Censored!

I would like to share the g-rated moments that I gleaned from Nancy Wolfson’s VOICE 2010 session on Friday, June 4. Her session was definitely pushing my comfort zone at first, but, hey, if Bob Souer can do it, then by gosh, I can try it too!

First of all some basic f*!#g tips.

  • Active hush – I may need someone to post a response explaning what this actually means, but I think it relates to the next bullet…
  • Avoid Volume and Cheerfulness – instead to add energy use vocal tension
  • Watch the smile (the Joanie Gerber “psychotic” smile may be old-school?)
  • Keep the copy higher than your eyes
  • Keep your body loose – ready to pounce

The x-rated portion of the session was all about using your natural instincts and doing three takes.

  • The Admit take – this is the gut take – no extra words
  • Then “throw down the “f” word” before the key words in the copy. […]
2010-06-09T17:15:15+00:00June 9th, 2010|Categories: Auditioning, Techniques|Tags: , , , |

Auditioning: When is too much auditioning too much auditioning?

I belong to a very active LinkedIn group for working voice actors and the question of the day is about the “Law of Averages.”

Ed Victor says – “My new law of averages in scoring work is frankly “Less is More”. Less auditioning. More work. Is this the beginning of the end for agents and casting directors? Is the writing on the wall? Am I full of it?”

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=18517379&gid=137057&commentID=-1&trk=view_disc

My first response to his question (there may be more):

Most of my work remains referrals, repeat clients and direct hits to my website or to one of the other websites where my demos are parked (some free and some P2P) with no auditioning. I also try to target a few new contacts each week through reading group posts, following links, key word searches.The vast majority of the auditions do seem to disappear into the ether – many never get heard. But I have landed […]

2018-02-06T06:48:42+00:00April 26th, 2010|Categories: Auditioning|

Fast! Good! Cheap?

You know this adage – Fast, Good, Cheap – Pick any Two? Technological advances are putting this saying to the test – with people wanting (and many times getting) all three. The principal of the “Long Tail” – originally used to describe a retailing concept of selling a large number of unique items in relatively small quantities – is another factor in the evolution of this axiom. Apply the long tail to voiceovers and it means creating lots and lots of product that will be seen or heard by fewer and fewer people. Think about the growing number of niche television, radio, YouTube channels. Fewer eyeball and ears? Maybe. Maybe not – considering the population of the world.

So how is this affecting Fast, Good, Cheap?

Fast

When it comes to the voiceover business, particularly at the first stage – voiceover auditions – Fast reigns supreme. With online casting (either through agents […]

2018-02-06T06:48:43+00:00March 2nd, 2010|Categories: Auditioning, Marketing, Musings, Negotiating|

Virtual Talent Agency or P2P (Pay to Play)?

With automated online casting now moving past walking and starting to run (it is about 5 years old now?), there is still a lot of controversy about the concept.

Without a doubt some sort of online casting will be with us as long as we have the Internet, but how will these sites evolve? That is the question some voice talent are bantering about in a couple of forums as a result of a post that Cairo based voice talent Mahmoud Taji added to his Voiceover Emporium site.

http://www.voiceemporium.com/archives/01/tajis-frankenstein-monster/

Read the discussions, follow the links. Educate yourself. See if you can come up with the ideal online automated casting entity.

Can’t get away from it – even in Paradise

Just got back from about a week in Hawaii (the Big Island). My first trip – most of it spent driving around the island stopping at every point of interest. Amazing place.

Went over there for a VO Workshop – Medical Mumbo – with Julie Williams. That was one day in Hilo in the middle of the trip. Decided not to drag my laptop studio with me. Just the BlackBerry for email that mostly informed me of all of the auditions I was missing, as well as the ability to post pics to Facebook. It also rang a couple of times with jobs that needed to be pushed back until I got home. Luckily I was able to push them. Most of the time, when you leave home, you lose money.

