Voice Over Auditioning Techniques

Here are some auditioning tips. These will benefit you when auditioning on the pay to play sites.

Popularity: 13%

Soundproofing A Voice Over Home Studio On A Budget

Trish Basanyi was kind enough to provide us a video on how she put together her home studio on a budget.

Popularity: 17%

Why Voice Over Training?

People ask me all the time, “How do I get started in voice overs?”  Great question!  Great person to ask too as I’ve been actively involved in this industry for over 20 years as a voice talent, producer, and after significant experience, as a coach.  So they ask this question with eager anticipation, awaiting the answer they want to hear!  I am not a Magic 8 Ball!  I am a voice over professional, so I give them the honest answer, the real answer, and am mystified by their response.  I tell them to make the decision to do it and to get proper voice over training and professionally produced demos, which are essential to their success as a voice over talent.

At that point a litany of excuses pour out about how they want to make money now, they’ve been told they have a great voice and should do voice overs (mind you these comments come from people outside of the voice over industry!), they cannot afford or are unwilling to pay so much money for training, etc., …basically, they want to hear that, “I’ve never heard such an incredible voice in all my life and, of course, I will help them get started for free, and make them an overnight sensation!”

Reality check!  Ask a doctor how to become a doctor and inevitably the answer will include going to medical school; ask a pilot how to get started as a pilot and inevitably the answer will include flight school; ask any professional how to get started in the field in which they are working and training will be part of the answer.  The voice over industry is no exception!  Here’s the bottom line, as stated by best-selling author of The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary, Mark Sanborn, “Amateurs wing it; professionals prepare.”And in the field of voice overs, winging it simply doesn’t fly!

Popularity: 2%

When Business Gets Slow, Are You Covered?

What’s your game plan when business gets slow? Are you COVERED?

Compensation is the direct result of habits and stimulating it requires fostering the specific habits of Organization, Vacation, Evaluation, Relation, Education, and Dedication.

Organization is an ongoing task that is often overlooked until we are completely overwhelmed and forced to deal with the ramifications of clutter and procrastination!

Vacation or simply taking the time to relax, rest, and rejuvenate is just as necessary to productivity as long hours spent in the studio recording, editing, and auditioning.

Evaluation and introspection are imperative in honestly assessing business goals and marketing strategies, uncovering opportunities and areas for improvement.

Relation to audiences and clients is vital to building business, as is effective networking with other voice over talents and creative directors.

Education, coaching, and staying abreast of the latest trends in the industry are all critical components of a successful voice over career. No one is ever too good to keep learning!

Dedication is evident in our attitude, in how we approach our business and how we choose to invest in it through self-improvement and in giving back to others in the industry and community.

So go ahead and get your files, books, and financials in order!  Clean your studio!  The mess has been getting to you anyway.   Get that therapeutic hot stone massage that is so long overdue!  Go away for the weekend and just be! Revisit your goals and brainstorm ways to market yourself.

Update your website.  Reconnect with past clients.  Join your local chamber of commerce.  Update your Facebook Fan Page.  Take that improv class or meet some friends at a comedy club.  It’s okay to laugh and study delivery at the same time!

Subscribe to magazines like Adweek, Brandweek, and Variety.  Become an expert on topics in the industry or interview those who are and create an e-newsletter and blog!

Find a way to add value to what you already offer!  Business slowdowns will occur, but I’ve found it’s much better to be COVERED than to lower my head and feel sorry for myself!

Here’s to your success!

Popularity: 2%

Behind the Mic – Ben Patrick Johnson

This is a short documentary look into a day in the life of voiceover talent Ben Patrick Johnson.

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Are You Teachable?

The key to finding voice over jobs lies in how well you market yourself!  The key to landing voice over jobs is your level of preparation and execution.  The key to preparation and execution lies in teachability.   Outstanding actors and actresses are outstanding because they listen to the director!  Even coaches get coaching.  I do!

Teachability determines success, especially in the voice over business. Successful voice over talents are directable.  They are active listeners who crave to learn and improve, willing to implement the direction given, and strong enough to put their personal opinions aside for the sake of learning something new and delivering what the client wants.

Some of the greatest rewards of being teachable include learning to see the script in a different light, correcting bad habits such as rushing the script and redundancy, and maintaining a humility that keeps one approachable and a pleasure with which to work.  I’ve learned that no one is ever too good to stop learning and those who think they are too good to learn are not that good!

Do you mimic the commercials you hear on the radio or TV?  What a great opportunity to practice and learn from others who have been cast! Additionally, practice reading all kinds of scripts, listen back to the audio, and record again.  It’s amazing what one can learn by simply doing that!  Also, take an improv class!  Aside from being a ton of fun, its great practice for thinking on your feet, releasing inner creativity, and really getting out of the comfort zone. Further, practice reading scripts that aren’t comfortable for you; it will make the easier ones better!

So how vital is having a quality coach and mentor in voice over work?   It’s a must!   Like learning an instrument, it takes patience, dedication and commitment.  The right coach and a teachable attitude is the difference between playing Jingle Bells and Beethoven’s 5th!

Are you teachable?

Popularity: 7%