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In Austin

Career Advice, General, People, Tools

For the weekend I’m in Austin, TX for a couple of very cool reasons. First, my oldest son Eric and I are going to attend the annual reunion of the Wizard Academy. It will be great to see Roy, Pennie and no doubt a bunch of other old friends Saturday all day and Sunday morning.

And while I’m here, a few voiceover friends from around Texas are going to join Eric and me for a Texas BBQ dinner late Saturday evening. I’ll post a photo or 2 and a little who and what all took place here as soon as I can.

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A new ISDN alternative

General, People, Tools

Earlier today, I did a test Source Connect session with my friend Brian Forrester who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Everything worked as smoothly as it always does. In fact Brian expressed surprise at how easy and simply everything worked. He was expecting the process to be a lot more complicated that it was. Of course, you already knew about Source Connect if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time. So, what’s new?

This evening my friend Edo Peters posted a note on the VO-BB about a new technology from a company called SoundStreak. The software, which runs on both Windows and Mac computers is called 2-Picture. It looks very interesting. It was just launched a couple of weeks ago and is something I’m certainly going to watch closely.

(Update: And my friend Caryn Clark got a chance to preview 2-Picture from SoundStreak while she was in New York a few days ago.)

Also on this front, you should know that my friend Frank Frederick tells me he is getting very close to fully launching his iSpeek application.

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Voice123.com makes an important change to their rating system

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

For some time now, when I receive a lead from Voice123.com that has “To-be-defined” as the budget amount, I delete the lead without reading further. I give credit to my good friend Amy Snively for being the spark that helped lead me to this decision. (Thank you, Amy for consistently demonstrating a professional attitude about your work. You are an inspiration.)

On the Voice123.com blog yesterday, Alex Torrenegra has posted information about a change they’ve made to the way the ratings mechanism at Voice123.com works for folks who post jobs with “To-be-defined” budgets.

From now on, the first time a voice seeker rates an audition/proposal with one or two stars we show them a large message asking them if their decision was based on the quoted price. If so, we ask the voice seeker to delete the audition/proposal instead of rating it low. This message will be seen by voice seekers in projects with budget “To-be-defined”.

I know there are lots of folks who are unhappy with the rating system at Voice123.com. I really don’t worry about it too much. There are most important things in life and work than worrying about how someone rates my auditions at Voice123.com.

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Solid Gold information about audiobook narration

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

Since July of 2006 when I flew out to Los Angeles to take Pat Fraley’s Audiobook Master Class, every time someone involved in voiceover work asks me for suggestions about how to get started doing audiobooks my answer has been the same: Take Pat’s class. Here’s what I mean, quoted from a comment I left on the Vox Daily blog…

less than a month after I took Pat’s seminar, I had signed with an audiobook publisher as one of their house voices. In the following 12 months, I started working with 3 other publishing companies. One of those jobs is a massive project cast through Voices.com. Or to put it another way, I made back the money I spent on his seminar multiple times over in the first year after taking Pat’s audiobook class.

Now, maybe you can’t afford to get out to LA (or sometimes NYC) to take Pat’s class in person. Then, this post is for you. Because Pat has captured the essence of his live Master Class in a CD and 50 page Companion Workbook called Billion $ Read, How to Make Money Reading and Recording Books. Details on how to order are on the Store page of Pat’s web site. And depending on when you read this note, you could pick up the book at a $10 savings.

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EQ help

General, Tools

EQ or equalization can be a powerful tool to help you make sure your voice recordings sound like they should. This is especially true if you do production as well as voiceovers, of course; but sometimes the only way to get a truly clean recording is to use a little EQ even on a dry voice track.

This site provides some really useful information about the effects of equalization at specific frequencies, and this site (with thanks to my friend Stevie D for posting the link on the VO-BB) provides an overview of equalization by the octave.

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A tool for your road warrior kit

General, Tools

Several days ago I noted a new unit coming out from MXL that will allow you to convert a standard studio condenser microphone into a USB microphone. There’s another unit that’s just coming on the market from CEntrance, Inc. It’s called the MicPort Pro, and it features 24-bit 96kHz performance (higher than the MXL unit’s 16-bit, 48kHz) and a headphone mini-jack as well as 48 volt phantom power.

