter is the notch filter, which boosts or cuts all frequencies except those around the center frequency.

PARAMETRIC FILTERS
A parametric filter is a bandpass filter with an additional control to adjust
the width of the frequency band being effected (fig. 3). These are the surgical tools of audio editing. They can be used to eliminate just the noise from an air conditioner, while having a minimal effect on the rest of the audio.

With all filters it's important to follow the audio engineer's first rule of EQ -- cut rather than boost wherever possible. Cutting undesired sounds is always less obtrusive, and boosting too much can make a track too loud and lead to distortion and artifacts when encoding.

COMPRESSORS
A compressor's basic function is to reduce the dynamic range of an audio recording, which is the difference between the loudest and softest sounds that pass through the recording chain. Simply put, a compressor is a processor whose output level increases at a slower rate as its input level increases.

By reducing the volume of the loudest sounds, a compressor lets you raise the level of the entire audio track, making it all sound louder than it actually is. Compression can be a big help in achieving intelligible audio tracks with a more uniform volume that will survive the encoding process.

A compressor consists of a level detector that measures the incoming signal, and an an amplifier whose gain is controlled by the level detector.

A Threshold control sets the level at which compression begins. Below the threshold, the compressor acts like a straight piece of wire. But when the input level reaches the Threshold, then the compressor begins reducing its output level by an amount determined by the Ratio control.

The Ratio control establishes the proportion of change between the input and output levels. If you set the compression Ratio to 2:1, then when the input signal gets twice as loud, the output signal will increase by only half.

If you set the Ratio to its maximum (10:1 or more), the the compressor becomes a "limiter" that locks the maximum level at the Threshold.

While a compressor can level out a recording, high levels of compression can also introduce artifacts including "pumping", in which there is an audible up and down change in volume of a track, or "breathing", which sounds like someone breathing as the background noise level goes up and
down.

EXPANDERS
An expander is the opposite of a compressor. As the level of the audio signal gets louder, the expander's amplifier turns up further making loud signals even louder. An expander can be used to reduce noise in a process called downward expansion. In this case you set the Threshold just above the level of background noise. The expander will then raise the volume of everything above the Threshold, but won't change anything below the Threshold, thereby lowering the perceived background noise.

NORMALIZING
Normalizing increases the gain of the audio file until its loudest point (or sample) is at maximum level. The overall signal level is now higher, which makes for clearer audio, and also gives the encoder more bits of data to work with and reduces encoding artifacts. The only downside of normalizing is that it increases the noise as well as the audio signal so it should be used carefully. It should be your last step before encoding, and you may not need it at all.

Has this article been helpful? If you have anything to add, leave a comment.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

David

©iStockphoto.com/Aleksandar Kolundzija

Hearing the voice of Linda Torgeson makes Minnesotans feel at home when passing through the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport.

Does your voice give the same comfort and reassurance to weary travelers on their way home?

Share in the discussion at VOX Daily :)

Yesterday when I was Googling around, I discovered a really neat article published at WCCO TV, WCCO.com, about a voice talent named Linda Torgeson, a British talent who has lived in Minnesota for 30 years, had worked for the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport for 20 years, and recently retired to pursue voice over full time.

The fact that Linda Torgeson discovered her vocal talents while working for an airport is complemented by the fact that she is also the voice of the airport heard by all who pass within the gates of Minneapolis St. Paul.

The article quotes Linda as saying "For years people have told me you've got a nice voice why don't you do something with it, I went oh can't be bothered you know and I just ignored it and ignored it," said Torgeson.

Eventually, when voice overs were needed at the airport, her boss at the time thought to hire her straight away, knowing that her unique voice would make people listen and catch their attention in the busy terminals.

"I hear the British lady and I know I'm back in Minnesota," said an airport visitor.

Linda's voice is still heard in the terminal, in the parking ramp and on the tram. When asked, Torgeson revealed her favorite line:

"Parents in the interest of safety don't allow your children to play on moving sidewalks, escalators or baggage carousels' and you know what they do!" she said.

Since resigning from her position at the airport, Linda Torgeson has recorded commercials for airlines, hotels, pharmaceuticals, and even political campaigns. What a lady!

