I mentioned a few posts back about Dave Foxx appearing in the spoof voice talking video. Dave actually has a seriously good video about radio imaging on YouTube.
My thanks to my friend Dan Nachtrab for reminding me about Joe Szymanski’s blog post featuring this video from earlier this year.
My friend Mary McKitrick has written an excellent and informative article, published at VoiceOverXtra, about her experiences with installing Source-Connect.
I noticed in my server logs today that I received a visit by someone who followed a link I’d never encountered before. Curious, I followed the link back to the excellent site of Dan Popp and his company Colors Audio. While digging around on this site I came across an excellent article chock full of solid advice for you if you’re just thinking about getting started in voiceover work.
As I was taking a few minutes to check out the blogs of a few friends today, I ran across a nifty post written a few days ago by Stu Gray in which he chronicles some reflections upon turning 33. Good stuff, Stu. For a young guy, you have a lot on the ball.
Things have been rather quiet on the blog for the last couple of days. I’ve been traveling internationally for the last several days and some of that time has been spent away from Internet connections. I’ll be back to my usual verbose self again in another 24 hours or so.
But, I can’t wait another day to pass along some of the voiceover lessons I learned while I was in Scotland for just over 24 hours earlier this week. I spent my time with my good friend Philip Banks. Philip, along with his wife Ann, were the most gracious of hosts and I had such a wonderfully time with them. Not all of our conversation centered around voiceover work, but since it’s a passion for both Philip and me, the subject did come up a few times.
Also, welcoming me to the home was Jazz.
Jazz is as full of life as any dog I’ve ever encountered, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. He boundless in his energy, but he’s also a wonderfully obedient and caring dog. Boundless enthusiasm for your pursuits is one important lesson I learned from Jazz; regardless of the specifics. If you find the prospect of tackling your next voiceover project is more drudgery than delight, turn to a different pursuit for a while.
Jazz has a favorite toy that he loves to play with. One of his favorite games is to bring the toy over and put in down right next to you. But, when you reach for it to give it a toss, he’s pounce on the toy with his paws or snatch it up with his mouth before you can get to it. I played this game with him for hours the afternoon I arrived. When I would try to ignore him, he’s push the toy even further in my direction so that I couldn’t ignore him. Single-minded pursuit of your objective is another of Jazz’s voiceover lessons. Stay on task. Don’t take “no” for an answer.
In the morning, Philip and Jazz took me to Spey Bay and to the wild and wonderful beauty of the place where the Spey River empties into the North Sea. While we were there, Jazz made a new friend, another dog who was also there for a walk along the riverbank. The two of them immediately feel into playing with one another with full-throated enthusiasm. Go full out, whether work or play, is the last of the voiceover lessons I’ll mention today from Jazz. Don’t hold back. Go for it.
Among the most beautiful of the places Philip took me was a stretch of the North Sea coast where you can see Bow Fiddle Rock. It was wonderfully windy and cold.
An incredible time at one of the most beautiful places on God’s green earth. I can’t wait to go back there again.
Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino are doing another of their excellent teleseminars on Wednesday of this week, the 9th of April 2008. The teleseminar will start at 9:00 PM Eastern/6:00 PM Pacific. They’ve emailed this weekend to say that this will be their last teleseminar until the Fall.
Here are a few of the topics Nancy and Anna will cover this time…
* CONNECT THE DOTS –Another unique Braintracks coursework chapter – the 1st of three to address the AUTOPSY OF A RADIO SCRIPT
* What’s your through line? Sandbag the dots so the audience can connect them.
* Headphones or No Headphones? When wearing ’em will kill your audition, when you HAVE to have them on, and how to split the difference.
* Behind The Agent Curtain–Should I tell one agent when I book a job through another agent?
* Actor to Actor–Why it pays to include your agent.
Go to www.breakintovoiceover.com to sign up.
With thanks to my friend Liz de Nesnera for posting about this (she in turn got the idea from our mutual friend Peter O’Connell), today, the third of April is Good People Day.
