Time To Give Thanks

Brian Haymond has much to be grateful for this year, including sharing in a recently awarded accolade that included his voice over narration in a Samaritan's Purse commercial / PSA that garnered a National Religious Broadcasters Media Award.

Although the award is worth writing about, the real story here is about how Brian Haymond's association with the organization and joyful parenting with his wife have inspired the Haymond daughters to give back to those in need using their voiceover talent.

Voice Acting Gene Runs in the Haymond Family

Brian Haymond's daughters, Olivia (11) and Samantha (8) both do voiceover when they can through auditions on Voices.com exclusively, also gaining work through offline efforts. Olivia just finished doing some voiceover for The Boy Scouts of America and Samantha has been doing a campaign for Bojangle's Chicken and Biscuits, a job she landed on Voices.com.

Both Olivia and Samantha have found ways to use their gifts and work alongside their father on a number of projects. They also pay attention to his solo endeavors, including Brian's voice over work for Samaritan's Purse.

Brian Haymond has a long history with Samaritan's Purse having narrated promotional videos for their yearly campaign "Operation Christmas Child", a charitable drive that encourages children to give gifts to children in need such as school supplies, winter apparel including mittens, hats, socks, even toothbrushes and toys, neatly packaged in a brightly decorated, festive shoe box to be received at Christmas.

Haymond shared, "Some of the money my girls made from their voice over work was donated to Operation Christmas Child. The instructions ask that those donating goods consider adding $7 per box to help cover processing and so on. Both of my girls took some of the money they made doing voiceover and put $7 in each of the 6 boxes!! So, with the help of Voices.com, we are teaching the girls about good work ethic and giving to others in need! PRICELESS!!"

Do Your Kids Also Do Voice Overs?

Leave a comment and let me know what they've been up to!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Photo courtesy Brian Haymond

What Kind of VOs have you been doing this month?

Before November passes us by, be sure to let me know about the various projects you've been involved in.

Is This Mic On?

I'd love to hear more about what has kept you busy voicing in November.

Whatever you've been up to, know that you can share it here, regardless of where you got the work.

Sometimes people think they can only comment if they got the work at Voices.com but I want to assure you that you may comment if you're sharing stories about work you've received through your agent or by your own methods.

What Kind Of Voice Overs Were In Demand This Month?

Let's hear it! Leave a comment :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Rich Legg

Today (published on Thursday November 27, 2008) is Thanksgiving in the United States.

Have you taken some time out today to think about what you are grateful for?

How about something you are thankful for in your business?

Share your gratitude here with the voice over community at VOX Daily by leaving a comment!

What are you thankful for in your voice over business?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Juanmonino

Have you noticed the lists on the Voices.com home page?

In this article, I'll introduce you to the new lists and detail what they are, how they work and how you can get on them!

Top 100 Lists

There are 4 lists on the home page that I'd like to acquaint you with.

These include:

๏ New
๏ Most Listens
๏ Top Favorites
๏ Recently Hired

New List

These are the newest Premium and Preferred voice talent members who have registered at the website or recently renewed their accounts. It's a way for them to gain some immediate exposure as well as a means to make a quick return on their investment.

Most Listens

Voice talent who receive the most plays or downloads of their audio files at Voices.com are recognized on this list. You can view three different Most Listens lists, including "All Time", "This Week" and "This Month". You can also keep track of how many listens you've had on an individual demo basis. The talent displayed on the home page are Most Listens this week. Our hopes are that you'll see fresh voices more often.

* Something I'd like to point out quickly is that the most listens metrics came into effect on the date of the new launch and do not include listens prior to November 24, 2008.

Recently Hired

Recently Hired identifies voice talent who have been hired within the past several hours by clients using the Voices.com SurePay escrow service. This list updates as audio files are accepted and approved by clients hiring talent. You can view three different Recently Hired lists, including "All Time", "This Week" and "This Month".

Top Favorites

Finally, the fourth list is called "Top Favorites". People in this list have been most favored by clients. You can view three different Top Favorites lists, including "All Time", "This Week" and "This Month". How do I rank higher on the Favorites list? Clients who are logged in to their accounts can favorite voice talents by clicking the "Add to Favorites" link in the search results, audition submissions or on a voice talent website at Voices.com. Learn how you can rank higher in Favorites.

Similar to the Most Listens list, talent displayed on the home page are those who are Top Favorites for this week.

Anything else you'd like to learn more about? Comment and let me know!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Are You Promoting Your Image Professionally?

The web is a visual medium... embrace it!

Discover 19 ideas and websites that will help you to make your Voices.com presence stand out, showcase your personality, and brand your profile.

Sometimes Image is Everything

You've probably heard the cliche "image is everything". In terms of audio, you wouldn't necessarily think that image means anything at all and presume that how you sound is the only thing that matters.

That may have been true years ago when agents handled most of the voice over work and break downs, but today, the reality is that the power is now in your hands to both promote yourself and get the work.

Pro Headshot

If you have a professional headshot that you can use (and want to use) go for it! When you use a headshot, it's important to keep your photo current. You should have a new headshot taken every 2 to 5 years depending on your career. Many of you are also on-camera artists so you know what I mean by this. Whether or not you should use a headshot as a voice over performer is debatable... the choice is ultimately up to you and your preference.

Avatars

Here's a run down of the web's best places where you can create an avatar.

Weblin - Create an avatar and use it as your virtual self within web pages in real-time.

Meez - Create a 3D animated avatar for export directly to most web profiles, blogs and so on.

Second Life - Use this extremely popular virtual world to do just about anything, but first, you have to create your avatar. Here, avatars can be customized almost entirely, with plenty of room to create a most accurate likeness of yourself.

Simpsons Avatar Maker - "Simpsonize yourself" by creating an avatar in the classic style of the Simpsons.

Gizmoz - Create, animate, and share photorealistic, great looking avatars, and even video clips featuring them. The animation and overall look of the avatar is sourced from a real picture, actually ending up almost like a personal CGI generator.

Gravatar - Lets weblogs and similar sites display user-provided pictures from a central database.

IMVU - Just like an old-school text-based messenger, you download IMVU's software onto your PC. But with IMVU you create your own avatars who chat in animated 3D.

fix8 - The webcam software that lets you animate yourself.

Digibody's Caricature Maker - Use the components of a caricature to create your unique caricature avatar.

DoppelMe - Create great looking avatars for your website or social network.

SitePal - A pay-based 3D, animated avatar creation service aimed towards business looking to create a personal presence on their website.

Mr. Picassohead - Create stunning, Picasso-like paintings which are easily transformed into avatars.

