June » 2009 » The Voiceover Boblog

100 percent Accountability

Posted June 15, 2009 by Bob

Last week Bonnie Gillespie wrote Just Get Better to address a category of performers who complain about how “nothing is working.” This week she responds to an email she received in response, the author of which really disliked what Bonnie had to say in Just Get Better. After you read that first column (and yes, it will take a few mintues) be sure you don’t miss today’s column called 100% Accountability. (I didn’t think it was possible to get more pointedly on target that last week’s column, but Bonnie did.)

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

Posted by Bob

Tom Asacker has been pounding a drum for a long time about an old phrase that you’ve probably heard a few times, “A brand is a promise.” It would be wise to listen and consider what he has to say.

Category: General | Comments (0)
A very nice feature on Scott Rummell

Posted June 14, 2009 by Bob

The LA Times has a very nice feature story on voice actor Scott Rummell. My thanks to Donna Reed for tweeting the link to this article.

Category: General, People | Comments (2)
Voiceover for games

Posted by Bob

J. S. Gilbert has two superb blog posts that are must reading for anyone interested in doing voices for games and other interactive work. Part 1 is called Evolution of the Revolution. Part 2 is A Playbook for Winning Jobs! Well worth the several minutes it will take you to read both.

Category: Career Advice, General, People | Comments (0)
Build a better blog

Posted June 13, 2009 by Bob

My friend Stu Gray offers a review of the book 31 Days to Building a Better Blog on his voiceover blog.

Category: Blogging, General | Comments (2)
You can Bank on Your Voice

Posted by Bob

Rodney Saulsberry tweets this morning that he’s working on the second edition of this book.

Category: General, People | Comments (0)
A contest at Voices.com

Posted June 12, 2009 by Bob

Check out Stephanie Ciccarelli’s post at Vox Daily for all the details about The Ultimate Success Story contest.

Category: General | Comments (0)
Rest in Peace, Doug Saye

Posted June 11, 2009 by Bob

Bettye Zoller Seitz posts this evening on the Yahoo! Voiceover group that Doug Saye died earlier today following a stroke.

Category: General, People | Comments (18)
Studio equipment being sold

Posted by Bob

My friend Janet Ault emails this evening with a quite remarkable list of studio equipment that’s for sale. Janet lives in the Phoenix area and through a series of connections is helping Brian James’ widow Kimberly sell what you see below. This is simply copied and pasted from the email Janet forwarded to me.

—————————–
Below I have a list of items I was preparing to sell. I arrived at these used prices with help of Rick Allen, a sales rep, and Clear Channel studio tech. Let me know what you think. These are pretty fair prices, but I will entertain offers! All wiring (Brian used good ones I’m sure) will remain intact for each piece that was in use.

Items that were in use:
Manley Massive Passive Stereo EQ with Tubes $3500
Focusrite Producer Pack ISA430 $1400
Telos Zepher Xstream $4000
Aphex Aural Exciter Big Bottom Base 204 $200
Drawmer Dual Gate DS201 $400
IsoBox $700 (not shippable–too big & heavy)

Items that are new & never used:
Focusrite Liquid Channel $2300 (never used, Brian paid $2500)
ProTools HD1 96 i/o, Core System $4700 (never used, in box, Brian paid over 5K)
Equipment roll-around rack $200 (never used, pre-assembled, not shippable)
Yamaha O1V 96 Mixer $2100 (never used, in box, Brian paid $2400)

There are also some portable studio cases (luggage style) on wheels that are new, never used. Brian was starting to build a portable studio so there are quite a few odds & ends here. I have several hundred in wiring too, so if you are in need of getting connected and need some wires, there are numerous items still in packaging here that you can have for less than what you’d pay retail. There are other pieces in boxes, such as a Matrix headphone amp (4 jacks), but there’s so much in his office it’s hard to go through it all at once!

I will also throw out there that he had an entire studio he was going to build, still in boxes, in my garage, still on the pallet … he purchased the furniture from RaXXess. If you or anyone you know (preferably local since it’s all very heavy and large for shipping) who is looking to put together a studio and in need of furniture, we can take a look into this stuff as well.
—————————–

If you’re interested, contact Janet Ault. She will help you get in touch with Kimberly.

