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Career Advice

Battling mouth noise

Career Advice, General, People, Tools

Mouth noises are a major problem for some voiceover talents, a minor problem for others; but everyone deals with the problem some of the time. The subject came up during an exchange with my friend Brian Haymond today. Brian, by the way, is a very talented voiceover guy as you can hear from his demos which are on his home page. (By the way, Brian blogs here and here.)

Brian and I were discussing audiobooks and he made the following comment:

I just know how many times I have to re-record something because mouth noise or something has gotten into the recording. I’m probably much pickier on that stuff than most…I try to provide crystal clear audio even though virtually all of the time there will be a music bed. But when it comes to audio book…my goodness, I bet the audio has to be pristine as well?

Brian,

Yes, the audio has to be really clean because while there are musical bridges and such, the majority of the time it’s just you in your listener’s headphones or car audio or iPod or whatever.

There are ways to minimize mouth noise, stuff that I learned at the audiobook class with Pat Fraley this summer. I take breaks when I need to. Keep a bottle of filtered water (cool but not ice cold) near and have at it. My wife sits in and listens while I record, so if I flub a word or miss something she can tell me. I just do a quick pick-up and keep going. I don’t make a huge number of mistakes so an hour of recording takes maybe an hour and 15 to an hour and 20 minutes to complete.

Then, I make a pass through the audio to clean up the pick-ups and any obvious problems. Save it into segments about 20 minutes long each and upload the uncompressed audio to my web server. The publisher downloads the files, lets me know when he’s got them all. They take care of all of final mastering and production.

Wow!!! Yea, I use an apple (really is a life saver on mouth noise), I always have room temp water (I drink about 80 ounces a day). That’s a great idea to have your wife sit in!!! Love it!
Brian

Brian,

It’s so helpful to have someone there to catch what you miss and saves a ton of punch-in and/or audio replacement time afterward.

I used to use the apple thing, but Pat Fraley gave us this little misting bottle with filtered water in it at the audiobook seminar I attended in LA. A couple of squirts as you start a session and mouth-noise-be-gone. Amazing. That, having my wife sit in with me and keeping your mouth open between sentences are the three tips that have made the biggest difference since I got back from California in July.

Now those are some cool tips…I will log that into my “keeper” file…thanks!! Question: Misting is better than just taking a drink?

Brian,

The way Pat and Hillary explained is that…mouth noises are created by the little bits of saliva in the corners of our mouths. Drinking water doesn’t really deal with that. The misting does because it applies a small amount of water directly to the area creating the noise.

Be well,
Bob

I’m sure you can find these little plastic misting bottles at a dollar store or pretty much any place that sells cosmetics and the like. If you find this suggestion helpful, leave a comment and let me know.

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I’m happy to answer questions

Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover

Of course, sometimes in takes a while to get an answer. Just ask my friend Glenn. He waited over 6 months before I finally took the time to give him a thoughtful response. But, Noel, who wrote to me a few days ago, prompted some thoughts about Voice123.com (which is what he was asking about specifically) and about Internet casting sites in general.

I’ve asked his permission to use his emails for this blog post. Here’s his first.

Hello Bob;

I am a fellow VO at Voice123.com. I am writing to you because your testimonials at V123 led me to view your very impressive profile. – Awesome dude! Although I have made a living at industrial sales for most of my life, I truely want to break in to the VO business. I won’t bore you with details but I do feel the need to ask someone with your credentials and experience in the business for some advice. So, in a nutshell; I have an AKG Perception200 mike and a pc laptop with a free audio recording program called Audacity- no, I cannot hear myself as I record, so I playback quite a bit. I’ve taken some short course workshops in VO and came out of it with a professional studio demo CD. Since I joined V123 last February, I have submitted over 200 demos. Although I came close on a small handfull, I still haven’t gotten even one gig. What am I doing wrong? Is my voice that bad? Should I add music and effects over a dry read demo? Is V123 the wrong place for me? Anything you can tell me would be much appreciated and well taken. I pray that someone of your caliber can tell me something that I just don’t know.