Weeworld - Interact with some quite uniquely designed avatars in a virtual world primarily based on chats and mini-games.

MiiWare - Has a pretty cool Mii creator called MiiMaker.

imbee - The social network for young people includes an avatar creator featuring images of animals from the National Geographic Kids library.

Yahoo's Avatars - Login to your Yahoo account and simply point and click to easily create your own avatar.

Stock photography

I love stock photography. The image I used to accompany this article as well as hundreds of others here on VOX Daily have used stock photography purchased at online stock photo websites.

Try iStockphoto or Shutterstock.

Take 5 minutes now and go create an avatar!

Once you've uploaded an image to your Voices.com profile, comment here on the blog and leave your URL so that we can visit to see your handiwork!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Jess Wiberg

If you've been having any difficulty using the site since it launched earlier today (Monday), I have some updates to share with you that will explain any inconveniences you may have experienced.

To learn more about "Known Issues", that is, bugs that we're aware of at Voices.com that are being investigated and solved, keep reading.

Unforeseen Issues Post-Launch

As with any launch, things can get rather complicated considering the complexity of this endeavor.

For some time now we have been calling this upgrade to the service a "redesign" for simplicity's sake, but the truth of the matter is that it was an entire reengineering of the service!

To put this into perspective:

๏ We literally rewrote every line of code in the entire system (tens of thousands at least)
๏ We used a new architecture model which improved the speed, stability and security
๏ We installed the new system on new enterprise-level servers (in plain English, these are the best and fastest servers available on the planet)
๏ We imported over 5,000,000 (5 million) records into the new database
๏ We tested and tested and tested some more

Having said that, let's discuss what we're working on right now.

Known Issues

We've already fixed 459 bugs over the last 3 weeks. To spare you the details, we're only going to talk about the bugs that have yet to be resolved, namely:

1. Correctly matching jobs to profile details and preference selections.
2. Resizing of profile images.
3. Some demos on profiles do not play.

Do It Yourself Fixes

If you'd like to take a hands-off approach and wait for us to fix them, we'll get to them as soon as we can, but for those of you who'd rather take the initiative and address these yourselves immediately, here's what you can do:

1. To filter jobs, select your preferences and complete your profile.

2. If you have a ridiculously large profile image, delete it and upload it again.

3. If your demo is not playing properly right now, delete it and upload it again.

Give Us Your Feedback

Ultimately, we want to make you happy.

You can send us your feedback by:

๏ Filling out this form
๏ Email Customer Care to report an issue that you believe has not yet been addressed
๏ Take the 30 Second Redesign Survey

To your success!

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Baris Onal

You may have noticed that the newest version of the Voices.com web service has some new features and benefits that you may be unfamiliar with.

We've developed new user guides, one for clients looking for voice talent and one for voice talent promoting their services at Voices.com.

Get your All-New Voices.com User Guide here!

Click on the links below to download your user guide for the All-New Voices.com:

Official Voices.com User Guide for Voice Talents (download PDF)

Official Voices.com User Guide for Clients (download PDF)

These updated guides are now available to you to help make your experiences using the Voices.com web service the best that it can possibly be.

Tomorrow, we'll be looking at some helpful tips on how you can maximize your presence at Voices.com using the new tools available to you.

Cheers,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Onur Döngel

The All-New Voices.com is here!

Thank you to all of our members, valued customers, our team and those who have made this major development and epic release a great success.

This, as you can tell, is a short posting letting you know that yes indeed, we've got the new site online and its live!

Go take a spin around your account. Here are three things you'll want to do.

1. Update your photo, headshot or logo

2. Edit your profile and complete the new fields including the "Detailed Service Description" and "Payment Terms".

3. Select tags for your demo. All you'll need to do is pick a few from the list.

That's it!

Let us know what you think by taking the Redesign Survey or by commenting here on the blog.

Cheers,

Stephanie, David, Carol, Laurynda, Erica, Lin and Wesley

We're Less Than A Week Away!

In this article, I'm going to share some information about how you can prepare for the All-New Voices.com and get the most out of your experience right out of the gate.

Voices.com Redesign Launching Monday November 24, 2008

This coming Monday, you'll wake up to a new Voices.com, one that you've helped to create and inspired through feedback, brainstorming and comments on this very blog.

In this missive, we'll go over some key improvements and also provide you with knowledge that will better equip you for the months and years ahead in our evolving industry.

Some Housekeeping To Get Out Of the Way

Before we go too much further, please be advised that over the weekend (Friday November 21 - Sunday November 23, 2008), there will be some site maintenance and you may not be able to fully access Voices.com. We appreciate your patience and eagerly await the launch on Monday November 24, 2008!

An email will be sent out to all registered members notifying them of the site maintenance on November 20th, 2008 so it should not come as a surprise if you regularly check your email.

Notable Improvements and Voices.com Recommendations

Improvements

There are a number of things that will be completely new to you or improved upon, including to name just a few:

๏ Additional Fields to Better Describe and Promote Your Services in Your Profile
๏ The Voices.com Store and Products
๏ Superior Featuring of Voice Over Demos as Never Seen Before

You may also notice that we've done some tweaking to simplify SurePay and have also polished the process. Of course, you'll see this and more on Monday, but I wanted to say so now to prepare you for what is to come.

Recommendations

Over the next couple days, I'll be posting specific things for you to do to prepare, but for now here are some ideas to consider:

๏ Start writing new copy including an "About" paragraph that describes your business
๏ Tag and describe your demos! Each is searchable and will also have its own page
๏ Develop products (products descriptions, price points, sample audio) for your store

Take action now by creating a Word Document and saving all of your promotional copy for an easy copy/paste into the new website.

You've Got Some Time To Leap Ahead

This is an opportunity to jump on some extremely important promotion for yourself.

While thousands of people may read the email and this blog posting, only a small percentage of you will actually take action and be ready for the launch, and to those of you in that minority, all the power to you!

If you have any questions or comments, you're welcome to post them below. As mentioned above, I'll be going into more detail about how you can prepare in the coming days.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Is the world ready for anyone else to intone "In A World"?

The passing of Don LaFontaine leaves us with a number of questions including how public perception will influence the future of voice over in theatrical trailers.

While we're ready for change, is everyone else?

Where We're At

For over four decades, the same voice delivered the vast majority of theatrical trailers, single-handedly dominating the niche within voice over, and by virtue of that fact, taking up ownership of and residence in the minds of hundreds of millions of people.

Don LaFontaine was a pioneer in this field and was a co-creator of iconic phrases such as "In A World..." and "A One-man Army...".

