VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Moe Egan]

This sort of ties in with the amateur VO thread below.

I'm facilitating a VO group tomorrow night for mostly newbie/wannabe voice over folks at Lau Lapides' studio. I have a basic idea of what I want to talk about- but I thought it would be interesting to pick the brains of my peers for sage words of wisdom for those just starting out.

If you could give one grain of wisdom or pop a misconception about doing VO for real to a newbie, what would you it be?
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
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[Rognog]

Shatter the misconception that a voice talent is an "artiste" whose phone rings the second they send out their demos and then they glide into the New york/LA studio booth, serenade the producers with their dulcet tones, and have money thrown at them.

Being a successful voice talent is about being a successful BUSINESS. A business that has a marketing department, an advertising budget, sales goals, etc. that busts their hump every day to find work and it is on ongoing process. And most businesses take a loss for a long time before they see a return!
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Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

[Bish]

It's not glamorous... it's real work that will only provide financial rewards if you treat it as such.
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

[Moe Egan]

Great points. Thanks!
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

[Scott Pollak]

Moe, I'm also teaching an introductory class in my area a week from today. I have a 2 page list of info that I send out to every newbie who contacts me looking for info about the profession. If you're interested, pm me with your e-mail addy and I'll send it to you.

But overall, I think if I had to pick ONE thing to drive home, it would be the similarity to an acting career. Not only in that we call it voice acting, but that the talent and luck required are similar and the odds of success are similar.
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Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com

[bobsouer]

Moe,

Here's my number one bit of advice for someone just starting out:

Voiceover is a wonderful way to make a living, but it's a terrible way to make a living quickly.
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Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[Philip Banks]

95% of people who set out on the road to voiceoverist heaven will not make a dime.

A VO coach may help you become a better VO whereas there isn't one who can make a VO out of someone who does not have the intuitive skill.

The internet has raised the bar NOT lowered it. People who could "sort of" do it a few years ago are falling by the wayside at an alarming pace.

"Make millions from your voice" is a myth. There are a few who manage it but they probably number less than a couple of dozen.

If you work. On a daily basis you will not be asked to lend your wonderful voice to a piece of creative genius but more likely to make a pile of auld shite sound interesting - That is the art of the voiceoverist ..Learn that.

[Moe Egan]

You once again speak the truth Mr. Banks. One of the analogies I am going to share is everyone wants to do VO now, or so it seems. But not everyone can. Think of the first week of American Idol and all the train wreck auditions with people sobbing in the halls "But I WANT this so badly." Wanting it and working for it are two very different things.

Very good point Bob- as someone told me recently, I'm a true overnight success story that took 25 years to happen.

Scott- I would very much appreciate seeing what you've put together.And if I am actually able to compile my notes into a cohesive lesson plan I will gladly reciprocate.
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

[Ed Gambill]

A friend of mine has a casting agency and they are hosting an introductory VO session for a reasonably well know outfit. I want to go and audit it and see what they tell the rookies.

I would have to believe that most if not all will need a recording environment and equipment in their home.

1) Tell them what to watch out for regarding a suitable recording space in their home
2) Tell them that they need to learn how to record acceptable sound and prepare it for delivery.
3) Give them some guidance on the minimal equipment to use while practicing their craft.
Now that they have a qualified service to sell….
4) Give them guidance on where to find entry level jobs only if there are ready
5) Impress on them that this is a business with Tax and license issue
6) Give them an index card with “Treat it like a business” printed on it.
7) Tell them that they have to sell themselves and that selling is like a bucket with a leak. You always have to put more into the bucket to more than compensate for the lose.
Tell them what Philip said, that he is a cheerful man willing to help, and give them his e-mail address
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Esse quam videri "To be rather than to seem"
www.SaVoa.org No. 07000 Member AES

[Bruce]

American Idol is a fair analogy: thousands think they can do it and only a few strike gold.

One of my favorite analogies is the route to becoming a professional golfer. You can't learn by watching, you need years of training and study, and years of practice (a lifetime of practice, really), you need to enter small tournaments first and then hopefully get into bigger and bigger tournaments with bigger paychecks, and you need to learn to accept rejection and failure every step of the way and learn from those occasions. You also need to be a student of the sport your entire life, always learning about the newest trends and equipment.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Moe Egan]

Great stuff! I like the index card idea Ed. And I'm SURE Banksey will welcome all inquiries.
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

[cyclometh]

As a relative newbie myself, I will offer a few points.

Voice acting is acting. If you can't act, you can't be a voice actor. So learn to act, or have the skill already.

You're never good enough. You always have to be working to improve your chops. If that's coaching, classes, reading, practice, or a combination of those- do it.

Work does not come to you; you must go get it. You'll have to work hard to get paying jobs.

Solicit feedback and listen to it.

Most voice work is not glamorous- you won't be in an expensive studio with an entire production team reading copy promoting the latest geegaw from Microsoft or cutting a Superbowl ad. You're going to be alone in a small, hot room reading copy about the "region level strategy calculator" and how it helps manage your sell-through.
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Corey "Vox Man" Snow
http://voxman.net

[melissa eX]

[roger]

Moe,
This has been posted here before and you are probably aware of it,
but if not, here is a link to Peter O'Connell's brilliant
The_Voice_Over_Entrance_Exam
This might be a good resource.
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Roger Tremaine
www.MyFavoriteVoice.com
http://rogertremaine.voices.com/
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. AESOP (The Lion and the Mouse)

[Deirdre]

You have to start your journey by reading aloud 10 minutes every day.
No excuses. If you can't make the time to do that, forget about being a voice actor.
THAT ONE THING will weed out 90% of the wannabes.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB