VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

Deirdre · Last edited by Deirdre on Sun Mar 18, 2007 1:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hey Gang--

I just got a call from Pro Comm.

No-- they didn't call to invite me onto their roster of talent. They called to let me know they aren't.

How about that? Talk about class.

Hats off to those guys.

DB
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

Andy · Guest

Them *censord*! I happen to think ya got a good sound.

Deirdre · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 4:13 pm Post subject:

Thank you for the vote of confidence Andy/Drew.

They actually liked me well enough, there's just no room at the Inn. I guess once folks get in with Pro Comm, they don't leave!

They have to keep the natives fed, so no more immigrants.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

mcm · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 4:30 pm Post subject:

Maybe it's just me, but I hate getting being told on the telephone that I didn't get something. When I was full time in academia and applying for federal funding on a regular basis, it was common practise that you would only get a call if you were getting an award, not if you were being declined. I remember one year there was a program director who would call if you were declined OR getting funding. He seemed to think it was more humane but all of us in the trenches thought it was horrible. When I took my turns as program director I never called to tell somebody they were not getting funding, but if they called me I would talk to them for as long as they wanted about why they weren't getting the grant and what they might do differently next time.

Hmm. Slightly off topic I guess. Anyway, Deirdre, pooh that you aren't going to be an inhabitant at this time. But it's only a matter of time, I'm sure!

Deirdre · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 5:49 pm Post subject:

I'm an actor.

Heaven knows I don't get MOST of the parts I read for.

I'll work my ass off on an audition and never hear a word.

Or work my ass of on an audition, get called back, get called back again, and then never hear a word.

That they took the time to tell me they had heard my stuff and liked it, but didn't have room on board was above and beyond.

I appreciate it, and I appreciate them.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

audio'connell · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 7:03 pm Post subject: Sorry to hear that

Rejection is never good.

:oops: Now this is the part where I look like an un educated jackass...what's Pro Comm?
_________________
- Peter
audioconnell Voice Over Talent
Your friendly, neighborhood voice over talent

Deirdre · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 7:12 pm Post subject:

This is Pro Comm.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

audio'connell · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 7:23 pm Post subject: Maybe I'm missing it...

but its just another voice site. Voices sound great, maybe they get a lot of visitors (I can't tell) but mareting is an active sport and while these boards have their and can make job security sometimes better, you seem like a pretty sharp marketer...if you get on their roster, fine. If not "take a road less traveled for it was grassy and wanted wear."
_________________
- Peter
audioconnell Voice Over Talent
Your friendly, neighborhood voice over talent

Andy · Guest

Yeah, like Peter said. Sometimes the path least taken will get you there faster.

Deirdre · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 4:28 am Post subject:

Pro Comm is an august body of producers and talent that came together when radio began to implode. They and Studio Center are the chief sources of remote talent in markets all over the country.

Pro Comm and Studio Center aren't "voice sites". They're a combination of production company and casting agent. They don't have lists of auditions, they have jobs you get called for. Studio Center even has a Union arm.

Both Pro Comm and Studio Center aggressively market their services as producer and purveyor of talent. They're an established part of a great number of audio/video production houses-- as much a part of the interior landscape as the sound effects CDs-- because they were the first guys to absorb displaced announcer talent, and it's obvious that very few people leave once they're in the stable.

FWIW, Harlan Hogan is a Studio Center voice.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

Deirdre · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:49 pm Post subject:

The thing that sets Pro Comm and Studio Center apart from places like Voice 123 is that there are no fees-- they are agents. You can't "join up", you have to be accepted/invited-- like being in the William Morris Agency, except these guys also have studios where the production takes place.

If they accept you it's because they believe they can make money promoting you.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

ballenberg · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 6:39 pm Post subject:

To chime in here, I have to say that the folks at ProComm are indeed a pleasure to work with. The whole staff is terrific, from the support people to the boss. It's clearly a decision from the top management to treat talent like they are important. It definitely shows, and it's definitely appreciated. I believe, by the way, that they actually have more ISDN boxes than any other studio in the country. I worked on a session one day where seven talent were connected at once, working the same script, from seven different cities! I think they said their record was ten at once.

imaginator · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:59 am Post subject: procomm pros and cons

the biggest plus about procomm is also what's keeping a lot of fine talent from joining the ranks.

they don't just list you among ten million other voices and forget you. when i joined up many years ago i had just started freelancing and knew nothing about isdn. the folks there liked my demo (even offered me a producer job if i wanted to move...which i couldn't), encouraged me to consider an isdn box but made it clear they could not guarantee how much work i'd get. when i did take the plunge, their engineers took a lot of time they didn't have to in working the bugs out of my setup. other studios wrote me off early (it turns out my first box was defective).

they have a handful of salespeople/producers who work to get to know the talent in their roster. and while it can tend to make someone typecast in a specialty, i have gotten most of my work through procomm as a result of their people recommending me once a client has outlined a desired voice type. there was even one audition i did for wrigley that didn't get me the job...but which procomm thought so much of they kept it, and have used it to get me at least three other character jobs i know of since then (it's the tortoise and hare clip on my demo).

unfortunately, it's largely because they try to look out for their talent pool that they've stopped accepting a lot of othewise talented new submissions. i bugged a friend of mine for more than a year to invest in an isdn setup, but by the time he did he was told they already had a number of men in their ranks with a similar range and style.

it is a shame more of our ranks can't find their way into theirs, because short of having some kind of "in" with a union market studio, this has been the best thing that could have happened to a promotionally-challenged voice talent like me.

they even host a yearly cookout and golf tournament up in the carolina mountains for their voice talent every year. how cool is that?

not bad for an outfit which doesn't demand exclusivity. studio center used to do that. i wonder if they still do.

anyway, db, if you're not on the procomm roster, it is certainly not due to any lack of talent on your part. just timing.
_________________
rowell gormon
www.voices2go.com
"Mr. Warm & Friendly Voice...with Character!"
Rowell Gormon's Clogged Blog - http://voices2go.com/blog

Deirdre · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:53 pm Post subject:

Studio Center isn't exclusive. You just need to steer clear of clients you've met through them for a year after you leave, if you're silly enough to do that.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

tackerman · Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:46 am Post subject:

I just got my call last week. A very classy way to be turned down. Wink

Most places you never hear from.