Category: General, Tools | Tags: recording studio, studio gear, voiceover studio | Comments (2)
Added to the blogroll today

Posted by Bob

I received a very nice email from Kevin Readdean today letting know that he’s started a voiceover blog called VO Meter specifically devoted to monitoring and reporting the history of voiceover and voice actors.

UPDATE: I also ran across another new voiceover blog today, interestingly enough from another voice actor named Kevin. In this case, Kevin Delaney, who calls his blog Voiceover Ninja.

Category: Blogging, General | Comments (2)
Do you have a voiceover resume?

Posted by Bob

Tracy Pattin would like you input on that question over at the Voicebank Blog.

Category: General | Comments (0)
The answer to the networking wall-flower syndrome

Posted by Bob

Kristine Oller is a brilliant organization consultant. She’s also a recovering networking wall-flower, rather farther along on that recovery journey than I am. So I heartily recommend you visit Kristine Can Help Me and sign up for her free networking lessons.

Category: Career Advice, General | Comments (0)
Share the Experience audiobook contest is now life

Posted by Bob

You can read about the Share the Experience audiobook contest on Scott Brick’s blog. (There’s some background information about the contest on his blog.) And once you’ve read up on the contest, be sure you submit your entry through the official entry form. Contest ends at Midnight, 30 June 2009.

Category: General, Getting started in Voiceover | Comments (0)
VOICE 2010

Posted by Bob

More information is now available through the Voice 2010 web site.

Category: General | Comments (0)
Change is on the way

Posted June 10, 2009 by Bob

Not gigantic. Not scary. And pretty much skin deep. But change is coming. We’ve been busy behind the scenes, so I want you to know that one of these days soon you’ll stop by here and things will look quite a bit different.

Category: General | Comments (4)
Chris Brogan and US Airways

Posted by Bob

Most blog posts about air travel don’t have happy endings, but I think you’ll want to read what Chris Brogan has to say today about his recent travel experience.

And what does that blog post by Chris have to do with voiceover work? Hmmm. Let me know what you think. Comments are open. (My thanks to my manager and friend, Stacey Stahl, for sending along the link.)

Category: General | Comments (2)
First details about VOICE2010 announced

Posted by Bob

John Florian has published the first details about VOICE2010 on VoiceOverXtra.

Category: General | Comments (0)
The Summit is coming

Posted by Bob

Yes, the deadline for the early bird registration discount has passed, but there’s still time to register for the International Radio Creative and Production Summit. Everything you need to know is at Dan O’Day’s web site. And if you decide to register to attend, and you mention my name in the comment box at the bottom of the registration form, I will receive a commission. Your price stays the same regardless. And if you’d rather I didn’t get that commission, don’t put my name in the comment box. Of course, if you don’t mind that I get the commission, I’d be grateful if you do put my name in the comment box.

Last year at the Summit Blaine Parker, Dick Terhune and I got roped in to recording an “endorsement” video for Dan along with Dan’s nephew. Here, ladies and gentlemen is Exhibit “A” of why I never do on camera work.

Today is the first time I’ve seen this video. Wow is that … uh … words escape me.

Category: General | Comments (2)
A wonderful day

Posted June 9, 2009 by Bob

Some days are wonderful because of what happens. Some days are wonderful because of the people you’re with. Some days are wonderful because of where you are. Today was wonderful because of all of the above.

My wife Cinda and I set out this morning on a drive toward Greenville, South Carolina where we met our friend Pam Tierney. Pam is an actress and voice talent who lives in the Midwest and was in Atlanta for a few days, visiting family. Since Greenville is half-way between Atlanta and Charlotte, it made for a good place to connect without too much driving for any of us.

We had a truly delightful lunch at a little cafe called Melvenas. The food was wonderful and the conversation even more so.

Pam, me and Cinda just before we left the restaurant.

