Vox Daily

Here's a neat map of where Voices.com voice actors are located.

Where are you in this picture?

Add your location in your comment to let us know where you are from!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Twitter is a sensational fixation that social networking types have embraced as an alternative way to keep people up on what they're doing.

If you are used to updating your status on Facebook or MySpace, you can think of Twitter as a glorified version of who's doing what, when they're doing it, and how often.

That's great, but why does it matter?

Twitter Me This, Batman

Twitter matters quite a bit to many people nowadays and is quickly becoming the standard way for people who love to network to stay abreast of up-to-the-minute news in their community or with their friends.

What Does Twitter Do?

Twitter gives you the ability to sign up and provide a flow of personal updates while also allowing you to "follow" or subscribe to the Twitter update feeds of your family, friends, colleagues or your favorite movers and shakers.

What is Twittering?

Twittering is using Twitter to let others know what you are doing by updating your Twitter status. This could be information about what you are doing, your plans for the day, where you are, what you've accomplished, how you're feeling, and so on.

Who's on Twitter?

All kinds of people are Twittering. In our industry, there are a couple dozen that I've discovered and I'm sure there are more. At Voices.com, we have three company Twitter accounts. Feel free to "follow" our feeds to keep up with what we're doing at any given moment:

Voices.com on Twitter
David Ciccarelli on Twitter
Stephanie Ciccarelli on Twitter

The Culture of Twitter

From being on there for about 24 hours, I can tell you that it's a friendly place and is full of people who are technically minded and have other presences in social networking circles. It's very much a marketing tool for those who want to use it that way. I decided to follow one of my buddies, Peter O'Connell, and the first message I read from him was "@stephciccarelli, what took you so long?" It's a happy place and from Peter's comment, I think it's the more the merrier ;)

Tips for Using Twitter

1. Use a URL shortening service (i.e. tinyurl.com) when including links in your updates
2. Check your "reply" tab (you won't see messages from people you are not following in your regular stream)
3. Don't be afraid to speak up!

The tips above are from Erica at Voices.com. Find more tips courtesy of Grammar Girl's Unofficial Twitter Style Guide. There's even a Twitter Fan Wiki for the overly adventurous.

Should You Be Twittering?

Twittering is easy but just because it's simple doesn't mean that it's everyone's cup of tea.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by social media and social networking, Twitter may become one more thing on your to-do list or the straw that breaks the camel's back. It can also become addicting if you are either constantly updating your status or are reading up on what others are doing instead of actually doing anything yourself.

I was thinking that for all the updating of statuses that goes on, it might be better to update your status once you've finished a task so that you don't fall into a pattern of updating prematurely and then feeling crappy if you didn't complete what you had set out to do. It also gives you a sense of accomplishment and closure.

Remember though that Twitter updates can be searchable on the Internet and also published in the public timeline. If you want to limit access to your updates you'll need to check the box to "protect your updates" Twitter feed.

Twitter at Will!

Did this article interest you or convince you to get a Twitter account?

If so, learn more and signup at Twitter.

Comments on Twitter are welcome! Comment below.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Are you a voice actor who loves to talk?

Itching to let your voice and perspectives take center stage in a new, exciting way to an audience of thousands?

If you want to be on a podcast and enjoy the perks without having obligations to produce the show, distribute the podcast and market it, this is a golden opportunity for you.

Voices.com publishes weekly podcasts: VOX Talk and Voice Over Experts

Voice Over Experts is an educational podcast that brings you useful tips and nuggets of wisdom from voice over coaches, authors and leaders in the industry.

VOX Talk is a podcast that covers the news and opens the door for dialogue in segments called The Biz, Tech Talk and VOX Box. Anything goes in this podcast. Politics, commentaries, interviews, you name it.

I'm looking for people who would like to be part of our podcasts and submit the odd segment here and there.

Being on a Voices.com podcast is perfect for people who:

1. Want to get involved in the voice over community
2. Are looking to gain some practical experience recording
3. Want to be heard
4. Would love to share their perspectives on the industry
5. Are veteran talent interested in giving back and "paying it forward"

The Best Part?

You can participate at your own convenience and you literally just whip the file up and send it to me by email.

That's it.

We offer participants links to their websites, and if on Voice Over Experts, press coverage and online distribution of a press release about the podcast you were on.

Publicity Begets Publicity and Business

As an aside, we are often asked who the voices are on our podcasts and those people who were discovered on the podcasts are offered other voice over work opportunities.

Coaches who are on Voice Over Experts are routinely contacted by potential students who listen to the podcast and receive offers for speaking engagements as well.

Other Opportunities

There is also a podcast we produce called Voice Casting, a periodic podcast we publish for clients who hire voice actors at Voices.com.

To give you a little bit of an idea about Voice Casting, we provide tips on what to look for in a voice actor, what to expect budget wise, how to script, how to pair and cast voices for multi-voice projects, and how to build an effective and unique brand using voice over.

Sometimes I feature voice over reels to demonstrate voice types, styles, applications and more, so if you're interested in participating as a featured talent on this podcast, let me know and identify what your specialty is.

Let's Get it Started

If you'd like to take part, please either comment on this article so that I can get in touch with you off the blog or email me at stephanie@voices.com.

Best,

Stephanie

Welcome to another Friday and also another vibrant, vivacious edition of Who Got the Gig!

If you're new to this topic, all you need to do to participate is let us know what kind of voice over work you've been up to in the past seven days to join the conversation.

OK, gather 'round the water cooler folks... no pushing now, there's room for everybody!

