VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Scott Pollak · Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:00 am Post subject:

Purists will scoff (go ahead, purists), but I bought large comforters at Wal-Mart for about $25 each and they line my walls. They work amazingly well.
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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

Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:36 am Post subject:

Furniture blankets from Harbor Freight are functionally very similar to comforters, but cost only about $6 each.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

vkuehn · Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:46 pm Post subject:

Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:04 pm Post subject:

The ones I have are made of fabric. No plastic. I made a quilt out of Roxul Safe 'n Sound insulation, sandwiched between two of the HF furniture blankets, and it seems to have mitigated most of the boxiness from my 36" x 44" booth. The quilt is hanging in front of the door. The remaining walls and ceiling have Auralex or Aurlex-like foam on them.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

DenaliDave · Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 5:28 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the advice guys! I actually accidentally posted the room treatment question in here, I had two VO-BB windows open!

In trying to formulate a game plan, I think I need to get some Skype lessons or something. Having someone with professional experience point out where my strengths & weaknesses are, help determine what my range is/could be, and help me figure out what niche I fit into best.

I love living up here in Alaska, but it doesn't lend itself to much professional networking or opportunities for face to face lessons. Videos and books only can do so much, and I'm sure others with experienced ears can hear things in my voice/style that I am blind to.

To give you guys an idea of the market up here, Anchorage has about 300,000 people. Here's one of the studios that offers voice talent, and how their talent sounds:

http://www.buzzbizz.biz/recording-studio/

I know a few AM and FM personalities here, and the smaller clients just have the station DJ's do the ads ... Shocked

I just heard this morning that the rights holder for my first audio book just approved the finished production!
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
www.alaskamic.com

paulstefano · Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:26 pm Post subject:

Congrats on the audiobook approval.

Don't worry about where you live being an issue. You can do amazing things with technology now. Yes, it would help for certain genres to be in LA, or New York, but for many others, it matters not whether you live in New York, or the North Pole. As long as you have stable internet, and a studio that is up to snuff, you can get work.

Oh, and you need the chops.
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Ditto.

There are plenty of successful VOers here who live in fly-over country.

When I joined the freelance game in 2006 we were living just outside Cincinnati.

And I'm making more money now in Melbourne Florida, which is not exactly
a major media/entertainment hub.

Bloom where you're planted, as they say.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 11:20 am Post subject:

I started in Atlanta and now work from my home in a town of 20,000 on the western slopes of the Rockies in Colorado, 7 miles from town in an 1899 farmhouse. NONE of my clients are in Colorado. Many are in Europe, the middle-east and Russia.
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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

Lee Gordon · Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:18 pm Post subject:

Gregory Best · Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:41 pm Post subject:

I use HF moving blankets too. They do not have a plastic covering. If you watch their ads you can really get a deal. I bought them on sale for $4 each and got a free tape measure. The ads are online.
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Gregory Best

greg@gregorybest.com

melissa eX · Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 11:31 pm Post subject:

Welcome!

To answer your - was it your first? - well, the most important question. Dark. As in dark chocolate.

Bob's advice is spot on as always - though being on the west coast he tends to leave out top NY agencies. Wink

Check out Paradigm on Voicebank as well, and Stewart in Chicago.

Don't train with radio talent. Yes, there are people who do / still do radio who are successful VO's , some of the top talent used to be in radio, but if all your radio talent is doing is radio they probably don't know how to act - and it's about acting - really about being yourself in whatever situation you're handed.

There are a number of good coaches who will work with you over Skype. Search the archives - check out credentials. There are too many people out there these days who are selling shovels in a gold rush - faulty shovels at that. Don't do a demo until you're ready to do a demo - and don't listen to advice from talent who are not making a living at VO as to whether you're ready. You'll pretty much know when you're ready. If you have doubts you're not.

Location isn't much of an issue these days - unless you want to do dubbing or animation where you have to be in studio. I'm in NY and most of my work is from everywhere else - here in the US, Latin America, Europe, Asia.

Oh, yeah. Don't forget the chocolate Wink

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from crime...to the divine(R)
bilingual vo

HeatherMasters · Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 10:48 am Post subject:

Great thread! I want to print out Bob's advice and hang it on my wall! Hey Dave, I'm a fellow Alaskan right here in Anchorage. If you want to talk city specific, feel free to message me.

Welcome to the forum. These guys are amazing. Smile

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Heather

www.heathermastersvo.com

DenaliDave · Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:51 pm Post subject:

paulstefano · Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:56 pm Post subject:

Congrats! What is the title of the first book?
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