Tax Form for the Marginally Employed

My voiceover friend Rowell Gormon just posted a link to an important tax document for the army of self-employed working out of their homes.

You must qualify of course. Do you spend at least 8 hours of daylight in your pajamas? Do your medical expenses include naps, toothbrushes, garlic dill pickles, elixirs, etc.? Do you Tweet? There’s a complex formula for that. Don’t Tweet? Sorry, you don’t qualify for that deduction. Oh and be sure to include your time wasting allowance – and your Hollywood Protection Act deduction (100% of the cost of blockbuster movies you didn’t really want to see).

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/13/opinion/20100413_opart.html

*Be sure to consult your tax preparer to get the latest form. This is the 2009 form, so I’m sure it has changed considerably over the past couple of years. The Obamamania deduction for inauguration expenses has probably been deleted – however, they may have added an […]

2018-02-06T06:48:22+00:00July 12th, 2011|Categories: Business, Musings|Tags: , , |

Working Class Jill Meets Super Stars (sort of)

As a working class voiceoverist* plying my trade, I rarely get to rub producers with top name talent. By that I mean, I don’t often get to work with producers who are in the habit of hiring big time celebrities. That doesn’t happen much in my neck of the woods.

But a couple of times in the past few months, I have had “new to me” producers (who have found me on the net using a search engine, or who have heard my audition through a P2P site) use my name in the same sentence with some very well known voiceover actors.

I heard from a producer who pulled me from around 20 auditions to voice his project. Well, at least the initial showing of his project. He also has a call into (insert name of very famous actor/voice guy with gravitas) to see if he is interested in the project. I’ll […]

2018-02-06T06:48:33+00:00July 7th, 2011|Categories: Marketing, Musings|Tags: , , , |

Mmmm – I want S’More! FaffCon 3 – Hershey PA

So, I pull the circulars from the mailbox the other day and there, stuck in between the Vons, Henry’s and Pancho Villa grocery ads and various requests for money was a large flat “chocolate bar.”

My To Do list from FaffCon 2

My postcard to myself from FaffCon 2 in Atlanta had arrived! I had forgotten all about it. Our fearless and extremely brilliant (did I mention funny?) organizer Amy Snively had us write down 5 things we were going to do after our energizing weekend and it would be mailed to us about 3 months after FaffCon.

I was afraid to turn it over to see what I had actually written. So I put it off for a while, taking it to my desk where I prepared myself mentally […]

Work. Invoice. Thank. Promote. Repeat.

It’s really a simple recipe. Do the job. Send the invoice. Thank the client. Promote the results (to the right places at the right time). Repeat.

OK, perhaps it isn’t all that simple. And I am still struggling – after all these years – with the thank yous and the promotion part of the formula. The repeat part is one of the keys to actually making a living in this business. And if your database is bloated with old leads you may be missing those repeat opportunities.

If you are just starting out, this formula is predicated by knowing what you do well and finding the people who want to buy what you have to sell. If you have been in the business for a while – or a long while – you may have the same problem I am trying to address – too many names in my contact list. And if […]

Thinking about FaffCon 2

Just about 2-weeks now before FaffCon 2 – this time tagged with Electric Boogaloo – so I am trying to find appropriate clothes and platform boots. I do have a pair of macrame earrings from the 70’s so those are going into the suitcase.

The trip to Atlanta will be a double treat because prior to the weekend conference, I will be able to spend some time with a friend who moved there several years ago. Hope that it warms up a bit there over the next week or so!

No doubt, FaffCon 2 will have a completly different vibe* than the groundbreaking first unconference for working voiceover pros, but I am sure that information exchanged will be equally valuable – perhaps even greater in value because of the lessons learned. Prior attendees may be more prepared to lead and/or contribute to the posted sessions – and will be able to jump right into […]

Blogs and Blog Stats

I have been a bit busy the past few weeks – not counting a trip to New York for the VO Mixer that Erik and Lindsey threw this past weekend – and have not updated my personal blog in the past week or so. I have been on my class blog, because I post homework assignments there.

In checking stats for this blog a moment ago, I noticed that I didn’t have ANY hits at all on November 28th. And only a few here and there in the days since.

It begs the question of why do I blog at all if no one (or very few are reading) it. Perhaps I will re-evaluate who I am blogging for or how I am promoting my posts.

Mostly I write the blog because I like to write. But for a blog to be seen, the writing must be a bit more consistent – and promoted […]

Technical Specs for Audio/Video Scripts

It is usually a team effort to create an audio/visual presentation. And if the people you are working with don’t “see/hear” the end product the way you do, you may not get the “right” results.

This extends to the voiceover part of the presentation. You may have the entire presentation visualized in your head, but unless there is something on the script that helps the narrator see it (hear it) the way you do, you both will be working a lot harder than you need to.

Be sure to let the talent have as much information as possible about what you are hearing in the way of pacing and attitude and energy. This may mean taking a few minutes ahead of the session to discuss it with the talent. Believe me, for most projects, it is well worth the time. If a rough cut exists, consider sending a file with the interview clips. […]

2018-02-06T06:48:42+00:00April 19th, 2010|Categories: Techniques|Tags: , , |

Technology Update

Never reported back about the new Toshiba laptop. Working great! Except for some sort of Toshiba software that keeps opening up telling me I have messages, it has been a seamless transition. At some point, I will spend a few minutes and turn that off.

Took just a few minutes to get the audio chain set up so that I knew I could reliably record on the road. The first set up was with the dbx mini pre-amp I have been using for years, but early in the week a new MicPort Pro arrived and that was even easier to set up. I’m hooked on it, just like everyone else I know who has one.

The only thing I am missing right now is a single piece of Auralex acoustic foam in the 2″ pyramids – not the long wedges – the little pyramids. Need to replace the old foam in my […]

2018-02-06T06:48:42+00:00April 3rd, 2010|Categories: Business, Recording, Technology|Tags: , , , , , |

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 […]

2018-02-06T06:48:43+00:00February 18th, 2010|Categories: Musings|Tags: , , |

Gosh I Love Schick’s Schtick

Todd Schick may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he really is sharp and I recently ran across his “rate” page on his website. He also recorded the content of the page so you can hear what he sounds like.

Check it out! Interesting, irreverant, controversial. That’s Todd.

http://www.toddschick.com/VoiceoverRatesForVoiceTalentServices.htm#R1

2010-01-19T15:57:01+00:00January 19th, 2010|Categories: Negotiating|Tags: , , , , |
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