Coaching | Dave Courvoisier's Blog

Brain Up!

February 17, 2011 By CourVO Leave a Comment

No, I didn’t have time to catch the live Teleseminar with Nancy Wolfson and Anna Vocino the other day, either. I heard it was great. 75 min. lecture, 15 mins. Q&A. Woot!

Luckily, like all the other Acting for Advertising seminars from the duo, this one is now downloadable for a most reasonable price on the Break Into Voiceover.com site.

And you know…right?…that Nancy is THE most sought-after voiceover coach on the planet, and there’s a reason why…right? OK, good! Call her…get on the schedule, and find out why it’s called “BrainTracksAudio”.

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Also, John Armstrong, Managing director at World Gaming Executives.com and Gamevoices asked me to post on the Voice-Over Friends FaceBook group the following message: “…I’m looking for some video game voiceover people who might add their voices to the http://www.gamevoices.co.uk/ site with a short sound file…”

It’s already gotten some responses, but no reason why yours couldn’t still be one of ‘em.
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Finally, an ambitious website I found that compares voices against each other for similar jobs: Behindthevoiceactors.com. The site covers most of the popular niches of work we’d all like to build our resume with.

The site claims to be: “… a community database of voice over actors for fans to learn and discuss voice acting about those already in the industry. Only its cranked up to give you a visual and audible experience of seeing images and listening to sound clips of the actors themselves of the character roles they play, rather than a typical credit list of text names.”

If nothing else, click the “commercials” tab at the top to listen to some of the top commercials on the air right now…and see what the people are doing who are getting the work!

CourVO

Filed Under: Coaching, Referral, Training/Education Tagged With: Anna Vocino, Behindthevoiceactors.com, BraintracksAudio, Break Into Voiceover.com, Gaming voices, John Armstrong, Nancy Wolfson, VO, voice acting, voice actors, World Gaming Executives

Anatomy of an Accent: Pamela Vanderway

January 6, 2011 By CourVO Leave a Comment

URL: http://www.internetvoicecoach.com/public/The_Pamela_Van…

EXCELLENT online interview conducted by Paul Strikwerda of one of the best coaches in the biz for dialects/accents. It’s work, folks…just like everything else!

CourVO

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/hGiODR

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Coaching, internet, pamela vanderway interview, training, voiceover

“Conduct” Your Career

January 3, 2011 By CourVO Leave a Comment

James Alburger and Penny Abshire are launching a new “membership support service” for all levels of VO achievement.

Alburger and Abshire are the force behind many VO businesses. They are the producers and originators of the ‘VOICE’ series of voice-acting conferences. They do coaching, voicing, podcasts, seminars, webinars, demos, producing, consulting, and more…much of it under the auspices of “The Voice Acting Academy“.

Now, they’re launching a new business which may have great value to you…and you can choose from one of three levels of commitment and pricing.

It’s called “THE CONDUCTOR’S CLUB“, and it’s designed to help you advance your career and your VO business, no matter where you are in the process.

Check it out…this might be just what you need to move forward with voice acting in the new year!

CourVO

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: James Alburger, Penny Abshire, The Conductors Club, The VoiceActing Academy, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent

Harlan’s Great List

July 1, 2010 By CourVO Leave a Comment

When I walked into the newsroom today there was free pizza. ”Why?” I asked the nearest reporter. ”The fires,” he said. “Oh,” I replied…not having the foggiest notion what he was talking about. ’Turns out the fire season came to Southern Nevada today, and I had no clue ’til I walked into the newsroom. (We sometimes get free food when there’s no time to take a break in the coverage.)

The important lesson here is that the veil of self-assurance can be quickly and easily ripped from your over-confident face in a flash.

Here I was a newsman, who didn’t have a clue about the news.

Similarly, I’m a voice-actor, who apparently is the LAST to know about Harlan Hogan’s excellent list of voiceover coaches, pleasingly arranged by region.

Harlan is no slouch, and is certainly one of the top voiceover coaches himself, so while I haven’t vetted this list myself, I feel fairly safe in passing it along. A quick run down the list affirms many of the names I’d use in a second, and plan to use in good time.

So, there you go…free pizza, and a heckuva list. I’m humbled.

CourVO

(also, grats to the VO-BB for this tip. The VO-BB: a spot-on community forum for all that matters in VO-land)

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent

Voice Coaching

April 1, 2010 By CourVO Leave a Comment

Voice coaching is something to approach with caution. Usually the best way to know whether it’s worth the time/money is through a referral from a trusted friend, and even then you should qualify whether your needs are the same as your friend’s.

Some coaches are so way off-the-charts in demand that you have trouble getting on their roster (Wolfson, Tobias, Horvath). OK, I shouldn’t name names, but there’s no shortage of VO coaches, and no shortage of debate about the efficacy of some operations, and whether they are a conveyor belt, flooding the market. Ya know, I’m not here to get into all that in this article.

I just wanted to throw out the following link for those who may be considering an alternative. VOCareer.com.

All I know is Gabrielle Nistico is on the staff, and one of the founders, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about her. They’ve been around for quite a while, which is a good sign. Call ‘em up and ask questions. It’s the only way you’ll get answers.

Right now VOCareer is sending out the ACCELERATE flyer, and you may find something of interest there for you.

CourVO

Filed Under: Coaching, Training/Education Tagged With: vocareer, VoCareer.com, voice, voice actor, voice artist, voice coach, voice over, voice talent, voice-coaching, voiceover, voiceover talent, voices

Coaching vs. Voicing

March 25, 2010 By CourVO Leave a Comment

The responses to the question I posed a couple of days ago in ‘VOICE OR TEACH‘ were most edifying.

I thought I had this issue all sussed out, and I wasn’t even close.

