Been searching for a voice acting class that will help to propel your career in the real world of voice acting?

"Voiceover: Beyond the Booth”, formerly called "The Business of Voiceover" is now open for enrollment at NYU for Spring 2008. The first class begins Wednesday, February 13th at 6:45 p.m. and runs through May 7th.

Learn more here at VOX Daily.

I know that there are many of you who subscribe to VOX Daily and live in and around New York City. This article is for you!

One of my friends, Johnna Gottlieb, is teaching a fabulous course at NYU and she told me all about it recently on the phone. The class starts in a couple of weeks and she still has some room left for more students, including a spot for you if you're interested.

Something special about this course is that Johnna has a number of high profile guests who visit her class including top agents, voice-over talent, casting directors and notable producers whom she has connected with along the way.

If you register, you'll also have the opportunity to address any questions you might have to key people who have been there and keep a close pulse on the action. You'll also get the chance to read voice-over copy for industry professionals and receive an insider's perspective and feedback about your skill level.

The individual attention and guidance you'll be privy to from people of great esteem in voice acting is amazing value hard to come by elsewhere.

The course is offered as a part of the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies, taught by a leading professional in the voice-over field with almost 2 decades of experience as both a top voice-over agent and a voice-over industry consultant who has started and cultivated the careers of some of the most prominent voice-over artists working today.

Beyond the Booth Guests have included:

The Legendary Don LaFontaine – Voice of over 5000 Movie Trailers
Rodd Houston – Voice of Verizon Wireless
Joan Baker – Author “Secrets of Voice-over Success”
Bill Graves – Voice of ABC’s Nightline and Primetime
Tim Champeaux –Voice of Jenny Craig, Today Show Concert Series
Jim Kozloff - Director of Talent and Business Development at VH-1
Stewart F. Wilson Turner – Co-Creator of voicebank.net
Voiceover Agents from Don Buchwald & Associates, Abrams Artists, Paradigm and Innovative Artists
Producers from Miramax Films, ESPN, BET, HBO, NBC Sports

Click to register for Voiceover: Beyond the Booth.

For more information, you can contact Johnna Gottlieb by phone at (718) 768-3511 or visit her website www.jogoco.com.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

From time to time, we all get into a routine of doing things in our comfort zone, and for many, this comfort zone may also become a limitation for your creativity as well as narrow the kind of work you are hired for.

Have you thought about the kind of voice acting work or style of voicing you provide to your customers?

Discover 5 points that may suggest you are in a voice acting rut.

Always recording the same stuff?

If you are hired a lot to record for certain applications, you may come to conclusion that those areas are your specialties and stay within that niche happy as a clam.

While it's great to know where your strengths lie and what your signature voice is, staying in that comfort zone of homogeneous (which means "of the same kind") voice over work can stunt your growth where other aspects or styles of voicing are concerned.

You may have hit a glass ceiling for your voice over work if:

1. You are always hired to voice for the same kind of project (i.e. telephone voice overs, commercials, etc.)
2. You find that any voice over you do starts to sound the same (style wise, intonation, timing, etc.)
3. The only demos you promote are for one kind of voice over
4. Many good opportunities are declined because you don't feel you're the "right voice" for the job
5. You're hesitant to try new things but know you could do more if required

If you can relate to any of the points above it might be time to start brainstorming and figure out what you can do to break free of any doldrums you are facing.

Have you discovered a "new" kind of voice over or service offering that you now provide to your clients? How's it working out for you?

I'd love to hear your stories, so please leave a comment on this article and join the discussion.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com / Aimin Tang

Curious to know more about AFTRA?

I've been given permission by Paul Horn, President of the New England AFTRA Local, to publish an interview conducted with AFTRA voice actress Denise Dal Vera about her experiences as a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Check it out here!

Interviewer: So Denise, tell us a bit about your career as a union performer and your decision to join the union (AFTRA).

Denise Dal Vera: For me, living in a smaller market (Cincinnati) I do a variety of on-camera as well as voice-over work. I work for small, local companies as well as the big players like Procter and Gamble, General Motors and Boeing, all of it under an AFTRA or SAG contract. I choose to be union because it’s a jungle out there, and employers will always try to pay you less. Without the union to negotiate minimum standards for our work, it pits actor against actor, and we end up in a “race to the bottom” over rates and other working conditions.

Interviewer: What have you gained by becoming involved with the union?

Denise Dal Vera: More than anything else, I’ve gained respect. From my employers, my peers, and actually, myself. I think that being part of something that is bigger than me helps everyone in the business. Plus, as far as personal benefits go, I’m eligible for health insurance, a pension and other benefits that would be difficult or impossible (or very expensive) for me to get as an individual performer.

Interviewer: Denise, as a union member, how do you feel about turning down non-union VO work?

Denise Dal Vera: Well, certainly it’s never fun to turn down work. But I've learned that you can turn work union. You’d be surprised at how many producers have never been asked. When you explain to them that it’s not that difficult to hire union, and that the cost is a very small portion of their budget, they often come around. The important thing to remember is that you’re in control of your own business, but as a union member, you need to be able to walk away when necessary. Solidarity is critical to our strength as a union, and if I can’t get the producer to budge, I simply have to decline that work. It’s for the good of more people than just myself. Of course, that problem goes away if the more talented performers are in the union and insist on a contract.

Take ownership and understand the rates and utilize your local office for help. They can sometimes find ways to work within the contract as well as within the employers budget.

Interviewer: Denise, what advice would you give to someone who might be doing quite well on non union work (perhaps thousands of dollars a month) but who suspects she could be making more and/or not working as hard...?

Denise Dal Vera: The important thing is to look at the total compensation you would make working under a union contract, including health insurance, pension, and so on, and compare it to your non-union rate. While the non-union pay may sound good in a lump sum, it might not even be close to what you can make under the terms of a union contract. Most importantly, in the case of commercials, residuals can make a huge difference. If a spot is going to air for a year, would you rather get paid once, or four times? Plus, keep in mind that you have no protection against your image being used forever without your consent. It’s intellectual property, and you need to keep control of it.

Interviewer: What if the union rates are higher than what I’m charging. How do you tell a client you are now more expensive?

Denise Dal Vera: You need to assess whether you think your talent is competitive with union members who are commanding those higher rates. If you decide to join the union, my advice would be to approach each employer individually—and well ahead of time-- and explain your decision. You may be surprised at how many of them agree to working with you on a union contract. Plus, you need to make the clients aware that you add value to their production every time it runs, and you’re not being paid for your time in the studio, you’re being paid for the use of your likeness. There’s a big difference.