What kind of work have you been up to?

Whether the job was big, small, has a non-disclosure agreement (chime in but don't say exactly what you did or for who!) or is the beginning of something great, leave a comment to let us know so that we can celebrate with you today.

What did you do this week in VO Land?

LEAVE A COMMENT!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Daniel Rodriguez

Did you know that over 25 jobs are submitted to Voices.com every day but only 18 on average are approved?

We want to see that number change and are looking for your feedback.

Read this article and then add a comment sharing your thoughts to let us know how you feel!

Job Posting Procedure

Voices.com has an exceptionally thorough process for approving jobs. Some of you may not be aware of just how very meticulous we are.

The Process

Once a job is submitted for consideration, our team:

1. Reviews the job details
2. Edits any spelling or grammatical errors
3. Researches company background and adds this to the job posting details
4. Follows up with the clients by phone and email for any missing information
5. Approves the job which triggers email notifications inviting you to audition at Voices.com

You may notice that this is the complete opposite of the automated process that is practiced at other voice over sites.

The Issue at Hand

Because we are so thorough and standards for job budgets are so high, some of these opportunities are passed over and not approved, generally because they have a budget that veteran voice actors are affronted by...

Those jobs, which we paid for or gained through our marketing efforts, then leave our website and are posted elsewhere and the client is lost, which from a business point of view is unacceptable and must be resolved.

Although not picture perfect for seasoned pros, those same jobs that we denied would be perfect for people who need opportunities for work and are aspiring to be a full-time voice actor.

Budget Ranges

When a client posts a job at Voices.com, they are required to choose from a range of budgets, the minimum being USD$100-$250.

We've seen an increase in the number of jobs and are also pleased to share that there has also been an increase of $1000-$5000 jobs.

Jobs Whose Financial Specifications Don't Meet the Mark

Many projects we receive meet the minimum $100-$250 budget, however there are some jobs that fall below the per page or per word average pay rates and cannot be approved using our present guidelines.

NOTE: These projects are ideal for new voice talent who want to get their feet wet in some real paid work.

By Approving Those Jobs, it Would:

1. Increase the number of opportunities available
2. Provide people with more work
3. Help us to build more client relationships
4. Open the door to further educate people about budgeting and working with professionals
5. Consolidate all of the online job opportunities for voice over at Voices.com

Voices.com Secures Professionals Work

We focus our marketing efforts on attracting large projects with the opportunity for renewing contracts. These are specifically suited for professionals as you have the experience and equipment required to deliver exactly what the client is looking for.

As was mentioned earlier, there are budget ranges that are used at Voices.com that match up certain kinds of projects with typical compensation. For those of you who are selective about the kind of work you do for how much your charge, it is in your best interest to take a good look at the chart below and commit those ranges to memory.

Email Notifications

If you see something in an email notification that doesn't jive with what you personally would expect to be compensated, you are welcome to pass on the lead.

Instead of lamenting the fact that the opportunity doesn't appeal to you (which is a waste of time and emotional energy), put your time to good use voicing work or drumming up new business.

Getting the Most out of Email Notifications

Save time by learning how to match the category with the budget range.

Audio Books 500 - 10000
Business and Corporate Videos 250 - 1000
Character and Cartoon Voices 250 - 1000
Educational Videos 250 - 1000
Language and Translation 500 - 10000
Jingles 250 - 1000
Movie Trailers 500 - 10000
Music Production 500 - 10000
Narration and Documentaries 250 - 1000
Podcasts and Podcasting Voices 100 - 500
Radio Commercials 100 - 500
Radio Station Imaging 100 - 500
Telephone System Recordings 100 - 500
Television Commercials 250 - 1000
Television Station Imaging 250 - 1000
Video Game Voices 250 - 1000

If the email notification indicates a budget that's lower than expected, you have the ability to move on and forget about it!

Managing Your Email Notification Preferences

For others, it may be in your best interest to specify what type of job postings you wish to receive based on budget range. You can choose to receive only leads with specified budgets by visiting your Preferences area under My Account to modify these settings.

Client Relationships

Customers of Voices.com know that we value our relationships with them. Voices.com has a mission to work with both clients (those who post jobs) and voice actors (the talent who fulfill the need), educating along the way and providing the best possible experience for everyone involved.

While it may seem that the majority of our efforts are central to our voice acting customers, take a walk in the shoes of a client to discover all of the support we provide to those who post jobs and hire talent at Voices.com.

It may shock you!

How Do You Feel About What We've Presented?

Add a comment below.

Best wishes,

Stephanie and the Voices.com Team

©iStockphoto.com/Eduardo Leite

BEFORE YOU COMMENT - READ THIS POST SCRIPT:

Voices.com will NOT post jobs that have budgets less than $100. Voices.com will not post free or pro bono jobs with zero budgets!

You can also filter your email notifications by budget range.

Thank you for reading this.... please continue on and join the conversation :)

Have you ever had to work on a retainer?

If you are into radio imaging, telephone voice over work, voice over for the web or providing voice overs for anything else that needs constant updating, you are probably familiar with working on a retainer.

Although it may be old hat to you, there are people starting out in the business of voice over who are new to the concept and need some guidance -- that's where you wonderful pros come in :)

Share your experiences with retainers and add your voice to the conversation!

Retainers

The word "retainer" comes up every so often whenever a client wants to retain your voice for a period of time.

From my understanding, retainers are usually monthly arrangements wherein you work for a client for a flat fee for a previously agreed upon number of voice overs or audio packages.

Quoting for Retainers

How should people who are faced with retainers for the first time quote for the work? What factors come into play?

