July » 2008 » The Voiceover Boblog

Rest in Peace, Chris Clausen

Posted July 31, 2008 by Bob

Chris Clausen died Tuesday, July 29, 2008 of complications from a stroke. He’s remembered in this report from Atlanta’s Fox affiliate station.

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Adam’s gaming podcast

Posted by Bob

My friend Adam Creighton provides a guest podcast on gaming at the Emergent Game Technologies Podcast site.

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Tennis and voiceover

Posted by Bob

I have been quite remiss in my own reading of the voiceover blogs of my friends and peers of late; so even though this was posted quite some time ago, I commend the excellent comments and thoughts of my friend Liz de Nesnera to you on the parallels between tennis and voiceover based on her observations following the finals at Wimbledon earlier this month.

Category: Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover | Comments (0)
An interview, with me, part 3

Posted July 30, 2008 by Bob

John Florian, the driving force behind the excellent VoiceOverXtra site, has (for reasons known only to him) decided to feature an interview with me (this is part1 and this is part 2) on his site. Now, part 3 of my interview with John is now available.

Subscribe to VoiceOverXtra and you’ll get a bunch of interesting and useful information for your voiceover career.

Category: General, People | Comments (9)
A reading experience not to be missed

Posted by Bob

My friend and mentor Philip Banks is a writer of strange short fictions (at least I assume they are fictions), which he is posting on his Voiceover Universe blog at a steady pace. If you have a few minutes to a few hours, drink deeply from the strange well that is the mind of Philip Banks.

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Bruce Miles and American History

Posted July 29, 2008 by Bob

My friend Bruce Miles is the narrator for a new audiobook box set called For the Love of Country. The linked page includes some audio clips if you’d like to sample before you buy.

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Study weekend with Bettye Zoller in Dallas

Posted July 28, 2008 by Bob
There’s a study weekend coming up in September (Saturday and Sunday, the 6th and 7th) in Dallas with Bettye Zoller of VoiceVoices.com. The weekend will cover four areas of focus …
- Character cartoon voice techniques
- Voice acting for commercials today
- Audiobook narration techniques
- The business of voice-overs worldwide
Tuition for the weekend is $495.00, which includes breakfast buffets, catered working group luncheons, a festive cocktail reception, and take-home packets. The Two-pay plan lets you enroll with $295 deposit–balance of $200 due on or before August 25 non-refundable.

For more information, visit Bettye’s home page.
Category: Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, People | Comments (0)
A friendly visit to The Cheesecake Factory

Posted July 27, 2008 by Bob

This evening I met up at The Cheesecake Factory in Tukwila, WA with my friend Jeff Kafer. We had a wonderful dinner, as is pretty much always the case there.

Our server was nice enough to snap a shot of both of us with my phone’s camera. As we you can see, we were in a slightly playful mood …

I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation which wandered across all kinds of topics including, but not limited to a recounting of my visit to the legendary Portgordon, UK (to visit my friend Philip Banks), Jeff’s work testing games for Microsoft, some of my personal thoughts and reactions to my weekend of studying with Marice Tobias (the reason I was here in Seattle), our families and a host of other subjects. All in all, a truly wonderful evening. I’m very grateful to Jeff for going to the trouble of driving all the way to Tukwila for our dinner.

(edited to fix typos)

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Studying with Marice Tobias

Posted July 26, 2008 by Bob

I’m in Seattle this weekend, for a two day voiceover workshop with Marice Tobias that includes 12 of my peers in the voiceover business. Then I’ll have a private session with her on Monday morning before I head home.

If the subject of voiceover work interests you, but you haven’t really started, there are many different people with whom you can study. You can read books (there are a bunch of them linked on my Recommended Books page), you can take seminars, you can take group classes, you can do private coaching in person or on the phone. There are hundreds of choices. Maybe thousands.