Best Regards,
Noel

Noel,

Hello. Thank you for your kind words. I’d be happy to provide you with a bit of advice, but you should probably remember that it’s only worth what you’re paying for it.
First, after reading your email I found your Voice123.com listing and listened to your demos. Good work. Clearly you have talent. Now you have to examine yourself and determine how serious you are about this business. Because that’s what it is, a business.

You’ve worked in sales, so you know that you’re not going to close every call, especially not every cold call. Now, imagine that at about the same time you made one of those cold calls, 150 other sales people (with varying levels of experience and ability) are also making a cold call on that client. How likely are you to make the sale under those circumstances? Especially because the client’s final decision isn’t always going to be based on price, but often on his or her perception of which sales person can deliver the goods. This, I think, is a pretty fair analogy for your situation with Voice123.com. It’s not that you’ve done something wrong or that your voice is bad. It’s that you don’t match up exactly with what the client is looking for.

Second, the only way to grow and improve is to practice, study, and practice some more. You should read aloud every day. If you have young children, read to them. If you don’t, just read aloud to yourself: web sites, newspapers, books, whatever. And when you’re reading aloud, practice communicating more than just the words. Practice communicating the story or idea contained by those words. (For example, read this email aloud to yourself.)

Third, you have decent equipment. As time and work permits, make some strategic additions to your tool kit. I highly recommend you join the VO-BB.COM community. And then spend time reading through the archives. Since I joined in July, I’ve made it through about 30 percent of their archives, reading every post. I’ve already gained tremendously by doing so. You’ll get ideas of gear you might want to put on your shopping list someday, things to avoid and lots of different opinions. And many valuable insights into how to grow your talent and experience. (You’ll find some of my reactions to a few in the posts on this blog, too.)

Fourth, keep studying. As you can tell from my profile, I study every year. My first professional voiceover was recorded in 1974, and I’ve been working steadily in voiceovers since 1983. But, I know there’s much more for me to learn. I don’t ever want to allow myself to get complacent. Is Voice123.com right for you? I can’t answer that question for you. But, it might help you to know that I’ve done over 800 auditions there in the last 2 years. I’ve booked less than a 100 of those jobs. But, I look at my Voice123.com membership fee as advertising money. And I only respond to the auditions from which I want to get cast. Which means that I’ve NOT responded to over a 1000 auditions in the same 2 years. So, my testimonial for Voice123.com is more true today that when I wrote and sent it to them over a year ago.

Keep in mind there are other sites where you can put your demo. Some of them are more cost effective than Voice123.com. For example, voiceoverdirectory.com has a category for New Talent in their database. I’m not a member there, so I can’t speak to how good a site they are, but you can check. Also, Voices.com offers a level at only $100. As does CommercialVoices.com, I believe.

I hope these comments are helpful to you. Please feel free to write again, if there’s anything else I can answer or help with.

Be well,
Bob Souer

Noel resonded to those comments:

Hello Bob,

Thank you for your timely reply – The mark of a true professional!

And, thank you for taking the time to check out my demos. Compliments most appreciated. You have confirmed my initial impression – that V123 is a Monster.com of the VO world and I may not be a fit to every job description. I cannot imagine how someone that is not accustomed to rejection can stay alive in this industry. All the same, I must admit to a bit of recent discouragement and dissappointment myself. I’ve never experienced this degree of rejection – what a beating. V123 however is probably one of the best places to cut my ‘eye teeth’ in this business. I do read aloud daily (I’ve got a little one for bedtime stories – at my old age) and I do practice voice drills daily as well.

I will check out the websites, blogs and archives that you have referred me to, join and post my demo. I will keep reading and learning. I want to know every detail that all the successfull VOs do and then do it myself. Your advice has helped me know where to find it.

If you think of anything else, feel free to send it along.

