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Will you be one of the 100?

Career Advice, General

Since 1997, the second year it was held, I have attended every International Radio Creative and Production Summit. It has not only been a great experience every year, it’s been a time of learning and growing. This has been especially true since I stopped working at radio stations in 2001. There are always parts of the Summit that are most valuable for writers, parts that are most valuable for producers and parts that are most valuable for voice talent; but it’s the mix of all of these elements and the way they play off one another that really takes the learning through the roof.

This year Dan O’Day has assembled a terrific group of guest speakers. John Frost, radio imaging and production genius. Voice actor and coach Richard Horvitz and voiceover and branding coach Nancy Wolfson. Oh, and Dan will be presenting a couple of things too.

Registration is limited to 100. I just finished signing up (roughly 2 and a half minutes after seeing Dan’s email that registration is open this morning) and I hope you will decide to go too. Dan has negotiated an excellent rate for the hotel, the LAX Hilton. I’ve paid my own way the last several years. Every time it has been more than worth it.

By the way, there is a comment box at the bottom of the registration page on Dan’s site. If you mention in that comment box that you decided to attend for the first time because you read about it here, I will get a commission from Dan. Your registration price is the same whether you mention my name or not, so if you don’t want me to get the commission, don’t say anything; but I would be grateful if you did identify me as the reason you’ve decided to attend.

Quote for the day

General

From the rabbit hole in today’s Monday Morning Memo comes this quote. Thank you, Roy.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

        — Teddy Roosevelt

(Updated to add that if you would like to read the entire speech from which this quote comes, click here.)

Blessing in disguise

General

The title of this post is a trite phrase tossed around by people, sometimes without a lot of thought. Other times, it’s used with great care and intention. Whatever the case, any blessing in disguise is always tough to live through at the moment of the actual living. Right then it seems like a curse, or at best a burden that must be carried. It’s only later that we can look back and say that such and such a thing was a blessing in disguise.

A week ago I wrote about the dual anniversaries of five years since I started this blog and one year since I left my corporate job and have been concentrating only on voiceover work. It was a bit over a year ago that one of those blessings in disguise took place. It happened this way. A couple of weeks before my final day, I took an elevator ride with a couple of the executives of the corporation for which I used to work and during that ride one of those executives mentioned he had heard that I given notice. I said “yes” that I had done so. He said, “we have to try to do something to see if we can keep you on.”

It was a nice thing to hear. Who doesn’t want to feel wanted, someone of value to the organization. But, as it happened, no such effort was made. I have no idea what conversations may have taken place behind closed doors, but no offer was made to me. At the time I felt rather disappointed about that; but looking back on it from a year’s perspective I see it for what it was … a blessing in disguise.

It’s not likely, but it’s possible that I might have accepted whatever offer was made. I can say with utter certainly that had I done so I would not be as contented and at peace as I am today. I am doing exactly what I was born to do, not just in my work but in my entire life. I’m enjoying much more time in one fashion or another with my family. I’m able to meet the needs of my clients with alacrity and excellence. I’m able to provide encouragement to others, not just here through this blog, but also through other personal communication. So those moments of disappointment I felt that I wasn’t approached about staying were truly a blessing in disguise.

Now, I don’t know what it is you’re dealing with right now. It might well be something much more significant than my bruised feelings were. But, regardless, is it possible that a year from now you’ll be able to look back on this season and say, “Yep, that too was a blessing in disguise”?

Quote for the day

General

From my manager and friend Stacey Stahl today:

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”

—Audrey Hepburn

Audio you must hear

General

Last month Seth Godin posted audio from a master class session in New York. When I couldn’t sleep last night, I listened to the recording and then went back to his blog to look for the post. I was delighted to see that Seth encourages the rest of us to share this audio freely. Please, if you possibly can, listen to this audio.

[audio:https://bobsouer.com/pix/linchpinsessionsethgodinapril.mp3]

 

He doesn’t talk explicitly about voiceover, but if you’re paying attention, you’re going to hear a lot about what drives me and what has contributed to what modest success I’ve experienced.
(Edited to fix missing link)

Daddy Discoveries

Blogging, General

My friend Donovan Corneetz is not only a superb voice actor, he’s also been learning the joys of being a dad the last several months. He’s started a new website called Daddy Discoveries that chronicles what he’s been learning along the way. Not voiceover related (except that Donovan is a voice actor) but , I think you’ll enjoy reading them.

A post for a friend

General, People

My friend Melissa is going to Promax BDA and needs to find a roommate for her time in LA at the conference. While I have never, of course, roomed with Melissa I know her to be a very nice lady and I’m sure she would be an ideal roommate. If you are going to Promax and you are female, would you leave me a comment here or email me, if you are willing to split the cost of a hotel room at the event.I will then pass along your contact information to Melissa.

The dream continues

General

It was 5 years ago today that I started this little blog about “voiceover, life and assorted other ramblings.” You have my abiding gratitude for stopping by here and reading from time to time.