Like Liz, I offer my thanks to Peter for supplying the graphic
Also like Liz, I could provide a long list of special people who have been and continue to fill my life with delightful relationships. But, this day will henceforth always have a bittersweet quality about it, because one of the very best examples of Good People that I’ve ever encountered was a dear lady named Helen Keener. We all knew her as Nana. She died today at the age of 96. She was my wife Cinda’s grandmother. In what I can only see as God providing the setting to match our mood, the rain is falling in Charlotte today.
My friend Anthony Mendez emails with a link to some of his latest work. Very cool Anthony. Very.
Scott Brick has posted a new entry on his blog about how challenging it can be to narrate and audiobook now and then.
Update: As Tracy Pattin notes in her comment to this blog post, she has a podcast interview with actor Alfred Molina up on the Voice Registry Blog.
(edited to fix typo)
During the 2007 edition of Dan O’Day’s International Radio Creative and Production Summit, I learned that Steve Stone and I have something in common beyond the fact that we both do voiceovers. And it’s that point in common that prompts today’s post. It’s a letter Steve has written and is distributing as far and wide as I can. And no, aside from our common work interests, this has nothing to do with voiceover. Here is Steve’s letter…
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April is here, and with that something very close to my heart. It’s Autism Awareness Month. Even more specific is World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday April 2nd. Autism has become a silent epidemic. Did you know that one in every 150 children born today will be effected by Autism?
I’m truly blessed to have a wonderful wife (Leslie) and family. We have three young children, Jacob (9), Joey (5) and Julia (4). When our first child Jacob was born, my wife and I had no idea what was waiting for us. As Jacob got older, he wasn’t developing socially like other kids his age. He would throw tantrums that lasted for hours, he would obsess over the same toy, or word, he couldn’t look in our eyes, and what crushed me was that when showing him affection….it wasn’t reciprocal. There were many nights my wife would cry herself to sleep because of the stress, and the not knowing what was ailing him. Soon after at the age of 4, Jacob was found to have Aspeger’s Syndrome (AS).
WHAT IS ASPERGER’S?
Asperger’s syndrome is a developmental disorder that is part of the autism spectrum. Signs and symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome include:
* Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject
* Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures
* Showing an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes
* Appearing not to understand, empathize with, or be sensitive to others’ feelings
* Having a hard time “reading” other people or understanding humor
* Speaking in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast
* Moving clumsily, with poor coordination
* Having an odd posture or a rigid gait
It’s an everyday struggle, Jacob has been in therapy for more than four years. The constant battle with anxiety and his paralyzing rigidity is overwhelming at times for my wife and me. To make things twice as hard our middle child Joseph has been diagnosed with Asperger’s as well. Again make no mistake Autism is an epidemic. I’m not asking for your money, I’m asking for your help in raising awareness.
After all we are in the “media” business right?
HBO recently debuted a documentary called “Autism: The Musical“, which has received great reviews for it’s intimate look into the world of Autism.
There is also a feature film documentary that is making the rounds at film festivals, about a teenage boy with Asperger’s.
http://www.billythekiddocumentary.com/
The most comprehensive information can be found at
Autism Spectrum Disorders can be overwhelming for parents and families, early intervention is key.
I’m happy to say that both Jacob and Joey are making great strides, and are learning to cope.
Thanks for your time.
Steve Stone
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Thank you, Steve. Cinda and I also have a son with autism. Brian is his name. He is our youngest son. He’s 10 and doing amazingly well. But, we too want to be sure you know about the importance of this month and this day. Thank you for reading.
When I first arrived in Chicago as a college freshman in 1971, Wally Phillips was already well established as the number one radio personality in the market, as WGN AM 720’s morning man. He died March 26, 2008 following a five year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.
One of the people I most admire in the voiceover world, especially in regard to marketing his voiceover business, is Peter O’Connell. I point you today to a post on his blog from a couple of days ago that relates to marketing and Search Engine Optimization. Really good stuff, Peter. Thank you for keeping our noses on the grindstone.
Pat Fraley emails this morning with news about a new free voiceover lesson that he’s posted.