There is no doubt that Don has left a gigantic imprint on this industry and is recognized as a founding father of voice over, influencing all aspects of the art including excellence in performance, style, and even the very business of working from home as opposed to driving from studio to studio to record.

It is also publicly known that he hoped for women to enter theatrical trailers.

While honouring Don and his legacy is important, he would want us to embrace change as he himself supported the idea of women making strides in this niche and also granted permission for others to take his place upon his death ("Just wait until I die", as he often said when referring to other voice talent working in major theatrical trailers).

Don LaFontaine has us given his blessing and it is time to move on, however, we face significant challenges from external forces.

Our Challenges : Inertia and The Public

As creatures of habit, people in general find it difficult to change positions regarding preset opinions and perceptions.

Making a shift requires effort and taking a risk on something new in the unchartered territory of our minds where we lack loyalty and concrete experience.

For instance, if you are loyal to a brand, you stick with that brand even though there may be alternatives to consider, deeply favoring one brand over another such as the Coke VS Pepsi wars.

Just as people are used to drinking a particular beverage, using a certain washing detergent for their clothes or buying a specific make of car, hearing Don LaFontaine's voice (literally his brand), is their standard or touchstone when consuming a theatrical trailer.

As Phil LaMarr pointed out in a comment on my "In A World Where Women Narrate Movie Trailers" article:

"The vast majority of entertainment industry 'traditions' are a combination of happenstance and inertia. Nothing changes unless something stops working, or something else costs less."

In this case, the loss of Don LaFontaine has triggered the former, meaning that there will be a change because something, in this case, someone, stopped doing what they were doing and has ceased to work.

Perception Is Hard To Change

This is a reality.

Changing perception, especially perceptions that took shape decades and generations ago, is an extremely difficult objective to accomplish.

No one knows this better than those who try or are trying to change perception.

For the longest time, we had to explain to those interested in joining our service that Voices.com was not an agency but a marketplace; that we didn't charge commissions but offered memberships with subscriptions. When we launched SurePay, we ran into similar perceptions with people thinking that the SurePay escrow transaction fee was an agency commission fee (which it is not) and needed to communicate even more clearly what an escrow service was and why a transaction fee is necessary.

The Voice Over Business Has Changed Drastically In Recent Years.

I'm quite sure many of you have had to adapt and change your perceptions to reflect the new way of doing business to achieve success online, with or without agency representation, and having to learn technical skills to competently compete with your colleagues who work from home.

This brings us back to the original question posed last week:

Will women be welcomed into the realm of movie trailer voice overs?

Will men who are not Don LaFontaine, let alone women outside of this intimate circle, be perceived as suitable replacements?

Challenging and Shaping Perception

While at a seminar last night, I took a moment to speak with a marketing expert and ask what her opinion was of how difficult it would be to change the perceptions of people regarding movie trailer voice overs, presenting the facts as we know them and where we as an industry hope to go.

Her answer was that the process of changing perception among the public and moviegoers may take a very long time, longer than we'd expect because Don's voice was so entrenched in this aspect of the craft and is ultimately woven in their psyche and embedded in their emotional responses.

Furthermore when discussing the potential of other men and eventually women voicing theatrical trailers, she suggested that although people may not voice their opinions out loud when leaving a theatre, they will notice the difference and feel slightly uneasy with the change, more so with female voices than with male voices who are able to imitate Don LaFontaine's trademark style.

The conclusion?

Even if it takes the public years to move on, I believe that the process needs to start now, and that process involves focus groups and producers making different choices and taking calculated risks, and for others, leaps of faith.

How Do You Feel About This? Is Our Moment For Change Now?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Ryan Kelly

Ever thought about characters who run around at theme parks, at the fair or visit at shopping centers?

They all have one thing in common...

Is Image Everything?

One day I was shopping and happened to be at the store on a day that Dora the Explorer, Diego and SpongeBob SquarePants were posing for pictures with their pint-sized fans.

You've likely seen people in costumes entertaining children at a variety of places, at theme parks, especially.

While many were excited, several of the kids were intimidated by these larger than life characters and shied away, some even going so far as to leave the area.

There was certainly one very important element missing that may explain the response from some of the children.

The Missing Link

The characters looked well enough, but they were absolutely... speechless!

Although properly attired and presented, none of these actors spoke in character, in fact, the actors are usually silent and do not speak while performing (perhaps due in part to their hefty costumes?).

Upon seeing a character, one might expect that they would also talk, just like they do in the movies or on TV, however this isn't the case.

The physicality of a character is only one component of its presence. The voice and words that are spoken give a character their personality and ability to engage.

When those humanizing elements are missing the character isn't nearly as believable.

Getting To The Point

While someone can dress up and portray an animated character physically, it is rare to find a voice actor who can give life to the character through their voice.

This is why character voice actors, and their colleagues who can voice match, are worth their weight in gold.

Any Comments?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Photo credit armadillo444 at Flickr

This morning, I had a wonderful visit at a local high school where I spoke to a broadcast technology class about voice overs, showed them around the site and also took some questions about the industry.

Have you ever given some of your time to share about voice overs with the public?

Comment with your experiences!

Giving Back to Your Community

Last year, I spoke at Clarke Road Secondary School in Brent Bissell's Broadcast Technology class (I blogged about my visit to Clarke Road Secondary here) and this morning, was pleased to return for an encore and talk to more students about voice overs, voice acting and the industry itself.

While there, the students engaged in the morning announcements via live telecast in their production studio, a feed that is piped throughout the school and into each classroom at 9:30 a.m. for approximately 5 minutes, reporting on school news, sports, and much more.

After their newscast, it was then that the discussion turned to voice overs and we ran through the site, answering questions along the way about getting started in voice overs for about 50 minutes.

My stay lasted only 1.5 hours but it was very satisfying to see the class in action and also to join in the conversation they'd already been having about Voices.com. I hope to return next semester and speak to the new class, even take a turn around some scripts if they are so inclined!

Ideas On How You Can Give Back

Here are just a few off the top of my head to get you started:

1. Reading children's books at a local library
2. Visiting a high school broadcast technology class
3. Taking on an intern or apprentice for a brief period of time at your studio

Have You Done Anything Similar to Give Back to Your Community?

Looking forward to hearing your story!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Tomaz Levstek

Want to learn how to avoid mistakes and achieve success as a working actor?

The author of the giveaway for this week, Paul Russell, has been in the business for nearly 30 years, working as a casting director, director and former actor. He has worked on projects for major film studios, television networks, Broadway, and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

If anyone has some hot tips to share from years of experience in different facets of the entertainment industry, Paul Russell does, and he's donated a copy of his brand new book (released October 2008) "Acting : Make It Your Business" for giveaway on VOX Daily.