How do you bill for retainers?

Please share your thoughts. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/ArtmannWitte

Are you going to any conferences this year?

We're right smack dab in the middle of conference season (NAB just wrapped up in Las Vegas) and there are a couple of conferences coming up in the voice over industry.

While there are conferences out there, it's up to you to decide whether or not they are worth every penny.

Worth Every Penny?

Yesterday, I received a timely email asking what my thoughts were about conference fees for attending events held within our industry.

Measuring Value

The price of conference tickets should be equal to the perceived value of what you are going to receive.

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

Attending a conference should also recharge your batteries and inspire you for a long period of time once you've gone home. That alone could be priceless for someone who needs a little pick me up.

These aren't guidelines for just conferences centered around voice acting but any conference in general.

Justifying Costs

As an aside, it costs money to put a conference on, and part of the fee you pay to attend goes toward costs associated with the venue, food, speakers and any materials that are being provided to you.

It isn't uncommon for a conference to cost $500 or more to attend. Generally conferences that cost several hundred dollars also provide food and drink throughout the day.

Conferences Coming Up

There are a couple of voice acting conferences coming up this year, including one in less than two weeks time in Schenectady, NY called the "Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference", a one-day event jam packed with a variety of speakers specific to advanced marketing for voice actors on and off the Internet.

Last year, David and I spoke at Voice Coaches and can relay that the crew at VoiceCoaches.com puts on a dynamite expo that is catered (always a plus!) and really hits on critical material for professionals. We can't wait to return this year.

A Perfect Mix of Business and Networking

The one-day event was substantial yet manageable and those traveling from out of town didn't have to spend a lot of money on hotels.

Attendees are given a great experience and receive top advice from a variety of experts with plenty of time for Q&A and mingling. The presenters and panelists are treated very well which in turn inspires their performances and really gives the people what they came for.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

I can't speak highly enough of the people at Voice Coaches and think you would enjoy yourself and learn some things you might not have known before.

For instance, this year David and I are lecturing on How to Get the Most out of Voices.com and Internet Marketing which is always an exciting topic and in a constant state of flux.

Other speakers include Rodney Saulsberry, Billy Serow, Evan Farmer, David Bourgeois and more.

Pick Brains, Digest Information, Have Fun!

While the main purpose of going to a conference is to learn it is also important to realize that it's also about face time. There is nothing like being in a room with other people who share a common vision, are passionate about what they do and seek excellence.

Want More Info?

To learn more about the Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference to be held on May 3rd, 2008 in Schenectady, NY, click here or call 1-866-887-2834 ext. 100.

Hope to see you in Schenectady!

Have You Been to Any Conferences?

Share your experiences as comments!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. If you know you are coming to Voice Coaches, please leave a comment below so that we can meet up!

©iStockphoto.com/Dmitriy Shironosov

A couple of keys to success are being organized and possessing confidence in your abilities.

Do you have a strategy for your business?

Now that we're far, far away from the peer pressure and hype of New Year's and the resolutions that go with the holiday, it's officially the perfect time of year to take a good hard look at your business and search for areas that you can improve upon and set some new goals.

Areas to consider might include the way you pursue business, your assets (hardware / software), education, and performance. Go nuts, it's all good.

You may be wondering where I'm going with this.

I'd like to share two different yet related items, both of which occurred last week and involved many people in VO:

1. Phyllis K. Day on Voice Over Experts
2. Kristine Oller Contest at Voice-Overs.com

Voice Over Experts featuring Phyllis K. Day

Phyllis K. Day, a professional voice actor and technical writer, knows where to place the X.

In her first Voice Over Experts podcast, Phyllis created awareness regarding how external factors such as relationships, past hurts, and other elements buried in your subconscious, can impact your vocal performance in a recording session.

Just as you can have physical tension that detracts from your performance, you can also have vocal tension and layers of emotional stress that constrict your ability to perform in an authentic and uninhibited manner.

By listening to her clients discuss what makes them happy, sad, angry, etc., Phyllis is able to construct a visual prognosis and identify areas of improvement. She assigns those areas as homework and checks on your progress in the next session.

The results are stunning.

People who have lost all hope and are just grinding through their voice over work are now advocates for Phyllis' coaching and are presently doing some of the best work of their lives as well as enjoying their career.

Phyllis isn't a psychiatrist but she is someone who is sensitive to others and has a knack for knowing where to place the X. She also gives a free initial consultation, so there's nothing to lose.

Listen to Phyllis here and see if she can help you.

Kristine Oller

Kristine Oller is a professional organizer and career strategist, and as a former actor, Kristine knows what it is like to go through life from audition to audition.

Once she got organized, Kristine realized that her true calling was to help other performers who struggle to ditch their day jobs and advises them on what they need to do to live the dream and guides their next steps on the road to success.

Kristine participated in a contest held by Julie Williams at the Voice-Overs.com Forum.

I thought this was pretty neat to say the least, so I decided to follow up with Kristine to learn more about what she does and why she does it. You can read that article on Voice Over Times here.

A write-up about the session will be in the next edition of the VoiceOver Insider. You can signup here to receive the free monthly publication from Julie Williams.

Are you ready to do something great for you and your business?

If this article moved you in some way leave a comment with your thoughts below!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Denise Bentley

Welcome to another wonderful Friday!

Up here in Canada, we're enjoying fantastic weather (24 degrees celsius, oh yeah!) and I'm blogging this from outside thinking about the green green grass of home.

