Getting More Voice-over Work in Europe: Interview with Armin Hierstetter of Bodalgo.com, Part Two
TT: How can we tailor our demos to suit the needs and tastes of European talent buyers? Most American narration voice-over demos from the major markets (LA/NYC/Chicago) are about 60 seconds, have 4-8 clips of 6-12 seconds length each, usually with sophisticated music tracks and production values. Is this what your talent buyers need and want?
AH: Talking about non-custom demos I have one word for you: KISS. Keep It Short and Simple. In an ideal world you’d have a set of standard demos for different types of jobs, for example: There is one where you cut through some commercials, another one featured narrative stuff, a third one is IVRs/announcements, next in the line is training/elearning and one that combines the other four.
An ideal demo (in my opinion) starts with slating the talent’s name, followed by a voice only clip (no music, sound f/x) blending into produced stuff with music, sound f/x (where appropriate). Length: no longer than 30 to 45 seconds maximum. Why that short? Because: I am a firm believer that a voice seeker decides within seconds whether she/he likes the voice or not. There is no need for long demos as probably nobody will hear them until the end. That’s not because voice seekers don’t appreciate the effort one puts in her/his demo, but simply because it does not take that long to judge whether a voice could be right for a job or not if the demo is produced well.
AH: This one is especially for talents starting their career: NEVER EVER record demos using brand names you have never actually worked for! Apart from the fact that you risk to infringe the rights of others, you also risk to be seen in a negative light to say the least.
TT: I want to address the very important issue of “intellectual property rights” right away. Upon reading your statement about not using brand names and scripts unless the talent has actually performed them, I was struck immediately with the realization that the US has very different accepted business practices from Europe when it comes to using actual commercial scripts that have been broadcast on TV or radio. In our market, we commonly will use scripts on our standard demos for products or companies that we have NOT actually been hired to perform in real life. It is understood by any knowledgeable casting agent or producer here that when they listen to an American demo, the talent has not necessarily performed every clip on their demo in the real world – much of it was “borrowed” and then recorded in a studio. Nor is the talent claiming to have actually performed this work simply by having it on their demo (falsely claiming a credit on a resume or cover letter is a different matter, though). This practice is accepted in every major US market. Yes this is unauthorized usage, but because our demos are not being sold, there is no legal or ethical conflict in our system.
Your standards, if I understand you correctly, are much more strict in this regard, and I am sure that most if not all of your American talent are unaware of this. So what script options do American talents have for their standard demos? Can we write new scripts that have fake company names on them (i.e., “Superior Motors” instead of Volkswagen?). Can I use a portion of an actual script which I did not perform, as long as a company name isn’t mentioned? Or can I only use clips from actual jobs I have been hired to perform?
AH: Regarding demos using real brand names that the talent has not worked for – this is infringing copyright. You can’t go out using the name BMW if you never worked for them. And if talents use those demos to get work they ARE actually using it in a commercial way. But what disturbs me more is the fact that a talent using brand names gives the voice seekers the impression that he already has references he never really had (if you have it in your demo the seeker can’t but think you actually voiced for them). Imagine how YOU would feel as the talent originally in charge of the clip when you hear somebody else performing “your” clip …
(However), I appreciate that America has a different approach on that and won’t ban talents who use this practice (of using scripts they have not actually worked on). The rules indicated will not apply to American talents.
(Also, in a further e-mail exchange Armin said that using fake scripts and brand names was the ideal way to bypass the rights issue. Using a portion of an actual script that doesn’t mention a brand name is still a problem, since it does not address the issue of securing the permission of the owner of the script. Personally, I am going to revise my demos for the European market so that I am only using scripts that I have actually performed in real life. My philosophy is to conform to the standards and expectations of the market I am trying to approach).
AH: And – MOST IMPORTANT AND I CAN NOT STRESS THIS POINT ENOUGH: LISTEN TO YOUR AUDITIONS USING HEADPHONES!!! I know that many people think their auditions sound great, but I listen to many, many, many, many audiitons that are of poorest quality in my opinion. Many talents don’t seem to hear that ALL of their recordings have background hiss. And if you, the reader, now think “he is not talking to me” you are probably wrong. You cannot judge the quality of your demos with normal speakers. You need to put up a decent set of headphones to be absolutely sure about the quality.