Best Regards and Big Thanks,
Noel Gibilaro

Noel,

Not only are you not a fit to every job description, you’re not a fit to most job descriptions and neither am I (by fit I mean an exact match). Here’s how I look at it:

It’s not a competition for a job against all of the other voiceover people auditioning. The client is selecting the right voice, the right sound, the right interpretive ability to match what they need. Sometimes, I’m the match. Sometimes you are. In those cases, the only thing preventing you or me from getting that respective job is if the client doesn’t know about me, or you. And that’s not the client’s fault. It’s mine, or yours, as the case may be. So, I don’t look at an audition from which I don’t get cast as rejection. I look at it more the way Michaelangelo answered the question of how he knew when he approached a new block of marble from which he hoped to carve a statue. “I just remove everything that’s not the statue.” When I don’t get cast, I’m just removing another bit that’s not part of my paying work.

And there are even times when I’m the match, but I don’t want that job. Maybe the subject is something I’m not comfortable with morally, or politically or for whatever reason. Maybe the budget isn’t enough for me to bother with. Whatever. In that case, the client is going to have to settle for someone else, who maybe isn’t as good of a match as I would have been. But, assuming they hire a professional, they’re going to be happy with what they get.

98 percent of your job is finding the paying sessions that give you the income you need to pay the bills. The other 2 percent you’ll actually be in the studio getting paid for your time. Think I’m exaggerating? Wait and see.

I wish you much success, in whatever manner you describe it. (The fact that you’re already reading and practicing every day tells me you have a better than even shot at getting somewhere.)
A final thought. Spend 1 to 2 weeks lurking and reading before you begin to post anything on VO-BB.COM. I think you’ll be glad you took the time to learn the ropes.

Be well,
Bob

And I hope these thoughts are of value to you, too, dear reader. I have more to say on the subject of Internet casting sites like Voices.com and Voice123.com, but that will have to wait for another day for a complete post. Meanwhile, you can check out this thread at the Voiceover Bulletin Board for some thoughts worth reading. A few of them are from me.

(note: some of the email correspondence has been edited to correct grammatical or factual errors.)

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A few excellent ideas

Blogging, Career Advice, General, People

Brian Haymond has been blogging about voiceover here for a few weeks now and has just added a secong blog to his roster focused on podcasts, promos, commercials, imaging, TV, video and narration.

But, it’s his first blog to which I want to call your attention today, because Brian offers some very useful and practical suggestions of things to do in between your times of finding work and actually doing voiceovers. I’m going to implement some of his suggestions immediately (a few I’ve already been doing) and you should probably think about doing the same.

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Something cool happened today (updated)

Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, People

If you’ve read any significant number of my archived posts, you’ve noticed that I think very highly of Pat Fraley as a voiceover coach. In fact, he and Dick Orkin have been the two teachers with the greatest influence on my voiceover work. (Not that I’m worthy to even carry the shoes of either of these guys, but I am deeply grateful for what they’ve taught me.)

So, what was the cool thing? Susan Berkley, by all that I’ve heard a very fine teacher and voiceover talent herself, sent me an email asking if she could use a quote from me about Pat; as part of her promotion of an upcoming Audiobook Master Class with Pat to be held in New York in early November.
Well of course, I said, “Yes!” and thanked her. I also recorded a copy of my comments and sent them to her in case she wants to use the audio on her site as well as the text.

Now, I haven’t studied with Susan, but as I said, she has a very good reputation. And Pat is one of the real masters in not only delivering the goods himself in the studio, but also in teaching others how to develop. If you live on the East Coast and you’ve wanted to study with Pat Fraley, and especially if you’re interested in pursuing audiobook narrations, this is a great opportunity. Click here for the information page about the class.

Oh, the quote?

The Audiobook Master Class presented by Pat Fraley was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was really 3 master classes in one. Having now attended three training events with Pat Fraley, I strongly recommend you jump at your next chance to take one of his classes. The price of the event was worth every penny based what I learned. I’ve just been signed by an audiobook publisher (science fiction, one of my personal favorite genres) and I completed my first project for them last night.

