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The Very Latest…
AI That Works FOR You
In the rapidly evolving world of freelance voice acting, the days of simply emailing an MP3 demo to a casting director and waiting by the phone are long gone. Today, a voice actor is not just a talent; they are a brand, a marketer, and a content creator. With the...
Just Before that…
VoiceOver Myths, Legends, and Fables, Part III
Is IMPROV training really going to improve your VO career?
VoiceOver Myths, Legends, and Fables, Part II
Gesticulation. Does it really help when you’re at the mic?
VoiceOver Myths, Legends, and Fables, Part I
When you’re new at something, you tend to accept things at face value…but it’s important to ask why.
4 Obvious Reasons Voice Actors Should Try *ConnectionOpen* Today
More than a decade later, ConnectionOpen is even more the feature-rich, mature product for remote recording that you’d expect from itsfounder and #1 advocate, Randy Morrison.
How To Land and Keep Big Clients
It’s easy and it’s not. It’s obvious and it’s not. Don’t ignore the basics.
The Only Thing That’s Constant…
You know how this adage ends…but you DON’T know why I would write about it.
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
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.
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.
WoVOCon IV is Here
With WoVCO’s 4th annual conference beginning, my schedule gets pretty hectic. Here’s how to keep up with the goings-on.
WoVO Week
How many things have you nurtured through thick ‘n’ thin for five solid years? WoVO is that kind of “thing”…that kind of committment.
VO Business & Compensation
3 Bedrock Foundations for VO Business Success
…and it’s not rocket science, but read on anyway.
Does VO Success Depend on Where You Live?
Rural or Urban? Arkansas or Los Angeles?
Your geographic location may set your VO fate. Or not.
The Best Place to Find New VO Jobs
Lord knows, the options are endless these days, and the path of least resistance is alluring. How ’bout THIS for an idea?
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
Maybe You Can Use These Tools?
LinkedIn add-ons, a great (and free) video editor, and SIP audio demystified.
Anybody Can Do This
…and the vehicle is Podcasting. But is it really voice-acting?
5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Produce Your Own Demos
Yeah…don’t even think it.
Here’s why.
WAVSplitter: Next-Gen Word2WAV
Specialty software designed just for voice-actors is rare. It's usually musicians, producers, or DJ's etc. who are the target, and voiceover artists have to adapt it. But Word2Wav was one of those unique, gems-of-a-program that could save you, the voice actor, hours...
Video: Doing the SKYPE Phone Patch
Erik Sheppard hosts this video with me explaining the Skype phone patch.
How to Conduct a Phone Patch Using Skype
Hard-wired phone lines are almost an anachronism for all but serious businesses, government, and other formal institutions. POTS (plain old telephone systems) services are not going away, but for most individual consumers, and certainly 3rd-world countries, phone...
143
When is the truth so obvious that you HAVE to admit it?
5 Creative Ways to Evaluate a Voiceover Colleague’s Demo
Lord knows it's hard enough to be honest with YOURSELF about your demos. It's even harder to be candid, yet diplomatic with your peers when they ask you for an opinion about THEIR demo. And yet, the call eventually comes...that email with an attachment. Someone...
2 New Browser Releases, and 3 Reasons Why It May Not Matter to Your Voiceover Business
How DO you access the internet these days? Increasingly laptops and desktops are becoming irrelelvant.
Can You Say “Moo”?
Clients meet voice-actors, and everyone’s happy, right?
Wrong.
You can do better.
Voice Over Events
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.
WoVOCon IV is Here
With WoVCO’s 4th annual conference beginning, my schedule gets pretty hectic. Here’s how to keep up with the goings-on.
WoVO Week
How many things have you nurtured through thick ‘n’ thin for five solid years? WoVO is that kind of “thing”…that kind of committment.
Rates Roundtable: Interactive Strike
Voiceover industry experts discuss the ongoing SAG-AFTRA Interactive Strike, the underlying issues, and the progress being made towards resolution.
Rates Roundtable is Back!
Video Game voice-actors and SAG-AFTRA negotiators discuss the Interactive Strike. A Gold-Ribbon panel of experts talk about progress being made in SAG’s longest-ever strike.
Listen to my Commercial demoVoice Over Niches
AI: Don’t Miss the Voiceover Business Potential
In the rush to judge AI as a threat to the VO industry, many might miss the incredible marketing and business tools therein.
VoiceOver Myths, Legends, and Fables, Part III
Is IMPROV training really going to improve your VO career?
VoiceOver Myths, Legends, and Fables, Part II
Gesticulation. Does it really help when you’re at the mic?
Voice Over Hardware & Software tools
Coolest Online Digital Tool EVARR
Anyone who's had to build a story using subject interviews under deadline pressure (TV reporters?) knows the drill. You can't really compose the narrative until you know exactly what the interview subjects actually say...so the first task - while the clock is ticking...
Best Voice Over Lead Generator I’ve Seen in a Long Time
Access. How do you find access to names, emails, phone numbers of people/prospects who might hire you? THIS is how.
Google Search on Steroids
Understand a few simple syntax constructions in your google search,
and you can open up a world of opportunity.
The 5 Technology Myths of Voiceover
Impossible! 21st-Century technology BUILT today’s VO profession! How could it conceivably shackle your progress? Read it and weep. Chances are you’re guilty.
5 Tactful Ways to Critique a Voiceover Colleague’s Demo
Are you qualified to evaluate the demo of a VO peer? Yes and no. Here are five suggestions for seeing your way through that thicket.
SEO Checklist for Voiceover Websites
A website referred to me by a voice actor in Europe.
Care ‘n’ Feeding of Your Microphone
Your microphone is not just a hunk of metal and wires. It’s delicate, and requires TLC. Here are some tips.
Centrance Mixerface R4 Adds Mics
The well-received Centrance Mixerface R4 adds two Centrance-designed pivot mics. Centrance’s Michael Goodman explains in an interview from the NAB floor.
In:Quality at NAB
The makers of ipDTL (and now new related products) makes its stand at the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas
ASMR and Other Interwebs News
Oh, the stuff you can find when you have a computer and too much time on your hands!
No Wiggle-Room, No Excuses
Unmerited favor (grace) is in short supply. Regrettable, but now the way of the world more than ever.
Save $50 !!!
Thursday and Friday…the last chance to get the lowest price on the best VO conference yet this year.
Media Mashup
Like it or not, you’re in the media industry…which has been in the throes of change for years, now. Herein, some great resources to bring you up-to-date.