1. Great insights on search engine strategies

    Posted June 30, 2008 by Bob

    Bryan Eisenberg is one of the leaders of Future Now, a company at the forefront of helping companies make the most effective use of their web sites. He was interviewed a short while ago by Search Engine Watch editor Kevin Heilser, and that interview is now published on the Future Now Blog.

    Category: Blogging, General, People | Comments (0)

  2. An overview of the state of the industry

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Dave Courvoisier has just published an article at the RainRecording site that gives an excellent “skimming the surface” view of the way things used to be and the way things are in the voiceover business. Good stuff, Dave. Dave also writes, frequently and with excellence on his voiceover blog.

    Category: General, Getting started in Voiceover, People | Comments (2)

  3. Bobbin Beam is featured on Voice Overs on Demand

    Posted June 29, 2008 by Bob

    Trish and Terry feature an interview with my friend Bobbin Beam on Episode 18 of the Voice Overs on Demand podcast.

    For more about Trish and Terry, check out the Voice Overs on Demand group at Voiceover Universe.

    Category: Blogging, General, People | Comments (0)

  4. Ask Joe Week 8

    Posted June 28, 2008 by Bob

    The latest Ask Joe video is now live on the Voiceover Universe.


    Find more videos like this on voiceover universe presents…

    Good stuff, Joe. Thank you.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  5. Bob Bergen Animation Workshop coming to Dallas

    Posted by Bob

    Bob Bergen will be holding an animation workshop in Dallas on Saturday, October 11 and Sunday, October 12, 2008. My thanks to Marian Massaro for posting the details on the VO-BB, including registration information.

    Category: General, People | Comments (1)

  6. How is it changing?

    Posted June 27, 2008 by Bob

    One of my favorite phrases is “The only constant is change.” I like this phrase, at least in part, because I like plays on words. But, I also like it because it reminds me that there’s always something pushing us to change. We may not like it, but we have to deal with it anyway.

    Here’s an example, quoted by Tom Asacker in his blog post about this subject …

    … in the most recent past when you wanted to check the time, you looked at your wrist watch. Today, because of the ubiquity and portability of cell phones, you look there instead. In fact, according to AdAge.com, “The world’s watch makers may be in trouble as teenagers increasingly look to their mobile phones — rather than their wrists — to tell time.”

    On the one hand, a key to success as a voiceover talent is to build relationships with clients who hire you again and again. Repeat business is wonderful. But, if you succeed in building a bunch of these relationships, that doesn’t mean you can stop marketing and looking for new clients. Because you never know, again quoting from Tom’s blog post …

    So, here’s something to be paranoid about: What’s changing in the world of your customers? And how are those changes going to change their expectations of you? Because this I can assure you: Like it or not, change is coming.

    How are you preparing to meet the changing requirements of your clients? They have to deal with change all the time, too. So some of them, no matter how long term the relationship, are going away. You can’t just coast along and assume everything is going to stay wonderful. It won’t. Besides, you never know when you’re going to start the next long term client relatoinship.

    Category: Career Advice, General | Comments (0)

  7. If you game …

    Posted by Bob

    … that is, if you enjoy playing games, especially Xbox 360 games, then you’ll want to know that the latest Platform Biased (Episode 2) podcast is released by my friend Jeff Kafer and 2 of his work buddies.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  8. If you’re handy you can make your own Sound Absorbing Panels

    Posted June 26, 2008 by Bob

    My friend Willie Edwards is an ongoing source of excellent ideas. He posted on his blog some time ago about how to make Sound Absorbing Panels that can help you tame the sound of your recording space, especially if you don’t have an ideal room in which to do your voiceover work.

    Now, he’s added a new blog post with two more excellent suggestions of further DIY projects. Thank you, Willie. I so appreciate that you’ve found and linked to these excellent resources.

    (edited to fix typo)

    Category: General, Tools | Comments (0)

  9. Are you looking at your career right side up …

    Posted June 25, 2008 by Bob

    … or upside down? And which is the better plan in the long run? Clearly, different people are going to need to approach planning and direction in different ways, but Tom Chandler offers some arresting thoughts about how to change the way you think about your career and your life goals by tearing a page from the greatest chess player the world has ever known, Garry Kasparov.

    Tom even includes the design for a simple worksheet to help you implement this change in your thinking patterns. Excellent stuff, Tom. Thank you.

    (edited to fix typo)

    Category: Career Advice, General | Comments (4)

  10. A chance to see Patrick in action

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Patrick O’Connor, a New York City based actor and voiceover talent, is featured in two of the trailers on this MySpace page. Click on The New World – Trailer. And One Way – Trailer. Both feature Patrick.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  11. It’s always nice to get good notices

    Posted by Bob

    When we give voice to a story, most of the time there is no review or critique of our work. The check clears and we move on to the next project. Today, however, I ran across a review of a documentary I narrated in late 2004. The producer was Nova Herman and the production was done by Partners in Motion in Regina, Saskatchewan.

