One of the most interesting places to read about voiceover work these days is the blog of Kara Edwards. You’ll find she has the most interesting sort of mind, finding and illustrating connections in all sorts of off-the-beaten-path places.
I linked earlier to a post she did about pig races, but today I direct your attention to the benefits you can find for your voiceover career by studying up on worm poop. Way to go, Kara. You are an endless source of delight, insight and encouragement!
If you have to do any audio processing to your voice tracks, you will likely want to read this exceptionally clear article about audio compression. (My thanks to Jeffrey Kafer for providing a link to this article in a post at the VO-BB.)
I often read Tom Asacker’s blog A Clear Eye, because he has such bright and interesting things to say about marketing. Much of his writing deals with companies much larger than mine (and probably yours); but the insights he offers are very applicable to very small companies like ours in the voiceover business.
Jay the waiter on customer service is the title of a post from Tom that really cuts through the clutter of what it means to provide great customer service.
Highly recommended.
Glenn Reynolds, as you probably know, is the Instapundit and among the very elite in the blogosphere. He and his wife Helen also do a podcast from time to time, which involves recording and microphones and all that other stuff we deal with every day in the world of voiceover. (Well, OK, he doesn’t audition; but other than that!)
Now, you can peek into the Instapundit studio and media room, which has just undergone a significant upgrade. Very nice work, Glenn. And I wish you much continued success with your podcast.
Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, People
One of the greatest joys of being part of the VO-BB community comes from reading the stinging, yet invigorating comments that Philip Banks posts now and then.
I awoke this morning to another, which you’ll find here, and I highly recommend it. Well said, Philip. Thank you.
The good folks at Lit Between the Ears, a blog about audio drama, have interviewed me. You can read the post here.
Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, People
Don’t we all. But, of course, patience is learned by practicing it…over the long haul. And can’t be gained instantly. My friend Brian Haymond applies this point very well to our work in the voiceover field in his latest blog post.
Read. Learn. Practice. Repeat.
Dan Lenard does a nice job of answering a question about real time audio via the Internet and other means on the Master VO blog. I’ll add only that if you want to check them out, here are links to SourceConnect, AudioTX, and iSpeek.
The VOICE 2007 conference at the end of this month (March) in Las Vegas is being sponsored in part by AFTRA. This is, I think, a good thing for two reasons. One, it will be good to hear from union officials in attendance why membership in AFTRA is, or at least can be, important. But, perhaps more importantly, because AFTRA didn’t start encouraging their members to attend VOICE 2007 until very recently, the organizers of VOICE 2007 have extended the deadline for registering at the lowest price until March 10th. So, you still have a few days to get your registration in. If you’re on the fence, jump off. Join us.
(Update: You’ll also find information at Vox Daily. My thanks to Stephanie for her encouragement and comments.)
Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, People
Reap a potentially huge reward. Now, let me clarify, I’m promising you nothing but practical, useful and highly usable guidance. And it will cost you $49.00.
What am I talking about? There’s a new Break Into Voice Over teleseminar coming up on Saturday, March 3, 2007. Yes, just a couple of days from now (as I type this post), so you have little time to sign up. Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino are presenting this teleseminar, just like the one I took part in a few weeks ago. (Full disclosure, I’m currently studying with Nancy.)
The teleseminar starts at 10:00 AM Pacific, 1:00 PM Eastern, 6:00 PM UK time. There will be 90 minutes of presentation and then 30 minutes of Q & A. Whether you’re brand new or a working professional, I think you’ll find a lot of benefit in these 2 hours.
Sign-up details are at BreakIntoVoiceover.com. Go. Register. Learn. I think you’ll see the $49.00 as a great investment in your future. I know I do since I took part in a similar teleseminar a few weeks ago.
If you’re going to register for VOICE 2007 at the lowest rate, you now have only about 24 hours left (or less, depending on when you’re reading this) to get it done. More than 100 of your peers are going to be there soaking up all kinds of voiceover business goodness. Don’t you think you should be there too? Register here. I look forward to seeing you there in Las Vegas in less than a month.
When I started working with Nancy Wolfson last week (you can read about that experience just a few posts below this one) she told me that she was going to be (as she put it) bugging me constantly, now. I believed her, of course, because you can just tell Nancy is not the kind of person to make idle promises.