Want to win? Leave a comment!

Acting : Make It Your Business

Written by an award-winning, veteran casting director, this book puts the power to land jobs and thrive in any medium - stage, film, TV, or the Internet - directly into the hands of the actor. This blunt, wise, and often hilarious guide overflows with cutting-edge audition, marketing, and networking strategies, combining traditional techniques with those best suited for the digital age.

Well-known actors and powerful agents make cameos throughout, offering newcomers and working professionals alike a clear-eyed, uncensored perspective on survival and advancement within the entertainment industry.

Praise for Paul Russell and Acting : Make It Your Business

"Humorous and witty... Actors everywhere who are trying to succeed in the business, young or old, on stage or on camera, in New York or anywhere in the world, take note: This is your road map."

-- Bernard Telsey, casting director (Rent, Sex & The City: The Movie, Wicked)

"All the right questions asked and answered... and with a generous portion of good humor."

-- Suzanne Ryan, casting director (Law & Order)

"Paul's book made me proud to be a part of the acting community in this business we call 'show'."

-- Karen Ziemba, actress, Tony and Drama Desk Award winner

"Paul Russell's words are not only blunt and accurate. They zero in on all the questions every actor wants to know but is afraid to ask."

-- Ken Melamed, talent agency, Bret Adams, Ltd.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

Just comment on this blog posting and let me know that you'd like to win!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner Jasen Anthony who will be receiving an autographed copy of Rodney Saulsberry's book "You Can Bank on Your Voice" in the mail soon.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Acting : Make It Your Business by Paul Russell!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Looking for more clients who want to purchase your voice over services?

Philip Banks, a voice over talent based in Scotland, is always entertaining, consummately witty and perfectly blunt.

How do you get your demo in front of potential customers while being respectful and staying on good terms?

Today's guest blogger answers these questions and more for your reading pleasure.

Prospecting - Dig A Little Deeper!

By Philip Banks

"Philip, how did you get started?" asked Jim. I told him and assumed that what I believed to be obvious would be obvious to him. Oh how wrong was I.

"Get a list of people and telephone them to ask if they use the services of freelance Voice Overs."

Sound OK?

I thought so, except Jim simply got a list of local businesses and called them. WRONG. Before you make the call you need to be 90% certain that the person you are calling is going to answer yes to the question.

The trick, if there is a trick, is to spend more time digging for prospects than calling people.

Right, let's start project 100. You need 100 names and telephone numbers.

What do you want to do? For whom would you like to work? Are you able to do long form audio like elearning?

OK, type "elearning production" into a search engine. Visit the websites and look around, it will take time.

Is there any evidence to support your theory that this company uses voices?

Prove to yourself that they may find a use for you - PROVE do not guess. In the Contacts or "About Us" section is there a name, something like, Joe Smith Head of production or Audio Producer? DIG DIG DIG.

The more you do this the more your investigative instincts improve. From every search you need a company, telephone number and contact name.

Unless you have no alternative DO NOT EMAIL - YOU MUST TELEPHONE.

"Hello my name's Philip Banks and I'm calling to ask if you ever use freelance voice overs"

If you've done your homework you will get a yes. If not offered a name, ask for one, the one you already know and ask if you can speak to them for a moment.

"Hello my name's Philip Banks and I'm calling to ask if you ever use freelance voice overs"

Assuming the answer is yes.

"Would it be OK for me to send you a demo? (before they say anything) You're allowed to say no by the way"

In 18 years I have had one person say no to me.

"That's great, I'll send you one today. Thanks very much"

If you are asked for a link to demos on a web site do that instead of a demo CD.

Here is the BIGGIE - NEVER EVER EVER ASK FOR FEEDBACK

If you are tempted to ask for feedback:

NEVER EVER EVER ASK FOR FEEDBACK.

To be certain you have fully understood - NEVER EVER EVER ASK FOR FEEDBACK!

You are looking for work not a critique.

Prospecting is the key. No selling required. If you have been thorough in your search for names and numbers and your demos are good enough you will get work.

An Example of Successful Prospecting

As a way of finishing this piece here's the story of a job I managed to secure over ten years ago.

I read in a newspaper that Pilots and crew of a new helicopter were going to be trained using CBT, Computer based training. On noting the name of the company I saw they were about 5 miles from me. I visited the office armed with an audio cassette.

"If you have any projects that require a professional voice please get in touch".

Note that I didn't tell them what I knew.

As it turned out the CBT was going to be 45 hours with 38 hours of speech content. Over an 18 month period that one job earned me around $25,000.

Any specific questions about prospecting, feel free to ask.

Want a demo evaluation? Pay Nancy Wolfson to give you one as it'll be money well spent.

Yours sincerely,

Philip Banks

~~

Perspective

I can identify with what Philip is saying coming from the perspective of a client who does hire voice over talent and purchases stock photos for this blog.

Not only am I not necessarily expecting to give a critique, I have little or no time to do so.

Yesterday afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised by a nice phone call from Philip to further discuss the article and we spoke at length on the subject.

While speaking, it was acknowledged that for whatever reason, something has developed in this industry where voice talent, in addition to desiring demo feedback from their own prospective clients offline, also have expectations to receive feedback from clients they are auditioning for online, for instance wanting to know details such as if a demo has been listened to, what the client thought of the performance and also why they were not chosen for the part.

You may see some parallels drawn here to the article Philip wrote.

Both Philip and I agreed that the client's feedback regarding an audition or a demo submitted, regardless of how you first got their attention, is a cheque in the mail or a payment made for your services.

To give you an example, while I may not remember to provide a rating or submit a comment on an image I purchased, the very fact that I did purchase the image is a vote of confidence for that photographer or artist. This vote of confidence and proof of purchase shows up under how many times their image has been downloaded, adding my decision to invest in their works to the silent testimonies of others.

Similarly, if you are hired for work, you have a client list or testimonials. If you've been hired through Voices.com using SurePay, you have another means to display feedback from your clients available to you that serves the same purpose.

Any Comments on Prospecting?

Looking forward to hearing what you think.

Best wishes from your friends on either side of the pond,

Philip Banks and Stephanie Ciccarelli

Conversations carried on from last week about demos have provided more food for thought regarding what can or cannot be used on them.

One way to make sure that your copy is original is to write it yourself!

Learn more about how you can do that now.

Is It Still OK to...?

Yesterday I received a message from someone asking for clarification on the kind of material you could include on your voice over demo, namely asking if print ad copy was OK to use as a former instructor had once suggested.

My answer to her, and remember I'm not a lawyer so this is based upon my own opinion, was as follows and I hope it is of some use to you, too:

Can I use print ad copy in my demo?