    I love narrating documentaries. It’s my favorite kind of voiceover work. In this case, the documentary was on the role the Canadian Embassy in Iran played in helping 6 US diplomats escape from Iran during the hostage crisis in 1979.

    And I see at bottom of the review that the documentary won an award at the 2005 Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival.

    Category: General | Comments (8)

  12. Adding to the blogroll

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Chris Fadala has her new web site up. The work on the site was done by the stunningly talented DB Cooper. Looking good, Chris. I look forward to seeing and hearing more from you in coming days.

    Category: General, People | Comments (2)

  13. Star turn in the Post

    Posted June 24, 2008 by Bob

    With thanks to Tony Quinn for posting the link on the VO-BB, there’s a very interesting article in the Washington Post about the trend of using big name, on screen, stars as the voices in animated films. I think the article takes a very balanced look at the situation, including comments about both the less-than-stellar performances in some films and the marketing realities that ensure this trend will not only continue but likely grow.

    And for some cogent and thought-provoking commentary on this subject, be sure to catch my friend Mary McKitrick’s take in this post on her blog.

    Update: My friend James Lorenz offer some additional insights and thoughts on his blog, specifically about responses to a poll he ran on this matter.

    Category: General | Comments (0)

  14. Anthony Mendez, Artist of the Week

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Anthony Mendez is the real deal. Check out the MTV Artist of the Week Promos that he now has posted on his site. Very cool, Anthony. No further questions.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  15. Dan O’Day answers your questions about Summit 2008

    Posted by Bob

    If you’ve been reading this blog of any length of time you all ready know that I’ve attended Dan O’Day’s International Radio Creative and Production Summit 11 years in a row, and that I’m going to be at this year’s event, coming up August 8 and 9, 2008 in Los Angeles. Yes, that’s the same weekend as the VOICE 2008 conference. I’m going to attend both, I’m just going to miss some of VOICE 2008 to attend the Summit.

    You may well not want to try to attend both conferences. So, how can you decide whether the Summit is the conference for you? You can spend some time going through the respective web sites. Maybe email each of the people behind both conferences. But, Dan O’Day has also provided you with the opportunity to ask him your most important question about the Summit in a free teleseminar on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Actually there are 2 teleseminars. One earlier in the day, at 2:00 PM Eastern/11:00 AM Pacific. One later, at 9:00 PM Eastern/6:00 PM Pacific. You can sign up for either one. Just click through on the link for the time you’d prefer.

    One last thing to mention, if after taking part in one of these teleconferences, you decide to register to attend for the first time, you can put my name down in the comments section of your online registratoin form. If you do, I’ll receive a commission from Dan for your attendance. But, if you don’t want me to get the commission, don’t put my name in the comment field. Either way, your price will be the same. And I hope to see you in Los Angeles in August.

    Category: Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover | Comments (0)

  16. Pat Fraley featured on Vox Daily

    Posted June 23, 2008 by Bob

    Pat Fraley is a superb voice actor and an even better teacher of voice acting skills and techniques. If you get a chance to study with him, do it. I’ve taken a number of seminars and master classes with him, none more valuable that the audiobook master class I took with him in July of 2006. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you want to get in to doing audiobooks, the single best thing you can do is take Pat’s audiobook master class.

    Pat is featured on Vox Daily today. I’m sure he’ll blush several shades of red when he reads all the nice things being said about him, but all of them are well deserved.

    Category: General, Getting started in Voiceover, People | Comments (0)

  17. Four hours with Don Pardo

    Posted by Bob

    Mark Evanier posted last month about an entry in the Archive of American Television which features a four hour interview with legendary announcer Don Pardo. Like Mark, I wish I had time to watch this piece.

    My thanks to my friend Charlie Glaize for sending me this link.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  18. The new Ask Joe video is posted

    Posted June 21, 2008 by Bob

    Joe Cipriano has posted his third video as part of his Ask Joe group on I Rock the Mic VO.com. This time he answers a question I sent in, about auditions.

    Joe also provides an update on the new 3.0 version of Source Connect and takes us on a road trip to the space where his new home studio is in the early stages of construction.


    Find more videos like this on voiceover universe presents…

    Good stuff, Joe. I look forward especially to seeing updates on your new studio as it gets closer to completion.

    Category: General, People | Comments (2)

  19. Thomas and his Emmy

    Posted by Bob

    Thomas Bromhead, one of my friends on the Voiceover Universe called I Rock the Mic VO.com, has just won an Emmy (collectively along with the rest of the team) for I Got a Rocket.