[audio:http://patfraley.com/FreeLessons/ShamlessTrks.mp3]He writes…
It’s about 6-7 minutes long. It’s covers some “Shameless Tricks” for voice over for performance and slating. I’m almost embarrassed. Almost.
Thank you, Pat. Good stuff.
My friend Steve Stone emails today with a link to this interesting article in Variety about George Del Hoyo, who is doing his extremely high level of voiceover work from his home studio.
There’s a report about Hal Riney, the advertising man behind the “It’s morning in America” campaign for Ronald Reagan among many others on NPR’s site. Mr. Riney died on Monday at the age of 75 at his home in San Francisco.
My thanks to Nancy Wolfson for passing along the link to this story today.
Update: I should note that Peter O’Connell was several days ahead of me on this story. Good for you, Peter. My very best to you.
Todd Schick, a professional voice talent and coach, has taken the time to review every announced speaker at VOICE 2008. VOICE 2008 is in Los Angeles in August 8 through 11. Very interesting stuff here. I don’t agree with every word Todd has written; but he clearly has a sharp eye for detail and an excellent ear. Lots of good stuff to chew on here, Todd. Thank you for taking the time to review, write and post this information.
While you’re there, check out all of the other helpful and valuable material you’ll find on Todd’s site. There’s a ton of good stuff.
(Update. My thanks to Connie Terwilliger for linking to Todd’s VOICE 2008 review page on the VO-BB.)
If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when someone is recording radio imaging voiceovers, Alan Bainbridge has been nice enough to provide a YouTube of one of his sessions.
It’s fun to see, and hear, you work Alan. And thanks for posting this on your blog. I’d never have found it otherwise.
The voice of my friend Jeffrey Kafer. Go to the Health Channel on AnswersTV and on the left choose “Say ahhhâ€. Then click any of the 30 second videos! Nice work, Jeffrey.
I’ve been remiss in not posting some additional thoughts about my weekend in Seattle, studying again with Marice Tobias, especially my reflections on my experiences on the second of the 2 days. Here are a couple of thoughts that I hope you’ll find helpful.
One of the things I like best about these weekends with Marice is getting to study as part of a group, and in particular a group of really talented people. There’s something about being around really talented people that brings out the best…at least that’s the way it works for me. We all brought our A game to the weekend and every one of us went home with a new definition of our A game, a definition that’s in sharper focus than it was.
The other thought I’d like you to chew on has to do with perspective. Maybe a brief story about a conversation I had with my daughter last week will help illustrate the point. Karen and I were talking about how we both know a lot of people here in North Carolina who don’t have stereotypical “Southern” accents. This is mainly because Charlotte, and the entire state for that matter, has become a destination for people from other parts of the country, especially the Northeast and the Midwest. As part of that conversation I mentioned in passing that there’s a difference in accents in different parts of the South. Folks who are natives of North Carolina have a distinctly different sound than do those from Alabama or Kentucky, etc. Karen commented that my ears must be more finely tuned than hers because she can’t distinguish those differences. Now, I’m not an expert on dialects, but I am beginning to hear these finely shaded gradations of difference from one regionalism to another.
Those same kinds of finely shaded distinctions apply to the best voiceover work. Narration for a corporate marketing piece might bear a resemblance to a documentary narration, for example; but there are differences. Sometimes subtle. Sometimes considerable. Voiceover for a national television commercial has a different tone than work for national radio, even if the commercials are for the same client and about the same product.
So, whether you do a lot of dialect and character work, or almost none, tuning your ear and your voice to these distinctions and differences will make a difference on whether you book work or not. Because the clients know what they’re looking for and if you adopt the wrong tone or style for your audition, they are just going to move on to the next talent. Working with Marice is like putting a finely honed edge to my instrument, and helps me tune my ears to the shadings and levels I have to be able to hear to do my best work.
Update: Kitzie Stern has some wonderfully insightful thoughts about studying with Marice that she’s just posted on her blog. Well worth your time.
Mary McKitrick is both talented as a voiceover artist and as a writer. If you need some suggestions to help you get moving in your voiceover career, she’s written a brilliant post on her blog that’s loaded with solid and valuable information.