Print ads are still copyrighted material, so I would say not to do that from now on. The ad itself would be copyrighted material and the use of a brand name or slogan could violate trademarks.

If you can, write your own spots. These can be inspired by ads you hear or see, but take the core or the spirit of those ads and translate them into something new.

For instance, I could be listening to a commercial for a fast food restaurant and be inspired to write a spot for a gourmet catering business and how their food is organic, why it's better than fast food, etc.

Does it still have to do with food?

The answer is yes, but it has absolutely nothing else to do with the ad I was inspired by.

Create a fictitious name for the company if you like (double check on the Internet via keyword searching that the name is not being used or registered by anyone) and run with it.

Other Options

A few years ago, I wrote a couple of royalty-free voice over and advertising script collections that feature a variety of industries, applications and also includes vocal / musical direction. The scripts are useful for practicing with, as material for your demos and are also customizable for your own use and personal style.

If you are a Premium or Preferred member of Voices.com, these scripts are available to you for free in the Help section:

Helpful Documents, User Guides and Resources for Voice Over

Of course, if you prefer, you could always hire someone else to write custom copy for your demo. The rule of thumb is to keep the voice over demo to 1 minute in duration, and within that minute, you'll be able to easily showcase between 5 to 7 different spots, give or take, perhaps more.

Have You Experimented With Writing Copy For Your Own Demos?

Leave a comment and share your experiences!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Xavi Arnau

Voices, Voices Everywhere!

Does an ISDN session ever leave you feeling like you're having an Out-Of-Voice Experience?

Speaking to and hearing disembodied voices can be a rather interesting way to spend your time.

Can you relate?

Talking To Voices In My Head

Voice actor Jonathan Nail commented the other day that he felt rather detached from his voice, saying via Twitter, "Did an ADR session yesterday where the director was in Atlanta & the engineer was in Detroit. Talking to voices in my head."

To this, I had to reply!

My reply was "Sounds like an out of voice experience! That's quite the concept, eh?".

Limited on each end to 140 characters, the discussion was brief yet inspirational.

For those of you who have used ISDN, or for that matter, been directed through a pane of glass, you may relate to what we're talking about.

Have you had an out-of-voice experience?

Comment and share your story!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/kutay tanir

P.S. To connect with Jonathan Nail on Twitter or Stephanie Ciccarelli (yours truly), just click on our names.

In A World...

In a world where the absence of one man left a massive void, a door of opportunity has flung wide open, waiting for the next great voice to take their rightful place in movie trailer voice overs.

What some people may see as 72 days of unbridled chaos, others have perceived as a light in the darkness.

Is this a turning point for female voice actors?

Preface

Today, I broach this topic with delicacy and a sense of duty.

It has been just over 2 months since we lost the great, late Don LaFontaine, the undisputed and lovingly remembered king of voice over and movie trailers.

History

Before Don died, he was quoted as saying (I'm paraphrasing what I heard him say in person here), that he felt the time for women to record voice over in movie trailers was long overdue, referencing Melissa Disney as one of the finest, contending voices he had heard. Don also intimated that it was time for women to take on a more significant role in this industry and that he was all for their success.

History That Was Decades In The Making

Melissa Disney narrated the movie trailer voice over for Gone In Sixty Seconds (2000), an action film starring Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, and Angelina Jolie. You can view the trailer here.

Disney has also narrated the theatrical trailers for Over the Hedge and An American Girl, and according to her biography shares in the winning of a Key Art Award for Best Trailer (Gone in Sixty Seconds) and has also won Best Voiceover in the Golden Trailer Awards for the Warner Bros. film, Valentine.

Largely, LaFontaine noted that it was the focus groups that have kept women out of movie trailer voice overs, and now that he and his signature voice are gone, others have started a dialogue speculating who might take his place, including most recently Variety.com.

Variety.com's article pointed out that the female voice, while not the booming baritone voices we are used to hearing as heralds of a movie's theatrical release, are quite versatile and can play up other emotions better than a male voice could such as sensuousness, for example, and may actually fare better in action films than any other genre.

Is The Public Ready For Female Narrators in Movie Trailers?

Living in a world without Don LaFontaine, a lot of things have changed and as time continues to pass, we too must move along with it, and that includes the public discussion of this subject.

What do you think? Are we ready?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this. I welcome the opinions of non-voice actors too as you represent the people who could be in these focus groups. Perhaps we should start one here?

Comment below and share your opinion.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Alexander Hafemann

Are older, more mature voices overlooked when auditions are reviewed?

Today we'll take a look at two very different stories, one of which I credit with the inspiration of this article, coming up now on VOX Daily.

Does Voice Age Matter?

Bud Sisson will be 78 this December. His first paid voice over gig was in 1981 and it ran for years. Recently he had one client who used his voice for their commercials for ten years, and during their ten years their sales curve was constantly on the up and up.

Bud doesn't talk fast and never did, and with his hearing problem, he has difficulty understanding fast talkers. Based upon his experience when he was writing and producing radio and television commercials for a retirement complex, Bud found that older people do not like announcers "who talk so fast that I can't understand them."

Considering the size of the senior market, why is it so hard for senior voices to find work?

Are Older Voices Discriminated Against?

By Bud Sisson

I feel that the cards may be stacked against some of us especially senior males and senior females.

The fault, I believe, is with many of the voice seekers.

There are two issues in my opinion which stack the cards against us:

๏ Age discrimination
๏ Pace

They are connected.

I speak as a senior male who for ten years had a client who used my voice, and I am proud to say that during that time, the client's sales curve kept going up and they expanded their sales staff. The producer had a technique that more producers might consider. After what both she and I considered to be a good read, she would also say, "But we're a bit over." However instead of saying "Pick up the pace, 90 times out of a hundred, she would say, "Let me see what I can cut."

My producer and I agreed that for maximum understanding faster is not better.

At a more moderate pace, the voice actor has more time to color words and bring out the meaning. So I would suggest that voice seekers should try writing only 20 seconds of copy for a 30 second commercial or 40 seconds of copy for a one minute commercial.

The worst example of speed are the pharmaceuticals who at the end of the commercial read off the warnings and side effects of their medications so fast that no one could remember any of it. Are they trying to hide something?

So am I too old for the voice industry? I don't think so.

I am picky about what auditions I do. Some questions I use in deciding what auditions I will do. Does the product or service interest me? Do I like the copy for the custom demo? Can I read the demo script in a specified time? Does the script and the product fit with my personality and my voice style?