Today is a double anniversary, because not only is it my Fifth blogiversary, but it was one year ago yesterday that spent my very last day at my corporate job. In spite of the fact that the economy was not going great, I had resigned my position so that I could just concentrate on voiceover work, on telling stories for people; so today is the first anniversary of my full and solitary concentration on voiceover. I’m so very grateful to every one of my clients. Some have come and some have gone and many have stayed, but each one is precious. I truly do love helping give voice to your words.

It seemed for a long time like it was an impossible dream, but if this is a dream please don’t wake me. Along with my clients, I’m also grateful for my friends who have been helpful and supportive in a myriad of ways. You know who you are. Each of you is so very precious to me. Thank you.

And my gratitude to my family, especially my first born and only daughter Karen and my oldest son Eric, both of whom have worked many hours helping me with my work. Our two younger sons, David and Brian have both done voiceovers for me when I needed kids voices. But, most especially to my wife Cinda, who has been a divinely appointed helpmeet at every turn. Thank you, Darling.

Where ever you are in your quest, if this is something you really want, don’t quit. It took me 26 years. No, I’m not kidding. 26 years. From 1983 to 2009. Your journey might be shorter. It might even be longer. But you will get there, if you don’t quit.

Travel mic stand

General, People, Tools

My friend George Whittam has posted this video blog about a very cool idea for a travel microphone stand.

As George mentioned, you can find these items at Amazon.com or through Harlan Hogan’s site VoiceOverEssentials.com And George’s site is VOStudioTech.com.
And my friend Bruce Miles points out on the VO-BB that B&H Photo sells a set of bushings that will convert the video mount to a microphone compatible mount, too.

Your voiceover business – Last Day reminder

General, Getting started in Voiceover

Two things both related to the Harlan Hogan and Dan O’Day teleseminar classes that start next week:

1. Today is the LAST DAY to register for Harlan Hogan’s “STARTING YOUR VOICEOVER BUSINESS: Everything You Need To Know To Turn Your Dream Or Your Sideline Into A Business” teleseminar class. One year ago exactly I had given notice at my corporate job and had left that safe and comfortable position on May 1st. The following Monday I started taking last year’s version of these teleseminars. I paid the same price everyone else did to attend and I’m very glad I did.

You see, even though I had been working full-time at my voiceover business for several years, while also holding down a full time corporate job, I knew that there was a lot I still didn’t know about the business part of the voiceover business. It was because I wanted to have the best possible foundation to this adventure of only working in voiceover that I signed up for the class. I drew valuable ideas from every one of the teleseminars. I put at least some of those ideas to work in the last year and my business has grown even during what has been a very tough economy for us all.

So, if you want to start your journey on this path I’ve been walking for a year now, your last opportunity to sign up for this year’s class is today. Registration ends when today ends.

You’ll find all the details at TheVoiceoverClass.com

And if you do sign up for the class, and you happen to mention in the comments section at the bottom of the registration page that you signed up because you read about the class here on my blog, I’ll get a commission from Harlan and Dan. The price will be the same for you whether you mention me or not so if you don’t want me to get the commission, don’t mention me.

2. Dan O’Day has just published a video that directly challenges the beliefs and mindsets of quite a few people in the voiceover community. He doesn’t pull any punches. In fact, he’ll probably get some hate mail in response.

Personally, I think every voiceover person should view this video. But there’s one catch: Dan says he’s going to take the video down tonight. He’s leaving it up for less than a day. Please click on this link, watch the video, and let me know what you think.

A view from the other side

General, People

I received a very nice note the other day from Dianne Russell, asking if I would consider posting the following on my blog. It’s her view of life with a voice actor and I found it very interesting. I hope you will too. (Dianne originally posted this on her blog, here.)

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Living with a voice actor is a privilege few people can profess to have experienced. It is a life like no other – a constantly changing whirlwind of auditory dreams and fantasies, occasionally peppered with startling aural hallucinations.

For a person who requires a partner of certain steadiness and a routine of relative constancy, the lair of a voice actor is not one to call home. For those who shy away from strangers, the home of a voice actor will be sure to trigger social anxiety attacks of the third kind. For those who love to luxuriate in peace and quiet, a voice actor’s den of sound will over-stimulate to the point of mania.

For you see, a voice actor is not a normal person, and a voice actor’s home is not a normal home. A voice actor is a montage of characters, some known, some not yet known (and others hopefully never known!). A voice actor’s home is a non-stop, live-action theatre, and one never knows what or who lurks behind the studio door. I live with a voice actor, and though my life has been far richer for it, it is not a life for the average soul. 

The man behind the VOICE.