Interviewer: I’m afraid I may lose some of my clients.....

Denise Dal Vera: I understand completely; there’s always that risk. But remember that by joining the union you’ll also gain access to producers who are already signed to the union contract (called “signators”) who work with union talent exclusively. Also, explain to them that the contract is designed to protect them as well, as it sets out specifically what is expected of the performer. If you’re good at what you do, chances are there’ll be greater “upside” potential than downside risk. Don't underestimate the client's loyalty to you or their ability to pay you. If you decide to join once you have the facts, it takes the fear out of such an empowering profession business decision. And as I started out by saying, you’ll gain their respect.

Interview provided courtesy of Paul Horn, President of the New England AFTRA Local.

Any comments?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

With the field of voice acting growing at an accelerated pace, there are no shortage of "getting started" questions circulating the web.

In effort to help answer some of those questions, we've compiled an article with links to some of the best free resources for beginner voice actors and those who are seriously considering a look at studying voice over.

I read on one of my favorite blogs that sometimes it's OK to repeat yourself.

Today, I'll take the opportunity to do just that and share a variety of links that are immediately useful, encouraging and completely self-serve - all of these fantastic resources are available to you at your own convenience online.

My advice to anyone considering a career in voice acting is to start your research by visiting links listed on this voice actor's resource list before trying to contact a professional voice actor with questions about how to start a voice over business.

The amazing part is that the vast majority of these spectacular voice acting career-oriented resources are free for you to use and listen to with the exception of a few eBooks that are available for purchase as is noted below.

Take a look and if you see something you like click through the link associated with the resource you are interested in.

All of the blogs and podcasts are free to subscribe to. Keep in the loop, expand your voice acting education and prosper with these handy resources from Voices.com.

BLOGS

VOX Daily
Author: Stephanie Ciccarelli
A daily dose of voice acting news, articles, tutorials, interviews, intelligent conversation and business ideas.
Read this blog if you are: A voice actor, talent agent, voice over coach, casting director, journalist, audio producer, musician, public speaker, student, or member of the entertainment industry.
Subscribe >>

Casting Voices
Author: Erica Bontje / Stephanie Ciccarelli
Pick up tips on how to pick the perfect voice for your project and read about the latest in voice casting news from Hollywood and around the world.
Read this blog if you are: A talent agent, casting director, advertising agency, small business, manager, voice actor, student, or journalist.
Subscribe >>

Ask the Voice Cat
Author: Marc Cashman
Q&A with a professional voice over coach and commercial voice over talent.
Read this blog if you are: A voice actor, singer, student, teacher, voice over coach, actor, musician, or a talent agent.
Subscribe >>

Master VO
Author: Dan Lenard
Demystifying the home recording studio, one question at a time. Q&A with a professional voice talent and audio production coach.
Read this blog if you are: A voice actor, an audio engineer, student, radio personality, setting up a home recording studio, podcaster, or hobby engineer.
Subscribe >>

The Biz
Author: David Ciccarelli
Get the inside scoop from the CEO of Voices.com and learn more about the business of the business, including marketing strategies, how you can use technology, and more.
Read this blog if you are: An entrepreneur, small business owner, web designer, tech enthusiast, CEO, audio engineer, or a decision maker in the advertising or entertainment industry.
Subscribe >>

INDUSTRY TRADE MAGAZINE

Voice Over Times

Author: Voices.com Staff and a Variety of Contributors

The leader in online voice acting news and press release distribution, Voice Over Times is the driving force propelling the public relations of the voice over industry. Covering voice over in all aspects, this website will help you find the news and stories that you need to hear about now and connect you with media contacts who make your story happen.

Subscribe to Voice Over Times for Free >>

PODCASTS

VOX Talk
Host: Stephanie Ciccarelli
The #1 voice acting entertainment podcast covering voice acting news, business tips, technology, and an assortment of voice actor contributions. This show is produced weekly.
Listen to this podcast if you are: A voice actor, talent agent, voice over coach, student, audio producer, actor, theatre major, musician, podcaster.
Subscribe: Free in iTunes >>

Voice Over Experts
Host: Julie-Ann Dean
The #1 educational podcast featuring renowned voice over coaches from US, Canada and abroad. Join us each week for pearls of wisdom and tricks of the trade to improve your voice over career. This show is produced weekly.
Listen to this podcast if you are: A voice actor, actor, public speaker, voice over coach, student, producer, instructor, voice talent agent, or a casting director.

Subscribe: Free in iTunes >>

VIDEOS

Tutorials
Learn how to use the Voices.com website to your advantage with interactive videos that entertain as well as educate.
Watch these videos if you are: Voice actor, person hiring voice actors, or a customer of Voices.com.
Subscribe: Free in iTunes >>

Commercials

What if Life Had a Soundtrack? Find out in our series of commercials for the web featuring two great actors and hear a variety of narration styles as they hear a soundtrack narrate their lives, turning the mundane into the interesting.

Watch these videos if you are: A voice actor, casting director, agent, someone hiring voice actors, or a fan of videos.

Subscribe: Free in iTunes >>

DOCUMENTS

Official Voices.com User Guide
Find out everything you've ever wanted to know about how to use the Voices.com web service from both the perspective of a person hiring voice actors (client) and that of a voice actor.
Read this document if you are: A customer of Voices.com, whether a client or voice actor member.

Download the PDF now! >>

Getting Started in Voice Overs
Quickly learn the basics of what it takes to make it in the voice over industry with this attractive and useful guide.
Read this document if you are: A voice actor, actor, musician, changing careers, student or voice professional.
Download the PDF now! >>

Blueprint for Voice Acting Success
Discover how easy it is to succeed as a career voice actor. Learn more about managing and promoting your business online using the Voices.com website.
Read this document if you are: A voice actor, voice talent, public speaker, voice talent agent, or student.

Download the PDF now! >>

Voice Over in the Google Era
Google can help you in some major ways when it comes to running your business and being found online. This document will teach you the basics of Google, list Google properties that you can use, and demonstrate how you can make waves with search engine optimization.
Read this document if you:
Download the PDF now! >>

Small Business Podcasting Kit
Want to learn how to podcast? Download this free kit on how to bring your podcast from concept to completion.
Read this document if you are: Starting a podcast, are interested in podcasting, are a podcaster, voice actor, student, or an advertising agency.

