VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

bobsouer · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:07 pm Post subject:

Me too!
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DougVox · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:38 pm Post subject:

Me three! (Conference call, that is.)
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Lizden · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:10 pm Post subject:

Frank F · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:12 pm Post subject:

All right, I will look into what it would take to create a "VO Conference call".

I know I can do it with Skype, but there are some limitations. FreeConferenceCall is another possibility.

F2
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COURVO · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:34 pm Post subject:

Hey Frank.... why don't you look into what it would take to create a VO Conference Call?

CourVO
(feeling like a smart-ass)
(....well, at least I can legitimately claim one half of that hyphenated word)

I'm on SKYPE
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Bailey · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:51 pm Post subject:

FreeConferenceCall... and Skype... one has limitations, the other isn't free.
Unless I'm reading it wrong.
Frown

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louzucaro · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:58 pm Post subject:

Actually it would be "one has limitations AND isn't free" Smile

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Frank F · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:05 am Post subject:

Without having a budget to work with, Skype offers up to 10 people on a conference call.

FreeConferenceCall isn't - well totally free... for those who participate in the conference call, the normal long distance charges apply (unless you have a service with no long distance charges, i.e.: Vonage, Skype-Out, etc.).

I now have a conference number, let me do some thinking on how to proceed and -- "let's get the show on the road".

For those who would enjoy participating, please email me privately with your request - I will set up a format and time and date and privately email those people on the list with the details.

My email address is: frank@ispeek.org

F2
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Jon Morss · Guest

Wow! This sure turned in a cool direction. A group tele con-call sounds like a great idea.

I'm going to try to set-up a Workgroup/Work Out Group locally here in Sacramento which is why I was looking for folks that had experience in anything similar. There is a local Recording Studio that may offer their facilities for the group to meet and offer copy to read. If I can I'll try to drag in some veteran VO talent to keep the group moving in the right direction.

I really like the telephone option though.

Thanks.

Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

The very reason I am here as a successful full-time VO talent (burned my waiter's apron over a decade ago) is because of the voice-over practice groups I led in the 90's in Chicago.

For about five years, I ran 1 or 2 different groups of 6-8 VO talent who would meet at Bosco Productions for 3 hours on a weeknight or Saturday and split the cost of the studio time, about $18-20 back then (I didn't make a dime off of it).

We would begin with a mock audition. Everybody would get the same script, and we would each separately record our audition so as not to be influenced by the reads of others. Then, we would listen to all the auditions together and critique them. What an eye-opening experience! Rarely was there an obvious winner. Oftentimes, there were 2-3 reads that were equally good, then we would discuss why one over the other? Then you'd consider things like the slate, or the value of marketing. My contention is that if a producer hears your audition and likes it equally as well as several others, you have a MUCH better chance of being cast if they are at least familiar with your name!

Then we would have 2 other rounds where each talent would have 4-6 takes on a script of their choosing, including narration and dialogue scripts if they wanted. The other talent - plus occasional guest directors - would give feedback and direction. For a talent who lacked experience, as I did when I started these groups, this was an excellent way to get what was very close to real-world experience in an actual studio. MUCH more effective than practicing on my own and trying to critique myself.

The real reason why I started these groups was because I struggled with the self-discipline to practice on my own. So if I started up a practice group, I could not let everyone else down, so it was a way to guarantee I would actually work on my craft!

Over those 5 or so years, I learned so much from talent who could do things I couldn't do then. I eventually became a good director myself, good enough to become a much in demand VO coach and demo producer. (I left that part of the biz when I got married, since it was mostly nights and weekends, and I was too busy during the day being a talent).

My groups consisted of the best talent I could find who were willing to join us. Usually there were a few novices, but there were also some "heavy-hitter" talent who voiced lots of national spots who would join us as well. I gathered as many scripts as I could, made the phone calls and e-mails needed to ensure folks would actually show up, got a guest director when possible, organized things with the studio, etc. It was a lot of work, but it was BY FAR the single best investment in my career, and one of the best life decisions I have ever made.

So DO IT! Contact me for advice if you wish.
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louzucaro · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:29 am Post subject:

Tom,

I'd *happily* get involved in this if you could convince Angelo to give 6-8 of us studio time (with an engineer) for $20 / each

Wink

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Jon Morss · Guest

Tom -
Dude! That is exactly what I am looking for. I will certainly be contacting you for advice.

Thanks for the reply and the info.

Jon