And some of the people doing the “getting started” training, also do seminars and workshops or private coaching for working pros, too. But there’s something unique about working with a coach who is focused on helping people stay in the voiceover business rather than get started. That’s Marice. To study with her you need to come with a professional recommendation. And your career has to all ready be in motion.

I strongly believe that real professionals know they need to keep studying and growing.

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Ask Joe Week 11 video

Posted July 25, 2008 by Bob

Joe Cipriano’s newest video release in the Ask Joe series.

Find more videos like this on voiceover universe presents…

If you have trouble seeing the embedded video, check it out on Voiceover Universe. I understand that you need to join the Ask Joe Group in order to see the videos.

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Voice Isolation Booth video number 4

Posted July 24, 2008 by Bob

Michael Minetree emails with the link to video number 4 in his on-going series as he builds he new voice isolation booth.

Thank you, Michael. It’s looking great.

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ACTOR’S TOOL-KIT #19

Posted July 23, 2008 by Bob

It’s been a while since I posted one of these solid gold nuggets from Bob Fraser. Here’s the 19th in the series.

WHERE TO GET MENTORING

by Bob Fraser

As most actors who read my scribblings know, I’m a big fan of quotes. There is a good reason for this; I think that it really helps to have advisors, as one pursues a goal. And it’s always been my experience that wise advisors are the best advisors.

Now, many wise people have come before us – that is indisputable. Most have left behind some instructions, cautions, insights and advice. My attitude has always been, why not make use of, and benefit from their experience?

One of the wisest people of all time is Anon. No one knows who this Anon person was or when he or she lived, but Anon had some great things to say.

“Most people miss opportunity because it arrives looking like work.” Anon.

This is an important piece of advice because it goes right to the heart of the “I need an agent” (or manager) plaint that we hear (and say) so often. Deep down we know that getting our faces in front of people who hire actors is very important and yet we all fall prey to the rather silly idea that there’s a one-step solution to that problem – one that skips the hard work part – and that ‘brilliant’ idea is to get someone else to do it.

Believing that you need an agent to get started is bass-ackward. In the real world, you need to get started in order to attract the attention of a good agent. Believe me it is pointless to have a top salesman for your product if your product is still in the planning stages. 99.9% of agents know this. You can’t fool them.

When I tell actors this, they often respond with another complaint. “I’ve tried to get started on my own and it just isn’t happening.”

There’s a quote for that:

“Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.” ~ James Michener

SKILLS, ATTITUDES AND TENACITY

A successful acting career is mainly the result of skills, attitudes — and, most importantly, the ability to keep showing up (tenacity) despite the rejection that we all face. No matter what some people say, talent is not a skill. Using your talent to entertain for a living – that’s a skill.

However, in the absence of a good attitude, learning the skills of a professional entertainer is almost impossible. And without tenacity, even the best set of skills will never see the light of day. If you want to be a professional actor, have a gracious attitude, a willingness to learn new skills and never, never, give up your quest.

I am often asked “when is the best time to start? Pilot season? When I’ve saved enough money? When I turn 21? After the kids are grown? September?”

I’m no expert, but here’s someone with a very clear instruction on this “when should I start” matter:

“Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.” ~ Michael Landon

GOOD ADVICE IS FREE – IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ACT

See why I like quotes?

Because someone, somewhere has already dealt with my problems and found a solution. And many of them have been kind enough to write it down. All I have to do is read, understand, and begin to use all this great advice.

I urge all actors to start collecting quotes, find a few favorites, and make little signs. Stick them up on the refrigerator, computer or bathroom mirror.

These little “reminders” can have a beneficial effect on your career. You will be astonished at the education you will get – and the results you will achieve – when you start listening to your “advisors” and start “doing it.”

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PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You may reprint articles from Actor’s Tool-Kit, on your website or electronic newsletter.