Download the PDF now! >>

Voice Over Rate Sheet
Wonder how much a non-union voice over goes for? Download this sheet to find out the general cost of commercials, narration, telephone voice overs, and more.
Read this document if you: Hiring voice actors or are in need of a reference sheet for quoting clients.
Download the PDF now! >>

The Definitive Guide to Voice Over Success
Getting started in voice overs has never been easier with Voices.com's best selling eBook, The Definitive Guide to Voice Over Success. Learn how to build your brand, web presence, and record professionally from home.
Read this document if you are: Getting started in voice overs, are a voice actor, student, professional voice actor, or audio producer.

Buy the eBook for $29.95 now! >>

The Voice Over Script Collection
50 original scripts including telephone, commercials, promos, station IDs, narration and more. Use these scripts to practice from and change the fictitious names of products or companies to suit your needs. Perfect for rehearsal and material to record a voice over demo.
Read this document if you are: A voice actor, voice over talent, public speaker, teacher, voice over instructor, advertising agency or student.
Buy the eBook for $29.95 now! >>

Commercial Scripts for Radio and Television Ads
50 original royalty-free scripts to be used for television and radio advertisements covering a variety of industries. Comes with artistic direction as well as voice casting suggestions.
Read this document if you are: Producing a commercial for radio, television, podcast, or web broadcast.

Buy the eBook for $29.95 now! >>

Frequently Asked Questions
Search the Solutions Database that holds over 500 answers to common questions about the industry and how Voices.com works.
Visit the FAQs:
Visit the FAQs now >>

Did you find this list to be helpful? Feel free to leave a comment or email me with any feedback and or suggestions (stephanie@voices.com).

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Need to change things up a bit?

If you have a spare moment or two, check out this really nifty website I was referred to called FreeRice.com.

Yesterday I came across FreeRice.com through a referral from Marni Soupcoff of the National Post.

What is FreeRice?

It's a website geared toward word puzzle lovers and etymologists alike who enjoy whittling away the hours working with (and interpreting) words.

As stated on their website, the goals of FreeRice are two-fold:

1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

While a fun place to test your linguistic mettle, this website as noted above, has a greater purpose to serve by means of donating rice to help feed the hungry through the United Nations World Food Program.

Each word you get right results in a donation of 20 grains of rice. Sponsorships secured on the website convert your noodle power into grains of rice for FreeRice.com to distribute.

According to the National Post, FreeRice.com (since its creation in October, 2007) has generated donations of 15,295,699,110 grains of rice. Last night, I was playing for a while and donated over 7,000 grains of rice and loved every minute of it.

You can view FreeRice statistics here.

Instead of playing a game of Backgammon or Solitaire, why don't you try FreeRice?

It's food for thought and helps to nourish other people as well.

Have fun!

Stephanie

Are you a voice actor, radio or television broadcaster, singer, teacher, public speaker, telephone sales rep or someone who uses their voice for more than just day-to-day "talking"?

Ever find that you get a dry throat or hoarse voice and need a quick fix to solve the problem?

We're excited to be conducting a survey of people who use their voices professionally in London, Ontario Canada, partnering with Kathy Thompson of Pure Voice Power, an authorized Canadian Representative of Entertainer's Secret, a throat relief spray that might just be the ticket to drive your hoarseness away with a quick blast of moisturized goodness.

If you want to take part in this survey, please leave a comment on this article and I'll get in touch with you off the blog with additional information.

Last year I was introduced to the Entertainer's Secret product at a conference our team attended.

I was intrigued by the product but chose to hold off on using it until this year during the cold season to see how it would work.

Suffice to say it worked very well.

In light of that discovery, I wanted to connect with the Entertainer's Secret folks and see if they would sponsor a survey of their product to be conducted here in London, ON Canada at Voices.com.

Not only is this a great opportunity to share a wonderful product and gain valuable information for the voice acting community, it also gives us a chance to see more of you in person which is an opportunity I always look forward to.

So, here's the breakdown:

I have a shipment of 48 bottles. 6 of those bottles will be tested by the staff at Voices.com and the remaining 42 are for anyone who meets the criteria above who wants to participate.

One bottle per participant.

As part of the survey, I'll show you how to use the product and record your first impressions of Entertainer's Secret in person. Following that, you'll be receiving a brief follow up survey in your email asking you questions about your overall experience approximately a week after you've received the sample.

If you are interested and are in London or can drive to London, please leave a comment here for me on the blog.

Leaving a comment makes it easier for me to connect with you and will also be a good measuring stick for monitoring the availability of the samples for those interested in receiving one.

Looking forward to hearing from you and meeting you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

UPDATE: If you would prefer to email me to request a sample, email stephanie@voices.com - I will keep this posted updated with the number of remaining samples.

I also wish to thank Gordon Schmitz at KLI CORP in Carmel, IN for connecting with me a couple months ago and for his assistance coordinating our Canadian survey of Entertainer's Secret.

The audiobook industry is worth billions of dollars with an ever-increasing number of titles being recorded.

Have you thought about recording your voice for audiobooks or narrating other projects?

Read this interview featuring a voice actress who has used LibriVox to help her do just that.

One of the ways voice acting has hit the mainstream is through the recording of audiobooks. There is an amazing amount of opportunity and this sector of the industry is just bursting at the seams.

For those of you who are interested in becoming narrators for audiobooks, there is a wonderful resource and community that will foster your growth in that area called LibriVox. You might recognize that name because I've mentioned LibriVox before in previous VOX Daily articles.

A little while ago, I was in contact with Jodi Krangle, a vocalist and voice actress who has found LibriVox to be hugely helpful where attaining further demo material is concerned, particularly for narration voice over work.

Having read books on to tape for the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) back in the mid-90's, Jodi finds that this is very close to the work she encountered before.

Since becoming an active member of the LibriVox community, Jodi has also learned more about what kind of narration projects she prefers. Instead of recording full-out audiobook narration, she focuses her attention on projects that are less than an hour to record such as short stories, trailers, and teasers.

LibriVox is a good place to start experimenting and testing your limits. Good to know!

Jodi also shared that narrating pieces through LibriVox is fantastic practice because a of the volume of narration work coming her way specifically in the areas of book trailers or reading snippets of books in to MP3 format as teasers for the authors.

"I find doing projects at LibriVox to be a low pressure way to practice. It's a lot like the auditions at Voices.com in that way although I actually end up with a final product I can *promote* (because I realize promoting auditions for others is a faux pas). Every audition is an opportunity to practice - not only with my voice, but with my home studio equipment."

To learn more about how you can get involved, check out their website at LibriVox.org.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Recently, I was asked about getting on the Favorites list, one of three voice actor listing pages linked off of the Voices.com home page.

These listings update on a daily basis.

