VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[COURVO]

Pinging various voiceover sages in the business lately has left me with an even-steven quandary you might be able to help with.

POSITION A: JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES
Appealing to as many clients as possible means more potential jobs, but also leaves the voice talent with a scatter-gun approach to a demo or demos. None of which distinguish the talent from other to any great degree. Some voice seeker looking for a "the best" may see a lack of focus and move on. Others may be impressed at the range of ability and jump all over it.

POSITION B: NICHE
Discerning your strength, and targeting that talent almost exclusively in all you promote, market, and demo. This limits your broader job appeal, but allows the talent to claim a specialty, show excellence in one field beyond the rest of the VO rabble, and hone skills in delivering a product to one niche (you could claim yourself an expert?). This might save money on a marketing budget (or not).

And....not that you'd have to totally go one way or the other... just MOSTLY leaning one way so that you have a clear message to prospects.

MITIGATING FACTORS:
-Do agents embrace one scheme over the other?
-Is today's changing market forcing the VO's hand on this issue? Which way?
-Are there significant money-saving considerations one way or the other?
-What technology or business-process decisions might come to bear on either choice?

Jus' wondrin'

Feedback appreciated.

CourVO
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

[Frank F]

Using the "shotgun" approach is not my idea of marketing.

Defining niches' or "target markets" and then pinpointing each segment of the overall industry with laser guided promotional and public relations materials is much more effective in terms of expenditures.

The concept is simple:

Define your "target" market(s),

Begin with only ONE niche' market at a time (you may add others later, but start with just one segment).

Determine the needs within the market and how you may address them,

Determine who and how to reach the people who hire VO Artists,

Determine your potential income for this calling,

Define your budget for each niche' market (each arena will require different approaches),

Create marketing materials for each specific slot,

Use your materials/propaganda in each market segment wisely.

If you find, one niche' market is not preforming as well as others over a period of time, Do More Research to find out why you are not reaching the "movers and shakers" or if there is some other causality which is preventing you from reaching your stated goal within the market segment.

Then determine if a particular market segment is providing the income expected based on previous research; and finally, if you should increase your efforts in this market segment or double marketing concerns within another arena.

With the "laser-approach" you are still a jack-of-all-trades to yourself, but you are known in each market segment as an expert.

Disclaimer: This is my opinion and should be considered as such. Any similarities between this opinion and those of any other person, living, fictional, or dead shall be considered happenstance and cannot be considered legal or binding on anyone else.

I believe most (good) agents use the shogun approach for their clients; until such time as the determine a niche which is making them money for their employer - uh, talent.

Toodles

F2
_________________
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

[Philip Banks]

Able to everything - Unlikely
Willing to anything - You only think you are
Desperate - That'll be it!

Let's try a little exercise. If YOU (reader) promote yourself as a movie trailer voice, name the movie trailer or trailers you have voiced.

Were you a brain surgeon you would be able to show a professional qualification and introduce me to patients.

"Hello, I'm Philip and I'm an Airline Pilot"

"Really! For which airline?"

"Well. I'm working with Captain Maurice Tobeus at the moment but when I've finished ......"

Get the point?

In the tortured world of the Voice Overist who or what we say we are, as the song goes ".....ain't necessarily so".

Willingness, ability and experience are 3 different things with 3 completely different meanings and we confuse them not due to ignorance but as a result of choice.

How should you market yourself? Honestly. It's the toughest way yet ultimately the most rewarding.

Am I trying to discredit those people who believe that truth is open to interpretation? No. You don't need my help you're managing very well without it.

The worst place to be "called out" is in the studio - How do you market yourself? Call yourself out before it's too late.

[COURVO]

Philip,

That reminds me of the old Chicken-or-the-egg challenge:

I aspire to be an AudioBook narrator, but I have no experience.
I can't get experience unless I narrate an AudioBook.
I can't narrate an AudioBook unless a publisher sees I have experience.
(endless loop)

So I'll "call myself out" and tout my experience honestly.

"ABLE TO ANCHOR HALF-HOUR NEWSCASTS FOR LOCAL TELEVISION"

Oh, gee, that'll get me that AudioBook job!

I thought that's what demos were for -- to show potential clients what you CAN do...not what you've BEEN doing.

CourVO
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

[Philip Banks]

Demos will get a Voice Over work but making claims without substance will only lead producers to question the credibility of the person.

In Dave's specific case - "Here is my audio book demo" and "I am an audio book narrator". Choosing the former leads to no misunderstandings.

No chicken and egg. You can get work without experience but you can't get it without ability. Not implying that Dave has no ability.

Let people hear how you sound, know who you are and invite them to contact you.

[Frank F]

Phillip is correct, and yet his version is open to some finer points.

If I may quote myself:

"Determine the needs within the market and how you may address them,

Determine who and how to reach the people who hire VO Artists,

Determine your potential income for this calling,"

Although you may or may not have experience as an audiobook VO Artist, as a Movie Trailer Voice, or a Promo Voice - determining the needs of the market is essential. Once your research of the market is completed you will know which areas of your prowess you need to hone to fill those "needs" as discovered in your research.

Maybe I should have added a step here, which mentions "demonstrate your abilities to fulfill the needs of the market".

Part deux: Determining "who and how you will reach the powers that be" is a very wise concept. Your research will determine the "who". The "how" can be determined by speaking with the people who hire VA's and asking them what they want - and if they want you. In the conversations with the movers and shakers your abilities to fulfill the needs will come up, but if you are prepared with a demo which demonstrates you skills and are honest from the start about your experience; your abilities will prevail.

Part tres: Knowing your income potential within a market will help you determine if the efforts to prepare the skills necessary are worth the investment. Some niche market work may come easy for you, other arenas may be more difficult and yield only a small portion of the profit you desire.