Here is a “How to test recordings for dummies” (this works best with a demo with a few seconds of silence before the voice kicks in): Put up headphones. DONT PRESS PLAY YET! Before you play your demo, check if you already hear hiss (depending on the quality of your gear you might hear a bit of hiss – that’s fine because that’s the hiss of your equipment, not of your recording. Then press play and listen closely to your recording BEFORE your voice kicks in. Did the amount of hiss change? Are there any other backgournd noises? If you ticked yes you got a problem. Not an unsolvable one but you need to learn how a noise gate works and maybe invest in better equipment if a gate does not do the trick (and a gate set up wrongly can even worsen your recording – you need to work on your technical skills).
“Modern” voice talents need to be able to cope with two tasks: Apart from keeping your voice in shape, you need to be willing to gain technical skills, too, to be able to live up to client demands.
At the recent FaffCon 3 “unconference” (Sept. 23-25 in Hershey, PA), I was spontaneously moved to lead a discussion on “How American Talent Can Find More Work Internationally.” It is not a topic I am an expert on, but there was enough collective wisdom in the room that a great deal of useful information was shared. It became apparent that there are real differences in business customs, etiquette, etc., between the U.S. market and global markets.
Hungry for more information, I realized that the perfect person to give advice on this issue was Armin Hierstetter, owner of bodalgo.com. This is a European P2P online voice over casting site, a counterpart to North American companies such as Voices.com and Voice123.com. And bodalgo carefully screens talent before inviting them to be represented. Armin was very generous with his time to answer my emailed questions, and passed along a great number of insightful and helpful tips, which I’d like to share with you now.
TT: Armin, what sorts of European projects have a need for American-accented voices? Is there much demand for American voices for radio and TV spots? What sorts of industries need American voices for their sales-related scripts? And is there demand for more niche markets such as animation, telephony, live events, kiosks, etc.?
AH: I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding here. US talents tend to think – at least, I feel this is the case – that Eurozone clients don’t want US voices or favor UK voices over US voices. Clearly, this is not the case.
Sure enough, a UK-based client will want a UK voice most of the time. But continental Europe differs from this big time. Clients just want a “native English voice.” Very often they don’t even think about the fact that there are many different ways of English out there. This is where the term “neutral/mid-Atlantic English” comes into play. Wikipedia defines this as “a cultivated or acquired version of the English language that is not a typical idiom of any location. It blends American and British without being predominantly either.”
In other words: You can’t really tell where the talent speaking mid-Atlantic is from. And that’s exactly what somebody wants that needs a voice over made for products with a very wide target group – for example, online videos. The viewers/listeners may come from all around the world, so it’s best to have an English voice that sounds like it could be from anywhere, still native, though.
But like I said earlier, most of the time, voice seekers in Europe don’t care about the nature of the English as long as it’s native. When it comes to TV and/or radio advertising, voice seekers want a voice from the region in which the spot airs, of course. A strictly US business would probably not go for an Aussie talent, nor would the Brits look into a Texas talent most of the time.
TT: In addition to working with bodalgo, how can we connect with the producers who are looking for native American voice talent? Is there some central source to discover European advertising agencies, productions companies, etc? Is it proper to approach such companies without a personal introduction? We call this “cold-calling.”
AH: Regarding lists of agencies, etc., I am not sure whether researching and contacting them will do any good.
Most of the time, agencies don’t even respond – or already have enough talents of your kind. My gut feeling tells me it’d be a waste of time compared to other ways of marketing your voice, including sites like bodalgo. And I would like to take the chance to say “Hello” to the folks at voices.com – keep up the good work.
TT: What about expanding our reach into emerging markets such as Russia, Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, etc.? What sort of opportunities are there?
AH: English is spoken in more countries than any other language, so reaching out to other markets is a good idea in general. And, of course, bodalgo tries its best to open up those markets for our talents to be more successful, in order to be more successful ourselves, sure.
Another way of getting your teeth into those markets could be running campaigns on Google in those regions linking to your services. But that’s a field too wide to open here. Bodalgo will offer tutorials in the very near future that will cover many aspects of the voice over world, one being “how to market yourself as a talent.”
TT: What are the cultural and business etiquette differences that Americans need to be aware of, so as not to offend or disappoint European potential clients? Does your answer change depending on the particular nation in question, or do all these tips generally apply equally well across all European nations?
