VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Philip Banks]

OK they're not, just some food for thought.

1 – One size fits all. The demo or demos are designed to get any kind of work out there as opposed to the jobs for which they are best suited. What are your strengths? Play to them on your demos other opportunities are for auditions.

2 – Demo critique. When you get it you don’t like it so you FIGHT BACK. Be honest, you didn’t want a demo critique you wanted demo approval. OH YES YOU DID! Cut and paste this – “Hey your demo is great!”

3 – Once I’m signed by the big VO agent that’s when the money arrives by the sack full. If you ask most of the VO’s with top agents how much they earned last year they will not tell you, not because they believe it’s confidential but because the truth is embarrassing. If you’re interested last year I earned around $1/3 million and all I do is Voice Over work. Having said that I am happy to report I am the highest earning Voice Overist in Portgordon.

4 – Your movie trailer sounds like everyone else. At best most movie trailer demos are an amalgam of the men who are making a living doing movie trailers. If you know a man with a Porsche, try to sell him a fake Porsche and see how far it gets you. Your movie trailer demo should not sound like anything other than your movie trailer demo.

5 – FVO can do sexy. Most can’t! May be when you’re sounding sexy you really ARE bored but I doubt it. In order to deliver a smoldering read you need to be at your most comfortable and to a degree a little vulnerable. The eyes have to say “Yes, I REALLY like you” and the voice will follow. It is extremely difficult.

6 – Gear makes you great. You need the best gear possible in order to deliver quality from your own studio, once people start buying what you’re selling at the top pro level then you can stop buying, unless it’s a hobby. No one will exclude you as an option for movie trailer, TV promo work because you don’t use an MKH416 but they will exclude you if you suck.

7 – BS factor 10. This is the highest level of BS and most VOs never work on reducing it. No one will ever get to BS factor 1 but you should aim to get as low as possible. I’ve lost count of the number of great jobs someone has told me they’ve been signed to do but they can’t tell me what it is because of an NDA (non disclosure agreement). In 20 odd years of VO work I’ve signed no more than 5 and none of the big gigs required any kind of signature on anything. If you got a job, the people who matter are proud of you so no need to BS.

8 – Location, location, location. I know VOs who have moved to get their careers on track only to discover they have moved to a location full of out of work VOs. In order to move up a level then a change of location may help but like everything else in this business it has a 95% chance of achieving nothing.

9 Anyone can be taught how to be a Voice Overist - NO THEY CAN’T. Just in case you’re unsure I’ll give you a little more detail – NO THEY CAN’T, Girl Scout’s honour.
The ability to do voice work is an intuitive skill and all any teacher/coach can do is identify that skill in a few minutes and then offer to teach you how to master it.

10 – Pay to play (subscription based voice over sites) work on a number of levels. If you want to be taken seriously as a Voice the best advice is to avoid such sites at all costs. Should you believe that the site makes sense then you should test it for financial sense.
The purpose of these sites is to get you work and the value of that work should exceed your membership fee by a factor of around 10. No “buts”, this is business. The site made $300 from you, you had to earn around $500 to end up with $300 to spend. What did you get back?

[Gregory Best]

PB, you are the "Dr. Phil" of the VO world.

Your list is more like those top ten lists in Dr. Laura's books (radio shrink here in the States.) Cut to the chase telling it like it is. Toche, or is it too cliche? I am too tired and going to be now.

(Philip, where's the couch.)
_________________
Gregory Best

greg@gregorybest.com

[bobsouer]

Philip,

Thank you for the excellent thought stimulants to start my Saturday.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[Frank F]

Yes!

'Nuff said.

Toodles

F2
_________________
Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[scottnilsen]

Love it!
_________________
We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Well, that and mimes.

(714)408-6405 www.scottnilsen.com

[KaraEdwards]

Wise as always Thanks Philip! It's always good to have a nice career check, a chance to look around a bit and make sure we're in the right place.
_________________
Threadjackers local 420

Kara Edwards
http://www.karaedwards.com
kara@karaedwards.com

[Gp]

Well said!

[Lizden]

Yep!...what everyone else said!
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

[paddyo]

Thank you

Paddyo
www.thepatrickoconnor.com
_________________
Proud member of F.U.F.F.

[The Mic Guy]

I'm cutting and pasting this into a document, where I can tack it up and review it often.

Thank you, Mr. Banks! (Or maybe just "Thanks, Banks!" to keep the potential BS factor to a minimum.)
_________________
Michael Rankins
TheMicGuy.com
Who am I, and why am I talking into this microphone?

[DougVox]

Philip, judging only by the length of what you've posted, I assume that you've put a lot of thought into what you've written. I would have loved to have read it, but I'm far too busy these days.

You see, after hearing the cassette recording of my 9 minute and 45 second demo (during which, among other things, I had conversations with myself using the full slate of poor celebrity impressions I've not been practicing), I recorded in the back seat of my car, my agent at Fisherperson, Trawlerman, Halibut and Cod insisted that I pack up my Manley Gold Reference, my MKH416, and my Solid State Logic XLogic Multichannel Compressor and immediately move to an estate in Look How Much Money I Make, California. From my new compound, I'll have access to the finest in Voice Overist coaching as well as some of the world's most highly-skilled "Ego Reassurance Specialists." Not to mention the fact that Personal Watercress Chefs are a dime a dozen out there.

And to think that this all began when I booked a gig through one of the P2P's as the sexy IVR/MOH voice on a trailer for the phone system at Hot Carl's Furalex Emporium.

Onward and upward!
_________________
Doug Turkel (tur-KELL)
Voiceover UNnouncer®
UNnouncer.com

[Philip Banks]

Just $40 will pay to counsel someone who Sleep Posts for one hour. $120 will buy a sufferer a keyboard activated wake up alarm.

In the USA Sleep Posting is an epidemic - Please try to help sleep posters like Doug before it's too late and their condition deteriorates into full blown Blogging.

Donate whatever you can now by calling 1-800-WAKE UP DOUG.

Sleep Posters Anonymous thanks you.

[asnively]

Well said.
_________________
the Amy Snively family of brands for all your branded thing needs.
Amy Snively
Faff Camp
FaffCon
TalkerTees

[Mandy Nelson]

This is good stuff. GOOD STUFF. I, too, shall print and paste. This will be a fantastic reminder.

(where do I sign up for sleep posting aid? Is that the same as drunk posting? And how do I document that I've done either? I'm not doing it now but could if it meant compensation.)
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006 member of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Mic. Bonded by sound.

Manfillappsoc: The Mandy and Philip mutual appreciation Society. Who's in your network?

Have you seen my mic closet? ~ me to my future husband

[DougVox]

zzzzzzzz...

ZZZZZZZZZZ...

zzzzZZZZZzzzzzzz...
_________________
Doug Turkel (tur-KELL)
Voiceover UNnouncer®
UNnouncer.com