So, in the last few days, she’s forwarded me another audition opportunity and written two other very encouraging notes. Both auditions, by the way, have been with The Big Fish Voice Company, an agency that really has its act together in this changing landscape of voiceover work in the 21st century. I’m very grateful that in addition to receiving my two auditions, they’ve also asked me to send them my demos. Whew!
Mary McKitrick has written some thoughtful and very worthwhile comments about accents and “funny” voices on her blog. I highly recommend you take a few minutes to read her post.
Tim McLaughlin has been keeping a sharp eye on the Google Audio Ads program. He offers some thoughts on his blog about what to expect from a parting of the ways between Google and CBS.
Marc Cashman has written a thoughtful suggestion for those many times when you’re about to read a piece of copy that lists your part as “Announcer.” You’ll find his thoughts in this post at the Vox Daily blog.
A little earlier today I took part in my first training class with Nancy Wolfson. Part of this initial class was her evaluation of my main commercial demo. Now, first a little context.
Near the end of the teleseminar presented by Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino, a few weeks ago, Nancy was given a demo submitted by one of the participants of the teleseminar. She offered a live, no-holds-barred evaluation of the demo and it was very direct, very honest and (for the lady whose demo was featured) very tough to hear, I’m sure. Especially since the first, very direct, critique happened only 4 seconds into the demo playback.
So, I had prepared myself that I would likely have a similar experience today. We said hello and almost immediately got into the demo evaluation. I could hear over the phone line as Nancy started playing my demo. 4 seconds in and she hadn’t stopped for anything yet. 10 seconds. 20 seconds. 30 seconds. 50 seconds. 60 seconds and it had played all the way through, without stopping. Nancy’s exact words at this point?
“Wow!”
She played the demo a second time. Again, no stopping. Her exact words?
“Wow!”
So I said, “I hope that’s a good wow?”
“Yes! You have to promise me something.”
“OK.”
“Don’t spend a nickel fixing that demo.”
To say that I was amazed and stunned is a major understatement. Here I was, all keyed up for a severe time in the woodshed and instead, compliments. And from a teacher for whom I already had a huge amount of respect because of all the things that my friends Blaine Parker and Kristine Oller had told me about what an excellent teacher Nancy is. As I type this, I’m still tingling from the pleasant shock.
So that was the first 5 to 10 minutes of our 50 minutes. We then talked about some of my background and work. I told her about my excellent experiences with my current agents (The Talent Group in Pittsburgh and Cleveland) and eventually I asked Nancy about looking for additional agents as I search for more voiceover work. I told her how terrible I usually am on the phone and she said “Good, because that’s not what you want to be doing.”
She then told me that she never does this (Her words, “OK, actually I’ve done it once before.”) and then she emailed me an audition opportunity with an agency in Denver. Which I have, of course, already recorded, (carefully following the directions for slating, file naming and emailing) and have sent along to that agency. I may be a little slow at times, but I’m not stupid. When a rare opportunity pops into my pathway, I’m going to grab it and run with it. Which is just what I’ve done.
Now, does this mean I’ve arrived and I can just sit back and wait for people to pile sacks of money at my door? Of course not. But, in the last few years one of the key ingredients I’ve learned that we voiceover people need is confidence. The certainty that we can, in fact, deliver the goods when we’re called on to do so. Today’s experience with Nancy has given me a huge boost of confidence. Huge.
So, what does this mean for you? Well, I certainly can’t promise an identical experience in your first class with Nancy that I had. But, if you’re serious about pursuing voiceover work, I already believed that Nancy Wolfson is the person with whom you should study. And have written about that here before. Everything that happened today just reinforced that conviction. Here’s the single biggest reason: because Nancy isn’t just about teaching voiceover techniques, though you’ll get plenty of that. She takes an overarching approach to starting a voiceover business.
Then, it’s up to you. And yes, that means it’s up to me, too.
ACTOR’S TOOL-KIT #5
TELL ME A STORY
by Bob Fraser
One of the questions I get asked frequently relates to something that most actors face … interviewing with agents, managers and casting directors.
Here’s how a typical letter reads;
Dear Bob,
I met with an agent yesterday and the first thing she said was “Tell me about yourself.” So I told her what my credits were, where I went to school, people I knew in the business and so on. She didn’t really listen. She said she’d let me know. I already know. She’s not interested. What did I do wrong?
What am I supposed to say when they say, “Tell me about yourself.”
