Musings – Page 12 – Connie Terwilliger

Time Flies: Balancing Personal and Job Time

What happened to February!? OK, it is a short month, but really, I look up at the calendar and shake my head in disbelief that it is nearly the end of the month already. There are things on my To Do list hanging around from last December that I swore I would complete by the end of January! (Well, the mosaic garden table was supposed to be finished by the end of LAST January – that project is waaay behind.)

Balancing personal and business life is getting to be quite a challenge. On the one hand I am lucky to have a job that lets me jump up and put out fires. On the other hand, I sometimes wish that I had a job that kept me confined for 8 hours so that I didn’t have to jump up and put out fires.

I’d like to chalk up the passing of deadlines […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:43+00:00February 18th, 2010|Categories: Musings|Tags: Business, personal time, voiceover|

A dongle gone wrong

I decided to beat the price hike and install Source Connect today. This meant a trip to Guitar Center out in La Mesa to buy an iLok dongle to start the process. That in itself was a trip. I usually buy all my audio gear and supplies at Pro Sound and Music, just down the hill from where I live. It is a well lived-in store run by an insanely intelligent guy named Mike Krewitsky. Shane helps me find what I need. It is laid back and quiet.

Guitar Center is not. But they knew what I wanted and pointed me toward the Pro Audio part of the store. After the clerk pulled an iLok off the wall, I asked about a replacement cable for my dbx mini-pre and was immediately told that the mini-plug to the mic input was so 2009 and tried to upsell me […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:51+00:00January 31st, 2010|Categories: Musings, Technology|Tags: iLok, Pro Sound and Music, Source Connect|

Eggs

You’ve heard the saying – don’t put all your eggs in one basket. I’ve been thinking about that the past day or so.

I am currently in Orange County at the beautiful Pelican Hill resort doing a live backstage announce gig for a biotech company. This is the 4th year in a row that I have been asked to be the voice of the company for this particular sales meeting. It is a fun job. The people are nice. The food and accomodations are always more than good. And the pay is quite good as well. But each year, I try to not think about the next year. Because next year may not come.

Early in my voiceover career – or perhaps I should call it my free lance career, because I was doing other things besides voiceover at that time (producing and writing and some on-camera spokesperson) – I had a […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:51+00:00January 26th, 2010|Categories: Business, Marketing, Musings|Tags: building relationships, customer service, eggs in one basket, voiceover business|

Don’t leave the room…or you’ll miss it

What is it about hearing myself on the radio or TV that makes me want to smile? You would think after 30 years of doing VO work, that seeing or hearing a spot I did wouldn’t be any big deal. Is it ego? Is it amazement that I get paid to do this? Is it a desire to self-critique? I’m not sure. Could be a combination of all of those things. But, when I hear myself, I always take notice. I imagine the advertiser is hoping that other people do the same!

Funny thing happened yesterday. You remember the Kaopectate commercial I did recently – the one where I had two words – “uh-oh” and “fast?” Well, I heard the first “uh-oh” from the TV – but I was – uh – indisposed at the time and simply couldn’t get back to the living room in time to catch the rest of the spot. It […]

Connie Terwilliger2010-01-01T14:26:32+00:00January 1st, 2010|Categories: Musings|Tags: ego, performance|

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 […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:54+00:00December 2nd, 2009|Categories: Auditioning, Marketing, Musings|Tags: Artist Managment Agency, Auditioning, Invincible, KFMB-TV, Seacoast, Studio C, voiceover|

The Decline of Network TV?

A friend in the advertising biz sent me an article from the New York Times titled “The Decline of Network TV.”

The big three broadcast networks are not so big anymore – and major “stars” are jumping ship over to cable. The networks are having a hard time charging more for ad rates as their ratings sink. This, as the big cable networks (USA, TNT, TBS) get money from advertising AND subscription fees – which translates to more profit.

So my question. With more and more eyeballs moving to cable coupled with the proliferation of niche channels on the cable systems – most of which run the same ads that run on the broadcast networks – do you see this affecting the budgets to make the ads?

It certainly has created more work for the time buyers! But will it affect us, as talent, postively or negatively?

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:54+00:00November 21st, 2009|Categories: Business, Musings, Negotiating|Tags: advertising, broadcast networks, cable, New York Times|

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. […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:54+00:00November 7th, 2009|Categories: Auditioning, Business, Musings|Tags: Auditioning, national work, talent agent|

What’s in your wheelhouse?

I’ve had a couple of auditions recently for realistic young adult voices and have been feeling very much not in that vein. Character reads – cartoonish sound – yes – but a “real” high school senior – early college co-ed – eh, not really. The producer/director in me has not been comfortable with the recordings.

As much as the challenge to create a believeable young character is hard to pass up, the real challenge can be turning down the opportunity to make a fool of one’s self. Just another example of the need for critical self-evaluation skills.

I may spend some time really listening to young women and see if I can get into that groove, but there are so many other auditions and projects coming in that are just right for me that adding this particular sound to my quiver is probably not necessary.

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:54+00:00November 1st, 2009|Categories: Musings|Tags: acting, Auditioning, self-evaluation|

Casting Reality in the 00’s

P2P is here to stay. Well, it’s here now and is such a “new” reality that no one really knows where it will evolve. But as with anything new, there are lots of growing pains – for everyone involved.

I’ve linked to the Double Dutch Blog before (Paul Strikwerda) because he pretty much always has something interesting to say and the past few days he has been blogging about P2P sites – low balling rates, etc.

http://nethervoice.com/nethervoice/

One question that he has been asked prompts me to respond here. Here is the question – “How about the unions? Isn’t it their job to deal with remuneration? If you’re so unhappy with the current rates or the lowballing bidders, why not join AFTRA?”

Simple answer? Yes, the unions have established scale rates if you are so lucky as to get a job under a union contract. However, AFTRA has never been able to get you work. That […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:54+00:00October 15th, 2009|Categories: Auditioning, Business, Musings, Unions|Tags: AFTRA, Double Dutch blog, neogiating, Paul Strikwerda, Pay to play, setting rates, voiceover acting|

Phone Patch vs ISDN vs Self-Directed vs Outside Studio

Had two back to back phone patch sessions today that started me thinking again about the various methods of doing a session. Live in-person at an outside studio. ISDN. Phone Patch. Self-directed. There are pros and cons for each depending on various factors such as the type of script and how far away the outside studio is.

The first session today was with a studio that I have had to drive to in the past for sessions. It is up in Orange County. I’m practically in downtown San Diego. The last time I made the drive – about 1.5 to 2 hours or so depending on traffic – was the day Sarah Palin was announced as a Vice Presidential Candidate. The drive up and back that day was anything but boring.

But it does take a chunk of time out of your day – a minimum of about 4 to get there, do the session and […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:56+00:00August 11th, 2009|Categories: Musings, Recording|Tags: ISDN, phone patch, recording session, self-directed, studio session|