Welcome to My Blog!
Hot off the Presses…
FACE-ing Facts
Face Forward Everything you do online for your VO business: Demos, Blogs, Twitter posts, FaceBook updates, profiles, newsletters...even email signatures should have a picture preferably a good picture of your FACE. I used to sit on the fence on this debate...you...
read moreJust Before that…
This Voiceover
What’s your job?
The Sin of Shoulda
Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Of these, the worst is "shoulda". Should have. Not "should of". (just had to get that off my grammarian's chest) Why? Because should is the past tense of "shall" and it means that something was possible in the...
Why VO Ebb & Flow?
You’re a freelancer with only so much control over work flow. How to maintain your sanity in that environment.
5 Indications It’s Time to Fire Your Voice Over Talent
Is it time to fire your voice over talent? Things change; voice trends, business practices, relationships. Sometimes it makes sense to move on.
Hacks, Plosives, DAWs
So much good stuff to be found on the internet. This kind of bounty deserves to be shared.
Love Those Acronyms!
Voice Over Education
4 Things That Will Make Your VO Clients Love You
Courtesy never goes out of style. Neither does consideration. If this is a relationship business, then here are some tips to curry good relations.
Creative VO Prospecting
Yesterday, I was reading through my Google Alerts, and came across a Craigslist ad placed by a seasoned VO pro. I've re-printed most of it for you to see below the line-break. The ad came complete with a graphic, phone #, website address, a map to his major U-S city...
Clearing Out the Crud
When your speaking apparatus is gunked-up... you can't keep up your VO commitments so well. And Boy Howdy, this is the season for gunking! How many times have I seen anguished posts on social media groups begging anyone for quick-fix solutions that will allow the...
Starting Out
Launching into the world of voice acting is a steep challenge. There are no manuals, but plenty of "opportunities". The opportunities range from legitimate offers of help to outright predation, and everything in between...including the costs involved. As you would...
Qualified to be a VO Coach?
The estimate that only 5% of voice actors are truly supporting themselves and their families with strictly voiceover work is probably close to correct. (remember, 47.93% of all numbers quoted online are made-up). Whatever the number (almost impossible to discern),...
My Monday Night Visitor
What day of the week would you say comes with the highest concentration of VO audition requests? Uh-huh. Monday. Now, let me explain that my prime daypart for recording auditions is midnight to 3am. Lately I've also adding 11am - 1pm after I rise, for doing...
Your Homework Assignment for Tonight
Does anybody watch TV without the DVR running in the background any more? Either way, your homework assignment for tonight is to play back pay a prime-time or prime-time access program and pay special attention to the commercials. Right. The thing that we all...
Lookin’ For a Reason To Come To Vegas?
...like you really needed one, right? Well, September 10th-11th is apparently a very popular VO weekend in Las Vegas. Two coveted voice acting coaches will be here for weekend workshops. #1. Pat Fraley Pat is hands-down one of the top VO coaches...he could do this on...
VO Email Marketing
Your email signature bookends your salutation. Both are perfunctory, and yet pertinent.As overlooked as the signature can be...don't you always notice when it's missing?...or minimal...or overdone?The email signature for a voice-actor is part marketing, part...
3 Warnings About Blog Titles With Numbers in Them
Why? Because it’s a manipulative device to get you to read it! That’s the #1 reason. You don’t want to be manipulated do you? Virtually every last blog about and for bloggers mentions this magic formula. I’m sure there’s some psychological reason behind it…so let...
World Voices #WoVochat
Atlanta-Bound
The great VO pilgrimage is underway!
Watch here for updates.
Advice For VO Conference Attendees
For no particular upcoming conference specifically… 🙂
WoVO Rates Roundtable: Challenges of the Post-Voicebank Voiceover Marketplace
See our latest Rates Toundtable and learn how the post Voicebank world will thrive.
Muffett/Griffith/Courvoisier on VO Conferences
VO conferences are kinda like VO Coaches. Everybody is counseled to get at least one new one a year. True? Maybe, but is it right? A quick guide from some people who’ve been there.
WoVO Rates Roundtable: What Should You Expect to Pay for VO Coaching or Demo Production
A Blue-Ribbon Panel examines the ins and outs of demo production and VO coaching…offering a spectrum of what you should reasonably expect to pay.
