Connie Terwilliger – Page 11 – Connie Terwilliger

Excellent Advice for Self-directing Audio Book Narration

One of the things that a professional voice talent MUST have to succeed is the ability to self-direct. We do so much of our work – at least initially (and in many cases most of our work) – alone. Alone with our doubts, our insecurities, our patterns.

When we are auditioning, the ability to self-direct can be the determining factor in getting the gig. We don’t want to send out the “same” read that 95% of the rest of the talent is submitting. We want our audition to leap off the mp3 and straight into the “book that talent” column.

Last year, I tried my hand at fiction audio books for the first time. I am finishing up the 3rd. And while the verdict is still out on if I actually like this area of voice work, I have greatly enjoyed the process. Discovering how much time it REALLY takes. Is it […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:14+00:00January 19th, 2013|Categories: Techniques|Tags: audio book, Connie Terwilliger, Paul Alan Ruben, self-directing, voice acting|

Advice for Producers is Also Good Advice for Talent

Just ran across this blog post by Marc Scott cross-posted on Voice123. It is aimed at the people seeking voice talent, however it is good advice for both the seeker and the seekee! In fact, as a user of the online casting sites myself, I have a similar set of guidelines as I decide which projects to audition for.

One of the biggies for me is a poorly written script. As a long time award-winning scriptwriter and corporate producer before jumping into voiceover full-time, I wrote many many scripts for other talent to read. A well-written script is ALWAYS easier for the talent to deliver. If you are new to the art of writing a script for someone to verbalize, put your words to the test. Record yourself reading the material aloud before you send it off for auditions. If you have a hard […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:14+00:00December 15th, 2012|Categories: Auditioning|Tags: Auditioning, Connie Terwilliger, Marc Scott, voiceover|

Voice Actors – are we stepping out from the shadows?

A friend sent me a link to an article published by CNN.com about voice actors (mostly cartoon voice actors) getting more recognition now because of the Internet. The fan base is increasing. Which makes sense. These famous A-lister voiceover actors – were mostly unknown for the most part, until the Internet. We’re not talking about the movie stars who have transitioned to animation, but the voice actors who stay mostly behind the mic, not the lens. And if they do appear on-camera, it is usually a character role.

The article focused mostly on voices like Frank Welker, Seth McFarlane, and Peter Cullen. One quote caught my eye – from Frank Cullen…

“The respect level (for voice acting) is climbing and climbing faster than it ever did before in the last few years. The studios are recognizing they don’t have to hire a big name actor. People don’t know […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:15+00:00November 3rd, 2012|Categories: Business, Marketing, Musings|

FaffCon 5 Followup: Fabulous

Why has it been hard for me to get to the blog to write about my FaffCon5 experience? It was fabulous. No doubt about that. And I was looking at it in a much different light than my previous 4 FaffCons because this time I wasn’t involved in the planning. This time, I just got to participate and truly spend quality time with people. Which was a good thing. Of course, being on the planning team is a good thing too! But I let that get in the way of my real participation in FaffCon. So, this time, I just showed up and tried not to jump in and organize. When I got to the hotel on Thursday evening, I noticed the FaffCon staff having their big dinner and I started to feel left out. Several other Faffers were at another table and quickly distracted me. I was however, allowed […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:15+00:00October 27th, 2012|Categories: Business, Musings|

We Want What We Cannot Have

Why is it that the faster technology advances the less it does what we want?

Oh, it does so much – and much much more – but the very fact that it does so much makes us want it to do more!

And some of stuff not doing what we want it to do is operator error. It does so much – how can anyone know the total scope of its capabilities…until you ask it to do something it simply can’t.

For example, my travel recording gear used to be a dbx mini-pre with my AKG 1000 mic and a Toshiba laptop. Worked great. Then I got a MicPortPro, which saved some weight and space.

