Voice Over Educational Newsletters

It's easy to become complacent once work is coming in. You stop shifting your gears and lose business to competitors.

The markets for voice over, and the business itself, are always changing. Even the successful professional needs an ongoing business plan that's up-to-date.

So you should continually develop your performance capabilities, explore new genres and geographic opportunities, understand new technologies and rate structures, and adjust to changes in your own life. (Has your schedule changed as the kids grow older? Do you want to go back to school? Could you work from home? Did they just build a firehouse next door?)

But just like any national brand in the marketplace, you should never stop improving.

Here are 10 checkups for your business plan -- we suggest doing this every 3-months:

1) Evaluate the work you've been getting. Should you seek more of the same, or should you expand into other genres?

2) Are you booked solid but some of your clients cost you more time than they're worth, or are impairing your performance? You may want to politely let those clients go, freeing you to acquire better ones.

3) Could you obtain more work from your existing clients? If so:

* Keep them updated on your other recent voice over work.
* Make sure they know the full range of your capabilities.
* Can you add new capabilities that would be valuable to them, such as writing, proofreading or production?
* Ask them to refer you to new clients.

4) What industries are different, but with similar needs? Can you market to them?

5) What industries are similar to those you have been serving? Can you market to them?

6) If you've been traveling to studios, consider ways to work remotely. Whether from home or from a studio, this will enable you to serve a much wider geographic area.

7) To gain similar new clients, evaluate, update and re-implement the successful elements of your previous campaign.

8) If entering a new genre, revisit your Marketing Plan and develop a campaign for your new target.

9) What are successful competitors doing? Evaluate their marketing techniques.

10) Have you kept up with new technologies that will help you work more easily, improve your product, enlarge your capabilities, stay ahead of clients' evolving needs, and/or help you serve your customers better and more efficiently?

There are a myriad of ways a voice over artist can conduct his or her business. Each type offers different personal protection and introduces different tax considerations.

This article will help you learn what is right for you and your voice over business.

GENERAL NOTES:

Face it, you're in business. And like any other business, maintaining records is essential. The IRS and state unemployment department agency could randomly audit you, and without proof of records, you could be at a disadvantage. So:

• Store all records systematically, either sequentially or alphabetically
• Pay business expenses with a check or credit card (not cash) so that records of the transaction are generated

IMPORTANT 1099 INFORMATION:

• If you are not incorporated (that is, if you are a Sole Proprietor or are an LLC), and earned $600 or more from a payor, that payor is required to send you a 1099misc form by January 31, 2012.
• If your entity is incorporated, a payor is not required to issue you a form 1099.
  Note that payors should also send a copy of 1099 form to the IRS.

Note that each state's tax laws vary, and tax laws change regularly. The above may not hold true in all circumstances. Contact your local tax office for exact rulings.

• IRS tax help-line: 800-829-1040
• IRS tax forms and distribution center: 800-829-3676
• IRS on-line tax order form: www.irs.gov

• a Sole Proprietorship
• a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
• an S Corporation
• Other possibilities include, and are not limited to, partnerships and c corporations. Note that each different business type brings different tax deductions to the table.

The sole proprietorship has the virtue that it is simple to form, and TAXABLE INCOME IS ONLY TAXED ONCE, at the owner's individual tax rate. Gross Income less costs of generating the income and operating expenses for the year are reported on Schedule C (or schedule C-EZ if certain tests are met) of your Form 1040. The resultant net income or loss becomes part of your adjusted gross income.

A word about ordinary and necessary expenses - at the start of your voice over career, the largest expenses you probably will incur is the production of your demo (training, workshops, demo production, etc.) and the marketing of your demo (demo copies, mailers, postage, phone bills, etc). These should be deductible on Schedule C as promotional or marketing/advertising expense. If such costs are incurred before you actually start your trade of business, section 195 of the internal revenue code would permit an immediate deduction of the lesser of the start-up costs or $5000 assuming the start-up costs don't exceed $50,000. any start-up costs not deductible initially are eligible to be amortized over a period not less than 180 months.

Keep records on all expenditures which are directly related to your voice over business; including, but not limited to, training costs, travel costs, marketing costs, telephone charges, etc.

Part of your mortgage/rent can be deducted if your home/office is used ONLY for your business. For example, if the home/office is 10% of your total home's square footage, you may be able to deduct 10% from your mortgage/rent.

Similarly, you can deduct your entire telephone bill if that telephone line is ONLY used for your business. Note that if items such as home/office and telephone lines are hybrid (they are used personally and for business), they may not be deducted.

Some items are not deductible, such as clothing purchased for voice over sessions. Even buying a nice suit to meet new clients is not deductible, because clothing is adaptable to general wear.

You will, in addition to owing income tax, usually be liable for self-employment tax and will generally have to make quarterly estimated tax payments as well. The sole proprietorship is not a separate legal or taxable entity from its owner, does not require a separate transfer of assets and does not limit your personal liability for the debts of the business- your individual assets remain at risk.

An LLC is formed under the applicable state's limited liability company statute. A one owner LLC is generally taxed as a sole proprietorship. Although the tax consequences of a single-member LLC and sole proprietorship are the same, an LLC provides its owner liability protection not available to a sole proprietorship - your assets are not at risk.

An S corporation is a business entity which has the same advantage of limited liability as a shareholder in a regular or C corporation. Unlike an LLC there are restrictions on an S corporation's capital structure and on who may be a member. An S corporation's income, gain, loss and deductions pass through to its shareholders and are reported on individual tax returns. Income is generally taxed at the individual level, but in certain states S corporations are subject to state and/or local jurisdiction taxes as well.

This article is intended to provide general guidelines on matters of interest to voice over artists. It is not intended to be all inclusive. The application and impact of tax laws can be very complex and vary widely from case to case. Readers are encouraged to seek professional advice concerning specific matters before making any decisions. The author and publisher disclaim any responsibility for positions taken by taxpayers in their individual situations. This article was updated March 3, 2012.

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: Any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any person for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any investment plan, transaction or matter.

Business plans are critical in helping you grow and operate your voice over business. Yet many voice over artists forget more than just that. Here are 10 critical business practices that most talent forget. Which of these have you overlooked?

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1. DON'T BECOME COMPLACENT.

PROBLEM:

It's very easy to become complacent once you have clients coming in. You forget what it took to get there. You're up to speed, even accelerating, so you stop working your gears. BUT EVENTUALLY you start losing ground to competitors.

There's an old saying among our ad agency clients: Just because the train is rolling, don't disconnect the engine.

EXAMPLE:

Suppose you narrate an educational video for a particular client every week. But then suddenly they stop calling you. What happened? The client went with one of your competitors, because they offered to deliver the recording to the client using the latest technology. Unfortunately, you never mentioned to your clients that you provide this technology, so they assumed you couldn't.

SOLUTION:

Test the waters. Feel the air. Know where you are. Learn where your competitors are. And stay in the lead.

Consider a big, profitable hamburger chain -- even with millions of customers coming in every day, they're still testing new products, trying to make things better, working to improve pricing, methods, variety, quality, presentation, decor, service, signage, advertising, even make their logo better.

As a small business owner, you should do the same.

Work the gears continually. Once you get set in your ways, a new generation of voice talent will be grabbing at your clients.

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2. DON'T MAKE SNAP DECISIONS.

PROBLEM:

As a small business owner, it is too easy to change course in a minute.

EXAMPLE:

Suppose you suddenly think of a new slogan, "Words That Speak Out!" Overnight, you begin a major promotion, you add the slogan to your emails. You put it on your website. Great. You turned on a dime. BUT YOU DID all of this without testing.

You didn't think your new slogan through. It turns out, now people are mistaking you for a copywriter, a poet, calligrapher, sign maker, ad agency, or marketing company. Worse, now you have to correct those mistaken impressions.

SOLUTION:

The big folks find it worthwhile to spend millions of dollars for testing. Shouldn't you spend at least a few days of thought and asking around?

Big companies assess everything they do. And by the time they run focus groups, market tests, statistical analyses, etc., even a small change can take 6 months to implement. The stakes are too high for them to risk everything on an untested whim.

But you can do this in a day or two!

Where your income and image are concerned, how high are the stakes to you?

Think it through.

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3. SEND OUT A SURVEY. CORRECTLY.

PROBLEM:

You never find out why some customers keep hiring you, and why some stop!

Over the years, Edge Studio has cast more than 16,000 voice jobs, and of those, the number of people who have asked me how they did, I can count on my hands.

EXAMPLE:

Take, for example, the plumber I recently hired. At the end of the job, he asked "How'd I do?" and gave me reason to think he would use that information to improve his performance and grow his business. That guy definitely gained my respect.

SOLUTION:

Run a survey, but do it correctly: The right way is to determine what kind of information you want, then design the survey to generate that kind of data.

For example, don't ask "Did you like my service?" Rather than embarrass themselves by telling you truly, people will just ignore the survey or give a useless polite answer -- and then won't hire you again. Instead, ask a specific question such as, "What is the one thing I could do differently that you would appreciate?"

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4. ASK FOR TESTIMONIALS.

A set of testimonials goes a very, very long way: It builds your prospects' confidence. Testimonials say things that may be awkward to say about yourself. And when your prospective client is still in the tire-kicking stage, testimonials speak on your behalf without costing anyone extra time.

Use testimonials on your website, in your mailings, wherever space affords. And even if you don't have a website or some other way to use testimonials now, eventually you will. Then you'll be glad you thought ahead.

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5. ASK FOR A REFERENCE.

As powerful as a testimonial is, a reference is even stronger. Just reserve them for prospects who are otherwise "ready to buy," so the people giving you references won't be overburdened. Whenever possible, forewarn your reference as to who will be contacting them and why, including any particular area of concern.

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6. ASK A CLIENT FOR A REFERRAL.

It's the easiest and fastest way to get the most work with virtually no marketing effort.

Do it at the time of invoicing, assuming the job went well.

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7. BE PROFESSIONAL.

Be courteous, be prompt, send a thank-you after your session, dress appropriately, do everything that signals you're a pro.

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8. SPEAK ABOUT YOURSELF CORRECTLY.

When asked what you do, don't say, "I'm a voice-over artist," because most people don't know what that means, and the few that do will probably think it means commercials. Instead say, "I help businesses sound better, by providing them with wonderful sound tracks for their voice mail and training videos so they sound more professional." Tailor this "elevator pitch" precisely to your special strengths.

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9. CONSIDER YOUR PROSPECT'S VIEW.

Always keep in mind what a potential client has to go through prior to hiring you. They have to research you and your competitors. They need reason to trust you. And they need to see value in the services you provide. They'll probably want to speak with others who have used you.

To you, the prospect may seem overly cautious, but they have good reason for doing so. And if they haven't done enough homework, covering these bases with them may produce a stronger relationship in the end.

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10. WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN.

Like most small businesses, the vast majority of voice over talent overlook this. They focus only on their voice, and forget to focus also on their business.

Make it official. The couple hours it takes to write a simple business plan will make a big difference in obtaining the kind of work you want, the money you want, even the lifestyle you want. For example, do you prefer to work form home, or to work from audition houses?

Revisit your business plan every 3 months, read it and revise as necessary, even if things are going great.

Resource Box:

Edge Studio specializes in production of voice recordings and voice over training of new and established voice actors, narrators and other spoken-word performers. Edge Studio facilities have produced or recorded more than 13,000 voice over projects, spanning all genres. Call 212-868-edge for more information.

A voice-actor called and said, "Go to www.MarksVoiceToYou.com."
... So I went to: www.MarcsVoiceToYou.com but nothing came up.
... So I tried: www.MarksVoice2U.com but nothing came up.
... So I gave up.

The level of your voice over success can be partly attributed to your website address (URL).  Sound strange?  Think about it: If a prospective client cannot get to your website, you'll likely lose that client!

Following are 8 common mistakes that, when fixed, will SEND MORE CASTING PROFESSIONALS TO YOUR SITE!  And following that are 6 STEPS TO CHOOSE A URL.

8 MISTAKES WITH YOUR WEBSITE ADDRESS

(1) Ambiguous character mistakes:

Your business card says your website is "www.lOvoice.com".
The problem is that the first two characters appear to spell "ten", when in actuality they are a lowercase "L" and capital "oh".

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(2) Alternate Spelling mistakes:

Tell someone your website is "www.VoiceOverForYou.com",
and they may visit "www.VoiceOver4U.com"

Or if your website is "www.JayDoesVoice.com"
people will probably visit "www.JDoesVoice.com"

Or if you're trying to be clever and have "www.KidzTrax.com"
people will probably visit "www.KidsTracks.com"

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(3) Memory mistakes:

You want casting agents to remember your URL.

So you get "www.VoiceOverForYou.com",
but they may remember "www.VoiceOversForYou.com" (with an "s" in "Overs").

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(4) CAPITAL/lowercase mistakes:

Which is easier to read: "www.christieinthebooth.com"
or "www.ChristieInTheBooth.com"?

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(5) Extension mistakes:

If your website ends with ".org", studies indicate that people still go to ".com"
So buy numerous extensions.

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(6) Comfort mistakes:

Want a prospective client to know you're a professional?

Then spend the extra $10 for "www.FranksVoice.com"
rather than "www.CableCompany.FreeWebsite.com/FranksVoice".

Likewise, process your email through your website, so it is "Frank@FranksVoice.com"
rather than "FranksVoice@gmail".

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(7) Hidden mistakes:

Is there another way to read your website?

For example, "www.genitaliavoices.com" (GenItaliaVoices).
Or "www.voicesexchange.com" (VoicesExchange).
Or "www.penisland.com" (PenIsland)

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(8) Similar-sounding character mistakes:

You've heard people clarify letters by saying, "That's F as in Frank".
Well if your website has unclear letters in it, like "www.FMSB.com" be prepared to do the same.

For example,
say, "That's FMSB as in Frank's Microphones Sound Beautiful", otherwise they'll visit "www.SNFP.com".

• STEP 1) Find 10 URLs which are appropriate (as mentioned above) and available (visit a domain seller, such as www.GoDaddy.com, and use their on-line tester).
• STEP 2) Show these 10 URLs to 10 people (who will be candid with you). Ask them to quickly read each URL out loud. Cross out any URLs that 2 or more people mis-read.
• STEP 3) Speak the remaining URLs to another 10 people. Ask them to write out each URL on a piece of paper after you say it. Cross out any URLs that 2 or more people misspell.
• STEP 4) Speak all remaining URLs to another 10 people. Ask them which one(s) they remember. THE URLs THAT MOST PEOPLE REMEMBER SHOULD BE YOUR URL.
• STEP 5) Tell 10 people your new URL and ask them to tell you every way it could be misspelled, changed, misheard, or remembered incorrectly. THEN PURCHASE ANY OR ALL OF THOSE VARIATIONS.
• STEP 6) Lastly, purchase the most common extensions (".com", . "org", and so on) for, at minimum, your real URL and preferably for the variations as well. Remember: website addresses only cost around $10, so if one more client can find you, the extra expense is well worthwhile.

WANT HELP? Buy a private consultation,
take our marketing seminar, and so on...

Do what you can to ensure a marketable, professional URL.

It's simple to quickly grow your voice over business.Here are 8 ways:

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BUSINESS PLAN

Spend 1 hour writing a Business Plan. Why? Because you are a business, and you need to run your business like a business, and any good business has a business plan.

Writing a business plan will help you succeed by helping you organize your goals and figuring out the steps you need to take to get there.

To write your business plan, write out your goals and work backwards. For example, you may say, "I want to be a $200/hour voice over artist, getting at least 15 hours of voice over work each week". Then determine the steps to get there. Think about a role model in the industry and determine the steps they may have taken to get there.

Look at sample business plans on-line. Talk to a business-friend. THINK ABOUT THIS from your customer's perspective. Don't run your voice over business blindfolded.

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TIME-LINE

Spend 30-minutes creating a Time-Line of career goals. Include marketing goals, customer goals, revenue goals, and so on.

It's important to know that IF you fall behind your time-line, the likelihood of ever catching up is SLIM. So a) add numerous small steps to your Time-Line, rather than adding a few huge steps this way each goal on your Time-Line will feel realistically attainable. And b) assume things will take 50% longer than you think they will, and base your Time-Line on this.

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MARKETING

Spend $96 each month getting lots more work!

Hire an intern or a student at a local university, or someone from the local classifieds. Write out the things you SHOULD be doing, and pay them $12/hour to do them. $96/month gets you 2 hours each week. Because you're paying them, you'll be forced to tell them what to do. In other words, you WILL move forward. Let them create marketing lists for you, seal envelopes, and so on.

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PRACTICE

Spend 30-minutes every other day practicing. And spend 1-hour each week practicing a new genre.

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FOLLOW UP

Spend 15-minutes every other day sending out a follow-up email to someone who you should have followed-up with already. Then spend 15-minutes on the other days marketing to a new prospect.

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AUDITION RECORDINGS

Spend about $100 to confirm and/or enhance the quality of your home studio. While obviously crucial for paid jobs and demos, this is also IMPERATIVE for audition recordings, because more and more often, the person who selects the voice often does NOT know how to distinguish between poor studio quality and poor vocal performance.

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YOUR DEMO

Spend $200 to improve your demo. You've spent all of this time and effort growing your career don't let your demo be the one thing holding you back from getting more.

Re-record that one segment on your demo that concerns you. Add one segment that showcases a new style. Add one new sounding segment so your demo sounds current.

The fact is, the voice over industry is continually evolving. So if you don't evolve along with it, YOU'LL LOSE CLIENTS.

Voice talent continually ask for our help. They say, "I'm getting less work than I used to." We ask why. They're either not sure, or they guess it's because they've been battling allergies, their clients must have wanted a new voice, there must be more competition, their demo may be getting old, a new agent opened up in town,....... On and on.

There Are 4 Reasons Why Voice Talent Start Losing Work. Read the sections that pertain to you

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Vocal Delivery: ARE YOU NO LONGER TRAINING?

Story: A while ago, one of our clients hired a student we had just trained to narrate a large series of videos. They loved his voice.

Recently we hired him back to narrate another large project. This time, he no longer sounded good. He lost a good client. I asked if he'd been practicing. He said no.

There are 3 reasons why CONTINUED TRAINING IS SO IMPORTANT:

You can fall into bad habits (no one tells you why you lose auditions!) Other voice talent will get better than you (watch out!) Clients always need new styles (new styles for podcasts, self-guided tours,...)

Solution: At minimum, work with a coach every other month to ensure you maintain. Preferably, work with a coach every month to become better and offer more clients more styles! Remember: your vocal delivery is your livelihood!

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Home Studio Quality: ARE YOU RESISTANT TO TECHNOLOGY CHANGE?

Story: A voice talent sent me an audition recording. Their voice was PERFECT. But their home studio quality wasn't. The client did not like them. (Note that some clients CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE between poor home studio recording and poor vocal performance.) After telling the talent this, she replied, "But this used to be fine." Yes, 5 years ago, her quality was considered good for a home studio. Today, however, clients are used to better quality.

Here are a few other examples of not keeping up with technology: Talent ask if they can fed-ex a CD to me. "Huh?" Why can't they FTP it to me? Or oftentimes we hear slight noises in recordings. Why? I guarantee the talent will lose some work. Fall behind in technology, and your clients may leave you behind.

Here are technology items to stay current with: equipment (editing on old software is slower, so you charge more, and bid too high) editing software / file type knowledge (unfamiliar with the new file extensions for flash? this scares clients) delivery methods (still have "fed-ex" on your rate card? you look outdated)

Solution: Hire someone to visit your studio once every 6 months for a tune-up. Have them update your software, show you new editing features, check sound quality, and set you up for new file types.

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Marketing: ARE YOU COMPLACENT?

Story: At a recent voice over event, I was re-acquainted with a lot of old-timers who told me, "I'm not getting the amount of work I used to get!" Funny, I thought they hadn't marketed to me in years and subsequently I had forgotten about them and how talented they are.

Trust me: there is a reason why major retailers (Honda, Sears, McDonalds,...) continue to promote themselves. If they don't, competitors will eventually take over. IT'S THE SAME THING IN VOICE OVER.

Many old-times got all their work from a few clients and/or agents. But things change. Sometimes suddenly. Are you prepared? Or do you rely on a few select clients (who could suddenly go out of business), and meanwhile you're not prepared to market?

Here are marketing to stay current with:

marketing frequency (do you think single marketing efforts are still enough?) marketing types (do you think business cards are still all you need?) marketing messages (still trying to be a jack of all trades?) marketing quality (perforated edged, matrix printed business cards don't work today)

Solution: hire someone who knows voice over marketing to review your business plan (do you even have one? if you want to grow, you should have one). take a workshop at edge or even at a local college.

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Professionalism: ARE YOU BUSINESS-LIKE?

Story: One of our clients got VERY upset with a voice talent who we hired recently. So upset, they chose to replace him with another talent! Obviously we won't hire that talent anymore. But the weird thing is that the voice talent didn't even realize what they did wrong!

Face it: our little industry has grown up. It's now a big, professional industry complete with a set of do's and don't's. And sure, as with anything, as time goes by, there are more and more changes. So for those of you who are beginning your voice over career, you MUST LOOK PROFESSIONAL from the start. And for those of you already immersed in the industry, you MUST CONTINUE looking professional. If you don't, you chance losing clients.

You MUST always stay on top of: appearing professional (the jargon, the sequence of events,...) dealing with corporate types: knowing when to ask which questions the general in's and out's of the industry the ever-changing politics of the industry (unions, agents,....)

Solution: Study the industry. Speak with folks who are in it. Read books. DO WHAT YOU CAN to come across business-like. This makes a BIG difference in the amount of work you get.

After reading many, MANY cover letters (mail and email), we've seen it all. And then some. The following will make a BIG difference when you write to a prospective customer. Call with questions: 212-868-3343.

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1. To whom it may concern,

When you receive email addressed to "Dear Sir" or "To whom it may concern", don't you delete it? So do casting directors. You may think you're SAVING time by avoiding the 4 minutes it takes to get a contact's name.... but in actuality, you are WASTING time because a large percentage of recipients will probably never open your email to begin with! Beginning with a name greatly increases the likelihood of your email being read! So look on the company website, do a Google search, even call the company,.... do what you must to get the recipient's name!!! And begin your letters with "Hi Frank," or "Dear Mary",...

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2. I know you're busy,

Really? How do you know that? Many voice actors who email us write this in their letter. For example, they write, "I know you are busy so I appreciate you listening to my demo." This is no way to begin your email. Instead, I encourage you to begin with something that will catch the attention of the recipient. Perhaps, "Ever need a French voice talent with a home studio?" or "Sure times are tough, so I'm offering voice over at half price!" or "Your company looks terrific - especially the fact that you donate services. I'm willing to donate my voice over services with you."

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3. Would you mind if,

One way to show that you LACK confidence is to say, "Would you mind if" or "If you have time" or "Maybe you could" or "I was wondering if". I suggest that you sound confident. For example, "My demo speaks (no pun) for itself" or "Most of my customers become repeat customers" or "They say I take direction really quickly."

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4. Here's my demo.

Let me guess. You're a copywriter? No? Okay, a director? No? Then what are you? Here's the scoop: YOU KNOW who you are, but THEY DO NOT! So be clear. Say, "I'm a voice over artist." or "I provide narrations for..." or "Attached is my voice over demo."

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5. I do voice overs.

First of all, you don't "do" voice overs. Rather you "Provide commercial and/or narration voice over services" or you "Help businesses increase their bottom line by including free editing with voice over recordings."

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6. If you find I'm right for something, I hope you'll call.

That's nice :( How about give me a reason to call. Try "I provide voice over for corporate presentations, training videos, and online tutorials." Or maybe "Quick turn-around, with excellent quality, and a friendly smile :)".

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7. Sorry, this time my demo is attached.

Please - take a moment before hitting "send" to avoid this.

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8. Typos

Wel nuthing maekes u les profesional then tipos. Enugh sayd.

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9. Abb.

What does "abb" mean? Oh, its the abbreviation for "abbreviation". Didn't know that? Not everyone does. In fact, not everyone is as abbreviation-hip as you are. So my suggestion is to avoid them. Remember, your email may get forwarded to business people who live in corporate world, and are used to formal, business-like letters. In other words, no more, "R u in need of VOs? My com demo is attchd. T."

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10. I, I, I, I, and I

Here's a typical email we receive: "Hi, I do voice overs. I do commercial and narrations. I have a home studio. I have excellent quality and I was trained by........" Notice that every sentence begins with "I". So here's the important question: when marketing, do you want to intrigue yourself or your potential customer? Assuming the latter, compose your email so that it benefits them. This means no "I"s. Instead write "You"s. For example, instead of, "I do medical voice over." say, "Next time your client needs a medical script narrated, calling me will make you look terrific!"

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11. Born in........... then I moved to.......... Next I............ And today I...........

Really, the question is, who cares. Want proof? Do you ever want to read someone else's life story? No? Suggestion: keep it brief. Very brief. Try this, "After extensive training and some solid experience in Montauk, this voice over guy is expanding into your territory!"

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12. I had to take my Mom to the hospital

Who cares. Or "It was my daughter's birthday yesterday." Again, who cares! 27 million people were taken to the hospital yesterday. 114 million people had birthdays. Putting personal information like this just makes the recipient feel like they need to remark... but why should they when they don't even know you?. Regardless, if you only have a potential customer's attention for 1 minute, use it to PROMOTE yourself, NOT to chit chat.

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13.

Exactly. Nothing tells me nothing about you. I STRONGLY encourage you to NOT send a blank email with a demo attached.

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14. I look forward to hearing from you.

Huh? Are you kidding me? The next step is STILL yours. The fact is, you need to get in front of your potential customer four times before they'll remember you. Try this instead, "I'll contact you in a week" or "Next week you'll see another email from me... this one with a special offer."

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15. Peace

Unless you know that the recipient will appreciate "peace", or "See ya", or "Later", be professional. On that note, Hasta La Vista Baby. Just kidding. Thanks - we hope this article helps you get more work!

If you need help with your copy, feel welcome to contact us - we offer consultations that help you gain additional work.

HAVE QUESTIONS?

Ask our office for a consultation - call 212-868-edge

Having an accent can be your greatest attribute. However, it can also be what thwarts you from obtaining work. It depends upon the extent of your accent, regionalisms in your speech, and where and to whom the recording will be played.

Typically, when a producer desires an accent, they desire a "neutral" one, meaning that there are no regionalisms. This way, when the recording is to be played in the area in which the accent is indigenous - it will allow the listener to bond and 'feel at home' with the voice.

For most national work, a native voice without any regionalism is preferred - as the recording will not appear biased to any one region. This is called "standard American English." For example, a recording being played across America would use standard American English, and would typically not have a New York or 'Southern drawl' regionalism, etc.

For international work, the same thing goes: Use a voice that is "neutral" to that country (one that does not have regionalisms within that country).

Producers and casting agents rarely desire artificial accents. However there are occasions when they do. Most of it depends upon your proficiency and your location.

Let's begin with proficiency. When a casting agent requires an accent or dialect, they need someone who sounds authentic (aka "neutral"). But most voice talent who affect their voice with accents usually do not sound 100% authentic.

Next let's discuss location. As a New York city producer, with a large voice-over artist talent pool at my disposal, I can generally find professional voice-over artists who naturally have the accent I require. Therefore, I rarely request a voice-over artist affect his or her voice.

Conversely, colleagues of mine who work in smaller, less competitive voice-over markets occasionally request that voice-over artists affect their voice with accents, as a natural speaker is not to be found in their area.

Acting lessons are helpful...and they are not.

Voice-over is based upon using one's natural voice. (To demonstrate, listen to a documentary, or a voice-menu-prompt system, or even a national television commercial, and you'll probably hear a natural-style voice-over.)

Therefore voice-over producers typically search for voice-over artists who deliver scripts in their natural voice when in front of the microphone. In fact, if a producer wanted a voice type different than yours, they would probably hire someone who naturally had that voice.

Therefore, acting lessons that teach you to affect your voice MAY not be helpful. But there are considerations...

The answer depends upon the style of voice over you are training for and the type of acting lessons you consider.

Here are some examples:

• Most voice over delivery requires a natural style, and therefore film acting lessons may be helpful as they generally teach a natural style. Conversely, stage acting (where you may be taught to project) may be detrimental.
• If you desire character and animation work, consider improv and comedic classes as they generally teach you how to "open up," be creative, and be loose. If you are considering acting lessons, ask the instructor if they are familiar with the type of voice over you are interested in, and if they believe their class would be beneficial or detrimental.

If considering acting lessons while simultaneously working on your voice-over career, we suggest the following:

1. Ask the acting instructor if they are familiar with voice-over technique, and if their class will or will not be benefit your voice-over career. (Be careful, as many acting instructors "think" that voice over is all about affecting your voice... if they think this, they are not up-to-date with voice over.)
2. Ask a voice-over instructor or voice-over producer if your proposed acting classes will benefit you.
3. Practice. I’m fortunate enough to work with many top voice-over artists, who are also leading Broadway and stage actors. They very often tell me that they need to TOTALLY switch gears when going from stage to voice-over. When at our studio, they always need to remind themselves that they are no longer on stage speaking to a thousand people, and instead are speaking to one person at a time.

Good luck!

. . . Who Are They? And Do I Need to Meet Them?

If you've done any research at all into the voice-over industry, you'll have noticed that a bunch of terms and job titles keep popping up: Talent Agents (aka "Agents" and "Commercial Agents"). Casting Agents. Casting Directors. Voicebank. If you're not clear on whom these people are, things can get confusing. So, what's the difference?

Here's a guide to the strange and mysterious world of casting.

FIRST, A LITTLE TIMELINE OF HOW THINGS HAPPEN

A client decides it's time to create an advertisement.
The client calls an Advertising Agency and asks them to create something. Once that something is approved...
The Advertising Agency either:

a.) hires a Casting Director to find the right voice for their project. The Casting Director calls a few Talent Agents and says "send me your 10 best women who sound like a 30-something warm friendly Mom." Hopefully you are represented by one of those Talent Agents.

b.) hires a Casting Agent to find the right voice for their project, who searches their own library of talent for "30-something warm friendly Moms." Hopefully you are represented by one of those Talent Agents.

c.) searches the library at Voicebank.net to find "30-something warm friendly Moms." Hopefully you are listed in that library.

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TALENT AGENTS

Ok, we've all heard of Talent Agents. Perhaps you've even been impressed/astounded/appalled by the antics of Ari Gold on "Entourage" and wondered if that's the type of personality you'd have to deal with if you worked with one. Fortunately, most Talent Agents are quite lovely people who have one thing in mind: getting you into auditions.

A Talent Agent is someone who represents you, the voice talent, and submits you for auditions usually held by Casting Directors. So they spend a lot of time talking you up to Casting Directors and doing everything they can to get you in the Casting Agent's door.

Here's something to keep in mind: a Talent Agent is taking a risk on you. He or she doesn't get paid until you do - they usually take 10% of your talent fee. So they're sending you out on auditions hoping that you will be as good as they think you are (and as good as they're telling Casting Directors you are!).

So what can you do to attract the attention of a Talent Agent? First of all, remember that this relationship goes two ways. They're spending time talking you up... so you can help them by also developing relationships with Casting Directors (more on that later). That will make it easier for them to get you those coveted audition slots. Then, once you're being submitted on auditions, make sure you present yourself as professionally as possible: show up at the audition on time (aka 10 minutes early), be polite to everyone, keep your thoughts about the quality of the script to yourself, and be relaxed and easygoing in the booth. Do the best read you can, then thank everyone and be on your way. No fuss, no drama. Oh, and of course, keep your skill set sharp so that you always sound your best!

Now... how many Talent Agents can you work with? Well, unless one particular Talent Agent has "signed" you (essentially, a contract saying you agree to be represented exclusively by them), you can freelance with as many Talent Agents as you want to. This is a perk. It allows you to get to know the various Talent Agents and talent agencies out there and figure out who you WOULD want to sign with if that ever came up (as one agent put it: "you want to date before you get married, right?").

To sum up: Essentially, Talent Agents are the "gatekeepers" of commercial VO auditions. Yes, you'll see plenty of commercial auditions on the pay-to-play sites... but why not do those and also have access to some of the juicier auditions that Talent Agents can get you into?

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CASTING DIRECTORS

Casting Directors have one job to do: find the perfect voice for their clients. They host the auditions. They figure out how many people to bring in and what vocal types are appropriate. They coordinate with agents to get people scheduled. They deal with difficult clients who change their minds. They deal with actors who are late, confused, or in a bad mood. And yet they try to maintain a sense of goodwill as all of this whirls around them. Because here's the deal: every voice talent who enters their audition room could be The Perfect Voice That Will Make Their Client Happy.

Casting Directors primarily schedule voice talent through Talent Agents, but if you are not yet represented by a Talent Agent, keep in mind that they absolutely can - and will - call you in directly. Many Casting Directors teach classes or hold meet-and-greets specifically to look out for great not-yet-represented talent. And remember what I said above about developing relationships with Casting Directors to make things easier on your Talent Agent? You can start this process right away! That way, when you do get to talk with a Talent Agent, you can say, "by the way, here's a list of Casting Directors who already know me." Then watch the Talent Agent's eyes light up with joy.

To sum up: Casting Directors host auditions, and coordinate with agents to bring the right voice talent in.

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CASTING AGENTS

Casting Agents are people/companies who combine the role of Talent Agent and Casting Director. They rarely exist in the "major markets" - such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles - and instead are the norm in smaller markets. This means that one office is in charge of both representing talent and hosting auditions.

This is similar to many recording studios (like Edge Studio) who maintain libraries of talent demos and hold auditions. The difference is, however, that Casting Agents do not record productions, as Edge Studio does. Casting Agents and Edge Studio take a more active role in marketing you, the talent.

Some people feel that this simplifies the process, as you only have to build relationships with one office; other people feel that this may consolidate power a bit too much and make it more difficult for new talent to get their first break.

To sum up: Casting Agents will both promote you to clients (and take a percentage of your pay) and provide the space for the audition to happen.

*NOTE: some of the larger talent agencies in New York do bring people directly into their offices to record auditions, but this is less common.

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NEW MEDIA

Another powerhouse casting option has emerged over the past few years: Voicebank.net. Voicebank.net is a casting site where clients and advertising agencies from around the country post jobs, request auditions, and find new talent. It's much like the "pay-to-play" sites - like Voice123.com and Voices.com. So what's the difference between Voicebank and the pay-to-plays? You can't purchase a subscription to Voicebank. You can only be listed there by your agent.

Over the past few years Voicebank has become so busy that many agencies are assigning full-time agents to the task of sorting through posted auditions and submitting talent online.

