First, let me start by apologizing to folks who wished to comment on some of my posts. I've been leaving the default of "vox friends and family" on, so it was disallowing visitors and non-vox folks from leaving comments. That may or may not be fixed from here on end, as I have made a mental note to change that setting to "everyone" In fact, i'm going to go back to the previous 5 or so posts and make that change there as well. Time will tell.
Well, my "vacation" is over, and I am unfortunately back in the office this week. I put quotes around the word "vacation" because I only took the time off from work for two reasons: 1. I get four weeks a year of earned time, and I had only used 3 days of that so far this year. 2. I had to go to Schenectady, NY, to record my voice-over demo on Thursday. To be more correct, I went up there Wednesday night (after having first diven to Boston and back in order to pick someone special up at the airport) and stayed the night at the Holiday Inn. I decided to go a day early as my studio time was scheduled for noon to 2pm, which meant that I either had to stay over the previous night, or get up early and then try to "perform" after a three and a half hour drive. As a rested, fully hydrated voice is preferred... overnight was my only real option.
So what is a voice-over demo you may ask? Well, it's basically an "audible resume," It is a quick set of clips that are engineered and produced professionally for you so that your prospective client(s) can get a feel for what voice(s) you can do, what emotions / personalities / quirks you can represent, etc. As for my own personal time, I believe it went well. I was working with two guys (strangely enough, both named Chris) and both of them were quite happy with what I did. I believe their biggest happiness came in the fact that I took direction very well. It seems that most "new talent" (that's what it's called... no ego here...I am now officially "talent!") have a tendancy to put their own spin on the copy they are reciting. While it's true you need to start somewhere, once the director / producer / client / whomever is making the decisions asks you to do something different, as a trained professional, you should do exactly that. My producers stated that new folks (n00bs to all you pwners out there...) seem to ignore their instructions and instead try to "merge" their initial delivery with whatever the requested changes are. Over time, that will only frustrate the decision-makers as well as waste valuable studio time. Remember, no matter how YOU feel about the copy, it's the other professionals in the room (aforementioned group in addition to copywriters) that have their own idea how they want it to sound. They're paying the bills, and they're highly trained folks that wouldn't waste time by asking you to do things that they don't want. Apparently, I know enough to abandon any of my own ideas about the copy, and immerse myself in whatever they are asking for. Anyway, I spent just under two hours in the studio going over various pieces of copy using various voices and attitudes. They played back the rough edited copies for me when they were happy with each piece, and I found myself quite entertained. They are going to continue to cut / polish / add background music and sounds and I should have the final product in about 5 weeks. Once those file(s) are in hand I will be creating my professional website (link here will be provided of course) and soliciting small, localized jobs. With luck (and a lot of marketing sweat) I hope it becomes more than a "hobby."
Wow, it's been a month since I've posted... not cool. Well, truth be told, I have posted a few items, just not here. Yes, there are other places I frequent, but this is my first blog... my original home... and I always return here. All that now said, let's press on to today's topic.
Some of you may be aware that I have been dabbling in the world of voice-over. I've read a few source books, i've taken an online course or two, and now I'm scheduled to go to a studio in mid-state New York to record my official demo. I've purchased a professional-grade microphone for home use, so I can start to submit a few samples to some of the online-pitched jobs that are out there. Sure it might not become my next career, but it should be fun, and might bring in a dollar or two along the way.