But it didn’t work on my laptop, because I was using Adobe Audition 2 and it didn’t support USB mic connections. An upgrade to Audition 3 was needed to get the MicPortPro to work with the laptop. Fine, software […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:15+00:00September 9th, 2012|Categories: Musings, Technology|Tags: Adobe Audition, MicPortPro, voiceover work, Xoom|

It is Critical to use our Critical Thinking

One of the things I am grateful for is that my early education included some training in critical thinking. In not blindly accepting whatever you see, hear or read.

Well, seeing is believing they say and if something happens right in front of you – and you can feel the heat, the pain, the happiness, the relief – then you are probably pretty clear about the truth of the situation. Maybe.

But trust what you see on the Internet, or in a link you get in email? Trust what you read on shared posts on Facebook? Pretty much NEVER!

I enjoin everyone to stop and THINK! I’m not saying I have a perfect record in ferreting out falsehoods, but I grow more and more skeptical about the things that cross my eyes and ears.

Today, in two of the usual places I check to catch up on what my friends and family are up […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:15+00:00August 29th, 2012|Categories: Musings|

The Value of a Voiceover

Just what does it take to be successful as a voice talent in 2012? Treat it like a business. (This of course, assumes that you have some talent to start with.)

The Internet has changed what we do in many significant ways. It has 1) increased the number of people offering their services as voice talent (whether they should be or not), 2) cut out the middle man in casting (the people who know the value of voiceover), and because of a lack of truly understanding that this is a business like any other business it has 3) driven rates down down down.

Many people just getting started fail to see the big picture. Sure, the come on for so many of the endless voiceover classes screams “make $300 an hour,” but … can you live on one hour every few months?

One recent discussion centered on whether $25 per hour was a […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:15+00:00August 21st, 2012|Categories: Business, Marketing, Musings, Negotiating|Tags: value of voiceover, voiceover business|

No complaints…

I am not complaining.

Sure it’s hot. But we haven’ t had the heat that the rest of the country has had this summer. And sure it gets even hotter when I have to turn off the little AC in my studio to actually do some work.

Sure there has been a small plane buzzing over my general neighborhood for the past month or so that interferes with my recording when it is in the Western most part of its loop or grid (it varies from day to day). Since it is a “special” little plane, no one can tell me how long it will be doing whatever it is doing.

Sure my recording tower is acting wonky – and Audition and W2W refuse to work with the Gina card or the onboard sound card – but WILL work with my MicPortPro, so until I can find the right tech to troubleshoot, I […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:15+00:00August 12th, 2012|Categories: Musings|Tags: no complaints, summer heat, voiceover business, voiceover work|

It’s all about the story, and the pictures, and the music, and voice at the end

I don’t often post twice in a day, but my day was interrupted by Online Video Daily – one of the MediaPost enewsletters I get and after watching this video, I just had to pass it along.

What an charming, heart-warming little story this is – don’t be surprised if you find yourself a little choked up by the half-way mark as you start to see where it is going.

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:15+00:00July 25th, 2012|Categories: Communication, Musings|Tags: MediaPost, Olympics, Online Video Daily, P&G, viral video|

Does This Mic Make Me Sound Fat?

There is no one size fits all when it comes to microphones. No one price range that will guarantee that a mic will sound wonderful with your voice. It all “depends.” It depends on your own particular physical characteristics. It depends on the room that you are recording in.

But it is always SUCH a huge topic of discussion with passionate opinions on what mics are BEST. It gets as bad as the PC vs. MAC debate.

But it is still interesting to listen to the differences (or lack thereof) between the various mics and their price points – and that is why I am forwarding these links.

Poke around on the net and you can probably find more mic shootouts. I am pretty sure there was another comprehensive blind shootout, but I must not be using the right key words. If you know of others, please post a comment and the link.

Connie Terwilliger2012-07-25T09:48:38+00:00July 25th, 2012|Categories: Recording, Technology|Tags: mic comparison, mic shootout, microphones, Recording, voiceover|

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