Favorites is one of the more rewarding yet challenging lists to get featured on which is why I thought it would be good to write about this topic.

Do you want to know how to get listed in the Top 100?

You might have noticed the Movers & Shakers area featured on the Voices.com home page showcasing the Top 10 with links to the Top 100. There are three categories, including "New", "Recently Hired", and "Favorites".

Today, I'd like to focus on the Favorites list with the goal of explaining some of the intricacies of how it works as well as share information about how you can be featured on it.

One of the key factors regarding the Favorites list is its ability to fluctuate depending on the Favorites rankings of individual voice actors.

Unlike the "New" or "Recently Hired" list, the Favorites list is somewhat out of a member's direct control, however, you can take steps to increase a ranking on the Favorites list.

Favorites List Algorithm

The reason why some listings in the Favorites list fluctuate vigorously while others do not is relative to the number of times a talent has been added as a Favorite.

The order of the people in the top 10 tends to fluctuate less because there are more votes separating each position, thus making it more difficult to crack the top 10.

Conversely, people who are listed in other ranges tend to see their ratings shoot up or down because their number of times being Favorited varies less and perhaps only a few votes separate one person from another.

Clients can both add and remove members from their Favorites so that might also be reason for the fluctuation that occurs.

What is keeping some quality talent out of the Top 100?

One of the easiest ways that a voice talent can climb this list is to be added to a client's Favorites through the auditioning process.

If someone isn't auditioning for work or auditions rarely, they stand less of a chance of being heard, identified as someone with a great voice, and ultimately added to a client's Favorites.

Not to give too much secret sauce away, but some talent take care to speak directly through their proposals or on their profiles to clients and specifically mention that if the client likes what they hear (whether an audition or voice over demo at the Voices.com website) to add them to their Favorites list for future reference.

It all comes down to marketing and self-promotion.

Those two factors combined with talent and consistency will help significantly with regard to getting more exposure on the Voices.com website.

Best,

Stephanie

I was chatting with one of the voice actors from the game "BioShock" recently and happened to ask him if he had played the game.

The answer may astound you!

Do voice actors play the games (video games or PC games) that their voices are featured in?

Late last week, I had an extremely entertaining phone call and interview to be published on VOX Talk this week with Peter O'Connell, one of the voice actors in the #1 video game of the year, BioShock.

While we were talking, I asked him about his experiences developing his character, recording the voice overs, and about other elements concerning the game.

Turns out, Peter, although he played a voice acting role in the game, has not as of yet played the game.

I was somewhat surprised, but after some thought quickly realized that there is a major difference between voice acting in a video game and being on camera in a film - voice actors generally do the work but do not have the opportunity presented to them to celebrate the playing of the video or computer games that they perform in unlike on camera actors who can watch screenings of their work when it is presented in cinemas.

The most significant reason (from what I can tell) for this is because it is far easier and more economical to passively watch something than it is to actively run out, buy a gaming console, setup the console and eventually play the game.

Playing the game will also take a certain amount of skill and comes with a learning curve as well, making it harder, complicated and a more time consuming (some of these games have 40 hours of playing time from start to finish in them) task to accomplish.

If you're a video game voice actor or a voice actor who has voiced computer / PC games, I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Have you ever played the games that you have voice acted in? Why or why not?

Looking forward to your reply,

Stephanie

Image: xBox.com

Are you hungry for more links to your voice acting blog?

Get on the Blogroll at Voice Over Times!

It's easy - come on in, I'll show you how.

Voice Over Times is one crazy place.

I mean, there's traffic coming from all ends of the net from people who are discovering voice acting and those who are hunting for news stories to source for their publications.

What does that mean in plain English?

There are thousands of people day in day out, who are highly interested in voice acting, who could be clicking through to read your voice over or voice acting blog... and we want to help them get there.

All you need to do is link to Voice Over Times on your blogroll and we'll return the favor by linking to your voice acting blog from the Voice Over Times website.

The blogroll is featured on every page of the website, so you'll be found... everywhere.

How does that sound to you?

Get linked up fast by sending me an email letting me know you want to be added ( stephanie@voices.com ) and I'll get your blog up on the roll.

Best,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Martin McCarthy

These past few months have been extremely busy and we're proud to announce the launch of Voices.com's Winter '08 Release, a comprehensive list of service updates and feature additions that have just gone live.

I'm very excited to let you in on what we've been up to!

Here is a list of some of the recent updates that have taken place within the last quarter.

Home Page

• Internet audio category in the Featured Talent Directory
• Political Demos category in the Featured Talent Directory

• Dynamically updating "Recently Hired" list of those voice talent who have been hired and paid using SurePay escrow

• Direct links to blogs, podcasts and news in the "What's New" section

Search Engine

• Highlighting of keywords in search results
• Search results display category icons to the demos
• Expanded keyword search capabilities
• Internet audio category added to the search engine

Profiles
• Add This social bookmarking widgets using AJAX technology
• "Send Money" option for fast payment of voice over jobs

Podcasts
• Voices.com's newest podcast “Voice Casting” is now at your service. Learn how to find a voice actor, what to look for in a voice, how to work with voice actors, and most importantly, how to brand your company using the power of the human voice.

Blogs
• "Voice Agents" is the future home of what promises to be the central hub for voice talent agents to publish articles about their industry, projects, best practices and promote their services through words using the power and reach of the Internet.

What I'd like to draw your attention to is a fabulous opportunity to be featured in the new Internet voice over category.

If you haven't updated your Featured Voice Talent categories recently, you'll want to login and make sure that you get on this hot list. The demand for Internet voice overs is growing significantly.

If the spirit moves you, update your demos now.

To read the complete list, click through to Winter '08 Release article The Biz blog.

So, what do you think?

Do you like what you've read about? Is there anything that you'd like to see us include for future releases?

Add your thoughts below by leaving a comment.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

If you live in Toronto and have a child or teenager with a knack for voice over, you've likely heard of children's voice acting coach, Sunday Muse.

Sunday Muse will be teaching this weekend at Clare Burt Recording Studio in Toronto, ON Canada.

Sunday Muse is a leading animation voice actor who has provided her voice on such hit shows as Care Bears (Cheer Bear), Rolie Polie Olie and Jo Jo's Circus, is now offering her immensely popular kids voice-over workshop.

Geared towards children who are either looking to move forward in the animation / voice over industry or just looking for a unique educational experience, "Sunday Muse Cartoon Voices for Kids," shows kids how to 'be' the cartoon voice that they see on TV.