So if you are currently un-represented, how can you get on there? Fortunately they have a sister site, voiceregistry.voicebank.net, that is designed to connect voice talent with Talent Agents. Essentially, if an agent is actively looking for new people to work with, they can browse the Voiceregistry site and "audition" your demo. Sweet! Voiceregistry also holds weekend workshops designed to give you a better sense of what agents might be looking for, and to test whether your audition skills are sharp enough to pass muster at a pro audition. This is a great way for anyone to grab the attention of a Talent Agent, but it is particularly awesome for those of you who do not live in New York or Los Angeles and might otherwise have difficulty getting a meet-and-greet scheduled.

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NOW FOR THE BIG QUESTION: DO YOU NEED A TALENT AGENT?

Simple answer: If you want to pursue commercials, a Talent Agent can be tremendously helpful. If you are focusing on narration... possibly not. While agents are involved in some areas of animation and audiobook casting, and occasionally are contacted by advertising agencies to cast promotional videos or industrials, the majority of the narration world does not use Talent Agents or Casting Directors to find the right talent. That's where your personal marketing plans come into effect. So, Narrators: While it's all well and good to sit by the phone and wait for that Talent Agent to call with an audition... it's better to get yourself our there and develop relationships on your own! Happy marketing to all, and to all... a good night.

Character and animation work is big. And it’s growing. From children’s interactive games to cartoons to animated movies, this type of work will continue to blossom - and perhaps you should consider it as a viable way to increase your work. That is, if you have the talent for this.

This document will define the difference between character and animation work, their applications, and how to "break-in."

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DEFINITON:

Animation work is the development and delivery of imaginary voices - voices that do not exist in real life. Some popular animation voices include ’Bugs Bunny’, ’Dumbo the Elephant’, and ’Fred Flintstone’.

Character work is the development and delivery of real voices - voices that exist in real life. These range from using a New Yorker accent, a ’Cowboy’ affectation, and even the stereotypical ’Plumber’ dialect.

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APPLICATIONS:

Animation and character work are used in productions ranging from interactive CD-ROM games, children’s audio-books, commercials, talking toys, and cartoons.

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HOW TO BREAK-IN:

To enter this industry, you’ll first need a "Voice-Over Demo" which demonstrates a variety of different voices. Remember, the more variety you demonstrate, the greater your chance of getting work.

To produce your demo, you’ll need a recording studio and a producer. BUT WE HIGHLY SUGGEST You begin with an evaluation to confirm you have what it takes for this type of work. (We are glad to help.)

NOTE: only use a recording studio and producer who specialize in this type of work. If they don’t, your demo will likely not turn up as marketable as professional voice over artists who narrate character and animation voices.

When producing your demo, remember that it is like a resume - if it’s too long, no one will listen to it. Therefore, it should be no longer than 1.5 minutes (preferably even one minute). And each different voice on the demo should be demonstrated for only 3 to 10 seconds.

You can write your own scripts, use real existing scripts, or use ours (ask us).

Once your demo is completed, you’ll need to market it. Begin by determining who your contacts are. (On our website, you’ll find a free listing of these - www.edgestudio.com)

Once your contact list is ready, it’s time to market. Marketing is a whole other topic - we suggest our marketing seminars for details.

IN CLOSING:

To help you determine which are your most marketable voices, and to help fine-tune them, we suggest a couple of training sessions prior to producing your demo. We are always glad to help you accomplish this.

Good luck!

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Think outside the voice box.

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What is the character's character?

Don't be discouraged if you're not winning auditions that your agent sends you on. Rather ask your agent how many voice actors they send to each audition. If your agency sends 20 talent to each audition, and you've only been on 5 auditions, then odds have it that you will have not won a job yet. Of course, if you've been on more than 20 auditions, then read on, as there are a number of issues that could be at play:

1. You're nervous and making it painfully obvious to everyone! Some jitters are natural, but don't let it show. Do take deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth (be discreet about it) and remember to relax and have fun! This is fun, not the end of the world! **For a stress reliever and to help your voice - do breathing exercises: Breathe in through your nose - exhale through your mouth. Practice deep breaths.

2. The agency is testing you. They're sending you on as many auditions as possible (even if they know your voice is not the correct type for the script) to build up your confidence, experience, and / or contacts. If this is the case, consider yourself fortunate, as it means that the agency believes in you (and your voice)!

3. You can not perform as well as your demo sounds (a common problem). In other words, you are misrepresenting yourself. If this is the case, you'll spend your life auditioning...for nothing. This could happen for many reasons: Perhaps you are rusty. Or perhaps you don't "cold read" well. Maybe you are nervous at auditions (this produces a high-pitched, contrived, and un-relaxed voice quality), or lack confidence in your delivery. We can help you with any of these.

4. Maybe you do not read with enough variety. For example, every time you read the script, it sounds the same. Think about making different applications for the script. Be open-minded to doing it different ways. When possible do 2 or 3 takes but say upfront regarding the versions.

5. Don't assume you know the style or tone the script should be read in. There can be many ways any one script can be interpreted. Do ask before you begin "What type of delivery would you like?"

6. Perhaps you do not follow direction well. For example, when the casting professional says, "Do XYZ.", you do not. In fact, we hold a LOT of casting calls – and at least a third of talent who submit auditions have NOT followed our directions. For example, we ask for a slate, but the voice talent does not slate their audition. Or we ask for two takes, but get only one. Sometimes we request a specific file name, but the file we receive is not named the way we requested. Come across looking smart - ask smart questions.

7. Maybe your agency is sending you out on the wrong types of auditions.
This could be to fill up the roster. For example, if the agency's client wants to have 10 voice-over artists audition, but the agency only has 8 voice-over artists who match the desired voice-type, they may send some incorrect voices to the audition.

8. Could you just be unlucky?

9. Do you ask too many questions? Act unprofessionally? Show up late? This will certainly not help win the job. Don't be late. Do be courteous and punctual, perhaps arriving a few minutes early to relax and look over the script. Be sure to thank everyone.

10. Don't be a show-off! Bragging about past work you've done, commenting on the studio equipment, rattling off all your accomplishments or ways that you could read a script are all signs of an insecure beginner. Just keep quiet and let your read speak for itself. Say thanks before and after: "thank you so much for this opportunity"

11. Don't tap the microphone, say "testing 1-2-3", fiddle with the equipment. Let the engineers do what they do best.

12. When the producer cues you to start, don't say "now?" or "anytime?", just focus yourself and begin.

13. Don't ask for feedback - don't ask how you performed.

14. Don't get flustered and apologize profusely if you made a mistake and don't make excuses like, "I'm really tired today" or "I have a cold”. Do stay calm, keep a sense of humor and try again.

15. You are so worried about capturing the style that your client wants, that you don’t infuse your own style. The irony is that clients hire voice-actors because they like their style, and often welcome the voice actor's help in shaping the script and other suggestions.

16. Don't assume you've lost the job just because they dismiss you right away or cut your read short. It may mean just the opposite! Producers know what they're looking for and can usually tell very quickly if you're right or not.

17. Perhaps it just takes you too long to "get it." This industry moves fast, and if you require an hour of hand-holding and producing to read the script correctly, you will not get the job. If you have a question, such as how to pronounce a certain word, ask it up-front rather than midway through the read.

18. Don't be upset if you don't get the job.b It's not necessarily a reflection on your talent but may simply be that your voice wasn't quite right for the material. Do stay positive and keep auditioning!

Okay, let's wrap up: REMEMBER: It is good for you AND your agent if you win the job. So be sure to foster a good working relationship with your agent. Be open with them, discuss any concerns, and work together. You ARE a team.

Yet remember this: sometimes it's not you or your agent... it's the client. They may simply want a different kind of voice, or they may not know what they want until they hear it.

BUT IF the reason you're not landing auditions lies in YOUR court, we're here to help. Edge Studio has private and group audition training (training should NEVER stop. Even Pavarotti didn't stop practicing and taking voice lessons when he landed his first role at the Met!).

This is Edge Studio, take one, audition article, done.

Determining if, and when, to join the union is an important decision. This is because both choices have advantages and disadvantages which can greatly impact your voice-over career.

First, here is a brief explanation of voice over unions:

There are two voice-over unions. For many years, it has been rumored that they will merge. Most professionals belong to both unions:

• SAG - Screen Actors Guild - recordings on film (television commercial, documentary, etc.)
• AFTRA - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists - recordings in formats other than film (radio commercial, video, broadcasting, news show, audio tape, and music)

While the unions have high initiation fees and dues, there are many perks: guaranteed decent wages, guaranteed payment schedules, health and pension plans, etc. Being a member of a union is also prestigious, as a large percentage of high-budget, national productions are union.

The disadvantage of being a union member is that non-union-signatory creative teams cannot use your services. Instead, you can only perform non-union work. Note that a large percentage of local and regional commercials, as well as most narrations, are non-union.

When you are new in the industry, it is suggested that you do not join the union. This is because casting professionals assume that union voice-over artists are very experienced, and having little experience in the field would stymie your chance of winning auditions and performing well.

Instead, allow your career to take off with non-union work, like local and regional commercials, and narrations, such as telephone systems, training programs for businesses, etc. While these jobs pay less than union, they are great places to improve your skills, boost your confidence, and build your resume.

Good luck!

Invoices are important, and are the direct link between your hard work and your remuneration. Therefore, they should be drafted professional, and with care.

Most professional voice over artists print their invoices on regular paper, in black ink, from their home printers. Anything fancier is unnecessary. However more and more voice talent and casting professionals prefer digital (email) invoices. This avoids paper, mailing costs, mailing time, and allows for easier storage.

On the invoice, add this content: name, contact information (telephone, email, address), social security number, job description, and to whom the check should be made payable.

If you sell your services with any ’fine print,’ we suggest articulating it on your invoice. For example: payment due within 30 days, or 1.5% interest per month shall be added onto bill.

Finally, realize that you will probably never be paid unless you (the voice over artist) take the initiative and send your client an invoice.

One important note: do not mention remuneration and/or invoicing during your recording session. This is because your clients may be charging their clients (who may be present at the recording session) more than you are being paid. In other words, if your client (suppose a studio producer) pays you $350 to record a commercial, they may charge their client (the restaurant, or the restaurant’s advertising agency) $400. Therefore, the restaurant could be upset if they found out that the studio was ’marking up’ your service.

Good luck.

A voice over resume is like a standard resume. In other words, it lists contact information, services, qualifications, and background. However, it generally does not include a ’mission’.

Following are ideas of how to build your own resume. It is NOT necessary to follow this format exactly. Just make sure that your resume looks professional - in other words, it should be printed clearly, on nice paper, and easy to read.

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Begin your resume with your name, contact information, and services offered. For example:

David Goldberg

Voice Actor (or voice performer, voice-over artist, voice talent, etc)

212-868-3343

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Next, list your services. For example:

VOCAL SERVICES OFFERED

• radio and television commercials
• travelogues, films, videos, multi-media applications
• automated telephony systems

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Then, add experience (note: if you have none, skip to the next session). For example:

VOICE OVER EXPERIENCE

• Goodyear Tires: radio commercials
• Citibank: telephone automated response system
• Mylan Corporation: new employee training video

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Following, list your training. For example:

TRAINING COMPLETED

• intensive technique workshops - Edge Studio
• advanced training and copy-reading classes - Edge Studio
• private coaching - David Goldberg

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Next, list production services that you offer. For example:

PRODUCTION SERVICES AVAILABLE

• ISDN, MP3, CD, DAT, Wav, Aiff
• pro-tools
• music library, sound effects

Note: If you have your own studio, you already know the services you offer. However, if you don’t have your own studio, find a local studio and offer your clients the services that that studio offers. (This way, if a client asks you to complete a job for them, you can accept the job and have the studio handle the production for you. Note - whether you have your own studio or use a local one, you can charge your client more - as they should pay for your voice-over talent, and for your production.)

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Finally, add additional vocal attributes. For example:

VOCAL ATTRIBUTES

• "live" public speaking
• speak Spanish and English fluently
• acting background
• singing background
• production background
• copy (script) writing

Good luck!

Contracts are sometimes used in the voice-over industry to guarantee the voice-over artist and the casting agent certain things. If a contract is not used, both parties must hope that the other party honors their word.

So should you, the voice-over artist, ask to have a contract? Yes. In fact, while many voice-over artists are concerned to request a contract, many clients may be relieved that you take your job seriously.

Tell your client that you’re happy to collaborate with them and therefore want to sign a contract to smooth the pathway for a long-term relationship. Remind them that similar situations rely on contracts to ensure strong relationships.

A contract can guarantee payment rates to be paid within a specified time. A contract can also clarify that you will be paid additionally if your voice recording is used for another application (eg: the audio from the television commercial is played on a radio commercial).

A contract can ensure your client that you won’t change your prices half way into a long project. It can also help your client’s business by ensuring them that you won’t narrate their competition’s commercials.

Approach your client and say, "I’m glad to work with you on this project, and would like to run something by you. I feel a contract can benefit both of us and would like your thoughts on this." Be prepared in the event that your client grimaces and wants no part of a contract. In that case, are you prepared to walk away? My advice is not to. Instead, I suggest you say, "You know, I like you guys, and I’m sure we can do this without a contract."

With or without a contract, it’s great to have a job.

There are a myriad of ways a voice over artist can conduct his or her business. Each type offers different personal protection and introduces different tax considerations.

This article will help you learn what is right for you and your voice over business.

GENERAL NOTES:

Face it, you're in business. And like any other business, maintaining records is essential. The IRS and state unemployment department agency could randomly audit you, and without proof of records, you could be at a disadvantage. So:

• Store all records systematically, either sequentially or alphabetically
• Pay business expenses with a check or credit card (not cash) so that records of the transaction are generated

IMPORTANT 1099 INFORMATION:

• If you are not incorporated (that is, if you are a Sole Proprietor or are an LLC), and earned $600 or more from a payor, that payor is required to send you a 1099misc form by January 31, 2012.
• If your entity is incorporated, a payor is not required to issue you a form 1099.
  Note that payors should also send a copy of 1099 form to the IRS.

Note that each state's tax laws vary, and tax laws change regularly. The above may not hold true in all circumstances. Contact your local tax office for exact rulings.

• IRS tax help-line: 800-829-1040
• IRS tax forms and distribution center: 800-829-3676
• IRS on-line tax order form: www.irs.gov

• a Sole Proprietorship
• a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
• an S Corporation
• Other possibilities include, and are not limited to, partnerships and c corporations. Note that each different business type brings different tax deductions to the table.

The sole proprietorship has the virtue that it is simple to form, and TAXABLE INCOME IS ONLY TAXED ONCE, at the owner's individual tax rate. Gross Income less costs of generating the income and operating expenses for the year are reported on Schedule C (or schedule C-EZ if certain tests are met) of your Form 1040. The resultant net income or loss becomes part of your adjusted gross income.

A word about ordinary and necessary expenses - at the start of your voice over career, the largest expenses you probably will incur is the production of your demo (training, workshops, demo production, etc.) and the marketing of your demo (demo copies, mailers, postage, phone bills, etc). These should be deductible on Schedule C as promotional or marketing/advertising expense. If such costs are incurred before you actually start your trade of business, section 195 of the internal revenue code would permit an immediate deduction of the lesser of the start-up costs or $5000 assuming the start-up costs don't exceed $50,000. any start-up costs not deductible initially are eligible to be amortized over a period not less than 180 months.

Keep records on all expenditures which are directly related to your voice over business; including, but not limited to, training costs, travel costs, marketing costs, telephone charges, etc.

Part of your mortgage/rent can be deducted if your home/office is used ONLY for your business. For example, if the home/office is 10% of your total home's square footage, you may be able to deduct 10% from your mortgage/rent.

Similarly, you can deduct your entire telephone bill if that telephone line is ONLY used for your business. Note that if items such as home/office and telephone lines are hybrid (they are used personally and for business), they may not be deducted.

Some items are not deductible, such as clothing purchased for voice over sessions. Even buying a nice suit to meet new clients is not deductible, because clothing is adaptable to general wear.

You will, in addition to owing income tax, usually be liable for self-employment tax and will generally have to make quarterly estimated tax payments as well. The sole proprietorship is not a separate legal or taxable entity from its owner, does not require a separate transfer of assets and does not limit your personal liability for the debts of the business- your individual assets remain at risk.

An LLC is formed under the applicable state's limited liability company statute. A one owner LLC is generally taxed as a sole proprietorship. Although the tax consequences of a single-member LLC and sole proprietorship are the same, an LLC provides its owner liability protection not available to a sole proprietorship - your assets are not at risk.

An S corporation is a business entity which has the same advantage of limited liability as a shareholder in a regular or C corporation. Unlike an LLC there are restrictions on an S corporation's capital structure and on who may be a member. An S corporation's income, gain, loss and deductions pass through to its shareholders and are reported on individual tax returns. Income is generally taxed at the individual level, but in certain states S corporations are subject to state and/or local jurisdiction taxes as well.

This article is intended to provide general guidelines on matters of interest to voice over artists. It is not intended to be all inclusive. The application and impact of tax laws can be very complex and vary widely from case to case. Readers are encouraged to seek professional advice concerning specific matters before making any decisions. The author and publisher disclaim any responsibility for positions taken by taxpayers in their individual situations. This article was updated March 3, 2012.

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: Any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any person for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any investment plan, transaction or matter.

There are two types of voice-over work: union and non-union. And remuneration differs between them.

1. For union jobs, a base rate is pre-determined. However, it is common for many professionals to charge more than the base rate. Union rates are based upon many variables, such as:

• market coverage - different rates apply for local, regional, and national coverage
• duration - the longer the recording is used, the greater the compensation should be. For example, once a commercial airs for over 13 weeks, the voice-over artist will receive another payment.

To find updated base rate pay, look at the unions’ website: AFTRA (www.aftra.com) and SAG (www.sag.com).

2. Rates for non-union jobs are negotiated between the voice-over artist and the client. Sometimes you are told what the budget has in store for you, and it is up to you to accept, decline, or negotiate. Other times a client will ask your rate, and it up to them to accept, decline, or negotiate.

With most non-union jobs, you are paid the one agreed upon fee, and nothing more. There are no residuals. This is called a "buy-out". Even if a commercial airs longer than you were told, or if a small video becomes a national documentary, there are no additional payments paid to you. You generally sign a "talent release" agreeing to the above conditions.

Typically you bill by giving your client an invoice stating your name, address, social security number, business ID number (if you have one), and job information (such as the name of your client, name of the job, date of the job, and what the buy-out amount is).

Determining a non-union rate is based upon factors:

• Commercial payment is based on the size of the advertiser, how long the spot will air, and if it will air in one local market or in many major markets. A local cable TV spot may pay as little as $50, while a spot for AT&T airing on network TV may pay $1,000.
• Narrations usually pay by the hour. Rates are based upon the company’s budget, length of job, who will hear it (in-house or general public), the purpose of the recording (in-company training program or soundtrack for a major documentary), and your experience level. Non-union voice over artist rates range between $100 per hour to $500 per hour. Typically there is a one-hour minimum and additional hours are billed at quarter hour increments (sometimes at a lower hourly rate).

You may think that when you are new, charging less may help win that first job. However, while demanding very little may seem like a great way to "get the clients again", its not always the best way to go about marketing. For example, demanding a small fee can set a precedent, where asking for higher compensation down the road may not sit well with your clients. Requiring little compensation can also be connoted as having little experience under your belt. And finally, being inexpensive can be construed as being "hard-up" for work.

Asking for a great amount of compensation can signal experience, skill, confidence, and can therefore ease the nervousness of your clients. But asking more than the client’s budget can lose you the job. Plus, demanding big $$$s means you BETTER be worth every penny!

So before giving a quote, do one thing - figure out what your client CAN pay...not how much they WANT to pay. Simply ask them what their budget is, or what they have paid voice-talent in past for similar jobs. Also candidly ask them, "What’s the budget for this job...I’d like to work with you on it." Finally, try and find out how many other voice over artists are being considered...if the answer is "none," its time to beef up your fee a bit.

Most importantly, remember that any work is work. And while you shouldn’t attempt to rip off your client, you should not cheat yourself either.

Other important factors in determining your price:

a. your ability: If you follow direction, show up on time, act professionally, etc., you can charge more.

b. your location: If you live outside a major metropolitan area, voice-over work may pay less.

c. your niche: If you focus on one genre of voice-over (ie: audiobooks, public service announcement, educational/training films, etc., you may be able to charge more since you are a specialist.

I hope this helps.

This article is about preventing and overcoming UNCOMFORTABLE INVOICING SITUATIONS with GOOD CLIENTS, and ultimately keeping those clients happy.

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SITUATION: "...BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU TOLD ME!"

• From your perspective: Your client tells you that your recording will be used for local radio, but months later you hear it playing on regional television.
• From your client's perspective: Why should they have to pay more? Regardless of where the commercial plays it was the same amount of work on your part.
• Action: Let your client know that is standard industry practice to receive larger compensation for recordings with greater coverage. If that doesn't work, try telling them that you had originally given them a discount since their job was small. Then win some points: tell them you're glad to extend the "small job" price to them for the larger job since they didn't know.
• Tip: Always openly discuss the "usage" of your recordings with your client BEFORE you provide them with an estimate. In fact, there are three types of usage to be clear about: A) Where the recording will play (local, regional, national,...). B) The type of media it will play on (radio, website, in-house training video,...). C) How long the recording will play for (1 week, 1 year, in perpetuity,...).

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SITUATION: WHAT'S THAT WORD COUNT?

• From your perspective: You and your client agree to a price based on word count. But at the recording, they present you with a script containing many more words than your estimate was based on.
• From your client's perspective: Your client didn't even know the script was longer. It was the script writer who added more words, and they didn't know that you would be paid "by the word" to record it.
• Action: Before you record, tell your client that the script seems longer than expected, and since your agreement was based on word count, ask if they are okay if you go over the estimate price. Be prepared to tell them by how much. But use your judgment: if the script has only a few more words than you estimated for, it probably is best NOT to say anything.
• Tip: When your estimate is based on word count (which is not always the case), always be clear about "per word" costs, rather than simply providing a total cost.

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SITUATION: OH, WAS THERE MORE?

• From your perspective: You and your client agree to a price to record a commercial. At the studio, however, they present 5 tags for you to record along with the commercial.
• From your client's perspective: The tags are part of the commercial, so they don't understand why you'd charge extra to record them.
• Action: Explain that it is standard industry practice to be paid extra for tags... especially since the recording of each tag allows your client to re-use the commercial without needing you to re-record it.
• Tip: When providing an estimate for a job that could have extra "parts", such as tags, ask if they'll be needed and, if so, include a line-item in your estimate about them. If your client says that they will not be needed, state in your estimate that the cost is for the script only and not for tags. Doing so is the sign of an experienced voice talent.

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SITUATION: TOO LATE

• From your perspective: After trying to impress your client by completing the recording ahead of schedule, your client sends you a revised version of the script.
• From your client's perspective: You went ahead and recorded before they told you to do so, so they have every right to request that you re-record.
• Action: Explain that you made an error. Ask what changes there are and if possible, simply record the changes and insert them into the previous recording (of course, you need to "match" the new recording with the old recording so that they blend together. If you cannot match the recordings, re-record the full script again (and consider the first recording to have been practice).
• Tip: Always have the client write "This is the final script we want you to record." when they email it to you. Doing so prevents you from inadvertently recording the wrong version.

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SITUATION: WHAT'S THAT? YOU'VE GOT MORE?

• From your perspective: After completing a recording, your client presents you with pickups (additions and/or revised passages) and expects you to record them for no extra cost.
• From your client's perspective: They assume you were paid to record the project... even if it came in two pieces.
• Action: Explain that re-recording takes a LOT of time, since you need to open your original recording and "match" your new recording level and vocal delivery to it so that it blends with the original recording.
• Tip: Always discuss (or account for) pickup and revision costs with your client before creating your estimate.

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SITUATION: RAW? EDITED?

• Situation: You provide your client with raw files... but then they say they need edited files, and they don't want to pay more.
• From your client's perspective: Why would they ever want raw files? Obviously they don't have the software to edit the audio. They went to you because you're the pro. Obviously they wanted edited files.
• Action: Explain the difference between raw and edited files, and tell them you're glad to edit the files. But also explain that the cost of editing was not included in the rate you had given them and it will cost extra. Or use telling them that the cost of editing was deducted from the rate you had given them. Then win some points: tell them you're glad to provide editing at no extra cost since they didn't know.
• Tip: Always be super clear with your client before providing the estimate as to what exactly they want from you. Clients do NOT know the difference between raw and edited files. Discuss this with your client.

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SITUATION: ENOUGH ALREADY

• From your perspective: You were brought into the studio to record just a few minutes worth of script. But you waited for hours in their waiting room before they were ready to record.... And they don't want to pay you for that time.
• From your client's perspective: You are paid by the recording, not the time.
• Action: After waiting 20-minutes, politely ask how much longer they expect the wait to be. This shows that your time is valuable but that you're easy-going. If they reply that you have a while yet to wait, ask if they prefer to re-schedule, or if there is a quiet place for you to work. BUT DO NOT discuss extra pay for waiting. Either you had discussed extra pay for waiting, in which case, there is no reason to mention it (in fact, be happy about it since you're getting paid by the hour, or you had NOT discussed extra pay for waiting with your client, in which case you have little right to ask for it now.
• Tip: In addition to your total fee, always include a "time allotment" in your estimate and explain that anything over that time will cost extra. But be careful: you do not want your client to think that you'll try to eat up time (to increase your final fee).

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SITUATION: SQUEEZED OUT

• From your perspective: Your client contacts you directly to schedule a recording, even though they SHOULD go through the middle man (your casting agent, representative,...) that acted as the middle man last time the client used your services.
• From your client's perspective: They should be able to contact you directly. After all, you are the one recording.
• Action: Show your scruples explain the casting process to your client and let them see that you're honest. This is also a TERRIFIC opportunity to impress your casting agent by showing them that you want to include them in the picture.
• Tip: If you work through an agent, always give their contact information to your client not yours. Exception: if you have an agent for commercial work but not for narration work, include yours and your agent's information on your business card and clearly indicate when to call which one.

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IN CLOSING

Please remember that your client does NOT know the inner-workings of our voice over world - just as we don't know their business.

So rather than put clients on the defensive, openly and politely discuss situations with them. EXPLAIN that you want to build a strong relationship.

I leave you with wonderful quotes I've heard clients say to voice talent:

• "You get paid to read?"
• "You get paid more if we use the recording more?"
• "Sorry, my partner never did a voice over session before. I guess he didn't know."
• "Sorry, but you need to talk with the sales & training department, they're syncing it to the video now, but their budget is much tighter than ours."
• "We used the receptionists' friend to record last year's presentation she had a nice voice and didn't mind that we edited the video into a commercial. Sorry this bothered you."
• "$200 to record THAT? I'll just read it myself."
• "Local TV or national TV.... what's the difference to you?"

And my favorite,

• "Thanks for a terrific job. We always bring our work to you, except when we do it in-house to save money. But then we usually end up having you fix it anyway."

The fact is, the voice over industry is continually evolving. So if you don't evolve along with it, YOU'LL LOSE CLIENTS.

Voice talent continually ask for our help. They say, "I'm getting less work than I used to." We ask why. They're either not sure, or they guess it's because they've been battling allergies, their clients must have wanted a new voice, there must be more competition, their demo may be getting old, a new agent opened up in town,....... On and on.

There Are 4 Reasons Why Voice Talent Start Losing Work. Read the sections that pertain to you

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Vocal Delivery: ARE YOU NO LONGER TRAINING?

Story: A while ago, one of our clients hired a student we had just trained to narrate a large series of videos. They loved his voice.

Recently we hired him back to narrate another large project. This time, he no longer sounded good. He lost a good client. I asked if he'd been practicing. He said no.

There are 3 reasons why CONTINUED TRAINING IS SO IMPORTANT:

You can fall into bad habits (no one tells you why you lose auditions!) Other voice talent will get better than you (watch out!) Clients always need new styles (new styles for podcasts, self-guided tours,...)

Solution: At minimum, work with a coach every other month to ensure you maintain. Preferably, work with a coach every month to become better and offer more clients more styles! Remember: your vocal delivery is your livelihood!

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Home Studio Quality: ARE YOU RESISTANT TO TECHNOLOGY CHANGE?

Story: A voice talent sent me an audition recording. Their voice was PERFECT. But their home studio quality wasn't. The client did not like them. (Note that some clients CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE between poor home studio recording and poor vocal performance.) After telling the talent this, she replied, "But this used to be fine." Yes, 5 years ago, her quality was considered good for a home studio. Today, however, clients are used to better quality.

Here are a few other examples of not keeping up with technology: Talent ask if they can fed-ex a CD to me. "Huh?" Why can't they FTP it to me? Or oftentimes we hear slight noises in recordings. Why? I guarantee the talent will lose some work. Fall behind in technology, and your clients may leave you behind.

Here are technology items to stay current with: equipment (editing on old software is slower, so you charge more, and bid too high) editing software / file type knowledge (unfamiliar with the new file extensions for flash? this scares clients) delivery methods (still have "fed-ex" on your rate card? you look outdated)

Solution: Hire someone to visit your studio once every 6 months for a tune-up. Have them update your software, show you new editing features, check sound quality, and set you up for new file types.

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Marketing: ARE YOU COMPLACENT?

Story: At a recent voice over event, I was re-acquainted with a lot of old-timers who told me, "I'm not getting the amount of work I used to get!" Funny, I thought they hadn't marketed to me in years and subsequently I had forgotten about them and how talented they are.

Trust me: there is a reason why major retailers (Honda, Sears, McDonalds,...) continue to promote themselves. If they don't, competitors will eventually take over. IT'S THE SAME THING IN VOICE OVER.

Many old-times got all their work from a few clients and/or agents. But things change. Sometimes suddenly. Are you prepared? Or do you rely on a few select clients (who could suddenly go out of business), and meanwhile you're not prepared to market?

Here are marketing to stay current with:

marketing frequency (do you think single marketing efforts are still enough?) marketing types (do you think business cards are still all you need?) marketing messages (still trying to be a jack of all trades?) marketing quality (perforated edged, matrix printed business cards don't work today)

Solution: hire someone who knows voice over marketing to review your business plan (do you even have one? if you want to grow, you should have one). take a workshop at edge or even at a local college.

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Professionalism: ARE YOU BUSINESS-LIKE?

Story: One of our clients got VERY upset with a voice talent who we hired recently. So upset, they chose to replace him with another talent! Obviously we won't hire that talent anymore. But the weird thing is that the voice talent didn't even realize what they did wrong!

Face it: our little industry has grown up. It's now a big, professional industry complete with a set of do's and don't's. And sure, as with anything, as time goes by, there are more and more changes. So for those of you who are beginning your voice over career, you MUST LOOK PROFESSIONAL from the start. And for those of you already immersed in the industry, you MUST CONTINUE looking professional. If you don't, you chance losing clients.

You MUST always stay on top of: appearing professional (the jargon, the sequence of events,...) dealing with corporate types: knowing when to ask which questions the general in's and out's of the industry the ever-changing politics of the industry (unions, agents,....)

Solution: Study the industry. Speak with folks who are in it. Read books. DO WHAT YOU CAN to come across business-like. This makes a BIG difference in the amount of work you get.

It's really cool hearing your voice on the radio.  Does it give you a big head?

I hope so, because as a voice actor, you have a lot of hats to wear!

In today's world, you (an entrepreneur - running your own voice over business) must know a LOT more than just how to read a script well. You MUST ALSO KNOW:

MARKETING: Essential for gaining new customers and maintaining existing ones

ENGINEERING: A must in today's world of home-studio work

BOOKKEEPING & THE BIZ: Need we delve into the importance of appearing professional?

So take a moment and consider your friend the chef who can't even manage his own checkbook. He tells you he's opening a restaurant. Will good food alone make him successful? NO! SO WHAT WOULD YOU TELL HIM?  You'd tell him that he'd better learn how to wear the hats above.... or he'll be out business.

So back to you, with the great voice:  Please remember that you're a business, and you MUST LEARN how to wear a number of hats.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

Because we've seen too many voice over actors who rely ONLY ON THEIR VOICES. So while they sound great, auditioning and hiring them requires TOO MUCH EFFORT.  Subsequently, our clients no longer request that we cast them. 

What do they do wrong?  From wrong information on their invoices to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.  With the NUMBER OF VOICE TALENT WE HIRE, we cast talent based on their BUSINESS-side as much as their PERFORMANCE-side.

No worries, most everything can be learned. Examples:

MARKETING: Ask an advertising or marketing friend for advice. Read a book on marketing. Take an adult-continuing-education class on advertising. (Or, we'd recommend our MARKETING 101 Tele-Seminar!)

ENGINEERING: Intern at a local studio. Get some books and videos on Protools. Experiment recording your friends. Practice editing until you learn how to do it. (Or, we'd recommend our HOME STUDIO 101 Tele-Seminar!)

BOOKKEEPING & THE BIZ: Ask your cousin the accountant. Hire an accountant. Take a bookkeeping course at a local college.  Speak with other voice talent. Read books. Ask question on forums. Do what you can to learn about the business. (Or, we'd recommend our BUSINESS & MONEY 101 Tele-Seminar!)

IN CLOSING:

When you sound great AND act professionally, YOU WILL DO WELL!

And then you have enough money to buy yourself a large pair of headphones for that big head of yours.

See (hear) you soon!

So you have been marketing yourself like crazy, sending out auditions left and right and you finally got the response you were looking for... you landed the gig! Now what? How much should you charge? How and where will you record the job? All of these are very important questions talent need to ask themselves prior to starting out.

The first question is one of the most important; how much is your voice worth? There is no definitive answer to this question, as there are a great many factors involved. What type of recording is this? What will the recording be used for? How long will it run? Can you record from home, or do you need to use a studio? How long is the script? All of these questions need answers before you can give a quote.

Generally, a voice over artist's rates can range from $100 to $500 per hour. A more expensive artist tends to signal experience, which often will result in a smoother recording session with a more accurate performance. However, you should not price yourself too high if you are not ready to deliver top quality recordings, as you can and will swiftly price yourself out of many jobs. If you are just getting started in voice over, price yourself between $100 and $200 per hour, and keep the option open to give discounts for the second and third hours of recording if necessary, or to pro-rate any time used over one hour. You may also want to supply a quantity discount to obtain more work and gain experience.

Here is a handy tool that Edge Studio has developed to determine the length of completed audio:

SPEECH COUNT

• Average person reads 3 words per second (range is 2 to 4)
• Average person reads 88 words per half-minute (range is 60 to 120)
• Average person reads 170 words per minute (range is 135 to 215)
• Average person reads 10,320 words per hour (range is 8625 to 12,030)

LINE COUNT (12 point Arial, double-spaced, margin-to-margin)

• Average number of lines per page: 21
• Average number of lines per 30-second spot: 7.5
• Average number of lines per 60-second spot: 15

WORD COUNT (12 point Arial, double-spaced, margin-to-margin)

• Average words per line: 13 (range is 8 to 18)
• Average words per page: 273 (range is 168 to 378)

Now, what if you don't have a home studio to get your recording completed? A studio in Manhattan ranges between $200 and $300 per hour, and you definitely need to consider this when giving a quote for a job. The benefits of using a professional studio can far outweigh the costs. With a top of the line recording facility you are basically guaranteed to have a professional quality recording experience for you and your clients. As a voice talent, you won't have to worry about editing out mouth clicks and pops, working with pickups etc., as a capable engineer is there to do it all for you. Studios will have sound effects and music libraries should your clients require this as well.