Before you run off for the weekend to plant a garden, do some spring cleaning, take a drive in the country or get the boat out for a pleasure cruise (well, you might be doing that!) , be sure to leave a comment about what you have been up to this week in the wonderful world of voice over.

Ladies and Gents, who got the gig?

I really hope to hear from a lot of you. Spring seems to be kicking opportunities into overdrive and I am eagerly awaiting your comments to learn more about what you've been up to.

Add a comment below!

Cheers,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Andrew Dernie

Ever heard of VOWOL?

Until a few months back, neither had I, but I'm very glad that I did!

Meet Roy Samuelson

I'd like to introduce you to Roy Samuelson, founder of VOWOL, also known as the Voice Over Work Out Lounge.

Roy and I first got talking when I discovered VOWOL a few months ago. When I read about what they were up to, I just had to speak with him and find out what on earth was going on in Hollywood at this place called "VOWOL".

Right off the bat, Roy was a pleasure to speak with and his passion for bringing people together to hone their craft was simply contagious. You've got to love that about VO folk ;)

History of VOWOL

VOWOL started in 1996 as a way for actors to split studio time and play in the booth, essentially, "working out" together vocally to sharpen their skills and mastery of voice over techniques.

Since then, the Voice Over Work Out Lounge has been a playful, informal, and nourishing place for working VO actors and others to get together, meet coaches, producers, agents, and directors.

Recent Successes

According to Roy, the recent billybobvo.com intensive weekends with Bob Bergen and Bill Holmes have been wonderfully successful to the students in attendence. Also the first "Not A Demo Demo" series sold out, with 2 more (focusing on commercial demos and animation demos) accruing top masters in the profession, talking about VO demos, what works and what doesn't.

The word about http://vowol.com has been spread word of mouth, and with a working web-based scheduling program near completion, VOWOL hopes to get even more positive growth and VO actors into the booth. Most home-based recording studio actors have enjoyed getting additional feedback and networking opportunities.

Have you been to the Voice Over Work Out Lounge?

If so, leave a comment below!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Do you have a favorite studio to record at?

Let me know!

Status Quo

While the voice over business is definitely booming online and becoming more virtual everyday, opportunities will occasionally present themselves to record at a professional audio recording studio, that is, a professional studio outside of your home.

Remember When...

Some of you remember the days when all you did was record at someone else's recording studio. Think back to the commutes, chatting with others in person, and being directed while in the booth.

A very small percentage of voice actors still do this regularly.

If you have been in the biz for at least five to ten years as a professional voice actor you know what I'm talking about!

How Will New Voice Actors Discover Studios?

The initial encounter many new voice actors will have with a studio is either through the making of their first voice over demo or by attending a class that an instructor is holding at their preferred studio.

Solid referrals from professional voice actors for studios would be ever so helpful to people starting out.

Spread the Love

I'd also like to learn more about our good friends in audio engineering and celebrate the great studios out there. Your recommendations will help to drive more business their way from people who need to use them.

To do this, I need your help. You are the experts and have been on the ground floor.

Which recording studios do you love and why?

List the name of the studio, the city and state / province.

Looking forward to hearing from you! Please comment below.

Best,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Chris Hutchison

What does it take to get work in the voice over business?

It certainly takes more than a voice, a computer and a microphone.

Discover the three basic elements that you need to build your success upon and learn how you can set yourself apart from other voice actors in this increasingly competitive field of work.

I received a question from someone getting started in voice over this morning that inspired me to write a new article about the keys to success in voice acting biz.

How do you get voice over work?

It's an easy and attainable task if you have all your ducks lined up in a row. You'll also need to be proactive, have passion, and be persistent.

To succeed in pro voice over you need to have three basic elements working for you:

1. Talent

You need to be able to act! Having a pretty voice, a big voice, or a "great" voice is not going to get you further than the compliments you receive from those around you.

2. Business Skills

Voice over is a business and needs to be treated like one. This means you need to wear as many hats as it takes to own and operate your own business successfully.

3. Technical Skills

In this day and age you need to have technical skills and be able to meet all of the requirements expected of you. Audio engineering is an incredibly important aspect of this equation.

Those fundamentals paired with your demo, and a combination of great PR, good timing and the right opportunities and you've got yourself a foolproof method of getting work.

Being able to present yourself, communicate, pursue success and maintain relationships will set you apart as both a voice actor and businessperson.

If there's one piece of business advice you pass along to someone, what do you tell them?

Share your advice as a comment below!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Geoffrey Holman

If you're a reader of Voice Over Times you probably noticed a slight change in how the website looks.

Don't know what Voice Over Times is, but would love to know more?

Read this article.

What is Voice Over Times?

Voice Over Times is the online trade publication for the voice over industry. With news stories published each day in a variety of categories, Voice Over Times is the only media center that provides up to the minute coverage that reports what's going on in voice overs and features the who's who of the voice acting community.

Topics

Headlines, Business, Entertainment, Media and Technology articles round out the offerings presented at Voice Over Times.

Headlines

The top news story of the day is filed under "Headlines". These range from pivotal movements within the industry to high profile voice acting news.

Business

News about career success is filed under "Business". Stories in this category reflect the triumphs of working voice actors, news from movers and shakers, and updates on business leaders.

Entertainment

This category features mainstream entertainment news regarding the announcement of voice casts, animated film reviews, and celebrity voice actor appearances.

Media

Media is a category focused on exploring how voice over is used and highlights specific applications of voice over in the everyday operations of businesses. Media also covers aspects of multimedia that feature voice over.