However, in order to comply with my copyright, you must also include the following paragraph with your reprint:

“Reprinted from ACTOR’S TOOL KIT, the email course just for subscribers of Show Biz How-To — The Free Actor’s Monthly. Get your own free subscription by going to: showbizhowto.com

Copyright Â© 2006 Bob Fraser Productions All Rights Reserved”

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Category: Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover | Comments (2)
Those US accents

Posted July 22, 2008 by Bob

Yesterday I posted about a BBC online article featuring a video and comments about training a British journalist in how to do an American accent. And I promised to follow up with a link to the callers from around the UK who left messages with their best efforts at a US accent.

You can read the background information in the online article, and then listen to the callers either on that page, or here.

And then a bit further down, you’ll find British voice actor Stuart Smith, offering a quick US accent masterclass.

Again, my thanks to my friend Rowell Gormon for pointing out this link in the first place.

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10 ideas for your voiceover career

Posted July 21, 2008 by Bob

With thanks to my friend Steve Stone for passing along this link in an email today, you’ll find at least a few solid, actionable suggestions in this list of ten things a voice actor should do on the Back Stage site.

I’ve added Wendy’s Actor Inspiration site to my blog roll, after reading this article.

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How not to do an American accent

Posted by Bob

With thanks to my friend Rowell Gormon for posting the link on the VO-BB, you’ll find an interesting video here from the BBC on coaching a Brit how to do an American accent.

Update: Don’t miss the article below the video. Here’s a key quote …

You mustn’t play an accent,” Berkery says. “You must play a character who has an accent, but you must never play an accent.

And …

An authentic accent will be “second-nature” to an actor, Berkery says, likening it to fluency in a foreign language where a person doesn’t have to think about the process of speaking.

Good stuff. I also notice there will be a number of attempts at American accepts posted sometime tomorrow. Should be great fun to go back and listen. (Probably about as much fun as the Brits would have at our expense if we attempted a “British” accent and put it on the web for all to hear.)

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Telling yourself the truth

Posted July 20, 2008 by Bob

In the interview John Florian did with me at VoiceOverXtra (part 1, part 2) I mentioned one of my ongoing projects, to get the “radio” out of my voice. On that subject, there’s a very interesting post at Dan O’Day’s blog. One of the hardest things in the world is to hear ourselves as we really sound. What are you doing to avoid or work through your challenges? I’d love to hear. Comments are open.

Category: Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover | Comments (2)
Perspective

Posted July 19, 2008 by Bob

So much changes when we get a new perspective. I’ve been meaning for a few days to point you to my friend Rowell Gormon’s Clogged Blog for a very well written post that, I suspect, will help you get a new perspective on things; even though it has very little to do with voiceover, at least directly.

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Voice Booth DIY project

Posted July 18, 2008 by Bob

My friend Andi Arndt emailed me with a really cool link to a PDF file illustrating directions on how to build sound baffles (put enough of them together and you make a booth) made from carpet samples.

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Bob Bergen featured on Platform Biased

Posted by Bob

My friend Jeffrey Kafer is one of the principles of the Platform Biased gaming podcast. The great Bob Bergen is featured in their latest edition, just released.

(edited to fix typo and add link to Jeff’s site.)

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An interview, with me, part 2

Posted by Bob

John Florian, the driving force behind the excellent VoiceOverXtra site, has (for reasons known only to him) decided to feature an interview with me (this is part1) on his site. And, Part 2 of my interview with John is now available.

I hope you enjoy. I’ll post a further update when part 3 is available. Or, subscribe to VoiceOverXtra and you’ll get an email as from John as soon as it’s published.

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Harlan and Elaine in DC area this November

Posted by Bob

Harlan Hogan and Elaine Clark will present a voiceover weekend seminar for voiceover professionals November 15 and 16, 2008 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Get more information and Register at Harlan’s site.

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Breathe

Posted July 17, 2008 by Bob

My friend Juan, better known as Some Audio Guy, has an article on breathing at VoiceOverXtra that’s very much worth your time. We all know how to breathe, of course, or we wouldn’t be here on Planet Earth for long. But, do we really know how to breathe effectively while recording? That’s something else entirely.