Edge Studio is here to help! In our Manhattan studio, we offer Edge students:

• $100 per hour studio time
• $25 per session phone patch fee for remote clients

Use this time to record your job and have your audio edited! Does your client want to be there? Impress them with a state of the art recording facility with top notch equipment and a skilled engineer. You can also use the one hour blocks to record as many auditions as you would like!

If you need our help to impress your clients, we are here for you.

Using a representative to get you voice over work may or may not be the right thing for you.

A representative is an individual, or business, who represents you and your voice over services. Commonly know as a "rep," they come in many forms. For example, your rep could be a next-door neighbor who happens to be a successful car salesperson. Your rep could also be a corporation which specializes in marketing.

The objective of the rep is to sell you, the voice over artist, and get you work. Of course, nothing is for free. There exists two ways to remunerate the rep: salary and commission. Commission means that you only pay the rep when they generate income for you. This is ideal in many ways, as you cannot lose money... you only pay them if you receive work. Other than supplying the rep with demos, they are responsible for all costs (gas, telephone, etc.). In this case, we have been told that a 20% to 33% commission is standard.

Another great benefit of paying a rep a commission is that they are forced to work hard...for if they do not obtain work for you, they do not earn any income from you.

The rep, on the other hand, will probably prefer being paid by salary. This way, they are guaranteed an income...even if they do not obtain work for you. While this may not seem ideal for you, the voice over artist, it is possible that you may find a rep who you believe can really get you a lot of work and they only work for salary. In this case, do not sign a long-term contract, and instead try them for a little while to see if they do obtain work for you.

Either way, we suggest signing a contract with your rep. Have a lawyer review it prior to signing.

Following are characteristics to look for in a rep:

• find someone who you feel comfortable with
• make sure they can represent you professionally - for if they don’t, you come across appearing unprofessional
• ensure that they are honest, in that they will hold their side of the contract
• if the rep represents other people, make sure none of their other clients have a similar voice
• make sure that the rep is familiar with the voice-over industry, or is willing to learn about the industry. If they do not know this industry, they are liable to miss potential opportunities.
• As for finding reps, the larger the city, the more reps there will be looking for work. Put an ad in a local paper, looking for a part-time sales person. Post flyers in your area. Contact marketing organizations. Contact actor/voice-over organizations. Get the word out that you are looking for a rep. Explore all of your options.

Finally, do not sign an "exclusivity" contract with your rep, unless you are guaranteed work. And in this instance, definitely have a lawyer review the contract.

Good luck!

Many voice-over artists narrate voice overs as a part-time career, as one or two jobs per week double most salaries.

Plus, many jobs require very little recording time, and can be performed before work, after work, or during a lunch-break. For example, a 30-second commercial may only take 10 minutes to record.

However, sometimes you may receive jobs for longer recordings (such as documentaries, training videos, etc). These jobs may require numerous hours in the studio - sometimes up to 3 or 4 hours. And in the case of audiobooks, which can easily require 30-hours in the studio, you may be expected to spend 3 hours every day for a few weeks at the studio.

As for scheduling your voice over jobs, voice-over producers and casting professionals often will work around your schedule... but that is not always easy, since they are juggling your their own calendar, the recording studio’s calendar, and possibly other people’s calendars as well. For example, you may receive a call like this: "Hi, this is Jack from Edge Studio. We’d like to hire for you for a recording, and need to know if you’re available sometime within the next few days...it should take about 30 minutes or so."

If you are not available at that week, the client may try to re-arrange their schedule, and find another convenient time. Or, they may just hire someone else.

Being busy signals that you’re working...and that can increase your chances of getting hired. But, if you’re so busy that you’re never available, clients may just stop calling you, as they assume that you’ll be busy.

Good luck!

Obtaining children’s Audio Book work is simple, once you know the correct steps and contacts.

To begin, ensure that you are well trained, and that your voice over demo demonstrates as many "usable" characters as you can perform well (remember, the more variety you demonstrate, the more likely the chance of getting work).

Then, you’ll need a solid marketing plan. (We suggest our marketing seminars for detailed information on this.)

Then it’s time to find contacts. Here are some ideas:

1. Check out the "audio book publisher" reference guide from "audio file magazine" - www.audiofilemagazine.com. There are numerous contacts there.

2. Contact publishers and inquire if they produce audio books. If they do, mention that you are a voice over artist who focuses on children’s audio books.

3. Find contacts by looking on the back of children’s audio books packaging. (Go to a library or book store and browse through all the packaging.) Often the publishing company will be listed.

4. A healthy attitude is a must. DON’T GIVE UP !! Even pros will tell you how it took them years to "break in".

Start by attending an audio book / marketing workshop (Edge Studio has these) to get a great head start!

Good luck!

As a voice over performer, you're really in two businesses. The first is performing. Your training and experience are at the core of that.

The other is "promoting." At the core of that is your demo.

Almost nobody gets a foothold in the voice over business without having first created a professional-grade demo. And once you're an established professional, you continue to need an up-to-date demonstration of what you can do at the mic.

That's why it's critically important that your demo be of professional quality in every way.

It's a big job creating your voice over demo, and if creating it doesn't seem at least a bit daunting, then you probably don't know everything about it that you should. Once you do, it will feel more manageable if you break it down as follows:

- - - - -

1. Vocal quality and performance:

At Edge Studio, we've heard countless demos that performers produced all by themselves. And their naiveté shows. Virtually none of them are "professional."

Often, the performance is lacking. The talent just doesn't have a producer's "ears," the broad listening experience needed to detect what to us are very obvious mistakes. Sometimes it's because (quite understandably) the performer hasn't learned to hear himself or herself as others do. Sometimes it's because the performer doesn't know what to listen for. Often it's both.

- - - - -

2. Technical proficiency

Even more often, a self-produced demo is technically deficient. Engineering a marketable demo requires serious engineering skill. If you've only begun to learn the intricacies of your recording software, you may not yet have a full sense of all the options, opportunities and pitfalls in this.

Recording your demo segments (and/or collecting them from actual jobs you've done) is just the beginning. Next comes bringing them together in an acoustically consistent manner. And if you're recording tracks from scratch, you'll want to know all about editing, mixing music and SFX, EQing, compressing, etc. You should be using proper studio monitor speakers in a proper listening environment, and/or studio headphones, but we also mean "hearing" in the same sense as "hearing" your performance. Many of these technicalities are subtle and evade detection. Then fixing them requires some experience and subjective judgment.

All are important to get correct.

• Vocal Quality. You need to sound like you, so don't over-enhance your performance by using technical tricks. But don't hamper yourself, either. Listen for hiss, echo or a hollow sound, off-axis mic'ing, insufficient frequency range, and use your software tools to fix any deficiencies as well as possible.

• Editing. Get rid of mouth clicks, breaks, exterior noise, etc., and do it all seamlessly. Fortunately, there is affordable software for this (e.g., Audacity, Garage Band, Protools…). They're not too hard to learn, and their capabilities should be standard equipment in your studio.

• Sound Effects and music. Finding the sounds is relatively easy. Selecting the right tracks and knowing when, where and how to use them is the trick. Listen very carefully to a wide range of professionally produced recordings, such as national TV and radio commercials, documentaries, promos, etc. You'll even hear subtle SFX used to accentuate product names, make transitions, indicate "before/after", etc. A mistake made by many novices is that they use outdated music. Your demo for 2012 shouldn't be featuring synth tracks from the '80s. Another mistake is when the music overpowers the voice -- good producers know technical methods to prevent that. And another important tip: Don't let your choice of music or sound effects drive your choice of what script or voice-over style to record for your demo. It might be a really cool sound, or at your fingertips, but if it's not appropriate to your demo genre and most marketable performance styles, save that sound for some other use.

- - - - -

3. Sequencing and Direction

The order in which the demo segments appear on your demo is critical to its ability to stand up against competition. "Sequencing" includes:
• Choice of passage (which few seconds of each performance to use)

• Pacing (whimsical then serious, or the other way around... and where does the dialog best fit?)

• Transitions

• Timing (just as it does in comedy, timing can make or break a demo segment)

• Most importantly, tailoring the sequence of the demo segments to match the desires of the particular casting professionals you’ll market to.

The point is to present your wares in such a way that the listener doesn't press the Stop button. And to present your most marketable selections. Talent is often too close to the performance, in love with a certain 5 seconds or the brand name, and so on, when another snippet from the same performance would speak much more to the needs of casting professionals.

Overall, it's a matter of Direction. Just as you benefit from having a director give you feedback and inspiration during your performance, you will benefit from having the guidance of someone who is very knowledgeable in the areas of creating and marketing voice over demos. For this reason, many voice over performers enlist the help of an experienced voice over demo producer, even if they themselves are technically capable of engineering it themselves.

It's a lot to learn. As you become more and more experienced in the industry, you'll have learned all the above and more.

Meanwhile, these links will help you get up to speed:

• Can I use copyrighted material on my demo?

• What type of demo should I make?

• When should I produce my demo?

• 5 reasons your demo is less marketable

Still, even when you're knowledgeable and skillful enough to produce your own demo, it's a lot to do. The trick is to start now, don't delay, and allow enough time.

And consider this shortcut:
You do the performing. We'll do the demo.

If you would like our help click here.

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHICH GENRE IS MOST PROFITABLE FOR YOU?

Here are 7 other ways to identify your most profitable genres.

1.) Local market.

Although voice-over can be performed remotely nowadays, that's a big pond. Don't neglect opportunities in your own locale. Which sectors of the voice over industry predominate in your geographic area? What are hirers looking for?

Pursuing cartoon voices makes sense in L.A. and N.Y. Not so much in Topeka. Is your city known for landmark tourism or museums? Consider focusing on museum tours. Are you in a high-tech corridor? If you have a technical bent yourself, your focus might be how-to videos, sales presentations and other corporate narration.

Naturally, while you should be right for your geography, the geography should also be right for you. Which sectors pay well? Which sectors are growing? Which sectors involve ongoing work and long-term client relationships?

2.) Delivery.

Few producers need "a thousand" voices. And even fewer artists truly have them. What producers usually need is one right voice, with a natural delivery in the style they are seeking, a delivery they know they can depend on.

So demonstrate only vocal styles that come naturally and easily for you -- even if it's only one. Skip the artificial dialects and accents. Other people were born with them, or have studied and practiced for years, sounding far more authentic than you.

Also skip the announcer-style car spot. Every local DJ can do that. Casting agents seek the unique.

3.) Passion.

Hate commercials? Then don't record them. Someone who enjoys doing them will sound better. Pursue your aspirations.

You might be surprised at what you might find rewarding. For example, if you like kids, you don't necessarily need to have a gaggle of your own to be good at recording children's books. On the other hand, if you take after W.C. Fields ... maybe not.

4.) Terminology and expertise.

As much as you should pursue your aspirations, it's also important to know your limitations.

If you don't have a scientific background, don't put scientific narration excerpts on your demo. The best that could happen is you get a scientific narration job for which you are not well qualified for, and you do a mediocre job, or the casting professional learns you can't read scientific scripts "cold" as you waste time during the session. Would you expect a second call?

The worst that could happen is that they (or you) make that discovery with their client watching, or a mispronunciation of some common scientific terminology slips through! Your career is pretty much ended with that person.

Remember -- your demo must be trustworthy, representative of your actual abilities. Within those abilities, however, make yourself shine!

5.) Personality.

Fidgety? Audiobook recordings are not for you -- you'll never sit still long enough. Consider short recordings. Do you hate to get serious when the occasion demands? Industrial narration might not be your thing. Always consider the best type of work for YOU.

6.) Creativity.

Different genres require different kinds of creativity. Can you read a line ten different ways? If so, you're geared for cartoons, talking toys, and other types of voice over that require "overt" creativity. If you tend to speak somewhat repetitively, consider on-line tutorials, telephony, etc. These narrations usually require less dynamic presentation, yet involve challenges all their own.

7.) Personal contacts.

If you work in a large corporation, network your contacts before producing your demo. Learn what various departments need. You can hardly find a more specific focus than in this situation.

In fact, you may not even need a demo to land an opportunity.

·   Offer your services to the HR department, by suggesting you record the "welcome to our company" video, "job fair" video, and such.

·   Talk to The Communications department and record the telephony systems (menu-prompt, information on hold, voice mail, etc.).

·   Talk to the Marketing department to record commercials, tradeshow exhibit videos, and promotional material.

·   See the Training department about training videos.

·   Speak with the Web/IT department to narrate Flash presentations, online tutorials, "welcome to our home-page" narrations, and so on.

One warning: If you need to make a demo specifically for work at your company, consider that. But when it comes to your demo for the world at large, keep your personal focus. Put your company work on your demo ONLY if that work fits within the focus you've chosen.

Real-world stuff is as authentic as it gets. Which is why when Edge Studio produces a demo, we use our resources, insight and expertise to emulate real-world work authentically.

But never include a performance simply because it was produced, or just because you got paid for it.  Include it if it is quality and fits your demo.

WANT MORE, BETTER PAYING JOBS?

Consider the above factors BEFORE producing your demo.

They'll help make you unique, memorable and invaluable to the proper casting professionals. Your other marketing tools and personal salesmanship play a major role in that. But focusing your demo is where it all begins

WANT HELP?

Want help with your demo? Call us at 888-321-Edge, or email training@edgestudio.com.

Four years ago, I wrote an article on "Why Do 95% of Demos Get Tossed?" It began:

Edge receives many, MANY demo submissions from voice talent. Every one is reviewed for our talent library. But 95% of demos received are unusable BECAUSE THEY LACK FOCUS! This article will help you build your voice over career by explaining how to focus your demo.

Read the original article, under "Demos" in our archives here.

Sadly, results are pretty much the same today -- 19 out of 20 demos we receive don't make the cut.

The good news, for you, is that by following our guidance, you have an excellent shot at success in this industry.

-----

THE PROBLEM, REVISITED

Most aspiring talent still think that tossing in a bit of everything they've ever uttered (or hope to) increases the chance that something will stick.Toss that idea out!

This approach means that, even if the talent's voice and delivery is in the professional ballpark, we know nothing about their game.

• What is it that makes them special? We might hear something in one of their snippets, but who knows if our educated guess, gleaned from one bit among many, is their true strength?
• Do they know their strength? If not, an audition or recording session is not the time to train them.
• Was it a fluke? Can they do it again?
• Do they really know the genre the snippet is in?
• Do they even understand the industry?

Along with the doubts this talent's unfocused demo has created, this demo is difficult for us to categorize and it's less likely that our client will review this demo when they need to hire a voice talent to record a specific genre.

-----

THE SOLUTION, MORE THAN EVER

Even more than in 2006, casting professionals are super busy. They need to focus, which is why you must.

Don't be concerned that you'll be typecast or pigeonholed. Think of it as putting yourself on a handy peg, so when they need what you're best at, you'll be clear in their memory and presentable to their client for the job at hand. Your career can grow from there.

Secure a "position" for your prospect to remember you by. Are you a character actor? A young voice? A corporate and telephony narrator? Documentary and travelogue narrator? A commercial narrator? Consider your vocal characteristics, your strong subjects, and your market's needs, then present yourself as that kind of narrator.

It starts when planning your voice over business and continues through choosing scripts for your demo. Focus on the genres and subjects in which you excel. Leave the other stuff to the other people who do those things better than you.

Then, as you show off your voice, do it in a way that demonstrates various vocal styles, deliveries, and any factors unique to your local voice-over market. Keep it within this intersection:

• what you do better than others
• what casting people need
• what you enjoy (at least, what you will enjoy get paid for!)

-----

FOCUS MEANS SHARP, NOT DULL

While your demo shouldn't range all over the voice-over profession, the presentation does need to hold your listener's interest. So it needs other sorts of variety. Take what's best for you, and demonstrate variety within.

For example...

. . . if educational voice over is your specialty, include excerpts from:

• a pre-school "speak and spell" game
• one high-school computerized test
• one foreign language learning program (if you speak the language)
• one corporate training video
• etc.

. . . If you specialize in telephony and computerized voice systems, include:

• a "friendly" conversational phone menu excerpt
• a phone menu excerpt in a more formal style
• an on-hold promotional message
• something from an information or checkout kiosk
• a recorded subway or bus announcement

If you are truly strong in more than one genre, you may want to consider creating a separate demo for each. Email prospects only the one(s) relevant to their needs. On your CD, make them separate tracks, identified on the label and CD case. On your website, make them separate links.

Your demo is the one thing that connects you with actual voice over jobs. An effective demo is virtually mandatory to start and to grow in this business.

If you take pride in the process of planning, recording and producing your demo, then you can have pride in your demo itself. Like a resume, it should be carefully thought out, honest and truly representative.

The time to focus on this project is now.

WANT HELP?

Want help with your demo? Call us at 888-321-Edge or email us at training@edgestudio.com

Do you have a VO home studio?

. . . IF SO, HERE ARE 3 WAYS YOU MAY BE MISLEADING CASTING PROFESSIONALS:

-----

1. Where did you record your demo?

Situation: Edge Studio hires a voice talent to record a script from their home studio.

Problem: The sound quality of the recording that the voice-talent provides is not as good as their demo.

Reason: They recorded their demo at another studio, but never fine-tuned their home studio or practiced editing skills enough to produce the same sound quality.

Solution: Ensure that your home studio produces that same sound quality that is on your demo. Or provide clients with two demos: one from other studios, one from yours.

-----

2. Who directed your demo?

Situation: Edge Studio hires a voice talent to record a script from their home studio.

Problem: The vocal delivery of the recording that the voice-talent provides is not as good as their demo.

Reason: They worked with a director/coach when recording their demo, but never learned how to analyze copy, direct, and produce themselves.

Solution: Learn these skills during your training (something we stress at Edge Studio) and continue to practice with a coach after recording your demo.

-----

3. When did you record your demo? Are you rusty? Has your voice changed?

Situation: Edge Studio hires a voice talent to record a script from their home studio.

Problem: The voice-talent's voice sounds different on the recording than it does on their demo.

Reason: The voice-talent had recorded their demo many years ago, but has not updated it since and/or their voice has changed (due to aging or simply being out of practice).

Solution: Keep your demo up-to-date (as you do with a resume). And keep in practice.

-----

SUMMARY

Your demo should represent what your client will receive. Anything less, you are misrepresenting yourself and will leave your client rightfully unhappy and wanting to hire an alternate voice-talent. CONCERNED you don't sound as good as your demo? Edge Studio has numerous programs to ENSURE YOU DO! Call us- we're glad to take time and explain them to you: 888-321-3343.

5 Reasons Your Demo is Less Marketable

(1) You try to sound like someone else

WHY DO TALENT DO THIS?: Talent mistakenly believe that another voice is more marketable (a deeper one, a more powerful one,...) and/or they want more variety.

SOLUTION: Be yourself.

WHY?: Casting agents hire authentic voices because listeners connect to them more than someone who affects their voice. Plus it's easy to find/hire any type of voice by searching online and emailing a script to wherever the talent resides. There are exceptions, such as talent must affect their voice when narrating cartoons, talking toys, video games, anime,... NOTE for those who dislike their voice: Don't worry about it - just think how cool it is that someone else likes your voice SO much, that they're willing to pay you to read!

- - - - -

(2) You show too much variety

WHY DO TALENT DO THIS?: Talent mistakenly believe that more variety equates to more work.

SOLUTION: Do what you do well, and nothing else.

WHY?: Casting agents will not hire you if your performance is mediocre. Therefore it is best to only offer the styles of voice over which you do well. "Better to narrate one style really well than be a mediocre Jack-of-all-trades!" Example: Imagine a restaurant where every item on the menu was amazing... you'd tell everyone about it! Now think if that restaurant had all the same good items, but also had some items that weren't so good. Got it?

- - - - -

(3) You show the wrong styles

WHY DO TALENT DO THIS?: Talent forget that their voice, lifestyle, and technical abilities play a major role in determining which types of voice over they are marketable in.

SOLUTION: Consider the variables mentioned above, and let those guide you into marketable voice over genres.

WHY?: Voice over is a business... not just a voice. So consider what business-model is right (marketable) for you. Examples: If you fidget, don't narrate audiobooks. If you're not good with computers, don't narrate home-studio work. If your voice is powerful, don't narrate yoga instructional videos. If you can't do auditions throughout the workday, then you won't get national commercials and in which case, don't waste space putting them on your demo. So on and so on...

- - - - -

(4) You weren't ready to make a demo

WHY DO TALENT DO THIS?: Talent are too anxious to get work.

SOLUTION: Record a demo when you're ready. Ready means that you can EASILY and COMFORTABLY reproduce the sound of your demo - even when in front of a picky produce, at a new studio, with a difficult script.

WHY?: You won't get work until you're ready to get work... So paying for a demo before you're ready is the same as throwing out your money. It would be better to spend that money on training sessions (with Edge Studio, of course!).

- - - - -

(5) You weren't ready to market a demo

WHY DO TALENT DO THIS?: Talent are too anxious to get work.

SOLUTION: Learn about the voice over industry, determine where you belong in it, and create an efficient game-plan to market BEFORE you market. Learn the jargon, the politics of, the processes,...

WHY?: You'll likely waste your time and money marketing if you don't know how to do it... And even when you get hired, it will be for a one-time job that barely pays off the countless hours you've spent marketing.

Regarding demo music, popular music should not be used. This is because it is generally not used on professional commercials and narrations. So if it is used on your demo, it will indicate that your demo is created with artificial excerpts -- and that signals that you have no "real life" experience.

Use professionally recorded "library music" for your demo. This is what our studio, like most production studios, use. To purchase a complete library would cost thousands of dollars.

To eliminate this cost, most voice-talent who make homemade demos send their vocal tracks to us and request that we add music and sound effects. We also master the completed excerpts so that they sound like "real" commercial and narration spots.

Commercial and narration demos are the most popular types of demos, and the majority of professional voice over artists have both. However a third type of demo, a specialty demo, has gained in popularity over the last few years, and many professional voice over artists have this in addition to or in place of a commercial and narration demo.

Determining which one(s) to market with is an important decision. This article will help you determine what is best for you.

First, here are definitions of the three types of demos:

• Commercial demo - Due to the "glamour" of being heard on national television commercials, this is the most popular type of demo, even though only approximately 10% of the work is commercial work. A commercial demo demonstrates a variety of different kinds of commercials. For example, conversational, hard-sell, nonchalant, promo, public service announcement, etc.
• Narration demo - To work full-time in this industry, it is often necessary to have a narration demo, as narrations are 90% of the work. A narration demo demonstrates a variety of different kinds of narrations. For example, corporate training video, telephony, documentary, voicemail, website narration, educational film, etc.
• Specialty demo - This is a demo that serves one niche of the industry. This type of demo makes it easier to obtain work in one specific segment of the industry. For example, a "nature-film voice-over demo" increases the chance of being hired by a nature-film producer. However, its difficult to obtain other types of work with this type of demo. Specialty demo types include: character demo, audiobook demo, promo demo, foreign language demo, nature film demo, children’s work demo, etc.

In most cases, we suggest marketing at least a commercial and narration demo - this is what most professionals market with. This allows you to obtain all types of work, and not limit yourself.

Adding a specialty demo can give your marketing efforts a head start in a specific sector. Once you gain this experience, it may be easier to obtain other types of work.

Fortunately when marketing your demos, it costs no more whether you have one or more demos on it. This is because you can attach multiple demos to a single email. Likewise, multiple demos can be recorded onto a CD (for example, track 1 of the CD may be the commercial demo, track 2 the narration demo, etc.).

Assuming you have the talent for it, the only downside to produce multiple demos is the one-time cost of producing them. However if you obtain even one additional job due to an additional demo, it will probably pay itself off.

Hope this helps.

When is it time to produce your demo?

Numerous variables must be carefully considered when determining when to produce your demo. This article will discuss those variables.

Producing your demo too early can result in few jobs.

1. Wait until you are proficient. While a quality producer can make almost anyone sound good using digital recording techniques, you should be marketing your work, not the producer’s work. This is because producers hire you based upon your demo, and it is your responsibility to reproduce that sound quality. If you can’t, you are misrepresenting yourself.

2. Wait until you can read a script comfortably - without being nervous. A tense, nervous sound will create a shaky delivery.

3. Wait until you can follow the producer’s direction reflexively. A staged, contrived delivery will create a mechanical delivery.

Conversely, producing your demo too late can lose you work.

1. Do not wait and wait and wait to produce your demo. Much of your ability comes from practice, and producing your demo is one very intensive practice session.

2. Do not wait because ’life’ is crazy. Work often comes from ’being there at the right time’, so at least produce your demo (even if you don’t plan to market it yet) so you don’t lose a job should one come along. By the way, always carry your demo with you, as you never know who you will meet.

3. Do not wait, the voice over industry is growing quickly!

Final considerations.

1. Determine how much work, and the type of work you want. If you only want one particular type of work (for example, if you work at Pitney Bowes, you may only attempt to narrate their in-house training films, you do not need to be as well-rounded, and may require less training.

2. Consider your competition -- what quality demos do they have? If you’re marketing in a large city, you probably have more competition. In this case, you should have a few extra training session s prior to producing your demo to ensure you are competitive.

Hope this helps.

There are plenty of voice over jobs out there. Really. At Edge, we cast, produce, and record thousands of them every year.

Not surprisingly, Edge receives many, MANY demo submissions from voice talent looking for work. Every one is reviewed and considered for our talent library.

But guess what. Upwards of 95% of demos received are unusable BECAUSE THEY LACK FOCUS!

This article will help you build your voice over career by explaining how to focus your demo.

THE PROBLEM

The majority of demos we receive contain a mishmash of script excerpts on them - anything that the aspiring voice talent believes adds variety. Think about it: If retail stores simply stocked their shelves with a mishmash of stuff, consumers would have a difficult time finding what they need. Likewise, casting professionals often have a difficult time finding the voice talent their clients' requests.

THE FIX

When producing your demo, carefully consider the excerpts you demonstrate on it. Show off your voice, of course, but do it in a way that shows off the styles that your voice, your vocal delivery, and your local market are most appropriate for.

Don't worry about including one of every type of voice over style on your demo and having as much variety as possible. In other words, don't try to be the “other guy,” because the “other guy” does it better than you can.

(Because we know how important focus is, Edge Studio continually emphasizes this when training future voice talent. We even have a special Demo Preparation session prior to producing each demo. Via telephone or at one of our studios, our goal is to ensure that each demo produced here is marketable enough that our own clients (which range from Disney to the U.S.Army) will hire the new voice talent.)

CONSIDER WHEN PRODUCING YOUR DEMO

a.) Your local market. Which sectors of the voice over industry are casting professionals in your area looking for? Which sectors pay well? Which sectors are growing? What sectors create on-going work with long-term client relationships? Consider these things BEFORE producing your demo, so that local casting professionals have a need for you... and so that you can maintain long-term clients, with solid income.

b.) Your delivery. Being a “Jack of all trades” is generally not the most effective way to increase your workload. What is effective is only demonstrating vocal styles that come naturally and easily for you - even if that means you only demonstrate one style. This is because casting professionals generally hire voice talent who naturally have the delivery they require. Therefore cluttering up your demo with artificial dialects and accents, as well as any delivery that is a stretch for you, rarely gets you work. (Remember: you can try to sound like someone else, but someone else out there does it more believably.) So do what you do well, not what others do well. Therefore skip the announcer style car spot and focus on documentaries if that is what your natural voice delivery is more fitting for.

c.) Your passion. Hate commercials? Then don't record them. Someone who likes them will enjoy it more and will therefore sound better. Pursue your aspirations.

d.) Your terminology. Don't have a medical background? Then do not put medical narration excerpts on your demo. This is because casting professionals will hear a medical excerpt on your demo (the one you spent months memorizing and consulting dictionaries to be able to pronounce), and will hire you to narrate medical narrations. If you cannot read medical scripts “cold,” then do not demonstrate them on your demo.

e.) Your contacts. Work in a large corporation? Then leverage your contacts. Offer your voice over services to the HR department and suggest that you record the “welcome to our company video,” “job fair video,” and so on. Talk to communications and record the telephony systems (menu-prompt, information on hold, voice mail, etc.). Talk to marketing and advertising to record commercials, trade-show exhibit videos, and promotional material. Go down the hall to the training department to record training videos. Speak with the web department to narrate flash presentations, on-line tutorials, “welcome to our home-page” narrations, and so on. All in all, look for work where you already have contacts.

f.) Your personality. Fidgety? Audiobook recordings are not for you - you'll never be able to sit still long enough. Consider short recordings. Always consider the best type of work for YOU.

g.) Your creativity. Can you read a line ten different ways? If so, you're ready for cartoons, talking toys, and other types of voice over that require creativity. If you tend to speak somewhat repetitively, consider on-line tutorials, documentaries, etc - as these narrations usually require less dynamics.

h.) Your listener. Want to keep their interest? Well listen carefully... don't just use one of every type of script. Instead take the style(s) that work best for you, and demonstrate variety within those styles. For example, if educational voice over is best for you, show one excerpt of a pre-school “speak and spell” game, one high-school computerized test, one foreign language learning program, one adult continuing education program, etc.

WANT WORK?

One of the few things standing between you and it is your demo. So take pride in your demo. Liken your demo to you a resume - something that everyone meticulously sculpts, and do the same. Carefully consider all the points listed above.

Create a demo that has focus and GETS YOU WORK.

WANT HELP?

Want help with your demo? Call us at 888-321-edge.

Question: Can I use copyrighted scripts for my demo?

answer:

Yes, we believe that you can re-record copyrighted scripts for your demo as long as you do not sell your demo (please read why below) . In other words, if you simply give away your demo (market it) to obtain work, like all professional voice over artists do, then we have been told this is absolutely fine.

Professional voice over artists create their demos by using excerpts of recordings that they have been paid to record. But when breaking into voice, you must create a demo by recording artificial excerpts. And unless you are an experienced copywriter and can create your own material, you will need to use copyrighted material.

Why can you use copyrighted scripts? We did some research. What we found indicates that most material can be used without requiring the author’s permission.

The most compelling reason for this is the "Fair Use Act" law, which indicates that copyrighted material can be used, without permission, as long as it is not being directly used to make a profit.

To confirm our findings, we asked someone in AFTRA’s legal department (a voice over union) if it is okay to use copyrighted text on demos -- she said, "No problem at all."

We hope this helps.

If you need scripts, we have transcribed thousands of them to be used for practice and demos - visit www.edgestudio.com/scripts.htm.

By voice actor, Paul Liberti

After a long recording session, we all get a little "loopy" but... ADR stands for Automatic Dialog Replacement.

Dialog that cannot be salvaged from production tracks of a film or cartoon must be re-recorded in a process called LOOPING or ADR. You may know it as "dubbing."

For those of us that work on POKEMON - we are dubbing a cartoon originally produced in Japanese! (I play six different voices on the series). We watch the cut cartoon on a screen, and hear a series of beeps in a headphone giving a countdown to the beginning of the line. We then have to match the lip flap - AND have emotion - AND have it make sense - AND stay in character . no easy task when you have been given the line only moments earlier.

In film, ADR is also used for background ambience, known as "Walla Walla." Here, actors mumble and converse to create a sense of a background scene, such as the background sound at a restaurant. I have even dubbed dogs barking. The audience has no idea any of this is going on. Nor should they.

ADR for a lead film actor is a time-consuming task. He or she watches the image repeatedly while listening to the original production track on headphones as a guide. The actor then re-performs each line to match the wording and lip movements exactly. Actors vary in their ability to achieve sync and to recapture the emotional tone of their performance.

A very funny example of this is in the film SINGING IN THE RAIN in which the star’s voice is being replaced over the line -- "Our love will last till the stars grow cold." The LOOPER is played by Debbie Reynolds. In reality, Debbie Reynolds’ singing voice was replaced by the first actress - Jean Hagen! That’s Hollywood! It’s all a little loopy, isn’t it?

When I was but a wee lad, plugging rca cables into my Aiwa stereo, someone told me something about microphones. They said, "Microphones are like camera lenses, you need a few to get different sounds out."

And it's true. Each microphone, like each camera lens, has its benefits and limitations. There is always an ideal choice, depending on the scenario.

Mics are important. You can ally with them and use them to your advantage or you can declare a war on sound and make them your enemy. Either way, you can't be skimpin' on mics. Unless you're one of those Lo-Fi hipsters. We have a few "all purpose" mics here at the studio, but our main mic of choice in the Production Studio is the Neumann TLM103.

Sooooo shiny!

Sure, its not a U-47, but it sounds lovely, and doesn't cost as much as a Honda. If you're playing the home game, this is a good option to explore. If you're thinking, "Why doesn't my USB mic sound like this one?" it's because your usb mic is not broadcast quality. Don't try using it for something "real" and stop paying attention to the dude at the Apple store who told you it was good enough to record your "Movie Trailer Guy" voice on. He doesn't know what he's talking about. USB mics are ONLY suitable for auditions.

A good microphone has quality components, a relatively flat frequency response, and sounds like there is no mic in front of a person. The highs are not overly accentuated, and neither are the lows (that's where a lot of cheap mics fail.)

In a situation where a mic must take a lot of abuse, you don't want something too fragile and expensive. You could sacrifice quality in exchange for something big and flashy (for example every U2 tour since the 80's) but those in the know, know, that you just need the basics. The 103 has no extra polar patterns, no roll offs, no tubes. It just does one job really well. And that, dear reader, is why we use it.

Everyone thinks carefully about their first pro microphone. But do you really know how you sound?

To ensure you deliver high quality audio to your clients, you also need a listening device -- speakers, or headphones, or both.

In today's article, you will learn whether headphones or speakers or both are right for your home studio.

IT'S IMPORTANT. DON'T CHEAP OUT!

Whatever you buy, spend as much as your budget allows. Consider this story of someone who didn't:

A voice talent called me, all upset. Her clients reported a low-end rumble in the recordings she sent them. She swore there was not -- listening critically, over and over, even turning the volume way up, she didn't hear it. So she said something must be happening when she emails the files.

That's impossible, so I asked her to email one of the files. I heard a subway in the background! When I asked, she said yes, she lived near one. Her cheap speakers -- which she had chosen to save money -- didn't reproduce low bass frequencies, and were about to cost her those clients.

Luckily, she worked it out with her clients, and today she monitors her work on better speakers.

