VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[WillMWatt]

I was browsing Reddit last night when, surprise! I found something that offended me.

I ended up thinking about it all night. So much so, that I wrote a blog post about it.

"The Voice Industry is Broken"

Enjoy!

[Mike Harrison]

Great job, Will.

I think a big part of this (confirmed yet again by the Reddit post) is – in addition to the glut of people wanting to be "stars," there is also a glut (although somewhat smaller) of those who are in the position to hire talent but have not a clue as to which qualifications should be considered and which should not.

One example of this is some of the pop music from the 1990s, where someone who found (or appointed) him or herself a "record producer" thought a great sound was the wailing like a hyperactive schizophrenic air raid siren; the person hired to "sing" a song would greatly waver their pitch as if they couldn't decide which note they wanted. When done tastefully, it’s called melisma – the bending of syllables for bluesy or soulful effect. But when people like Christina Aguilera and others who followed her began to do it, legendary record producer Jerry Wexler called it over-souling; “the gratuitous and confected melisma” that hollows out a song and drains it of meaning. Point being, someone thought this sounded good and pushed into our faces by fouling the radio airwaves with it for about a decade.

In voice-over, there are people in positions to hire talent (usually end-users) who shop either for price alone, or someone that "has a good voice," but doesn't necessarily sound the least bit coherent when reading someone else's words.

When the "that's good enough" or "this will do" mindset is in the driver's seat, anyone and everyone has a chance.

"Would you like fries with that" is not the kind of microphone experience that qualifies one to call him or herself a voice-over talent. But there are many – on both sides of the hiring coin – who obviously don't care.

(On a somewhat similar note [people without a clue], someone on social media a few weeks back commented that a statement by one of the presidential candidates – that climate change (specifically the resulting drought conditions) were partially responsible for terrorism – was "not a smart answer." I asked this person what was meant by their comment; whether he or she had knowledge that would yield a smarter answer. The reply was that "people are using the lack of water as an excuse to kill others." I replied, "You are aware that water is desperately scarce in many parts of the world and people will do anything to get it or protect that which they have." The reply was, "That's still no excuse to kill people." My response: "You do know that water is essential to maintain life; that we can live only for several days without it." There was no further comment from this person.)

People with no clue form opinions and perform tasks based on their ignorance. When these people are in positions to hire others, all bets are off.
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

[HeatherMasters]

Thanks for posting this. I really enjoyed it. I loved the American Idol spoof you added. Nailed it. I've only been at this a year, and even that has given me such a new perspective. I've spent 4 years on a theatre degree, thousands of dollars on equipment and training, 100s of hours scouring articles learning the ropes and technical side, and after a year, I am only really making money in audiobooks, and have yet to tackle other branches of VO. I have such a respect for all of the professionals in Voice Over and it drives me crazy when people seem to think anyone with a voice could do this.

Thanks for speaking out on this.
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Heather

www.heathermastersvo.com

[Philip Banks]

Yes, our beloved business of Voice that we call Overs lies in a thousand shattered pieces, dead and nearly gone.

I look around at this once thriving industry which only 20 years ago offered entry level salaries of between $4 and 9 million per year and see people doing national TV commercials for 3 Turnips and a bottle of Vimto. We have been vanquished by an internet, online casting sites, text 2 speech and a flood of people into the market who are completely sh*t!

Is there any future for us? No. Any hope? No. Should we keep going? No.

Still, gotta laugh don't cha!

[Lee Gordon]

[Rob Ellis]

My philosophy: do your job everyday to the best of your ability, and don't worry too much about what the other folks are up to.

[kkuhlken]

I know you're a pro now...I only got 2 turnips and a Fanta last week for my voice overage.
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My full name is Karl Kuhlken (think Macauly Culkin...it rhymes)

Suave, debonair, a ladies man. Sophisticated, urbane, well heeled....no, wait...that's not me

[Deirdre]

I don't particularly like to be a crank, but I don't particularly like the term "industry" to describe our trade.

It's like calling a watercolorist a member of "the art industry", or a chef a member of "the dining industry".

Our service is a luxury.
Our livelihood is predicated on the capricious whims of taste.

We don't make anything tangible, our skills are not in any way vital to the health and safety of society.

But when we do well what we do, we can make someone interested in a product, make someone aware of new knowledge, make someone smile.

That's not industry, that's a miracle.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Gregory Best]

Where's that like button. Deebs said it.
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Gregory Best

greg@gregorybest.com

[WillMWatt]