VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Frank F]

from the thread "How to Find an Agent":

[anthonyVO]

[Diane Maggipinto]

AnthonyVO said:

[Philip Banks]

I read Anthony's post very carefully and found it to be well informed, open and honest.

All side issues apart the answer to the question "how do you get an agent" is very simple, you will get an agent when you are perceived by the agent you approach to be of commercial value to them and not a moment sooner.

With apologies to those who want the answer be more complicated, it isn't.

[asnively]

In a world... where it is hard to prove you can do what you can do (medicine, plumbing, laser holography) accreditation is useful, and in many cases necessary.

In our world, you step up to the mic and you read the words. If you sound good enough (or, often, if you match the voice they imagined in their head) you get the job, and any money associated with it.

More proof of qualification necessary? Howzabout they give you more words to read?

I am trying to figure out how accreditation could possibly work in our crazy business. You get the job 'coz you can do the work, and it's easy enough to prove that right on the spot.
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Indonesian Forum

[Philip Banks]

Stop making sense it confuses people

[paddyo]

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[dshetterly]

....and thanks EVERYONE for the huge amount of education I got in following this thread.

I'm lining up my plan of attack to "quit my day job" and go for the v/o career full-bore, and finding an agent (or agents) is just part of the arsenal.

I really wanted to attend VOICE, but as it happens there were other commitments. Next year, for sure.

[mcm]

Anthony makes some great points. It's a pity they're buried in this long thread on agents.

The issue of cost for VOICE bothers me. It's obvious that the people who attended had a great time, but will you really want to spend close to $1000 every year for a conference, including travel and lodging? Particularly if you're a beginner, since, even if your career seems to be on a good trajectory, it can take several years to establish a business. If you've gone once, subsequent years will surely have a diminishing return on investment. A small-enrollment weekend workshop will probably help a lot more, or telephone classes, or just reading, listening and practising.

I used to go to meetings every year of the Society for the Study of Evolution and/or the American Ornithologists' Union. Registration fee was in the neighborhood of $100. The program was put on by us - we applied to be on the program by sending in an abstract of our talk. We then had 2-3 days of talks, with entertainment in the evening such as a picnic or a keynote speaker. Nobody made money - that wasn't the point - the point was to talk to our colleagues and get our work out there for discussion. The meetings are held at universities but usually in nice places, like Berkeley, University of Hawaii, University of British Columbia. This year is New Zealand and the registration fee is kind of steep. Most people pay for their trip either from a research grant or from funds the university sets aside to send people to meetings. For self-employed artists there is no such financial relief.

So what, exactly, is the point of VOICE? If it's to become a sort of mouthpiece for the cause of voice talent, then the idea is quite disturbing that if you don't come up with a large amount of money to attend every year you're marginalising yourself. If it's to network, why not adopt the model of the scientific meetings (and I'm not talking about medical conferences, which are a completely different animal)? That would make it more affordable for more people. You could offer small group classes with celebrity VO if you wanted to, for an extra fee. Or those people could just donate their time to give the classes, which would do a lot for their reputations, in my opinion, and probably earn them a lot of devoted students who would pay for more classes in the future. I mean, does everybody have to be making money every minute? Isn't there more to life than that?

[louzucaro]

I too think that the cost needs to support the type of conference that you're attending. If it's something like a 20-person workshop with a known talent teaching, then yeah, I can see $800 for people who really think they're going to get something out of the particular workshop.

But many "conventions" are $100 or less, and that fee is primarily to keep out lookie-loos, as there are often numerous ways for legitimate members of the show's profession to attend for a reduced rate or even for free.

Toy Fair, E3, COMDEX, VSDA, National Restaurant Association, NAB, NEOCON, are all shows I've been to where it didn't cost me a thing to get in. Game Developers Conference, which is much more of a "learning" show, was about $200 if I recall correctly. GDC also has an unspoken benefit, being that companies get a LOT of info on what their competitors are doing during the show! I've seen project timelines sped up, altered or dropped altogether after GDC.

The difference is shows that are "trade shows"....where sellers KNOW that there are going to be buyers who will pay them AT THE SHOW for goods or services. An example would be a show that brings together manufacturers of home improvement goods with the actual buyers from top retail chains. Some of these types of shows will charge a $1000 fee, but again, there's a pretty good chance that exhibitors at a show like that are going to sell way more than $1000 worth of stuff. But in most cases, even "trade shows" where there's actual trade going on are not that high-priced. Comic-Con is an example of a consumer trade show (I know that doesn't really make sense) where a ton of sales go on at the show, but even then, the cost is in exhibiting, not in attending.