I agree with the idea which says education is a great thing; but is it wise to start working in an environment which will yield minimal income at the start of your business efforts? No, leave those areas alone and focus on industry markets which you already demonstrate abilities and skill at first. Then when you have established yourself in those areas you can begin learning additional skills for a specific niche' market.

Always be prepared to accept an offer to work within a new niche' when or if it comes available. However, it is important to explain your inexperience - just once, to the people offering a new gig. Or to paraphrase Shakespeare Do not "protest too much".

So in a nutshell: Do the research, determine the need, demonstrate your skills, and continue to do the research.

Toodles

F2
_________________
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

[Frank F]

Whoops, double post. This one is removed.

FF
_________________
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

[Philip Banks]

Case History PV01230/A

ITV is the main commercial TV broadcaster in the UK. Very early in my full-time career I get a call from the PA to the Head of something or other. I am summoned to attend a test session, am I able to make it? Yes. On the appointed day at the appointed hour I am ushered into a dubbing theatre.

I am locked in a voice over booth at the back of the theatre and am able to see a large projection screen in the main room and a small monitor in my booth. In front of me are a pile of scripts.

"I'll just run the first one to get some level from you Philip, ok?" says Chris the sound. It's a promo(trailer) for a documentary about the history of Native Americans tribes.

Clock - 5,4, black then the pictures. I've have the first line before SOVT from the presenter. I read what's in front of me and then it's the presenter to camera.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah. YOU'VE done this BEFORE!" says Sian the promo producer in my headphones.

SOLD - One fat bloke to the 5ft, red headed Welsh babe. The resulting business relationship lasted nearly 10 years. The record number of TV promos in one session was 96.

The key point here is that I hadn't done it before but after a 3 second burst from me Sian really didn't care one way or the other. Am I terribly clever? NOPE. Unique? Nope. Someone took a chance on me and for that I will be eternally grateful.

[Diane Havens]

To address the audio book example. I have recently finished my first full length fiction audio book, directly working with the author. It is a book previously published in print, and available in Kindle as well. I both voiced and produced the book for him. It went slower than it would if I had done ten of them before. It was an invaluable learning experience for me. I was very well compensated for the time it should have taken me, but only fairly compensated for the hours I ended up putting into it. Both the author and I were quite pleased with the final product, and I have both the money and an enhanced ability to do the job more efficiently next time out.

And efficiency is paramount in audio book work. This weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend Marc Cashman's audio book workshop in NYC where he invited Random House producer Dan Zitt to come in. He both talked to us about the realities of doing this type of work, and then gave us direct first hand experience by directing us in the booth.

Your demo may get you a call, but your performance in the booth, your ability to take direction, and how many pages you can get done in the least amount of time gets you the job. Efficiency is key, and nothing makes you more efficient than experience.
_________________
Diane


Veni, Vidi, Voci
http://www.dianehavens.com

[Bruce]

You wanna talk multiple demos? I've got at least 25 of them filed away for the right occasion...Industrial Narration, Medical/Technical Narration, Audio Books, Children's Audio Books, Car Dealers, etc. etc., just so I can whip out the right one when asked. Nutty, huh?

Maybe a solution is to market your voice more than your various niches. You have a very distinctive voice "that is perfect for documentaries, audio books, industrials, rich commercial reads..." and let them consider putting your good voice into their production, whatever it is.

A thought on getting into audio books, young master Kafer has waded into that world quite successfully (Entre Nous), and one of his sources is an independent audio book distributor. Maybe you could market there, and maybe even go below your desired price point in order to score a couple of deals. When you're done with those you can accurately say you're an experienced audio book reader and roll on from there for the prices you want.

B
_________________
VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Rognog]

I've never used a teleprompter before. Last week I was hired to do an on-camera spot for a DVD and I needed to use one. I told them I had no teleprompter experience but it didn't seem to bother them. They knew me and liked me and that was good enough for them. So, I did some research and found a website that has online teleprompter training. A few days later I did the shoot and nailed it.

I had the same experience in college performing Shakespeare and in the past few years narrating audio books. I just have a knack for them, but I didn't know it until I was given the opportunity.

All modesty aside, what I do know is that I'm talented, smart, and take direction well. And I know that you are too, Dave! Cut a demo, make your cold calls, and get in the booth. I'm sure you'll find success!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

[Jeffrey Kafer]

[Diane Havens]

I started out with audio books with volunteer work for RFB&D in Princeton -- great experience. But those were text books -- some at the college level, and highly complex.

I have an acting background, so fiction comes lots easier, and I've voiced and produced shorter children's lit -- but the thing that hung me up on that particular book (aside from creating and rehearsing the 30 some different voices and several accents) was the self-direction and editing. I'd love to work with a director on a fiction audio book, and take that off my plate. And a sound engineer and get rid of that time-suck. The rehearsal and decision making, and the resultant editing -- and that second pair of eyes/ears to catch you when you say "in" instead of "at" would make the whole project move much faster.

But this is my love -- I have been able to focus my marketing specifically on narration. It works for me, and I am happier.
_________________
Diane


Veni, Vidi, Voci
http://www.dianehavens.com

[Lee Gordon]

If you aspire to become, for example, a riverboat captain, the best way to gain experience in that field is to find yourself a riverboat and see if they'll hire you, if not to start as captain, to do pretty much anything and work your way up. But even then, they are reluctant to hire you with no experience. A bit of a Catch-22.

Fortunately for those of us in this profession, there's a work-around for Dave's chicken & egg scenario. Even if nobody wants to hire an inexperienced person to voice audio books, there's really nothing stopping that person from grabbing a book and sitting down in front of a microphone and honing his or her skills. Sure, you won't get paid for the practice time, but you don't exactly have to go out and rent a riverboat and crew either.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[DougVox]