Bob Souer, Voice Over Talent, Charlotte, NC

(edited to fix typos and updated with the link to Susan’s Audiobook class page)

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The voiceover advantage

Career Advice, General

My friend Anthony Garcia blogs at A Day in the Life of a Persuasion Architect, along with several other talented folks including Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg.

A couple of days ago in a post on the blog, Anthony made a point about the reality that the best designed web site in the world can’t hold a candle to the full-body experience of a real live brick-and-mortar store. But, there is one advantage to the online world, words. Well written web pages can create atom-splitting mental images.

I’m pointing you to this blog post because I want you to realize that you have the responsiblity to make this idea take life when you read the copy you’ve been cast to read. Your performance can either bring those words to life and it can suck the life right out of them. Are you ready to deliver a life-enchancing performance?

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How much is a voiceover worth?

Career Advice, General

This question came to mind this evening as I was reading Brian Haymond’s blog, and in particular this post. His comments center around two of the key online voiceover casting services, Voices.com and Voice123.com. Brian quotes some sample lines from emailed leads from these services.

“Best price gets first consideration”…”Budget is $50″…”Small budget but lots of volume”…”2 hours of finished audio, budget $150″…the list goes on and on and on!

And as Brian notes there are misconcpetions about what a voiceover is worth.

$100 a minute is more than a doctor makes

But, the central point of Brian’s post is that professional voiceover services are just that, professional.

This work can’t be performed by just anyone. [snip] you wouldn’t check with your friend who is a vet and ask if he can cut you a deal on removing your bad tooth.

The main problem is that real professionals make voiceover work sound like it’s nothing more than talking. Just like professional actors make their performances seem completely transparent. So, anyone even remotely interested in voiceover work is lulled into thinking anyone can do it. Hey, after all, everybody knows how to talk, right?

Yes, but not everybody knows how to speak well. I have a dear friend who still doesn’t know how to to use “seen” and “saw” correctly. Wonderful person. Just not that great with some aspects of grammar. And that’s at least part of the point here. Professional voiceover work should be invisible. And people who are really good at getting out of the way and letting the story tell itself, they get paid well for their work.

So, if you’re just looking for a cheap voice, you’re welcome to stay and read as much as you like. Write comments if you like. But, I’m not the cheapest voice you’re going to find. My solution to the emails that Brian quoted above? I hit the delete button and move on.

It doesn’t really trouble me that people audition for and take jobs with low budgets. Because this isn’t competition. It’s about giving clients the opportunity to choose the right voice and the right talent for their job.

There will continue to be lots of work at that low budget level and the folks interested in it will get that work, but I will continue not to worry about it because I’m deleting those projects and concentrating on the opportunities coming from people looking for real professionals.

Eventually people with serious money on the line will learn that you can’t get professional work from someone who charges that kind of rate and will adjust their budgets accordingly. And when they do, I (and Brian, a host of other talented folks, some of whom are linked here on the left) will be here ready to deliver the goods.

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Interview 2, Dan Nachtrab

Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, Interviews, People

This post is the second of what I hope to be a significant number of interviews with people I think you need to meet, and who have valuable and important advice and comments.

We’re talking this time with Dan Nachtrab because he has a real handle on the business side of this business. In addition he’s a very talented guy (you can listen to his demos here to see what I mean), but if you haven’t picked up on this yet; while voiceover can be a hobby for a long time; if you’re going to pursue it as a career, you have to look at it as the business it is. As you’ll see, Dan has some worthwhile insights.

My first question for Dan: Compared to what you thought it would be like, what has been the most unexpected aspect of being a voiceover talent?

Dan: A while back my father shared a thought with me. “One day,” he said, “the business will overtake your art.” He was right. There are many steps in keeping your business in line. I had to stop treating VO as a hobby and push myself to make it my business.