Technology

Stories, reviews, and breaking technology news that directly affects voice actors, audio recording studios, audio production and audio design find refuge in this broad category.

Sponsors

We're pleased to have L Harvey Gold, Lili Wexu, Inge-Maria Moereels and Kelli Casey as Voice Over Times sponsors.

Advertising Opportunity

This dynamic online destination is a great opportunity to get your name in front of a targeted market. Voice Over Times is generating over 100,000 page views per month from thousands of unique visitors including RSS and email subscribers. Visitors invest a significant amount of time reading the headlines, articles, reviews and how-tos on the website.

Advertising is available on a monthly basis. Secure your advertising spot today.

How Can I Get Involved?

Voice Over Times accepts submissions from the voice acting community and publishes the content to help spread awareness as well as recognize people who are making a difference, share achievements, and educate with the mission of developing an informed industry.

If you have news to share, email info@voiceovertimes.com.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Many of you have seen the Voice Talkers : Living the Dream of a Voice Actor video on YouTube and are loving it!

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, click here.

Now, for those of you who have, here's an awesome interview with three members of the comedy troupe that discusses how Voice Talkers came about.

VOX: Where did the inspiration for "Voice Talkers : Living the Dream of a Voice Actor" come from?

RYAN HUNTER (CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR): I always thought it was hilarious that both Taige and his Dad had these Don LaFontaine-type voices. Just the idea that something like that could be genetic seemed sort of funny and unexpected. It makes sense, but it's not something people usually think about.

VOX: How do the themes "living the dream" and the word "indubitably" shape Voice Talkers?

RYAN: We wanted to use the theme "living the dream" in a way the other finalists might not. So we ended up telling a story about a guy who's been living someone else's dream and wants out. It seems like the contest organizers wanted to force every contestant to use a silly and arbitrary word in their piece, and they picked "indubitably." Hence, we used it as if some advertiser had pointlessly thrown it into their copy for a reason that was itself silly and arbitrary.

VOX: Z100's Dave Foxx is featured prominently in a very Don LaFontaine-like role. How did you secure Dave for the role and what kind of expertise did he bring to the table that helped you make this very niche comedy sketch?

TAIGE JENSEN (Lead Actor/Co-Writer/Editor): It turns out that Dave Foxx is actually biologically related to me. After discovering he was my father, I think he felt obligated to help us out. And we bought dinner (two large pizzas).

Dave was a great asset and was extremely generous with his time and facilities. He even engineered our ADR session at Z100 with the help of his Neumann and expert VO tips. It was awesome to collaborate with him, and I hope we get the chance to do it again.

VOX: How did Voice Talkers challenge the cast? Did anyone have voice acting experience before?

TAIGE: The biggest challenge for me was performing while feeling awful. Luckily the plan was to ADR everything from the beginning, because my voice was shot. Also, it was intimidating knowing that our voices were going to be back to back with an industry legend.

VOX: Who came up with the title "Voice Talkers"? What was it that made Voice Talkers the perfect title?

RYAN: We went through a ton of different titles. I thought the "The Cords That Bind" was pretty smart, although, conversely, I was also gravitating towards "Voice Males," just for the sheer idiocy of it. Likewise, I was attracted to "Voice Talkers" because it sounded so awkward, and yet it somehow seemed to fit. It has a certain misplaced gravitas about it that I liked, and it was also the only name that everyone else liked right away. I learned only recently that "Voice Talker" is an actual term thrown around jokingly in the voice industry. We had no idea.

VOX: When you were shooting this film, you likely had no idea what the response would be from the voice acting community online -- maybe you didn't expect there would be one at all. Now that the video has circulated and comments are funneling in, how has their response affected you?

RYAN: The response has been positive, and we've all been really happy about that. Some voice artists have told us that our piece is not far removed from their actual experience, which is really weird. We've also gotten a really good reaction from the orthodontic community, and that has probably touched me more than anything.

VOX: Do any of the cast members have plans to live the dream of a voice actor?

TAIGE: Like many voice actors, I've been struggling to live that dream for years. (hands out his demo) Call me!

TYLER JACKSON (Producer): I once did a voice-over for a documentary. I had a wonderful time, and was very proud of my work. I was fired - never to voice talk again...?

VOX: This video may very well go down in VO history as a classic, standing among such greats as "5 Men in a Limo" and "The Santa Sessions". You've captured a slice of life that most voice actors can identify with, some going as far as saying that what you've shot is almost as if you turned a camera on in their own homes and hit record. As a producer, how does this make you feel?

TYLER: Whenever people feel like your work has connected to a truth in their lives, you know you're doing something right. Surprisingly, our parents didn't want us to be in a comedy troupe as a career, but my dad doesn't have as much bass in his voice so it was much easier to disobey his wishes.

It looks like there has been a lot of activity in VO Land lately and you know I'm absolutely ready to hear about it!

What have you been up to this week?

I've heard that the month of April has been good to many VO folk.

What kind of voice acting work did you record this week?

Leave a comment!

Cheers,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Boris Yankov

IVONA is the leading text-to-speech software program in Europe and its notoriety is spreading quickly.

Watch this video and let me know what you think.

IVONA TTS

According to this press release posted last week, IVO Software – the manufacturer of IVONA TTS, one of the best text-to-speech (TTS) systems in the world, has begun a global viral-video campaign promoting IVONA TTS.

For the purposes of their campaign IVO prepared a short, 42 seconds long video which has already won 11 honors in the YouTube Science & Technology category. In this video IVONA TTS introduces itself to the world at the same time encouraging a viewer to test it himself or herself.

