more Voice Over Today past issues
VOICE OVER TODAY
September 4, 2007
This issue contains:
1.) Upcoming Classes at Edge Studio
2.)
In Sickness and in Health
An Article by Bruce Bayley Johnson
3.) Edge Studio’s Do Voice Over From Home Tele-Seminar
Read this issue and PAST ISSUES at:
www.edgestudio.com/voiceovertoday_past.htm
==================================
Published
by EDGE STUDIO
Helping Voice-Talent Build Careers
www.edgestudio.com
New York
- 212-868-edge
Washington DC - 202-398-edge
Connecticut - 203-334-edge
Toll Free - 888-321-edge
SINCE: 1988
MEMBER: Better
Business Bureau
RECOGNIZED: Voice and Speech Trainers Association
SPONSOR: National Public Radio, Recording For The Blind & Dyslexic
WHAT IS EDGE STUDIO?
1) VOICE OVER CAREER BUILDING
. training
. evaluations
. demos
. marketing resources
. audition prep
. guidance
2) AN ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION FACILITY
Recent Productions:
. Lee French Toast Uniforms
. Disney
. Al Gore Podcast
. Glomobi
. Klaffs
. Brown Shoe Company
==================================
1.) Upcoming
Classes at Edge Studio
No matter what your skill level is, dozens of workshops and seminars are
being offered for all levels of voiceover experience!
Just getting started?
Try our Evaluation Placement Workshop, for a wealth of information on
the
voiceover industry, as well as a private, 1-on-1 evaluation with one of
our experienced voice coaches!
Need audition experience?
Our Act-Up and Ringer Classes offer training and confidence building for
a
variety of different types of scripts, as well as actual audition experience!
Do you have, or are about to finish recording a demo?
Don't know what to do next? You need a Marketing Foundation class to learn
the basics, and a Marketing Forum for even more information on how to
market your voice, and get yourself work!
Interested in Character/Animation work? How about Audiobook narration?
Gain a wealth of experience in workshops which deal exclusively in these
specialized fields of the voice over industry!
SCHEDULE THROUGH AUGUST 2007
_______________TELE-TRAINING_______________
--------------Call 888-321-edge for details-------------
*Intensive Foundation Technique Evaluation Workshop: $159
September 10, 6pm-9:30pm ET with Kerry Miller
*The Ringer
Workshop: $35
September 11, 7pm-9pm ET with Kristin Price
*Marketing
Foundation: $79
September 17, 7pm-9pm ET with Kristin Price
*Intensive
Foundation Technique Evaluation Workshop: $159
October 1, 6pm-9:30pm ET with Kerry Miller
*The Ringer
Workshop: $35
October 9, 7pm-9pm ET with Kristin Price
*Marketing
Foundation: $79
October 22 , 7pm-9pm ET with Kristin Price
*Do VO from Home: $79
October 23, 7-9pm ET with Bruce Bayley Johnson
_______________CONNECTICUT
STUDIO_______________
------------------Call 203-334-edge for details------------------
*The Ringer
Workshop: $35
September 29, 10am-12pm with Bruce Bayley Johnson
*The Ringer
Workshop: $35
October 20, 10am-12pm with Bruce Bayley Johnson
______________NEW
YORK CITY STUDIO________________
-----------------Call 212-868-edge for details-------------------
*ACT-UP Workshop: "Pre-Sentencing" $35
September 22, 1:30pm-3:30pm with Eric Rath
*The Ringer
Workshop: $35
September 22, 4pm-6pm, with Eric Rath
*Intensive
Foundation Technique Evaluation Workshop: $159
September 26, 9am-12:30pm with Kristin Price
*Intensive
Foundation Technique Evaluation Workshop: $159
October 13, 2-5:30pm with Kristin Price
*ACT-UP Workshop:
"Doubles" $35
October 20, 1:30pm-3:30pm with Eric Rath
*The Ringer
Workshop: $35
October 20, 4pm-6pm with Eric Rath
*Intensive
Foundation Technique Evaluation Workshop: $159
October 24, 9am-12:30pm with Kristin Price
*Intensive
Foundation Technique Evaluation Workshop: $159
October 27, 9am-12:30pm with Kristin Price
_______________WASHINGTON
DC STUDIO_______________
-------------------Call 202-398-edge for details--------------------
*Intensive Foundation Technique Evaluation Workshop: $159
September 10, 6pm-9:30pm with Kerry Miller
*Intensive
Foundation Technique Evaluation Workshop: $159
October 1, 6pm-9:30pm with Kerry Miller
To register
for any of the above classes, do not hesitate to call our offices at:
New York: 212-868-3343
Connecticut: 203-334-3343
Washington DC: 202-398-3343
Or toll free at: 888-321-3343
==================================
2.) In Sickness
and in Health
An Article by Bruce Bayley Johnson
(excerpted from “Voiceovers and the Art of Automotive Repair”
)
You know you’re going to get a good session this week, when you
wake up on Monday with a bad cold. Eyes watering, nose running, throat
scratchy. This particular Monday will be the one day of the week when
you can wait for the phone to ring, because it almost certainly will.
