October 2006 Archives

The best way to accomplish your own dreams is to help other people accomplish theirs. Since I don't currently teach classes or workshops, I have found that I can be of service to those wishing to enter the voice-over industry by offering the advice page on my web site and these essays on my blog. Of course, I enjoying discussing the industry when people meet me and express their curiosity.

I usually don't have the opportunity to directly help newcomers, though, so I was quite delighted when Doug Paul, owner of the wonderful Catspaw Studios, called me recently about an unique collaboration with WSB-TV, ABC affiliate Channel 2 here in Atlanta. Popular TV and radio personality Clark Howard is hosting an hour-long prime-time TV show set to air on Monday, 30 October, titled

Finding Your Dream Job.

On the show, Clark is giving 6 participants the chance to step into the environments of their dream job. David McCreary dreams of becoming a voice-over actor and was chosen for the show. Doug thought it would be valuable experience for David to perform a dialogue spot a against a professional voice talent and asked me if I could join them at Catspaw for a short recording session.

I was excited for David that Channel 2 selected Catspaw as the recording studio. Catspaw is one of the busiest studios in Atlanta. It's a premiere facility, yet you are totally relaxed the moment you walk in the door. Everyone there is warm and friendly, like you're among family.

In addition, Doug Paul is a leading national voice-over talent with 20 years or more of experience, and he is a fantastic example of living the dream life! After Doug developed his own bustling voice-over career, he built this striving studio. I always love working with Doug because he knows how to give precise direction to get the read he is hearing in his head. A session at Catspaw never lasts very long! :) For David, the experience in working with Doug Paul at Catspaw would be the equivalent to a short masterclass. What a memorable way to jump-start a career!

Even though I met the producer and cameraperson prior to the shoot, I admit seeing a camera pointed at us in the hallway was a little unnerving, as I never do on-camera work. Since David is obviously the focal point of the story, the camera was trained on him while we were in the recording booth. I was proud of him that he seemed able to forget about the camera and have fun with the copy. We did a number of takes on the dialogue piece, and David adjusted well to Doug's direction.

I don't know if Channel 2 will use any of my segment in the finished TV show, but I will definitely be watching Clark Howard's show tomorrow night at 8pm. I want to see the rest of David's story, and I wish him every possible success in his voice-over career!

I certainly encourage everyone in the Atlanta viewing area to watch the show. You never know what you may learn from David's experiences and those of the other participants who are working toward making their dreams come true.

I have provided the voices for 2 games, one of which had 4 characters.I think that job with the 4 characters was one of the most fun jobs I have had as voice actor. I was asked to portray some teenage girls yelling at the boys on the beach to pick up some diamonds. Who wouldn't want to get paid doing that?

Many voice talent dream of working in the ever-growing gaming industry. Like anything else, though, it may be difficult to obtain paid work without prior experience in that field. I found a voice-over audition for independent game developer that opened a couple of days ago that may be a great place to gain some experience with game dialogue and showcase your skills.

If selected to voice one or more characters in this game, you would receive credit and a copy of the game. Women are encouraged to submit, and casting is expected to begin in early November.

For those starting out, you may want to look on a game credit as a talking point with a commercial publisher. Unless specifically asked, you don't have volunteer that you weren't paid for the project. By frequenting the forums dedicated to gaming, you will see other similar audition opportunities.

If you're serious about pursuing a niche in gaming, you will want to read industry periodicals devoted to the subject. For instance, you can sign up for the weekly Gamasutra.com e-mail alerts.You can network with professionals at IGDA meetings, the annual E3 convention, and several other annual conventions and conferences devoted to the gaming industry. Also, classes in accents and dialects would be enormously helpful, as well as specialized classes such as Pat Fraley's Game World workshop in LA on 18 November.

Drew and I have been on vacation for almost 3 weeks on a wonderful Greek Islands cruise. During the trip, we visited Greece, Egypt, Turkey and Paris. If you’re interested, you can read Drew’s fascinating and detailed account of our trip or look at our awesome photo album/scrapbook that we created with Drew's amazing pictures at Shutterfly, the best company for photo processing and related products that you can imagine.

Even though I was on a fabulous vacation, I never stopped thinking of ways to progress my voice-over business. I have some stories to relate at another time. Today, though, I wanted to tell you about something that was awaiting me in the mail upon my arrival home: my copy of Pat Fraley’s new book: The Gypsy’s Guide to The Business of Voice-Over.

I have taken classes with Pat and his business partner Hillary Huber, and I think I have a copy of everything he has published. Since I don’t live in LA, I take every opportunity to drink at the well of this master’s fountain of knowledge. I find the real value of this latest book to be in the CD that accompanies it. Pat and Hillary entertain and inform you on the CD just as if you were sitting in one of their voice-over classes. They cover the text in the book so that you can hear the material while commuting to your next voice-over gig.

Among other material covered, our delightful teachers succinctly differentiate the key concepts of brandingand style, and they play some excellent demos to illustrate their points. However, guest interviews on the CD with Kristine Oller and D. B. Cooper provide key information not included in the book. Kristine Oller’s comments about focus are something that every voice artist should hear and act upon.

Sometimes, we don’t know what to do. Sometimes, we know what to do but don’t do it. By repeatedly listening to Pat and Hillary and their guests on the The Gypsy’s Guide to The Business of Voice-Over, I have a feeling that it will be easier for me to do all the right things to improve my voice-over business in the future.

In my opening paragraph, I linked to our Shutterfly vacation photobook. As promotion is one thing discussed rather heavily in Pat’s book, I realized I could mention that I have successfully used Shutterfly products in promoting my voice-over business. Like favorite teachers Pat and Hillary, I can’t say enough good things about that company! They have a tremendous array of products, great prices and exceptionally fast delivery. If you can put a photo on something, you can also put your logo on it! Just think of the possibilities for personal branding and promotion!