My second question for Dan: Why do you pursue voiceover work rather than something else? Have you at times in the past? If so, what?

Dan: Why does a fish swim? I truly believe, in my heart, I was born for this line of work. Even when I strayed from the VO path and accepted a couple “real” jobs, like selling copiers, I kept my foot in the “VO door.” A gig here, a gig there. The best part about the sales job was that I learned how to communicate with all types of people and cold call prospective clients. That experience helped me immensely in pursuing voiceover.

My third question: What was the sequence that led to your concentration on voiceover now? What precipitated the change?

Dan: First, let me say this: Every time I crack open the mic, I try to better myself from the last time. There is never a throwaway line for me. So, I guess I can say I have always concentrated on VO. It is an art, and I will always be a student.

Now, on to how I got to where I am now…

After the sales job, I tried my hand at radio management. I was promoted five times in three and a half years from weekend talk show host to assistant program director for three stations to marketing director. I was educated in organization, management of personnel and marketing. During that time, I had acquired a few large voiceover clients. Soon after, radio and I parted ways, and the voiceover business became my “bread and butter.” All of the skills I used while in management, I use everyday in VO.

Believe it or not, the fantastic people at VO-BB.COM gave me the confidence to make the jump. I answered “yes” to five of the six questions Frank Frederick posted (in the linked thread) and knew it was time.

My fourth question: How do you deal with rejection?

Dan: I don’t. First rule in acting is to audition and then forget the audition ever took place. If you get the call back, great! If you don’t, you will not be devastated about not getting the gig. Auditioning is serious business. Some say it is the business. If you can’t handle yourself in a professional manner while under pressure to perform, if you can’t take criticism or direction, or if you get upset when someone doesn’t like your voice, then you shouldn’t be in this business.

My fifth question: Taking the other side of my first question, what (if anything) has turned out to be most like your expectations, going in?

Dan: Chicks dig it. Seriously, my wife and daughter couldn’t be more proud. They often wake up and see the old man sitting in his underwear cutting a narration for the United States Department of Defense. It is a pretty sight.

My sixth question: To the degree that you’re comfortable, describe your process of finding work? Are there things you concentrate on? What works better than others? What are you not going to repeat?

Dan: Right now, having three agents helps a lot. Also, whenever I have a client with whom I really get along, I will simply ask if they know anyone who may need my services. Most likely they do and they provide their names and numbers. The great thing about this tactic is that you have an immediate reference from your current client and an icebreaker with the new client. (I was taught this strategy while working in sales.)

In addition, I will not randomly mail out CD demos. A phone call to the prospective client can save you a lot of money and time. How can you otherwise guarantee that the agency deals with VO and isn’t merely a print agency?

My seventh question: Has anything memorably embarrassing ever happened to you in the booth? If so, what happened?

Dan: Nothing too embarrassing, per se. Although, a few laughs have been shared over jokes I wouldn’t repeat to my mother. (And no, I will not take a follow-up question.)

No problem, Dan. No follow-up is needed for that one!

My thanks to Dan Nachtrab for taking time from his busy schedule to answer all of these questions. There’s a link to Dan’s main site above (as well as on my voiceover blogroll to the left), and to his blog about voiceover here.

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The 3 C’s of auditioning

Career Advice, General, People

Bonnie Gillespie is a casting director (mainly for independent films) in Los Angeles. She also writes a must read column every Monday called The Actor’s Voice. Seriously, you should read her every Monday.

This week’s column is a case in point, and though she’s writing about auditioning for on camera work in film or television, the principles apply precisely the same way in the voiceover world.

You have to have the right character or voice for the part. You have to make the right choices about the way you approach the audition script. And you have to be committed to those choices. Exceptionally good stuff, Bonnie.

And yes, the previous post is also about Bonnie and her book, Self – Management for Actors. So, if you can afford a few bucks, buy her book; but even if you can’t read The Actor’s Voice, on-line.