Signed,
Frustrated
Dear Frustrated,
Whatever you do, DO NOT recite your resume, where you went to school, the people you know and so on. Always keep in mind the kind of work you want to do …
STORY TELLING
In the case of an agent, you are interviewing a prospective salesperson for your business. It’s your job to convince a thoroughly professional salesperson (an agent) that representing your product (you) is going to produce a lot of income.
An agent’s income depends on finding, representing and selling the best story tellers he can find. An agent learns quickly how to spot the ‘comers’ and ignore the ‘wannabes.’ The major criteria is this:
Is this actor a good story teller?
The observable reality? No agent can tell if you are a good story teller unless she sees you telling a story. That opening gambit – “tell me about yourself” – is an agent’s way of saying; ‘tell me a story.’
If you don’t comply with this request, agents become like five year olds; ‘tell me a story, tell me a story, tell me a story.’
These repetitive requests come in the guise of: “I see you went to Carnegie Tech.” “So, you’re from Connecticut.” “Oh, you worked with Woody Allen?.”
When you hear this kind of thing it’s just the agent trying to get the ‘test drive’ started. They want you to tell them a story.
KEEP THEIR ATTENTION
Okay, now that you know what’s really going on, it’s time to discover what your response should be – the next time you hear those words; “Tell me about yourself.”
What you should do is simple … TELL A STORY.
Go through your real life experiences and start creating narratives about yourself. If you have to bend the truth a bit to keep the interest up, then so be it. Fiction is our business.
(Don’t make up credits or relationships.)
For instance, let us suppose that you have only one credit in a community theater production of “Sally Of The Sawdust” – and you only had two lines as Cannonball Bill. The beginning of your story might be something along these lines:
“Well, I made my first entrance on to a stage in an unusual way – I was shot from a cannon.” (This is what we in the fiction business call a “grabber.”)
Now spin out a story where there’s a little suspense, a little joke, a little pay-off of some kind;
“One night we had an understudy who was supposed to say one line after I got shot onto the stage. He was supposed to say. “Hark I hear the cannon roar!” He was pretty nervous because he’d never been on stage before.
“Anyway, when I got shot out of the cannon with a large bang, the understudy was startled and he said, “What the hell was that?”
Don’t forget the drama! This is a scene you are playing for the agent. Rehearse it. Practice it. Play it.
Tell a story that keeps the agent interested in the outcome and you’ll go a long ways toward convincing the agent that you are a comer.
By the way, when I say create a narrative, I’m not talking about lying – I’m talking about taking the stories in your own life and making them memorable. Dramatic! Hilarious! Exciting! Suspenseful!
Now practice telling your stories in such a way that the agent can’t wait for the next line. Believe me, once you ‘hook’ an agent with a well-told story, you will get what you came for; representation.
In other words, sell the salesman.
The same advice goes for casting directors. They are the personnel department of the company you hope to work for. The same idea applies.
Tell a story.
1. Get several good stories in your repertoire.
2. Practice telling them.
This is basic, bottom-line preparation. If you don’t have stories to tell, you are going to suffer through a lot of needless rejection.
So the next time you hear, “Tell me about yourself.” you know all you have to do is be prepared to tell a story. Make it a good story, practice telling it, listen for the cue line and go.
Your positive results will soar.
NEXT INSTALLMENT: DO YOU NEED AN AGENT?
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PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You may reprint articles from Actor’s Tool-Kit, on your website or electronic newsletter.
However, in order to comply with my copyright, you must also include the following paragraph with your reprint:
“Reprinted from ACTOR’S TOOL KIT, the email course just for subscribers of Show Biz How-To — The Free Actor’s Monthly. Get your own free subscription by going to: showbizhowto.com.
Copyright © 2006 Bob Fraser Productions All Rights Reserved”
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As I type this post, I’m listening to the Voicey Awards Special episode of VOX Talk and just heard Kara Edwards get the award for best new voice. Good for you, Kara. You’re on your way!
When you listen to the podcast, you’ll hear all of the winners. (Edit: Or check out the list at the Vox Daily blog.) A hearty congratulations to one and all.
(Update: Check out the press release about Kara’s award.)
I’m always delighted when I run across another voiceover blog or podcast, because I want to provide links here to as many voiceover resources as possible. So, with thanks to my friend Joe for the link in the first post of this thread at the VO-BB.com, I’d like to point you to the Everything Acting Podcast, and specifically this episode featuring voiceover coach Joan Baker.