VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Ed Fisher]

I like it.
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"I reserve the right to be completely wrong."

[Jason Huggins]

Diplomatic...honest...concise. Point well delivered.

[graemespicer]

Well stated, Drew. Please let us all know how your client responds ...
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Graeme Spicer
Voice Actor

Member of the World-Voices Executive Board

tel • (416) 716-2246
email • graeme@graemespicer.com
graemespicer.com

[Drew]

Thanks. A much ratcheted down version from my initial response which I saved to draft, took a walk, and edited. I'm going to call him on Friday and do what I do best: have a conversation.
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www.voiceoverdrew.com
Skype: andrew.hadwal1
Although I have a full head of hair, I'm quite ribald.

[Bruce]

Maybe the phrase, "The proof is in the pudding" works here. Record a minute of a script in your voice and put together a minute of the same by TTS. You get 50 words worth at a time for free. Offer them the two samples. And definitely see if you can find particularly challenging phrases, words, or names to use.

Yes, the TTS is cheaper at 2.6 cents per word for large projects, but you have to pay for someone to input the text and QC the final product which brings that cost up.

I'm reminded of my brother who is a professional drummer in L.A., and who was really concerned years ago about electronic drums nudging him out of a job. (I told him somebody has to program them and that could be you. That didn't go over well.) Turns out he had no worries. Live drumming is still by far the best, especially in jazz.

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. .

[Lee Gordon]

I've played robot/computer characters in a couple of games and auditioned for quite a few more. That seems like it might be the one application where it could actually make more sense to use this product than to hire a human.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[Quicksilver]

Sounds horrible.

There are clients who want stuff done as cheap as possible and they usually don't stick around long in business, no matter what kind of business it is. Can you imagine if you took this approach to your VO career, or any career you had before VO?

"Well, my iPhone records speech that can be understood perfectly, why would I spend hundreds on a mic if my clients hear the same words just fine from my free phone?"

"V123 provides a website for me for free. Others cost hundreds"

"I already speak English, why would I spend $150 an hour to learn how to talk?"

Etc, etc...

Sure, that makes sense. But it doesn't take into account the reality that business is COMPETITIVE. Any market worth competing in is competitive enough that it filters out the ridiculous cheap skates before they make it to market (or shortly after) be it from the buyer or seller side.

As far as the robots go, bring it on. Even the idiots on Fiver sound leagues better and I don't know many pros too worried about them. People pay top dollar for good talent for a reason. It isn't obvious to rookies or the type of clients that would consider to T2S but for professional talent and the clients who know the value hiring them (which are plentiful), the devil is in the details and that isn't going to change anytime soon.

DC

[Scott Pollak]

And how timely - and ironic - that I'd receive this request from a former client via e-mail today:

We have a recording project this week replacing voice synth for one of our videos.

They wanted to know my availability.
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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