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The most useful book you’ll read on voiceover this year

Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover

And it’s not even a book about voiceover! It’s called Self – Management for Actors and it’s written by Bonnie Gillespie. Her Actor’s Voice column is must reading every Monday. And her book, Self – Management for Actors, gives you the kind of practical and useful information you need in order to approach the business of voiceover as both a business and an art. Do you get the idea? I think this will be the best under $20 purchase you’ll make this year.

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Do what you want to do

Blogging, Career Advice, General, People

How do you measure success? How do you know when you’ve “made it,” what ever “it” is? These are questions you have to face if you’re going to make a go at the voiceover business.

Drew Haldwall is a talented guy, not only in his voiceover work, but in other creative ways. He’s very gifted in wood craftsmanship. He tells me it’s the combination of work that he finds satisfying.

That’s what works for Drew. What about you? Leave me a comment, if you like. I’d love to hear your answer to that question.

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The PHILIP BANKS system for voiceover marketing

Career Advice, General, People

I often mention and link to people here whom I admire for one reason or another. People like Charlie Glaize, Mary C. McKitrick, Philip Banks, Pat Fraley; and if you read through the archives of my posts long enough you’ll find others.

Why do I admire these folks? Because every one of them has something valuable to teach me and you. Actually, several valuable somethings.

So, then, the system mentioned in the title, as posted on the VO-BB.COM:

Pick up the phone and
Have an
Informal chat with someone who
Looks for voice overs.
Introduce yourself and ask friendly questions
Pay attention to the answers

Bring your web site into the conversation
Ask if they would like to receive a demo CD
Never ask for feedback if you do send one
Keep your interaction friendly
Say thank you for their time

(Philip concludes with this aside: Lucky for me no one believes that it works!)

(Update) Here is another pass by Mr. Banks at this information, from a slightly different point of view:

The quick start programme.

1 Get a list of around 100 telephone numbers of people who use voice overs.

2 Call them. Introduce yourself “Do you ever use freelance voice overs in your productions (assuming yes) Great! May I send you a demo CD? (do not pause) You’re allowed to say no by the way. That’s wonderful.” (Confirm details and say goodbye)

3 At the end of the phone session send the demo’s. Your target is to have sent 50 by the end of this exercise.

4 Give it a few days and then call again. Introduce yourself again. “I spoke to a few days ago and promised I’d send you my voice over demo and I’m just checking in with you to ensure it’s arrived safely”. DO not ask for feed back, do not ask for feed back. When they say yes and usually start to say “but I haven’t had chance to listen….”. Say clearly that you weren’t looking for feedback you were just checking it had arrived, say thanks again and add you look forward to hearing from them. You’re dying to ask for feedback aren’t you? Don’t you [edit] dare!!!

That’s it, end of process. After a few weeks and 50 demo’s if you have not had one person hire you it’s unlikely anyone ever will. If one person hires you that could be luck, if two people hire you then you’re onto something.
(edited to correct typos)

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Taking the leap

Blogging, Career Advice, General, People

Brian Haymond, a very talented fellow voiceover guy, has just started a blog and his first post is well worth your time. Yes, you read that right. A first blog post that’s worth reading. I know. Doesn’t seem possible, but, it’s true. (Mine certainly isn’t. Sheesh.)

But, the main reason it’s worth your time is because in this post, Brian details how he made the leap from working for someone else full-time to doing voiceovers full-time.

(updated to fix typos)

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Interview 1, Mary C. McKitrick

Career Advice, General, Interviews

This post is the first of what I hope to be a significant number of interviews with people I think you need to meet, and who have valuable and important advice and comments.

I’m starting with Mary C. McKitrick because (as may be true of you), she’s not been at this business for a tremendously long time. And because, while she has a lovely voice (you can listen to her demos here to see what I mean), it’s her approach to the voiceover business I most admire.

My first question for Mary: What was it about doing voiceover work that attracted you?

