My friend Kitzie Stern writes about some of ways she’s learned to deal with mouth noise and similar challenges when in the voiceover booth. From soft clothing to Breathe Right strips there are several valuable suggestions. By the way, be sure you read the comments, when you’ll find an interesting recipe from Stephanie Ciccarelli, not to mention quite the word picture from Kitzie.
Blog
The voices of the non-human
My friend Lou Zucaro has started a voiceover blog and as I was reading through it I noticed this wonderful post about some of the unseen voice talent who have given voice to computers and other non-human entities in various films and television series. Good stuff, Lou. Thanks for digging all this interesting material out of the dusty corners of the Internet.
The Voicey Awards finalists have been announced
With thanks to my friend Dan Nachtrab who pointed out to me today that I’ve been remiss about mentioning this news, The 2008 Voicey Awards finalists were announced a couple of days ago on the awards’ official web site.
Update: My very best wishes to all those nominated.
Study opportunity in Denver this summer
Bettye Zoller will be leading workshops in Denver on The Business of Voiceovers on July 30, 2008 and on audiobooks on August 3, 2008. According to this page at VoiceOverXtra, she’ll also be in Nashville in June as well as holding several classes in Dallas, TX in the spring. My thanks to my friend Don Randall for posting the link about this on the VO-BB.
Real Ritzy Ralph
My friend Ralph Hass has just done a very cool voiceover job. He’s posted about it on his voiceover blog. Very nice work, Ralph. And what a fabulous property.
Blogging and the Golden Rule
I’ve encouraged a number of my voiceover friends to start blogging, and some of them have done so. I’ve done this both because I’ve found that blogging about voiceover work makes me better at what I do and because blogging has turned out to be a wonderful way of starting, building and strengthening relationships.
Tiffany Monhollon has written brilliantly about the fundamental fact that the Golden Rule (Do to others as you wish they do to you) needs to rest as a bedrock of our blogging. I’m confident this is true for folks who blog for a business purpose as I do as well as for those who blog for social, emotional or other reasons. Here’s just one sample of what I mean from Tiffany’s post…
In blogging, relationships are really no different than offline relationships. They take time, effort and consideration to cultivate, and they must be maintained. But, they can really make a difference in your life and career.
Really good stuff, Tiffany. I’m adding you to my blogroll and will be back to visit your site many times.
Learn with Rodney Saulsberry
Rodney Saulsberry emailed last night with information about some classes he’s teaching over the next couple of months. He has a Commercial Intensive Tele-Class on Wednesdays, starting March 12th. And he has a couple of Saturday Voice-Over Workshops, one on April 26, 2008 and another on May 24, 2008. You’ll find more information about these classes on his web site. And to register go to this page on Rodney’s site.
Writers Stike is over
Hollywood is going back to work, the writers strike is over. Nikki Finke posts the official WGA announcement on her blog. My thanks to my friend Mary McKitrick for posting this link on the VO-BB.
Anthony on SPEED
My friend Anthony Mendez emails this evening to say he’s just landed a sweet voiceover gig. SPEED Channel has a new program on the Lowrider culture and Anthony is the promo voiceit. The program, which is starting February 21, 2008, is called Livin’ the Low Life, and stars Vida Guerra.
Bobbin and Pat and Chuck, Oh my!
Among the folks who attended Pat Fraley’s weekend voiceover workshop in LA a few days ago was my friend Bobbin Beam. She has notes and photos from the event on her blog, which featured the teaching of not only Pat Fraley but the legendary Chuck Blore.
A glimpse into Scott Brick’s world
Scott Brick, audiobook narrator of the first order, has started a blog. In his first post he provides some very tasty insights into some of the challenges standing in the way of a completed audiobook.
My thanks to my friend Justin Barrett for posting the link to this blog on the VO-BB.
Ticked
That is an expression that I first learned in college in the early 70s. Meaning angry. That’s what my friend Rowell Gormon is. Ticked. Unhappy. Angry. All of the above. And, with pretty good reason, as you’ll see, when you read his post called Is It an Insult?…or a fair warning?