Can you relate to Linda's story? Do people feel 'at home' when they hear your voice?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. You might have recognized the picture as O'Hare Airport in Chicago. If you do voice over work for that airport (or other places), leave a comment!

©iStockphoto.com/Terraxplorer

Having trouble keeping a consistent sound when recording?

Is your mouth too wet, too dry, sticky or tongue-tied?

Maybe your lips need some TLC, too...

Discover some great tricks to rid yourself of mouth problems when recording voice overs here at VOX Daily.

Sometimes, the simplest voice over recording task can be the hardest (and most time consuming) to do if your mouth isn't cooperating with your mind.

While these issues can crop up at the least convenient time, there are preventative measures that you can take to soothe the savage beast ahead of time.

In past posts, we've learned that good oral hygiene helps to combat mouth noise. David Houston's cleaning the instrument articles hit on that topic with a vengeance, including the use of tabasco sauce!

We've received tips from others recommending Alkalol (Lora Cain), munching on apples (Julie Williams), sugar-free mints and Cayenne Pepper Tea (Sanda Allyson), avoiding dairy products, nuts, caffeinated beverages, chocolate, consuming a Cinnamon Altoid (Claire Michel), or simply avoiding food all together before a session.

The most important thing you can do to prepare is to get a lot of rest and drink water frequently.

A tip Pat Fraley endorses is that instead of taking a glass of water into the studio with you (he figures that if you're not hydrated by then, it won't make much of a difference to chug a bottle of Evian in the studio) that you bring a spritzer bottle with some lukewarm water in it, and when you need a bit of moisture, just spritz away!

While it's good to know how to hydrate and keep the inside of your mouth cooperating with you, there is another element that we had not yet considered.

Your lips!

There are times when lips can be the culprit of a voice over disaster too.

Does anyone do anything special to moisturize their lips when recording? Any particular lip balm, cream, or glaze that works with your voice?

It would be interesting to learn if using a product such as lipsol or lip balm would be a benefit or a hindrance to you where recording voice overs are concerned.

Please leave a comment with your view on applying and incorporating lip balm in your voice over studio.

Cheers,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/automatika

What qualities must a company or person possess for you to do business with them?

Don't end up with a Wickham when you could have a Darcy...

A little bit of research goes a long way!

Let's build a list of criteria for good business relationships here.

Ready to join in?

It's that time of the year again when I get a craving to watch my A&E "Pride and Prejudice" DVD set.

For those of you who are fans of Jane Austen's work or of Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, you know that this particular movie is true to the book and full of diverse characters, to paraphrase Miss Elizabeth Bennet, they comprise of people who have all the goodness in the world and others who merely have all the appearance of it.

When choosing who to work with or who to work for, it is important to make sure that you fully understand what the benefits to you are as well as any follies that may occur.

We've all run into our fair share of George Wickhams, Fitzwilliam Darcys, Lizzie Bennets and Caroline Bingleys, but just how do you know which is which?

If you remember Mr. Wickham had all the appearance of goodness while Mr. Darcy possessed all of the genuine goodness.

Elizabeth Bennet similarly spoke her mind and always told the truth whereas Caroline Bingley was shrewd and gossiped behind peoples' backs.

How do can you tell if someone or an organization is trustworthy or as genuine as they appear?

Looking forward to reading about how you pick partners in business and voice over.

Hearing from all of you will help others who are new to the voice over business and also help people outside of voice over as well.

Best,

Stephanie

Just how far do you need to take your added value services for clients?

Is tweaking scripts for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes a part of the business, or is that something that should be charged for in addition to the voice over work?

Share your opinions here at VOX Daily.

I love receiving story ideas.

Recently, Robin Rowan, voice talent and a prolific story idea producer, sent us this:

Hi,

This happens way too often:

You accept a job from a client you've never met and all you have to go by is the lead they placed on Voices.com. Once you negotiate a price and discuss deadlines, they agree to send you the script via e-mail. When it arrives, you print it out and gasp in horror at the paper in front of you: major mis-spellings, poor grammar, run-on or incomplete sentences, improper use of words... you get the idea.