New WoVO Rates Roundtable: Rates for Demos and Coaching
Instead of discussing the rates voice actors should charge for their work, we’re examining what we should EXPECT to reasonably be charged for coaching and demo production.
August Rates Roundtable by WoVO® Examines VoiceBank Buyout
A Blue-Ribbon Panel of experts discusses the aftermath of VDC’s purchase of VoiceBank in this latest version of Rates Roundtable.
Find One More
Putting on Voiceover conferences is a lot of effort! Finally emerging from the surplus of work waiting for me after a busy weekend… this message for WoVO members and non-members.
Such a Blur
Didn’t this conference just start? Well, now it’s over…and there’s so much to do!
First Official Day of WoVOCon IV (Sat)
The first official day of WoVOCon IV began Saturday morning. Wow, what day! Incredible information-sharing. See some pics here.
VO Business & Compensation
5 Indications It’s Time to Fire Your Voice Over Talent
Is it time to fire your voice over talent? Things change; voice trends, business practices, relationships. Sometimes it makes sense to move on.
ipDTL Improvements
What? You think any remote connection service as advanced as ipDTL is gonna sit on their hands? Not a chance. See what you’ve been missing.
Routine: Ball ‘n’ Chain or Saving Grace?
Rooting Out Routines Shall we agree that a routine is desirable for a successful VO business? Whether it's daily, weekly, or monthly, the routine assures we're hitting all the marks in our business plan, yearly goals, and priorities for success. It's something we...
Voice Over Education
Gold in the VoiceOver Frontier
Seasoned VO pros have just as much responsibility to protect our profession as do the newcomers.
Here’s why.
Break the Mold
It's late...or early...whichever. The clock says 3:32am as I write this.We're creatures of habit, tending to keep the same schedules. Mine is a late one. Yes, I do sleep. My sleep hours are just not YOUR sleep hours. Personally, I believe the hours from midnight...
What AGE is Your Voice?
Does a voice HAVE an age? Well, I mean, of course it has the age associated with the cords' owner but can you tell a person's age by their voice? Or vice-versa...does a certain timbre/quality of voice HAVE an age?I go back to the analogy surrounding race. The...
Does Voice Acting Have a “Slow” Season?
Time and again I see online posts asking if anyone else is experiencing downtime. It's almost as if people are trying to reassure themselves that their own reduced workload mirrors the experience of others (the old "misery loves company" thing).There are all sorts of...
The Ultimate Authority
Just when I think I've got a bead on the people who make up this voice over community, I find out I really know nothing.I mean, I've been to umpteen VO conferences, I write a widely-read VO blog, I administer some social media VO forums, I'm the president of...
Are You “Studio Approved”?
World-Voices wrestled with this issue from day one.WoVO is not in the business of making subjective decisions about whether you are a good talent, can give a compelling promotional read, or can kill it on a commercial read.But, there are some objective and measurable...
Studio On Wheels
Most voice actors seem obsessed with obtaining, and having at-the-ready, a mobile recording solution.I get it. I'm a geek too, and I've got several iterations of an "away" recording configuration.But let's face it, you can have a U-87 in your hotel room, and your...
Cracking the “Newbie” Nut
Every day a new voice is born. When they get older people tell them "you should be in radio" (not knowing that radio these days hardly has any live humans to speak of anymore). When that happens often enough, the person with the golden pipes starts to believe they...
Go With What You Know
Ask me what got me into being a voice-actor, and I'd tell you "AudioBooks". It seemed like a perfect fit for me. I was interested in it, and pursued it whole-heartedly for about 5 years. I ended up narrating some 40 titles, attended APAC twice, was a beta tester for...
Too Many Coaches, Not Enough Mentors
The estimate that only 5% of voice actors are truly supporting themselves and their families with strictly voiceover work is probably correct. (remember, 47.93% of all numbers quoted online are made-up).Whatever the number (almost impossible to discern), it's...
Voice Over Hardware & Software tools
Gear Drooling
A decidedly geeky affliction that hits whenever drool-worthy gear is revealed.
Dissecting the Compilation Demo
Aren’t ALL demos, by dint of necessity, compilations?
Pronounceology Proud
Adam Verner did it, and it looks great!
Give it a try?
Gmail Users Only
The sheer amount of Gmail add-ons can make your head spin.