Trade shows, like many businesses, require a balance that matures over time. The best way for a show to be funded is through sponsorship. The best way to make sponsors feel that their dollars are being put to good use is to make sure that the attendees are qualified and numerous enough to support their sponsorship and present a realistic increase in customer base from the exposure gained at the show. The best way to get more qualified people to attend is to make sure the show presents a good value-opportunity ratio for them...either to get new clients or to learn something they cannot learn someplace else, etc.

A trade show can NOT successfully "guarantee" credibility by charging a lot of money to get in. Everybody knows that money does not equal talent OR legitimacy. It just means the person has money. While some people attending may have earned that money by doing a lot of or exceptional work (or both), nothing guarantees that people who can simply "afford to attend" have any business being there from a professional standpoint.

There's a fair amount of speculation going on in this thread because people DON'T yet know what the plans are for VOICE. But whatever the goals are of the people putting on VOICE, the program / sponsorship / opportunities / attendance fees all need to jive.
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Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

[Deirdre]

Cost is certainly a factor in anything like this, but think of it in terms of other professional conferences:

The Game Developers Conference had passes of varying intensities, some follow given "tracks" so thast you're able to access only the lectures/activities in your interest group.
http://www.gdconf.com/register/passoptions.htm

Other passes are more encompassing, and when I go, I get something called the Classic Pass. I have open access to anything that happens in the most-attented part of the conference. It was $800 for allumni in advance. If you missed early registration, it was $1450. Some expo-only visitors paid $200.
Nearly 13,000 people attended. The math is staggering.
There aren't honoraria paid to the speakers at the GDC, you get a free pass and that's it. You get there on your own dime.

So...VOICE is run in a completely different fashion. The invited speakers were treated well, believe me.
I'm not saying changes can't be made in the price structure of a thing like VOICE, but the hours of prep and planning need to be taken into account when considering overall costs.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[mcm]

The GDC is probably so expensive because, with that many attendees, you HAVE to have professional conference planners. The science conferences are run by a local committee made up of volunteers (faculty and graduate students at whatever university is hosting). Locations are chosen several years in advance and planning is also done way in advance. It is indeed a lot of work to plan such a big party. So again, I ask, what is the point?

[Bruce]

Wow. I can't believe all the criticism of conferences like VOICE from people who didn't attend. You must have gone to some pretty worthless conferences in your past in order to paint this one with such an ugly brush.

A side note before I get to my point...VOICE was not perfect. It was too long, it had a number of sessions geared for newbies that left this veteran high and dry, and almost every night had a "must see" event leaving us little chance to relax and have quiet interchanges. But for a first attempt it was very well assembled and managed.

My point, conferences like this are worth what you take out of them. Just like going to a so-so college, you can get a great education if you pick and choose what classes you pay attention to and endeavor to study beyond what they're teaching. Many VOICE presenters got me thinking and sparked many new as well as forgotten and underused ideas. And as with many conferences I've been to in other lines of work, the networking outside of lectures frequently has more value than the lectures.

For my $1,500 in expenses I got a sore butt from sitting so much, two lungs full of stale air and cigarette smoke, 20 increased friends in the business, 80 new acquaintances, tons of immeasurable good will, 25 or so business cards and pamphlets of which several or more will lead to more business for me, and at least 50 good ideas to improve my performance, and my marketing ability.

I therefore got tens of thousands of dollars of future income from this conference because I chose to do so. I think that's good value.

Bruce

[Frank F]

I choose not to defend or respond to my reasons for why VOICE was created, why I feel the need for accredidation, or the cost of the experience.

Those who did not attend VOICE missed out on a great time; those who attended, I beleive, gained a lot of knowledge regarding our business.

This thread is about hiring an agent and how to proceed with your voiceover career in that respect. So, on the topic of agents; I beleive that an agent is only as good as you force them to be. An agent is YOUR employee, so find a talent agent that will actually work for you by placing your voice in front of (or, in the ears of) the people who hire voiceover talent.

A lot of information regarding what agents do and do not do are contained in this thread. Hire one agent who will do what you need them to do. Use your business skills and your knowledge of your market to determine what you need and desire, then mathc the skills of the agent with those qualifications.

If you are beginning this process today, start small and work your way up the ladder of success.

And, thanks Bruce.

Toodles

F2
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[asnively]

Well-said, Bruce. That pretty closely sums up my experience, too.
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