Do you:

• Call them back and tell them "No Thanks?"
• Do you set to work rewriting copy?
• Do you call and "suggest" script changes?
• Or do you cut it EXACTLY the way it's written and just be happy you got paid????

Thanks,

Robin Rowan, Female Voice Talent

~~

So, what do you do at present?

Looking forward to hearing about how you handle these scripting inconveniences!

Let the comments roll :)

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Raf Croonen

News in the video gaming industry spreads like greased lightning!

Totally360.com, an Xbox news and game reviews site, reported today that actor Liam Neeson will lead a cast of voice over talent in the video game Fallout 3.

A number of sources including the Washington Post are all a buzz about Fallout 3.

Bethesda Softworks has just announced that Irish-born Hollywood actor Liam Neeson will star in Fallout 3, voicing the role of the main character’s father who appears throughout the game, a prominent character in the upcoming post-apocalyptic adventure title, the company says.

“This role was written with Liam in mind, and provides the dramatic tone for the entire game,” said Todd Howard, Executive Producer of Fallout 3. “Liam is absolutely amazing to work with.”

“It’s been a pleasure bringing the father to life and working with the wonderfully talented people at Bethesda on Fallout 3,” said Neeson. “I hope the fans of the franchise and the game will be excited by the results.”

To view a piece of concept art (and hear some intense music), go to the official Fallout 3 Bethesda Softworks website.

If you're a fan of the Fallout franchise or Liam Neeson, please feel free to leave a comment!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Logo referenced from the Bethesda Softworks Website

Here's a fun post to get your articulators and your mental facilities going!

Rodney Saulsberry has posted an awesome vocal exercise video on YouTube.com chock full of tongue twisters that are sure to challenge even the most expert annunciator.

Are you game?

Take the test here at VOX Daily!

There is nothing quite like listening to Rodney Saulsberry do vocal warm ups on YouTube!

Watch this and learn from one of the masters:

If you could get through some of those more difficult tongue twisters, leave a comment!

Also, let us know which one was your favorite. I personally got a kick out of the "crooked cookies cakes and pies" tongue twister.

Cheers!

Stephanie

Ever wanted to start a blog?

Have a unique perspective and ideas that you want to share with the world?

Find out how you too can use this innovative medium to reach the masses and attract business.

What's a blog?

Technically, you're reading one right now. I am making my thoughts available to you here on something called a blog.

Blogs can be used for different purposes and can even be named. This blog is called "VOX Daily". You are reading VOX Daily on your computer screen right now.

I wanted to chat a little bit about the importance of blogs and how you can make the most of this technology to help you promote your voice over services.

Starting a blog isn't difficult, but maintaining one is.

There are days when even an avid blogger finds themselves tired or drained of intelligent conversation, however, if you plan ahead and keep some posts tucked away for a rainy day, you'll always have enough to write about.

Getting back to basics, there are several free blogging software platforms that you can use to publish your ideas and articles on.

Here are three platforms to consider:

TypePad
WordPress
Blogger

Now you know where you can register to create a free blog, so let's skip ahead to the benefits of blogging for you.

1. Expand your Reach
2. Rank Higher in the Search Engines
3. Share your Knowledge and Build Community
4. Be Perceived as an Authority
5. Creative outlet for those who like to write

Those are just 5 ways that blogging can be a useful part of your marketing mix.

Blogging contributes to your success and the success of others if approached in the right way with quality content.

But, just how important are blogs anyway?

Google and the other search giants seem to think blogs are immensely fruitful!

Blogs, when updated regularly, provide new content to the search engines, and search engines love new content. They eat it up in fact, and then reward you with more visitors and potential business opportunities, so be sure to update regularly and write insightful posts that are interesting and inspired.

To rank higher in Google, MSN, and Yahoo!, it is wise to start a blog and host it on your website.

Another helpful tip is to get to know other bloggers and make a habit of commenting on blogs within the voice industry and outside of it, linking back to your blog. This will generate more links to your website as well as increase the visibility of your brand and invite others to discover more about you and what you have to say.