My day begins and ends with voices – voices in strange languages, accents, speech impediments, dialects and sub-dialects of every kind; voices of all ages, races, social and educational levels, and even genders; funny voices, ridiculous voices, so-freaking-sexy-that-I can’t concentrate-on-making-breakfast voices, evil voices, irritating, nails-on-chalkboard voices, angry voices, whispering voices, screeching voices, gay as in pride parade voices…I’ve almost heard it all. However, when I truly do think I’ve heard it all, I am quickly put in my place and proven wrong.

When I open the studio door to deliver the morning cup of coffee, I brace myself lest I be vocally assaulted and subsequently cover myself in second-degree burns. Who will be sitting in front of the microphone when I round the corner?

A snivelling old Eastern European man, bitter with loneliness and the pain of having lost the only love he ever had, describing the soothing relief of a new and improved anti-itch cream?

A zombie-lizard with a Pan-African accent (with maybe a hint of Nigerian dictator), bellowing to his pelican underlings that the lions are coming and war is imminent? 

I Love my Voice Actor!

A giggling gay TV talk show host, tittering about the fabulous new Manolo Blahniks Helena Christiansen was sporting at the opening of her new documentary, Old Models Gone Wild?

A South Asian jeweller, praising the new ruby bindis that have arrived with the spring collection?

A Zulu ultimate fighter, chanting in actual Zulu? (To hear the Zulu, check this out: http://gamevoices.ning.com/video/video/listForContributor?screenName=2knke6h2qepqv). 

Or maybe I’ll find a frantic, nasal-sounding Chinese noodle cook, shouting at an ungrateful customer on the streets of Jersey.

Or, even better, there will be a lion. Not a man, but a startlingly real, snarling, growling, rogue African lion, ready to pounce on the first whiff of fear.

Besides the auditory collage of characters I encounter in the studio (and occasionally in the hallway, kitchen, and yes, even the bedroom), I am also exposed to an extraordinary amount of information. Yes, that’s right; living with a voice actor is more educational and less expensive than an American college education. From commercials to cartoons, audio books to ringbacks, museum narrations to CNN specials, corporate training videos to documentaries, I am hit by a barrage of information – both wanted and unwanted – every single day.

I have discovered organic haemorrhoid creams and environmentally friendly motor oils, deeply moving audio books about the holocaust and stunning short art films, socially responsible online games and management seminars on non-discriminatory hiring practices. With upwards of 30 different auditions happening every day, the volumes of information to which I am involuntarily exposed (I suspect some will argue that this is completely voluntary, but for creative purposes, I decline to agree) is mind-numbing. 

Just Imagine…

So back to the bedroom. As one might suspect, one of the best parts of living with a voice actor is that it is never boring – and that also includes life in the voice actor’s boudoir. With a different man in your house every day, and often (sometimes by special request, sometimes by surprise) a different man in your bed at night, the stimulation is nonstop. “Talk dirty to me, baby” comes with its own menu. Fantasizing about Julio Iglesias? Dying to make out with Sean Connery? Or maybe your personal kink is the Swedish Chef. (And for you freaks out there, ordering the rogue African lion or the zombie-lizard for a nightcap is disturbingly hot.)

Whatever or whoever gets you through the night, living with a voice actor can bring you closer to the stars.

Despite perks of the sexual variety, voice acting is a tough gig that requires more motivation and drive than I ever imagined. Starting early in the morning, finishing late at night, and working on and off throughout the day, my voice artist works bloody hard to respond to the droves of incoming auditions. An internet-mining expert, he can find the most obscure voice jobs which he painstakingly records, edits, invoices and sends back to the source in as short as 20 minutes or as long as 20 hours. 

Some people say that earning $500 for a two-minute commercial is ridiculous, but the amount of time spent auditioning and editing would put most nine-to-fivers to shame. 

The mortal enemy – NOISE.

As for me, I have learned that although my mate is at home all day, I must be wary of all possible noise disruptions – noise is the mortal enemy of the voice actor. When the studio door is closed, I tiptoe through the house, rather enjoying the fact that cleaning the kitchen will have to wait, yet again, lest I interrupt the recording by clanking a glass or slamming a cupboard.

Sometimes, when the sounds coming from the studio send me into hysterics, I smother my face in a pillow or stuff my mo
uth with the nearest dishcloth to keep from shrieking with laughter.

There are other issues as well. Hypochondria takes on a whole new meaning in a voice actor’s house as any disruption to vocal cord function due to a cold or sore throat could result in thousands of lost dollars. Slippery Elm powder is as much a household basic as dishwashing liquid and bedroom windows are sealed shut at night at the slightest whisper of a cool south-easterly.

Living with a voice actor is a life that not everyone can live. For me, however, it appeals to my lifelong fascination with eccentric creativity and my ADHD-driven hunger for constant stimulation. It also brings me to my knees in gales of laughter, every single day.

Laughing with and at my voice actor is my favorite thing on earth. I can’t wait to see who or what I find in the studio tomorrow…

To hear my voice actor, check out http://www.adambehr.com

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If you’d like to read more of what Dianne has written, visit her blog Yea, but …