The crux of my argument probably came out this way: “…Don’t you just want to put all your waking energy into getting better VO jobs?…wouldn’t that pay better than putting all your energy into teaching VO?…”

My good friend Chris Wagner tended to agree:
I think it’s easier to teach because there is a pool of readily available students. And the competition is less fierce, whereas the competition for actually doing voice over is much greater by a number of factors.
How do you keep on top of your skills, and still be considered an expert in your field, if you are not actively doing the very stuff that you teach?

VoxMarketising genius Peter O’Connell added this:
The only reason I started up Voice Over Workshop a few years ago was that I decided I was tired of spending so much time on the phone offering free career advice. My time has a value to it and after I sat and did the math (counting on both my fingers AND toes, mind you) I realized that being a nice guy felt good but it didn’t pay good.

Scotland-based voice-acting ace Philip Banks put it succinctly:
The key for a buyer of VO classes is DON’T BE IMPRESSED BY THE PERSON, be impressed by what the person can bring to the party ….YOUR PARTY.

Canadian-based voice actor and coach Deb Munro had the most meaty response. I’m pasting an excerpt here, but you should really take the time to read her whole comment at the bottom of the article.
MANY of my first workshops were free……as I just wanted to help….it’s a part of my personality.
I am not a coach who couldn’t so they taught….I am just a very honest person who DOESN’T BELIEVE that I own any information and it is all of ours to share. No one has to agree, it’s just how I feel.

I was hoping Bettye Zoller would respond on this topic. Like Deb, she’s prolific in both ends of the spectrum here. Bettye responded to me on FaceBook:
It does not have to be either or…some of the greatest musicians and actors in history also have taught future generations their arts and crafts. I adore teaching but own a recording studio as you know and have recording clients, not only my vo work, but my producer functions for others. It’s a wonderful life. Try teaching. You’ll learn so much! I always tell my students they learn, but I learn more!! Teach it and you KNOW it.

Finally, the thoughtful, eloquent, and incisive JS Gilbert offered a full 4-page document on the issue. JS says he’s got partial laryngitis, and uses the time to get his voice into shape each day to write, and avoid the negative thoughts. I’m glad he chimed-in on this one. I’m reprinting his entire treatise below. Take the time to read it for the great perspective he brings to this question. Thanks JS!

…and thanks all who contributed their thoughts.

CourVO

Voice or Teach?

March 21, 2010 By CourVO 7 Comments

More and more I’ve been thinking about all the great voice-actors who are teaching: Pat Fraley, Deb Munro, Marc Cashman, Hillary Huber, Bettye Zoller, Harlan Hogan…

Why?…

I mean, is teaching VO more lucrative than DOING VO?

If you can do both, then, of course, more power to ya!…but all I EVER wanted to do was VO…not teach VO.

Do you reach a point in your VO career where you want to teach more than voice? Don’t you just want to put all your waking energy into getting better VO jobs?…wouldn’t that pay better than putting all your energy into teaching VO?

Do you reach a point where teaching VO is more FUN than doing VO?

I’ve been anchoring local TV news for 30 years, and I’ve never reached a point where I want to coach TV newscasters for money. I LOVE mentoring others trying to get a leg-up in the business… but coaching people to be better broadcasters? ‘Doesn’t appeal to me in the least. I’d rather just anchor.

So I ask…why teach?

The only variable I keep coming back to is money. It must be more lucrative to teach than to voice. Maybe ego. That would motivate some, I guess.

Of course, you can’t just set up shop and teach VO without having DONE it to the point of respect. THEN you can legitimately hang out a shingle, and expect to get students. Right?

Maybe the pros who are teaching are just more naturally drawn to teaching or suited for teaching rather than voicing….

This is just stream-of-consciousness thinking-out-loud, here…

I’m trying to understand this.

I’m doing a session at VOICE2010 on social networking, but it’s not because I really want to. I was asked. I’m not getting paid. People say they’re interested in what I might have to say. Maybe I can help. I could see where ego comes into it. It’s nice to be wanted…but I’d much rather spend that time voicing a sweet national network spot at union rates.

Could it be that picking the low-hanging fruit is too irresistible? I mean, there’re all those eager newbies who say “…I’ve always been told I have a good voice…could I do commercials?…” Do they make it more lucrative to teach than to voice?

Anyone?

CourVO

Filed Under: Coaching, Training/Education Tagged With: Coaching, teaching, voice, voice actor, voice actors, voice artist, voice artists, voice over, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent, Voiceovers, voices

Bettye on Business

November 12, 2009 By CourVO 1 Comment

Sometimes we get so wrapped-up in the auditioning, and the marketing…keeping up with technology and making cold calls that we forget voice acting MUST be run like a business.

Sure we need to brush up on talent skills, but do you have a business plan? How do you track your financial progress? What’s your next goal?

Bettye Zoller is an ace talent, and well-recognized voice coach, but lately she’s got an axe to grind about keeping a good business sense about your BUSINESS of voiceovers.

See “below-the-fold” for some answers to a few questions I posed to Bettye about that, but even more so…saunter on over to THIS site, and sign up for a live webinar featuring Bettye next Thursday, November 19th.

The webinar is being expertly organized by John Florian’s VoiceOverXtra online resource. If you know Bettye at all, you know she doesn’t mince her words…and always speaks from a wealth of experience in a very frank and engaging manner. You will learn a lot!

HERE is a link to a FaceBook page with info too.

CourVO

AnActorWorks

July 22, 2009 By CourVO Leave a Comment

Bob Fraser speaks a lot of truth. He comes from a foundation of experience, and he’s good at saying some honest things you probably need to hear as an actor. Remember, we’re voice ACTORS, we don’t just do “voiceovers”… so a lot of what he has to say stings with its legitimacy.