ALWAYS get a good listening device, so that you can hear what your clients may hear.

SPEAKERS, OR HEADPHONES, OR BOTH?

It's best to have both.  But for now, if you can afford only one, consider:

• Is your workspace noisy when editing? (For instance, loud kids, street noise, etc?) If so, you may need headphones so that you only hear your recording.
• Do you work at night and need to be quiet?  Headphones.
• Can you accurately judge your real voice (that is, your raw voice, not the voice which is processed to sound better through your microphone and recording system)?  Most voice talent cannot and, for that reason, should listen through headphones while recording.  This is especially important for voice-talent who are prone to popping, mouth clicks, sibilance, and so on.
• On the other hand, if clients come to your studio, you'll need speakers.
• If you edit long projects, speakers may be better because headphones can become uncomfortable after awhile.
• Also, if you edit long projects, speakers may be better because "ear fatigue" (that means failing sensitivity to what you're hearing, not earlobe stamina) occurs sooner with headphones, as it does when you crank up the volume on speakers.

In our next two articles, you will learn WHAT YOU SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT HEADPHONES and WHAT YOU SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT SPEAKERS.

WANT HELP?

Want help with your studio design and specifications? Call us at 888-321-Edge, or email training@edgestudio.com.

Today, we'll talk more specifically about headphones. 
 

WHAT YOU SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT HEADPHONES

1.) Purchase headphones with the least leakage.

When you are performing, headphones MUST be of a "closed" design, and MUST cover or surround your entire ear, so the mic doesn't pick up their sound.

But some headphones designed for listening to music, even pricey models that fully cover your ears, are of an "open" design. This lets some of the room ambiance enter to enhance the effect of realism, but it also lets sound out. So limit your search to "closed" designs.
 

2.) Ensure your headphones will reproduce your recordings accurately. 

In other words, they should be "neutral" or "flat."

Have you found a practice technique that might help others?  Email us at info@EdgeStudio.com, or phone us at 212-868-EDGE to let us know.

Today, we focus on speakers. A pair of "monitor" speakers will cost more than comparable headphones, but there are situations where speakers are preferable or necessary.

Every speaker has a different character, even within this category. Some sound better, some are "monitor" speakers in name only, and many simply sound "different" from one another.

Whether you select speakers by listening to them, or by following authoritative reviews, you want to be able to trust the sound your speakers produce.

WHAT YOU SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT SPEAKERS

1.) Reproduce bass and treble frequencies, accurately

As with headphones, the speakers' frequency response should be "flat," neither emphasizing high and low frequencies, nor letting them drop off.

It is relatively easy for a speaker to reproduce the midrange tones that predominate in the human voice. Most speakers do this.  But high and low frequencies are still important.

Luckily, high frequencies are also relatively easy to faithfully produce - most speakers do an adequate to good job at this.

It is these overtones that help make your voice distinctive, and are featured in "S" sounds (sibilance) and other natural sounds.

But bass is much harder for a relatively small speaker to produce accurately.  If your speakers don't adequately reproduce bass frequencies, you won't notice rumble, popping, and certain background noise in your recordings.  Unfortunately, most of your clients will.

Frequencies become even more important if you're adding music and sound effects, or equalizing the sound (adjusting the frequency curve). Most voice-over performers don't need to do this for their clients, but it's something to consider.

All in all, you need to hear any bad sounds that might creep into your recording, such as hiss, subway rumble, and so on.  Although good headphones can help you check this, your speakers should be capable of it, too.

2.) Low distortion

Judging distortion requires a knowledgeable ear (and at the extreme, an oscilloscope), but you can hear it well enough for your purposes.

Do "S"s sound like "SH"s?  Do "F"s sound a bit digital? That's distortion. It might be in the recording. But might be the speaker.

Does the sound break up at high volume?  For example, the opening of Also Sprach Zarathustra (the 2001 theme) is particularly challenging. It begins with a very low organ tone, which cheap speakers are unable to produce cleanly. And if you have turned up the volume up in order to hear it better, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM ,BOOM!  -- the full orchestra, complete with tympani, comes in and (if you're not careful) could even tear your speakers apart.  Better speakers, at sensible volume, are better able to deal with this. (If you try this, please begin at low volume!)

Do instruments simply not sound like the real things? That's also a sign of distortion.

Check the specification sheets.  At a given sound level, over a flat frequency range, a lower distortion percentage is better..

3.) They shouldn't sound "too good."

As much as possible, speakers should sound like the original sound source, without "coloring" the sound and artificially enhancing it.  This advice might seem odd.

You must be aware of how your finished product will sound on the speakers used by the END listeners (as opposed to your client).  Your work may ultimately be heard on low-end computer speakers, an iPod, car radios, a boom box at the beach, a mediocre corporate sound system, etc.

A recording that sounds excellent on high-end speakers won't necessarily sound the same when played through speakers that can't reproduce those sounds.

So if you have only one set of speakers, they shouldn't be the world's finest.

Actually, you would be wise to listen to your recordings on a wide range of speaker types. (With your demo too.)  At Edge Studio, we have excellent studio monitors. We also have a handy collection of cruddy stuff.

4.) Active or passive?

You might have considered running your speakers directly from your computer or audio interface.  However this is unlikely to give you sufficient volume or good fidelity.  You need an amplifier.

We usually suggest purchasing speakers which have an amplifier built in. These are called "active" speakers. Usually the amps in active speakers are designed to match them, resulting in better sound, and making them easy to set up. It also saves you the expense of using an external amplifier.

If you use an external amp (for "passive" speakers), specialized amplifiers are available -- however, they tend to be relatively expensive, so using a leftover stereo receiver or an active speaker may be preferable.  Be sure its tone controls are set to flat.

5.) Subwoofer?

Generally, the larger a speaker of comparable quality, the better it is able to reproduce the lowest frequencies.  However, size alone is not necessarily an advantage.

Another option is to choose a system that includes a subwoofer. A subwoofer is a single speaker that is dedicated to producing only the bass frequencies. Because very low frequencies are not directional, only one speaker is needed to accomplish this; it mixes the bass of both stereo channels. A subwoofer should be an integral part of a three-speaker system designed for this approach.

In any case, remember what we've discussed above, regarding frequency, distortion, etc.

6.) Don't shortchange yourself.

Generally, you get what you pay for.  Don't go crazy, but remember that if you can afford a little more, the price difference will be very small when amortized over the years your speakers should serve you.

TECH NOTES

If the speakers will be near your computer monitor, they should be magnetically shielded to interfering with the display.

Keep speakers and amp away from the computer if possible, to avoid electrical interference.

Get speakers suitable for the size of your studio.  Huge speakers in a small space are not necessarily and overall advantage.

Speakers have powerful magnets in them.  Don't put your USB hard drive next to one, even if it's magnetically shielded.

The size, shape and sound conditioning of your sound-editing workplace may also affect your choice. A pair of speakers typically has a "sweet spot" that you should be sitting in.  Learn where the manufacturer suggests you listen to speakers (for optimal sound reproduction).  If your studio is not the appropriate size, find another pair of speakers.
 

 MORE LISTENING TIPS:

If you already have a set of voiceover-worthy headphones, consider speakers that sound similar to them (except for the spatial effect).

Sound is hard to memorize, so if you can't compare side-by-side, take notes as to what you are hearing and want to listen for. Listen for individual instruments, and how naturally each appears.

Listen at low and at fairly loud volumes. Your ear is less sensitive to high and low tones at low volumes, so higher volume will help you judge, even though in your home studio, you may be sitting closer to them, with the volume usually fairly low.

Compare at like volumes.  Speakers played a little louder will sound misleadingly better.

If your amplifier has a "loudness" button, do not turn it on.  Because turning it on artificially emphasizes the high and low frequencies. Sounds great. But it isn't accurate.

If the listening environment is noisy, ask the salesperson to close the door and quiet things down. Noise masks a multitude of sins.

Choose a recording that has "unprocessed" audio -- a symphony orchestra or string quartet, rather than a contemporary pop-music mix. Preferably a few different types of instrumentations. If you have an accurate recording of yourself (preferably not a highly compressed .mp3 file) or some other voice, listen to that, too.

Also remember, just because a CD is newly released doesn't necessarily mean it's an excellent recording for this test.  A new CD of a Caruso performance won't tell you much.

In short, choose speakers that give accurately reproduce sound, cleanly, with no audible distortion, with wide, flat frequency response, and appropriate for your space.  You'll find a variety of good options in the $200-500/pair price range.

WANT HELP?

Want help with your studio design and specifications? Call us at 888-321-Edge, or email training@edgestudio.com.

ADDENDUM: In Part Two, we should have mentioned to avoid headphones that have noise-cancelling technology. Or, if for some reason you want them, be sure you can turn that feature off.  The reason should be obvious -- if there is noise in your recording, you need to know it.

Choosing the right microphone is a critical part of recording. This is because the right microphone will help create a professional sounding recording. Conversely, the wrong microphone can greatly degrade your quality. This article will walk you through the process of choosing the most appropriate microphone for you.

There are many, MANY microphone choices today. Unfortunately, most recording books and specialists will tell you which microphone is the best for you WITHOUT asking you important questions... questions that MUST be answered before determining which microphone is best for you.

You can always ask our office to schedule a private consultation with you, so that we can help you determine the most appropriate microphone for you.

DEFINITION:

A microphone (also known as a ‘mic’) is a transducer, which converts sound waves into electrical energy. Sound waves leave the mouth of the voice-over artist, are converted into electrical energy by the microphone, and then travel through a microphone cable (called an XLR cable) into the audio-recorder.

TYPES:

Different types of microphones have different characteristics, making each one appropriate for different recording applications. There are three general types:

• condenser (also known as ‘electret condenser’) — Condenser microphones are the only microphones that are electrically powered. This allows them to respond quickly to sound transients and subsequently produce a very clear sound. While condenser microphones are more sensitive than other microphone types, they are also more fragile and expensive. Condenser microphones are generally used for vocal recordings, such as voice over and singing.
• dynamic (also known as ‘moving coil’) — Dynamic microphones use magnets to generate electrical signal. Yet magnets are cumbersome and hinder the speed of the microphone, thus making this style microphone more appropriate for drums and guitars…not voice over. However their sturdiness and durability make them great for traveling (a portable home studio) and live recordings (concert recordings, etc.). Dynamic microphones are generally less expensive than condenser microphones.
• Ribbon — Ribbon microphones use ribbons, similar to a rubber band, instead of magnets to convert electrical signal into energy. They are the most fragile type of microphone. Their most common application is recording sharp, smooth, and full sounds, such as horns (trumpet, saxophone, etc.), as well as live sounds in large open spaces, such as symphony orchestras. Ribbon microphones generally are medium priced and are rarely used for voice over recording.

PATTERN:

Microphones come with different pick-up patterns. Choosing the right one is most important when purchasing a microphone. Pick-up patterns control what direction the microphone picks up sound waves from. Some microphones have switchable patterns, allowing you to choose which pattern is appropriate for you. Other microphones are built with only one pattern. There are three general patterns:

• directional A directional pick-up pattern means that the microphone only picks-up sound waves from the front of the microphone. This is ideal if only your voice needs to be recorded, and if there are unwanted noises behind and to the sides of the microphone, such as an air-conditioner unit humming, a computer humming, noise outside your window, and so forth. In the event that there is unwanted noise, face the microphone with its back to the unwanted sound source, so that you face the direction of the unwanted noise. With this set-up, the microphone will record more of you and less of the unwanted sound. There are three kinds of directional patterns: cardioid, super-cardioid, and hyper-cardioid. Each offers a slightly different control of the side and rear rejection. Cardioid is the most popular.
• bi-directional (also known as ‘figure-8’) — A bi-directional pattern microphone picks-up sound from the front and back of the microphone, while rejecting sounds from the side. This pattern is used when two people are recording into one microphone (one person would be in front of the microphone, the other in back). Unless two people are being recorded simultaneously, this pattern is not ideal.
• omni-directional. An omni pick-up pattern means the microphone picks-up sound waves emanating from every direction. Since this is how humans naturally hear, this pattern obtains the most realistic, natural sound. However, since the pattern picks-up sound from every direction, any noise in the room will be recorded. Therefore, this pattern should only be used when recording in a totally sound-proofed room. This pattern should also be used when a group of people record around a single microphone.

SHAPE:

The shape of a microphone is also a determining factor when choosing a microphone. There are two main shapes:

• pencil shape. Pencil shaped microphones (similar in shape to a roll of quarters) have the pick-up screen at the very tip (front) of the microphone, allowing sound to enter from only one direction. Therefore facing the tip of the microphone records you while decreasing the pick-up of other unwanted sounds. This is ideal if recording in a room that has any reflections (echo, reverb, etc.) or that is not totally sound-proofed. Due to their shape, these microphones often capture a real ‘clean’ sound making them ideal for applications where clarity is a must, such as web and telephone audio.
• open, round shape. Large, open diaphragm shaped microphones (like you often see singers singing into on MTV) tend to pick-up sound waves from different directions. Even when set to a directional pattern, they pick up sounds from other directions more than most pencil shaped microphones – therefore they should be used in totally sound-proofed rooms. Due to their large diaphragms, these microphones have a very natural sound, do not ‘pop’ easily, and often capture the bottom end (bass) very well…making them ideal for rich, resonant, deep voices.

YOUR VOICE and THE SCRIPTS YOU RECORD:

our voice and the type of scripts you record have an influence on determining the most appropriate microphone for you. For example:

• fat, resonant, deep, smooth voice. If your voice is big, fat, smooth, and or resonant, choose a microphone that enhances these characteristics, such as an open, round shaped microphone, or a ribbon microphone.
• thin, crisp voice. If your voice is thin and crisp, use a microphone that highlights the clarity of your voice, such as a pencil shaped condenser.
• telephone. If you record telephony, a thin, clear sound is generally more desirable, such as pencil shaped condenser.
• promo. If you record powerful, deep promos and trailers, consider an open, round shaped microphone.

Final suggestion. When purchasing a microphone, be sure to also purchase a ‘popper-stopper.’ This is a piece of material, similar to a woman’s nylon, that is rapped around a disc and placed between the microphone and your mouth to prevent large bursts of air (from your mouth) from overloading and ‘distorting the microphone. If not for a popper-stopper, you may hear ‘pop’ sounds upon playback on words that begin with plosives (‘P’s and ‘B’s, such as ‘popcorn’ and ‘balloon’).

Buying a microphone?  Of course it seems smart to ask people what they recommend, since the microphone has one of your studio's most important roles: It is the connection between you and what your clients hear.

BUT ALL TOO OFTEN, people make recommendations without knowing YOUR facts.  Grrrrrrr that's frustrating!

THERE ARE DIFFERENT MICROPHONE MODELS, TYPES, SIZES, AND PRICES FOR A REASON! SO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING BEFORE PURCHASING A MICROPHONE:

a) What kind of voice over do you record?

• Some genres of voice over typically require a microphone that produces a thin, clean, clear, bright sound - such as telephony, talking games, and so on.
• Yet some genres typically require a microphone that produces a full, big sound, such as promos and trailers.
• Do you record many different genres? Then you should have a mic that works across the board.

b) How are the acoustics of your recording booth?

• A reverberant room needs a directional mic.
• A dry room may sound better with an "open" mic.

c) How sound-proofed is your recording booth?

• It's not? Consider a super or hyper directional mic.
• It is? An "open" mic may sound best.

d) What about you?

• Have a big, full voice? Get a mic that captures that low-end. Maybe a tube.
• Have a bright voice? Don't get a tube.

e) Lastly, the question you can NOT answer until you experiment: How does the mic react to your voice?

• Every mic reacts differently to different voices... so try a few. And listen carefully.
• Not sure what to listen for? Ask an engineer who produces that type of voice over.

IN CONCLUSION: Do NOT choose a microphone because it's a good price, because someone suggests it, or because it looks cool.  In fact, sometimes a less expensive microphone may work better for you! 

Want to make more money at voice over? Then get a mic that makes you sound the best! We're glad to help you determine which mic that is.

We hope this helps.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is a system of digital phone connections, which allow recording studios to ’link up’ digitally, and share and transmit audio files simultaneously around the world with digital quality. Specifically, ISDN connects the voice-talent, who is at one studio and the client (producer) who is at another studio. Because they are digitally connected, both parties hear the recording in real-time, with perfect quality, and have the ability to record the audio. This allows the producer to hire voice-talent regardless of their location, produce them as clearly as if they were at the same studio, and have the recording when the session is completed (as opposed to having the voice-talent email or FED-EX a recording when complete).

ISDN is very popular in the voice-over industry. In fact, many full-time voice over artists generate the bulk of their voice over income by using ISDN.

Therefore it may be advantageous to offer this ISDN to your clients.

However since an ISDN set-up is rather expensive (at least $2,000 for the ISDN unit, plus a few hundred dollars to have your local telephone company hook up ISDN phone-lines into your home-studio, plus standard monthly fees from your telephone compnay), it may be more beneficial to make a deal with a local studio to use their ISDN unit. While you’ll need to pay this studio "out of pocket" each time you have a client that requires ISDN, you will save all the expense and learning-curve of ISND technology.

When you have enough business that requires ISDN, then perhaps it is time to purchase and set-up your own ISDN unit.

On a final note - a few companies now offer computer software that simulates ISDN units and works through your Internet connection. While the software tends to cost around $1,000, special hook ups from your telephone company are not necessary, as a fast Internet connection is all you need.

IN THE BEGINNING, there was dirt. Dirt is great for sound. It doesn't make noise and sound doesn't bounce off of it.
THEN MAN CREATED NOISE. That was okay until we created sensitive microphones that pick-up every little noise - even computer fans, distant planes, and shirt ruffling noise.

WORSE, WE BUILT HARD SURFACES, such as walls, corners, and music stands that bounce sound around... especially into sensitive microphones.

THE PROBLEM? Producers and engineers came to expect that voice over recordings were void of noise and bouncing sounds.

THE CHALLENGE? Building a home studio out of dirt is not practical.

FORTUNATELY: With thought and creativity, a quality, suitable, comfortable, and marketable voice over studio can be built for little to no money, almost anywhere you want. To boot, demand for home voice over studios continues to increase.

THIS ARTICLE: From location to claustrophobia, even with loud kids, starched shirts, air conditioner vents, and hard surfaces, this article will list considerations that will help you design and build a competitive home studio.

NAME: The room you record voice over in is interchangeably referred to as a booth, sound booth, sound room, isolated room, iso room, and iso booth.

PURPOSE: Voice over producers and engineers generally expect a recording that contains only your voice: no additional noise, and no echo (known as reverb, which is short for reverberation).

SOUND WAVES: are invisible waves that transmit sound. They pass through the air and carry, what our ears and brains convert to sound. They also pass (vibrate) through adjoining surfaces (wall to wall). Understanding 1.) the frequency and volume of sound waves (see sound proofing below) and 2.) how they travel (see sound absorption) is essential for building a studio.

SOUND PROOFING: Like water, sound waves find their way through just about anything. Imagine your kitchen floor full of water. Now imagine a very small hole in your floor. Eventually all water will pass through. Likewise with sound. A very small opening in your studio will allow too much sound to pass through to the microphone. It is therefore necessary to block all sound from entering your studio.

High frequency (high pitch) sound waves, such as those that carry cymbals, flutes, and the “clarity” portion of human speech, as well as low volume sounds, are very small, and almost any blockage will stop them, such as thin walls, glass windows, and thick blankets.

Conversely, low frequency (low pitch) sound waves, such as bass guitar, drums, and the “resonance” of human speech, as well as loud volume sounds, are very large, and pass through many surfaces. Blocking these from your microphone is challenging.

So to block sound, the rule of thumb is “the more noise you need to block, the thicker your walls must be.” So if your studio is in a home, on a quiet street, without dogs barking and street noise, regular walls may be fine. (Perhaps you'll need to cover windows with a pillow, as glass is very thin and will let noise in.) If you have a medium noise entering your studio, try slightly thicker walls, or multiple thin walls (such as a closet (a room within a room)). If a lot of noise enters your studio, construct walls, ceiling, and floor of multiple layers of sheet rock (wall board), preferably that stagger and include air-pockets between each layer. Also incorporate acoustic door seals (to prevent sound from leaking into the booth from the door edges), rubber bushings attached to the ends of each wall joist (to prevent sound transmission from one surface to the next), and use acoustic sealant (as it remains soft (pliable)) and therefore mitigates sound transmission from one surface to the next.

SOUND ABSORPTION: Sound waves propagate in all directions and bounce off of surfaces...especially hard surfaces. (Recall the big echo caused by a basketball bouncing in an empty auditorium.) This echo must be totally eliminated for voice over recording.

Assuming your studio is sound-proofed, the only sound propagating inside your studio is your voice. The louder your narration, the more echo there will be to stop.

Soft materials such as foam (egg-crate foam), thick blankets, carpeting, acoustic ceiling tiles, and plush furniture are commonly used to eliminate echo. Try to cover every square inch if possible. Be sure to cover your music stand too - a piece of carpet or soft rubber matting on it generally eliminates your voice from echoing off of it.

If you narrate in low volumes, such as audiobooks, documentaries, some national commercials, meditation programs, etc., one or two inches of soft material on all surfaces should suffice.

If you narrate in loud volumes, such as the big booming voice in some commercials, certain promos, certain character voices, etc., you may require three of four inches of soft material on all surfaces.

SHAPE: While most rooms are square, sound booths should be anything but. In fact, the more angles, the better, as each angle helps deflect the sound, eliminating the possibility of “flutter echo” (sound that repeatedly bounces back and forth between two opposing surfaces).

If possible, construct your room with at least one angled wall.

LISTEN: Unless you have trained ears, you may not hear unwanted noise and/or unwanted echo. It is best, therefore, to record a sample and ask a studio to evaluate it. Do this before selling your home studio services to clients. Ask them to confirm that you recording is absolutely quiet and dry.

LOCATION: Your studio can go anywhere, as long as you ensure that it is sound proofed and echo free.

Below ground level (basement) studios are ideal, as windows rarely exist, and walls are usually underground. Walk-in closets are also good, as they rarely have an outside facing wall (architects tend to design homes so that closets do not take up potential window opportunities). Try recording in your car or mini van, as they are built to be quiet inside, and if parked inside your garage, they offer another layer of sound proofing.

If none of these are possible, it's time to build. Expect to pay a contractor between $1,000 and $5,000 depending upon your specifications. Another option is to purchase a pre-built (pre-fabricated) studio (see below).

SIZE: Determine how large your booth must be, and if possible, make it at least 50% larger. (One day you'll thank yourself.) Additionally consider how many people will record simultaneously in the booth (will you record dialogues? Will you record foley sfx (which takes up a lot of room)? Will you need a video/computer monitor to view while recording? Will you want a table for scripts, water, etc.?)). Be sure to account for the microphone and music stands. Will you stand or sit? (Sitting down is common for long recordings, such as audiobook recordings, but takes up more floor space.) Do you have claustrophobia? If so, go with a larger booth. Will you rent out your booth to musicians (who need larger spaces for guitars, keyboards, etc.)? Think about these things before you build.

WINDOWS: Windows are nice. They prevent claustrophobia, allow you to see a producer/engineer outside the booth, and allow you to view a video/computer monitor during the recording (in the event that you must match your voice to a visual while recording). However windows are thin, and therefore they let sound pass through. And windows are a hard surface, and therefore cause echo. Ideally, use a window... just make it small, and have prepared a pillow you can stick over it in the event that you must narrate a loud recording that cause more echo.

DOOR: Use a solid wood core door, or a metal door - and then cover it with a soft material to prevent echo. Incorporate acoustic door seals (or heavy-duty weather stripping) on all four sides.

LIGHTING: Be sure to have a well-lit sound booth, so there is no strain on your eyes. Preferably use a non-glare, non-heat producing light type. Note - most fluorescent lights produce noise, and unless you find one that is supposedly silent, stay away from fluorescent.

A/C: Have a number of electric outlets in your booth - so you can plug in a monitor, a headphone amp, lights, and anything you need.

AIR: Due to their small size and lack of incoming/outgoing air, sound booths become warm and musty after a while. Therefore, ventilation is a welcomed option when recording a long narration. Be sure, however, that the vents do not create any noise. One solution is to bring your central air conditioning into the booth - and run it on fan or A/C. Be sure to coat the inside of the ducts with sound absorptive material, and be sure that the ducts make many 90 degree turns (each 90 degree turn decreases the volume of air movement, from the vent, by half).

WIRES: Remember that wires (video, data, monitor, XLR, telephone, BNC, cable, etc.) should be run through one of your walls before you complete your studio. Using a door-knob drill to drill a hole through the wall, run all types of wires through it (you never know what you will need), and then seal the hole with acoustic caulking.

PRE-FABRICATED: Okay - want the easy way out? Purchase a pre-built (pre-fabricated) sound booth. Many companies sell these (look on-line). Try to purchase a modular one so that you can expand it (should you need to) and/or move it easily. Various quality levels, sizes, and options exist - including built in lights, windows, wire runs, and more. Expect to pay between $2,000 and $8,000 for a voice over quality one.

CONCLUSION: Building or purchasing a sound booth is a one-time event. Enjoy it. When done working, let your kids use it as a play room (allowing you quiet in the rest of your home).

Edge Studio offers private and group consultations on home studios and ProTools. Call 888-321-edge (3343) for details.

Many voice talent don't realize the importance of planning when it comes to their home-studio. Subsequently, they either spend more money and time than necessary, and/or find themselves unable to please their clients.

This article aims at eliminating these misfortunes.

SAVE MONEY AND TIME

Interestingly, the ratio of planning to wasted money and time is, perhaps, one-to-ten. Two examples: First, for every dollar you spend wisely, you will save ten dollars on studio re-builds and unnecessary equipment. And second, for every minute you spend planning, you will save ten minutes down the road with studio re-builds and technical glitches.

Answering the following will help you determine the type of home studio right for your needs, therefore helping you save money and time.

• What sector of voice over is right for you? This should be based upon a.) the sector your voice and delivery are most marketable in (audiobook, documentary, cartoon, corporate, telephony, commercial, promo, etc.), b.) the sector you aspire to work in (you will read better, make more money, and be happier reading scripts that you enjoy), and c.) the type of customers in your marketing area (if cartoons are mostly recorded in NY and LA, perhaps this is not the best sector to pursue if you reside in the Central Plains).
• Do the sectors of voice over you plan on pursuing only record in professional studios? If so, you may have no need for a home-studio.
• Will you use your home-studio to practice, record auditions, or record actual jobs? Lower quality equipment is sufficient for the former, while higher quality equipment is necessary for the latter.
• What is your budget? If you spend your entire budget on your home-studio, you will be left with no money for marketing. This defeats the purpose.
• Is there a chance you will move? If you do, portable sound-booths and equipment will save you lots of money and time.
• Will you rent your studio to other voice over artists (to use for practice, auditions, recording)? If so, be sure to build a home-studio that caters to many studio scenarios... not just the ones you plan on using it for.
• Where will your home-studio be located? A noisy location requires higher quality sound-booths (to eliminate undesired sounds from entering). If your studio will be in a quiet location, spending that much money is unnecessary - in which case, either a lower quality sound-booth or renovating a closet may suffice.
• What type of delivery format will be requested by your customers? MP3, Fed-Ex, ISDN, FTP, etc.?

PLEASE YOUR CLIENTS

How nice would it be to tell your client, “Sure, no problem.” If you plan ahead, you can. Unfortunately, however, many aspiring voice over artists find themselves needing to turn down jobs, as they are not prepared.
So take just one day. Call potential customers - specifically, the type of customer you aspire to market to. Ask why they hire voice over artists with home-studios, and what they request from them.

Use this information to begin determining your home-studio requirements, specifically, what type of recordings you will produce, what quality level will be necessary, and with what means you will be delivering them to your customers.

SUMMARY

Inappropriate equipment, lack of thought, and anxiousness will not help advance your career. Planning will.

Most new businesses begin with a business plan. You should too. Creating a business plan requires planning. Begin by searching on-line for a sample business plan. Yours does not need to be complicated - an abridged version should suffice.

Once written, follow through with your business plan, including it's time-lines, marketing efforts, and income statements.
And finally, whether part-time of full-time, take your voice over career seriously. Put a minute of thought into it...and save ten.

More and more voice talent are increasing their incomes using home studios.

. . . Should you?

Voice over home studios are becoming the norm in our industry. In fact, we estimate that over 50% of voice talent have, at minimum, a modest set-up, capable of recording at least an audition MP3. And while it's certainly not necessary to have a home studio to make a living doing voice overs, having one will increase your chance of obtaining more work.

Plus operating a home studio is more feasible then ever. With respect to building a home studio, the barriers of entry have decreased significantly. Prices of studio equipment have dropped by, perhaps, as much as 75%! The space that a home studio takes up has shrunk enough to fit in a small closet! And the learning curve, while still challenging for some, is much less than ever before.

Yet like anything, there are pluses and minuses to operating a home studio. Weighing them and determining if a home studio is right for you is necessary to determine. Therefore we offer the following considerations.

PLUSES:

Home studios allow you to record auditions and jobs from home, in your pajamas, on your own time-clock, with as many takes (attempts) as you want, without anyone listening over your back. Sound good? It can be.

Home studios allow you to obtain work that otherwise you would not be able to obtain.

Home studios can, with certain equipment, be portable enough to take with you - allowing you take your studio with you on vacation (why loose a client if you can spend 15-minutes in your hotel room recording a quick job)?

Home studios allow you to move to a new residence and keep your clients, since everything is done via internet (email and FTP).

NEGATIVES:

If the quality of your studio (equipment and/or vocal delivery) is not up to par with public, professional studios, your clients may stop hiring you.

Are you technically challenged? If operating a VCR is difficult, a studio will be overwhelming. To operate a home studio, you need engineering ability.

Are you ears trained like a producer's? To operate a home studio, you need production ability.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS:

If you discourage easily, a home studio is probably not for you. Proficient, experienced, technically skilled engineers still get stumped, stare at their computer screen, and scratch their heads on a regular basis, unsure how to get their studio working...even when it worked just moments earlier

Therefore do not build a home studio if you are the type of person who easily becomes annoyed, aggravated, upset, and is liable to throw your microphone across the room. (Well, if you have to throw your microphone, hopefully you are at least in your padded sound recording booth.)

In this case, you may be better off making a deal with a local studio, where they give you a discounted rate and in return you bring all you work to them. Yes you will need to pay that studio every time you use them...but you'll also save a lot of money and time building and maintaining your own studio...plus you'll save your sanity.

Final consideration: know your clients. If the type of work you aspire to narrate is generally recorded at public, professional studios, and you will have very little work to record in your own studio, then the time and money needed to build and operate your home studio may not be worthwhile. In this case, make a deal with a local studio.

There is the old joke: the better you are, the bigger your head becomes. Well with voice over home studios, this may be necessary!

In most public, professional recording studio sessions, a producer and engineer help the voice talent produce the desired sound. (In simplest terms, the producer's job is to determine what the sound will be. The engineer's job is to determine how to obtain that sound.)

With a home studio, it is necessary to wear all three hats. (That is why a larger head is necessary.) Therefore unless you are capable of producing and engineering yourself, while simultaneously narrating the script, a home studio may not be appropriate for you.

Three exceptions:

• ENGINEERING: For the most part, once your studio is “set-up” for your voice (whether you set it up or hire a professional to visit your home studio and set it up for you), you should no longer need to focus on engineering during most recording sessions. In this case, you only need to wear two hats: that of the producer and voice talent.
• CERTAIN AUDITIONS: When sending out an audition from your home studio, for a job that, if you win, will be re-recorded at a public, professional studio, the casting professional should listen only to your voice...not your engineering and production skills. This is because you will re-record the script, at their studio, if you win the audition. In this case, you should not need to focus on engineering and production, and instead only wear the hat of voice talent. (Note: It is still necessary to ensure that your recording is clear enough for the casting professional to hear your voice quality.)
• PHONE-PATCH and ISDN: When being produced by phone-patch or ISDN, there will be producer on the other end of the phone producing you. In this case, you only need to focus on your engineering and voice talent skills...as they will handle the production responsibilities.

So how big is your head? If big enough, consider a home studio.

It is the microphone that captures your voice. Therefore understanding it and knowing how to use it to your advantage can greatly enhance your voice-over delivery.

Professional voice talent refer to microphone technique as "working the mic." Following are techniques that should be employed during every recording session.

a. Placement - The placement of the microphone is directly related to sound quality. Engineers therefore precisely place the microphone in a location, relative to your mouth, based upon your voice and the desired sound for the narration.

The microphone generally faces your nose, neck, mouth, or cheeks. Occasionally it is above you, sometimes to the side, and sometimes even placed below your mouth.

Do not assume that the engineer is incompetent if the microphone is not where you expect it should be. Nor should you try to move to where the microphone is. Instead, remain centered with the music stand, and leave the rest up to the engineer.

b. Lateral movements - It is crucial that you remain "on-axis" (in front of the microphone) to ensure a consistent tone. Moving to the either side of the microphone will create drastic tonal changes - making your voice sound muffled, as without treble (clarity). This is known as being "off-axis" from the microphone.

One exception is if a producer desires a muffled sound, as if you're speaking through a door. Then speaking off-axis is perfect.

c. Proximate movements - Moving closer to and farther away from the microphone will create drastic volume (amplitude) changes. It is essential that you remain the same distance from the microphone to ensure a consistent volume.

d. Proximity effect - As you move closer to a directional microphone, the type most engineers use, the fuller, richer, and more bassey (less treble) your voice will be. This is known as "proximity effect."

When a full-bodied, sexy, or deep tone is required, use proximity effect to your advantage - stand about 3 to 4 inches from the mic to achieve this full sound. When a thinner sound is desired, try standing 6 to 8 inches away.

NOTE that when standing close to the microphone, you are more prone to "pop." Popping is when a powerful burst of air from your mouth overloads and distorts the microphone. This mostly occurs on "plosives" (words that begin with "p," "b," and "t.") For these words, either move a few inches further away from the microphone, or lessen the volume of air leaving your mouth.

Follow these techniques, and you will sound better and appear more experienced. We hope these help you and your career.

Microphone etiquette is an attribute engineers welcome. Therefore voice talent who are considerate and respectful of engineer's microphones have a greater chance of being hired again.