Not too many minutes before that photo was taken, I had checked my email with my phone (I love my Palm Treo Pro!) and saw that my agent in Cleveland (The Talent Group) had an audition they needed to get back from me before 5:00 PM Eastern. Anticipating that something like this might happen, I had my travel recording gear along for even this little day trip. I’d heard from multiple sources, including the great Joe Cipriano, that in a pinch an automobile can make for a pretty decent recording booth. I was about to find out.

The parking lot behind the restaurant was well back from the street so I thought it might just work. Using my anniversary gift from Cinda (an application from Best Buy called HotSpot that lets me turn my phone into a WiFi source) I was able to connect to the Internet, download the copy from my agent and …

… do the audition in the back seat of my car. Cinda was in the front seat serving at the photographer and director. I had my microphone stand sitting on my computer bag.

Once I finished recording, we started up the car so we could have the air conditioning on. I edited, saved and emailed the audition to my agent and about 30 minutes later we were on our way.

Cinda and I took our time driving back home, going through the Blue Ridge mountains rather than the Interstate back. Like I said, a wonderful day!

Category: General | Comments (6)
Why Be a Brand?

Posted by Bob

Marice Tobias provides her unique and potently thought-provoking responses to that question on her Thoughts page. (My thanks to Stacey Stahl my manager and friend for the tweet earlier today with the link to this new post from Marice.)

Category: Career Advice, General, People | Comments (2)
Hiring insights

Posted June 8, 2009 by Bob

With thanks to my friend Jeffrey Kafer for re-tweeting about this article, and to @WaxwingSlain for the original tweet, you’ll find a bunch of valuable insights about your voiceover business in this post on called Hiring Insights From Someone Who Doesn’t Hire Often.

Category: Career Advice, General | Comments (0)
Just get better

Posted by Bob

One of my favorite sources of great information about the wide world of acting (which includes all of us in voice acting) is Bonnie Gillespie’s The Actor’s Voice. Don’t miss today’s column, which is called Just Get Better. If you want the straight scoop, you’ll want to read the whole thing.

Category: Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover | Comments (2)
The new Star Wars game is voice only

Posted by Bob

With thanks to my friend Dave Courvoisier for the link, check out this video trailer for the new Star Wars game. Not a single line of text in the game for a player to read. Voice actors read every line.

(Update: With thanks to Erik Sheppard, there’s much more detail about the game at Massively.com) Oh, and here’s the trailer.

Category: General | Comments (0)
Mad Avenue Blues

Posted June 7, 2009 by Bob

A devastatingly accurate look at the shifting world of advertisting and media set to the tune of Don McLean’s American Pie. It’s worth it to listen to all 9+ minutes.

Wow. My thanks to L. McDuff who wrote this parody and to the anonymous individual who posted the link to it on the Yahoo! Voiceover Group.

Category: General | Comments (0)
Insights from an agent

Posted by Bob

Roger King is a voiceover agent in Canada who blogs about voiceover work at Voiceover Canada. Some weeks ago he posted a first article in an on-going series about how to find representation. Recently he posted a second article in the series, which provides some guidance about walking the fine line between being persistent and being annoying.

Category: Career Advice, General, People | Comments (0)
Townsend Coleman on Michaelangelo

Posted June 6, 2009 by Bob

Yes, I mean the Turtle, not the painter. MovieWeb interviews Townsend Coleman. My thanks to Craig Crumpton for posting the link.

Category: General, People | Comments (0)
Congratulations, Corey Burton

Posted June 5, 2009 by Bob

Tracy Pattin blogs today about the Golden Trailer Awards including winner Corey Burton. Congratulations, sir! (My thanks to my friend Anthony Mendez for linking to this blog post on Facebook.)

Category: General, People | Comments (0)
I’m finally on Twitter

Posted by Bob

In the event you would like to follow me, I’m now on Twitter.

Category: General | Comments (0)
“I don’t know”

Posted by Bob

Three of the most important words to say in a conversation, especially when they are true.

I don’t know.

For some further insight on the subject, don’t miss Seth Godin’s blog post today about Smart People.

Category: General | Comments (0)
A thought for today

Posted by Bob

From my friend and manager Stacey Stahl comes this lovely thought today.

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbon.

— Ruth Ann Schabaker

Category: General | Comments (0)

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