Technology – Connie Terwilliger

All good things …yada yada yada

Earlier this year before all hell broke loose, I was looking at my work flow and realized that my ISDN unit had been standing idle for several months. The preferred live connection was trending toward Source-Connect and only one lone client was using ISDN – and that client? Not very often.

The monthly cost here in Southern CA was still pretty reasonable – about $60 a month – a far cry from the $600 or more per month in some places. But, when the only client using the unit was also one of my lower paying clients, it just didn’t pencil out.

So, I did it. I pulled the plug and retired my Musicam Prima 120 workhorse. As one of the first voiceover talent in the country to have a personal studio with ISDN I paid for the unit many times […]

Connie Terwilliger2020-10-09T17:36:00+00:00October 9th, 2020|Categories: Announcements, Business, Technology|

Interactive Programming Is Here To Stay?

Did you get into the interactive film “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch?”

I didn’t, but I guess it is another technological wave that will wash over us and become part of our every day experience.

Today’s writers and producers have to stay ahead of things and see around the corner. A lot of them are creating the corners. They are just wired that way.

As an early adapter of technology (my first computer was a Kaypro), I can speak first hand about the importance of staying at least abreast of current trends. Using common sense to see what is going to stick and what is just a passing fad.

We are used to interactive gaming, so why not interactive programming. Here’s an article from MediaPost about Netflix’s latest venture – https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/333406/netflix-leans-into-interactive-programming-with-y.html?

My personal video watching is pretty passive though, so for me, I don’t know that I’ll be pressing for […]

Connie Terwilliger2019-03-20T16:03:37+00:00March 20th, 2019|Categories: Musings, Technology|

The Irony of ISDN’s Inevitable Demise

The ISDN world is contracting because of changing technology. Eventually, there will be no more ISDN. In some parts of the US, there already is no more ISDN. But it isn’t dead yet.

I have researched most of the other professional options available and have signed up and paid for some other technology that allows me to connect to studios with them doing the recording – much like what happens when I use my ISDN lines. Source-Connect, ipDTL and ConnectionOpen is what I have now. (Click here for the list I created of most of the options.)

There are others that require additional hardware codecs similar to ISDN and are in fact made by the companies who provide ISDN codecs. But, at the moment, none of the companies that I work with have ever mentioned that they will be switching to those […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:02+00:00December 3rd, 2016|Categories: Business, Marketing, Technology|

Updated Live Audio Recording Options to ISDN Information

Just a quick post to give you the updated version of the Live Audio Recording Options chart that I created last month. Did some research into the COMREX solution someone referenced in a post to Facebook.

It is one of the more expensive options for both the studio and the talent side of the glass, but does offer a lot of options.

The more I delve into this, the more it looks like the cost of differentiating yourself as a voice talent may remain much the same. We will probably have to have several options ready to go depending on our client’s needs/desires. At the moment, I have ipDTL, Source-Connect (original), ISDN (for as long as it makes sense), Bodalgo Call and now ConnectionOpen.

Some of these are free options that will be acceptable […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:03+00:00August 10th, 2016|Categories: Announcements, Business, Recording, Technology|Tags: Bodalgo Call, ConnectionOpen, Connie Terwilliger, female voice talent, ipDTL, ISDN alternative, Source Connect, voice talent|

Smart Phones Mean Business

I love my smart phone. A Samsung Galaxy 5. It does everything – except FaceTime – but there’s Skype, Facebook’s talk feature, Google Hangouts and other alternatives if I need to spend some face time with someone across town or in another time zone.

My smart phone gets me out of my studio and I can stay connected with my business. You never know when an emergency voiceover will pop up. And if you are not in the media production business you might not realize just how often there actually is a voiceover emergency. Had one on Monday. The call came in at 2 for a 3 o’clock session with a client on the East Coast.