Always remember the following:

a. Never touch the microphone or the microphone stand. The positioning of the microphone is critical - slight movements can drastically affect the sound quality. So after the engineer places the microphone, do not change it. If the position of the microphone causes a shadow on your script, or is too high or low for your comfort, simply ask the engineer to adjust it.Also, touching the microphone can create a very loud sound in the control room (the engineer's room) if the speakers are turned up. This can damage the speakers and the engineer's ears.

b. Never blow into or tap on the microphone (as characters in movies do during sound-checks). First of all, microphones are very fragile - a slight touch may damage them. Secondly, microphones are very sensitive. They're intended to pick up and amplify sounds coming from a few inches away - and they do this very well. So when the sound is created at the microphone, it will be overly amplified - possibly causing damage to the recording room's speakers and in your headphones (damaging your ears). It is, again, best to not touch the microphone.

c. Never hang the headphones on the microphone stand. First, this can cause feedback. Feedback is an audio loop that produces a high-pitched squealing sound. It occurs when a headphone is too close to a microphone. It is caused by sound leaving the headphones and being picked up by the microphone, amplified by the amplifier, and sent back into the headphones (louder this time due to the amplification), then resonating back into the microphone - thus creating a loop. This loop will eventually destroy the speakers and your hearing.Second, hanging headphones on a microphone stand creates the possibility of the headphones falling off and breaking.

Remember these guidelines, as they will keep your ears, the engineer's ears, and the engineer's speakers much happier. And this, of course, will directly benefit your voice over career.

Internet Audio is one of the fastest and largest sectors of the voice over industry. Yet many web designers are not well versed with it. This creates a great marketing tactic.

More and more web sites contain some sort of narration - eg: promotional videos, training tutorials, narrated menus, etc. The owners of these websites request that their web designers furnish web narration capabilities.

To beef up sales, tell web designers the benefits of narrated websites. This way, they will market those benefits to their potential clients, and thus be marketing for both you and them. Benefits such as:

1. Narrated websites lengthen the user’s duration. Surveys show that the longer someone stays on a website, the more chance there is that they purchase the service or product.

2. Narrated website make a business appear ’up-to-date’. Surveys show that purchasers will purchase more freely if they feel that the business is ’up to date’ with technology.

3. Narrated websites produces viral marketing. Website narration is still new, and therefore users enjoy it enough to tell others about it - and thus the business profits from "word-of-mouth" marketing (the best type of marketing).

In closing, if a web designer can rely on you to complete a website narration, they should be glad to offer their clients the added feature of website narration. And everyone wins.

Good luck!

To get work as a singer and/or jingle singer, a demo is needed.

The first decision is to choose what demo is right for you. This decision is an important one, as it will determine the type of work you receive. The two most common types of singing demos are:

• Jingle Demo: this demo allows you to obtain jingle work (singing commercials), by showing a variety of jingles (bluesy, jazzy, up-tempo, down-tempo, etc.)
• Vocal Demo: this demo allows you to obtain any type of singing work (radio music, live-concert, jingles, singing telegrams, etc.), by showing a variety of singing styles (rock, pop, opera, jingles, jazz, etc.)

Since jingles are only one part of the singing industry, many singers go with vocal demos. This allows them to obtain jingle work as well as other singing type work. But, if you ONLY want jingle work, then having a "jingle only" demo may be more compelling to a casting professional looking to hire a jingle singer.

Either demo should show as much variety as you have (remember - the more variety you show, the more work you can obtain). But make sure to only demonstrate vocal styles that you sing well... as one bad spot on your demo can really "turn off" a casting professional.

The demo should be no longer than 1.5 minutes long - and if possible, even shorter. Therefore if you demonstrate 6 different vocal styles, each excerpt should be roughly 10 seconds long (remember, a producer can tell a lot about someone’s voice in a few seconds, so they don’t need to hear more than that).

Making the demo can be quite simple. You can either sing:

1. a cappella: Inexpensive to produce, yet doesn’t show your interaction with music. Only make this type demo if your singing is very good, as there is no music to "cover up" flaws.

2. with a band: Expensive to make because the recording process is more timely (each musician needs to be recorded at a studio), yet shows interaction with music. Use a band that is very diverse, so that each song sounds entirely different, which allows you to show different styles.

3. with library music: Library music is the music created for the background of radio/TV commercials, films, videos, on-hold telephone messages, etc. We have an extensive selection, and can usually find music to use with lyrics.

4. with sing-a-long music (karaoke): Inexpensive to produce, and shows interaction with music. Its easy to purchase various types of karaoke music, as everything from rock, to gospel, to jazz, to show-music is available. Finding sing-a-long music is easy. A sing-a-long CD generally costs about $10-$20. Only use high quality karaoke companies, such as Music Minus One’s Pocket Songs (800-669-7464). Find many similar companies by searching on the Internet.

5. with custom music: we work closely with musicians who can digitally create music tracks for a vocal demo.

Whichever type of demo you choose, you’ll need a vocal studio to record your voice. Make sure that the producer’s ears are very keen, experienced with singing, and if including jingles on the demo, experienced with the voice over/jingle industry. The studio must also be highly experienced in producing demos - as this talent is very different than producing a standard CD (which you would hear on the radio and buy in a store).

Your last step is to market your demo. We suggest our marketing seminars to learn all the details on this step.

If you also do voice-overs, it is recommended to include your voice-over demo along with your vocal demo when marketing. This way your clients know that you’re capable of both.

We’d be glad to help produce your demo, or evaluate your potential.

Good luck!

Obtaining children’s Audio Book work is simple, once you know the correct steps and contacts.

To begin, ensure that you are well trained, and that your voice over demo demonstrates as many "usable" characters as you can perform well (remember, the more variety you demonstrate, the more likely the chance of getting work).

Then, you’ll need a solid marketing plan. (We suggest our marketing seminars for detailed information on this.)

Then it’s time to find contacts. Here are some ideas:

1. Check out the "audio book publisher" reference guide from "audio file magazine" - www.audiofilemagazine.com. There are numerous contacts there.

2. Contact publishers and inquire if they produce audio books. If they do, mention that you are a voice over artist who focuses on children’s audio books.

3. Find contacts by looking on the back of children’s audio books packaging. (Go to a library or book store and browse through all the packaging.) Often the publishing company will be listed.

4. A healthy attitude is a must. DON’T GIVE UP !! Even pros will tell you how it took them years to "break in".

Start by attending an audio book / marketing workshop (Edge Studio has these) to get a great head start!

Good luck!

Well kids, we made it through another year. The rapture has not happened (yet) and by all accounts we've got at least a little time before the Mayans welcome the birth of the 5th sun. Time to relax and reflect on all things audio. Go ahead and treat yourselves to a vocally soothing chai. It's time to settle in fireside for "Steve's Annual Voice Over Report."

This year in the voice recording industry was an interesting one. We learned many things, some of which I cannot repeat here, some of which I can. Eh, why not? It's always darkest before the dawn.

The Gremlins of 2011 aka Watch Out and Be Wary of the Following:

1. Any file sent to you titled with a nonsensical string of numbers (such as RAF2000032.WAV) This likely means it was either recorded with a USB Mic or a compact flash recorder. Neither of which are kosher to use for a professional, broadcast quality voice over.

2. USB Mics. Let's make 2012 the year of throwing out your USB mic and using something professional for your home studio recordings, mmmkay? First impressions are everything. If someone gets your audio for the first time, and it sounds terrible, they will not forget that. Would you show up to a first date in sweatpants? That's basically what you're doing when you try to pass off your USB mic as a TLM 103.

3. A project that seems extraordinarily complex or lacks details. Ask all the questions, even if they're overly simple. Every question can potentially avoid a problem and show you what type of professional situation you are dealing with. Even if the fault lies with your client...the problem will often reflect back on you. Stop being a slacker. Ask about the file type. Ask about the script. If something is being done incorrectly, switch it up. Brush up on the fine art of Project Management. It will save your sanity.

The Sprites of 2011 aka Stuff That Made the Year Sparkle:

1. Talented Talent. When a terrific VO talent comes in and tears up the booth (in a good way, not like Motley Crue circa 1989 in a hotel room after a show) it's a great experience for all. Talent can make or break a project. We love the fantastic folks who add value to our studio.

2. Dropbox.com is an amazing and valuable service. (Bonus: It's free for up to 2 GB of storage.) When your server goes down, enemy bombs are dropping, and the world is generally punching your data in the face, this is often a very helpful solution to get your files to your client without missing a beat.

3. Pop Filters. Lets all thank an omnipresent yet non denominational being for these things. Life would not exist without them.

And Lastly, Some Fun, Untested Trends We've Seen:

Overall this year, most of the work seems to be corporate related. So if you're planning on occupying Wall Street, you probably won't be occupying the VO booth. Everyone gets into the industry to be the Movie Trailer Guy, but the reality is very different. There is plenty of work out there, it just might not be in the areas people imagined to begin with.

We've learned a lot this year about the differences between male and female talent, the birds and bees of voiceover, if you will. Now we'll preface this paragraph by saying that there are certainly exceptions, but these are trends we noticed this year. Many people come to the VO world after or during other careers, and here's something interesting we have also learned. Women who come from high powered corporate backgrounds, whether it be finance or non profit or whatever, do extremely well in the booth! They're very professional, prepare, and do a fantastic job. Men who come from a somewhat high powered corporate background sometimes have the opposite effect; they tend to not take direction. And the higher up they were, the worse they do in the booth. I'm not making any of that up. Could we do a gender specific study and probably get some sort of grant? I'll bet we could! And I would use that grant money to get a deep fryer for the studio.

Gender roles aside, if I can again state one all encompassing theme of the year for talent, it is this
Don't be a jerk to the people who hire you. And come prepared.

You know how the Movie Phone Guy got to be that guy? Yes, it was a large amount of talent. But many well known voice actors are a pleasure to work with. They're efficient. They practice. They show up on time. They come in prepared. There's a great podcast called "WTF With Marc Maron" and in it he talks to many actors and comedians. In one episode with Amy Poehler, they discuss auditioning for a Cohen Brothers film. The point they make is that some actors (or musicians or voiceover talent or whatever) have this fear of preparing too much, showing that they care a little bit more than they should, and therefore look too eager. While this is certainly a concern, they go on to discuss that the GREATER concern is not preparing enough, showing up and doing a poor job, looking like you don't even care. And I have seen that several times this year. You have to care just a little. Not so much that it ruins the spontaneity of your read, but enough that you don't look like an amateur.

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Keith Richards. Slash, guitar player for Guns N Roses, once said it on Politically Incorrect way back when. Someone was talking about the rock and roll myth of being a reckless drug addict, and he said "You know, Keith Richards never showed up late. He said to me one time "Man, I slept in a chandelier last night, and I'm still here on time!" You probably slept in a nice place, so get here on time for your session, OK?

We've seen an increasing amount of animation work, which we all enjoy doing -- not just in LA, but in NYC, too. Lets hope more of that shows up in the coming year. Also if you get booked on one of these animation projects, you're going to need to remove your serious hat, and put on your ridiculous hat. We can't be having any more uptight people in the booth for fun projects. That's just the rules, please deal with them. Have you seen that Elmo documentary? Look at the dude who does his voice! Look how much fun he has! So for our closing theme of the year, it is this - Have fun in the booth! If you're not enjoying it, neither am I, and I spend a lot more time here than you, so why not make the experience as pleasant as possible? Eh? Eh?

That's all I have for now. We've shared many experiences over this past year. We've laughed, we've cried, we've been victims of heavy handed political correctness, and we've wondered in amazement how people continue to assault their ears with the horrible sounds of U2. But dear reader, these things have only made us stronger.

Well not all of us. Some have left the audio industry altogether for a simpler life of deep sea-giant squid wrangling/covert international spy work.

Written by Lead Engineer Steve Weiss

Here in the world of voice over, we sometimes notice unique trends. Today, I'd like to share with you some actual and 100% true observations I have seen, from the other side of the glass...namely, the difference between men and women and their approach to voice over.

I'm about to get all "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Somewhere Else" on you right here, so listen carefully, before it shoots to the top of Oprah's book club, and we go all NY Times Paywall on this blog. Are you ready? It's about to get real.

Men want to talk, women want to listen.

Now, obviously this is a glaring generalization and this theory excludes the old pro's who are the best in the game; they operate in a class all their own. (We work with a variety of talent, through out a wide range of skill levels. This mainly concerns those folks on the way up up up.) This distinction in skill level is of utmost importance when directing a session.

The old pros, of either gender, will immediately take the direction and metabolize it into gold. Most female talent tend to take the direction, consider it for a bit, then reflect that in the performance. Male talent... like to repeat the direction back to you, take no pause, and go right into whatever they were going to do anyway.

Take that to the therapists couch and smoke it.

Now granted, I am 100% D-U-D-E, so don't confuse this with sexism. It's merely a completely generic sociological voice-over study, conducted over many years of audio production of all sorts. For example, this happens equally when consulting on a home studio build. Females will take notes, run ideas by you, and ask your opinion before they make a purchase. Males tend to tell you what they have done in preparation, tell you what their future plans are, and then in the last minute, ask you to agree or disagree with their intentions or the thousands of dollars of non-refundable equipment they've already bought. (Your declarations may or may not then provoke an argument.)

I've kept records, its true. We can even make a pie chart. Or maybe we should just ask Cathy to make us all a pie and we can sit around with coffee/tea/caffeinated beverage of choice and debate this topic further. She concocted a delicioso Pecan-Apple magic pie for the Production Department last week. It was glorious.

My point is, if you happen to be a guy in the booth, maybe take a page from the neighboring planet, and listen a little more. Consider what the director or engineer is telling you. Give it a moment of contemplation and then voice that interpretation.your limits is one of the most important voice over skills you can possess.

Actors know that the camera adds 10 pounds. Poor souls. In voice over, fortunately, we need not worry about our weight. The expression, "You have a face for radio." comes to mind.

But we still have an image - a marketing image. And your CD demos, business cards, websites, postcards, flyers, invoices, give-away-mouse-pads... must look professional because THEY REPRESENT YOU. Face it: wrong or right, how you "sound" is often assumed by how you "look".

So while you actors need to avoid burgers, it's time for us voice over artists to beef up our image.

So today, we'll take a look at the words that represent you. Next week, we'll discuss graphics, logos, fonts, colors, and themes.

- - - - -

WHO ARE YOU

How weird is this: A voice talent emails their demo to me. They sign their name:
Ann "Joanne" Barone

So what should I call them? If I save them under Ann in my files, they better hope I don't look under Joanne when I need to hire them.

Why WHY must people make me remember two names when one is hard enough????

Businesses use one name. Folks, you ARE a business - we suggest using one name.

- - - - -

HOW TO CONTACT YOU

How weird is this: A voice talent emails their demo to me. They leave their phone number:
422-045-3932
422-589-3856

So which one should I dial? About a third of demos show up with multiple numbers. This is confusing. Businesses use one number. Folks, you ARE a business - we suggest using one number.

Now, some folks provide multiple numbers with a description:
cell 422-045-3932
office 422-589-3856

Actually, I still don't know which one to dial.

If you must have multiple numbers, please clarify (and make it look professional!). For example:
daytime studio: 422-045-3932
evening/weekend/rush jobs: 422-589-3856

I'm reminded of a voice over artist who paid me to evaluate his demo. "I get no work from mailing out my CD!" he said. Before listening to it, I told him why: there was no contact information on it. He blamed his designer. I blamed him. We've seen this quite a few times.

- - - - -

WHAT YOU PROVIDE

Play devil's advocate: You know what "voice over" is... but do your potential customers? If you're marketing to producers, talent agents, and so on, then yes - they know. In this case, be SURE that every piece of branding says "Voice Over Artist" or "Voice Actor" or "Voice Talent" or so on.

But if your potential customers do NOT know what "voice over" is, then they'll toss your marketing material because they assume they have no use for you! (Would you hold onto the business card of a Ranger Expert?) In this case, define what you do. For example, write, "I provide Spoken Word Narrations for Corporate Training Videos, Telephone Recordings, Tradeshow Exhibits, and Commercials.

- - - - -

INDUSTRY STANDARD TERMINOLOGY

While we're at it, let me expand upon the above: Use words that your potential customers will understand. For example, when marketing to a corporation that hires voice over artists to narrate telephony scripts, don't call it "telephony" because they don't know that word. Call it what they call it. Say, "I provide Narration for Telephone Recordings, such as Message-On-Hold, Voice Mail Systems, Voice Recognition Systems, and other Telephone systems.

- - - - -

DEMOS

Once again, a sore topic comes up: naming MP3 demos. The vast majority of demos we receive are named in such a way that YOU LOSE WORK, and make it more difficult for us casting professionals! Grrrrr.... Someone emailed me two demos - like this:
demo A
demo B

Someone else sent:
01 commercial final
01 commercial revised

Someone else sent:
comp B.Johnson

And someone else sent:
D.G.Harding promo
Harding audio
DGHarding - audiobook mp3.mp3

Oy!

Unless someone's demos are written something clear like this:
Barry Johnson - commercial voice over demo
Barry Johnson - promo voice over demo

Downloading them into our files is meaningless.

CONSIDER HOW casting professionals will search through THEIR files for YOUR demo:
They will probably look under your first name, so let your file name begin with "Joe Shmoe".
They will NOT understand abbreviations such as "adbk" for "audiobook".
They will NOT know the difference between "commercial radio" and "commercials".
There is usually NO reason to include word like "revised" or "version 2" in your file name.

- - - - -

CONSISTENCY

All too often, voice-talent's marketing materials provide contradicting information. For example, their business card lists a different email address than their CD demo. Or their CD says "voice over talent" while their resume says "Voice Actor". Or their give-away-pencils says "radio commercials" while their letterhead says, "commercials."

We strongly encourage you to be consistent. Inconsistent messages confuse your potential customers - and that means they're less likely to hire you.

- - - - -

AGENT?

Can you only be hired by your agent? Then only put your agent's contact information on your marketing materials!!!! Why? Because putting your own information as well a) it makes you look like you're willing to work behind your agent's back and b) can tempt casting professionals to call you so that they avoid your agent's "middle man" charge (which, by the way, is justified).

- - - - -

* * * UNION STATUS

Why do SO many voice talent waste my time? I can NOT predict if you're union or not. Please, tell me, so if I'm hiring union talent, I know who to call and when I'm not, I know who to call.

- - - - -

LOCATION

And please tell me where you reside! 99% of folks who market their demos do NOT say this. So every time one of our clients wants to record at our location, we need to call the talent and ask. This is time-consuming.

- - - - -

INVOICES

Some folks send us invoices like this:
Amount due: $350
Joe Shmoe

Not very helpful. In fact this sort of email causes extra work on our end, and makes us less likely to hire you again. Consider being professional and send this:

INVOICE for Voice Over work
JOB: voice over for Acme Training Video
JOB DATE: June 24, 2009
AMOUNT DUE: $350
Please make check payable to: Joe Shmoe
Please mail check to: Joe Shmoe
Street Address
City, State, Zip

Question? Just ask.
Need revisions? I offer special low rates.

Who cares what you look like... only your voice is important. Right?

WRONG!!!!!

You see, your "look" IS important, because it represents you: professional voice talent. So your logos, business cards, websites, postcards, flyers, invoices, give-away-mouse-pads... should look professional too.

As stated in last week's article (part 1 of this article), casting agents often choose which demos to listen to (which voice talent to hire) by the look of your marketing materials. So just like you take time formatting your resume and combing your hair before going to the recording studio, take time to ensure a professional "look".

IMPORTANT - we need to define "professional look". This is ANY "look" that appropriately represents you and your vocal delivery.

A "professional look" is important for two reasons:

(1) A professional look graphically HELPS CASTING AGENTS know what you sound like. This is extremely important when they're searching for the right voice... as they scan their CDs, for example, they may see a demo that looks like it may contain the kind of voice they're searching for.

(2) A professional look makes you appear professional. Obviously, casting agents will be MUCH LESS LIKELY to hire you if you look unprofessional.

So today, we'll take a look at the graphics that represent you.

- - - - -

SEEN IT A FEW TOO MANY TIMES

LOGO: Every time Microsoft releases new clip-art, we get umpteen business cards with the same new microphone. Do this, and your branding looks like the next guy's. "Hmmmm" is right.

(Imagine if Burger King, McDonalds, and Wendys all had the same logo. Weird.)

Suggestion: Don't take the easy way out. Your logo represents you - personalize it. More on this below.

- - - - -

WAS THIS LAID-OUT BY A CHILD?

FORMATTING: Would you let a child design the lay-out your resume? Unless they're some sort of prodigy, they shouldn't lay-out your marketing materials either.

Formatting is the placement of information. That is, where your name goes, where your contact information goes, and so on.

Formatting is also the lay-out of information. That is, are all the lines aligned correctly? Are the font sizes consistent? Do the bullets match? And so on.

Sloppy formatting usually translates into LESS WORK for you. Professionally and appropriately formatted marketing materials usually translates into MORE WORK.

Here's proof: After we review a voice talent's marketing materials for formatting, they usually get a LOT more work right after implementing our suggestions. What secret formula do we use? Experience. That is, we look at it from the vantage point of a casting professional and know what they would need to see to hire that person.

Suggestion: Formatting matters! Spend time on this. Show it to sharp-eyed friends - request honest feedback.

- - - - -

WELL THAT'S A FINE "HOW DO YOU DO"

COLORS & SHAPES: Some marketing materials use bright, vivid colors which grab our attention! Some use cool color palettes that draw us in. Some use circles everywhere which are very catchy. There are unlimited color & shape schemes - and many of them work... BUT SOME DON'T.

We see our fair share of marketing materials where we can't even read the words because the bright orange font color sits on top of a bright red background. Ouch! We see logos which make the person look like a plumber. We see postcards which we think are junk mail because the image looks like a coupon-mailer.

Suggestion: Consider the "message" that your color & shape scheme carry. If they carry the wrong message and/or if they hide your message, try a new color & shape scheme. Show your design to strangers and ask them if they can figure out what you do within 5 seconds.

- - - - -

WHERE HAS YOUR DEMO GONE? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

DEMO LINK: It happens much too often: A voice talent sends me a link to hear their demo on their website, but I can't find their demo on their website.

Folks, the number one reason why casting agents visit your site is to hear your demo.

Suggestion: Put a link to your demo in as obvious a place as possible to ensure that website visitors see it. Better suggestion: put the link on every page of your website.

- - - - -

NICE PERFORATION :)

BUSINESS CARDS: There's nothing like home-printed business cards on cheap paper, pulled apart, with perforations showing. Boy they look professional.

Come on folks... you KNOW that they don't look professional... so why use them?

Suggestion: For a few bucks more, buy better paper, better ink, and a better printer. Or better yet, pay a printing house to print them. NOTE: there are some printing shops which print free business cards (find them through Google) - but some print on lesser quality paper and/or print smaller-than standard size business cards which look less substantial.

- - - - -

IS THAT WHAT YOU SOUND LIKE?

PHOTOS: How adorable, that nice kitten sleeping on the puppy. With a photo of that on your CD, I assume your voice is warm-toned and joyful. SO WHEN I NEED A MESSAGE-DRIVEN CORPORATE VOICE, I'll know not to listen to your demo.

No? They're just your pets? You put them on your CD because they bring you good luck?

Get the point?

SUGGESTION: If you choose to have a photo on your demo, MAKE SURE IT MATCHES YOUR VOICE AND DELIVERY. Casting agents do EXACTLY WHAT YOU DO... consciously or unconsciously, they choose vendors based on their image. There are a few exceptions, such as if you provide on-camera work as well.

(Uncomfortably, I'll admit this in public to make the point.): When interning at a voice over studio after college, my first big casting job was a national Revlon TV commercial. The client wanted a sexy female voice. Determined to do a great job, I reviewed a LOT of demos. The woman I chose sounded VERY sexy. But when she arrived at the studio... not so sexy. It OCCURRED to me that had she put her photo on her demo, I would NOT have even reviewed her demo. WRONG OR RIGHT, people stereotype.

Likewise, a friend of mine looks Chinese but is (and sounds) American. I've told him NOT to use a headshot on his marketing materials because when searching for an American voice talent, people will see a Chinese guy and assume his mother tongue is Chinese.

- - - - -

THE FINE PRINT

FONT: You want to emphasize certain words in your marketing materials. You make them large. But huge fonts can sometimes work against you (as they tend to look less professional).

Or to the contrary, sometimes you can't fit everything in, so you shrink the font. So much so that no one can read your literature.

Suggestion: Find marketing materials that you like, and compare your font size to theirs.

- - - - -

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, CARRY ON . . . .

CONSISTENCY: Red, white, and blue may match. But when each color is separated on a different marketing material, YOU LOSE WORK.

Suggestion: If your "look" is red talking bubbles, then use red talking bubbles on every piece of marketing material... INCLUDING the side (spine) of your CD cases.

Here is why: By using the same marketing message (red bubbles), clients are continually REMINDED OF YOU. If you use different marketing messages, (even green bubbles or red squares), clients will NOT be reminded of you. And studies PROVE that clients need to see you (your name and/or your "look") four or more times before hiring you. So being consistent can really pay off!

An outsider would think it's easy: (1) One of our (more than 1,000) production clients calls. (2) They send us their script and we suggest an appropriate voice talent. (3) We have our client approve that voice talent. And then (4), we hire that voice talent.

Simple, you think? Wrong. Let's suppose we suggest Bob the Talent. But. . .

1. We call, email, or visit Bob's website, but don't get through.

PROBLEM: Bob forgot to update us when he moved or got a new cell phone. We're often in a hurry when we cast -- so rather than spend more time searching for talent #1, we just jump to talent #2.

FIX: Email everyone with changes to your contact information! Request a confirmation or read-receipt. Didn't receive the confirmation? Email again. And please don't send the unfortunately all too common, "Hi, I've updated my email. Please change it to the address that I'm emailing from now. Thanks." Don't make potential clients work -- include your name, and both your old email address and your new one for easy reference!

2. We send our client to Bob's website to approve his demo, but they can't hear it.

PROBLEM: It's not clear that the user needs to click from Bob's "home page" to his "about me page" to his "audio sample page" to hear his demo. To boot, calling them "audio samples" or "recorded excerpts" or anything other than "demos" makes it even more challenging for Bob's potential customers to find them.

FIX: Since clients usually go to your site only to hear your demos, make them the first thing they find. In other words, put your demos at the top of your home page. Not possible? Then put them just one click away from your homepage. And call that link "demos."

3. We can't find Bob's demo among our computer files.

PROBLEM: Bob, along with about 99% of other voice talent's demos that we receive, names his demo with a generic name, such as "demo", "com demo", "final demo mix", or "Roberts demo".

FIX: Think about it -- if you wanted to find Bob's demo, what would you look under? "Robert"? No. "Demo"? No. "Final mix demo"? No. "Bob"? Yes. Name your demo file with your first and last name, then the genre of demo it is, and then "voice over" (rather than engineering, directing, editing, copywriting,...). For example, "Bob_Smith_Commercial_Voice_Over_Demo.mp3".

4. We email Bob but never reach him.

PROBLEM: Bob uses an email blocker, which requires someone sending Bob an email for the first-time to reply to a confirmation email (to verify that they're not spamming Bob). But because many people don't like completing auto-replies, it also prevents Bob from getting hired.

FIX: Accept all emails and, if you use a spam filter, regularly review your blocked emails to check for possible clients. Then, going forward, add good email addresses to your "approved senders" list.

5. We call Bob but cannot get through.

PROBLEM: Bob uses a phone blocker, which requires first time callers to confirm who they are. Many people find this annoying and hang up. You've probably heard them: "The person you are dialing requests that you speak your name and reason for calling. After we contact this individual, they will chose to answer your call or not." A close second is a blocked-caller-ID blocker. If the caller's phone service does not transmit their phone number, they have to hang up, press *82 (if they know that) and redial. How many prospects will do that?

FIX: Make it as simple as possible for potential clients to reach you. Don't use phone blockers.

6. We call Bob but choose not to leave a message.

PROBLEM: Someone else answers Bob's phone (someone unprofessional and/or someone who does not take a professional message). Or Bob has an unprofessional/goofy voice mail (which is a turn-off). Or Bob uses the generic voice mail that came with his phone and it's therefore impossible to know if you are reaching Bob's voice mail.

FIX: This industry is about your voice. The first thing your client hears should be your professional voice, saying your name (Hi, this is Bob the Talent. Please...etc.). If someone else must answer your call, make sure they are professional, take a clear, complete message, read it back to the caller, and deliver it to you promptly.

A producer's day is hectic enough without having to work just hire you. Be smart -- make it a no-brainer for them.

A computerized fishing rod is excited to hit the water. But instead, the hungry man waddles through the water, endlessly trying to catch a fish in his net. "Why not use the rod?" you ask. "Never learned how." "Hmmm... catch anything?" "No."

It's amazing how many voice talent never learn effective eMarketing. Instead, they do it the "old fashioned way." THERE IS A TIME for the old-fashioned way. But sometimes eMarketing is much more effective.

Wanna catch the big fish?

Then swim with the big fish. Some thoughts on eMarketing:

eMarketing does NOT simply mean emailing an MP3!!

Definition

• Client management, client communication, and marketing accomplished via the Internet

Examples

• Emailing MP3s
• Marketing via websites
• Creating marketing lists using the Internet
• Marketing internationally
• Partnering with other distant talent
• Auditioning via Internet sites, such as Voices.com
• Developing a "niche" that is only effective if marketed online

Pros

• Virtually free - no CDs, envelopes, stamps,...
• Fast - use email
• Green - no plastic or paper waste
• Increased territory - create and market to folks anywhere
• Language benefit - market English to non-English speaking countries
• Branding - brand yourself with a certain style or type of voice over
• Opportunities - work with Internet sites, such as Voices.com
• Marketing - ability to be found on search engines and directories

Cons

• Little or no face-to-face communication. (But then again, this is the industry that says, "You have a face for radio.")
• Nothing tangible to hand someone in real life. (FOR THIS REASON, WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO STILL USE CDs.)

Folks, off-line marketing has some major advantages as well, such as face-to-face time with prospective customers, tangible CD demos, hand-written thank you notes, and so on.

Depending on your branding, your niche(s), and your technical expertise, you must determine the most effective blend of off-line and on-line marketing. What is right for fisherman #1 is NOT necessarily right for fisherman #2. Likewise what is right for you is NOT necessarily right for your peers. Or, as this story ends, your piers.

Hope this helps.

It's easy to become complacent once work is coming in. You stop shifting your gears and lose business to competitors.

The markets for voice over, and the business itself, are always changing. Even the successful professional needs an ongoing business plan that's up-to-date.

So you should continually develop your performance capabilities, explore new genres and geographic opportunities, understand new technologies and rate structures, and adjust to changes in your own life. (Has your schedule changed as the kids grow older? Do you want to go back to school? Could you work from home? Did they just build a firehouse next door?)

But just like any national brand in the marketplace, you should never stop improving.

Here are 10 checkups for your business plan -- we suggest doing this every 3-months:

1) Evaluate the work you've been getting. Should you seek more of the same, or should you expand into other genres?

2) Are you booked solid but some of your clients cost you more time than they're worth, or are impairing your performance? You may want to politely let those clients go, freeing you to acquire better ones.

3) Could you obtain more work from your existing clients? If so:

* Keep them updated on your other recent voice over work.
* Make sure they know the full range of your capabilities.
* Can you add new capabilities that would be valuable to them, such as writing, proofreading or production?
* Ask them to refer you to new clients.

4) What industries are different, but with similar needs? Can you market to them?

5) What industries are similar to those you have been serving? Can you market to them?

6) If you've been traveling to studios, consider ways to work remotely. Whether from home or from a studio, this will enable you to serve a much wider geographic area.

7) To gain similar new clients, evaluate, update and re-implement the successful elements of your previous campaign.

8) If entering a new genre, revisit your Marketing Plan and develop a campaign for your new target.

9) What are successful competitors doing? Evaluate their marketing techniques.

10) Have you kept up with new technologies that will help you work more easily, improve your product, enlarge your capabilities, stay ahead of clients' evolving needs, and/or help you serve your customers better and more efficiently?

If you move, your goal is to keep your clients. This can be accomplished in a few steps:

First, change your telephone number to a cell phone number - one that you can take with you anywhere you live.

Then send emails and postcards with this updated contact information. Be sure to forward your previous number to your new cell phone for at least one year... just in case a client contacts you in the future.

Then, strike a deal with a professional voice over studio in your new location. Tell them you are new to the area, need a studio for your existing clients, and need to be able to "remotely" service your clients from your previous location. This means you will require a studio that has ISDN and/or a telephone-patch (tools that let clients participate in the recording session via telephone). This way your clients can continue using you. Note - if you have already been recording your client’s scripts from your home-studio, this is not necessary.

Good luck!

Most voice over artists think about themselves when promoting their services. But to motivate a prospective client to hire you, think about them. Here's how and why...

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THE SERVICES YOU PROVIDE

Wrong: At Edge Studio, 99% of the resumes we receive say, "I am a voice over artist" or "I am a voice actor" or "I speak Spanish" or "I speak medical" and so on.

Right: What needs to be communicated is the benefit you provide. In other words, explain WHAT THE CASTING DIRECTOR WILL GET BY HIRING YOU. For example, how about beginning your resume with this:

"I'm a Corporate narrator who helps large and small businesses sound more professional by enhancing their voicemail, training video soundtracks, and commercials with high-quality narration."

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TRAINING VS. EXPERIENCE

When someone leaves Edge Studio with their new demo, often they ask, "What happens if a client asks what I've done? -- I'm brand new!" We always tell them to be honest. BUT BEING HONEST DOESN'T MEAN SAYING, "I'm brand new."

If you've graduated from our curriculum, you're no longer a beginner. Don't leave the wrong impression. You have more than training. You have experience.

How does this sound:

"I'm glad you asked about my voice over experience:

I've worked with four industry experts who are associated with New York's Edge Studio, privately and in group workshops. I have taken courses to learn the business side of voice over, and vocal training workshops to learn the performance side.

My demo consists of "real takes" (not multiple takes edited together), so it's a true, real-world demonstration of what I provide.

Although the demo contains short clips (the standard practice for demos), I can also provide long-form narration, having practiced this extensively and being in good vocal shape.

I have performed in a number of realistic practice auditions at Edge Studio, have worked in front of large groups, am comfortable at the microphone and work efficiently in the booth.

After establishing my home studio, I took multiple courses on editing and studio operation, and had Edge Studio's chief engineer review and approve my home studio quality.

That's why I'm pleased to have anyone ask how can I help their business sound better."

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HOME STUDIO

Speaking of home studios, these days having one is not so distinctive. Just about every voice over artist has one. But it's easy for your studio to grab your prospect's attention, simply by discussing how your studio can help them.

Wrong: Almost every voice over artist lists their equipment on their website. But realize that most prospects haven't a clue what Model XJ6 is.

Right: Tell your prospect how your Model XJ6 can help them. For example:

"A respected audio-engineer helped me choose the high-fidelity XJ6 microphone, as it nicely captures the clarity of my voice, ensuring that your recordings sound clear."

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SPECIAL BENEFITS

Look around your home. Look in the mirror. Consider everything you can do. THEN CONSIDER HOW these things can help your prospect... and tell them!

Out of work? Then you offer "Fast turn-around times on voice over projects!"

Your friend is an editor? Then you offer "One-stop shop: editing services available, and can be discounted by 25% when you want both editing and voice over!"

Have extra hard drives sitting around? Then you promote "Backups of all recordings saved for one year!"

Neighbors moved away? Then you promote "Extra sound-proofed studio results in cleaner recordings!"

Want to partner with Edge Studio? Then you promote "Can provide music, sound effects, translation, ISDN, and dubbing. Just ask!"

And so on.

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THINK YOUR COVER LETTER IS READY?

Here's an exercise for you: Don't just read your finished cover letter on your computer monitor. Print it out. Pretend you're a casting director. What would attract you to that sheet of paper? What would impress you better than your old cover letter did? Is there information on your cover letter that would make a casting director take extra note of you? Is the information compelling enough to keep you "top of mind" with the casting director?

Does each sentence in your cover letter show how you help your prospect?

Would reading your cover letter motivate your prospect to listen to your demo?

Think how else you could help your prospect and add it to your cover letter.

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HOW SHOULD WE END THIS ARTICLE?

Wrong: Edge Studio has marketing consultants on staff.

Right: Learn how to get more voice over clients. Ask one of Edge Studio's marketing consultants to tell you how!

Business plans are critical in helping you grow and operate your voice over business. Yet many voice over artists forget more than just that. Here are 10 critical business practices that most talent forget. Which of these have you overlooked?

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1. DON'T BECOME COMPLACENT.

PROBLEM:

It's very easy to become complacent once you have clients coming in. You forget what it took to get there. You're up to speed, even accelerating, so you stop working your gears. BUT EVENTUALLY you start losing ground to competitors.

There's an old saying among our ad agency clients: Just because the train is rolling, don't disconnect the engine.

EXAMPLE:

Suppose you narrate an educational video for a particular client every week. But then suddenly they stop calling you. What happened? The client went with one of your competitors, because they offered to deliver the recording to the client using the latest technology. Unfortunately, you never mentioned to your clients that you provide this technology, so they assumed you couldn't.

SOLUTION:

Test the waters. Feel the air. Know where you are. Learn where your competitors are. And stay in the lead.

Consider a big, profitable hamburger chain -- even with millions of customers coming in every day, they're still testing new products, trying to make things better, working to improve pricing, methods, variety, quality, presentation, decor, service, signage, advertising, even make their logo better.

As a small business owner, you should do the same.

Work the gears continually. Once you get set in your ways, a new generation of voice talent will be grabbing at your clients.

- - - - -

2. DON'T MAKE SNAP DECISIONS.

PROBLEM:

As a small business owner, it is too easy to change course in a minute.

EXAMPLE:

Suppose you suddenly think of a new slogan, "Words That Speak Out!" Overnight, you begin a major promotion, you add the slogan to your emails. You put it on your website. Great. You turned on a dime. BUT YOU DID all of this without testing.

You didn't think your new slogan through. It turns out, now people are mistaking you for a copywriter, a poet, calligrapher, sign maker, ad agency, or marketing company. Worse, now you have to correct those mistaken impressions.

SOLUTION:

The big folks find it worthwhile to spend millions of dollars for testing. Shouldn't you spend at least a few days of thought and asking around?

Big companies assess everything they do. And by the time they run focus groups, market tests, statistical analyses, etc., even a small change can take 6 months to implement. The stakes are too high for them to risk everything on an untested whim.

But you can do this in a day or two!

Where your income and image are concerned, how high are the stakes to you?

Think it through.

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3. SEND OUT A SURVEY. CORRECTLY.

PROBLEM:

You never find out why some customers keep hiring you, and why some stop!

Over the years, Edge Studio has cast more than 16,000 voice jobs, and of those, the number of people who have asked me how they did, I can count on my hands.

EXAMPLE:

Take, for example, the plumber I recently hired. At the end of the job, he asked "How'd I do?" and gave me reason to think he would use that information to improve his performance and grow his business. That guy definitely gained my respect.

SOLUTION:

Run a survey, but do it correctly: The right way is to determine what kind of information you want, then design the survey to generate that kind of data.

For example, don't ask "Did you like my service?" Rather than embarrass themselves by telling you truly, people will just ignore the survey or give a useless polite answer -- and then won't hire you again. Instead, ask a specific question such as, "What is the one thing I could do differently that you would appreciate?"

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4. ASK FOR TESTIMONIALS.

A set of testimonials goes a very, very long way: It builds your prospects' confidence. Testimonials say things that may be awkward to say about yourself. And when your prospective client is still in the tire-kicking stage, testimonials speak on your behalf without costing anyone extra time.

Use testimonials on your website, in your mailings, wherever space affords. And even if you don't have a website or some other way to use testimonials now, eventually you will. Then you'll be glad you thought ahead.

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5. ASK FOR A REFERENCE.

As powerful as a testimonial is, a reference is even stronger. Just reserve them for prospects who are otherwise "ready to buy," so the people giving you references won't be overburdened. Whenever possible, forewarn your reference as to who will be contacting them and why, including any particular area of concern.

- - - - -

6. ASK A CLIENT FOR A REFERRAL.

It's the easiest and fastest way to get the most work with virtually no marketing effort.

Do it at the time of invoicing, assuming the job went well.

- - - - -

7. BE PROFESSIONAL.

Be courteous, be prompt, send a thank-you after your session, dress appropriately, do everything that signals you're a pro.

- - - - -

8. SPEAK ABOUT YOURSELF CORRECTLY.

When asked what you do, don't say, "I'm a voice-over artist," because most people don't know what that means, and the few that do will probably think it means commercials. Instead say, "I help businesses sound better, by providing them with wonderful sound tracks for their voice mail and training videos so they sound more professional." Tailor this "elevator pitch" precisely to your special strengths.

- - - - -

9. CONSIDER YOUR PROSPECT'S VIEW.

Always keep in mind what a potential client has to go through prior to hiring you. They have to research you and your competitors. They need reason to trust you. And they need to see value in the services you provide. They'll probably want to speak with others who have used you.

To you, the prospect may seem overly cautious, but they have good reason for doing so. And if they haven't done enough homework, covering these bases with them may produce a stronger relationship in the end.

- - - - -

10. WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN.

Like most small businesses, the vast majority of voice over talent overlook this. They focus only on their voice, and forget to focus also on their business.

Make it official. The couple hours it takes to write a simple business plan will make a big difference in obtaining the kind of work you want, the money you want, even the lifestyle you want. For example, do you prefer to work form home, or to work from audition houses?

Revisit your business plan every 3 months, read it and revise as necessary, even if things are going great.

Resource Box:

Edge Studio specializes in production of voice recordings and voice over training of new and established voice actors, narrators and other spoken-word performers. Edge Studio facilities have produced or recorded more than 13,000 voice over projects, spanning all genres. Call 212-868-edge for more information.

A voice-actor called and said, "Go to www.MarksVoiceToYou.com."
... So I went to: www.MarcsVoiceToYou.com but nothing came up.
... So I tried: www.MarksVoice2U.com but nothing came up.
... So I gave up.

The level of your voice over success can be partly attributed to your website address (URL).  Sound strange?  Think about it: If a prospective client cannot get to your website, you'll likely lose that client!

Following are 8 common mistakes that, when fixed, will SEND MORE CASTING PROFESSIONALS TO YOUR SITE!  And following that are 6 STEPS TO CHOOSE A URL.

8 MISTAKES WITH YOUR WEBSITE ADDRESS

(1) Ambiguous character mistakes:

Your business card says your website is "www.lOvoice.com".
The problem is that the first two characters appear to spell "ten", when in actuality they are a lowercase "L" and capital "oh".

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(2) Alternate Spelling mistakes:

Tell someone your website is "www.VoiceOverForYou.com",
and they may visit "www.VoiceOver4U.com"

Or if your website is "www.JayDoesVoice.com"
people will probably visit "www.JDoesVoice.com"

Or if you're trying to be clever and have "www.KidzTrax.com"
people will probably visit "www.KidsTracks.com"

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(3) Memory mistakes:

You want casting agents to remember your URL.

So you get "www.VoiceOverForYou.com",
but they may remember "www.VoiceOversForYou.com" (with an "s" in "Overs").

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(4) CAPITAL/lowercase mistakes:

Which is easier to read: "www.christieinthebooth.com"
or "www.ChristieInTheBooth.com"?

- - - - -

(5) Extension mistakes:

If your website ends with ".org", studies indicate that people still go to ".com"
So buy numerous extensions.

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(6) Comfort mistakes:

Want a prospective client to know you're a professional?

Then spend the extra $10 for "www.FranksVoice.com"
rather than "www.CableCompany.FreeWebsite.com/FranksVoice".

Likewise, process your email through your website, so it is "Frank@FranksVoice.com"
rather than "FranksVoice@gmail".

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(7) Hidden mistakes:

Is there another way to read your website?

For example, "www.genitaliavoices.com" (GenItaliaVoices).
Or "www.voicesexchange.com" (VoicesExchange).
Or "www.penisland.com" (PenIsland)

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(8) Similar-sounding character mistakes:

You've heard people clarify letters by saying, "That's F as in Frank".
Well if your website has unclear letters in it, like "www.FMSB.com" be prepared to do the same.

For example,
say, "That's FMSB as in Frank's Microphones Sound Beautiful", otherwise they'll visit "www.SNFP.com".

• STEP 1) Find 10 URLs which are appropriate (as mentioned above) and available (visit a domain seller, such as www.GoDaddy.com, and use their on-line tester).
• STEP 2) Show these 10 URLs to 10 people (who will be candid with you). Ask them to quickly read each URL out loud. Cross out any URLs that 2 or more people mis-read.
• STEP 3) Speak the remaining URLs to another 10 people. Ask them to write out each URL on a piece of paper after you say it. Cross out any URLs that 2 or more people misspell.
• STEP 4) Speak all remaining URLs to another 10 people. Ask them which one(s) they remember. THE URLs THAT MOST PEOPLE REMEMBER SHOULD BE YOUR URL.
• STEP 5) Tell 10 people your new URL and ask them to tell you every way it could be misspelled, changed, misheard, or remembered incorrectly. THEN PURCHASE ANY OR ALL OF THOSE VARIATIONS.
• STEP 6) Lastly, purchase the most common extensions (".com", . "org", and so on) for, at minimum, your real URL and preferably for the variations as well. Remember: website addresses only cost around $10, so if one more client can find you, the extra expense is well worthwhile.

WANT HELP? Buy a private consultation,
take our marketing seminar, and so on...

Do what you can to ensure a marketable, professional URL.

It's simple to quickly grow your voice over business.Here are 8 ways:

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BUSINESS PLAN

Spend 1 hour writing a Business Plan. Why? Because you are a business, and you need to run your business like a business, and any good business has a business plan.

Writing a business plan will help you succeed by helping you organize your goals and figuring out the steps you need to take to get there.

To write your business plan, write out your goals and work backwards. For example, you may say, "I want to be a $200/hour voice over artist, getting at least 15 hours of voice over work each week". Then determine the steps to get there. Think about a role model in the industry and determine the steps they may have taken to get there.

Look at sample business plans on-line. Talk to a business-friend. THINK ABOUT THIS from your customer's perspective. Don't run your voice over business blindfolded.

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TIME-LINE

Spend 30-minutes creating a Time-Line of career goals. Include marketing goals, customer goals, revenue goals, and so on.

It's important to know that IF you fall behind your time-line, the likelihood of ever catching up is SLIM. So a) add numerous small steps to your Time-Line, rather than adding a few huge steps this way each goal on your Time-Line will feel realistically attainable. And b) assume things will take 50% longer than you think they will, and base your Time-Line on this.

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MARKETING

Spend $96 each month getting lots more work!

Hire an intern or a student at a local university, or someone from the local classifieds. Write out the things you SHOULD be doing, and pay them $12/hour to do them. $96/month gets you 2 hours each week. Because you're paying them, you'll be forced to tell them what to do. In other words, you WILL move forward. Let them create marketing lists for you, seal envelopes, and so on.

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PRACTICE

Spend 30-minutes every other day practicing. And spend 1-hour each week practicing a new genre.

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FOLLOW UP

Spend 15-minutes every other day sending out a follow-up email to someone who you should have followed-up with already. Then spend 15-minutes on the other days marketing to a new prospect.

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AUDITION RECORDINGS

Spend about $100 to confirm and/or enhance the quality of your home studio. While obviously crucial for paid jobs and demos, this is also IMPERATIVE for audition recordings, because more and more often, the person who selects the voice often does NOT know how to distinguish between poor studio quality and poor vocal performance.

-----

YOUR DEMO

Spend $200 to improve your demo. You've spent all of this time and effort growing your career don't let your demo be the one thing holding you back from getting more.

Re-record that one segment on your demo that concerns you. Add one segment that showcases a new style. Add one new sounding segment so your demo sounds current.

After reading many, MANY cover letters (mail and email), we've seen it all. And then some. The following will make a BIG difference when you write to a prospective customer. Call with questions: 212-868-3343.

- - - - -

1. To whom it may concern,

When you receive email addressed to "Dear Sir" or "To whom it may concern", don't you delete it? So do casting directors. You may think you're SAVING time by avoiding the 4 minutes it takes to get a contact's name.... but in actuality, you are WASTING time because a large percentage of recipients will probably never open your email to begin with! Beginning with a name greatly increases the likelihood of your email being read! So look on the company website, do a Google search, even call the company,.... do what you must to get the recipient's name!!! And begin your letters with "Hi Frank," or "Dear Mary",...

- - - - -

2. I know you're busy,

Really? How do you know that? Many voice actors who email us write this in their letter. For example, they write, "I know you are busy so I appreciate you listening to my demo." This is no way to begin your email. Instead, I encourage you to begin with something that will catch the attention of the recipient. Perhaps, "Ever need a French voice talent with a home studio?" or "Sure times are tough, so I'm offering voice over at half price!" or "Your company looks terrific - especially the fact that you donate services. I'm willing to donate my voice over services with you."

- - - - -

3. Would you mind if,

One way to show that you LACK confidence is to say, "Would you mind if" or "If you have time" or "Maybe you could" or "I was wondering if". I suggest that you sound confident. For example, "My demo speaks (no pun) for itself" or "Most of my customers become repeat customers" or "They say I take direction really quickly."

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4. Here's my demo.

Let me guess. You're a copywriter? No? Okay, a director? No? Then what are you? Here's the scoop: YOU KNOW who you are, but THEY DO NOT! So be clear. Say, "I'm a voice over artist." or "I provide narrations for..." or "Attached is my voice over demo."

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5. I do voice overs.

First of all, you don't "do" voice overs. Rather you "Provide commercial and/or narration voice over services" or you "Help businesses increase their bottom line by including free editing with voice over recordings."

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6. If you find I'm right for something, I hope you'll call.

That's nice :( How about give me a reason to call. Try "I provide voice over for corporate presentations, training videos, and online tutorials." Or maybe "Quick turn-around, with excellent quality, and a friendly smile :)".

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7. Sorry, this time my demo is attached.

Please - take a moment before hitting "send" to avoid this.

- - - - -

8. Typos

Wel nuthing maekes u les profesional then tipos. Enugh sayd.

- - - - -

9. Abb.

What does "abb" mean? Oh, its the abbreviation for "abbreviation". Didn't know that? Not everyone does. In fact, not everyone is as abbreviation-hip as you are. So my suggestion is to avoid them. Remember, your email may get forwarded to business people who live in corporate world, and are used to formal, business-like letters. In other words, no more, "R u in need of VOs? My com demo is attchd. T."

- - - - -

10. I, I, I, I, and I

Here's a typical email we receive: "Hi, I do voice overs. I do commercial and narrations. I have a home studio. I have excellent quality and I was trained by........" Notice that every sentence begins with "I". So here's the important question: when marketing, do you want to intrigue yourself or your potential customer? Assuming the latter, compose your email so that it benefits them. This means no "I"s. Instead write "You"s. For example, instead of, "I do medical voice over." say, "Next time your client needs a medical script narrated, calling me will make you look terrific!"

- - - - -

11. Born in........... then I moved to.......... Next I............ And today I...........

Really, the question is, who cares. Want proof? Do you ever want to read someone else's life story? No? Suggestion: keep it brief. Very brief. Try this, "After extensive training and some solid experience in Montauk, this voice over guy is expanding into your territory!"

- - - - -

12. I had to take my Mom to the hospital

Who cares. Or "It was my daughter's birthday yesterday." Again, who cares! 27 million people were taken to the hospital yesterday. 114 million people had birthdays. Putting personal information like this just makes the recipient feel like they need to remark... but why should they when they don't even know you?. Regardless, if you only have a potential customer's attention for 1 minute, use it to PROMOTE yourself, NOT to chit chat.

- - - - -

13.

Exactly. Nothing tells me nothing about you. I STRONGLY encourage you to NOT send a blank email with a demo attached.

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14. I look forward to hearing from you.

Huh? Are you kidding me? The next step is STILL yours. The fact is, you need to get in front of your potential customer four times before they'll remember you. Try this instead, "I'll contact you in a week" or "Next week you'll see another email from me... this one with a special offer."

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15. Peace

Unless you know that the recipient will appreciate "peace", or "See ya", or "Later", be professional. On that note, Hasta La Vista Baby. Just kidding. Thanks - we hope this article helps you get more work!

If you need help with your copy, feel welcome to contact us - we offer consultations that help you gain additional work.

HAVE QUESTIONS?

Ask our office for a consultation - call 212-868-edge

Why do so many voice talent tell me they wish they had more work?

Change that. Why do so many voice talent market the BORING way?

LET'S COMPARE BORING MARKETING and CREATIVE MARKETING:

BORING MARKETING

...is easy: Just email an MP3 and hope.

CREATIVE MARKETING

...is easy
...is more fun
...gets more customers

Ready? Here are 13 ways to MARKET CREATIVELY:

• MAKE A PRESENTATION to a local group of adults such as the YMCA, the PTA,... and talk briefly about what voice over is and the services you provide
• HAVE A LOCAL NEWSPAPER write a story on your voice over business
• DONATE YOUR SERVICES to non-profit groups
• OFFER A FREE VOICE OVER JOB to casting professionals, audio studios, film production companies, on-hold companies,...
• TAKE AN ADULT-ED business course at your local high school and meet all the entrepreneurs in it
• EXHIBIT AT A LOCAL BUSINESS MEETING such as the local Better Business Bureau, Chamber Of Commerce,...
• EXHIBIT AT A LOCAL EVENT such as a tradeshow, lecture, networking event,...
• SPONSOR A LOCAL SPORTS TEAM
• BECOME INVOLVED WITH YOUR LOCAL government - attend town meetings
• JOIN A LOCAL BARTER organization
• TELL MANAGERS OF LOCAL BUSINESSES, such as banks, grocery stores,... about what you provide
• PARTNER WITH A NON-COMPETITIVE VOICE TALENT, such as one who speaks a foreign language, is the other gender, is a different age,... and co-market each other
• WALK INTO THE HR DEPARTMENT of a large business and explain what services your provide

OUR SUGGESTION: Pick any 3 and DO IT! By next week, you'll have a new customer!

"One day" you wish, as you stew in self-displeasure. Why? Because as a couch potato, you listen to OTHERS narrating TV commercials wishing it was YOU narrating them.

The economy is slow blah blah blah. Okay, but its an opportune time to DO WHAT YOU CAN TO COME OUT OF A SLOW ECONOMY AS A WINNER!

So we thought we'd provide 7 WAYS TO PREPARE:

- - - - -

TAKE CLASSES

Get off your ass and into class. Whoever wrote that (it wasn't me) was smart (it was me). Seriously, do NOT become rusty and do NOT become complacent. Classes keep you motivated and keep you "in tune." And voice over schools (at least ours) focus on long-term objectives so you and your voice will be primed for when your phone starts ringing.

- - - - -

SELF PRACTICE

Think your favorite sports player or musician doesn't practice? Wrong. Think your favorite doctor doesn't read about new techniques? (If so, find a new doctor.) The point is, professionals practice. And so should you. Just 30-minutes a day makes a BIG difference and will ensure you're ready when your phone rings.

...Low Price Or Free Suggestion:
Free practice scripts: www.edgestudio.com/scripts.htm

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STRENGTHEN YOUR DEMO

Think of your demo as a resume. Resumes are always updated and tweaked. Likewise as you learn new styles and/or strengthen existing ones, update your demo!!! Casting professionals will expect quality demos (as they ALWAYS HAVE) when the busy season begins... so ensure yours remains top-notch.

...Low Price Or Free Suggestion:
Have your demo evalated by one of Edge Studio's professional voice over coaches with our $27 check up, http://www.edgestudio.com/checkups

- - - - -

BECOME A BETTER ENGINEER & PRODUCER

When the economy kicks back into full swing, casting agents will rely on home studio auditions and recordings more than ever to cut costs. So what better time than NOW to learn how to engineer and produce yourself! Engineering and producing comes from practice and professional feedback. (Without professional feedback, you may be going the wrong direction and reinforcing bad habits!) So focus on this imperative skill.

...Low Price Or Free Suggestion:
$79 Home Studio tele-courses (schedule listed here)

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PREPARE YOUR MARKETING PLAN

It would be a shame if you weren't ready. When things start moving again, you'll get more work faster if you're ready to market. So now, while you have time, prepare lists of potential customers, write template emails, review your rate card, and so on.

...Low Price Or Free Suggestion:
$79 Marketing tele-classes (schedule listed here.)
Free rate card:

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EXPERIMENT

When a new client requests an estimate, how long will it take you to create it? And how accurate will it be? Whatever your answer, you can do a lot better by experimenting now. So determine how long you can read without getting a soar throat, determine how many hours you can work a day, which cough drop works best for you, if hot tea with lemon or water with honey soothes your throat better, how long it takes you to save a file, to name a file, to convert a file to MP3, and so on.

...Low Price Or Free Suggestion:
Free rate card:
Free words-to-hours converter:

- - - - -

LASTLY, YES- BE A COUCH POTATO!

Seriously, watch (listen) to as much TV as you can - specifically documentaries and commercials. Also listen to radio ads, audiobooks, online tutorials, telephone recorded systems, website presentations, safety videos,... Notice common styles. Notice which narrators seem good, and why. Notice which narrators seem unprofessional, and why. GUARANTEED, this simple exercise will prove valuable because it WILL MAKE YOU BETTER VOICE TALENT. For dessert, skip the commercials and watch Law & Order. I'm sure it's on.

...Low Price Or Free Suggestion:
Free: use your ears

In closing, folks, voice over is your career. Whether part-time or full-time, be ready - because eventually the biz will pick up! And Edge is glad to help. Just ask.

DID YOU NOT SEE THAT OPEN DOOR?

I'm dumbfounded.

Why did only 6 of 150 folks at the voice over conference (that I spoke at this past weekend) hand me their demo? EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE ME, FOLKS - COME ON... SEIZE THE SITUATION!

I thought I'd list some ridiculousness.

-----

NEW FACES

Everyday, I curiously watch talent leave our studio withOUT handing their demos to folks who could lead them to work. Weird.

New faces mean new opportunities, so work your way in and (politely) shove your demo and business card into their hand. And be sure to tell them what service you provide. IF the recipient doesn't know what voice over is, EXPLAIN IT. And if they say they know what it is, EXPLAIN IT ANYWAY because they probably think its screaming style commercials. By the way, when you explain it, avoid the word "do" (As in, "Hi, I do voice overs.") "Do" is a non-descript word. Rather "Hi, I provide the voice behind documentaries, audiobooks, videos, annoying phone systems, commercials, and so on."

When possible, make a connection. For example, "Hi Jill, Jack mentioned that you put together safety videos for your company. I provide narrations for them. Here's my demo..."

-----

NEW LOCATION

On vacation? Terrific! Handing out your demo? NO? Let's try this again:

On vacation? Terrific! Have a great time... great time, that is, building your business. Meet with casting professionals while traveling to have face-to-face time with potential new customers! Have you traveled to another country? Even better - neutral American English voice talent usually get LOTS of work this way. Be prepared with information about your home-studio and email-delivery capabilities. Folks, there is world full of clients! SO BEFORE YOU LEAVE for your trip, set up some appointments with recording studios. You'll be surprised at the relationships you'll make.

-----

CRAPPY VOICE OVER?

Even my wife (who is not in our industry) hears them now: Unprofessional voice overs. She spots them on local radio, local TV, website presentations, in-store announcements, voicemail systems,... And even though she wishes I'd work fewer hours, she tells me about them, knowing that I'll go to work contacting the company to inform them of the benefits of sounding professional and that I can help them. A third of the time, Edge Studio has a new client. Oddly, no one else has ever said anything.

So when you hear that horrid in-store announcement at the grocer, tell the manager, "Hey, I love your store. Been shopping here for years. Good food. But the voice over? Eh, unprofessional. So happens that I'm a pro voice over talent and would love to help out." Then go in for the score, "I find bartering is easy and is a win/win. For example, if you provide 5% off my groceries, for example, I can narrate your in-store announcements, helping your store's image!"

More of a plumber than a cook? No problem. This will work at your local plumbing supply shop too.

-----

GOOD DEED

I think I'm the only one who doesn't hang-up on the local police academy when they ask for donations. But whether or not I donate money, I offer voice over. Usually they respond, "Huh? What's that?" Once explained, Voila!, they often end up recording at Edge Studio. And nearly every time, the script writer has "another job" which is a paying job.

Its not just police cadets. You seen the signs for the local Blood Drive, you hear radio commercials for a PTA convention, your local Goodwill is underfunded, or a local politician running for mayor has used up her funds. Non profit organizations and politicians need voice over for radio commercials, presentation videos, fund-raiser videos, and so on. What don't they have? Money.

Give of your self folks. Provide free services. Write it off (well, don't quote me on that - I'm a producer... and certainly not a tax accountant). WHEN YOU PROVIDE FREE SERVICES, EVERYONE WINS. They get free you. You get new client. You meet video producer. You meet script writer. They hire you. You get paid.

-----

PANICKY?

"Oh, I shouldn't." 10 minutes later, mumbled to self, "Darn, I should have! Grrrrrr..." Voice talent always tell me about opportunities they should have taken. "Well too late" I respond. "Maybe next time you'll go for it!"

Not too out-going? Too bad... go for it. Have PRIDE. Have CONFIDENCE. ENJOY being entrepreneurial. ENJOY VOICING OVER. TRUST in your voice. HAVE your "what am I" pitch down. PRACTICE your pitch in front of candid friends (not your Mom).

-----

FREE

This email reaches thousands of voice talent. Guess how many take advantage of our free offers. Less than 100. Weird.

So let's see: you want voice over work, but you don't take advantage of free offers to gain more work? Did I say weird? Thought so.

Conclusion: Please get up and close your door before you continue reading this. Closed? Good. Now go open it. Think that was wasteful? NO! Now you can mentally replay that every time a door is open. DO NOT CLOSE THE DOOR.. because it is closing the door that is wasteful.

With the advent of Internet websites, international business growing, and a more culturally diverse population...demand for foreign Voice-Over Artists has never been greater. Let’s explore these 3 areas:

1. Website narration is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of the voice-over industry, as most websites will become narrated within the next 3 years. In fact, over one quarter of our production clients require website narration.

When producers hire voice over talent to record foreign language work, they generally look for a voice over artist who speaks the language fluently, with no dialect, accent, or regionalism. In other words, it is important that the listener believes that the voice over artist is from the country in which the language is from.

2. As for international business, any company with foreign customers will typically narrate their training films and telephone services in those languages. For example, many English based companies begin their automated telephone response systems with, "Please press 1 for English, press 2 for Spanish, etc.

Also, any narrated products to be sold in foreign countries must be narrated in those languages - such as software (which is always narrated nowadays), encyclopedia CD roms, talking toys, educational films, etc.

3. And as for a culturally diverse planet, many voice over recordings are offered in numerous languages, such as dubbing of foreign films, audiobooks, television shows, commercials, radio programs, museum tours, and even video games!

---

To find foreign voice-over work, we suggest our marketing seminars, as they are intense and details. However, a quick peak at some marketing tactics for foreign work are:

1. Go to every company who has foreign relations, or foreign clients. If they have no need for your services now...eventually they will. Leave them your demo.

2. Go to talent agencies - especially those who specialize in foreign voices.

3. Go to international bureaus, associations, foundations, etc. For example, if you speak German, go to the German Embassy and offer to record their telephone system.

Bonne chance!

I usually write in the positive. But because SO MANY talent are SO UNPROFESSIONAL, telling this story from our perspective (which is all too often negative), will help you become a better talent.

We have casted and hired, we estimate, just over 7,000 talent. Some we will NEVER hire back. Following are things that we, unfortunately, say EVERY DAY aloud in our office which explain why:

MARKETING MISTAKES

• John mailed us his demo CD, but that's weird - there's no contact information anywhere on it. Funny, we couldn't hire him even if we wanted to.

• Mary emailed her MP3s to us with the file name "commercial demo" - well that sucks, if our clients want to hear her demo later, we'll need to remember to look under "c" for "commercial demo"." (An hour later) "Look Marty emailed his MP3 to us with the file name "commercial demo", just like Mary did, but when I saved it, it over-wrote Mary's demo.

  (Folks, I have been preaching this for years!!!! Your Demos SHOULD be named, "Mary Smith - commercial voice over demo"... NOT "commercial demo" or "demo A" and "demo B" or "John demo" (well, this last one is okay if you are certain you are the only John in the voice over industry)...

- - - - -

CASTING MISTAKES

• Oh, don't call Charles, he takes too long to get back to us about his availability. Hire Frank instead, he always gets back to us right away.
• Kim always needs to re-schedule - don't even bother calling her about this job.
• We called Jane to let her know we wanted to hire for that job, but someone else answered her phone and said, "Jane's not available - call back after 6." So lets call the next talent on the list, since our office closes at 5pm today.
• Lisa didn't send the audition when she says she would... and now WE look bad in front of OUR client. Let's not cast her anymore.

- - - - -

STUDIO ETIQUETTE MISTAKES

• James wore WAY too much cologne to his recording session today. Mark, the talent for the next session, is highly allergic and can't record now because of the residual scent in the booth. Let's not bring James in again.
• Jill showed up for a session without telling us about her nasty head cold that affected the sound of her voice. Now there's no time to replace her, and Jill can't produce the sound that got her cast in the first place. Grrrrr...
• Ed committed the cardinal voice over sin - he touched the mic and tried to adjust it himself! He could have avoided an engineer meltdown by just asking Sam to do it for him.
• Bob is a great talent, but he just wouldn't stop talking. The session ended up going way over and the client was concerned about paying for extra time.
• Why wouldn't Vicki stop mentioning her credits! The client doesn't want to hire her again.
• I know Larry had questions when reviewing the script, but he didn't ask them. Then, in the midst of the recording, he had to stop abruptly because he didn't know how to pronounce a word. I wish he'd just ask up front like the pros do. BUT worse, Lauren asked how to pronounce some words, but she didn't write them out phonetically in her script, so when she got to the word, she mispronounced it anyway. AND EVEN WORSE, we gave a tough script to a voice talent the other day and asked him to prepare for it (as there was difficult jargon). But he was totally unprepared. I don't think we'll be hiring any of these guys again...
• Bruce walked in late for a session today with his Starbucks coffee in one hand and blackberry in the other. The client commented that clearly his coffee break was more important that being on time for this job.
• Natalie forgot to put on headphones, didn't stand on axis, didn't know how to turn pages... now the client thinks that we hire non-professional talent... plus we won't hire her ever again.
• When Billy made a mistake, he spent the next 2 minutes of recording time apologizing profusely and looking frustrated. Worse, he didn't know what it meant when the engineer asked him to do a pick-up.
• Dan really had it in his head that the copy should be narrated his way. He didn't seem to care to realize that it should be read the way the client wants it. Now the client doesn't want us to hire him again!
• Alison asked the client, "Who wrote this copy anyway? There are a ton of mistakes..." she had the humbling experience of having the client reply "I did. Now the client doesn't want us to hire her again!

- - - - -

INVOICING MISTAKES

• Amy did a fantastic job in her last session, but never invoiced us! When Morgan finally did get the invoice, all sorts of information was missing. Morgan spent a good part of her day exchanging emails with Amy until we finally had the necessary information to pay her for the work she did! Maybe we'll hire Lanette next time.
• During discussions about an upcoming job, Laura never asked what the job was about... she just agreed to do it. After the recording, when the casting agent said, "Send us a bill for the $175" she was upset and said that she needed more money. WELL SHE SHOULD HAVE ASKED UP FRONT WHAT THE RATE WAS LIKE PROS DO! Let's not bring her back in again.

In summary: YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO REPRESENTS YOUR BUSINESS. Think about it - you go to a restaurant with poor service, and you don't go back. Well think about this - we hire you, and you give poor service, we don't hire you back.

Let us know your success stories!

Waste. As a casting agent and director of voice over studios in three cities, I see lots of waste.

EXAMPLE: I need to cast a job and my client says, "Give me some new voices to consider."
So I put out a casting call: "Casting a sci-fi audiobook. Need mid-age narrator. Email demo."

- - - - -

Minutes later demos begin arriving. Here we see WASTED MARKETING:

• "Here's my demo - it's of commercials, will this do?" (uh, no)
• "Here's my demo - you got it before, remember? (yep. wanna know why I deleted it?)
• "Here's my demo - I had my friend record it for me" (that's reassuring)

- - - - -

Then I request auditions. Here we see WASTED HOME STUDIO auditions:

• "Here's my audition - forgive the quality, I'm still learning the equipment." (how helpful)
• "Here's my audition - you didn't need a slate, did you?" (no, of course not silly)
• "Here's my audition - sorry it's a CD, I couldn't get that darned MP3 part to work!" (nice)

- - - - -

Eventually we hire a narrator. Here we see a lack of INDUSTRY KNOW-HOW:

• Wasted pre-recording session
• "I'm not sure how much to charge... what do you suggest?" (you serious?)
• "I should charge by the completed hour? What's that?" (I repeat, you serious?)
• "A talent release? For what?" (okay, have you done this before?)
• Wasted recording session
• "Of course I've uh, uh, read to picture before." (how convincing)
• "Sorry, maybe it's a senior moment - remind me what proximity means." (uh oh)
• Wasted post-recording session
• "What goes on my invoice?" (oh boy)
• "Do I get residuals?" (please take Edge Studio's seminar if you want to be hired again)

DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

Not as busy as you'd like to be. Sure, blame the economy. While you're at it, blame businesses for having budgets too small to hire voice over talent. But that's okay! Capitalize on their lack of funds...

We divulge 4 tactics for staying “tuned-up” and setting yourself up for money when the economy jumps!

- - - - -

1) Nearly every non-profit needs voice over work recorded; fundraiser presentations, commercials, telephony,... But, something else nearly every non-profit has is no cash.

So offer your expertise gratis - you'll find yourself in a very, VERY beneficial relationship.

Sure you work for free - now - but you build your resume, expand your experience, and you'll likely be paid when spin-off work comes as a result (other departments within the non-profit organization call you, casting professionals and copy writers who consult for other organizations call you,etc...).

- - - - -

2) Here's a way to get in with the big boy agencies; offer to record rough tracks - gratis. (Rough tracks are “placeholder” recordings that are often recorded before the musicians, sfx editors, and visual production teams complete their work. Once completed, the “real” voice over is recorded.)

Rough track recordings usually do not fetch the same pay-rate, since they're not used for the public, but in your case, it's still very worthwhile. For the production team, free rough tracks means savings. For you, free rough tracks lets you showcase your expertise, make connections, and get spin-off work.

- - - - -

3) Casting agents may not like unsolicited demos, but they're surely to like free voice over offers. Call it a “new client incentive”, or whatever. But offering a free recording is certain to turn heads, impress ears, and get a foot in the door. You'll have an opportunity to showcase your experience, and gain future work, as well as spin off work.

- - - - -

4) Consider barter. Tell your local pet store that you'll record their telephony system in exchange for products. It's a win-win; good for them, good for you.

Or, watch a local TV station and contact a local company runs advertisements (like a plumbing service, for example, or an eye doctor). Offer to record their next commercial for them in exchange for services.

- - - - -

Note: When you approach the service company, be sure to point out the vast differences between your voice narrating their commercial and the local DJ's. (Besides sounding like a DJ, the DJ is the same voice used on many commercials, and as such his/her voice doesn't stand out.)

Better yet, contact a local company whose owner or employee records their own commercial or voice mail messages. Barter with them. There are most likely a hundred reasons why you will do a better job than they did.

Let's summarize: Less money exchanging hands in the economy does NOT mean less work for you. So get out there, speak out there, build some relationships, and make the system work for you!

There are many, MANY places for voice over artists to market their demo to. Following are some. (Visit marketing for detailed help.)

• Talent agencies - A talent agency is a company that represents talent (actors, musicians, voice-over artists, etc). When a creative team cannot find the "right voice," they pay a talent agency to find the voice.

  Being represented by a talent agency is a great way for a voice-over artist to obtain work. Most reputable talent agencies will not charge you for representation. Instead, they take a commission (usually 10%) of your billings. Because they are commission-based, they work hard on obtaining high-paying jobs.

  Only market to talent agencies that deal with voice-over artists, as some specialize in modeling or acting and have no arrangements with voice-over clients.

  Some talent agencies will charge a fee to put your demo on their website or on their "demo of demos" CD (which talent agencies give to their clients in order for the clients to hear a selection of voices whenever they want to).

• Casting directors - Many creative teams have their own casting department, which is responsible for finding and hiring voice-over artists. Contact the head of the casting department.

• Recording studios - Contact audio-recording studios that record and/or produce voice-overs (some studios only offer music-recording services). Ask for the manager.

• The Internet - Contact web-based companies that represent voice-over artists or that send audition and casting information to subscribers.

• Advertising agencies - Contact agencies that offer voice over services (some agencies specialize in print or billboard advertising only). Contact the production director and the casting department.

• TV and cable stations - These stations have their own in-house recording studios and record local advertisements and television promos. Contact anyone in the recording department.

• Film / Video Production Houses - Production houses record films, documentaries, training and instructional videos, etc. Ask for the production director.

• Multi-media companies - Multi-media companies record audio for website narration, CD-ROMs, interactive multi-media, software narration, and more. Ask for the casting director or the manager.

• Publishing companies - Publishing companies record audiobooks and the like. Ask for the casting director or the manager.

• Educational companies - Educational companies record educational films for interactive applications, films, slide shows, talking books, etc. Ask for the casting director.

• AV (audio-visual) departments - Most large companies (e.g., corporations, hospitals, colleges, associations, foundations, etc.) have their own in-house recording studios that record training tapes, sales presentations, on-hold messages, trade show exhibits, voice-mail, etc. Ask for anyone in the AV department.

• Radio stations - While disc jockeys voice most spots at their radio station, stations occasionally need to hire outside talent. This may be because none of the staff disc jockeys have the required type of voice or the station wants to impress a client with a particularly good production (which the disc jockeys are often not able to deliver).

• Representatives - A representative is a salesperson whom you can hire to create sales. You will need to write a contract with a representative. They can be paid a set wage.

  Or you can pay them a commission of the work that they are responsible for obtaining. A typical commission fee is between 15% and 33%. The advantage of a commission-based fee is that they may work harder for you, since they only make money if they get you work.

• Industry-related organizations - There exist numerous organizations that work with and hire voice-over artists. For example, film and video organizations, acting resource centers, advertising groups, etc. Join them and attend their meetings. This is a great networking opportunity.

Good luck!

Within seconds, we usually spot a rookie. Does it concern us? Yes. Why? Because many are not trained properly... and when they're not, we don't know if they'll appear professional in front of our clients. (For this reason, we generally hire talent that we, Edge Studio, have trained when possible.)

Granted, every voice over artist has to begin somewhere.... but it CAN be done so that producers don't realize you're a beginner.

So with that said, following is a list of “don'ts” that scream “rookie.”

1.) “Sorry - I'm just getting over a cold... I may sound a little hoarse.”

While professional talent get sick just as much as rookies, they either cancel their session prior to the recording (if their voice really is unusable), or they know how to “cover up” the sound of a sore throat. Therefore, they rarely say that.

Rookies, perhaps 90% of the time, apologize BEFORE even reading their first word into the microphone! Besides being tired of hearing this, Casting Agents may hear this as a lack of confidence.

So, every time you're sick, try different remedies to learn what works best for your voice. For example, cough drops may soothe a sore throat, but may also make your mouth clammy, resulting in ‘slurpy’ sounds (not good). Hot tea with lemon, cold medicine, extra sleep, no sleep... experiment and learn what works best for you.

2.) “Should I start now?”

This statement clearly signals a neophyte. When told to “set levels,” or “give me a read,” you should start reading. Hesitating and/or being unsure when to read is like waiving a flag in the air that says, “I have never done a voice over before.”

Here's an analogy: You tell a painter to begin painting your house, yet even though you're paying them by the hour, they don't begin, and instead ask, “When should I begin?” Got it?

3.) “Testing 1, 2, 3. Testing testing 1, 2, 3...”

When the engineer is setting recording levels, read the actual script (take the opportunity to practice), and use the same vocal delivery you will when recording. If you don't, your recording levels will likely be incorrect, and the engineer will need to start again. This does not make for a happy engineer.

4.) “Is that enough?”

When setting levels, keep reading until the engineer tells you that levels are set! If you have a short script, read it over and over again.

5.) “That wasn't good, let me try again.”

Let the producer do their job. You do yours. Enough said?

6.) “Oh Jeeez, I'm so sorry... I'll try harder!”

Trust us. Even the best professionals out there make mistakes... sometimes many mistakes repeatedly. It happens to everyone. But while rookies begin to sweat and apologize profusely, professionals make self-deprecating jokes, such as, “You'd think I'd know how to do this by now.” Always remain cool, collective, confident, comfortable, and credible.

7.) “_____.”

That's right. Don't say nothing. Instead, thank everyone involved with the project, such as the casting agent, producer, engineer, studio manager.

8.) “Oh sorry, I don't have one on me... can I send it to you later?”

Could you imagine a clown without his/her nose? Likewise, you should never be without your demo.

9.) “_____.”

That's right. Don't ask nothing. Instead, ask questions. Every professional does... why shouldn't you?

Why wait until you're in the midst of the recording to say, “Oh yeah, I meant to ask you how you want this word pronounced.”

Don't begin your read without asking a) to whom you are reading and b) what the intent of the script is.

And don't accept a job without asking how much the pay is.

You will NOT appear unprofessional if you ask questions. Asking appropriate questions will help you appear experienced.

10.) “Blublulbulbu!”

Do not make weird mouth noises after making a mistake. Not sure what this means? Well if you're a rookie, there's a 90% chance you do this (albeit probably subconsciously.) The odd mouth noise referred to generally consists of the tongue slapping around the mouth while saying “bluh.” It is done, perhaps, to “clear out the mouth” and get ready for take two.

When professionals make mistakes repeatedly, they don't do this. Instead, they say, “Yikes... I've got to stop drinking before sessions.”

11.) “You mean the paragraph that starts with, ‘For an amazing deal on a superb car, visit Shoreline Honda.’?”

When a producer asks you to read a certain section of the script, for example, “Please re-read the fourth sentence.” There is probably no reason to question which section they mean. However, if you are unsure and want clarification, tell them the first word or two of the sentence you believe they mean... instead of reading the entire sentence to them.

12.) (Whispered to yourself) “Holy Crap!... they're going to fire me!”

After recording a script, yet before you leave the sound-proofed booth, the production team will often discuss your read. Sometimes these discussions become intense. For example, while the engineer prefers take three, the client prefers take two, and so on.

During this time, many beginners become nervous, thinking they are about to be fired - while in actuality, the production team could like all your reads, and are debating which their favorite is.

Professionals know this, and do not become concerned.

13.) (Whispered to yourself) “Holy Crap!... they hate my instincts!”

Home decorators often paint swatches of colors on multiple walls, to determine which looks the best. Likewise, producer often request numerous different ways to read the same script. Don't assume that the producer didn't like how they read the script the first time.

Professionals know this, and do not become concerned.

14.) “It's hot in here.”

The sound-proofed booth should NOT double as your sauna. With that said, there are a few reasons you may be hot while recording in one. One is simply that the booth doesn't have circulation and/or cooling. That is not fun, nor your fault. However, in many instances, talent boil-over because they either work too hard and/or are nervous.

Producers do not like sweat dripping onto their engineers.

Stay calm. And, VERY important, when not recording, always keep the door to the sound-booth open.

15.) “Wow, you can hear that?”

Yes, microphones pick up everything. Professionals remove loud jewelry, watches, and coins from pockets before recording. They don't wear heavily starched shirts that make noise. And they don't slide their script up and down the music-stand while recording.

Be quiet.

In regards to expanding internationally, the opportunities are tremendous . In this article, we discuss where these opportunities lie and how to obtain them.

With the advent and proliferation of the World Wide Web, national and international work has exploded. Many companies now offer the following in their native language, as well as foreign languages:

• website narration
• automated telephone systems
• training films
• museum tours
• software narration
• educational videos
• documentary
• biography

Plus within the next few years, expect to see the many companies narrating their website content in multiple languages.

And with email being quick, easy, and inexpensive, it is common for voice over artists to market themselves internationally... and likewise, it is common for productions to search for voice talent anywhere. This means that your marketing opportunity becomes the world -- yet simultaneously, your competition becomes significantly greater.

Thus, a new marketing strategy is essential. One with a niche. Perhaps specializing in your strongest vocal delivery. This could be medical narrations, character animations, audiobooks, automated telephone response systems, etc.

Find potential clients through the web. Search under various key words dealing with your marketing niches.

Overall, think globally. Work is just about everywhere. And where work doesn’t exist...it probably will in a short while - so marketing there can be very advantageous.

Remember. Global marketing the ability to receive scripts and send files through the Internet leads to a very flexible lifestyle... one where you can move anywhere in the world and keep your clientele.

Good luck!

In the early days of radio, broadcast microphones were not as sophisticated as they are today. In fact, the early microphones could not pick up high frequencies, such as female voices, so male voices - especially deep, strong ones - were used for broadcasting. The public became used to hearing this type of voice dominate radio airwaves and, later, television.

As technology advanced, microphones were developed that could pick up higher frequencies. However, the public had become so used to hearing male voices dominate the airwaves that female voices were still not used. It was not until the feminist movement in the 1960s that female voices started appearing on the airwaves. Today, women perform approximately almost half of voice-over work.

Female voices are considered to be more believable than male voices.

Male voices are considered more authoritative than female voices.

The choice is that of the producer's desires.

For listening mediums such as television, biographies, educational videos, documentaries, and corporate films, male voices are more popular. However for multi-media and telephony listening applications, such as web-based training, educational software, telephone information systems, etc, female voices are the better choice, as their higher-pitched vocal characteristics are more audible through computer and telephone speakers.

There are great amounts of voice over work for voice over artists who read and correctly pronounce medical terminology. (It is not necessarily essential that the content makes sense to the voice over artist.) Fortunately, finding medical work is not terribly difficult.

1. Begin by asking hospitals and doctor’s offices if you can visit their a/v (audio-visual) department. They probably have a library of training videos...hundreds of them.

Each video is narrated...your job is to determine where the production company that produced it. Either check the information on the video box, or ask the a/v department personnel for the address/telephone number of their vendors. A bit of investigating should do the trick.

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2. Searching the Internet may bring tremendous results. Search for production companies, studios, copy writers, and video companies that produce, record, and hire medical voice talent.

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3. Check the Medical Marketing and Media magazine - they often list all advertising agencies that work in the medical field.

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4. Search directories (like industry journals, online directories, etc.) and look for "medical service organizations", "medical record service", etc. Those companies will also require medical narrators.

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5. Visit your library. They likely have numerous videos and audiobooks relating to the medical field. At the end of each video should be information on the production company. If you’re lucky, the information may even be on the box.

Good luck!

Don’t get sick. Okay, so it’s not that simple. You must realize that canceling a session puts the engineer, copywriter, creative director, casting professional, producer, and of course the client, at a big stumbling block. The show can’t go on without you!

At this point, let me define sick. In the voice-over field, sick is not a stomach ache. Nor is it a headache. Its not even a broken foot. It is a sore throat, loss of a voice, an ailment causing a voice change, or any sickness resulting in an inability to read correctly.

So, what do you do if you’re sick? Call the producer immediately - because it is significantly worse to have everyone meet at the recording studio only to find that your voice is not recordable. If you feel a sickness coming on, call the producer immediately - alert them to the fact that you may be sick the day of the recording, and let them decide what to do.

Good luck!

Yes!!...there are a few ways to audition without commuting:

1. Some producers will have you audition for them over the telephone (the script will be emailed to you). However, on very large budget productions, a second, and in-person, audition may be necessary.

2. You can record your audition at a local recording studio and email an MP3 (preferably, find a studio that specializes in voice-over...not just music. This is because music producers may not know how to produce voice-over). Expect to pay between $25 and $50 for a quality studio.

3. Build a studio in your home (many full-time professionals do this). The cost will range from $200 (that is, use free software and just purchase a microphone) or more (for better equipment. With a phone-patch you can even have the casting professional "listen in" to your audition.

Good luck!

While recording, you should not turn pages This is because paper noise, no matter how faint, will be picked up by the microphone - and will subsequently ruin an otherwise good take. So rule #1 is to put 100% of your concentration on your performance...NOT on page turning.

Instead, after reading the last word on a page, remain silent for a second, then turn the page, wait another second, and then begin reading again. Afterwards, the engineer will edit out the page turning sounds. To the listener, the final recording will sound as if you read straight through.

A great commonly used technique is to put two pages side by side on the music stand. This allows you to eliminate 50% of your page turnt, and therefore keep a more consistent flow. This also eliminates half the editing for the engineer.

Good luck!

Mumbling. It's common; we all do it every now and then. In fact, some words sound natural only when slurred, such as, "Ya' know?" With voice over, it all comes down to intention and direction. In this article, you'll learn when to mumble, where not to, and how to control it in the booth.

Every conversation requires a different level of articulation, a level we often choose automatically. Depending upon who we're speaking to, we adjust our colloquialisms -- sometimes we speak formally (enunciate words clearly), and other times we speak informally (we relax our jaws and, well, mumble). The voice-over artist's job is to determine how formally or informally the script should be pronounced, and then deliver the script accordingly. If certain words are over-enunciated or, likewise, too sloppy, the listener will typically find the recording unnatural and unlikeable.

A good rule of thumb? Pronounce words as they are spoken in genuine conversation and then tailor your articulation to match the formality of the script.

For example, the word "mountain" is pronounced without the "t" in most forms of standard English. Certain regionalisms, however, pronounce the "t," as heard from speakers hailing from the Midwest and the United Kingdom. Both pronunciations of "mountain" are colloquially correct, but one may be more desirable to a particular demographic group of listeners.

How do you know which is correct? Well, if you're reading an informal commercial, such as, "Up here in the mountains, we love Coors Beer," the "t" most likely should not be pronounced.

Yet if reading a formal documentary, such as, "The Clifford Mountain range stands over 4,700 feet high," then the "t' should be pronounced.

Now comes the difficult part -- controlling your voice while thinking about what you're reading, etc.. You have to find the "fine line" between mumbling and over-articulating, while still pleasing the ears of your listeners.

And it is a fine line. By articulating just a bit unnaturally, you can appear constricted, or too deliberate. This winds up sounding "affected," which most people reject. Including producers. It's easy to learn how to control your articulation correctly for voice over. To begin, listen carefully to professional voice-overs -- notice when they're mumbling. (It can slip right by you, because it sounds so natural that it doesn't stand out). Also note when they're articulating clearly, without sounding affected. Then, practice articulation exercises. Practice reading aloud, while simultaneously feeling your mouth form the sounds that you're speaking. Physically feel your mouth make the different sounds of each word. At first, you will sound affected -- but with a little practice, you'll be able to do this without thinking -- and then it will sound conversational.

Begin with formal scripts, such as:

In this AT&T new employee training video, we'll discuss the Technical Service Center, and how advanced technology provides quality service. Our patented, highly sophisticated EXPERT System is an application of artificial intelligence that can diagnose troubles and recommend solutions, based on historical maintenance data. This set of software programs can identify a problem and, whenever possible, remotely clear the alarm. If dispatch of a technician is required, all the information from the EXPERT System is available, so that the right technician with the right training and the right parts is dispatched. The trouble can then be repaired on the first visit, minimizing any disruption to your system.

Then move to difficult tongue twisters:

Which wrist watches are Swiss wrist watches?

In summary, your goal is to be able to read colloquially or formally on command without sounding affected. Whichever is appropriate to the occasion, when it feels natural to you, you'll sound natural to others.

Good luck!

Knowing your limits is one of the most important voice over skills you can possess.

Of course, your professional goal is to land as many jobs as you can do well. But every voice over artist should understand their limitations. Otherwise, you will lose clients in a most embarrassing fashion. When you can't do the job well, it doesn't just embarrass you, it also embarrasses everyone involved -- the producer, the casting agent, the person who recommended you, the client, everyone.

Having been burned once, casting people will avoid you. And word gets around.

For example: If a client asks for Canadian French and you send an audition in of Parisian French, you might slip though and get passed along by the casting agent (who may or may not catch the difference). Then, when the client catches the error, it will make the casting agent look bad. That casting agent will not use you again.

(Worse, sometimes the mismatch won't be caught until much later in the process, and everybody looks bad!)
Let your golden rule be, "Give clients what they need." When you audition for something that is not appropriate for you, you are not doing that.

How do you determine if you are appropriate for a job or not? Think about these three things:
1. Your voice
2. Your business
3. Your studio
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YOUR VOICE:

Do you have the voice the client needs? And just as important, will you have it when they need it? Can you maintain this voice for as long as they need it? For example, if a script involves hours of recording and you don't have the vocal stamina, you should decline. Or, if they need a deep-voiced goldenthroat and you sound like that only in the early morning, the job is not for you. Politely turn it down.

Is the requested voice a stretch for you? For example, do they want a young mom, and you sound more like a husky-voiced middle-aged vamp? Or do they want an authentic Russian accent and yours is only passable, or some nebulous, stereotypical, comic Boris or Natasha? There are plenty of native speakers available. If other people can audition or submit demos without stretching, then this is not the right audition for you.

The last thing you want, short of total embarrassment, is for prospective clients to think you're always trying too hard, or that you're always chasing after scraps. You do want them to think of you as a consummate professional, always able to perform as promised and maybe even add something extra. Whatever your voice quality, voice-over skills, or personal interests, there are voice over jobs where you can deliver that.

Clients appreciate it when a voice talent is honest with them and tells them when a project is not a good match.

For example, if you have a regular client who uses you to record non-specialized text, but one day needs someone to do a job full of medical jargon, don't take that assignment if you are not comfortable with medical jargon. You will be tempted, but don't do it. Your client will respect your professional judgment.

It's not always an easy call, because the margins aren't always clear. For example, there are scripts that use words like "aspirin" and "NSAIDs," and then there are scripts that require you to roll phrases like "Methylprednisolone is a form of prednisone, itself an adrenal corticosteroid, a powerful steroid." off your tongue repeatedly.

Listen to pros who specialize in that genre and see how you measure up.

If you're not sure, audition yourself beforehand. Ask the client for a script, and rehearse before submitting an audition. Record yourself reading the script (or a similar script). Listen back to it carefully. And dispassionately.

If time permits, have someone critique your work -- try Edge Studio's Feedback Forum (you get free feedback!), or ask a friend, go to a voiceover social networking group, or ask a qualified coach.

Sometimes a prospective client will have more faith in your marginal ability than you do. (This sometimes happens especially with regular client who knows and likes your stuff.) If so, be flattered, but candid about your reservation, and suggest a Plan B. Say you'll call some other pros. Then recommend one of those specialists, and ask your client to keep you in mind for other jobs in the future. The client will appreciate your professional judgment, honesty and extra effort.

The extra effort can even bring you a bit of income. When you farm out work to others, you might be able to arrange a finder's fee from the talent you send the work to. In any case, you will at least have earned goodwill.

But your voice and performance capabilities are not the only factors to consider when deciding if a job is right for you. Your business and technical capabilities are also important.

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YOUR BUSINESS:

Is your turnaround time fast enough? If the client has a specific deadline that you cannot accommodate, don't take that job. Or, be realistic with the client and let them know how long it will take you. Tell them cordially and confidently. If you know you will need additional time, and the job is on the line, you might offer them a discount. For example, a 20% discount if the client shifts their deadline back a day. But, most importantly, don't leave your client hanging. (As they may have said in the Old West, "hanging is not just an inconvenience.")

This is very important with prospective clients, but extremely important with an existing client. You have only so many of them.

Scheduling is just one business consideration. Whatever the client's needs, don't take the job if you can't meet them comfortably.

Note the word "comfortably." It helps if you're a go-getter, but you're going to ease up if you don't enjoy it. And you won't be in business long if you lose money on every job. So be sure you will be able to do the job efficiently and make money on it.

For example, if a client will pay you $100 per completed hour to narrate an audiobook, but recording that hour takes you 6 hours (prep-time reading the book, mic time, and post production), you are making only $16.66 per hour. Audiobooks are an interesting genre. But, in any genre, be sure you know exactly what it entails, so you don't bite off more than you can chew.

Another example: If a client needs unusual services, such as copywriting or multiple voices, be up-front with the client. Let them know what you can and cannot do well, and tell them you would be happy to find other performers and/or service providers to satisfy fully meet their needs.

On the other hand, if you are able to provide extra services, they can be a rewarding source of extra income.
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YOUR STUDIO

Accept a job only if you can handle its technical requirements. For example, if it requires precision editing or audio processing that you are not good at, decline. Or hire someone to do what you cannot. Same with music, sound effects, etc.

Don't accept a job if your studio is not up to par. For example if your studio is not completely soundproof to professional standards, don't accept the job. If your computer or microphone doesn't have the required audio quality, don't accept the job. If the client wants to use phone patch or ISDN and you don't have it, don't take the job, unless you tell the client your situation beforehand.

Whenever possible, suggest an alternative -- maybe use a professional studio and build it into your rate. Or determine how you can improve your skills and/or facilities, and let your client know when the upgrade is operational.

In short, think in terms of your career, not just your wallet. See things from your client's perspective, not just yours. And focus on anticipating and satisfying your clients needs. When an assignment will exceed your limits, be honest with your client at the outset, letting them know why you cannot accept job.

Ultimately, more jobs -- and more appropriate jobs -- will come your way.

So before you audition for a voice over job, audition the job.

Every voice artist can benefit from being skillful at timing: It reduces the number of takes required, it impresses clients, and you can use it in your marketing (e.g., "Hi, casting professional, if you need voice talent who has killer timing, your search is over!").

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HOW TO HIT 10, 30, 60 SECONDS ON THE NOSE

With enough practice, you develop an internal clock that tells you very closely when, say, 30 seconds is up.

Try it. Begin by listening to recorded passages and guessing how long it was. Use a stopwatch to check yourself.  (Reminder: your wristwatch and cellphone probably have a stopwatch function.)

Those long blocks of commercials on TV are suddenly useful to you!  You can also listen to recent recordings submitted at our script library.

Be sure to guess at small phrases first, then longer passages from documentaries and audiobooks, for example.

Next, once you're able to judge pretty well, record yourself, listen back, and see how you did. Gradually increase the length of your passage.  Practice reading from our selection of practice scripts, till you develop that sense of time. Our 3,500+ scripts include various lengths.

Learn to approximate NOT ONLY the entire voice-over performance, but also the space between spoken passages. So if at a recording session your client requests, "Give me an extra second between these two sentences," you can do it.

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WAYS TO INCREASE AND DECREASE YOUR TIMING

Suppose your client requests a passage to be 30 seconds in length, but your time is off.  Practice the following solutions, so that you can put them to work for you:

1) Elongate or shorten some of the words.

Read the following at different speeds. Your reading can range between 1.5 seconds and 3 seconds long.

"You know that tired feeling you get?"

2) Adjust the pauses between phrases and sentences.

A 60-second spot may offer a couple dozen logical opportunities to pause. Pausing at all of them may test the listener's interest, but adding just a quarter-second second at half of them adds 3 seconds to your read! Sure, the engineer could add pauses somewhere, but why make work when you can be the judge?

Don't vary the space between words, except in lists. Even slight gaps will sound choppy.

Practice reading the following example with different spacing between the listed items. It can easily range from 7 to 10 seconds.

"Simpson Plumbing Corporation has pipes, fittings, bathroom fixtures, ventilators, tile, tubs, and shower doors."

3) Include or omit dramatic pauses.

This is like the tip above, except that the pause is dramatic, and by that we simply mean that it's noticeable. Practice the following with different amounts of dramatic pause, without significantly varying the speed of the words or other space between phrases. Your read will range between 4.5 and 6.5 seconds.

"Simpson Plumbing Corporation -- where nothing goes down the drain unless you want it to."

IMPORTANT: as you use these methods, don't forget to adhere to the rest of what you know about good voice-over technique.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.

As you probably know, the engineer can speed up your performance or slow it down digitally... but doing it too much begins to sound unnatural.  And, more importantly, if you understand the opportunities and limitations that this skill affords you, you can take advantage of them in your performance. So it pays to practice, and always be aware.

It will also help make producers aware that you're truly a pro.

WANT HELP?

Want help honing this skill? Call us at 888-321-Edge or email training@edgestudio.com.

We all find reasons to procrastinate. And practice is very easy to put off. Here are 6 practical ways to get over the stumbling blocks that may keep you from practicing every day.

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I CAN'T FIND A QUIET PLACE TO PRACTICE

Who cares! For practice, background noise is okay. (It's just not okay for auditions and real jobs.) So if it's too loud where you live, practice in a room at a local community center, ask your health club if you can use their sales office, work in a classroom after school has let out . . . even practice VO in the shower instead of singing!

At Edge Studio, people have told us they practice in their car or minivan (quiet, sound absorbent, comfortable). Some in their closets. One guy even told us, "I stand in my bedroom and speak into my wife's pants, as that prevents echo."

Does practicing with others around make you feel self-conscious? It shouldn't. You're a professional, doing what a professional does. Others respect that, even if they don't fully understand. And if you're still self-conscious, consider the guy with the pants.

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I'M NEW AT THIS AND NOT SURE HOW OR WHAT TO PRACTICE

Practice at least 15 minutes a day, every day, reading not just the kind of VO material you specialize in, but also other copy to prevent monotony and help break you out of bad habits. Even read your junk mail -- there's a steady supply, it's a daily cue, and if you can make it sound real, you're doing well.

Very important: record yourself and listen back with a critical ear. (For practice, almost any mic and recorder will do.) But if your recorder's not handy, get your daily practice in anyway.

Needs practice scripts? You'll find more than 3,500 scripts and more at EdgeStudio.com.

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I'M NOT A BEGINNER ANYMORE. I DON'T NEED TO PRACTICE

Granted, Mel Torme and Elvis didn't sing in the shower or hum to pass the time (so it's said). But they sang virtually every day, no doubt. A-Rod didn't hit all those homers without ongoing practice, either.

You, too, should perform every day.

Obviously, an actual gig is not the time to warm up, flex your pipes, and spot ruts and bad habits you may have developed. Every pro, no matter how experienced, benefits by keeping in shape and improving or broadening their capabilities. Regardless of your experience level, you need to practice.

Edge Studio offers working pros a variety of advanced courses, workshops and clinics to help expand your range, deal with restrictive issues (anything from an accent to mouth clicks), and keep your performance fresh.

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I DON"T HAVE TIME TO PRACTICE

Oh? How do you find time to perform? Make practice time a routine part of your business day, because that's what your VO career is -- a business. Time of day doesn't matter, but you might take a cue from novelists and other creative writers. Many of them get up relatively early and write for an hour before the day "really" begins. Or they write from 9 till noon then call it a day. The good news is, your practice doesn't need to require three hours, not even one hour. Even a few minutes a day can have a dramatic effect if you're consistent.

If you need to fit your training into a busy schedule, remember our tele-classes. They let you learn over the phone, at various times and days.

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I'M JUST NOT THE CONSISTENT, REGIMENTED TYPE

That's not unusual. Okay, practice when you can. But don't put it off.

Here's a trick -- you undoubtedly have several "what should I do next" moments in your day. Make VO practice your standard answer. Then, just do it. Finding some sort of "trigger" is the way to overcome procrastination, lethargy, or laziness. Like physical exercise, once you get in the good habit of practicing daily, you'll find it much, much easier to remember it and do it. And you'll enjoy it more.

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SORRY, THERE ALWAYS SEEMS SOMETHING MORE INTERESTING OR IMPORTANT TO DO.

Ain't it the truth. It might be a day job, kids, unforeseen circumstances, anything. But it's either a daily occurrence that you can schedule around, or a temporary situation you will come back from.

If fitting practice into your schedule is still difficult, make a list. Write your schedule down.

Think of yourself as a business. Running a business involves certain responsibilities, not all of them fun. The good news? Voice-over practice is a LOT more fun than many of the professional responsibilities most other people have!

And if you ever doubt its importance, listen to some of your old practice recordings. I guarantee, if you've applied yourself in regular daily practice, you'll sound better today.

Have you found a practice technique that might help others? Email us at info@EdgeStudio.com, or phone us at 212-868-EDGE to let us know.

Punctuation is really wonderful. It, uh, punctuates.

Those little marks add meaning in so many possible ways:

• Timing
• Emotion
• Sense of humor
• Phrasing
• Clarification
• Making it easier for the talent to read
• Makings it easier for the listener to hear

But many voice talent and clients overlook punctuation's potential. So today we look at Punctuation: The unspoken hero!

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FIRST, 6 REASONS WHY SOME SCRIPTS MISS THEIR MARK

(1) Not all text is written by a professional copywriter. At Edge Studio, we deal with copy from all kinds of thoughtful, highly skilled writers. But we also frequently meet businesspeople who wrote the script themselves. Sometimes their punctuation can be abysmal.

(2) Many professional copywriters forget that someone else has to interpret what that punctuation mark means.

(3) Some clients don't read the script aloud before giving it to you. So they miss errors.

(4) Other clients read the script aloud, but do so the way they hear it, not as it appears on the page. As a result, you receive an obstacle course of confusing phrases, tongue-twisters and breathless prose.

(5) Then there are the voice artists who skip over the punctuation without much reason. Yes, there are times to ignore it, but there are more times to use it to your advantage. Each instance should be a professional-grade choice.

(6) Often the copy comes straight from print. A marketer might try to save money on their tradeshow video by having you read text taken directly from their brochure. As you should know, printed text is seldom written the way we talk. So the punctuation needs to be changed to some degree.

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SECOND, 4 PUNCTUATION CONSIDERATIONS

(1) Skip some punctuation

Some punctuation should be skipped. For example, you may not need to pause at the following commas:

• "That's one tough, rugged truck!"
• "For protection against burglary, fire, and natural disaster, trust Allstate."
• "Sale begins February 9, 2010, at 9am!"

And phone numbers -- while they might be written:

• 1-800-555-5555

it is usually better not to pause between the "1" and the "800."

(2) Change some punctuation

Sometimes you have to change punctuation.

As when video accompanies your voice over. Suppose you're working on a documentary about the five highest mountains. The script reads:

• "The world's five highest mountains are Mount Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu."

What you don't see in that sentence (but hopefully the director will tell you) is that the video will pan on each range for about 5 seconds. So you should read each mountain's name it as if there were a period after it (rather than the comma).

If there were visuals for the Allstate example above, that list would be another example.

(3) Add some punctuation

Other times, you need to add punctuation. Example:

• Another reason for adding punctuation is the run-on sentence that allows no place for the listener to think and has no particular point of emphasis and offers no place for you to take a... breath.

Run-ons endanger the quality of any writing (unless you're James Joyce or Wolf Larsen). But in print, at least the reader can go back and re-read. People usually can't re-listen. (Things like audio books excepted, and anyway it's a pain.)

I find that 3 to 5 seconds is the longest somebody can listen without a break in text. (A line of 12-point Times type on the printed page is about four seconds, so there should generally be at least one break within it.)

So give the listener's brain time to process what's coming in, by thinking about the meaning of the copy and phrasing it well.

Be careful not to overdo my advice, you risk becoming choppy. Every pause is not the same.

How long should you pause at each punctuation mark?

• "Guess how much Miller Ford is taking off cars this weekend? 20%!"
• "Guess how much Miller Ford is taking off cars this weekend -- 20%!"
• "Guess how much Miller Ford is taking off cars this weekend . . . 20%!"

Directors may hear each of these markings a different way. So practice: Teach yourself to develop reasons why and how each version would be read differently. For example:

• "Guess how much Miller Ford is taking off cars this weekend? 20%!"

This :30-second radio commercial is word-heavy, and subsequently the director needs it read quickly.

• "Guess how much Miller Ford is taking off cars this weekend -- 20%!"

This radio commercial has a sound effect of a drum roll plays during the break.

• "Guess how much Miller Ford is taking off cars this weekend . . . 20%!"

This TV commercial shows an on-camera actor holding up a sign declaring 5% off. Then she drops it to find another sign behind it declaring 10% off. Then again a 15% off sign. And finally a 20% off sign.

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AND NOW, WE PAUSE FOR EMPHASIS...

I can't emphasize this too strongly: It's small punctuation marks that signal the difference between an amateur and the experienced pro.

Punctuation is a matter of making good choices. Well chosen, it become more than a series of breaks. Punctuation becomes the essence of timing, emphasis, and drama.

Hope this helps.