I have many friends that I met through blogging, including Bob Souer, Donna Papacosta, Leesa Barnes, and several others.

Connecting with other bloggers is very important. Just as your readers need to feel like they are part of a community, you as a blogger need to feel like you are nourished and fed by a community of people who also blog.

Blogging presents the blogger with a unique role within society.

As the character Peter Parker's (Spiderman - the 3rd one is now out!) Uncle Ben once said:

"With great power comes great responsibility."

The same rings true for anyone in a position to influence others, even bloggers.

It's amazing just how much your words can affect someone, so be careful with what you write and always leave the door open for conversation, and above all, always be genuine.

At the risk of quoting another fictional character (Polonius from Hamlet, perhaps...!), I'll stop here.

Many posts about blogging don't focus nearly enough on the power and responsibility that a blogger possesses when they have an audience.

I hope this post has been different and in the very least and has inspired you to either become a blogger or continue blogging with a newfound passion.

Looking forward to hearing from you! If you're a blogger, regardless of industry, we'd love to hear from you.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/jallfree

Ever wondered what advertisers really expect of your voice over talents?

Want an insider's view on the topic?

Join Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino on Monday May 7, 2007 for another stellar Break Into Voice Over teleseminar, sponsored by Voices.com.

What does it take to really make it in the voice over business?

Through their interactive teleseminars, Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino serve up the truth about what voice talents in the new world of voice over need to equip themselves with, both as artists and businesspeople.

Their next teleseminar is on May 7, 2007 at 9 p.m. EST (6 p.m. PST) “Acting For Advertising”, created specifically for voice over talents, also known as “The Only Way To $ell”, will teach participants how to acquire the necessary techniques that advertisers require voice talent to bring to the microphone.

This will be the first time ever in a teleseminar that Nancy Wolfson will share two key chapters from her private curriculum.

Exciting stuff!

Four randomly drawn participants who have submitted a demo will also be treated to Nancy’s “Agent Ears”, receiving a review of their voice over demo with constructive criticism and contagious enthusiastic encouragement.

Many of your peers at Voices.com agree that time and money invested with Nancy and Anna is well worth every penny. For only $49, you'll be learning the ins and outs of what it takes to sell a product with your voice and much more.

This particular teleseminar is 90 minutes in length and includes a question and answer period as well as demo reviews for four lucky participants. All you need to do is send your demo after you've registered for the teleseminar to Nancy via email to qualify.

So, the next time someone asks you what you're up to on Monday night, you'll be able to say that you're on a call with Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino among a number of your colleagues getting some of the best VO education in the biz!

To register, go to BreakIntoVoiceOver.com.

Cheers,

Stephanie

Recently, Gregory Boeder was named the "Voice of Deadwood".

You may recall a post featuring Gregory Boeder last year on VOX Daily.

Wow, time flies!

To find out more from this ambassador for the Black Hills (maybe you're going there this summer), click through!

Suddenly, the hot tourist season is here in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, and since I was recently named the ‘Voice of Deadwood’ by the Chamber of Commerce, I should invite everybody to consider The Black Hills as a vacation destination for so many reasons.

National treasures like Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial and The Badlands, coupled with some of the most scenic roads winding through our 100 square miles of National Forest, make it a sweet spot to take the whole family.

Campers, hikers, rock climbers, cave explorers, anyone with a sense of adventure can find a unique experience here. Plus, the annual Sturgis bike rally brings in riders and vendors from all over the world, and hot rodders have many different events to choose from, as there are weekend rallies planned throughout the season here.

Deadwood.org is a good place to start for information and schedules for concerts, rodeos, fast draw shootout competitions, even high stakes poker tournaments.

And remember, if you’re here during a holiday, you’re in for a special treat!

Deadwood celebrates every holiday like Mardi Gras, complete with parades and floats, music festivals, and a ‘good time attitude’ that began here over a hundred years ago. It’s ‘Old West’ roots give you a chance to re-live the gold rush without leaving behind any luxury accommodations you might desire. It’s all here waiting for you like an unfound nugget shining in the sunlight!

