VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Neil K. Hess]

Just wondering.
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http://neilkhessvo.com

[Yonie]

Few times a year. I focus more on proper on-stage drama now, since that is a huge boon.

[Bruce]

My experiences with professional VO coaches have been hugely disappointing. A few years ago I had a one-on-one phone session with a well known coach who told me what she liked and didn't like from my demos, psychoanalyzed me a bit, and since I already knew how to make decent demos on my own said she couldn't help me much (that's a big part of her business).

I've taken group classes meant for experienced talent from two other major coaches in the past two years, both major disappointments. Both over-booked their classes so a large amount of time was wasted with lengthy introductions by most of the participants (half of whom had little experience). 80% of the remaining time was the coach reciting the basics of the business and telling stories about all the famous people they'd worked with. The last bit of time was spent in the booth, which worked out to two 3-minute one-on-ones for me. Hundreds of dollars for 6 minutes of rushed workout? A horrible waste.

That's it for my professional coaching. I learned through doing: radio, TV, and acting of all kinds. Radio and TV aren't easy to break into these days, but theater classes and stage work are easy for most people to get into, and my number one way of learning, listening to and analyzing good and bad VO and practicing and mimicking, is something anyone can do on their own.

Admittedly I tried those coaching experiences 30 years into my career (I thought, hey, who doesn't need a tune-up now and then?) so I'm not saying coaching is a totally bad thing especially if you're new to the business. You have some catching up to do to be on the same playing field as your future competition, but I don't recommend getting hooked on it like some folks get hooked on their psychoanalyst.

In case you're interested, there are a couple of VO coaches here in the Portland area who I hear are good, charge about half as much as the "big time" coaches, and do it in person, not on the phone (what a concept!).

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. .

[Philip Banks]

Most coaches offer an invaluless service and it boils down to my pet theory about why most people fail at VO ...Stupidity! That and vanity.

The snake oil of the day is to invent solutions for which there are no problems and to sell success which one can not measure. People buy these things more than anything else from VO coaches, masterclasses, events and seminars.

Business classes first.
Acting classes second.
VO classes at some point IF you feel you need them.

For the latter DO not buy the BS and do not be a shrinking violet, ask the awkward questions (think Emperor's new clothes).

[cyclometh]

I do coaching on specific subjects that I think I need to work on. For example, I've been doing some weekly sessions on videogame work with our own D.B. and getting what I feel are great results.

However, I approached her because I wanted to focus on one specific aspect of the larger VO world and develop my chops in that arena. Know what you want and focus on THAT in terms of coaching.
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Corey "Vox Man" Snow
http://voxman.net

[ccpetersen]

Mostly have been doing acting and improv classes -- I find they give me an overall workout.
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Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

[JTVG]

[Bish]

I think Philip's dead right. It may be a truism, but in general, good businesses sell far more bad products than bad businesses sell good ones. Yes, I know that this flies in the face of "the-cream-will-always-rise-to-the-top" ... but that's actually no good at all unless you let people know that there's cream to be had.
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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.

[Scott Pollak]

The last coaching I got was about 6 or more years ago from Nancy Wolfson who mainly worked with me more on creating my marketing persona rather than voice coaching. I was delighted that she inferred that I didn't need a lot of coaching in that area, probably due to 40+ years of on-stage acting.

I, too, find that I keep my chops up primarily via acting. I try to be in local theatre productions once-twice a year and I thrive on the energy and the challenge of a new role. I'm currently in rehearsals for this gem:

http://www.centerstagenorth.org/

I think that coaching is probably MOST beneficial for the new and untrained. As you grow in your skillset, you can certainly benefit from continued coaching, but I think it becomes highly selective, such as overcoming a problem like sibilance or perhaps losing an accent or learning dialects.
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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

[Jason Huggins]

I did monthly coaching when I first got started. I needed guided practice on how to analyze scripts, I needed someone to help me develop better timing, and to tell me when my read sucked. I needed someone to tell me when I sounded fake and when I sounded real. A coach was HUGE for ME to get where I am. I listened to my first session the other day, and I SUCKED compared to how I read now. I can hear a massive difference.

But...I was actively auditioning, researching, applying, learning, applying, auditioning, tweaking, and learning (did I mention applying and learning) in between sessions with the coach. That probably had more to do with my growth than the actual coaching.

Having someone who knows the industry (and isn't just blowing smoke so you'll pay them again next time), and can help make sure you are headed in the right direction is a great thing. This board is pretty good at that though.

BTW, Neil, your new site and demo are MUCH better than the one you originally showed up with. I would recommend ditching the free custom demo stuff, that is Voice123 jargon. if they like your demo, they'll ask. That's why they are on your site. Also, descriptive titles help SEO. You aren't a free custom demo, you're a voice over talent. Keep up the good work.

[Neil K. Hess]

[Leslie Humble]

I think Philip is correct. And correct in the order. And I'll go furthur and say VO is 90% marketing and 10% talent. That doesn't mean the talent part is unimportant in case that statement offends anyone.
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There are rules to the Universe. Learn them and prosper. www.HumbleVoiceover.com

[Jason Huggins]

I tell you what, the longer I do this (and it really hasn't been very long) the more I realize that THAT is true. I spend the majority of my time right now either marketing or figuring out how to market. I just do the work between marketing activities. Glad I got a business degree instead of an acting degree.

[Yonie]

As for myself, I can't do it that way. I live by principles, and one of them is to not be less than excellent. "Good" can suffice while crawling, but "excellent" is the only option while walking. That list of priorities is phenomenal; I just couldn't do it while still feeling confident about myself.

Conscientious stubbornness. That's a good expression to describe this dilemma.

[Bish]

I prefer "pragmatic perseverance"
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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.