You will flub. Someday, in fact, it will be bad: in front of a high-profile, big-budget, new client, you'll continually trip over the same line. When it happens, you have two choices: a) lose a point or b) score a point.

This article will advise you on 4 ways to SCORE POINTS WITH YOUR CLIENTS WHEN YOU FLUB.

- - - - -

1. JOKE

I've worked with the best voice over talent. I've heard them have their worst days. And I've heard them crack jokes about it. We've laughed so hard, in fact, that I looked forward to casting them again.

My favorite lines have been, "I gotta stop drinking before recording sessions", "Sorry 'bout that - they said I'm getting paid by the hour so I'm just dragging this out.", and "You'd think I could do this by now. Heck, I'm a trained professional!"

So to all talent out there- enjoy your work, remember that even the best make mistakes, and laugh it off. BUT if your client is not the laughable type, laugh only to yourself.

- - - - -

2. LUNCH

Just hearing the words, "Okay, this is silly now. Let me buy you lunch." works for me. Of course I've never accepted a free lunch due to another's mistake, but the gesture lightens the mood and always makes clients smile.

Try it.

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3. GIFT

There's nothing like a next-day-delivery of cookies to make clients think respectfully of you. Include a card that says, "Geez that session took me a little while to get through. Hopefully these sweets will last longer."

- - - - -

4. MONEY BACK/OFF

While I've rarely seen our client accept money back, this offer goes a long way toward maintaining your professional aura. This step is best saved for times when you have cost the client significant time. For example, if you read 15 pages of text without hitting record, or if you stumbled on the client name 20 times in a row, that may be a nice time to tell your client that you won't charge them for that time.

Alternatively offer a credit off the next time they hire you.

Either way, you'll have a happy client.

- - - - -

A FINAL NOTE:

I cannot emphasize how critical it is that you ALWAYS remain confident, and do NOT turn sweaty red or become nervous, flustered, or angry when you flub. As stated above, every one flubs. Dealing with it professionally is what separates the experienced from the newcomers. THINK ABOUT THE OUTAKES on comedy TV shows - all the famous actors flub and they all laugh. It shows that they're professionals. Do the same. It keeps everyone in a good mood.

While its roots go back to the early days of radio (early 1900s), voice over has only been a main-stream profession since the 1980s, and it's only been a common household name since approximately the year 2000.

During its short life, there have been many transitions. Yet not everyone who speaks about voice over is up-to-date. Therefore many people speak about the voice over industry “the way it was” as opposed to “the way it really is.”

Here are some major changes:

VOCAL STYLE: has gone from dominantly announcer style to natural style.

details: In the early days of voice over, microphones were not as sophisticated as they are today, and did not pick up high frequencies, such as low volumes and female voices. Therefore male voices — especially deep, strong ones — were preferred.

This strong announcer style delivery was also appropriate because groups of people would gather around a single radio to listen to a radio program together. Therefore, from the voice over artist's perspective, a stronger tone was appropriate since he was projecting to a large group of people.

Then between the 1960s and 1980s, three things changed that caused the voice over producer to typically request a conversational vocal delivery. First, as technology advanced, microphones were developed that could pick up natural voices. Second, more people listened to radio and television programs by themselves, making a natural, more intimate delivery preferred. In other words, the public generally prefers to be ‘spoken to', as opposed to ‘announced at'. Third, narration work became more and more popular, and since this was not “selling,” a natural style vocal delivery was used.

TYPE OF WORK: has gone from dominantly commercial work to narration work.

details: Originally, radio commercials were the brunt of the work. Then came along television commercials. Then came along a new type of voice over: narration. This style included educational and informational narrations. While the number of voice over commercials continue to increase every year, narrations now total approximately 92% of the industry.

RECORDING MEDIUM: has gone from analog recording to digital recording.

details: Practically every engineering function has changed with the advent of digital technology. Productions are now completed significantly faster while simultaneously significantly more precise. With digital editing, voice talent can simply re-record a sentence, phrase, or even single word when they make a mistake, and the engineer can digitally ‘edit' it into the recording in place of the mistake. (This eliminates the necessity to re-record an entire passage.) Clients can request that engineers give them options, as engineers can easily offer multiple versions of a production, each with different music, sound effects, and/or mix. Recording studios are now inexpensive, portable, and higher in quality. Yet by far, most engineers will confirm that the greatest benefit of digital technology is the ‘undo' button.

GENDER: has gone from dominantly male work to almost half female work.

details: As mentioned above, since early microphones did not pick up high frequencies, female voices were not used much. Plus since the feminist movement had not occurred in the early days of voice over, female voices were not used much.

As microphone technology advanced, and as women began doing more professions that were considered “male work,” women began narrating more voice over work.

Today, women perform almost half of the voice-over work. Female voices are considered to be more believable than male voices. Male voices are considered more authoritative than female voices.

"A voice actor and casting director walk into a bar...."

Jokes are invaluable in our industry. Not to tell anyone else. But rather to tell ourselves. Here's why:

When narrating a script, voice actors sound best when they are physically loose, vocally-free, and natural sounding. But many voice actors have tension in their body when they read; and tension causes a rigid physical stance and vocal tightening which results in a strained, contrived, and less-creative delivery.

Not good.

The fix: Think about a joke! As funny as it sounds, just thinking about a funny joke helps voice actors loosen-up and free-up any tension!

How to do it: Before reading your script, tell a joke and continue from the punch-line right directly into your script. But be careful:

     1) If you're in your home-studio without a client on phone-patch, tell the joke aloud. If you're with a client, tell it to yourself. You see, jokes should NOT typically be told at recording sessions when clients, directors, or agents are present unless they tell a joke first, there is a natural break for you to tell a joke, your joke is very short, funny, appropriate, and you tell it well. Otherwise, best to not tell it!

     2) Unless your script requires the same emotional character as the joke's punchline, you'll need to quickly change your emotion after the punchline and before reading the script.

Time to put this to the test:

First, record these 3 taglines without telling a joke first.

• (sexy) "Ten smooth shades of irresistible colors that makes lips sizzle"

• (hard sell) "Hundreds of cars and trucks at rock bottom prices!"

• (goofy) "Hey kids, watch Mr. Clown magically make his suitcase disappear!"

Now, record them again, this time saying a joke first before each one. After recording, edit out the joke. Notice how "tight" your voice sounds. Notice how unnatural you sound. Notice how unprofessional you sound.

Finally, edit out the joke from your second recording, and then compare the first and second takes back-to-back. You'll likely hear that your second take (the take that had been prefaced with a joke) is looser and more natural. Voila, you sound great!

So anyway- back to the original riddle:

A voice actor and casting director walk into a bar. The casting director points to a word in the script and tells the voice actor to emphasize that word, "Give me a punch!" The bartender overhears and punches the casting director. Stunned and hurt, the casting director repeats, "Really hit it!" The WHACK from the bartender is even harder this time. Now black-n-blue and disfigured, the casting director asks the bartender, "Look at me!...what do you have to say for yourself?" The bartender replies, "You have a face for radio!"

There is an old saying; "Practice makes perfect." But this saying is nonsense, because reaching "perfect" suggests that there's no more room for improvement. However you should NEVER stop improving and instead should KEEP PRACTICING!

And to help, here are a few practice techniques that will help you enhance your voice over delivery!

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First, PRACTICE NOTES:

• Practicing incorrectly can do more harm than good - so read the following carefully!
   
• When new to voice over, do not record more than 30 seconds worth of copy without listening back. If you are reading incorrectly, and you read for long durations, the incorrect delivery will become reinforced.
   
• Do NOT ask friends and family "how you sound." Their ears are not trained. They will miss things and you will reinforce bad habits. INSTEAD ask us.

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Next, PRACTICE METHODS:

• Begin by listening to TV.  Rather than watching TV, close your eyes and pay attention to just the voice over on documentaries and national commercials. (Tune out local commercials which sometimes are recorded by business-owners and other less-experienced talent.) Extract the music and sound effects. Notice how the voice over is less energetic than you originally thought. Then gauge how much energy the visuals, music, and sound effects added, so that you do NOT overdo it when recording. In other words, if a script needs an energy level of 7, perhaps reading at a 5 is sufficient since music, sound effects, and visuals will add more energy.
   
• Next, practice the art of using your natural voice in front of the microphone. Simply record your own natural conversation (while speaking with someone). Then transcribe it and re-record yourself reading the transcription. Listen back to both recordings - they should sound identical. If they don't, you have more practicing to do.
   
• Record, play-back, and critique your practice sessions. (Note: do not critique your performance during recording, as it is tough to concentrate on both simultaneously.) If you do not review your recordings, you're liable to miss your mistakes, and therefore reinforce bad habits.
   
• Practice reading long scripts ("duration training") such as audio books, narrations, biographies, documentaries, and so on. After recording 5 or more minutes, quickly listen back to the beginning, middle, and end. Listen for consistency. If you were consistent, try a longer recording.
   
• Read to groups of people, as this will prepare you for reading in front of directors, engineers, clients, scriptwriters, and so on. Libraries, schools, radio stations, and care organizations offer reading for the blind, reading for children, and reading for the aged.
   
• Mimic professional voice talent. This will increase your ability to mimic directors when they suggest how they want you to deliver the copy during a recording session. To do this, record a professional voice over, transcribe it, and then mimic it back into your recorder. Then listen back to both recordings to ensure they sound the same. NOTE: Do NOT try to imitate the voice-type of the professional (in other words, use your natural voice) - rather mimic the speed, energy level, emphasis, word flow, and comfort of the professional.
   
• Practice with as many styles of voice over as possible, so that you can increase the amount of services you offer your customers. For example, during one practice session, work with children's scripts, and during another session, work with audiobooks. Go to http://www.edgestudio.com/voice-over/practice-scripts and find many categories of scripts to work with.
   
• Practice with as many characters as possible, as this will increase your ability to take direction as well as get you thinking outside the box. Listen to characters on cartoons, animated movies, talking toys, videogames, and so on. Record them, transcribe them, record them yourself, and then listen back to hear if you're as "vocally free" as they are. Go to http://www.edgestudio.com/voice-over/practice-scripts and find categories of scripts such as "kid's", "animation", and so on to work with.
   
• If you haven't gotten it by now, we STRONGLY encourage practicing. With us, by yourself, with a small group of other talent.

WANT HELP? WE HAVE MANY PRACTICE PROGRAMS - JUST ASK 888-321-edge.

Want more work? Then be prepared!

Nothing in life goes as planned. (You ought to know this by now.) This includes recording sessions. But a little proactive preparation can turn any situation into one your clients applaud you for. Which means more work.

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New client?

New clients often don't give enough information. Learn about their company by reading their website. Who and where are their customers? What product or service do they sell? Can previous recordings be heard on their website? Knowing these things will help you gauge your vocal delivery and create a very happy client. Plus a little compliment goes a l-o-n-g way ("I like your website"). You'll further win them over and also show that you've done your homework.

- - - - -

New words?

Foreign cities, historical figures, scientific jargon,... You think "ugh!". But we see an opportunity to impress your client. Prepare! Request the script early (often the final version is not available, but usually a working version is). Research the pronunciation of new words. To make it easier, many online dictionaries contain narrated pronunciation guides. So learn your words. Write them phonetically in your script. Practice. And make a client very happy!

- - - - -

Unexpected work?

What was supposed to be 45 seconds of an online tutorial unexpectedly becomes 2 tutorials and a disclaimer for a tradeshow video. Show how experienced and professional you are by saying, "I'm glad to record this. However the estimate I gave was only on the script you had told me about - my rate for the new material is $100." What makes you look so professional? It's broaching this difficult topic comfortably and clearly, and knowing your rate card in your head (see www.edgestudio.com/Voice-Over-Rate-Card.htm).

- - - - -

Unexpected clients?

27 people join the recording session (either at the studio or via phone-patch/ISDN). You think "this sucks". But we think differently. We see an amazing opportunity to demonstrate your skills in front of many new potential customers. Frightened of speaking in front of a large group? Then practice by volunteering to speak at your library, reading to the elderly, to kids, to blind persons. Join and speak at Toastmasters. Once comfortable in front of a group, you will continue to impress more and more clients.

- - - - -

Very, VERY demanding client?

"I have 5 minutes to get this done and uh, emphasize the second word, add just a beat after the fourth word, and the video changes music from mysterious to happy where I put a mark in your script (it's hard to see the mark though - my ink was running low) so change your delivery there as well. Okay, let's go. Rolling?" If you're well trained, no sweat! You can kick ass (uh, larynx) and impress your client no matter how demanding the client. The magic ingredients are to a-l-w-a-y-s remain calm and have control of your voice.

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Technical mishap?

"Uh oh" says the engineer. "No problem!" you say, just as the client was about to become concerned, "I'll be fine." Now you've done it again - impressed another client. Practice reading without headphones. Practice reading sitting on a broken stool with the leg going... Practice being directed over a very poor telephone connection (have a friend direct you through old walkie-talkies to simulate this). Practice and be prepared.

Conclusion: Every job is another opportunity to "win over" another client and INCREASE the amount of work you get. You should prepare. Edge Studio is glad to help.

Smooth jazz. Smooth skin. Smooth vodka. Everyone likes smooth.

This goes for voice over as well - both producers and listeners prefer smooth deliveries over choppy ones. However many talent read choppily... especially less experienced talent.

Following are the most common types and causes of choppiness. If you want to create smooth relationships with casting professionals and producers, read on.

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DRAMATIC PAUSES

Due to being dramatic and theatrical.

These pauses occur much more often among less experienced talent. Talent feel that dramatic pauses make their delivery sound better, more interesting, and more intriguing. However no matter how good these pauses sounds, the read will generally sound significantly better (smoother) without them.

For example, many talent will pause after the word “Security” in the following sentence, believing that this will add drama. In actuality, most producers do not want drama, and instead prefer a smoother, more natural delivery without the pause. Try reading it both ways.

“Aetna Insurance. Security for a lifetime.”

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CLARYIFYING (and often SUBCONSCIOUS) PAUSES

Due to trying too hard to make the delivery ultra-clear for the listener. Also due to lack of confidence.

Less experienced talent try real hard to make their delivery clear for the listener. In doing so, they separate phrases of the script into little choppy bits. This often occurs unknowingly. Once pointed out, they often recognize how choppy they were and how much better their reads sound when reading smoothly.

For example, most talent will pause in the following sentences (where the slash is). However these sentences will usually sound significantly better (smoother) if read without the pause. Try reading these examples with the pauses. Then try reading the sentences without the pauses. Notice how much better (smoother) they sound the second time. Most producers will prefer it without the pauses:

“Save on men's, women's, and children's fashions / at the one-day super sale!”

“Call 1-800-123-4567 / for more information.”

“PetMeds saves you time and money / on all your family's pet medications.”

“Please contact customer service / on the number on the card.”

“Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 / in Hardin County, Kentucky.”

“What we at Travelers Insurance / have been dedicated to providing for 130 years.”

“The easy-to-follow lessons / and innovative accompanying CD included in your packet...”

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UNINTENTIONAL PAUSES BEFORE WORDS THAT BEGIN WITH VOWELS

Due to “working the words” too hard (forcing words).

This epitome of choppiness happens with aspiring talent, professional talent, and singers. The technical term for this occurrence is a “Glottal Stop.” Getting rid of these nasty little pauses makes a voice over delivery go from unprofessional sounding to professional.

For example, read the following sentence. There is a good chance that you will unintentionally pause before the words “always” and “every.” Now try reading it again, this time without the pauses. Notice how much better (smoother) it sounds:

“J.C.Penny always has every item on sale!”

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ROBOTIC DELIVERY

Due to articulating too carefully, being hesitant, and/or over-thinking when reading.

If you're like most aspiring voice talent, the more you try, the choppier your delivery will be. To repair this, just relax. One of best techniques you can employ to sound smooth is to be relaxed, comfortable, and experienced.

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GRAMMATICAL PAUSES

Due to little experience.

Some punctuation marks are necessary for print but should NOT be used for voice over. Dates, locations, and lists are examples.

For example, read the following sentence twice - the first time following all punctuation marks (which are necessary for print) and the second time without pausing. Notice how the second version sounds better (smoother) without the pauses:

“Dr. Gerard created the first blue, dynamic pithi-scope on September 14th, 1953, in Dallas, Texas.

PS: You likely paused after “pithi-scope” when reading the sentence the first time. That pause is unnecessary, and your delivery will sound better (smoother) without it.”

- - - - -

IT'S SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT THAT I PAUSED

Due to copy-writer's and/or client's inexperience.

Inexperienced copy-writers and clients often do not read the script out loud before giving it to the voice talent, and therefore often give the voice talent a script full of too many punctuation marks.

Also, clients sometimes take copy directly from print sources and assume it will work well for voice over, when in actuality it will not.

In either case, voice talent are often presented with scripts that contain unnecessary punctuation marks. In these instances, ask the producer if they will prefer alternate reads where punctuation marks are disregarded.

For example, read the following script the way it is written - notice how choppy it is. Now read it again, this time eliminating the majority of pauses. You will hear how much better (smoother) it sounds:

“When reading scripts, written by inexperienced script writers, who sometimes use “too many punctuation marks,” like this sentence... the voice talent will sound very, VERY choppy, if they read every single punctuation mark.”

Final thoughts:

- A good rule of thumb is: “pause between phrases, not within them.” This will create a delivery that sounds natural, as most words in genuine conversation connect to each other.

- There is a time and place for everything. For example, certain scripts may sound terrific with many pauses. Sometimes a client may request a delivery style that appears choppy, yet when mixed with the visual seems appropriate.

- The majority of unnecessary and excessive pauses sound better when eliminated, and instead a smooth delivery is used.

- No matter how good dramatic pauses sound, quite often the delivery will sound better without them.

While one professional producer may tell you that it’s okay to change words in a script, the next will tell you that this should never be done. So who’s right?

Both are. Every situation depends on certain circumstances. So how do you know? Ask. Ask the producer if it’s okay.

Reasons for wanting to change words:

• you believe that the copy will read more naturally if two words are contracted or if a colloquialism is used
• you believe that the copy is confusing and editing it can clarify it
• you believe that the copy is too wordy and can be more succinct
• you believe the copy is grammatically incorrect
• Mention text that appears to be incorrect.

But never argue if the producer tells you to not change anything.

Reasons why the copy (sometimes) can NOT be changed:

• the copy is exactly how the producer wants it
• the copy has been "signed off" by the advertising department, the legal department, and/or the client

At Edge Studio, our clients clients sometimes give us liberty to edit the copy as we believe necessary. But unless that occurs, we ask our client if a change can be made.

As a side note, remember that while written English is different than spoken English, many copywriters write in written English, yet they desire the voice-over artist to deliver their copy with a "spoken" English delivery. Sometimes this is difficult. In the past few years, I’ve seen more and more copywriters writing the copy how the want it delivered - in a spoken English way, using contractions, colloquialisms, additional punctuation marks, etc.

For practice, read formal text at home (an encyclopedia for instance) and convert its formal style into a conversational delivery "on the fly." This is a great exercise.

One of the key skills a professional voice-over artist must have is an ability to maintain a consistent vocal delivery. This is more difficult than it sounds, and can take years to master. There are several situations where consistency is crucial:

ONE MODIFICATION

When recording, it is common for the director to request that you re-record a sentence with a modification. It is imperative that when you re-record, the specified modification is changed ... while other components of your voice remain the same.

However, some voice over artists inadvertently mix different components of their delivery together and, as a result, modify more than the one component that they intended to change. For example, some voice over artists increase their volume when asked for more smile. Some tend to slow down their tempo when requested to decrease their projection. Watch out for these and other mishaps.

To practice, read this sentence multiple times, each time only changing one component:

"Born with absolute pitch, infallible rhythm, and natural comprehension of harmony, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had come into this world with a complete gift."

ENTHUSIASM AND SPONTANEITY

Often, the voice over artist is requested to read the script multiple times so that the director has the ability to edit together sections from each recording to create the ultimate version. However, many voice over artists tend to lose their spontaneity and enthusiasm when reading the same script repeatedly. If your sound varies between takes, the recordings will not edit together smoothly. It is essential that your vocal delivery remains consistent.

With ample practice and good concentration, most voice-over artists can learn to keep the spontaneity and enthusiasm consistent.

An easy way to practice is to read the following documentary script 10 times. Be sure to maintain a consistent delivery. Then randomly edit together various phrases together ... for example, use the first phrase from the 7th take, the second phrase from the 4th take, and so on. When completed, listen back - the edited recording should sound as if you read it one time through.

p>

"The Zambezi river is 1,700 miles long from its source to its mouth on the shores of the Indian Ocean. It was formed during the volcanic upheavals of the Jurassic period about 150 million years ago, when an old river was split into two. The Zambezi is the fourth-largest river in Africa. It rises in northern Zambia, and flows southwest into Angola before turning back into Zambia and heading south."

Here is another script to practice with. Read it 10 times - making sure that your speed, volume, tone, pitch... remain consistent.

"In Premiere Magazine, you'll read about the making of movies, shot by shot. Catch the rising stars. See what hot new movies are in the works. Plus much more."

CONSISTENCY OVER TIME

Some recordings are long enough that they are recorded on multiple days, such as audio-books. In these instances, it is essential that your vocal delivery remains consistent from day to day, so that when the recording is edited together, it flows smoothly.

To practice, read one sentence of the following example each day until the entire paragraph is completed. Then play back the entire recording. It should sound smooth and harmonious. If it does not, you are not consistent enough.

Note: It is common for professionals to ask the engineer to play back the last 15 seconds of the previous day's recording prior to recording, so that they can match the delivery style.

"In our next segment we visit individual stadiums, explore tales of the classic teams, legendary stars, and the devotion of the American baseball fan. First stop: Yankee Stadium, home of the team America loves to hate and breeding ground for a host of superstars and legends. Back at the Hall of Fame in the World Series room, we explore the lives of ordinary men with extraordinary skills. And look at how and why Americans have elevated such men to mythic places in our folklore. Chicago, Illinois -- in America's foremost sports city, our first location is Comiskey Park, the oldest standing major league ballpark in America."

Every voice-over artists emphasizes words.

Yet some chose better words.

In our Industry GuideBook (www.edgestudio.com/guidebook.htm), word emphasis is discussed first in “foundation technique” where basic word emphasis is discussed, such as hitting client names. Second in “advanced technique” where you learn to hit words that turn an otherwise plain read into an exciting and/or more appropriate one. Here is some of that text:

A. Hitting PRONOUNS can help enforce a point.

• Fortune Magazine is the source individuals turn to for information that is critical to THEIR success.
• We're sorry, THAT is an invalid entry.
• Hoffman Furniture is throwing its doors wide open for the wildest bargain frenzy YOU'VE ever seen.

B. Hitting ADVERBS and ADJECTIVES can also strengthen a point.

• With new Suave shampoo, you'll add shine and bounce the HEALTHY way.
• Step 1: CAREFULLY insert piece A into slot B. Step2:...
• Breyers DELICIOUS PREMIUM ice cream has an IRRESTIBLE taste.

C. Hitting CONJUNCTIONS can bring extra enthusiasm to the copy.

• With air-conditioning AND power windows, you can't go wrong!
• The company is best known for creating tools that utilize step-AND-scan technology.
• Get a 10% cash rebate OR $500 cash back!

D. Hitting the first word of phrases can “open up” the delivery. Note, a common error that voice-over artists make is rushing the first word of a phrase, instead of valuing it.

• JUST waiting to engage your driving passion for performance.
• IN this video presentation, you'll learn how clear plastic is recycled.

Part of a voice-talent's job is to establish an appropriate delivery. Once mastered, you appear professional, experienced, and polished. This article will discuss how to develop and maintain an appropriate delivery.

To begin, here are errors voice-talent often make during their recording sessions:

• 1. taking too long to develop the appropriate delivery
• 2. not using the appropriate delivery from the beginning of the script
• 3. not maintaining the delivery

After showing up at the recording studio, members of the creative team (producer, copywriter, engineer, and client) work with you to develop the intended delivery. This is based upon factors, such as who will listen to the completed product, what it's purpose is, where it will be played. While you'll have as much time as necessary to develop the correct delivery, it is always best to do it as quickly as possible.

The production team will give you directions like “You need to be softer and more emotional,” or “Give us a bit more smile,” or “Try lowering your pitch.”

The production team may even attempt to demonstrate the required delivery to you. Listen carefully to their voices, try to pick up the subtle nuances they demonstrate. Remember that their voices may not be trained, so use their example only as the framework for your character. Don't simply mimic them.

Sometimes, you'll be requested to use a certain delivery sound that you had included on your demo.

By taking the following steps, an experienced voice-over artist can just about “nail” the delivery on the first take.

- - - - -

A. Conjure up a mental image of the finished recording as if a professional had recorded it. Then mimic it. By creating and mimicking this mental image, development of the delivery should be easier.

To conjure up the mental image, concentrate on two items:

• 1. Audio — Imagine you were the audience, and were listening to a voice-over artist reading the script. What would the voice-over artist sound like? What type of delivery would be used? Would there be music playing in the background? If so, what kind?
• 2. Visual — Compose a visual scene that helps you establish the mood of the copy. What type of characters would you see? What would the visuals look like?

- - - - -

B. Think about the application of the voice-over. For example:

If the voice-over is for a visual (such as a documentary, children's picturebook, etc.), then the delivery should be on the slower side. This is so the viewer has time to take in the visual as well as the audio. But if there is no visual (as with a radio commercial, voice-mail, etc.), the delivery should be faster. This way it will not drag for the listener.

To notice this, watch a television documentary with your eyes closed. The voice-over will appear too slow. However, with your eyes opened, the speed will seem appropriate.

A radio commercial will generally require more variety and energy than a television commercial. This is because the only thing on the radio commercial is the voice, as opposed to a television commercial, which has a visual to help hold the attention of the audience.

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C. Recall a situation in which you naturally used the required delivery. For example, if you need to record a funny commercial, think of a funny joke. This mind-set makes it significantly easier to develop a fine-tuned character sound.

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D. Create the delivery by using the 4 components of our voice: pitch, tempo, tone, and volume.

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E. Manipulate the delivery so that it is neither overdone nor underdone. But beware: there is a very fine line between the two.

Generally, voice-over artists feel that they are employing more character than they actually are. In fact, the producer typically needs to direct the voice-over artist to give more character, so that the desired character level is achieved.

However, then the common tendency of the voice-over artist is to over-compensate and give too much.

If you're unsure of how much character to give, begin with too much, as that will most likely be appropriate. And on the rare occasion when it is too much, you will impress the producer by demonstrating an ability to cover a large range — and that could lead to additional work.

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F. Develop a “lead-in” (also known as a “silent warm-up”). A lead-in is a word or phrase that you think prior to reading the script. This acts as a warm-up, and makes it easier to establish the character on the first word.

This is a common technique in the industry, because establishing the appropriate delivery on the first word is difficult. Without employing a lead-in, it is common for the first word to be in the wrong delivery. Producers will not accept this.

Very often, a lead-in may be as short as, “Ya' know,” or “Listen,” or “Okay.”

Practice reading the following sentences. Notice that in the first example, the first word will not be as full of character as it will be on the second example.

Script: I was walking into my bank, and the teller said something about free...

Now add a lead-in: It was amazing, I was walking into my bank, and the teller said ...

OVERVIEW:

Mumbling... It's a popular form of speech, in fact preferred on certain words, that must be controlled to deliver voice-over copy. In this article, you'll learn when to mumble, where not to mumble, and how to control it.

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FORMAL VS INFORMAL:

Every natural conversation has a differently accepted, colloquial way of speaking - and because of it, we sound credible. In other words, depending upon the type of natural conversational, we adjust our colloquial way of speaking - sometimes we speak formally (enunciate words clearly) - and other times we speak informally (mumble).The voice-over artist's job is to determine how formally or informally the script should be pronounced, and then deliver the script accordingly. If any words are over-enunciated or too mumbled, the listener will find the recording unlikable.So pronounce words as they are spoken in genuine conversation, and then tailor the sound to match the formality of the script.

For example, the word "mountain" is pronounced without the "t" in most forms of standard English. Certain speakers, however, pronounce the "t," such as in Midwest and British English. Therefore, both pronunciations of "mountain" are colloquially correct.

So how do you know when, or which way to pronounce it? Well, if you're reading an informal commercial, such as:

"Up here in the mountains, we love Coors Beer." the "t" should not be pronounced.

Yet if reading a formal documentary, such as:

"The Clifford Mountain range stands over 4,700 feet high." then the "t' should be pronounced.

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CONTROL:

So now comes the difficult part - controlling your voice. And the most difficult part is finding the 'fine-line' between mumbling and over-articulating...without sounding affected. In other words, when most people concentrate on articulation more clearly than their natural speech, they sound affected, constricted, and too deliberate - and that is a turn-off for producers.It's easy to learn how to do this. To begin, listen carefully to professional voice-overs - take note when they're mumbling (it's difficult to notice, as this sounds natural and therefore doesn't stand out). Also take note when they're articulating clearly...without sounding affected.

Then, do articulation exercises. Practice reading aloud, while simultaneously feeling your mouth form the sounds that you're speaking. In other words, physically feel your mouth make the different sounds of each word. At first, you'll sound affected - but given a little practice, you'll be able to do this reflexively - and then it will sound conversational.

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PRACTICE:

Begin with formal scripts, such as:

In this AT&T new employee training video, we'll discuss the Technical Service Center, and how advanced technology provides quality service. Our patented, highly sophisticated EXPERT System is an application of artificial intelligence that can diagnose troubles and recommend solutions, based on historical maintenance data. This set of software programs can identify a problem and, whenever possible, remotely clear the alarm. If dispatch of a technician is required, all the information from the EXPERT System is available, so that the right technician with the right training and the right parts is dispatched. The trouble can then be repaired on the first visit, minimizing any disruption to your system.

Then move to difficult tongue twisters:

Which wrist watches are Swiss wrist watches?

In summary, your goal is to be able to read colloquially or formally...on command...without sounding affected.

Good luck. Please call with any additional questions - 888-321-edge

WANT TO IMPRESS PRODUCERS?

Following are various recording situations, and suitable ways to read for them. The objective is to raise your awareness of what producers, as well as the listener, will require.

PLEASE NOTE - there are many, MANY ways each and every script can be delivered...and it is up to the producer (not you) to inform you. What follows are ONLY some thoughts and ideas... DO NOT rely on these. Instead follow the producer’s direction.

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VOICE-PROMPT SYSTEM

("press 1 for this, press 2 for that", etc)

When choosing a tempo for a voice-prompt system, the pace should be conversational - even though the natural instinct is to use a slow and drawn-out pace. This is because the users want to navigate themselves through the system as quickly as possible - as opposed to hearing a long set of tedious voice-prompts. Make sure not to read too quickly, or the users will not be able to understand the prompts.

Another tempo consideration is whether the client (the company paying for the recording) or the user will pay for the service. And if it is the user, another consideration is whether they pay one set fee, or a fee based upon the amount of time that they use the system.

For example, if the client is paying for the system (such as "obtaining a bank balance" from a bank, or "purchasing a product" from a catalogue company), then the client is paying for each minute of that telephone call. Therefore, the quicker the information is delivered, the less they pay.

Conversely, if the user is paying for the system (such as "software technical help" services), then it may be advantageous for the pace to be slower, so that the client receives greater income. This will not be the case if the user pays one set fee for the service (such as a user who has paid for a year’s worth of "software technical help").

Next, to figure out how articulated the recording should be, consider what percentage of users are not fluent in the recorded language. For example, if many international users will use the system, the delivery must be articulated more clearly, so that the information is clear. However, users which speak the recorded language will typically be turned of by a voice which is over-articulated.

Then, when establishing the amount of enthusiasm to employ, take into account how long the user will hear the recording. A rule of thumb is: the longer the user will listen, the more enthusiasm there must be. For example, if recording a short prompt, such as, "For sales, press one...for an operator, press two...etc" the delivery can be somewhat plain. Yet if recording a long prompt, such as, "While you’re on hold, we’d like to tell you about...", then the delivery should be more enthusiastic.

Also, for deciding on an enthusiasm level, consider how often the user will use the system. If the user will use it frequently (such as a "voice-mail retrieval" system, or a "stock quote update" system), a somewhat plain delivery is appropriate. This is because the user will eventually become bored of hearing the same "sing-songy" recording repeatedly. However, if the user will use it infrequently, a more animated recording may be appropriate to keep their attention.

When deciding how formal to make the delivery, a somewhat informal style is preferred, although the natural instinct is to read formally. The reason for this is that users are generally turned off by non-conversational tones, as they do not appear credible.

Finally, when considering how formal to deliver the script, take into account if the system will be used primarily for entertainment (as in "daily horoscope" or "movie reviews"), or simply for informational purposes (such as "obtaining a banking balance" or "purchasing an airline seat"). When recording for entertainment, the delivery should be more relaxed and casual - with a bit of smile in your voice. Yet for an informative recording, the delivery should be more formal.

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AIRLINE VIDEO

("Thank you for flying American Airlines.", "Exits are located...", "Your seat acts as a flotation device...", "Movies can be heard on channel...", etc).

When recording the narration for an airline video, a conversational, friendly, comforting, and informative tone is required. Basically, use a tone as if you were speaking to an passenger face-to-face.

To demonstrate this point, pretend that you are an airline passenger - and now think what type of voice would you prefer to listen to. In this situation, you probably would prefer a friendly and conversational one...not an announcement being lectured at you in a strong tone of voice.

And while the many international passengers will require a clearly articulated delivery, an overly articulated voice will turn off all the passengers, since it is unnatural.

Also, while a non-animated delivery seems logical, it will only bore the passengers. Instead, a more enthusiastic voice is required, to hold the attention of the passengers. However, too much enthusiasm will turn off the passengers, as it may be viewed as over-the-top (and unnatural). This is especially true for passengers who fly often, and hear the recordings on a regular basis.

An educative approach also seems necessary, seeing that the passengers need to learn a lot of information. Yet, most people respond and retain information better when given in a friendly and natural tone (as they may tune out a lecturing tone).

Finally, while a confident tone is necessary for passengers, if it is too confident, it will turn off passengers. Instead, use a soft, reassuring, and comforting tone, as some passengers may be nervous when flying.

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CHILDREN’S SCRIPTS

If recording a children’s audio-book (where there are no pictures), the pace must be fairly quick, so that the child’s interest is kept. Also, the delivery needs to be more animated for an audio-book, as the delivery is the only thing conveying the story’s character and emotion.

When reading a picture book , use a slower pace. These books are designed to help children read - they are accompanied with an audio recording of the word and will "beep" to signal the child to turn to the next page. A slower pace will allow the child has time to see the pictures, while still following along with the words.

Finally, if recording a cartoon, the emotion must be delivered in such a way that it matches the cartoon, so that the voice-over and graphics are in sync.

Good luck!