"IVONA's virtual voices may be used by creative filmmakers. Each day a number of videos with IVONA-generated voice overs are placed on the YouTube" - suggests Lukasz Osowski, President of IVO Software.

Does TTS Pose a Threat to Voice Actors?

Now, text-to-speech is a topic we've touched on before, and it can become a rather heated one at that. As we watch technology advance, it appears that text-to-speech is making progress, but just how much and by whose standards?

Does text-to-speech pose a threat to voiceovers recorded for the web? Let's open this can of worms again.

What do you think?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

You may have noticed a theme over the last few days that has to do with videos and voice acting.

Today, I want to share a link to another video with you that features a National Association of Broadcasters interview with Dave Foxx, one of the actors in the cast of "Voice Talkers : Living the Dream of a Voice Actor" that was featured yesterday on VOX Daily.

If you weren't familiar with Dave Foxx before seeing Voice Talkers, you're in for a treat.

"The radio business is a business but you have to have fun or you'll be out of business."

Those words are paraphrased from the video I want to refer you to featuring Dave Foxx. If you are interested in the imaging side of voice over and production for radio, television and podcasts, you won't want to miss this one.

When you get a good ten minutes to yourself, watch this amazing "lecture" on how Dave Foxx, Creative Services Director at Z100 in New York City, has been able to consistently produce top imaging, promos and incorporate jingles for radio airplay for over 20 years in one of the most competitive environments for Top 40 stations in the world.

Thanks to Joe Szymanski for pointing this beauty out to me. To return the favor, I'm sending you to Joe's blog to watch the video and comment on the gem he discovered.

Have fun!

Stephanie

“Voice Talkers : Living the Dream of a Voice Actor” was produced by P0YKPAC for the final round of YouTube’s Sketchies II sketch comedy video contest. Voting begins on April 9th.

Will you be voting for this video?

Voice Talkers

While the title "Voice Talkers" is somewhat of an inside joke in the voice acting community (as well as "Sacks of Money" - thanks to the VO-BB), the term voice talker seems to be catching on in this YouTube Sketchies II contest video.

The Voice Talkers cast includes:

Grover - Taige Jensen
Dad - Dave Foxx
Carol - Jenn Lyon
Brother - Maggie Ross
Producer - Ryan Hall
Engineer - Ryan Hunter

As part of the contest, videos must incorporate the theme "living the dream" and use the term "indubitably". The winner gets $25,000 cash, $15,000 in production gear and a chance to meet with UTA online agents.

Voting starts on April 9, 2008.

I thought we could all do with a little humor today and I'd love to know what you think of this video!

What do you think of this video? Have a favorite part? Leave a comment ;)

Cheers,

Stephanie

Getting a job doing voice overs is about more than just your voice.

This Howcast video goes through some of the steps any person encounters when they first get serious about training and launching a voice acting career.

Step 1: Take a Voice Over Class

Before you get too far ahead of yourself and buy studio equipment, get trained! When you're exploring voice over as a potential career take a class or two to help determine if voice over is the right business for you. You can experiment with training either in a group setting or one-on-one. There are opportunities for training posted here on VOX Daily often that list all of the class details necessary information for registration.

Step 2: Practice Reading Out Loud

Read all the time and be sure to read out loud. It is when you are reading aloud that you can really feel the copy, hear your voice, and play with the interpretation. Get over any inhibitions by practicing your reading on a regular basis either on your own, with a teacher, family member or a trusted, objective friend.

Step 3: Seek Out Pro Bono Gigs To Build Your Resume

Consider apprenticing under an established voice actor or volunteering your talents for charities, not-for-profits, or student projects. As you are building your voice over portfolio, it is important to make the distinction between volunteer work and "giving your voice away for free" -- your future colleagues will thank you.

Step 4: Embrace Your Voice

Every voice is different and has a unique voiceprint. The industry is booming and there is a voice for every job and a job for every voice so long as you can act. Develop your skills, embrace your voice, and realize that your voice is both an instrument and a means to make a living. Take care of your voice.

Step 5: Practice Proper Breathing

Remember to breathe properly. This means being able to control your breath and shape it to create flowing phrases and energetic, articulate performances. Breathing deeply from your diaphragm, breath support and proper placement can work miracles and keep you conditioned to deliver in top form, even through sickness.

Step 6: When You're Not Working, Read, Read, Read!

You can never read enough books, news clippings, pieces of ad copy or audition scripts. The more you practice reading a range of scripts, the wider your vocabulary will become, and the more versatile your voice acting skills. Diversify the material you are reading with regard to content, application and style to tone up your reading skills. Nurture a voracious appetite for reading.

Step 7: Make a Voice Over Demo

Making a voice over demo is a very personal, artistic and technical process. You can go about doing this on your own but it is advisable to consider the possibilities of having a demo produced for you professionally. Your voice over demo can be your ticket to success and often serves as the first impression of your voice a prospective client will hear.

Step 8: Make a Profile at Voices.com

How lovely it was to see this as a suggestion and we're honored to be included in the video! When you're ready to pursue voice over work as a pro you'll need to have a web presence and a steady source of auditions (i.e. opportunities for acquiring work!). Subscribing to Voices.com is a great way to get your hands on more copy, your name in front of clients, market your talent on a global scale, and most importantly, be heard.

Step 9: Do a Mass Mailing of Your Voice Over Demo

Although we live in a digital age be sure to have a physical copy of your demo on CD to send to agencies that prefer receiving a hard copy. Some welcome emailed MP3s, however, you should ask first to avoid any problems. No one likes to receive unsolicited files by email. Also, inquire before you mail a CD so that you address the envelope to the right person and secure a contact who you can follow-up with.