In a safe environment, kids explore cartoons through rap music, imitation and a series of mock auditions using scripts from popular animated scripts like Rolie Polie, Care Bears, Super Why, and Arthur. Using her one of a kind technique "Actively on the Spot," kids learn how to animate their bodies and voice by connecting to the emotions and actions of the character they are playing.

Sunday provides them with the skills in demand by casting directors of national cartoons and children's shows and her students end up on national television!

*Workshop includes take home CD.

Details for Toronto Classes:

KIDS: Sunday January 20th, 2008 (11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)
Ages: 8 - 12 years

TEENS: Sunday January 27th, 2008 (11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)
Ages: 13 - 19 years

Location: Clare Burt Recording Studio
211 Yonge St. (3rd floor)
Toronto, Ontario

Cost: $195+GST.

To sign up, please call (416) 536-6071 or email sundaymuse@hotmail.com (**subject heading should indicate the date of the workshop you are interested in).

Best,

Stephanie

A little jet lag never hurt anyone!

Voices.com CEO David Ciccarelli was the recipient of an award at the 7th Annual 1to1 Impact Awards in Phoenix, Arizona.

I have some news to share!

On Monday, January 14th, Voices.com CEO David Ciccarelli was an honored guest at the Frost & Sullivan : 7th Annual 1to1 Impact Awards, receiving a Silver medal on behalf of Voices.com as recognized winners in the Full-Suite CRM category, sharing the spotlight with Westpac Banking Corp (Gold medal) and ESET Software (Bronze medal).

The winners were honored at a special awards session and panel discussion at Frost & Sullivan’s 9th Annual Sales and Marketing West Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

As reported on Voice Over Times, there will be a write up with all of the winners in the January / February issue of 1to1.

I expect David will write about his experience on his blog later this week.

The team at Voices.com would like to thank all of our customers for helping us to achieve this honor.

Thank you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Finally, some closure!

Peter O'Connell published a podcast over the weekend revealing the winners of the Unofficial NBC News Announcer contest he was running at audioconnell.com.

Find out who won here.

I'm pleased to help announce the winners of the audioconnell Unofficial NBC Nightly News Announcing contest.

With 60 entrants and over 154 votes, the results are as follows:

1st Place: David Houston
2nd Place: Bruce Miles
3rd Place: Connie Terwilliger

To listen to their demo submissions, click here and play the Voxmarketising Podcast at audioconnell.com.

Congratulations to David Houston, Bruce Miles and Connie Terwilliger... as Peter said, although this contest may not change anything at NBC, you've truly made an impact and your talents known through this unique contest.

Cheers,

Stephanie

P.S. One short note to end off. On the voxmarketising podcast, Peter shares the stage with a female announcer each episode. The first episode featured the British voice talents of Sarah Parnell and the episode I've directed you to listen to features the VO-BB's DB Cooper!

This week, I had the privilege to sit in on a high school broadcasting course at Clarke Road Secondary School in London, ON.

Under the tutelage of Brent Bissell, veteran radio broadcaster turned inspiring mentor of young minds, these teens are exploring careers in creative fields such as broadcast for television, radio, sound editing and film.

When I first asked Brent Bissell if I could come to visit his high school "Broadcasting Communications" class at Clarke Road Secondary School, I knew that I was very much looking forward to being there, but I can tell you with all sincerity that I had no idea just how excited the students were to have me come in to see them.

The moment I walked in, I was treated to a guided tour of the communications classrooms and was privy to the school's daily broadcast, fed live each day to various rooms in the building including the cafeteria and for those sitting in wait at the guidance counselor's office.

I'd never been so "behind the scenes" before and it was intriguing to see how the green screens worked when graphics were added to give the appearance of a professional network studio during the televised broadcast. I also got to watch the students, who were all responsible for different things, operate the teleprompter, cameras, and even be news anchors behind the desk.

Technology being used in the classroom includes an assortment of editing tools such as Adobe Audition for audio, a Shure microphone modeled in the 50s style, a dynamic microphone for the radio announcer, linear and non-linear editing capabilities, and my favorite, the Shure 819 boundary microphone that was used to pick up the voices of the news anchors during the Clarke Road televised daily broadcast which lays flat on the table and picks up the presenters effortlessly. Brent, or Mr. Bissell as he was called in class by his students, revealed that the surface that the mic rests on, in this case, the table, acts as a diaphragm.

On this particular day I was visiting with the senior students in the eleventh grade. The class this semester consists of 18 extremely bright, motivated and charismatic students.

It was obvious that over the last four months of class, they knew exactly what to do, when to do it, and were comfortable with their roles in full knowledge that during a live broadcast, they were all reliant upon each other to work as a team in order to achieve a successful program.

Throughout the taping, Brent was able to give me a play-by-play of the station operations which I greatly appreciated.

Brent Bissell, a name you might remember from his years on FM96 in London, ON, has a zest for education mapped in his DNA. As Broadcaster of the Year from Fanshawe College's Broadcasting program, Brent went on to spend 16 years in Radio and TV as an announcer and journalist. Following his years in broadcast, Brent took on his calling to become a teacher and has been teaching at his current post at Clarke Road for two years, instituting one of the best high school broadcast and communications classes in the city.

It was under his direction that a daily broadcast schedule was added to the curriculum, a decision that has helped to propel the destinies of several students who have since decided to seek post-secondary education at institutions the likes of Fanshawe College's Broadcast program, Conestoga, audio recording at OIART, and the Toronto Film School.

Many students in Brent's class this semester are taking co-ops at local television and radio stations such as Rogers Television in London and radio station CJBK.

As Brent still maintains connections with FM96, a number of students have had the opportunity to record liners, promos and commercials for the radio station that called for teenage voices. One commercial we discussed was for a local store called Bud Gowan Formal Wear, a store famous for its tuxedo rentals.

Voice over does factor in quite a bit in this course. The students edit video and are also able to record their own voice overs using Adobe Audition employing the use of a dynamic Behringer C1 microphone.

Today, I received a couple of emails from the students (I asked them to write so that we could keep in touch) and here's a sampling for you.

"Thank you so much for coming in! It was very inspiring to see that you have become so successful in the business that I hope to make it in. I have made an account on voices.com, and I finally have a demo up now!"

"Thank you for coming into our class, I found it very interesting and I am looking forward to taking advantage of this opportunity."

I'd love to go back in and see the students to talk to them about voice acting. According to Brent, the class was intrigued by my visit and already more of them are signing up for Guest memberships so that they can learn more and grow in what may become their voice over career.

Today, they watched the "Five Men in a Limo" video on YouTube featuring Don LaFontaine, Nick Tate, John Leader, Mark Elliott and Al Chalk, and learned more about voices, from which I'm told was sparked by their interest in our meeting yesterday.