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If you need to record while you’re traveling

General, Tools

MXL has a new tool coming out soon that just might be the perfect thing for your travel pack. They’re calling it the MXL USB Mic Mate, which supplies 48v phantom power to your analog condenser microphone on one end and connects to one of your computer’s USB ports on the other. Perhaps best of all, the list price is expect to be only $79.99.

My thanks to Steve Stone for the email alerting me to this sweet little unit.

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Marketing substance

Career Advice, General, Tools

Among my favorite marketing blogs is GrokDotCom by the guys at Future Now. These are some of the brightest folks in the world at how to use the Internet most effectively for your business. And, while I’ve been friends with some of their employees for years, I don’t have any business connections with the company. I just admire they way they think and the way they work.

Today, for example, I was reading an article that follows up on one of their posts about who to write great copy. This particular article examines the question of “What Is Substance?” as in the phrase “Style versus Substance.”

The primary conclusion I drew from what Jeff Sexton has written in this article, at least that applies to the voiceover world, is that in addition to sound, tone and performance…one highly significant factor that influences choice is emotion. I think we tend to give too little thought to this factor when we’re making calls, sending emails, auditioning or trying to find representation. I know I do. What about you?

Read the article. Then leave a comment. I’d love to know what you think.

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If you want to do audiobooks

Career Advice, General, People, Tools

In my experience there is no better way to get started doing audiobooks that to take Pat Fraley’s “Two Day Audiobook Master Event.” I received an email from Pat Wednesday with details about the next class, which is going to take place Saturday and Sunday, September 29 and 30, 2007. There are only 12 spaces available in this class, so it would be wise to let Pat know right away. Here are the details straight from his email.

Space is limited to 12 participants.

Cost:
$1400 Cash, Check or Credit Card
Payment schedules arranged upon request.

Where:
World Famous Buzzy’s Recording
6900 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038

When:
10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, September 29-30, 2007

To Enroll:
Email patfraleyteaches@aol.com
or call (818) 400-3733

What makes this class from Pat and Hillary Huber (and always at least a few other working pros) so valuable is that you get instruction not just in ways to interpret various kinds of audiobooks, but business ideas about where to find the work. And at the end of the class, you’ll have recorded your audiobook demo. You’ll receive that demo on CD a few weeks after the class. (Less than a month after I received my demo, I had signed with an audiobook publisher for ongoing work.)

It will be money and time well spent, if working on audiobooks is something that really interests you.

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An idea for your MP3 auditions

General, Tools

I wish I could remember where I first saw this suggestion. I think it was in one of the many valuable posts on the VO-BB.com, but I can’t remember for sure. In any case, while I was doing another lesson with my voiceover coach, Nancy Wolfson today, I mentioned to her just off-hand that I always put my contact information in the ID3 tags in mp3 audio files when I send those files as auditions. That way, even if someone renames the file and loses my original email, they still have a way to make contact with me.

I do this when I’m submitting an audition to one of my agents. And I do this when I’m submitting an audition to Voice123.com or Voices.com. I hope this is a helpful idea, if you’re not already way ahead of me on this stuff.

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Only part of the picture

Career Advice, General, Getting started in Voiceover, Tools

There’s been quite a firestorm of angst and unhappiness on the forum sponsored by Voice123.com since the roll out of Version 2.0 of their site on July 9th. While I’ve posted here and there on the forum, I’ve tried to stay out of the firestorm itself. I was a beta tester for their new version, and what I saw of it looked like it would be both much more complex and would include much more information that the old version of the site. Some good. Some not so good. And while I use technology all the time both to do my work as effectively as possible and to make our home a more interesting and comfortable place to live, I’m interested to see how this technological solution is going to work in the long run. No doubt flaws have and will continue to be discovered. Some will be addressed. Some won’t. I see no reason to bail out of what has been a source for a significant piece of income during the last 3 years. You’ll find information posted here on the Voice123.com blog about what the team there is trying to accomplish and how they’re going about it. I wish them well.

And to be clear, there are plenty of constructive and instructive posts on the VoiceOverSavvy forums. It’s quite a delightful community of folks who are living through a time of significant change.

Naturally, while Voice123.com is working to improve their site, so are the folks at Voices.com at work on their site. You’ll find some insights into what’s coming next in this blog post on the Vox Daily blog, sponsored and hosted by Voices.com.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should note that I was a beta tester for both the upgrades at Voices.com rolled out earlier this year, as well as for Voice123.com.