HBO viewers should be familiar with Deadwood’s characters of the past, and since I had a small hand in post production for the new HBO feature film “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” I should tell you what a privilege it was to meet Mr. Tokala Clifford, a direct descendant of Crazy Horse himself. You’ve seen his work in “Dances With Wolves” and “Into The West” [Spielberg] along with many other classic ‘Old West’ movies. It was truly a lifetime experience, as he spent several hours explaining much about the Lakota way of life to me, after we finished.

People always say “There’s something about The Black Hills,” and I couldn’t agree more. Many Native American tribes feel it is the center of their universe!

It felt like home to me, even before I had unloaded my truck, when I came here almost 17 years ago. You’ll understand why if you come see for yourself.

Thanks for listening,

Gregory Boeder, The Voice of Deadwood

Photo Courtesy of Gregory Boeder, White Wolves.

Not all audio engineers have the vocal gifts to be voice over talent and not all voice over talent have the technical knowledge and experience to be audio engineers.

But, when you do get the desired combination of technical skill and artistic competence, something special happens...

Just how important is it to possess a mixture of the qualifications described above as a professional voice over talent working online?

What’s the difference between audio engineers and voice over talents?

Remember: People who advertise for voice talent often do not realize the recording studio requirements of a project. If inexperienced, the person hiring the talent thinks solely of “a person to voice this job.”

That’s why talents and prospective clients need to be better informed on this subject!

Learn more from one of the industry’s most highly regarded voice over instructors, the award-winning International voiceover performer and renowned voiceover coach, professional audio producer engineer and recording studio owner, Bettye Zoller!

Bettye sent me an email recently (I’ve asked her permission to publish excerpts from the original here) and she brings up a crucial topic that needs more attention in voice over circles.

The question Bettye asks is:

“How do you know you’re really an audio engineer? How do you know you’re capable of producing a job you audition for on our site? After all, you should strive for client satisfaction! It will be a disaster for everyone concerned if you accept a voice job you’re incapable of producing and recording correctly!"

I can appreciate where Bettye is coming from for a couple of reasons:

1. I have a Bachelors Degree in Musical Arts from UWO (instrument is voice).
2. David is an Honours Graduate from OIART (Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology), a school he lectures at annually.

I know from recording the VOX Talk Podcast that there is a big difference between being able to speak eloquently and purposefully into a microphone and actually being the person responsible for the recording, editing, mixing and mastering of a finished product, performing all of the technical tasks associated with audio production.

We’re fortunate that we have an excellent pairing of abilities and skills that allow us to serve and entertain you through our company podcast. Our talents are best put to use as a team. Don’t leave me to figure out Garageband or ProTools!

I’m grateful that David fully governs that aspect of VOX Talk and I can simply manage the creative with regard to writing and hosting the show.

Now, let’s delve more into the story at hand.

Here’s a sampling of Bettye’s Soapbox:

It is obvious to me that too many newcomers and beginners to the Voiceover Business are uninformed, or not adequately informed or trained or skilled about the intricacies and the expertise levels required to put equipment on one's laptop or cranky old home PC who suddenly become a "recording studio and a professional audio engineer." They're not! They may have rudimentary equipment to record voice, but that's not being a professional audio engineer... far from it!

We engineers are experts at what we do with many, many years of experience. There is a big difference! Often, one must record with various types of audio files.

Do you know what those are and why one would use them for particular projects?

Often, a particular medium such as website work or telephone messaging or corporate training projects or audio book recording takes very, very intricate audio engineering; it can't be done by a novice on a laptop!

I have students in my workshops and friends in the biz who tell me problems with recording, the simple things, such as "how do I buy a microphone" or "why can't I get my volume level up when I record on my laptop?" Ask them to use MULAW files or convert tapes to CDs, edit intricate materials, do the audio engineering on an e-learning corporate project of two or more hours' duration, or an audio book of 3000 pages and they're lost. They have a recording program installed and not the foggiest idea of how to really be a professional audio engineer.

In fact, there are many beginners in voiceover who really shouldn't be tackling intricate voice jobs. Not yet at any rate, however, they bid on the jobs and bring down the price. Oh, oh that's another subject...