AH: I wouldn’t think too much about differences, as there is one guideline that is valid no matter where you go: Be friendly, proactive, and good to work with and you will be just fine. No client that you actually want to work with will feel insulted if you begin a letter with “Dear Armin” instead of “Dear Mr. Hierstetter.” To be on the safe side, you might want to use their last name, but I really don’t think that matters in the end.
Far more important: Keep your letter like your demos: Keep it short and simple. Always communicate a unique benefit for the client choosing your voice. This could be your above-the-average studio equipment, your references from clients with same needs, a fast turnaround, or even the fact that you happen to live just around the corner of the client’s offices.
TT:What is the best method for payment for VO services, with the best qualities of reliability, wide acceptance, and low fees?
AH: That’s an easy one: PayPal. Opening an account is free, the transfer of money works fast and flawless, and their fees are highly competitive. I know there are people out there that have no good feeling about PayPal, but for the purpose it has been created, I believe they are the best option by far. I also experienced that more and more voice seekers are willing to pay using PayPal.
TT: What is the best way to connect with clients who wish to direct me while recording? ISDN? Skype? Source Connect or Audio TX?
AH: In Europe, SourceConnect is rather unknown. They use ISDN codecs over here, with Maya/APTX leading the charts. I am not sure whether those ISDN codecs are compatible, and to be honest, I don’t care, because the absolute majority of clients don’t have ISDN themselves as they are simply mid-sized companies looking for a voice and not studios. So the good old telephone or Skype would be the normal option if the client wants to follow the recording. And that’s hardly the case at all.
Still, having a practical solution to have telephone and/or Skype to be integrated in your recording setup is a nice add-on, but not a must in my opinion.
TT: How can we tailor our demos to suit the needs and tastes of European talent buyers? Most American narration voice over demos from the major markets (LA/NYC/Chicago) are about 60 seconds, have 4-8 clips of 6-12 seconds length each, usually with sophisticated music tracks and production values. Is this what your talent buyers need and want?
AH: Talking about non-custom demos, I have one word for you: KISS. Keep It Short and Simple. In an ideal world, you’d have a set of standard demos for different types of jobs. For example, there is one where you cut through some commercials, another one features narrative stuff, a third one is IVRs/announcements.
Next in the line is training/e-learning and one that combines the other four.
An ideal demo, in my opinion, starts with slating the talent’s name, followed by a voice only clip – no music, sound f/x – blending into produced stuff with music, sound f/x where appropriate.
Length: no longer than 30 to 45 seconds maximum.
Why that short? Because I am a firm believer that a voice seeker decides within seconds whether she/he likes the voice or not. There is no need for long demos, as probably nobody will hear them until the end. That’s not because voice seekers don’t appreciate the effort one puts in her/his demo, but simply because it does not take that long to judge whether a voice could be right for a job or not if the demo is produced well.
******
See Part 2: Standards more strict for copyrighted material on demos; audition recording quality must be top notch.
This weekend, I attended the voice-over “unconference,” FaffCon 3 in Harrisburg, PA, along with 100 other professional voice talents from the US and Canada, plus Scotland, Tokyo, and Australia. Now, if you look at the dates of my blog posts you will notice that I haven’t posted since April. Honestly I have been very busy with work (I’m not complaining). FaffCon 3 was just what I needed to get myself “unstuck.” It was THE best thing I have done to improve my business in years.
An “unconference” is a relatively new concept. Rather than having paid guest speakers (who usually have a book and DVD set to hawk…), this was “By the Talent, For the Talent.” Anyone could sign up to lead a breakout session on the topic of their choice, even if they were not an expert on it. So some sessions, for example “Branding and Marketing” were led by a VO marketing genius like Doug Turkel (“The Unnouncer”), others were led by someone who was simply willing to lead the conversation. This was a very talented, generous, and intelligent group of voice talent who were able to check their egos at the door, and the result was a veritable treasure trove of knowledge that was shared freely by all. I am leaving FaffCon 3 with page after page of “Golden Nuggets,” tidbits of advice that will help improve my business and performance TOMORROW!
So many nuggets – SoundCloud, QR (Quick Response) Codes, how to optimize my efforts on LinkedIn, the best place to buy promotional pens, IABC, SBA, Action Plans, my Mission Statement – I’m still sorting through all of my chicken-scratched notes!
I decided to take the plunge and stepped forward myself and agreed to lead a discussion about how American voice talent can get more work internationally. The collective wisdom of the 20 or so talent who participated was eye-opening. I was left with many unanswered questions (such as “do we need to re-tool our American-style VO demos to suit the needs and tastes of international clients? And if so, how?”). I hope to find a lot of answers to those questions by approaching international agents and producers, and I will share my findings here and with other blogs and VO-related websites.