How exciting!

The future of voice acting is now and it's happening in high school classrooms across the continent guided by teachers with a passion for communications and mission to help raise up tomorrow's talent today.

Any comments?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Ryan Burke

Like to mix business with pleasure?

More and more voice acting study opportunities are offering edutainment or travel as components of their workshops.

What's your ideal destination for a voice acting workshop?

Voice acting workshops, at one point not so long ago, were confined to a local recording studio or hotel conference center.

Within the past several years many voice acting coaches have been offering a different sort of experience wherein the actual workshop participation is just one aspect of the package.

Some of these events now include social activities and travel to studios nestled in the mountains of Utah by the lake shore, a stone's throw from a beach on the coast of Hawaii and even on cruise lines sailing up the Pacific coastline.

A voice over workshop, for those who haven't attended one, is an opportunity to learn a new skill, technique, or side of the voice acting business that is usually offered over a weekend by instructors of voice over.

You could think of it as ongoing education (which it is) and a chance to realize talent that is just waiting to be explored.

Many veterans attend these workshops annually as part of their professional development, confirming that these educational events are not just for aspiring voice actors trying to make it in the biz, but for anyone who wants to challenge themselves and learn something new in an industry that is changing every day.

Going to a voice acting workshop is educational, good for your brain, helpful to your voice and as a very satisfactory fringe benefit, exceptionally fun!

That being said, is there anywhere you'd like to see some sort of voice over workshop / event take place?

Leave your ideal location here as a comment on the blog.

Thank you,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Eliza Snow

Voice over coach Debbie Munro submitted this quiz to me to share with you here on VOX Daily.

I think it's a great exercise for any of you who might be wondering about your career or would like to get more voice over work.

Take the quiz and let us know how you did!

Note from Debbie:

We’ve all experienced the frustration of feeling like we’re doing everything we can but just can’t seem to get the work.

We audition, maybe even get a callback, but then somebody else gets the part. Whether you’re auditioning every day or just weekly in your local city, you know there’s competition out there, but you’re sure you were right for the part. Something is wrong.

You’re not alone.

Awareness of the voiceover business is catching on and the competition is growing. The era of the “Golden Throat” is gone. Knowledge of trends and techniques is essential to success. The most successful talents in this business are the ones who keep training. There are more voicers every day, but there is also more work available every day.

It’s not impossible.

Try taking this simple self assessment test. Your answers to these questions may help you to narrow down the reasons that you’re not getting all the work you think you should.

Answer these 10 questions honestly, recording as your score for each answer the number appearing in parentheses () at the end of your selection:

1. How much training have you had?

1 course or workshop (1); 2 to 4 (2); 5 or more, or relevant university degree (3); No training at all, I’m a natural (0).

2. How much have you invested in your voiceover business?

$100 to $500 or less (1); $600 to $1,500 (2); Over $1,500.00 (3); Less than $100 (0).

3. How long is your demo?

1:00 to 1:30 (3); 1:30-2:00 (2); Under 1:00 or over 2:00 (1); I don’t have a demo (0).

4. What kind of equipment do you have?

Pro Studio (3); USB mic and computer (2); Computer mic and computer (1); I do not have my own equipment (0).

5. Do you have an agent?

Yes (3); No (2); Why do I need an agent? (0).

6. How many cities do you have agencies in?

1 (1); 2 (2); 3 or more (3); Didn’t know that was possible (0).

7. Are you a union member?

Yes (2); No (1); Why would I join a union? (0).

8. How often do you audition?

Once a day or more (3); A few times a week (2); A few times each month (1); Occasionally or Rarely (0).

9. Where do you get most of your work from?

Self marketing and promotion (3); Agent (2); Other resources (1); Work will come to me (0).

10. Do you look for work outside of the typical resources?

Yes–I talk about voiceover to any potential client (3); No – that’s up to my agent and the sites that I’m on (2); I don’t need to promote (0).

Now, add your scores from each of the 10 questions together and let’s see how you did.

If you scored:

0 to 10 – You haven’t done enough yet to get the work you’re seeking. Keep training and developing until you can score 20 or more. Those who are landing this work NEVER stop looking and are constantly educating themselves to keep up with the trends, even while they’re working. Remember, “Those who do the work get the work.”

11 to 20 – You’re heading down the right path. You are taking some of the necessary steps that you need to take to become a full time professional voice talent. You still need to get your score up over 20. What can you do to change your numbers? More marketing. Don’t rely solely on your agent. Keep educating yourself. Always tell everyone what you do. Everyone you meet is a potential client or referral source.

20 to 30 – You are doing the right things to make it in this industry. You are probably landing some work if your score is this high. Perhaps it’s not the amount of work you were hoping for, but if you keep at this and have the talent, it will come. It can be discouraging, but know that you’re doing the right things. Patience and perseverance are the keys for you. Keep your score up in this range and good things should follow. If you’re the right voice, you’ll get the job. Stay with it - they have to hear you before they can hire you!

That’s it.

Keep your scores high and your drive strong. Competition is just a test to see how much you really want it!

We hope this quiz helps to motivate you to move forward and keep up the good work. Voicing may be the most fun you can have while working, but it’s still work!

All our best,

Chanti Studios
Deb Munro – Director / info@debsvoice.com

After yesterday's post, I got an email from a concerned member of the union who would like to share his point of view.

Don Leslie emailed me today sharing his thoughts and feelings about how the strike has been covered on VOX Daily, specifically in the article published yesterday about Hulu.com.

I agreed to publish his thoughts here for you to read.

First, I'd like to make a clarification that Hulu.com does not employ voice actors (in case it was misinterpreted as such), nor was I suggesting that voice actors should go to the site to seek employment voicing ads from sponsors of the programming. The people I asserted who are making the money (players who are now benefiting) are the aggregators of the content (Hulu) through advertisers as noted such as Chevrolet, Cisco and Saturn (ads I've seen in programs so far on Hulu.com).

Second, in no way am I or Voices.com trying to alienate any members of any union or suggest how they should act or not act during the WGA strike.

Whew... a lot to say!

Thirdly, while based in Canada, it is true that my understanding of the breadth of the strike and strike history in the US is limited to recent events. I also apologize for not mentioning AFTRA while mentioning the support that SAG is offering to the WGA.

OK, one more thing: I think it is very important that you read what Don has to say.

His account also gives me an opportunity to share a side of the story with you that has not yet been heard. This is one of the key ingredients missing in this ongoing coverage. Don was one of the first to approach this topic and enlighten me as to how devastating this could become for voice actors as someone who is in support of the strike.