A free VO lesson from Pat Fraley
Pat Fraley is both a mentor and a friend, a tremendously talented man and a gifted teacher. I happily spent a couple thousand dollars to study with him for a weekend. That an investment has returned many thousands of dollars in work that I’ve booked based on the lessons learned that weekend in July of 2006.
On the VO-BB today, Pat posted a link to an audio file. It’s a 7 minute lesson on the skill of Voice Matching. It’s there for you to hear, download, load into your MP3 payer and profit from. My thanks to Pat for his generosity. My thanks also to DB Cooper for her wonderful service to the voiceover community as a whole, hosting and policing the VO-BB.
(edited to correct typo in header.)
The Travis Pastrana Story
My friend Frank Frederick is featured as The Voice(tm) in the trailer for the new film “199 Lives, The Travis Pastrana Story”. With thanks to my friend Greg Best for posting the link to this trailer on the VO-BB.
A survey at Vox Daily
Stephanie Ciccarelli is conducting an informal survey of her readers at the Vox Daily blog. If you read, please visit, and leave a comment to her post.
DB Cooper featured
My friend Isaiah Knight interviews the amazing DB Cooper on his new voiceover blog. Good work, Izzy. I learned a few things about Deirdre that I didn’t know previously.
By the way, I interviewed her as well some time ago in case you’d like to check that out, too.
ADR training opportunity (updated)
Pat Fraley is leading a weekend training event in ADR/Looping March 8 and 9, 2008 in Los Angeles.
(Update: Details and registration information is on the web page linked above.)
Here are the folks you’ll have a chance to study with…
Terri Douglas: Leading Casting and ADR Session Queen, casts and conducts sessions for films like Disney’s “Enchanted,” “College Road Trip,” “Wild Hogs,” “Chicken Little,” and ON and ON and ON. She’ll be guiding the participants through the exact methods she uses on the ADR stage at Disney.
Patrick Fraley: Voice-Over Talent/Teacher, will be teaching his approach to voice matching and replacing. Pat recently supplied voices for Sony Picture’s “I Am Legend,” Paramount’s “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” and Disney’s “College Road Trip.”
Eric Thompson: ADR Engineer who will guide the technical side of the event with
the expertise that can only come from over 21 years of experience. Eric has engineered the ADR for hundreds of diverse films and TV projects, ranging from “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins,” “27 Dresses,” “Hysteria,” “The Golden Compass,” and “Rambo.”Ned Lott: Casting, Producer and ADR Supervisor. Having cut his teeth at Disney on “Cars,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and many more, Ned is now a freelance producer and the Executive Producer for Denison Entertainment.
Andy Morris: Audio Engineer and Producer at Buzzy’s Recording, has over 40 years experience recording talent. Andy knows how to get the job done. Andy engineers ADR sessions continually and has perfected the most sophisticated technical system in the country. Buzzy’s is the home away from home for James Earl Jones, Linda Hunt, Liam Neeson and David Keith.
Click Here To Reserve Your Place!
Event is limited to 12 participants (Sign up now! This will fill rapidly.)
Following leads
My friend Tom Dheere is a terrific example of a voiceover talent who finds and makes his own opportunities, while sharing the benefits with others. You’ll find out just what I mean when you read the article about Tom at VoiceOverXtra, a follow-up to the story in Backstage Magazine that I posted about a few days ago.
A laser beam and voiceover
My friend Frank Frederick has another excellent podcast at the Voice Over Experts site, this time offering guidance on how to target your marketing to the niche markets where you are most likely to find work.
The Arizona Zone
My friend Kara Edwards has a new corner of the Internet where her voice is heard. It’s called The Arizona Zone, part of the online edition of Highlights Magazine. I’m pointing this out not only because Kara has done a superb job, (no surprise there!) but also because my middle son David is featured as one of the voices in the start of the February program.
And if you’d like to know more, read Kara’s blog post about this project.