A co-problem with this situation of everybody in the world being an "audio engineer" all of a sudden is the online VO sites, who do not distinguish between a "voiceover talent... a person who, good or bad, experienced or not, is capable of reading copy with various degrees of proficiency" and a proficient audio engineer who knows how to perform complex engineering tasks.

Just because a person can read a sheet of copy does not mean that person is an audio engineer with experience for certain types of projects, yet no distinction is made on these types of web sites.

I have been doing a great deal of thinking about this current situation. The industry needs to distinguish levels.

Here's how (well at least, it's a start):

1. Who is an audio engineer with major experience, a professional audio studio owner?

2. Who is a voiceover talent but a person relatively unskilled as an audio engineer?

3. Who Is a novice… a BEGINNING voice talent…and who is a seasoned pro?

Many of the jobs listed on these sites require quite advanced audio engineering, yet, the job posts go to people who are not possibly capable of engineering them.

A disaster looms, as I see it... and it should be rectified.

And I'm tired of us audio engineers with long careers now being "lumped in with" the newbies who don't have our knowledge, our expertise, and who have not poured into their studios the vast amounts of money over time that we pros have invested in our recording studios!

Let's fix this!

There should be levels, for example (open to feedback and alteration):

Categories:

1. A voice talent with no personal studio at all but who has access to a studio and someone to help who is an experienced engineer (they’ll expect to be paid for services!).

2. A voice talent who is a beginner at both voiceovers and at audio engineering with limited experience. These people should not be bidding on VO jobs that require advanced audio engineer skills.

3. An audio engineer with limited experience as a voice talent but who can obtain voiceover talents for clients.

4. A voiceover talent who also is a professional audio engineer with a professional audio studio and clients who rely on him or her to engineer complex projects. Someone who has many years of experience in both areas and is capable of voicing and engineering complex and difficult jobs for major clients.

Bettye

~~

Wow, that’s a lot to think about.

Something that may be of comfort to many of you is that Voices.com does have a section where you can detail your recording studio equipment and note your level of proficiency.

While there are many pros out there who are probably dancing in the streets that this issue has been publicly addressed by Bettye Zoller and Voices.com, there are many of you out there who need to reevaluate your studio setup and abilities behind the scenes when producing voice over recordings and finished works for clients.

There is support out there and it isn’t difficult to find. Take the Master VO Blog, for instance.

Dan Lenard, also known to many grasshoppers by the persona Master VO, provides comical and useful solutions to a variety of technical ailments from how to build a proper home recording studio to the actual execution and techniques used to create topnotch audio productions.

Another resource available to you is the VOX Talk Podcast (subscribe for free!), the Tech Talk segment, specifically. At present, two very savvy and inspired gentlemen, Adam Fox and Colin Campbell, contribute to the segment with tips, advice, and suggestions on how to make the most out of your studio and get the best sound possible out of your recordings.

Something I love (and many others appreciate too) about these two men is that they have extremely different perspectives and a diverse means of expressing their content.

Colin Campbell of AffordableAnnouncer.com gives candid advice that you are not going to find anywhere else about equipment and software, also responding to fan mail with a wry, down-to-earth, straightforward delivery.

Adam Fox provides a unique interactive component, answering your PodMail (emails sent to Adam regarding the podcast) while focusing more on elements of production, including music and personal experiences in the field such as his “Humble Beginnings” segment, asking you to send in pictures of your first home recording studio setups to host online at DefiantDigital.com.

At the end of the day, it really comes down to how you can use your gifts and that you know and respect your limitations.

If you have amazing vocal talent but need some TLC in the technical area of your business, don’t hesitate to seek help from a colleague or recording engineer. Take a course if you can.

If you are a super star recording engineer, but are not as vocally blessed, you can take lessons too and find out what you can improve upon and identify where you shine.

We all need to remember that this is a business, not a hobby. Everything you do as a voice over professional demands 150% of your dedication, skill, and talent. Not only do your clients expect this of you, so does the industry as a whole.

Any comments?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best,

Stephanie and Bettye

©iStockphoto.com/Shuyan Liu

Noticed a drop in your Voicerank overnight?