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Sometimes you just know

Posted by Bob

Every now and then an audition will come along that is so perfect, you can almost tell in advance that you’re going to book the job. At least, I’ve had this happen a few times. Most recently it involved an audition for someone looking for the sound of HAL, the computer in the classic Science Fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The reason that I was so confident about this one goes back to an audition I’d all ready booked for that voice quite a few years ago when I lived in Pittsburgh. At the time, the Pittsburgh Symphony was doing a series of concerts attempting to introduce classical music to a wider audience than the usual crowd. So the put together these events that featured an interesting mix of pop culture references and great orchestral music. One of them featured music from the Kubrick film, and also featured an appearance by Keir Dullea, the actor who starred in the film in the role of Dr. Dave Bowman. With Mr. Dullea there, they naturally needed someone to play the role of his nemesis, HAL. I won the audition for that part, and thus got the remarkable joy of taking part in a life performance of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

They’d created a wonderful image of the glowing red light that is the “face” of HAL for the performance, and at the end of the concert they actually gave me a pull over shirt with that light painted on, and then called me out for a bow. What an amazing, fun night that was.

So, when this audition came through a few weeks ago asking for that voice, I had it in my back pocket. And indeed, I booked the job.

How about you? Have you ever looked at an audition and knew that you would book?

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VoiceOverSavvy is no more

Posted July 16, 2008 by Bob

With this blog post, Voice123.com announces that they have started a new set of forums available only to premium members of their service. The forums are now integrated into the Voice123.com site as a whole. Meanwhile, the Voiceover Savvy forums have been shut down.

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Voice Isolation Booth video number 3

Posted July 15, 2008 by Bob

The work continues on Michael Minetree’s new voiceover isolation booth. Here is the third in his on-going series of videos.

I’m looking forward to seeing the finished booth one of these days.

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Study with Rodney Saulsberry

Posted by Bob

You have a couple of study opportunities coming up later this year with Rodney Saulsberry. On Saturday, September 20, 2008 Rodney will lead a one day Voiceover Workshop at Tree Falls Studio in Los Angeles, CA.

Or if you don’t live in Southern California, Rodney will conduct a Commercial Intensive Teleclass for three Thursday evenings in October, starting October 16, 2008.

Registration details are available on Rodney’s web site.

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

Posted by Bob

With thanks to my friend Liz de Nesnera for posting a link to this article on the VO-BB, there’s an excellent piece on the Digital Juice site by Viv T. Beason, Jr. about the technology shift that’s been going on for some time now in our culture. While his article is mostly for the video production crowd, not surprising given the focus at Digital Juice, there’s a solid application in the voiceover field.

Today, just about anyone with a few dollars to spare, and some desire, and set up shop as a voiceover talent. With USB microphones and free audio editing software, the cost of entry is very low. But, Viv points out that just as we’ve seen in the desktop publishing arena, so we’re now seeing in the video production (or, I’d add, the voiceover) arena.

Those who can produce truly high quality work are ever more in demand. So, if you want to get work in the voiceover field, I wish you well. Truly I do. And I hope you’ll find lots of ideas and resources here at the Voiceover Boblog and many other sites on the Internet to help you along your way. But, please, get some professional training. Learn your craft. Aim for excellence. Learn how to get there.

Because the alternative is going to be disappointment, at best.

Category: Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover | Comments (0)
Anthony and the NBA

Posted July 14, 2008 by Bob

My friend Anthony Mendez has posted video of a new NBA Summer League promo he’s voiced. Very cool stuff, Anthony.

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Connie in New York

Posted by Bob

As it happens, my friend Connie Terwilliger (who lives in San Diego, CA) is in upstate New York on family business at the moment, but that’s not the actual point of this blog post. The real point is that there’s yet another of those tasty, short, videos now available from The New Yorker, with Connie supplying both voices. Good stuff, Connie. I love these.

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The shocking video I told you about …

Posted July 12, 2008 by Bob

… has now been posted by Dan O’Day on his blog.

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