Aspiring voiceover talent as well as seasoned pros often ask about that
situation…what do you do when you’re sick? The answer is—as
it is with so many things—it depends. It depends on how sick you
are, and how you are sick.
It’s always a delicate balance. In the life of the freelancer, every
session is a mortgage payment in the making, so it’s hard to say
no…it’s even harder to call an agent or a client and give
them a chance to reschedule or get somebody else. Still, there are times
when that is exactly what you have to do.
It’s not about you…it’s about them. Your job is to make
their job easier. If you sound like a frog with tonsillitis, nobody is
going to be happy with the results. If you play fair with a client when
you know you can’t deliver, they’ll appreciate it and remember
it. Be Professional. Write that on a piece of paper and put it on the
fridge next to your kid’s drawings. It’s almost as important.
It’s the defining rule… be professional in all other things.
And with the concept of being professional comes another caveat: don’t
talk too much, don’t tell them anything they don’t need to
know—especially if it’s negative.
If you feel bad, that’s not important. Don’t bring it up.
If you can go on--go on and pull yourself up by your bootstraps…do
your best read ever. It doesn’t matter if you collapse outside the
studio door in a heap of sobbing pain. Smile and perform and deliver the
goods. Then you can go home and crawl into bed with an icepack on your
nose.
If the client or producer happens to feel bad, listen and sympathize,
but don’t get caught up in the normal human tendency to commiserate
and expand…if the director has a cast on his broken leg, listen
to his ski adventure, but don’t volunteer that you had your toe
amputated on Thursday. He doesn’t care…and if he does it’s
only because he thinks it will make your voice sound bad.
So, the bottom line answer: it’s how sick you are…and how
you’re sick. If you can do the job, do it and suffer in silence.
The only problems in the studio should be created by other people, and
you should help solve them. Don’t bring problems into the booth
with you. On the other hand if you’re sick in a way that affects
your sound, extremely nasal, larangytic, or constantly coughing, for example,
the fair, professional thing is to tell your agent or the client in advance
that you may not be able to deliver the goods, and give them the opportunity
to come up with other options—rescheduling if that’s possible—or
getting another talent if it’s not.
(Of course, if you’re a real free-lance VO talent, and this is the
only way you make your living, you’ll probably ignore everything
I said. You’ll just pretend you’re fine and try to get by.
You need the money. Believe me, I’ll understand… They won’t,
though. So if the show must go on…better make sure it goes on very
well, indeed. Otherwise you may never work for that client again. )
==================================
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==================================
3.) Do Voice
Overs From Home Seminar
Taught by producer, coach, and engineer Bruce Bayley Johnson
Home Studio Teleworkshop
Is a home
studio right for you?
