1. How a Neumann U87 is manufactured

    Posted July 30, 2010 by Bob

    Check out this interesting video to answer your questions about how this wonderful microphone is made.

    Category: General, Tools | Comments (3)

  2. The Coffee Date

    Posted July 29, 2010 by Bob

    Kristine Oller has created The Actor’s Library as a resource for smart actors (including voice actors) who are serious about career success. One of the great benefits of joining The Actor’s Library is that you get dozens of Coffee Dates that Kristine has recorded with talented people from all across the performing spectrum, including me, as part of the deal.

    However, the Coffee Dates can now be purchased separately, too, on this page.

    Category: Career Advice, General | Comments (0)

  3. Sorry for the silence

    Posted by Bob

    There haven’t been any posts here for a few days, not because I haven’t had anything to say but because my life has been so full that I quite literally haven’t been able to squeeze out a few minutes to post something. I do regret leaving you hanging, but the process of selling our house and moving back into an older house we’ve owned for years has turned out to be a much more complicated and involved process than I imagined. I will get back to posting very soon.

    I’m taking part in my 14th International Radio and Creative Production Summit this weekend, so there will be reports and photos from that experience coming your way, soon. Meanwhile, thank you for your patience.

    Category: General | Comments (2)

  4. Spanish Buzz

    Posted July 23, 2010 by Bob

    If you’ve seen Toy Story 3 you know that one of the most fun moments takes place when Buzz Lightyear get’s set into “Spanish mode.” This interview with Javier Fernadez-Peña was done by Voice123.com, the site that played a role in his casting as “Spanish Buzz.”

    Fascinating story.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  5. Spotlight on Darren

    Posted July 21, 2010 by Bob

    My friend Darren Altman is the featured voice of this charming video.

    Well, done Darren.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  6. Scott Brick and Comic-Con

    Posted July 20, 2010 by Bob

    On his blog today, Scott Brick talks about his two great passions: comic books and audiobooks.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  7. Voice contact

    Posted July 19, 2010 by Bob

    On her blog today, my friend Pam Tierney provides a great follow-up to Maxine Dunn‘s excellent article on cold calling from the other day. Now that you know how to cold call, Pam provides you with one really powerful reason why.

    Category: Career Advice, General | Comments (0)

  8. The right answers

    Posted July 18, 2010 by Bob

    Do you have friends, colleagues and mentors who will tell you the unvarnished truth when you need it? My friend Rowell Gormon blogs about Questions and Answers and it was his thoughts from this weekend prompted this post.

    Let’s think about voiceover coaches for a moment. If I ask Nancy Wolfson what she thinks about an audition or a demo, she doesn’t always tell me what I want to hear, but she does always give me an honest answer. I can say exactly the same thing about Marice Tobias. Both of these ladies have taught me a great deal, but the most valuable thing they’ve done is tell me the truth when I need it. If you can’t say that about your voiceover coach, maybe it’s time to re-think things?

    Though he’s not been a coach, Dan O’Day has been both a friend and teacher for nearly 15 years. Dan’s another person who unflinchingly tells the truth when I need to hear it.

    I have had several mentors who have guided my path through the years, stretching back to the first years of my journey in the early 80s when Armand Ciabattari and Todd Beezley took me under their respective wings. Chuck Wagner and Chuck Gratner both hired me to work for them. Both taught me a great deal. They were, without question, the two best bosses I ever had, at least until I went to work for myself last year. In more recent years, Philip Banks has generously guided me in important ways, in spite of the fact that I annoy him no end now and then.

    And there are quite literally too many friends to list them all here, but Rowell and Dan Nachtrab and Janet Ault and Peter O’Connell and Pam Tierney and Frank Frederick and Kara Edwards and (oh boy I really can’t list them all, there are so many more) have each contributed to my life and work in significant ways.

    In the days when I was first getting started in voiceover, friendships sprang up in the waiting rooms in casting offices and talent agencies and recording studios. Now, most of my work (like most of yours very likely) takes place in my studio at home. Which is why the VO-BB is such an exceptionally important place for me, the place where I met all but a small handful of my voiceover friends. My favorite spot on the Internet. The place where I know I can find answers, more than a little laughter and a few tears and a lot of love and mutual respect.

    You don’t have to join the VO-BB, but I hope you will make sure you don’t allow yourself to get too isolated. We all need people who will tell us the truth.

    Category: General, People | Comments (5)

  9. When disaster strikes

    Posted by Bob

    A couple of days ago I had just finished a phone patch session for a television commercial (a hospital in Michigan), said thank you to everyone on the line (2 guys with the production studio and 3 ladies from the hospital), hung up the phone and clicked over to my audio software to get the file saved in the requested format. Initially everything seemed fine, just like always. But then I noticed an odd bit of distortion that seemed to be part of one small bit of the file.

    Only, it wasn’t one small bit of the file. In fact, the piece that sounded normal when I first started listening was one of only 3 small sections that were clean. About three-quarters of the audio was unlistenable, filled with horrible, ugly digital distortion. Disaster. (This kind of thing had only happened to me once before about 8 years ago when my workstation had mysteriously dropped out of record a few minutes into a corporate narration session. That was a phone patch, too.)

    What did I do?

    Well, first I called my agents in Pittsburgh through whom the commercial had been booked to let them know what happened. They sent off a quick email to let the main producer know about the problem. Then, a few minutes later when no reply had come, I called back in to the studio to let them know what had happened. Everyone was very glad I had called back right away and thankfully they all had time to re-record, as soon as they finished their current session. 10 minutes later, I’m back on the phone with them. We record a few more takes. Everyone is happy and this time before I hung up the phone I double-checked to make absolutely sure everything is recorded cleanly. It is!