But because this was a VO workshop, I did have a chance to do one audition that I just didn’t want […]

2018-02-06T06:48:53+00:00January 15th, 2010|Categories: Auditioning|Tags: , , , |

You Just Never Know…

After all that ruminating about doing so many auditions and lamenting that most people were not casting off our demos (see prior blog post – http://isdnvoicetalent.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/ruminating-again-about-auditions/), I had a direct hit off one of the P2P sites that will result in an ISDN session this morning.

So, you just have to keep everything honed and at the ready…’cause you just never know the path someone will take to find and hire you. Keep your generic demos fresh!

It’s just one part of any good business plan. Scroll back a few posts to see some great responses from a couple of pros on some of the other business thoughts I’ve had over the past week or so.

http://isdnvoicetalent.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/more-on-the-business-of-vo/

http://isdnvoicetalent.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/tangible-and-intangible-assets-needed-for-voiceover-biz/

2018-02-06T06:48:53+00:00December 23rd, 2009|Categories: Auditioning, Business, Marketing|Tags: , , , , |

Answers about casting from Rudy Gaskins

In light of my recent blog post (and subsequent article on VoiceOverXtra) about the selection process, Rudy Gaskins has some answers in his most recent article on VoiceOverXtra (Part 3).

He offers some fabulous insight in why he would select celebrity vs. working class talent. He also talks the process of selection – not the process of rejection. One question I may ask him is how many custom auditions he listens to and at what stage in his process. The article implies that he casts off the generic demos on the sites such as http://www.videovoicebank.net/.

Check it out – http://www.voiceoverxtra.com/article.htm?id=dyjk7quv

2018-02-06T06:48:53+00:00December 21st, 2009|Categories: Auditioning|Tags: , , , , |

Ruminating again about auditions

I have never auditioned so much in my life as I have since Internet casting and remote recording came in vogue.

I can’t help but remember back to the 80’s when I rarely auditioned for anything. While I was on staff at KFMB-TV as a live staff announcer, the door to my tiny room would open and the production manager would hand me copy to record. Or I would wander down the hall to KFMB-Radio and do multi-voice spots with Mark Larsen or Danny Romero.

After landing an agent (Nanci Washburn – Artist Management) I still didn’t see much of a difference for the voiceover work. She simply called to book me on a job and I drove to Studio C or KyXy or Seacoast or Spot Shop or Lightning or Western Video or Four Square or JM Television or Invincible or San Diego Audio Video – the list […]

What makes an audition “win?” Am I the “voice in the head” today?

This is a subjective business – this business we are in – the business of recording our voice for sales, marketing, information, entertainment. And it is a mystery for sure sometimes as to why one voice is selected out of all the choices submitted.

I’ve mentioned recently that after many many years in this business, I am starting to have the opportunity to go vocal cord to vocal cord with some of the best most well known talent in the industry. My ear is caught many times a day by the radio or the TV as spots that I have auditioned for fly out of the speakers.

I have heard the Geico Pothole and Parking Column spots. The new Chinet spots. Something for weight loss. And several more. I have returned to my audio files to compare what ended up on the air with what I submitted. And I know that my audition […]

Nice When the Agent Makes the First Move…

Had a private message through one of the P2P sites on Friday from an agent at a large talent agency asking if I was interested in being represented by them, as they had some auditions that they thought I would be right for.

A quick search on the web pointed to a reputable group with many of my virtual VO buddies already listed on the site. Made a couple of calls (due diligence) and within a couple of hours, the paperwork had been emailed, printed, signed and faxed back.

At a time when it is harder and harder to get agency representation in general, much less by a group that gets national work, this was a very nice email to receive.

So, here’s to a chance to do more – and better auditions – going head to head with some of the best in the business. In this numbers game, we need to audition. […]

2018-02-06T06:48:54+00:00November 7th, 2009|Categories: Auditioning, Business, Musings|Tags: , , |
Go to Top