Here are the cream of the crop.
3 Incontestabe Facts About Choosing Mics
…three facts that have nothing to do with polarity, capsules, or name-brands.
Will CourVO Make it on COVOCO?
The greater questions might be: Will Courvo WANT to make it on COVOCO?
A Browser Just for Us!
…and isn’t it really about time?
Get the download links here.
2 “L’s” and an “S” + 1
LinkedIn x 2 and SoundCloud.
Some stellar web resources.
Wouldn’t YOU Share?
Maybe it’s the “news guy” in me. I just hafta tell people when I see important stuff.
Like in today’s blog.
Resources, Resources!
Ebb and flow. Some days the VO world seems to be quiet, but over the weekend it was decidedly not!
Voice Over Events
Advice For VO Conference Attendees
For no particular upcoming conference specifically… 🙂
WoVO Rates Roundtable: Challenges of the Post-Voicebank Voiceover Marketplace
See our latest Rates Toundtable and learn how the post Voicebank world will thrive.
Muffett/Griffith/Courvoisier on VO Conferences
VO conferences are kinda like VO Coaches. Everybody is counseled to get at least one new one a year. True? Maybe, but is it right? A quick guide from some people who’ve been there.
WoVO Rates Roundtable: What Should You Expect to Pay for VO Coaching or Demo Production
A Blue-Ribbon Panel examines the ins and outs of demo production and VO coaching…offering a spectrum of what you should reasonably expect to pay.
New WoVO Rates Roundtable: Rates for Demos and Coaching
Instead of discussing the rates voice actors should charge for their work, we’re examining what we should EXPECT to reasonably be charged for coaching and demo production.
August Rates Roundtable by WoVO® Examines VoiceBank Buyout
A Blue-Ribbon Panel of experts discusses the aftermath of VDC’s purchase of VoiceBank in this latest version of Rates Roundtable.
Such a Blur
Didn’t this conference just start? Well, now it’s over…and there’s so much to do!
First Official Day of WoVOCon IV (Sat)
The first official day of WoVOCon IV began Saturday morning. Wow, what day! Incredible information-sharing. See some pics here.
WoVOCon IV Friday
Registration, massages, Master Classes, and lots of smiles. Unofficial Day One of WoVOCon IV
Pre-WoVOCon IV
The eve of WoVOCon IV to pack swag bags, make preparations, and share BBQ with good VO friends.
Listen to my Commercial demoVoice Over Niches
Relationship Diplomacy Based on Humility
Simple adult rules of relationship-building paired with a little humble pie can bear tasty fruit.
This Voiceover
What’s your job?
The Sin of Shoulda
Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Of these, the worst is "shoulda". Should have. Not "should of". (just had to get that off my grammarian's chest) Why? Because should is the past tense of "shall" and it means that something was possible in the...
Voice Over Hardware & Software tools
Make it Easy on Yourself
One of the all-time great VO collaborations, and I’m not talking about an audition.
See how two minds = one great idea.
Pronounceology
Voice Actors who see a need in our business, and fill it with a great idea.
Here’s a perfect example.
5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Produce Your Own Demos
Yeah…don’t even think it.
Here’s why.
DIY Websites: The Lowdown
How important is a website to your business?
Crucial.
So do you really wanna do it yourself?
Cattle Call Marketplace
Clients meet voice-actors, and everyone’s happy, right?
Wrong.
You can do better.
The New Norm in Security
You value your sound files, right? And all your docs, pics, programs, and financial data too?
Then you can’t afford NOT to do this.
The Mighty MIc
…our unofficial mascot. Our sword. Most of us wish we could afford yet ANOTHER one. Yes? Here are some ideas.
read more
Persistence PayOff: ConnectionOpen
Weaker souls may have caved…but not the forces behind this distance-connection technology.
Hear the latest on this exciting platform.
Freelancer Security
We ARE the IT department for our freelance businesses. But is that a strong suit for you?
Here are some fundamentals to consider.
Year-End URL’s
On the cusp of 2018, here are a few online resources I’ve been hanging on to for just this ocassion.
read more
Tales From the Trail
Relationship and History.
Are You a Leader? Yep!
You ARE a leader…whether you know it or not. Now…how will you capitalize on that?
Disappearing Days
Uh…August?
I’m just sayin’