    The moral of this story? One, don’t leave your workstation running for too many days in a row with giving it a chance to cool down for a bit. Two, if the worst happens and you don’t have a clean recording of something, let everyone know right away. We all make mistakes now and then. People will understand. But, any attempt to cover up or “fix” things is going to make for a bigger disaster than whatever the original problem was. Three, tell the truth. Own up to the problem and make it right. It’s the only way to truly recover.

    Category: General | Comments (6)

  10. Cold calls can heat up your business

    Posted July 17, 2010 by Bob

    My friend Maxine Dunn has written a brilliant piece on cold calling and voiceover that was originally only available to her newsletter subscribers, but has now been published on VoiceOverXtra. If you’d like to subscribe to her newsletter (something I highly recommend you do) click through and sign up via the link on her site.

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

  11. Spotlight on Donovan

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Donovan Corneetz is featured as the main voice of this television commercial.

    Mighty nice work, Donovan!

    Category: General, People | Comments (2)

  12. Spotlight on Dan

    Posted July 16, 2010 by Bob

    My friend Dan Roberts is featured as the second of the pair of dice talking in this commercial.

    Nice work, Dan.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  13. Are you coming to Faffcon?

    Posted by Bob

    What’s Faffcon?


    Get FaffCon Flair!

    Well, all the details are on the site in the “what” section, but so you don’t have to click through it’s an unconference for voiceover professionals that’s taking place the second weekend in September in Portland, OR. As of today, there are 2 weeks left to the early bird registration discount. I hope you’ll check out details at the Faffcon site and if you are a working professional voiceover talent that you’ll make plans to join us.

    Category: General | Comments (0)

  14. The Don LaFontaine Lab

    Posted by Bob

    The lab opened a couple of weeks ago and while I couldn’t be there, my friend Tracy Pattin was on behalf of Voicebank.net. Here’s the video she produced from the event.

    You can read more about this video and the event at the Voicebank.net blog.

    Category: General | Comments (0)

  15. Spotlight on Todd

    Posted July 15, 2010 by Bob

    My friend Todd Ellis demonstrates his amazing command of regional accents.

    Or, something like that. Todd, what can I say? It’s brilliant.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  16. Billy West on NPR

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Dan Nachtrab emailed today to let me know that Billy West is featured on Fresh Air on NRP today. Audio will be available after 5:00 PM Eastern.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  17. The latest edition of “bridges” has just been published

    Posted by Bob

    For several years now I’ve been delighted and honored to serve as the podcast voice for a fascinating series called “bridges” from the Office of Science and Technology at the Embassy of Austria. Volume 26 has just been released. I don’t record every article, only a selection fo them, so if you want to just listen to the podcasts, you can jump here.

    Category: General | Comments (2)

  18. Spotlight on Rick

    Posted July 14, 2010 by Bob

    My friend Rick Lance is the voice of this excellent video.

    Category: General, People | Comments (3)

  19. Microphone Techniques with Rodney Saulsberry

    Posted July 13, 2010 by Bob

    Good stuff from Rodney Saulsberry.

    Category: Career Advice, General, People, Tools | Comments (1)

  20. New VO seminar – 20% discount if you act fast!

    Posted by Bob

    Dan O’Day has just released a wonderful new audio seminar by Pat Fraley “GETTING FUNNY FAST: The Arts of Voice Over Comedy.”

    It’s a bargain at the regular price, but if you order by Friday of this week you’ll get an instant 20% discount. You’ll find all the information here.

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

  21. Spotlight on Dan

    Posted July 10, 2010 by Bob

    My friend Dan Nachtrab is the voice of this commercial.

    Mighty fine job, Dan!

    (edited to fix typo. Thanks, Eric!)

    Category: General, People | Comments (1)

  22. Scott Brick announces the contest winners

    Posted July 9, 2010 by Bob

    Many moons ago Scott Brick announced a contest for new audiobook narrators. He’s just announced the winners on his blog.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  23. Quote for the day

    Posted July 7, 2010 by Bob

    From my friend and manager, Stacey Stahl, comes this gem in my inbox today:

    Every huge success starts out as one simple thought.

    — Alan Cohen

    Category: General | Comments (0)

  24. Seach Engines and your site

    Posted July 6, 2010 by Bob

    My friends at Fame Foundry have a couple of excellent articles on SEO (search engine optimization) for you. SEO 101, A Plain English Primer is here. SEO 102, 13 Steps to Improve Your Ranking the Right Way is here.

    Category: Blogging, General | Comments (2)

  25. Happy Independence Day

    Posted July 4, 2010 by Bob

    If you are in the United States, Happy 4th of July!

    It’s the 4th of July everywhere else in the world, too; just not Independence Day. Have a great day where ever you are.

    Category: General | Comments (2)

  26. Find your joy

    Posted July 3, 2010 by Bob

    There are some parts of the voiceover business that can feel like a long slog, but as my friend Pam Tierney points out today, it never has to be just a slog. Good thoughts, Pam. We can all find our joy and run with it every day.

    Category: General | Comments (2)

  27. The color of grass and …

    Posted July 1, 2010 by Bob

    My friend Moe Egan offers some cogent thoughts about your voiceover business at VoiceOverXtra today. Well worth a few minutes of your time.

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

  28. Spotlight on Diane

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Diane Merritt does the main voiceover of this video.

    Very nice job, Diane!

    Category: General, People | Comments (1)

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