In today’s internet-connected world a lot of work is being done
from home studios. There are pros and cons. A home studio can hook you
up with voiceover jobs anywhere in the country…anywhere on the globe
for that matter. But it’s not for everyone. This seminar is designed
to give you the overview you need to decide whether a home studio is a
wise investment at this point in your career.
We’ll
explore some of the options, including microphones, preamps, speakers,
headphones, computer interfaces, and software. Is Pro-Tools right for
you? An Mbox? What kind of software is easiest to use? Will you be using
your studio simply to audition, or do you want to do broadcast-quality
recording sessions from home? Is ISDN worth the investment? What about
IP-based solutions like Source-Connect?
We’ll talk about soundproofing and acoustic deadening. What’s
the difference and how can you create a quality recording space without
spending a fortune?
From recording broadcast commercials in a closet full of clothes to building
his own sound proof booth, Bruce Bayley Johnson has experienced the joys
and pitfalls of the home recording studio for more than two decades. Sure,
the computer has replaced the reel to reel tape recorder and DAT machine,
and the Fedexed CD has been supplanted to a great degree by emailed audio
files and FTP, but some of the harsh realities remain (the chainsaw sounds
next door as your neighbor has his largest tree removed, the kids playing
bouncy ball upstairs, aircraft noises and birdsongs that you never heard
before).
Yes, you can do voiceover from home for fun and profit, but before you lay out your hard earned cash, get the big picture. What equipment will you need, where should you set it up, how hard will it be to master the technique. A bad-sounding home studio is worse than none at all, and not everyone is cut out for the technical side of home recording. Many voiceover pros don’t need a home studio…some couldn’t make a living without one. This seminar is designed to give you the background information to make the right decision for yourself and your career.
THINGS YOU WILL LEARN:
* What kind of work can you get with a home studio…do you really need one? How much do you need to spend for the various levels of auditioning and production you want to do.
* What kinds
of microphones are available for various budgets…(Shure SM78, AKG
451,
Marshall MXL2003, Rode NT-1, etc.) What kind of microphone is appropriate
to the recording space you have, large condenser, small condenser, dynamic
etc.
* Soundproofing and making the recording space sound “dead” instead of “boxy.” How can you do this on an appropriate budget with the space you have? If you use a laptop, can you record audtions and VOs while you’re traveling?
* Pro Tools and the Mbox are these right for you? What about other software solutions, including Adobe Audition and M-Audio interfaces. How difficult will it be to master the basics of recording and delivery of audio files?
* Preamps compressors and downward expanders, what do they do and do you really need them?
* Delivery of completed audio files. How do clients expect you to get the voiceover to them in today’s internet world, and how quickly?
* Direct studio connections, such as ISDN and IP-based Solutions like Source-Connect.
* Are your skills, voice type, and geographical location better suited to working from a home studio or in professional recording studios of the client’s choice? Or both?
If you are interested in setting up your own home studio, and you want more information as to what you are getting yourself into, then this is the class for you!
This class
will be offered as a tele-session on:
Tuesday, October 23 from 7-9pm EST
The cost for this class is: $79
To register for this class, simply call our offices at:
New York: 212-868-3343
Connecticut: 203-334-3343
Washington DC: 202-398-3343
Or toll free at: 888-321-3343
==================================
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(if there are two of you) rotate pages until the entire script is read.
Session takes up to 2-1/2 to 3 hours. No pay, but good practice cold
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audition, e-mail bob@bobslaymaker.net with "Reader" in subject.
If you
previously auditioned, feel free to audition again. Other tasks available
for those who don't want to read aloud but would like exposure/insight
into writing screenplays. Voiceover artists from outside New York City
are
welcome if they can record to wav or mp3 files.
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HAVE A WEBSITE?
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increasing your search-engine results. Take this opportunity to add a
link
to Edge Studio. Visit www.edgestudio.com/link.htm
==================================
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in Voice Over Today?
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==================================
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==================================
Copyright
2007, Edge Studio, LLC. All rights reserved. This article is
protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws
and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated,
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