Bud Sisson

~~

Reaching A Market Comprised of 79 Million Baby Boomers

Michael Turnbull's Story

Known for his mature, trustworthy voice and ability to connect with the baby boomer set, Michael Turnbull, age 61, has just started a new chapter in his career complete with the re-branding of his business, an accreditation of his services through SaVoa and by joining the ranks of the Platinum membership at Voices.com.

Profiled recently by Susan Berkley of The Great Voice Company as one of her favorite success stories, Turnbull has never been busier pursuing the craft he loves while arranging his work around his lifestyle as a grandfather and yachtsman.

A mature professional voice over talent, Michael Turnbull has done more commercials, narration and documentaries catering to the needs, interests, and buying habits of the 79 million baby boomer generation than any other voice in the industry during the last 5 years.

His warmth, friendliness and believability has branded campaigns for clients such as Ford Motor Company, Volvo, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Heinz, Blue Cross / Blue Shield and has narrated pieces for the US Air Force - Nellis AFB, Whitehall Museum in Palm Beach, and Chivas Regal History.

~~

How Are Older Voices Perceived in Voice Over?

There is a validated market for senior voice overs. People cast based upon age specific requirements to reach their target audience, and sometimes, that may mean that a mature voice is not the voice for the job, but then that goes for other voice ages, too.

Although Michael is younger than Bud, his voice still falls in the same category where reaching people of a certain age is concerned in the mature to senior adult demographic.

While the younger spectrum of the vocally mature curve may be working with more frequency, how do mature voices fare in general?

Is there any noticeable discrimination?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Luca di Filippo

Have you heard of Rodney Saulsberry's book "You Can Bank on Your Voice?"

We're giving it away this week, so if you've been waiting to read this fabulous book, now is the time to put your name in the hat.

Comment for a chance to win!

You Can Bank on Your Voice

I had the opportunity to review You Can Bank on Your Voice by Rodney Saulsberry in January of 2007 and highly recommend this book to all voice over professionals, particularly those who are fresh in their careers or are aspiring to join the fray.

Click here to read the review of You Can Bank on Your Voice.

Published in 2004, Rodney Saulsberry's book (covers all aspects of getting started as a voice-over talent coupled with well chosen vignettes from his own career to entertain and inspire.

While the book was literally brimming with useful information about getting started, setting up a home studio, growing your business and taking care of your voice, I'd like to mention the three elements that stood out the most to me.

These elements were:

๏ Rodney's storytelling capabilities
๏ The attention given to the importance of relationships in the voice-over business
๏ A comprehensive guide on how to interpret copy for commercials, tags, promos, trailers, and legal tags as well as hard sell / soft sell reads and so on

In addition to the core content, Rodney includes several appendices covering copy samples, vocal exercises, and resources as well as an extensive glossary.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

Just comment on this blog posting and let me know that you'd like to win!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winners, Bill Johnson, Roger Tremaine, and Jay Lerner who will all be invited to join Nancy and Anna's teleseminar.

Yes, you read correctly, there were 3 winners! In the middle of last week, Nancy and Anna generously offered to donate two more seats on the call as a surprise for those who entered the contest. If you didn't win but would still like to get on the call, click here for more details.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win Rodney Saulsberry's book You Can Bank on Your Voice!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

P.S. If you haven't heard Rodney Saulsberry before, take a listen to his podcasts on Voice Over Experts.

You've likely heard a great number of people in show biz say that auditioning is the real job and getting the gig is gravy!

In today's Who Got the Gig, we'll look at the significant role auditions play and how persistence is the key to landing voice over work.

When You're An Actor, Auditioning Is Your Work

What preoccupies you throughout the day?

Generally, it's the pursuit of work through auditioning or promotional activities focused on marketing your voice.

It's easy to get dragged down and think of auditioning as a mindless, repetitive act, but what many voice actors discover is that through auditioning, regardless of if they get the job, they are exercising their minds, their voices and are also presenting their talent in front of clients directly.

Attaining Voice Over Fitness

Compare auditioning to a fitness program.

To achieve the desired results that you've set out for yourself, you need to follow a consistent regiment that includes cardio and lifting weights before you can reap the reward which could be to improve your quality of life, tone your muscles or getting rid of some flab.

Now, translate what I've just said about physical fitness to voice over:

Each time you do an audition, you are conditioning yourself and keeping in shape for your next job.

If you stop auditioning, you cease to challenge yourself and the potential to fall into a lazy, apathetic slump may become a very real consequence of failing to "work out" or continue refining your skills.

What happens when you get lazy?

Your energy levels and endurance for voice over work is affected. Possibly you may find that voice over doesn't come as easily to you as it once did and that realization can be frustrating, indeed.

To illustrate the point, if I stop writing original content for even a day or two, I notice a dramatic difference (generally an abnormal decrease) in the quality or quantity of what I am capable of producing. Sporadic writing doesn't do much for the soul and at least for me, can induce writer's block, something no writer ever wants to get and struggles to release themselves from.

Do you see how these principles can be applied to voice acting, too?

That being said, the best way to keep in vocal shape, mentally, physically and artistically, is to audition every business day.

If you're still not convinced, here are 8 reasons why you should audition regularly.

8 Immediate Benefits of Auditioning

Auditioning:

๏ Keeps you in good form
๏ Provides you with a diverse array of copy to experiment with and interpret
๏ Stimulates your mind
๏ Gives you a platform to strut your stuff
๏ Exponentially improves your job prospects
๏ Generates networking opportunities
๏ Is a validation of the need for voice over as a service
๏ Renews your faith that voice over work is out there

How do you feel about auditions? Why do you keep doing them?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/ranplett

Reading Aloud

When you read something aloud, you're employing a great number of your faculties, and more often than not, the very act of reading aloud is a revelation in itself!

Why should you try reading aloud?

Discover 7 wonderful benefits that will get you going here at VOX Daily.

Reading aloud does a number of good things. Today, we'll focus on only 7 of them.

Reading Aloud:

๏ Sharpens Your Focus
๏ Increases Your Vocabulary
๏ Results in Greater Comprehension
๏ Gives you an Opportunity to Play
๏ Exercises Your Body
๏ Challenges Your Use of Intonation
๏ Improves Listening and Reading Skills

1. Sharpens Focus

When you're reading aloud, you will find that it becomes easier to put all of your energy into the task at hand without the temptation of distractions. You are so focused that you likely won't even notice that you are strengthening your mental and verbal skills.

If you think about it, your mind is akin to a muscle. When it works out, you tone it and build up strength. When you read aloud, you are exercising the connection between your mind and your voice to the full extent which results in greater focus and cohesiveness.

2. Increases Vocabulary

Saying something in context aloud is very powerful. When you are reading in your head, you only hear the words internally and their affect on you is limited to how you interpret the words during that very private experience.

