Connie Terwilliger – Page 19 – Connie Terwilliger

For some things you need to commit with every fiber of your being

How do you make the jump from good to great? It’s not hard to identify not-so-good from good, but just what it is that sets “great” apart?

Some of this is subjective, yes. We don’t all agree on who should win the Golden Globe or the Oscar for example. When it comes to Fine Art, there is even more subjectivity. But mostly we can see or hear when something is “good.” Or maybe not. Is it just natual ability?

When it comes to work where timing is critical – say dance, music – or – wait for it – (rim shot) – comedy, I think there has to be some natural ability to achieve “good.”. But you need much more than that to be “great.” You need passion, energy, and enthusiasm. And even then, if the audience doesn’t understand what is happening, then the ability to discern “greatness” falters. You also need committment, but if that […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00February 5th, 2011|Categories: Business, Marketing, Musings|

Hey, it’s cold here too!

A lot of my clients are snowed in. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to get around in all that snow and ice and just plain cold. It’s been a long time since I had to scrape a windshield. And this week I have had a number of sessions, calls or emails where the subject centered on them wishing they were able to transport themselves to sunny San Diego.

Please know that, while there is not 12 inches of snow on the ground – I did have ice this morning in a shaded area of my backyard – and I am presently sitting in my studio with a turtle neck sweater, a sweatshirt, scarf and gloves. It is pretty chilly here too!

In fact, the temps here in San Diego have been much cooler than normal over the past year or so and I have been thinking about moving somewhere closer to […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00February 3rd, 2011|Categories: Musings, Recording|

When Software Burps

Workflow is a time sensitive thing. We have delivery dates for the work we do and part of our job is to anticipate potential time-sucking issues that may impact a timely delivery.

I am getting pretty good at balancing my daily forays into Social Media, but we all have other areas that need attention.

Family (my increased time with my mom needs to be figured into the equation)
Exercise (oh, brother, this is high on my list of things I don’t get around to – do my weekly tap classes count?)
Home and Garden (my yard is a MESS – my counters are getting mightly cluttered – and there is a leak in the big bathroom that needs to be attended to – not to mention I am stripping an old door for a remodel project)
Volunteering (my work with MCA-I has increased recently due to some major changes in the association requiring more time as […]

Connie Terwilliger2011-01-27T10:32:45+00:00January 27th, 2011|Categories: Business, Recording, Technology|

How to pay the mortgage doing VO

A discussion about what a professional VO talent should/could/would make popped up on the Yahoo Voiceover Message Board in the past 24 hours.

A few $$ figures were tossed out and a quick posting fenzy ensued. Whatever that bottom line is for you, the reality of today’s cost of living means that you need a certain level of income to support a spouse and family.

So whatever that is to you – and it will differ from person to person and place to place – it will not come from any one source. Your Marketing Plan needs to be one of the first things you develop as you dip your toe into the business. And that plan will include lots of different avenues for landing good jobs that pay well. (Rinse and repeat.)

Jennifer Vaughn posted a response to this thread that summed it up nicely and she has given me […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 19th, 2011|Categories: Business, Marketing|Tags: Jennifer Vaughn|

Thinking about taxes and paperwork

I know – I know. Why would I do that on a Sunday morning? There are lots of other things to do. But it’s money saving week on the Food Network which started me thinking about money inflow and outflow. And overnight I received a couple of email requests for W9’s so that people can send 1099’s for the voiceover services I provided last year.

A few years ago when I was producing and hiring sub-contractors, I had a few 1099’s to fill out, but since moving to voiceoverwork full-time, I have not had to do this paperwork. Well, according to a provision in the “Affordable Health Care Bill” that was passed last year, beginning in 2012, as a small business person, we will need to issue 1099s for all services and goods purchased from all vendors in excess of $600.

Do yourself a favor – use your credit or debit card to pay for goods – […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 16th, 2011|Categories: Business|

Learn to say NO! Or YES when it is the right thing to do.

You just never know whose eyes will fall upon what is freely posted to the online world. A random search of some odd word combination could pull up my blog and either enhance or destroy my image as a professional.

But sometimes you have to push the envelope. With my sense of decorum that sometimes borders on Pollyanna cast aside momentarily, I have to pass along this very clever, yet somewhat “blue” chart created by Jessica Hische.

She steps you through the Yes and No questions you should ask yourself when deciding whether or not to work for FREE. And don’t we all need to be reminded that our time is valuable!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3514540/workforfree.jpg

There is also a “clean” version – http://shouldiworkforfree.com/clean.html

You start right in the middle with your four basic scenarios of who is doing the asking – a business, a charity or non-profit, your mom or your friend. […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 14th, 2011|Categories: Business, Negotiating|Tags: Jessica Hische, work for free, Zak Miller|

Cardio Needed for Conversation Muscles

Ah – the loneliness of the voiceover actor these days. Day after day – alone in our padded rooms with only the occasional directed session – we rarely get to converse with our clients – much less actually see them face-to-face. Skype does’t count. And, like anything, if you don’t use certain muscles, they atrophy. Time for some cardio for my conversation muscles!

The VO team is usually a small one to begin with – so even if you do have a phone patch or ISDN session – you are still only talking to a small earful of people. Most of the time, it is my fingers doing the talking to the client, and my voice is reserved for the booth.

Last week, I learned that face-to-face interaction with clients and crew takes a lot more energy than I remember. After an all day on-camera shoot (OK, mostly all day) with a crew filled with […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 9th, 2011|Categories: Communication, Musings|

Digging Through the Receipts and Adding Things Up

Probably should have done this last month, rather than the last few days of the year, but I am pulling up reports in my QuickBooks to make sure I am maximizing my deductions and charitable donations for 2010.

That includes remembering to include the transactions in a now closed bank account. If you changed banks this year, don’t forget about that old account! I nearly did when searching for a donation to my college and university to see who I paid what this year. I was befuddled for a few minutes when the searches came up with nothing, until I remembered that I had deactivated that account.

Bookkeeping is one of my least favorite things about this job – probably because my math skills are so bad. This lack of confidence in basic math also affects the time it takes to get out an accurate bid. Accounting programs such as QuickBooks and Quicken […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00December 28th, 2010|Categories: Business, Musings|

Casting the “net”

As part of our job as voiceover talent, we do a lot of auditions. Some are part of a small select group. Some are more like cattle calls. But that is part of the game.

While wearing my producer hat, I listened to lots and lots of demos and/or auditions with a certain “sound” in my head – pressing the skip button to advance the CD compliation to the next track after a couple of seconds. That was time enough to know if that was what I thought was going to be right for the production. Music cuts – same process. We really do know it when we hear it.

Just sent off an audition for a project that clearly stated that the client was going to listen to lots and lots of auditions in their search for a spokesperson. My Christmas wish for myself is that I am the voice in […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00December 26th, 2010|Categories: Auditioning, Marketing|

Yes, Virginia, there is a Non-union Reuse Fee

One of the things that we love, as professional working voice talent with agents – or other similar working arrangements with production companies – is when said agents/producers are on top of their game and negotiate fairly with the end clients on behalf of us – also their clients.

And one of the nicest ways of knowing that this is happening in the background is when you get the email or phone call telling you that a reuse fee is coming for a job – union or non-union. A nice little bonus came to me recently and two others who provided the voices for a national spot. Thanks to Voice Talent Productions for the chance to audition for this in the first place.

Doesn’t happen with every job, but with non-union broadcast work, you sure do hope that someone is going to bat for you and negotiating additional payment for […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:36+00:00December 23rd, 2010|Categories: Business, Negotiating|

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