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Lizden A Zillion
Joined: 04 Dec 2006 Posts: 8856 Location: The dark recesses of my mind
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:25 am Post subject: Tools and Talent |
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Hey!
If you own any of the Digital Juice libraries, you probably get their magazine.
There was a GREAT quote in this issue's "Juice Insider" (p7) about having the tools vs. having the talent to use them.
Viv T. Beason, Jr. talked about how Desktop publishing went through a phase of everybody claiming to be a Graphic Designer 'cause they all had the tools...same thing with video producers...and dare I say VO.
But there seems to be a shift going on.
Sure it's a lot easier to afford the tools that we use for our trade, but not everyone has the talent or tenacity to keep at it.
The quote is:
"Once the equipment reached the point where almost any consumer could own the gear, things changed yet again. We started to see better work. Why? Because at some point it became not about whether or not you have the means to produce, but whether or not you possess the talent and desire to produce and create."
EDIT:
Here's the link to the online version of the whole article!
Just thought I'd share!
Liz[/url] _________________ Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com |
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bobsouer Frequent Flyer
Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 9882 Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:07 am Post subject: |
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Liz,
Thank you. That's excellent. _________________ Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
ISDN, Source Connect, phone patch |
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Don G. King's Row
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 1071 Location: MA
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:56 am Post subject: |
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Ha! Just received the magazine in today's mail and set it aside to peruse a little later. Thanks for the preview. |
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Bruce Boardmeister
Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 7926 Location: Portland, OR
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:53 am Post subject: |
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This runs quite counter to what Bettye Z has to say. She's had some lengthy rants in another location about how voice talents shouldn't be doing production work....something to the effect that it's too hard for them and they should never try to learn unless they get special training.
B _________________ VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005
I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. . |
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Lizden A Zillion
Joined: 04 Dec 2006 Posts: 8856 Location: The dark recesses of my mind
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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The article IS geared toweard production people, but I was looking at it from the angle of all the wannabe-VO-people that may spend some money on a mic & a computer and expect to be making sacks of $$ in a day!
Quality will prevail in the end....wheat, chaff & all that Jazz!
L. _________________ Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com |
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dMichaelb Contributor IV
Joined: 11 Jul 2008 Posts: 144 Location: NYC
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for sharing, Liz.
Reminded me of all the ugly handbills, flyers and print ads that surfaced during the initial years that computers first allowed everyone to typeset. Now, when we want something printed to look really good, we go to someone who knows what they're doing.
Let's hope we're seeing a similar phenomenon in the VO marketplace! (See Jeff's recent post " ... Don't Hire Your Family ...") _________________ --Michael
D. Michael Berkowitz
800/965-9672
"... in this life you can either be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.
Well, I was smart for a long time. I prefer pleasant. You may quote me."
- Mary Chase ("Harvey") |
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Deirdre Czarina Emeritus
Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 13016 Location: East Jesus, Maine
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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There's "another location"? _________________ DBCooperVO.com |
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imaginator The Thirteenth Floor
Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 1348 Location: raleigh, nc
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: | This runs quite counter to what Bettye Z has to say. She's had some lengthy rants in another location about how voice talents shouldn't be doing production work....something to the effect that it's too hard for them and they should never try to learn unless they get special training. |
bettye just doesn't want the competition from those who are good...and doesn't want to have to clean up the messes made by those who aren't. _________________ rowell gormon
www.voices2go.com
"Mr. Warm & Friendly Voice...with Character!"
Rowell Gormon's Clogged Blog - http://voices2go.com/blog |
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Lance Blair M&M
Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2279 Location: Atlanta
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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As someone who works as a sound mixer/field audio engineer in video and film I strongly disagree with this article.
The people I know who broke into the industry in 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998, or 2008 all have an equal amount of artistic passion. It's insulting to suggest that those from a certain era weren't authentic because of the economics of accumulating capital at that time.
I would also argue that if you accept his argument, today there are 20 wannabees with a $5,000 camera whereas in the past there was one wannabee with a $100,000 camera. What is the qualitative difference?
Over the past ten years, I've seen the industry become more pro-am and have much more of a "carny" atmosphere.
In many cases, the proliferation of available technologies means that many "artists" don't know the full capabilities of their equipment. I haven't been a fan of working with people that don't know their camera menus down cold, which is often the case. At the post house I worked at in Boston we all had to memorize the manuals of all our gear. By the time I left not enough people knew how anything worked thoroughly and people would call me after I left to go freelance to troubleshoot their gear.
Lance...how does this mixer work?
Lance...how do I set the black levels in the camera?
Lance...how do I get into the edit screen in the teleprompter?