If you choose to read them aloud, you may find deeper layers of meaning in the words because when they are when spoken, they take on a life of their own off of the written page and become part of you, and inevitably through comprehension, become part of your vocabulary and influence your use of language.

3. Greater Comprehension

People learn in a variety of ways, visual, aural, tactile and so on. By reading aloud, you'll stand a better chance of internalizing the words and making them your own before you perform.

Of course, this approach helps others who are not reading aloud as an actor, but for the sake of learning in general. If you are an auditory learner, reading your notes or text books aloud will help the material to sink in and become ingrained, making it easier to draw on the information you've just ingested for when you need to reference it in the future.

4. Opportunity to Play

When is the last time you read something out loud just for the sheer pleasure of doing so?

If you are looking for an opportunity to stretch your imagination and explore the capabilities that may be hidden in your voice, read a children's book aloud to someone you love. Not only will it increase your creativity but it will greatly impact the creativity of your children or those you are reading to. For more on this, check out Rainbow Star Books and read a list that details the benefits of reading aloud to children.

If you're looking for a great book that teaches you how to read to your kids and have them request your stories again and again, I recommend checking out Pat Fraley's book "Read it again! Read it again! How to Read to Kids So They Come Back for More".

5. Exercises Your Body

When people speak, we often involve more than just our voice in the projection process, in fact, many of us, which can be attributed to culture or otherwise, make use of our entire body when speaking to get a point across and express ourselves more vibrantly through body language that supports what we are saying.

6. Challenges Your Use of Intonation

When you read aloud, there is hardly the opportunity to sound dull, especially if you have an audience. Make use of the full range of your voice. You'll only be able to discover and explore it if you are speaking the words with the intention of them being heard.

If you're wondering how you sound, try recording yourself and then playing it back, noting where your voice goes up, down, starts, stops, fluctuates and even surprises you. Use a pencil and paper to mark your scripts to help direct your tone and vocal interpretation of the story or piece of ad copy. You'll be amazed by how some forethought and attention to detail can make an enormous impact on your delivery.

7. Improves Listening and Reading Skills

Lastly, reading aloud will make you more aware of things that you read, hear and also help you to identify proper grammar, sentence structure, and so forth. Reading aloud also does much for shaping your interpretation of what is being said.

You'll be able to read with more efficiency and richness, expand your literary horizons and also experiment with the many ways you could interpret the written word, then translate your findings through spoken word expression.

Something else I found interesting was a list of qualities needed for reading aloud, located in Mary E. Brown's article, Reading Aloud, featured on the educational site pertaining to Literature for Children, Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology at the Southern Connecticut State University, in New Haven CT. Give that a read if you like. I think you'll find it worth your time.

Do You Enjoy Reading Aloud? What Kind of Benefits Do You Receive?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/ranplett

When you are auditioning for a job, regardless of its source, there are 3 things you need to be wary of once you send off the MP3.

Curious?

Find out here at VOX Daily!

Audition Scripts

When you receive an invitation to audition for a voice over job, oftentimes a client will include their script and the opportunity presents itself for you to make one of two decisions:

1. Record a snippet of the script as a custom demo
2. Send a generic demo and hope for the best

While that seems fairly basic, I'm going to throw in some more factors that may be new to you.

3 Things You May Not Know About Audition Scripts

1. The script is property of the client (or, if not the same person, the copyright owner whose job is being posted by the client) and is protected under copyright law.

2. A custom voice sample, once recorded, does not belong to you but to the client and or the copyright owner who posted the job.

3. You cannot legally use custom auditions recorded from someone else's copyrighted script as spots on your voice over demo or for any purpose other than the audition in question itself without consent from the copyright owner.

What Does All of This Mean?

Custom voice over samples for audition purposes, albeit recorded by you and featuring your voice, ultimately belong to the creator of the content. The creator of the content could either be the person who posted the job or a separate individual who created the content.

Even though the voice over recording was created by the voice actor, the original copyright holder owns the recording as the voice over is an expression of their creation (script) and intellectual property.

When you send in an audition, it is understood at the outset that the sample being provided is for review purposes only (for both the client and voice talent) and is not meant to be incorporated into a demo or used for promotional purposes unless written permission to do so is granted by the individual who owns the copyright.

You are bound by your integrity to observe copyright law and act accordingly.

The client is also bound by integrity to do the same for you. Unless they pay you for your work, they should not be able to use it to further their own pursuits.

Industry Concerns

Although this information is commonsense for businesses and is readily available to all via the Internet, in books and through legal counsel, for some reason it is rarely spoken of and is not a widely known subject in voice over, at least in non-union circles.

Primarily, I'm referring to the use of copyrighted material or trademarks in scripts for voice over demo production without the consent of the copyright or trademark owner, or the use of custom samples in demos as mentioned above.

We've discussed this to a degree in the past and you can read that discussion here if you like about brand names of companies you haven't worked for being used in demos.

Don't get me wrong, there are many upstanding companies out there who do produce voice over demos from original material or royalty-free music and scripts -- this is not about them -- it's about companies or individuals who sidestep the law and take advantage of unassuming customers.

The spread of misinformation to do with demo production or custom auditions, whether it be conscious or unconscious, affects our entire industry and it needs to stop.

My hope is that through articles like this we'll bring more awareness to the subject and take action as a community through education and accountability.

Making Things Clearer and Doing Our Part

Going forward with the all-new Voices.com, this kind of information (a one liner, not an essay!) will be included in the details of every job posting as a reminder that custom auditions recorded for each job are to be used solely for the purpose of demonstration when auditioning for a client.

Just as you would expect that the client has no right to use your voice samples without compensation, it is to be understood that each custom voice sample submitted by a voice talent is not to be used by the voice over professional for the purpose of commercial promotion of their voice or for any other purpose other than what the file was intended for - a sample of your voice submitted through an audition to be reviewed by the client for hiring purposes.

Coming Up

In the coming weeks, I'll be featuring an interview I did with a lawyer who specializes in trademarks and intellectual property. This gentleman has a keen interest in law as it affects technology and the online world, so I hope you stay subscribed to find out more!

Any comments? What do you think about this?

Best wishes,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/murat $en

Are you voting today?

If you live in the United States of America, today is the biggest, most monumental election day in generations.

Americans have a choice between electing Illinois Senator Barack Obama (Democrat) or Arizona Senator John McCain (Republican) for the office of the President of the United States.

Whoever is elected today and holds power in Washington, DC, will determine the kind of history is written for the next four years, perhaps the next eight, not just in the US but the world at large.

It's all about democracy!