The flip side of having a smart phone is that it keeps me connected with my business. There are times when it is good to […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:04+00:00March 19th, 2016|Categories: Business, Communication, Life, Musings, Technology|Tags: eLearning, narration, online purchase, smart phone, voiceover|

Facebook as another top distribution channel for video ads

Just ran across an article discussing how to use Facebook as another area of distribution and why you should consider it. Apparently YouTube is still the king, but Facebook is gaining ground.

The folks at ReelSEO make the case for advertisers to use multiple sources with YouTube first and Facebook second. What strikes me is how complicated it is for advertisers to find any common way of analyzing the results. The technology is changing so fast that each new iteration brings new tracking metrics and ways of paying for your ads – clicks, time spent watching, what constitutes a view so that you know what you are going to be charged, etc. This article has links to explanations of current methods.

But the bulk of the article is on how to maximize the effectiveness of your video ads for Facebook.

Their first […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:04+00:00February 4th, 2016|Categories: Advertising, Announcements, Business, Marketing, Technology|Tags: ReelSEO|

Simply Simplify

Most of my adult life has been spent accumulating stuff – tangible and intangible. Lots of stuff. Cluttering up my physical, mental and emotional space. Most of us have stuff – lots of stuff. (I feel like George Carlin! If you have never heard this bit from him, check it out below. A little bit ‘o swearing, but pretty tame compared to most modern comics.)

Anyway, we all have a lot of stuff. We go through our stuff at times, weeding through our stuff and donating it to our favorite thrift store. Sorting through data stuff – deleting or archiving. All of this activity opens up space for more new stuff to gather.

Sometimes we don’t have a chance to decide which stuff to get rid of. Like when your external hard drive crashes and all the stuff on it is gone for good.

Yeah, that […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:04+00:00January 12th, 2016|Categories: Business, Life, Musings, Technology|Tags: accumulation, George Carlin, hard drive crash, Stuff|

Careful What You Ask For

WoVo is an association of voiceover professionals (both union and non-union) seeking to inform and educate about best practices, standards for ethical conduct and professional expertise. It has an online casting engine that features ONLY vetted professional voices, unlike the company being discussed in this blog post.

Remember the commercial actors strike in 2000? Pay-per-Play was one of the big things the union was asking for. The business has never really been the same.

According to a white paper published by Villanova University the convergence of TV and the Internet was the “core” issue. The unions were aware of the technical tsunami approaching, that the distribution of the content was forever changing. Not the actual work, but the delivery of the product.

It is hard to predict the future, but being responsive to changes so that you don’t get so far […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:04+00:00November 6th, 2015|Categories: Announcements, Auditioning, Business, Marketing, Technology|

Predicting The Hot New Flavors of Video Advertising

No one can predict the future. Well, a few people have correctly predicted the future. In 1909 Nikola Tesla predicted that we would be carrying personal wireless devices. But in general it is interesting and frequently amusing to read predictions from 100 years ago – even predictions from 10 years ago. And the way technology is changing – even trying to predict what will be happening a year from now is daunting.

The best you can do is study what is happening now and try to respond as quickly as possible to try to ride the wave and then keep checking for the next wave. For example, video advertising. Will it be short and sweet (like a “vine”) or more traditional or will it go for the interactive approach.

We can see that video is not going away – so […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:05+00:00August 21st, 2015|Categories: Advertising, Business, Technology|Tags: commercials, future|

Wait, I left my phone in the house…

Modern telephone communication is a wonder – a boon – a time-waster and at times – a nightmare. It can also be an addiction, especially when it comes to our smart phones. In fact, it is a named anxiety disorder – Nomophobia (“no mobile phone phobia”).

From Psychology Today – July 25, 2013

Two years ago Psychology Today said that “Nomophobia- fear of being without your smartphone- affects 40% of the population.” Today, the figure is 64%, according to Pew Research Center.

I know that I feel panicked when I can’t find my phone. But it allows me to leave my office during traditional business hours and still stay connected to my clients. This is a good thing.

Years ago, before cell phones and their predecessor car phones, we all had pagers. Before that, we had no stress. OK, so we still had stress. […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:06+00:00July 1st, 2015|Categories: Business, Communication, Musings, Technology|

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