If you did, there are reasons for that...

which I'll address right now!

Find out more information here.

As you may know, we're making some changes to the Feedback system at Voices.com.

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

In order for the updated feedback system to remain trustworthy, we will be removing all anonymous feedback ratings from the system.

Makes sense, doesn't it?

As a result, your star ratings, VoiceRank, and position on the Top 100 will likely change for a period of time.

Bear in mind that the Top Rated list is made up of more than just the star ratings. Other aspects that contribute include Profile Completeness among other things.

There is no need for concern as this is a change for the better and will provide greater transparency for the community of members.

We appreciate your understanding.

Thanks,

Stephanie and Laurynda

Getting started in voice overs?

Not sure how to get experience or build a portfolio of voice over work?

There are many practical and rewarding ways to go about gaining experience and prospective clients.

Discover some here at Voices.com!

Ever wondered how you could go about building up your voice over portfolio in a safe and noble manner?

Consider volunteering!

When I had a few moments, I got thinking about ways that you could create a respectable voice over portfolio without undercutting for work, or worse, giving your voice overs away for free to people who could pay for the service you provided but had chosen to take advantage of you instead.

Many beginner voice talent find themselves in a bit of a quandary. They can't get an agent because they haven't received any work, and they need an agent (or so some may think) in order to get the work in the first place!

It's the age old question: What came first? The Chicken or the Egg?

I've always subscribed to the philosophy that the chicken came first. If not, how would the egg have survived?

There are many dangers out there for aspiring talent just waiting to take advantage of them. When you think in terms of being the chicken as opposed to the egg, you are given a variety of choices and the ability to pick the best solution for you to carry you through the longterm when building a voice over career.

We often say and reiterate frequently that voice over is not an easy business or a cakewalk. It's a business first of all and one that demands vocal talent as well as technical skills in order to succeed as a work from home or independent studio operation.

One of the best ways to gain experience in both the voice over and recording process (that is of no cost to you) is to volunteer and learn from others who can mentor you.

Here are some ideas to gain experience in specific voice over niches:

1. Narration and Audio Books

If you'd like to try your hand at recording for audio books or narration pieces, consider starting with some public domain material available at Project Gutenberg. This database contains tens of thousands of works that are in the public domain that you can practice with or record that are royalty-free and no cost to you to download.

Another resource available to you in this field is to join the community at LibriVox.org. I happen to have met the founder, Hugh McGuire, at PodCamp in Toronto.

Essentially, this is a community of people who are dedicated to producing audio books that are in the public domain. These audio books are accessible for people to download. The service acts as a creative outlet for many, community, and a means for amateur voice talent to record audio books and receive reviews from others on the website.

2. Children's Books and Voice Acting

Volunteer at local libraries, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and so on. Oftentimes, these organizations are more than thrilled to accept your offer to volunteer and you have the opportunity to make a direct impact on individual people or a group of people.

This is also an excellent way to get comfortable with reading aloud and developing characters. Your audience will let you know how you are doing and you may find yourself feeding off of them, becoming a better storyteller and voice actor for it.

3. Character Voices and Animation Voice Overs

Join a small voice acting or theatre group that performs radio and or audio drama. There are several groups that you can be a part of online if you are looking for international communities and others that are locally based.

Elie Hirschman is a member of Darker Projects, a community of voice talent from around the world who produce audio dramas. Elie has mentioned this group before in his Biz segments on the VOX Talk podcast.

Dave Johnson runs a voice acting group in San Diego called the Amateur Voice Acting Group.

You can build a credit list through roles that you have performed and count it as voice acting experience.

4. PSAs and Commercials

To try your hand at this kind of work, you could volunteer at non profit organizations or charities. You could look at this volunteering as a form of community service or as a donation or gift.

A great example of some serious VO donating was shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck. Voice talents including Peter O'Connell lent their voices in PSAs created for the American Red Cross to help spread the message and encourage financial donations to help facilitate rescue and rebuilding efforts.

5. Technical Skills

If you need to hone your technical recording and editing skills, see if you can arrange to be mentored for a brief time by a professional audio engineer or voice over professional who is a proficient audio engineer.