Now I'd like to share Don Leslie's comments as were submitted to me earlier today:

Hi,

I read your VOX today and I'm a little concerned. I realize you have not been the staunchest supporters of unions, but I am. You actively promoted Voices.com members to pursue work at "Hulu". The only conclusion to be drawn is that you are encouraging scabbing. You also did not include AFTRA's unyielding support for the WGA strike in addition to SAG's. This statement is incorrect and misleading:

"While some previously thought that there wouldn't be any money in webisodic content, it is now apparent that there is money to made in advertising during the viewing of said content, however, the players who are benefiting have changed."

It has been clear long before the strike that programming content on the web has been and will continue to be incredibly lucrative.

The "other side" certainly knows this to be true and they say it openly at news conferences and share holders meetings; I have seen several of them including Sumner Redstone of Viacom discuss the enormous potentials of web content. And even more obviously, there wouldn't be a strike if the giant six media conglomerates were unaware of the web's potential. Yet they constantly claim that their investments in web programming are still experimental... but will not permit union jurisdiction in this area to any of the performing unions.

This is the same tactic they used against the unions in the area of cable programming not so very long ago.

I realize you are in Canada and that may explain, in part, why you are not that knowledgeable about labor union history and politics here in America. This is an extremely difficult time for all Americans given the state of our economy and the strong possibility that a recession is just around the corner. Or perhaps already here. And it's especially arduous for the American performing community. Los Angeles, arguably still the capital of the entertainment industry, is being devastated by this strike. And the commercial sector has been crippled throughout the country.

So I would greatly appreciate it if you could treat the strike as something more than a nuisance that has taken away our favorite tv show. This is absolutely critical to all of our futures. Many of us already have, and thousands more of us will lose our jobs, our health insurance, and our homes.

Regards,

Don Leslie

~~

Do you have anything to add?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/tillsonburg

If you've been missing your favorite shows, some of the networks have figured out a way to keep your appetite whetted and consumer loyalty by making full-length sitcom episodes from previous seasons available online at Hulu.com for your viewing pleasure.

Presently in Beta (testing phase), the Hulu site is poised to be network television's answer to YouTube as well as a viable means of keeping fans of shows currently affected by the Writers Guild of America strike happy and served at their convenience online with content on demand... free of charge.

What's your television viewing schedule been like since November 5th, 2007?

If that date sounds vaguely familiar, it is the day that the Writers Guild of America first went on strike stopping production in its tracks as actors in support of the writers refused to cross picket lines and pop culture as we knew it began to rely solely upon news programs, reality TV and reruns.

With the strike going strong for slightly more than two months, people have had to find alternative sources for their entertainment, many opting to play more videogames to the delight of videogame retailers and still more people who are getting their fix via the Internet by visiting sites such as YouTube and are downloading audiobooks from Audible among other online sources.

Although a couple of production companies have signed deals with the WGA (Writers Guild of America) like David Letterman's Worldwide Pants, and most recently, Tom Cruise's United Artists' interim agreement with the WGA to bring back feature film writers, other shows (the majority) are still on the outs and will not likely return for the season unless a similar deal is struck or the strike comes to an end.

One of the most recent casualties of the WGA strike is the Screen Actors Guild's boycotting of the Golden Globe Awards. According to a statement from SAG, none of their members are going to be acceptors or presenters at the traditionally star-studded event broadcast on national television.

Along the same vein, one might suspect that the Oscars will also be boycotted... that is, unless the strike ends (SAG is in full support of the WGA strike) or a "special arrangement" is made.

Hmm...

What does that mean for Hollywood and the entertainment industry where viewers are concerned?

In recent days Hulu.com has found a place in my life in lieu of television.

What is Hulu?

Essentially, Hulu.com is a website where you can watch premium content from networks such as NBC for free with very few commercial interruptions.

Just last night, we devoured an episode of NBC's "The Office" from a previous season that was sponsored by automotive company Chevrolet. There were about six very short ads promoting the company's vehicles that were unassuming and almost seamlessly incorporated into the episode.

While some previously thought that there wouldn't be any money in webisodic content, it is now apparent that there is money to made in advertising during the viewing of said content, however, the players who are benefiting have changed.

If you're itching for some Dunder Mifflin action, even from past seasons, you can get it at Hulu, Steve Carell and all, courtesy of major sponsors the likes of Chevrolet.

Something I noticed about the Chevy ads, and perhaps this is specific only to these particular ads, is that there was no voice over included. Visual marketing with a soft, lyric-free music bed made for easy transitioning between the programming and the advertisements.

How do you get in on this hot website?

Apply to sign-up for the Hulu beta testing program here.

What do you think about the Writers Guild of America strike?

I'd love to hear your thoughts now that it's two months in.

Cheers,

Stephanie

I have some great news to share!

The King of Voice Overs, Don LaFontaine, is getting ready to jump back into his work and is rearing to go!

Yesterday, I received a very nice email from Don thanking me for posting his story on VOX Daily last month.

Don writes:

"I have read the responses and I am moved beyond description by the kind and thoughtful comments. Please pass along my deepest gratitude to all who took the time to respond. I am still recovering, and hopefully will have a real handle on the problem tomorrow or early next week. This inactivity is making me nuts!"

Don

~~

If you know Don or have any idea of just how much work he does on a regular basis, you can certainly imagine how frustrating this hiatus from his voice over work has been.

I want to thank all of you who sent in your thoughts and well wishes for Don and am confident that those comments are helping him to get better. Many of you also prayed and are praying still for Don and I thank you for that on behalf of Don and his family.

One of the best families to be part of in fact is the voice acting family. Although this small industry is growing at a rapid pace, the purpose and spirit of those who join remains the same. We are all very blessed and privileged to be part of it and experience this era together.

Take care of yourselves and each other,

Stephanie

Image © Don LaFontaine

It's time to nominate, voice actors!

The 2nd Annual Voicey Awards are now open for nominations. Learn more now.

The time has come to nominate deserving voice actors for the 2nd Annual Voicey Awards!

There are more categories than there were before which means more opportunities to be honored.

The categories are as follows:

Best Male Voice
Best Female Voice
Best New Voice
Best Child Voice ~ New!
Best Teen Voice ~ New!
Best Voice Team ~ New!
Best Foreign Voice ~ New!
Best Personal Branding
Lifetime Achievement

To learn more about the Voicey Awards, rules for entering, read profiles about industry judges, listen to past winners, and nominate voice actors for this year, go to VoiceyAwards.com.