    Find more photos like this on voiceover universe presents…

    Good for you, Thomas.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  20. Sage advice from my friend Philip

    Posted June 20, 2008 by Bob

    While browsing through the posts Philip Banks has made on his Ecademy blog, today I ran across a brilliant bit that perfectly illustrates the difference between a reference and a referral. Well said, Philip, though I did think this bit …

    “So he’s finally forgiven me for sleeping with his wife. Thank goodness for that!”

    … was a bit over the top. Ha!

    As he so often does, Philip slips the point home with the skill of a surgeon and anesthesiologist combined. You never feel a think until the procedure is complete.

    Category: Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, People | Comments (0)

  21. A Radio Imaging teleseminar with Dave Foxx

    Posted June 19, 2008 by Bob

    Dan O’Day emails me and 7,218 of his other closest friends this morning with news that he and Dave Foxx are going to hold a Radio Imaging Teleseminar on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 9:00 PM Eastern/6:00 PM Pacific. If you think you’d like to take part, you might want to register right away because there are only 245 phone lines available for this event.

    Category: Career Advice, General, People | Comments (0)

  22. How a game is made

    Posted June 18, 2008 by Bob

    On the BBC web site you can see a report on work at Ubisoft, a game company in Newcastle, UK.

    (Update: My thanks to my friend David Monteath for posting the link on the VO-BB.)

    Category: General | Comments (0)

  23. Voice actor Charlie Bennett is featured …

    Posted June 17, 2008 by Bob

    … in an interview on Vox Daily. Charlie is the voice of the carnival barker in the Garnival Games release for the Wii.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  24. Voiceover generosity

    Posted by Bob

    With thanks to my friend Jeff Kafer for posting about it, Dan O’Day has posted a brilliant essay on his blog about generosity in the voiceover world. Dan’s summary comment perfectly illustrates the whole post.

    I learned this a long time ago:

    If you have a dollar and I have a dollar, and we trade dollars…We each end up with one dollar.

    But if you have an idea and I have an idea, and we trade ideas…We each end up with two ideas.

    And while I agree with the thoughts Dan remembers from Steve Morris, I think there’s another layer to the story. It’s not just that the odds of booking the job are small, because that’s also true of film and television acting auditions; it’s because the voiceover talent is almost always not in the spotlight. Gigantic egos and intense self-interest are characteristic of performers who spend their time in (or striving to reach) the spotlight. The sort of folks who are drawn to voiceover work tend to be cut from a different cloth.

    Category: General, People | Comments (2)

  25. Solid advice on mic technique

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Juan, better known as Some Audio Guy, offers some thought-provoking comments on his blog about microphone technique … especially about the habit of some voice artists to work too close.

    Category: General, Tools | Comments (0)

  26. Firefox 3 download day

    Posted by Bob

    It’s Firefox 3 download day, though their servers are being hammered with all the folks helping them set a new world record for single day downloads. You might want to try a bit later.

    (Update: There’s something not quite right yet with the ScribeFire plug-in and Firefox 3, hence my previous, empty post.)

    (Further update: The page might still say Firefox 2 at the top, but if you look at the download button, it should now say 3.0 as the download.)

    Category: General | Comments (4)

  27. What was VOICE 2007 like?

    Posted June 16, 2008 by Bob

    If you’re still thinking about attending VOICE 2008, while it’s sure to be different that last year’s event, no doubt there will be some things that will be similar. This video features several of my friends along with lots of other folks I met in Las Vegas in March 2007.

    I look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles in August.

    Category: General, Getting started in Voiceover, People | Comments (4)

  28. Connie and the cartoons

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Connie Terwilliger is featured as the voice in several animated New Yorker cartoons now on the web. Here are direct links to 3 examples: Dial M for Mattress, The Portrait and Boys Club. Wonderful work, Connie.

    Category: General, People | Comments (2)

  29. Welcome to blogging, Dan O’Day

    Posted by Bob

    Dan O’Day emailed this morning to let me know that in spite of his determination not to, he’s started a blog. I know Dan to be an excellent writer, though he’s told me a number of times that it always takes him a long time to write something. He says it’s because he’s a slow writer and it takes him a while to correct the mistakes he made in his first draft. So, while the posts may not be all that frequent, I’m confident that what’s there will be choice material indeed.

    Update: Edited to better reflect the reality that Dan notes in his comment below.

    Category: Blogging, General, People | Comments (4)

  30. It’s smoooooth

    Posted by Bob

    Courvoisier is a famous brand of cognac. Having never tried it, I can’t personally vouch for how smooth it is. However, I have met Dave Courvoisier (no relation to the cognac family) and he is the real deal. He reminded me in a comment below that he has just rolled out a completely updated and redesigned website and it’s really well done.

    Dave offers a brief glimpse into the background of how he connected with the designer of his new site on his blog.

    Category: General | Comments (0)

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