Near the end of the day on Sunday, I was asked my thoughts about the weekend as an audience member on the live “East-West Audio Body Shop” filmed by Dan Lenard and George Whittam. I pondered why some very talented people never make it in the voice-over world, while a fortunate handful of other do? For me, the key was NOT trying to do it all myself. I scuffled along the first 5 years of my voice career until I began working out with other talent through regular practice groups that I took the initiative to organize. The skills I learned from several years of these groups, along with the advice, feedback, emotional support, and accountability partnering is what made all the difference for me. FaffCon is a natural extension of that philosophy.
Visit faffcon.com/ for more information. FaffCon 4 is coming March 22-24, 2012, in Ventura Beach, California. If you are a professional voice talent who wishes to improve your business and connect with a wonderful community of fellow talent, do whatever it takes to get there.
Part of the stereotype of the actor is that they tend to have fragile egos. I like to think that I have a healthier ego than that stereotype, as a result of being a pretty secure person who is well-loved by his family and friends. Yeah, if you saw my collection of 750+ airplane models, you might conclude a mild case of OCD – and I wouldn’t argue – but I’m not a neurotic, narcissistic drama queen either. So I surprised myself when I recently had my own mini-crisis of fear and doubt.
It happened last week, when I started recording VO tracks for my new narrations demo. This major project is the last duck I need to get in a row before I can really begin my next big marketing push of contacting both out-of-state and international talent buyers. So there is a lot at stake here for my career. A LOT.
Well, the results of my recording session that first day left me very disappointed. When I listened back to my tracks, nothing was bad by any means, but there was certainly no spark at all. I knew exactly what was happening: I was having feelings of fear and doubt, and those feelings had crept into my performance. And that is how performance works – whatever is true inside of you emotionally will come through in your read. No matter how good your voice quality is, you cannot fake this – it must be dealt with for anything “magic” to happen.
I actually had the thought, “maybe I’m a hack! Maybe I’m really not that good,” which is not the sort of feelings I have on a regular basis. I was feeling the pressure of my expectations, big-time. It was not just a lack of confidence behind the mic, it was my fear of rejection which certainly lies ahead of me as I try to build relationships with new people who can hire me as a talent. It’s not fun to make cold calls, to get “thanks, but no thanks” replies – even IF the people I approach bother to reply (typically in my business, it is acceptable for them NOT to reply at all, as they are inundated with pitches from talent). I hate to admit it, but that prospect is scary to me, and it is one of the factors explaining why it took so long for me to get started on re-inventing myself.
I’m hoping you have read this far, because now I’m going to tell you how I got myself out of this rut. My techniques should apply to people who are not performers, too. I think my plan will help anybody who finds themselves in a crisis of confidence.
The first thing I did was to PREPARE myself better. I got a good night’s sleep. After I showered, I used my Neti Pot to clear out my sinuses (works like a charm, and really improves the resonance in my voice). Then, I spent less than 10 minutes doing some Chi-Kung moves. Chi Kung is a form of Tai Chi, and it has an amazing ability to calm me and help me feel grounded and present. Then I did a few Yoga stretches a friend had taught me that helped to loosen up my chest muscles – which also helps make my voice more resonant. So physically, I was now well prepared.
Next, I prepared myself emotionally. To drown out that old tape of “you’re not good enough,” I thought of times in my career when I was well praised for my performance. I thought of the time early in my career when a studio owner said “I’ve been in this business for 20 years, and you are one of the top three I have EVER worked with. And I have worked with a lot of ‘heavy hitters’ in the biz.” I remembered more such feedback, ending with a session I had just THREE DAYS AGO (!) when I was in a session at the top studio in Chicago with a roomful of young creatives who weren’t all on the same page direction-wise. At one point, after proving myself a VO Gumby by taking all of their conflicting directions, the lead producer opened up his mic and said, “were all just shaking our heads in here at just how damn good you are at this.” As I remembered each of these very positive events, I could feel my doubt fading away. And then it was gone.