Wherever you are or whoever you voted for, I want to hear that you did!

Read this article and then leave a comment to let me know that you voted in your country's election, whether in the US, Canada or abroad.

Voice

Usually at VOX Daily we talk about having a voice as a means to communicate a message through a voice over recording, but let us pause to remember that sometimes having a voice isn't just about recording voice overs, it's about exercising your duty to vote and make your voice heard through the casting of a ballot.

For those of you who wonder "Am I being heard?" today is your chance to be heard, perhaps to make history.

Voting

Voting for a candidate or political party is one way to get your message across.

It is one of the oldest, most effective ways of communicating your beliefs and expressing your desire to help shape the world you live in. Through the democratic process, each vote counts and cannot be ignored.

Democracy = Voice of the People

The first democracies were formed in ancient times by wise forefathers who cared deeply about their societies and civilizations.

The Greeks in the city-state of Athens had a system, in fact the oldest democratic process on record, established in 510 BC.

Decisions were made locally regarding local matters by the people through their government.

Once this form of government took off, it eventually spread to other nations across the Mediterranean but was nearly destroyed by the Roman Empire in 100 BC. However, practices of democracy continued in Athens and in due time, democracy became a way of life for many nations in the Middle Ages, including the Italian cities of Siena, Florence, Genoa, Pisa, and Venice.

Modern Day Democracy

Democracy is freedom. Democracy is a gift. It is a means for you to make a difference, to have a say and to be recognized as a citizen of your country who has rights.

People suffer, fight, and die for democracy.

Millions of people around the world take up the cause of democracy and pursue it with every ounce of strength that they have to make the world a better place.

Democracy, though cherished, is sometimes taken for granted until it is threatened or taken away.

We are privileged to live in a time and place where democracy, not dictatorship or tyranny, rules over the land.

Be sure that your voice is heard.

Use Your Voice

Take responsibility and vote.

If you are of age and you don't vote, you simply do not have a voice, period, however, if you do vote, you've done your country proud and performed your patriotic duty.

Do You Vote?

Simply let me know that you vote or have voted. I'd love to see a list of passionate, concerned people here on this blog. You need not say who you voted for, but do say you vote!

Update 11:33 p.m. November 4: Congratulations to the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama!

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/zentilia

New York, New York!

On Friday December 5th, 2008 voice over talent will be descending on New York City and partying it up at a networking event in Manhattan presented by Erik Sheppard of Voice Talent Productions.

Admission is free with your RSVP.

If you can make it, you should be there, because David and I would really love to meet you!

Find out more about this event here at VOX Daily.

New York Voice Over Mixer 2008

The 2008 New York Voice Over Mixer is being held on December 5th in Manhattan.

You're invited to spend the evening networking with some of the worlds most respected voice over industry professionals.

The event will be from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Butterfield 8 located at 5 East 38th Street New York, NY 10016 (between 5th Ave and Madison Ave). Food and cocktails will be available for purchase throughout the evening.

This is an excellent opportunity for coaches, agents, actors and other voice professionals to share information about their services and to learn about others in a casual and friendly environment.

Just taking a peek now, I'm happy to say that Bob Bergen, Peter Rofé and Elaine Clark have already sent in their RSVPs.

There will also be a number of prizes raffled off including a few from Voices.com... a Platinum membership, to name just one!

Take note: Be sure to bring plenty of business cards and be ready for a fun filled evening.

To learn more about the event, what's being raffled off and who is coming, check out this link here at Voice Talent Productions.

To RSVP, email Erik@VoiceTalentProductions.com and also comment here on this blog post for your friends to see at VOX Daily.

Looking forward to seeing you in The Big Apple!

Cheers,

Stephanie and David Ciccarelli

What Are You Doing on The Evening of Wednesday November 12, 2008?

You could be joining Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino on their teleseminar!

Comment for a chance to win a seat on this wonderful Radio Autopsy teleseminar.

Learn more now :) COMMENT for a chance to WIN!

Acting for Advertising Part 7, Wednesday, November 12th

Join Nancy and Anna on November 12th 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific for Acting for Advertising Part 7.

This is not a sequel. Each of these Teleseminars reveals a chapter from Nancy's core curriculum, useful Q and A from your peers, plus more marketing and business tips that you can put to use immediately.

Each moment offers unique "behind the velvet rope of the agency/casting scene" advice not available anywhere else.

60 minute lecture, 15 min Q and A... so bring your questions and notebooks!

Here are just a few of the topics you'll learn about on the call:

๏ U-TURN Part 3 of a Radio Autopsy!

- How to recognize and service the CRITICAL mid-story axis point.
- If you don't raise the stakes in the "problem" zone, you risk being "announcery" in the solution.
- Where you must exaggerate escalation of the "want," then snap with sharp contrast into a relaxed "solve."
- The auditions performances that HOOK THE BOOKINGS on scripts written in this pattern do things you might not have thought were tasteful or necessary!
- Hear the audition examples that inspired Nancy to decide to teach this stuff to already-great actors!

๏ Behind The Agent Curtain

- Taking CONTROL of Your Reaction to Constructive Criticism - Defensiveness Can Get You DROPPED.
- Are you "Over-Represented?"...Pros and Cons to playing Hamlet in EVERY hamlet.
- The most dangerous paragraph to overlook in your talent agency CONTRACT.

๏ Actor to Actor--Crucial follow up tips that keep clients booking you REPEATEDLY!

๏ And as always, bring your questions for a killer Q and A!

If you don't win the drawing, just $39 gets you in on the call.

Next Saturday when the winner of this contest is announced, I'll include a link to where you can learn more about the teleseminar and or signup.

How Do You Enter For a Chance to Win?

Just comment on this blog posting and let me know that you'd like to win!

Each week, there will be something different, so be sure to subscribe to VOX Daily to get the Saturday Giveaway notices as well as other voice acting articles throughout the week.

The giveaways will include voice acting:

๏ Books
๏ DVDs
๏ Coaching Sessions
๏ Recording Equipment
๏ Gift certificates
๏ Workshop / Conference Passes
๏ Unique Promotional Opportunities

When is the Winner Chosen?

Winners will be drawn randomly from the comments left on the blog and announced the following Saturday. Those who win will be notified by email at which time we'll confirm their shipping address. On the following Saturday, the winner will be announced and another opportunity to win a Saturday Giveaway will present itself.

I'd like to say congratulations to last week's contest winner, Melissa Reizian Frank, who will be receiving a Premium Membership upon the launch of the all-new Voices.com.

Comment Now for an Opportunity to Win a seat on Nancy and Anna's teleseminar for November 12, 2008!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie