VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Neil K. Hess]

I was contacted by "One Source Talent" to come in regarding voice over casting and I was wondering if anyone on here has any experience with them or knowledge about them? My "spidey senses" are tingling on this and just wanted to see if anyone else out there is smelling "scam" as well.

http://onesourcetalent.com

Thanks!
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http://neilkhessvo.com

[Scott Pollak]

Neil, I know nothing about these folks, but my feelings in general about 'agencies' like this that proactively tell folks "You can be an actor!" or "You can be a voice-talent!" are simply preying on people's dreams. To some degree, some of them MAY be legitimate. But, like modeling agencies, the ones who take a large sum of money to try to train you or 'prepare you' are primarily in the business of making money. And while that, in itself, isn't a bad thing (we're ALL in THAT business), selling potentially false promises IS a bad thing.

Most of these types of businesses will seldom, if EVER, tell a potential client "Look, we just don't think you have what it takes to do this. Maybe you need to take a step back and rethink pursuing this." Obviously there is a huge difference between 'agencies' like these and traditional talent agents. These places tend to be more 'schools' (I guess) and it's pretty much buyer-beware. You can pay the money. You can take the classes and get the headshots, and then good luck, pal.

Personally, I wouldn't go anywhere near an 'agency' like this.

P.S.: Did a little Googling after writing the above:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/one-source-talent-los-angeles

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100710093708AAziUvJ

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/one-source-talent
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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

[Ed Fisher]

[Philip Banks]

They're probably harmless and more important of no real value to you.

[Scott Pollak]

Philip, if you look at the three links I posted regarding scams, I think the term "harmless" hardly applies in this case.
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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

[Scott Pollak]

And.... ClutterAsh.... Point taken. It is impossible for any of us to know - FOR SURE - that someone can or can not make it in our industry. All we can do is use our best judgment and offer advice based on what we see and hear. Beyond that, it is strictly up to the potential talent to decide what to do with that advice. And occasionally a gem rises up out of the muck and mire to pleasantly surprise us.

The difference is when an 'agency' like this says "Yes!!! You, too, can be a star!!! And for a mere $5000 we will prep you to do this!!!!!"* (Regardless of any talent or lack thereof the starry-eyed newcomer may have).

A real agent, of course, will only take on talent that they feel truly has what it takes and - of course again - will ONLY get paid when YOU land a paying gig.

* "we accept all major credit cards"
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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

[Mike Harrison]

James Earl Jones makes no secret of the fact that he, too, was a stutterer.

Ya never know.
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

[Bruce]

My belief is that not one the voice talents on this board who is making a decent income got there primarily by attending an expensive talent training agency like the one you reference.

I believe most of us got there through radio/TV, or through an acting medium, or through public speaking experience. And most of us started small: small radio stations, theater in school then community theater, speaking to groups of clients or co-workers about your company. Some got there tangentially by working in recording studios or ad agencies. But again, we started small and built our careers on hard work, learning from mentors, and learning from our mistakes and rejection.

Yes, some of us got/get paid training or counseling, but almost always it's an hour at a time, or a limited class size for a limited number of classes with an established member of the profession. But we pay/paid from dozens to a few hundred dollars at a time, not $5,000.

No one can guarantee you work or success. No one can teach you how to be talented. They can teach you technique, but it is you who have to practice it and apply it, you who have to listen carefully to the product of professionals and absorb what they are doing right, you who have to listen to your own work and be able to hear what you're doing that's not right, and you who have to figure out how to fix that and make it better.

Most of what you need is available for cheap and for free (thank goodness for the Internet!). Only you can decide how devoted you are to researching information of value and then applying what you learn.

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. .

[Bob Bergen]

Bruce gave you some good advice here, Neil. Read it over and over. As well as the numerous other threads on such issues.

I myself am a huge fan of coaches and learning. Hell, I'm being coached this week by a great vo instructor. No matter where you are in your career, no one is beyond improvement. As soon as you feel like you've made it, you've lost it. It's an uphill journey, and the journey has no end. You just need to love the journey.

If you look on Voicebank, you will see a list of every agent from here to there. I doubt that company you posted is on voicebank, though I've not looked. I am not a fan of any company that takes a fee and promises anything. As an animation vo coach, I promise nothing but education and fun. Plus, with love and respect I'll kick your ass. I also promise honesty, with a caveat that it's only my opinion. I have never told someone not to pursue because lousy actors get lucky breaks all the time. Who am I to prevent that!!? That said, in 26 years of teaching I think I can count on less than 2 hands the times I've told a student they are demo ready. Usually I let the student tell me. You will know when you are demo ready. And if you have to ask, you probably aren't.

But stay away from a company that takes a fee and offers lessons and a demo in a set amount of time. If it were that easy, everyone would be working. I also advise you stay away from representation that asks for any upfront fees. Agents should get paid when you get work. If its a union job the buyer pays the agent's commission on top of the actor's fee. And it's never over 10%. I know non union has different rules, but that's for a different thread.

Neil, if I may make an observation, I've read many of your questions and posts. It feels to me you keep looking for the quickest and easiest ways to break into VoiceOver rather than the most professional and ambitious ways. I've commented on other posts of yours that the cream floats to the top. Buyers want and need brillant talent. Put yourself in the buyer's seat, and by buyer I mean agent, producer, casting director, etc. Whom do you think they are going to be more impressed with, the actor with great marketing tools, top notch demos, and the ambition and business strategy/ambition to do whatever it takes to be at the top of their game and in front of their competition OR the person whose plan is to try to get into vo as fast, cheap, and easy as possible?? And, I may be being presumptuous in assuming your goal is to be a working vo actor. But I do think that is your goal. If it's the latter, might I suggest you adjust your approach? Instead of looking for the lesser professional approaches, or the Craigslist way of finding work, get thee to a good acting and improv school. Become the best actor you can be. Then study voiceover. Become the best damn voiceover actor you can be. Don't even look for work. If you are brilliant and prepared, you will know the answers to all the questions you are asking. Surf Voicebank and research the top vo actors in da biz. If you are demo ready, find out who did their demos, their websites, etc. Associate yourself with the top, not the mediocre.

And again, if I am indeed being presumptuous and this kind of ambitious goals doesn't reflect yours, disregard. I am beyond honest when it comes to vo advice and guidance. I give what I always wanted as a student. Not everyone wants the best this business has to offer. You can dabble and you can be a six figure network contracted promo voice. And everything in between. But I do feel that no matter what your goals are, the more you invest the better your return. The Internet has brought us what I call the Walmart-ization of vo. Getting more for less. But it benefits the buyer, not the actor. And it's also opened the floodgates of get rich quick vo schemes, reaching people who haven't a clue what is or isn't more professional or legitimate. But I think if you just surf this site aggressively, it's crystal clear the talent who are doing it right. I know I do not represent the majority on this forum. I'm strictly union and get my work through my agent. I live and work in a major market and broke into vo at a different time. Granted, I'm a marketing fool!!! But the majority here are the next generation of working vo actor. And I think you'll find that those who are most successful here have/had a journey that's a big ol notch above what you've been doing.

[colinsz1]

[Rob Ellis]

What Bob said.

IMO no packaged curriculum can replace the battle scars of the trenches
(radio, public speaking, theater, etc. and then the smaller starting out voiceover jobs)

And if they're asking for serious amounts of money up front be VERY wary.