The last thing I did was a technique that is specific to VO, though it would also work for any public speaking. It’s a simple technique that I was taught by my voice-over guru, Marice Tobias. Basically, I read each sentence in a script as it is written, then I put it in my own words and paraphrase it out loud. I’ll go deeper in to the meaning by explaining in greater detail every claim I am making (even if I have to make the details up). This technique is a terrific way to “sell myself” on the ideas in the script, and to communicate with meaning and intention – which a whole other level above merely “reading with words in a pleasant voice.” This strategy always works like a charm, and if you could hear the “before” and “after” of doing this technique, you might be amazed at what a difference it makes. I repeated this before I began reading each new script.
The end result of my second session, after all this preparation, was simply wonderful. It felt totally “on,” and every script I recorded was just terrific! I felt that was actually performing up to my full potential. The contrast to the tracks I recorded the day before, when I was in self-doubt mode, was stunning.
So if you ever find yourself in a state of fear and self-doubt, know that you CAN get yourself out of it! I hope you will find some of these techniques useful in doing so. Thanks for listening!
Last month I took a much-needed out-of-state family vacation. My wife also freelances, so we don’t get paid vacations, and it’s very difficult to take time off. And of course, whenever I do go away, I miss out on the jobs I would have had the week that I am gone – AND – I can’t audition while I’m away, so things are slow the week after I return. It’s a Double Whammy.
Or… it *used* to be. You see, with the advent of excellent quality portable gear, I can now take my studio on the road with me. I use a little 10-inch screen Acer netbook (don’t need much processing power for audio editing), a MicPort Pro (a tiny little USB preamp and analog/digital converter), and an AT2050 mic with a desktop stand. The whole package cost only about $450.
While I was vacationing in Palm Desert, CA with my family, I had a request from a regular client to record an 8 minute script. I was a bit nervous about this request. I had only expected to record auditions with my travel gear, not actual sessions. I wasn’t sure my audio quality would be good enough, so before I accepted the job, I sent them a sample that I recorded on-site. Happily, the client was satisfied with the results (it helps that the video I was narrating would most likely be listened to through crappy laptop or PC speakers).
I got the gig! I arranged heavy quilts in the walk-in closet of our condo bedroom, which did a great job of treating the room. I didn’t have a desk or a copy stand, which did make things tricky. I had to balance my netbook and mic on a pile of folded blankets and quilts, which was a bit unstable. It wasn’t high enough, so I had to sit uncomfortably with my head hunched over. But it only took about 20 minutes to do, so I could bear it. Another factor that made it bearable was the unexpected additional income while on “vacation,” that was enough to pay for a romantic dinner and evening at a resort with my wife!
So it was a success – it didn’t sound anywhere near as good as the audio quality of my home studio of course, but it was “good enough” for the end user’s needs. I’m happy about making the money, but I’m not happy about the intrusion to my vacation. I guess the trade-off of the portable studio rig is that I may never really be on vacation again, which makes me sad since my vacation time is so fleeting and precious as it is. Unless I go back to the mountains of Oregon, strap on a backpack and go deep in the woods – yeah, THAT’S the ticket!
I’ve been extremely busy lately, working on three large long-form narration projects. One is Project Management training for a large construction firm, another is materials to help prepare students for college and their post-graduation job search, and the newest project is narrating World Book Encyclopedia materials for web use.
One of the cool things about doing narration projects like these is how much I learn about a huge variety of industries and occupations. I’ve learned a lot about ladder safety, accounting, how large contractors do business, even how to spot all types of insurance fraud. After doing this for 20 years, I’d be a kick-ass contestant on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire!”
With long-form narration, of course consistency in energy and clarity of read are both important, but bottom line: efficiency is the key. Companies won’t directly make money off of training, though in the long-run, superior training will improve productivity and improve worker safety, among other benefits. But unfortunately, training materials are considered a “cost” rather than an “investment” by many companies, so budgets are tight on most of these projects. So this means that a voice talent who can work very efficiently will make the producers who hire them very happy clients!
Part of what I mean by the term “efficiency,” is that the voice talent will make relatively few flubs while reading. But it also means that the read will be right the first time as much as possible, in terms of inflections and highlighting the appropriate phrases. One strategy that helps is to have my eyes and brain be several words ahead of my mouth. Reading forward like this enables my brain to have an extra split second to see where the sentence is going and decide how to read it before my mouth actually does the talking. This will minimize re-reads and save much time.
Also, my experience as an audio engineer on projects I record from my own studio have helped me to discover little tricks I can do to make editing out flubs, breaths, etc. much easier and quicker. For example, if I make a flub in mid-sentence, I will take a deep breath then pause several seconds before I start again. When I go back to edit the audio file, I can look at the waveforms and determine by sight exactly where I’ve made flubs (otherwise, I’d have to listen to the whole thing to find flubs, which takes much more time). I’m going to listen to the entire file after editing anyhow for a final check, but I’d rather listen to the entire thing once rather than twice!
This engineering experience has made me very popular with producers who have long-form narration clients, including work I voice outside of my own studio. The less time I make them spend in their studio cleaning up my reads, the lower their costs and the better their profit on the project. So every little thing I can do to speed things up while maintaining quality will be of enormous help in making the project profitable for my client. If I’m paid by the hour, in the short run it means I’ll make less money by being more efficient, but that’s okay – if I can help my clients’ bottom lines, they will call me back again and again. And they do!
My latest news is that I am currently in the midst of a fair amount of angst over the production of my newest voice-over demo, the first one I have hired an outside producer to engineer in over a decade. There is a great deal of controversy on my favorite voice-over forum, www.vo-bb.com, over how quickly the first draft of my new demo is edited. I have 14 clips in 60 seconds, which is a lot! Most contemporary demos have from 8-12 clips in that time frame.
The central issue in the debate, as I see it, is “how will this demo be listened to?” My fellow voice actors feel the individual clips are far too short to get a sense of a complete performance or even a complete thought. However, my take is that actors are listening primarily to hear the enjoyment of the performance – which is a different goal than that of the casting directors, talent agents, and producers my demo is aimed at (the people who can actually hire me). They are looking to find the right voice for a project, and to do it quickly.
My belief, reinforced by my demo producer as well as what I recall being advised by Marice Tobias many years ago, is that the folks who are listening with an eye towards casting listen to so many demos – week in and week out – that they “get” what it is I am trying to demonstrate in each clip very quickly. Once the “get it,” they want to move on. If the clips go on for too long, they may begin to advance the demo to skip ahead. Editing a demo with many short clips may encourage this type of listener to actually take in the entire demo without fast-forwarding. If this strategy of quick, short clips succeeds, it will be more effective at representing what I can do than a demo with fewer, longer clips. I think my fellow actors who are advising me to lengthen my clips are finding it hard to stand in the shoes of people who listen to demos by the hundreds. It is tough to ignore the advice of the fellow talent on this forum whom I respect so much. But they can’t hire me.
There are a few lessons one can take from this experience. First, make your voice-over demo to please the people who can actually hire you. And keep in mind that what THEY like may not be exactly what YOU like to hear! I actually agree with my fellow actors in that, personally, I also prefer listening to a demo with fewer, longer clips – but sadly, I cannot cast myself. Second, there is no one strategy for making a demo that will make everyone happy. Evaluating a voice-over demo is a very subjective process. I’m sure I’ll also find casting directors, talent agents and producers who will prefer longer clips vs quick edits. I cannot make everyone happy, nor should I try.
Which brings up another point – is it better to make a demo that the majority of people like a lot, or is it better to make a demo that a minority of people really LOVE? I am reminded of the challenge of automotive stylists. They can pursue a styling strategy similar to Toyota’s, which is to make a design that the masses will like (or at least, not hate), versus the strategy of the stylists who designed, say, the Kia Soul cube car”. It looks like a funky clown car to my generation, but the younger generation loves it!
I’ve got to find my personal niches in the marketplace, represent the types of reads I can do as a talent really, really well on my demo, and then “market the hell out of it.” I’d rather be loved by a few than liked by many. The voice-over business is too competitive, and being “liked” isn’t good enough.
I found this jaw-droppingly amazing digital art demo from Plenty ™ on Andrew Sullivan’s blog. Check it out here and prepare to be amazed: http://vimeo.com/16228451
“This is a montage of Plenty’s works during 2010, plus some dear projects that Gula and Playful made in 2009. You will find works from: Fox International, MTV LatinAmerica, MTV International, VH1, NatGeo, AXN Japan, Schweppes Australia & Gancia One.
Music: Empire of the sun (Standing on the Shore) Thanks!”
One of the most enduringly useful tips I learned from my favorite voice-over coach, Ms Marice Tobias, was the idea that “whatever is true with me emotionally in the moment will come through in my performance.” I had an illustration of that concept not long ago that I want to share with you.
A few days ago, I auditioned for a “Denis Leary” type of read for a food product. I recorded at home, felt pretty good about it, then MP3’d it to my agent. The this morning I got a message from my agent that the casting director had decided that she’d ONLY consider talent who could come in and read in-person this afternoon. Sure, I could do this, and was feeling confident.
Then an hour or so before I had to leave for the in-person audition, I began working with a new preamp I just got. Connecting the preamp then began to completely vex me (why the hell don’t all mfr’s use the same terminology for inputs and outputs? But I digress…). Try as I might, I just could not figure it out – which any red-blooded he-man will tell you is a devastating defeat for the fragile male ego. A man who cannot figure out how to use his tools is a loser, unworthy of affection, and to be shunned by other red-blooded men. In other words, I began feeling like the Anti-Denis Leary! I could feel my heart sink, and that brash confidence one needs to pull off an attitude read like this had vanished.
As I was walking out the door, another wave of negativity washed over me as I realized that after 4 pm, most of the street parking in the location of this agency in downtown Chicago became tow-zones, and I’d likely have to pay $18 to park in a lot just for an audition! Arrrrgh! So I drove south on Lake Shore Drive, feeling like utter crap, knowing that I would completely blow this audition if I was feeling this way behind the mic. I was totally “in my head” and literally had tunnel vision.
I knew that I had to get out of this frame of mind if I were to have any chance at this audition. So I began to consciously think about events in my life where I felt supremely confident. Just then, I snapped out of it by noticing how beautiful the skyline and lakeshore looked in the light of the setting sun. A broad smile broke out spontaneously as I felt the joy of the beautiful scene before me. I started feeling much better.
And then, I actually managed to find a spot to park on the street for $2.50, and headed off to the agency. As I walked up to the high-rise building where the agency was located, I realized that the place I was going to was familiar – I had not realized exactly where I was going because my agent had used the agency’s acronym rather than the full name I know it by. A pleasant surprise! The casting director there is a lady I have become closer to over the years, and especially lately now that we’re Facebook friends. Feeling even better…
So whereas just an hour before, I was in a very bad place emotionally to be able to give a good read for this script, due to some luck – but also to a conscious effort on my part – I was able to get out of it. I gave two good reads for 2 different scripts, and the casting director was very complimentary. In fact, as I was leaving, she told me “I knew you’d be great with this script. In fact, you’re my top choice for this.”
So the moral of the story is: whatever is true inside of you will come through in your read. Don’t settle for a sub-par performance from a negative state of mind. If you’re in a bad place in the moment, you CAN get out of it.
My goal is to post at least twice a week here, with material that will be on interest to freelance creatives in general, and people in the voice-over business in particular. I’ve been silent the past few weeks though, because I have been moving forward at high speed and haven’t quite caught up enough to blog! In the past few weeks I have assembled a brand-new PC to replace my old one which had a motherboard short, so now I have entered the world of Windows 7. Also, I found a great deal on my own personal “Holy Grail” mic, a Gefell M930 (it sounds much like a Neumann TLM-103, only better!). I am thrilled with how it sounds in my studio.
But perhaps the biggest development in my business happened today. I finally took the plunge into the world of an obsolete technology that simply won’t go away – ISDN. For the past decade I’ve considered investing in it, but rejected the idea for fear that in another year I’ve have nothing left but an expensive doorstop. (For those of you who don’t know what ISDN is – it’s basically a super-powered landline that can be used in remote recording, so I can record myself in my booth at home, while someone in another part of the world can listen in as clearly as if I were actually there). It is expensive to buy the codec box ($3-4K new, though I got a great deal on a used one), and the line charges will be around $100/month.
I’ve been expecting VOIP technology to replace ISDN, but it hasn’t quite happened yet for technical reasons (such as latency problems) and also failure of any alternative to reach “critical mass.” I’ve been assured by those in the VO biz that I respect that ISDN will still be around for a good while. So now, I’ll be better able to market myself to talent agencies, ad agencies, and production companies across the globe. I’m quite excited!
Since ISDN is if such limited use, it can be very difficult dealing with the phone companies. I’ve heard some horror stories about voice talent getting ISDN set up. Thankfully, there is a knight in shining white armor by the name of Dave Immer of Digifon who will be my consultant. He’s the “best in the biz” when it comes to ISDN. Also, I have audio guru George Whittam of El Dorado Consulting on my side to make sure I plug all the right cables into all the proper inserts. I can’t imagine doing this myself.