Step 10: Follow-up and be Persistent

When you are pounding the pavement on your own be sure to follow up with the prospects you have sent your marketing materials to especially if you mailed a package with a CD. Keep your name front of mind. You may not receive a response from every person you send your promotional materials to but that shouldn't deter you from marketing your services. When someone needs your voice, they will get in touch!

Any comments?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. If you watch carefully near the end, it looks like the actress recording the voice over is also the same voice actress who recorded the voice over. Do you think it's the same person?

Want to Meet Voices.com?

As the founders of Voices.com, David and I are slated to speak at the Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference in Schenectady, NY on May 3rd, 2008.

Come meet us in New York!

Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo

For the second consecutive year, Voices.com has been invited to speak at the Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference to take place on Saturday May 3rd, 2008 in Schenectady, NY at the GE Theater. Our topic is getting the absolute most from Voices.com and marketing on the Internet.

We have a longstanding relationship with Voice Coaches and are thrilled to return this spring.

What's Going On?

This is a one-day event for voice actors that brings together a unique blend of industry professionals with a variety of specialized knowledge and experience, giving attendees a rare opportunity to learn from and interact with top professionals and experts. There will also be live media coverage of the event.

Scheduled Speakers for This Year’s Conference Include:

• Rodney Saulsberry, voice over artist and author of books “You Can Bank on Your Voice” and “Step Up to the Mic”
• Billy Serow, top voice over agent, head of commercial VO casting at Abrams Agency in New York and voice acting faculty at Yale University
• Evan Farmer, Host of TLC’s hit show “While you Were Out”, voice for MTV’s “Daria” series, “Celebrity Death Match” and numerous others
• David and Stephanie Ciccarelli, founders of Voices.com, an industry leading web-based voice over marketplace
• Mark Magdich, home recording expert and sales engineer with top equipment retailer Sweetwater
• Evan Skolnick, gaming voice over producer, producer and writer of games including Guitar Hero, Spider Man 3, Shrek 2 and numerous others
• Jay Silverman, voice actor, announcer and public communications expert who currently teaches marketing at The Sages College, The University of Albany, and Voice Coaches team member
• David Bourgeois, Voice Coaches president and professional producer
• Dan Dinsmore, CEO of Overit Media, a design firm with clients including The Chicago Bulls, Trump Vodka, and the Denver Nuggets

Open Enrollment

In previous years, the conference had been exclusively limited to clients of Voice Coaches, but this year, David Bourgeois and his team are excited to announce that the Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference has open registration and welcomes voice actors from all over the country offering registration over the phone toll-free to reserve tickets for this industry event.

What Can You Expect?

Registration for the event includes admission to all lectures and the expert panel, continental breakfast, snacks and beverages throughout the day, access to all Info-Vend booths, networking lunch, inclusion on the Pro Voice Compilation CD, 1 year “I can Voice” Web Extension (Voice Coaches clients only), 4 CD set of the entire event and Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo Book with information from all event presenters.

How to Register

To learn more or register for the Voice Coaches Advanced Marketing Expo and Conference in Schenectady, NY on May 3rd 2008, call 1-866-887-2834 ext. 100 or visit www.voicecoaches.com/marketing .

About Voice Coaches

Voice Coaches, based in Schenectady, NY provides one on one voice over training, demo development, and marketing support to clients across the United States and Canada. The company offers a very complete training solution to aspiring voice actors, including voice evaluation, private training, commercial and narrative demo development, legally licensed copy, CD demo replication, web demo development, self marketing training, personal mini web site, long term support and automatic placement on the web’s number one marketplace for Voice Actors, Voices.com. Voice Coaches is dedicated to unparalleled ethics in training and is a member of the BBB, The Voice and Speech Trainers Association, and The American Society for Training and Development.

Hope to see you there! If you're coming leave a comment on the blog so that we can meet up.

Best wishes,

Stephanie and David Ciccarelli

After an announcement late last week, it appears that the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) wants to suspend joint bargaining with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

This may be the case for the current governing body of AFTRA but I heard straight from some heavy hitters that the move to suspend joint negotiations is not a decision representative of the entire body of membership, including individuals from the AFTRA Leadership Team who wish to see change, reconcile the differences between the two unions and hope for a merger.

Read this enlightening missive that debunks several myths and misinformation about what is going on behind the scenes from the perspective of working actor and current AFTRA National Board member, Los Angeles local member and LA's fourth vice president, Jason George.

Read this to help you research before making your decision at the vote.

Letter from Jason George

Hey Folks,
 
A bunch of you are asking me what's going on with SAG and AFTRA as well as wondering who you should vote for in the AFTRA re-run election.  I'll start with the re-run election because it's a faster answer. 
 

VOTE FOR THE AFTRA LEADERSHIP TEAM

I'm one of their candidates and I'm asking you to vote for me again.  I'm also asking you to go to www.aftraleadershipteam.org, click on candidates, and print it out as a voter guide. They're people I trust and they represent every category of working actor from Series regulars to Guest Stars to Singers and Dancers to Stunts to Voice Overs and Sound recordings and Broadcasters to Background.

Do NOT vote for AFTRA Artists:

They are the people who in SAG go by the name Membership First and have torn our sister union apart and ruined our relationship with Agents.  They are also directly responsible for the current division between AFTRA and SAG and are the peope with their foot on the gas trying to drive our union over a cliff called strike.  I'm not afraid of a strike -- never have been -- but I believe it is a last resort when negotiating fails not a presumption you make before you even go to the bargaining table.

Why a Re-run Election?

Also know that the Re-run election is happening because of some technicalities that the Dept. of Labor found, mostly dealing with a snafu in the original election's timing of when some members received their ballot and when ballots were due.  They also wanted to firm up the means by which AFTRA LA guarantees representation to categories like singers and stunt performers.
 
It's important to note that the Dept of Labor found no merit in the allegations brought by the members of AFTRA Artists/Membership First.  In fact, no member's dues money is being used in this re-run.  The tab is being picked up as a make-good for the aforementioned timing technicality.
 
~~

Now to the suspension of joint negotiations between SAG and AFTRA

And it's important to note that word SUSPENSION because AFTRA wants to work with the institution of SAG but the current leadership in Hollywood has made it impossible.

Here's the condensed list of grievances:
 

THEY TRIED TO RIG THE VOTE

All of the Proportionality and Block voting stuff in the past year was all an attempt to give the Hollywood division of SAG (ie Membership First) control of the votes on the Joint Negotiating Committee.  To what end?  To Strike when they want regardless what the rest of the members believe is most prudent.  As I said, I've never been afraid of a strike but you have to give me the facts, show me the logic and let me have my vote.  To rig the vote or doctor the information is completely usurping democracy.

THEY RAIDED AFTRA SHOWS

The #1 sin amongst all unions -- especially sister unions with shared jurisdiction -- is the raiding of shows to steal the contract. They tried to raid THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL -- a daytime soap that has always been pure AFTRA jurisdiction -- and bring it under a SAG contract.  This was latest in a year long campaign of SAG attacking AFTRA shows and attacking AFTRA as an institution.  Yes, there is a difference of opinion in how to organize cable shows but AFTRA has always said that we should jointly negotiate cable as well.  In other words, get in a room, debate the merits of the different cable organizing philosophies and vote.  DEMOCRACY.

I feel confident that people will respond to the fact that SAG's method chases 50% of it's cable shows to Canada while AFTRA's method keeps 85% of it's cable shows in the US. But cable is shared jurisdiction, daytime broadcast television is not.  There has never been a conversation about Daytime dramas so the raiding of THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL was way over the line by anybody's standards.  The AFL-CIO has already gotten involved and made calls admonishing SAG and charges will be almost definitely be filed.  Some of the SAG folks said "what if the soap drops the decertification and stays AFTRA?".  Doesn't matter.  If I'm doing business with you and while we're shaking hands you try to shoot me in the head, the fact that you missed and apologized won't stop me from suspending our business relationship. The bottom line is: How can you negotiate with a partner you fundamentally can't trust?

THEY PUT MEMBERS' LIVELIHOODS AT RISK

I believe the members on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL were used for political purposes by Membership First without ever being fully informed of the possible ramifications.  If they decertifed the show to go under a SAG contract it would take one to three years.  During that time they would not be AFTRA or SAG, they would be on there own, at the mercy of the Studios & Networks with no union protections.  Moreover, if SAG managed to become their union, SAG would have to renogotiate the contract minimums for the show from scratch.  They couldn't use the AFTRA contract as a starting point.  So they would have to use considerable leverage -- perhaps even a strike -- just to get back to the same minimums they had under AFTRA.  Given the current state of Daytime Dramas, it's very possible they could get a worse deal.  The fact that Membership First would put these folks at risk for political gain is unconscionable.  The only thing worse would be is Membership First put these people in a dangerous position without knowing all the danger it put them in.

This isn't a game, it's people lives and livelihoods.  Of course, this is all an attempt to get actors into one union, something I agree with wholeheartedly.  But there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it.  The right way is called MERGER.

Getting a Good Contract in a Responsible Manner

All that said, I believe we will get a strong contract for the members.  AFTRA's negotiating committee has folks on it like James Cromwell (Oscar winner), Tess Harper (Oscar nominee), Stephen Collins (7th Heaven), Morgan Fairchild, and myself just to name a few.  We will get a good contract and we will get it in a responsible manner.
 
I also believe the Suspension of AFTRA and SAG's Joint Negotitation Agreement is only temporary.  I believe that membership will finally realize that in the last twenty seven years of peace between our unions and between the unions and agents, only the last four or five have been ridiculously vitrolic. 
 
What changed and destroyed the peace?

Membership First/Aftra Artists came into power.
 
VOTE AFTRA ARTISTS/MEMBERSHIP FIRST OUT OF OFFICE AND THE ATMOSPHERE WILL CHANGE
 
 
If anybody has any further questions about the re-run election or about the AFTRA-SAG controversies, please leave a comment and I'll try to answer any questions you have.

Hope it helps.

Thank you for reading,
 
Jason George
 

TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!

I'm sure you have a lot to share with me today and I can't wait to hear all about what you've been up to this week.

But first, did you go to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year (2008)? The voice of Mitch Phillips did and was featured in a presentation for Hyundai. Find out more in this short but sweet interview.

Once you're done reading please leave a comment and share some news about the work you've been up to!

Where did your voice take you this week?

VOX: How did you get the gig?

MITCH: I had worked with Gary Rivera and Ed Bernard at CDG LA (Creativdesign Group Inc) in the past on other Hyundai presentations including mall kiosks and other related stuff. CDG reached out to me to voice the presentation at the Detroit Auto Show for the debut of the new Hyundai Genesis. I was more than happy to work with them on it - besides the car looks really sharp!

VOX: Have you worked for Hyundai before?