VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Deirdre]

... unless they change their minds again!

[Deirdre]

Just for kicks, here are the Power Point Slideshow bullet points.
(these are just the kernels of the ideas I was going to talk about. I also submitted the 7-page draft of the full lecture and quotes that would go into the booklets I like to give people. I also submitted Lance Blair's hilarious "You're Doing It Wrong" audio.)

**********
Common Sense: Studio etiquette for VOs
The Nuts and Bolts

Don’t wear perfume or cologne.

Be sure to brush your teeth before you arrive.

Wear soft clothing so it doesn't make noise when you move.

Turn off your cell phone.

Arrive for your session 10 to 15 minutes before it starts.

Never show up to a session sick or hung-over.

Greet the receptionist when you arrive. Tell them who you are and what session you're there for.

When you meet the audio team, write down people's names if you don’t know them already.

Don’t blather about the studio space, even if it's a compliment.

Don’t talk about your weekend rugby game unless someone asks.

Ask for tea or water and ask where you may put it— don’t assume anything goes in the booth.

If you need the level in your headphone changed, ask politely.

Once the engineer sets your mic, don’t touch it.

When the engineer asks how you are going to be doing the character, describe the voice, not the philosophy or psychology.

"Give me a level" means read the script as the character you'll be voicing, full throttle. And keep going until the engineer tells you to stop.

If you get the script before the session, READ IT.
Ask questions about the script before the session gets started if you need to.

Don’t argue with the director.

If the director is giving you guidance you don’t understand, ask for clarification straight away.

Ask for a break if you need one, but don’t complain about how long the session is.

If you make a mistake, don’t worry, don’t apologize and DON’T swear about it.

Once the session is over, don’t hang around unless you’re invited to stay.

PLAY THE GAMES.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Lee Gordon]

It may be a bit 101 but it contains a lot of stuff that people who fancy themselves "advanced" don't seem to be familiar with.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[bobsouer]

Bummer news. I hope they change their minds.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[JBarrett]

What the Bob-diggity said.
_________________
Justin S. Barrett
http://www.justinsbarrett.com/

[Jeffrey Kafer]

I mentioned my concern about this when you first posted. The people who go to these conferences are game developers. There may be a few VO hopefuls in the crowd, but for the most part, the organizers want these sessions to appeal to their core audience of developers, designers, and sound people.

This would be a great topic for a VO conference or unconference.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

[Deirdre]

I know, Jeff— and I appreciated your concern.

The fact is there are LOADS of sessions about VO, and more and more VO people are attending, looking to hook up, and to just enjoy being with their pals.

My buddy Mike Csurics (2K Marin— the Bioshock director) was greenlighted for a program called VO session Live !
So, there's interest!
_________________
DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[jsgilbert]

Sorry that you weren't picked. As I had intimated earlier, I think approaching this from the standpoint of educating the "talent:" as opposed to speaking to the developer about how they can better wiork with talent. Things like working remotely with talent, casting and compensation, better ways to prep and prepare for a session, effective directing, time management, tricks to coaxe a better read from talent - those are all things that have a broader audience, appealing to new and experienced directors and v.o. talent.

Perhaps having your "studio etiquette" available as a F that the audio track attendees could use as a mail out to talent would have worked well as a bonus.

It's interesting to see how things change. I sent an abstract to the IGDA to speak at GDC at the 2nd or 3rd conference in San Francisco and they didn't think there would vbe sufficient interest back then in a "casting and working with talent" workshop.

Come hang out with the GANG folks at GDC. You can get involved with the new GANG Voice Actors Coalition.
_________________
j.s. gilbert

js@jsgilbert.com
www.jsgilbert.com

"today is the first day of the rest of the week"

[Lizden]

Awwww, DB....I'm sorry.
DRAT!
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

[Pam]

Well that just blows. Bummer for you. Looks like next time you'll have to target a more sophisticated audience knowing you'll need to include lots of basic "but you already know this" and "just to review" stuff in there.
_________________
Pam Tierney
www.pamtierneyvo.com
imdb profile http://imdb.com/name/nm1941932/

Now what did I come in here for?

[Zak Miller]

Their loss DB! Great points, and it boggles the mind how many talent either don't know, or don't care about how to present themselves in session.
Thanks for posting the list!

[Donna]

You mean it's NOT okay to show up hung-over?
_________________
Dangerous.

Donna Postel
donnapostel.com
donna@donnapostel.com

[Melanie Haynes]

Condolences, DB. Next time...
_________________
SaVoa#08019

www.melaniehaynes.com

832-912-9250

[jsgilbert]

If it wasn't okay to show up hungover, very little v.o. would have been done between 1974 and 1992.

But seriously, I got into v.o. because the talent showed up hungover. I was the director and had to step in. The rest as they say, is a great disappointment to my mother.

My advice; stay in school. Study that internet thingy. It will be big some day.
_________________
j.s. gilbert

js@jsgilbert.com
www.jsgilbert.com

"today is the first day of the rest of the week"

[Deirdre]