A few hours in their presence, watching, learning and applying what you've discovered, coupled with study in online forums or books will greatly help you to develop your audio editing skills. Internships or volunteering on a regular basis at actual recording facilities is also a good idea if you have the time and opportunity to do so.

Volunteering your time and talent, although still providing a service without charge, is quite different from giving your voice away for free.

When you volunteer, you do it on your own terms and for the good of others, receiving more than you gave in return. Referrals (or treasures) will be more likely to spring for you professionally from the seeds that you had sown when volunteering your time and talent.

Best,

Stephanie

When you think of movie trailer voice overs, what do you think of?

Perhaps, the better question to ask is: Which gender of voice do you think of?

Join us as we explore the world of movie trailer voice overs and the role of women in this male dominated sector of the voice over industry.

Everybody knows who the movie trailer voice over guy is. The first thing to note is that I said "guy".

To put a name to this man of mystery, it's Don LaFontaine. If you would like to read a bio on Don and get to know him and hear about his illustrious journey to voice over success in the movie trailer biz, you can catch an article we published last month and click the back button to return to this article.

For those of us who are captivated by this particular post, let's continue :)

It's no secret that the movie trailer industry is a man's world. I happen to be acquainted with and know many gentlemen who record movie trailer voice overs. Rodney Saulsberry is one of them, and his work is exceptional and highly regarded just as Don's is.

Let's cut to the chase!

When is the last time you heard a female voice talent promoting a blockbuster film in the theatres or on TV?

Even the straight to DVD movies, including independent films, sequels and the like, are predominantly voiced by men.

Why is that?

What is holding female voice talent back from excelling in this arena?

As we said before, maybe we should reevaluate the question we are asking and pose it another way:

Who is holding women back in movie trailer voice overs?

Now, we have somewhere to go, because now we have a classifier to add to the mix:

It is not just a collection of mere adjectives that turn female voice talent away in this niche, it is a distinct parcel of nouns that are holding the barricade up, even in this time of perceived equal opportunity in the workplace.

A noun is a person, place or thing whereas adjectives (i.e. happy, graceful, smooth, aggressive) are describing words used to compliment or detract from a given noun or verb (action word, i.e. to sing or to record).

So, a noun. A person, place or thing is preventing female voice talent from climbing the movie trailer ladder of success.

A place couldn't do it. A thing which is likely inanimate couldn't proceed with such acts either. That leaves us with a person or a group of people.

One could hypothesize all the way throughout the creative production cycle and point fingers at a number of different people within the chain of events that lead to a movie trailer being produced and released.

Movie trailers are voice overs, just like any other voice over. They may have more prestige attached to them in some circles, but they are voice overs just the same.

Voice over is a creative element in the cycle and open to different interpretations, including female voice overs, so...

If it's not the writers, the producers, the actors, or anyone else associated with the creative aspect of production, who it is it?

That leaves us with those at the end of the line who decide how a movie is presented to the public through marketing efforts.

Could it be the film industry itself that is shutting women out?

An interesting factor to consider are "Focus Groups" and their role in what is disseminated to the public. These Focus Groups tend to have a lot of sway and can change many aspects of how a movie is presented, including alternative endings, voice over, and other components in the creative realm.

Focus Groups, from what I understand, can be very exclusive and comfortable. People in focus groups don't want to lose their positions and due to that fact are often persuaded to make decisions that they do not support simply to keep their jobs.

This includes the voice over in many cases.

If it is presented initially with a female voice over instead of a male voice over which is generally perceived to be a safer if not more authoritative option with movie goers that will drive in the sales and "legitimize" a film.

Now, that's just hypothetical, of course. It wouldn't be fair to pinpoint focus groups alone when trying to get to the root of the problem.

Is it that the world simply isn't ready to hear women perform movie trailer voice overs, or are there politics at work behind the scenes?

What do you think?

Why are female voice talent left in the dust by the movie industry? What doors need to be opened or barricades broken in order to change the status quo?

Looking forward to a heated debate and intelligent discussion :)

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Christine Balderas