Mary: When I started out, I saw voiceover as a way to develop an interest in accents that goes way back to childhood. I didn’t know that that is a small part of the average voice actor’s work. My first field research in my previous life as an ornithologist was on song and dialects in birds, so I liked the way the new career could tie into the old. Thanks to very targeted marketing, I get to use and develop accents much more than I could even a few months ago.

My second question for Mary: Were you afraid, as you launched out in this new direction?

Mary: If I was, I don’t remember. When it comes to careers, I’ve always been very goal-focused and tend not to pay much attention to what the obstacles might be. I mean, I worry, of course, but I hope it’s productive worrying.

My third question: How have your life experiences, professional and otherwise, influenced your approach to voiceover work?

Mary: In a big way! I come from a science background and was a museum curator for years, so I’ve chosen to specialize in medical narration as well as narration for museum exhibits – along with the character voices and accents which as I mentioned are a long-held interest. I’ve always loved languages and would like to be able to do voice-over in German, French and Spanish too – we’ll see!

My fourth question: How do you deal with all of the rejection?

Mary: What rejection???

But seriously. I know my voice is not right for every, or even most voice-over jobs. But the people who like it, like it a lot. And they are frequently very interesting people who are a joy to work with. So that, plus the fact that it’s fun, keep me going. When times are slow, I know that before long they’ll be busy again, because that’s what has always happened so far.

My fifth question: How do you measure success? Or, how will you know that you’ve “made it” as a voiceover talent?

Mary: I am successful now, because I set out to do voice-over professionally and I’m doing it. I refine my marketing approach all the time, with increasingly positive results. I would like to be making more money, and doing higher profile gigs, but even the “big guys” worry about where their next gig is coming from. As a VO friend of mine put it, as soon as you switch off the mic, you’re unemployed. I try to do all the stuff I need to do to “make it” in this business, and keep the big picture in sight, but also take it one day at a time so I don’t stress too much.

A follow-up question, prompted by her comment about how she will “refine [her] marketing approach all the time”: Can you be more specific about how you refine your marketing? Not so much the details of what you do, but more how you evaluate what to change, how you filter your results so you know which to pursue and which to leave alone?

Mary: One example is in the wording of the emails I send out. I’ve refined my introductory emails a lot since starting out nearly 2 years ago – to emphasize my specialties. The first follow-up email has also changed to make it clear what I’m asking or not asking of the contact. Also I used to contact any production company and any ad agency that did broadcast; now I just focus on my specialties.

My sixth question: Since voiceover work represents a career change for you, do you see this as the likely path for the rest of your life? Or, can you imagine changing directions again?

Mary: I can’t imagine giving up VO, but I can well imagine going in new directions at the same time, since that is actually happening right now. Last summer I had an idea for a documentary and suggested it to a contact of mine who was geographically well situated to develop it. He liked it and suggested we collaborate – this was somebody I had never met and I wasn’t even thinking that I would be involved, it was just an idea I had based on a writing project I was working on a few years ago, and which I offered to him because of his location. The project is one that would require a somewhat elaborate permission process but after many months of working on that, I secured the final permissions last week. So, I am now script-writer and producer for this documentary as well as narrator. That’s something I never imagined would happen and I’m really excited about it and think the subject is one that will be well received. Not saying any more about it right now…

I’m still trying to find more ways for science and education to remain a part of my life, somehow, whether through formal academic teaching or some other avenue. Maybe it will be film-making. I once had a neighbor who was on his third career. Not job – career. All of these had been meaningful and satisfying for him. That really impressed me. Life is short, but for many of us lucky ones it is long enough to enjoy a lot of very interesting experiences. I think it’s important to stay open to that If you have an interest – develop it. You might not ever get to BE an expert on nemertean worms, for example, but maybe you’ll play one on TV

My thanks to Mary C. McKitrick for taking time out of her busy day to answer these questions. There’s a link to Mary’s main web site above (and to the left, in my Voiceover blogroll). Here is where you can read Mary’s voiceover blog.

(this post has been updated to correct typos)

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