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Animation teleseminar with Richard Horvitz and Nancy Wolfson tomorrow

Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, People

Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino have been doing a superb series of teleseminars for the last 3 years and I’ve been there for every one of them. Each has been worth way more than the price of admission. Now comes an opportunity to dig into the topic of voiceover for animation with not only Nancy and Anna, but also the amazingly talented Richard Horvitz.

One look at his website and you’ll see why Richard is the guy who can give you the no-BS inside Animation scoop. He’s going to answer as many questions as he can in 90 minutes, with a promise to do a Part II in the not so distant future.

Exactly and only the Animation Voice Over info that YOU WANT TO KNOW.

Beware: some unpopular realities (better ya know now).
Behold: lots of encouraging truths!

Some of the great questions all ready submitted:

I do a lot of funny voices, shouldn’t I be doing animation??

Are there really only 10 people who do every animation job out there? I’m really good, so how can I break in??

Do I still need an agent? An animation demo? Improv comedy or acting classes? An interesting voice???

How do I get cast in the next Pixar film when celebrities take all the roles?

Seriously, how much money is there in animation?

This animation thing seems like a tough nut to crack, so tell me the action steps I can take NOW to get my animation career going!

This teleseminar taking place at 6:00 PM Pacific / 9:00 PM Eastern tomorrow, Wednesday, January 27, 2010. Sign up now at Nancy and Anna’s site.

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Voice actors, for 72 hours only

Career Advice, General, People

Dan O’Day has released an absolutely briliant MP3 file containing 2 hours and 48 minutes of solid gold about voice acting for advertising from Nancy Wolfson. And if you order during Dan’s 72-Hour special, you’ll be invited to submit your own follow-up question and then receive a free bonus recording of Nancy’s answers to the Top 5 questions asked. Click here and place your order before 11:59 PM Eastern, Friday, January 29, 2010.

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A weekend to remember in LA

General, People

I’ve spent this past weekend with some truly wonderfully talented people “playing full out” to use the term Marice Tobias uses and learning how to raise my voiceover work to the next level.

I always have at least one “aha” moment during these weekends of study and play with Marice. This weekend was no exception. More about that in a moment. First, though, here’s the group, or almost all of us.

From the left, Sheldon Smith, Peter Cutler (our engineer), Karen Hutton, me, Bill Lloyd, Scott Fischer, Sadie Medley, Marty Wall, Thompson Howell, Robyn Moler, and Steve Lawrence. Missing from the photo are Marice Tobias (she’s behind the camera) and Alex Vishniakoff, who was … uh … indisposed while we were shooting this quick photo during an afternoon break on Sunday.

This was a unique weekend because this time we dealt with all of the major areas of voiceover work (trailer, promo, commercial and narration) and how to keep a given genre from “leaking” into another as we switch from one to another through the day … just like we have to do in our real work.

It was also unique because the group got to hear everyone’s performances. Usually Marice will have us do at least a couple of reads in isolation from everyone else, but this time we were all in the studio for every performance. It was really enlightening to hear how we all were true to our own personalities even though we were hearing one another reading (some of the time) the exact same piece of copy.

My own “aha” moment came on Saturday when for the first time I began to grasp just how important it is to have a personal connection with the copy in order to deliver an emotionally honest performance. I think this one insight is going to have a significant influence on my work, especially as I incorporate this insight into my performances in the coming weeks and month.

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It’s always good to see friends

General, People

Recently a few of us voiceover types had a small gathering in Charlotte, NC to enjoy some fun conversation and good food.

From left to right, Kelly McKay, Bob Bair, my son Eric and me enjoying a lunch together in Charlotte, NC. Every time I get to meet voice actors, I always have a great time. This was no exception.

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Another view on the business of the business

Career Advice, General, People

My friend Anthony Mendez is quite a few years younger than me, but much of the time he’s way ahead of me on the voiceover maturity scale. As Exhibit A is point you to his recent blog post Don’t Mind Your Business. There’s nothing wrong with being serious about your business as a voice actor, but don’t allow the focus on business to get ahead of being a superb voice actor. You have to be able to deliver the goods once you’ve booked the work.

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The signature weekend for Women in Voiceover

Career Advice, General, People

Marice Tobias is holding a workshop which I can’t attend even if I want to. The reason is because only women get to be there. Here are the details, right from Marice. If you’re a working pro voice talent and a woman, consider yourself invited. But decide quickly. This will fill up fast.

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In response to a number of requests, we presenting the first in a few series of seminars that focus specifically on Signature Reads and what gets in the way of playing full out. The unique experience of professional woman in the Industry as well as the Culture is the theme of the weekend, but the perspective of Possibility and Potential sents the tone for what we plan to be a paradign-shifting expereince for all.

New and cogent processes will give attendees tangible tools with which to work and thrive in the increasingly isolating and often anonymous environment of the day-to-day.

The structure of the weekend is a departure. Group sessions will zero in on Point of View and Delivery in a conference-room setting. The timeframe is also different in tha tthere will be an evening session so time can be spent out and about, enjoying or rejuvenating along with some fun surprises!

Saturday and Sunday, February 6 and 7, 2010 (Super Bowl Weekend) in Santa Fe, NM at The Inn on the Alameda. Special group rates of $100 to $150 per night have been arranged. Contact Stacey Stahl at 503-246-2239 or stacey@creativeentertainmentmanagement.com to reserve your place.

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