All nominations will take place online this year in effort to go completely green (no faxed in entries)!

Nominations close on February 3rd, 2008 and the awards show will air on the VOX Talk podcast on February 21st, 2008.

Best,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/ericsphotography

Kara Edwards often shares interesting tidbits on her blog, including all the voices in her head as well as those of others external to her own cranium.

Nancy Wolfson recently gave permission to Kara to share some of her proprietary coaching info on her blog and has also given me the go ahead to share this wisdom with you here on VOX Daily.

When Nancy Wolfson says something, it's always with careful mastery and her teachings offer immediate benefits.

Here's a page out of Nancy's play book for you. Please leave a comment at the end of this article if you found Nancy's advice useful!

RUNNING METRICS

Every company is obliged, first and foremost, to return profit and value to shareholders.

Are you returning profit to yourself?

It is wise to run the year-end metrics of your business to define and evaluate profits, losses, investments, and returns.

Evaluate the time and money and energies you expend and in what areas against the returns, having a look at what created value for you and what did not.

Do not limit the concept of "value" only to tangible dollar income.

A few examples of non-monetary positive value:

- improved skills - they are like upgraded machinery in your factory.
- an improved demo (or your first one!) is like stocking your shelves with better inventory.
- perhaps you met people in your business pursuits who opened doorways to auditions or perhaps you met a friend who created publicity for you.

How much of one's day is spent on the boards versus pursuing skills, pursuing work, actually doing jobs?

How much of one's sweat goes into jobs in one piece of your business's pie chart and not another...

Sometimes we realize we've spent lots of energy gossiping and commiserating when that time could have been more positively spent making valuable business connections.

Has the marketing been more busywork than targeted?

Is what is being marketed up to top competition standards deserving of that energy and worth risking that "first impression"?

I'm excited to support those who work hard about working smart in '08 and beyond!

Nancy Wolfson

~~

Did you find this article useful? Leave a comment for Nancy now!

Best,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Peter Finnie

Earlier in December of 2007, voice over coaches Julie Williams and Marc Cashman designed a contest that called for new year's resolutions from the voice over community with a unique twist - they had to be resolutions directly related to a person's voice over business.

The winning submission has just be announced!

Want to meet the winner?

As mentioned a few short weeks ago, the Voice Over New Year's Resolution contest opened to all voice actors in the online community, giving people the opportunity to submit their resolutions for the new year in exchange for the chance to win some great prizes from Marc Cashman, Julie Williams and Voices.com including an hour of telecoaching each from Marc and Julie as well as a one-year Premium membership to Voices.com among other prizes.

There were more than three dozen wonderfully creative entries submitted to the Voice-Overs.com Forum, but only one could win.

The winning submission was entered by September Day Leach. Check it out!

~~

Dear Judges of the Voice Over New Year's Resolution Contest,

Greetings!

My name is Maybelle and I am a professional Fairy Godmother. I am writing to you on behalf of one of my charges, September Day Leach.

I understand that your contest has some fabulous prizes in store for the winner and according to this wish I just received, my September sure could use them. You see, she is moving from Atlanta, Georgia all the way across the country to Los Angeles next year, all by herself. She is leaving behind all of her friends and family just to chase her star and she's called on me for some help. Now, I've already taken care of transportation (she was out of pumpkins, but managed to dig up some bok choi which I was able to mold into a Honda) and she's been a very good girl by avoiding going to the Mall with her seed money from a few choice gigs I was able to get her. But I still think she needs a little something more and having all of this great coaching and exposure timed with her move could really help launch her career.

September assures me, should her wish come true, that:

* she will never, ever, ever plug her microphone directly into her soundcard again
* she will stand up for every recording
* for 2008, all extra money will go to marketing and equipment
* she will stay in touch with her real and internet voice over family while she's on the West Coast
* she will stay focused on her dreams every day
* she will only stalk Brad Pitt once every two weeks

If you could help, I would be most grateful and would be happy to throw in a few incentives as well. How about making those holiday calories not count? All green lights for one week? We'll talk.

Sincerely,

Maybelle Merriweather, Fairy Godmother

~~

Congratulations to September!

Now, as was mentioned on the Voice-Overs.com Forum, there was some difficulty narrowing down the list, and as a result, an honorable mention for Mary Morgan and her new year's resolutions are in order.

Mary Morgan submitted the following:

For 2008 I will do the following:

Never give up my dream
Entertain audiences
Wow producers, directors, and all listeners alike

Yield to every audition that comes my way
Enjoy what I do
Always thank God for my gifts and talents
Remember to practice vocal techniques
Strive for excellence

Respect my strengths and weaknesses
Embrace every experience
Stop putting myself down
Overcome obstacles
Learn from mistakes
Use what I know
Take criticism
Increase my knowledge
Organize my materials
Network with other voice talent
Stay focused on my career

Fix problem areas
Offer advice to new talent
Read and read some more

Market myself like crazy
Yank out negative thoughts in my head

Volunteer my time
Obtain the latest news in the industry
Inspire people
Continue learning my craft
Explore new horizons
Observe workshops
Value my efforts
Educate myself nonstop
Recognize my faults

Create opportunities for myself
Always keep training
Reach for the stars
Earn my place as a professional voiceover artist
Evolve as an artist
Rejoice in my success so far

Mary Morgan

~~

Marc Cashman asked that I share a special note with you, and I'm happy to do so. Here's Marc's message to all who entered the contest:

An open letter to all contestants:

I'd like to say to everyone who entered this contest that your submissions were very well thought out, extremely creative and quite inspiring. I want to encourage those of you who plan on taking more voice acting classes.

The best actors never stop learning.

I want to suggest that you don't make a V-O demo until you're really ready, and to get help from a pro to make it competitive. I admire you for focusing on your goals and working every day to realize them. And I want remind you that you can email me any questions about the business through Voices.com or call me any time.

I wish you all much success for a great '08!

Marc Cashman
Cashman Commercials/L.A.

~~

If you subscribe to Julie's VoiceOver Insider, you received this news from her early this morning. Julie is on her way to Hawaii to teach a voice over workshop (lucky people!) and wishes to thank everyone for their participation.

If you're curious to learn more about what your peers who entered the contest are hoping to achieve in 2008, visit the forum and take a look.

Some of you may have already seen my new year's resolutions as posted at the CBC on the Spark blog, but I don't think I've heard from some of our readers here at VOX Daily yet about theirs.

If you started off 2008 with some resolutions, be they voice over related or not, you are welcome to leave a comment and share your resolutions with me here on the blog.

Best wishes,

Stephanie