Philip Banks has backed up the bus and unloaded another batch of gems from his fertile brain over at the VO-BB.com. You’ll find the thread he started here. Meanwhile, for your elucidation…
1 – Sit still you’re not an 8 year old! Decide now – Voice over or fidget!
2 – Conducting your read will only help if the copy writer was inspired by Henry Mancini and this version is not for radio but is the full orchestral version.
3 – Close mic is not a technique, the engineer put a pop shield in front of it to encourage you to keep your distance – Take the hint.
4 – When traveling to an audition advise the bus driver and your journey will be free.
5 – There’s money to be made from that movie trailer voice as Don la Fontaine has a vacancy for a pool boy.
6 – If it says 30 seconds at the top of the script and you take longer than 30 seconds to read it, remind the agency creative that although the weather is great in LA a sundial is not the best way to time a piece of copy.
7 – Mouth noise can be avoided by not saying anything.
8 – Most successful Voice Actors have both essential elements, a voice and acting ability. A good “pre†replaces neither.
9 – ISDN is a thing of the past, so is making a living. If you need the second then the first is probably a good idea.
10 – The best voice over agent in the world is easy to spot as he commutes to work on a Unicorn.
11- Most copy interpretation is about “mood†and repeat business results from you staying in a good one.
12 – In a session, the director’s jokes are always funny and your anecdotes are for too long.
13 – When someone asks your price for a job ensure he wants “your price†and is not hoping you are able to guess how much he is prepared to pay.
14 – If you think as a Voice talent that you’ve arrived, then bear in mind that to have arrived you must have reached the end of the road.
15 – Before every low budget session eat a bar of chocolate, drink a cup of coffee and smoke a cigarette.
15 ½ – To make $250,000 Per Anum as a Voi.