Seriously... _________________ Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too! |
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Diane Maggipinto Spreading Snark Worldwide
Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 6679 Location: saul lay seetee youtee
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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Lance ... how do I get into voiceover and make gobs of money tomorrow ? !
Hmmm ... carny atmosphere indeed.
I think with experience comes excellence (one would hope). When I was fired from one radio station, I was stunned that the gal who knew not how to thread a reel-to-reel deck was still on staff. Yipes.
I've always thought that, because I have vast and varied experience with voicing, editing, and broadcast, I have an advantage and a broader understanding. And, I think talent goes a long, long way. Sure, anyone can do voiceover, I suppose, but can just anyone do it well? _________________ sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!
www.d3voiceworks.com |
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Ed Gambill Cinquecento
Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 561 Location: King, NC 35mi SE of Mayberry
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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My credentials are; Studio Engineer TV, Broadcast Engineer Radio, Location Sound Mixer Film and Video, Editor Film and Video, Adjunct Instructor Sound for Film and Video, Political Media Consultant, owned and operated a cable advertising company and Carpenter. Aldus Page Maker, I think its still here some where.
I was hired by a film school to do a two day workshop on location sound recording. I had already produced a video on sound for video and film which several universities had bought. It was my first effort in the face to face arena of teaching.
I put together a good (I thought so) lesson plan, a plan where they would get a grounding in the essentials of location sound.
By the way, in my life I have owned Ariflex with Zeiss Glass, Auracon, Mamiya RB67, Cannon F1, Nagara, Sony R-DAT…. the list goes on and a few Plumb, Stanley and Craftsman hammers.
At the end of this two day session I learned all the students really wanted to know was how to set up the time code on the Fostex recorders. They figured if you get the code right the rest would fall into place.
A pin hole camera in the hands of the right person can yield masterpiece results. It’s not the tool, it how good you can use the tool.
No one ever ask a carpenter what kind of hammer they use, they ask “how good is the carpenter.”
So now I have a small form factor HD camcorder here with Zeiss Glass, on the desk and a yearning to tell an important story. I’ll still need the hammers to build the set. _________________ Esse quam videri "To be rather than to seem"
www.SaVoa.org No. 07000 Member AES
Last edited by Ed Gambill on Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:20 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Lance Blair M&M
Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2279 Location: Atlanta
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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Diane, on the other hand, experience comes from excellence. You're not going to get hired for the second gig if you're head isn't screwed on straight.
I have been impressed by a few talents I know that achieved a thriving career after only a few years because they sussed "it" out, and knew how to deliver "it" to their clients dependably and professionally. The spread of affordable production technologies have been great for naturally talented people like that...so in that regard the article in question is right.
Ed, If all they wanted to know was how to set the time code they could have googled the manual and downloaded it - sounds like that could have saved everyone a lot of time! I've cut off contractors for not having the proper tools for the task, and I've been in many situations where freelancers do or do not get hired for their gear. I worked with a crew that did not get rehired by MTV because they didn't have wireless audio feeds to send to all the cameras. Nobody was discussing how you can get masterful results with a pinhole camera that day. People who are thorough ask about the hammer as well as the carpenter. I always do. One of my favorite cameramen to work with also has gear that stinks and it's always holding him (and the rest of the crew) back. People would say he's "great" but that's not the whole story. _________________ Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too! |
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Ed Gambill Cinquecento
Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 561 Location: King, NC 35mi SE of Mayberry
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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Lance
You da man! BTW that little gig with time code predated Google.
So are you saying Tools over Talent. I always belived that talent was the engine that drives the tool. Have I had it wrong all these years? _________________ Esse quam videri "To be rather than to seem"
www.SaVoa.org No. 07000 Member AES |
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Lance Blair M&M
Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2279 Location: Atlanta
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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Talent drives the tool, definitely. That's why I don't like the article, it implies that everything is hunky dory in ProductionWorld(tm) because of the availability of sophisticated gear.
However, while a hammer really is usually just a hammer, a camera isn't always just a camera. You've got to be choosy for the application and for the technical quality required. People that think they'll be fine with any ol' piece of gear are selling themselves, and the ability to prove their talent, short. _________________ Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too! |
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Lizden A Zillion
Joined: 04 Dec 2006 Posts: 8856 Location: The dark recesses of my mind
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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Lance Blair wrote: | Talent drives the tool, definitely. That's why I don't like the article, it implies that everything is hunky dory in ProductionWorld(tm) because of the availability of sophisticated gear. |
Oh..see... I don't read the article like that at all.....in fact I read it the opposite way.
I read it that tools might be there for all to aquire, but only those that know how to use them creatively and that have the talent to deliver will thrive....like what YOU said....
L. _________________ Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com |
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