(edited to add)

Oh, the title of this post? As I’m learning more and more about marketing one’s voiceover services (from great friends like Charlie, Mary, Philip, Frank, Dan, Donovan, Liz, Peter, Kara, Deirdre, Karen, Anthony, and too many more to mention here), I’m realizing that Voice123.com and Voices.com are only part of what has to be a much more focused campaign.

For example, I’m not the right voice, the right talent, the right voice actor for every script. But, for those that I am right for, most people are very happy they hired me.

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A question about studying with Nancy Wolfson

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

My friend Gregory Best was talking recently with my friend Kara Edwards about studying with Nancy Wolfson, who is not only Kara’s voiceover coach, but mine as well. Actually, if you’ve been reading this blog for the last 6 months, you didn’t need me to tell you that. I’ve written often about Nancy, and in my view, with good reason.

So, Kara mentioned to Greg that I’m studying with Nancy and he wrote me a very nice email with the following questions (which he has given me permission to quote here)…

Kara says that you have also taken class from Nancy Wolfson. What did you think? Did you feel you got your money’s worth from Nancy?

Here’s my answer to Greg…

Without a doubt, studying with Nancy Wolfson has been one of the best investments I’ve ever made in my voiceover career. The key reasons:

1. Nancy is plugged in to what’s really happening “on the ground” in the voiceover world in LA right now, especially in the commercial voiceover world. She has been a talent agent (she was Pat Fraley’s agent in the past), and today not only coaches all kinds of top talent who are booking commercial voiceover work all the time, she’s also involved in casting work. So, she knows what’s going on now. She’s not teaching something she learned 10 years ago, coasting on old, out-of-date information.

2. Nancy is one of the most searingly honest people you’ll encounter in this business. She’s a very decent, kind human being, but she’s willing to tell you the truth about what’s working, what’s not working and what needs work, as far as your sound, your demo and your reads. And, as I imagine you already know, finding someone who will tell you the plain truth is rare, especially among people you’re paying.

3. Nancy is terrific working with people at whatever level. She works with top pros, mid-of-the-bench guys like me, and even relative new-to-the-business folk.

4. Nancy’s instruction is extremely practical, put-it-to-use-today kind of stuff. She cuts through a lot of the myths and points out what works, what actually books and leaves aside a lot of the nice-to-know-but-not-really-practical stuff. Her instruction is clear, full of encouragement and enthusiasm. If you do decide to study with her, I don’t imagine you’ll finish a single session with Nancy in which you don’t understand more about how to better approach your voiceover work and career.

5. Nancy isn’t just about voice acting. She’s about business. She’s about helping you book work, or more work if you’re already booking work.
I hope this helps.

In the interests of full disclosure, if you decide you want to study with Nancy and you tell her that you are doing so because of me, I’ll get a free lesson from Nancy. So, if you don’t want me to get a free class, don’t tell her you learned about her through me or this blog.

Update: Stephanie has written an excellent post on Vox Daily about Voiceover Coaches. Well worth a few minutes of your time.

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Source Connect

General, Tools

For more than 10 years now, there has been a reliable way to get studio quality audio from one place in the world to another. If you’ve been involved in voiceover work for much time at all, you’ve probably heard of ISDN. And while, as my friend and mentor Philip Banks would be quick to point out, ISDN continues to be not just a viable, but the dominant way that much of the very high end voiceover work is recorded; it is an aging technology. So, the search has been on for some time now to find alternatives.

One that I’ve used with many of my clients is to record the audio in my studio with the client directing over the phone. I then post the voice tracks (or finished productions, depending on the client) to my server, from which they can download what they need within a matter of minutes after our “phone patched” session is done.

Another that is in development, but not released as of the moment I’m writing this is iSpeek.

The genesis of this blog post, though, was an email I received today from Pete Newman. He mentioned that he had paid a visit to the offices of Voices.com this past Saturday, and while he was there, Stephanie suggested that he get in touch with me about Source Connect as an alternative to ISDN that is already released and working and at very reasonable cost.

For example, Pete wanted to know who is using Source Connect (studios, production houses, etc.). I pointed him to this section of the Source Connect site, which lists all current users and can be searched a number of different ways.

Pete also asked about the price. Source Connect has a very handy comparison chart for the versions, including price and features.

Now, I need to finish up this post and publish it, because I’m about to help my friend Liz de Nesnera with her Source Connect set-up. Hopefully we’ll be chatting in studio quality audio in a few minutes.

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