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List ‘O ‘Leven Latest Links

January 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The new year finally woke up!  So much VO stuff flying around in the matrix, and this blog lists a bunch of ‘em…for my own notebooking if nothing else.  ‘Hope you find something here you may not have seen yet.

ONE: SAG and AFTRA say they’re closer to a merger.  This is the result of years of posturing, and then months of negotiation.  Peter O’Connell does an excellent blog post about the proposed merger, and you can read the official document on the merger announcement.  This could be big, and may swing a lot of people over to the union camp. I’ll be watching closely.

TWO: VOICE2012 is announcing a major contributor/sponsor for this year’s big VO event at Disneyland:  VOICES.COM.  See the entire announcement from organizers James and Penny, and the VOICE2012 anouncement from VOICES.com.  BTW, James and Penny hosted a wonderful teleseminar last night with guest Terry Daniel, and the announcement about their next upcoming free teleseminar with VO Pro Wallly Wingert is already announced.

THREE: Sometimes you just need to get the word out, and fast (and preferably free).  Well, here’s a list of 50 FREE News Release sites on the web.  My thanks to fellow audiobook narrator Judith West for this link along with this great article on the best Social Reading sites on the web for perhaps spreading the word about your latest royalty-share audiobook narration, so you can create a bigger buzz to get it sold.

FOUR: Get an Agent With an Agent.  Peter Pamela Rose posts on FB:  “ACTING BUSINESS BOOT CAMP Presents HOW TO GET AN AGENT WITH AN AGENT with Commercial Agent Kirsten Walther from CESD, NYC Thursday, January 26th from 6:30 – 10pm. This One Night Class is a phenomenal opportunity to meet one of NY’s most sought after Commercial Agents and learn what you need to do to NEVER worry about your commercial career again! Only $69 ($59 if you book before Tuesday, January 17!) LAST CHANCE FOR THE DISCOUNT!!! For questions, please email peterpamelarose@gmail.com and feel free to forward this amazing opportunity to your friends!”

FIVE: Derek Chappell seeking comments for a blog article he’s writing (and it’s bound to be good), about those of us who are “in transition” to full-time VO work, or at some time in the not-too-distant future, hope to be full-time voice actors.  Derek writes:  “I’m working on a project and would appreciate your input to the following questions. For those who are still doing voiceover part-time, but are striving to make it your full-time occupation, what are your challenges, struggles, and obstacles, and how are you dealing with them to eventually make the leap. For those who have made the leap to full-time, what struggles did you endure and even though you’re full time now, what struggles/challenges do you still face. Comment here, or email derek@thevoiceofyourbusiness.com. Thanks for your time.”

SIX:  Where is Ted Williams now?…(the homeless “voice” who made such a splash last year?) Doing pretty well, thankyou!  Check out this YouTube video for the ET report.

SEVEN:  My fellow Social Media geek, Terry Daniel is a busy guy these days.  Hot on the heels of his telelseminar last night (see #1), he’s planning a similar offering with Voices.com.  Ashley Hall, the Social Media Manager for Voices.com and voiceover talent welcomes social media marketing expert, Terry Daniel on ‘Social Media for Your Voiceover Business’ webinar to teach you how you can increase your business online and attract qualified clients using social media. Sign up here!

EIGHT: My friend over at CommercialVoices.com — Rick Gordon — is having a sale worth considering for his subscription site.  There are a lot of fine talent already present, and Rick’s site gets lots of visits.  This link has all the details of Rick’s ongoing “sale” till the end of the month.

NINE: In case you missed it, I invite you to input on the Pyramid of (perceived) VO Success that I launched yesterday on this blog.  You may see some gaps in my coverage that you can fill….and thanks Doug de Nance for your input!

TEN:  I’ve been busy with some VO teleseminars and  local business seminars, myself on the subject of Social Media, and I want to share with you the hottest new social network growing by leaps and bounds:  PINTEREST.  It’s a visual pin-board of things you see and like on the web, and then “pin” to your Pinterest page.  This is the first significant social network to rise, that — from day one — has been dominated by women.  Also, read this interesting article on how Google is starting to play favorites for ITS social network — Google Plus — in Google searches over it’s main competitors FaceBook and Twitter.

ELEVEN:  Finally, early-bird pricing for VOICE2012 at Disneyland will run out eventually.  Best to book your registration, now!  ‘Good till February 15th, and it means pretty big savings.

Yes, 2012 will see plenty flying around the internet!

CourVO

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To-Die-For Digest

July 20, 2011 By 2 Comments

You’ve heard me talk about it before, and you’ll see me use it plenty in the future:  STORIFY.  This amazing tool allowed me to publish the following digest of top VO resources from Social Media in about a half-hour, and post it for all to see in an easy-to-read format.  But forget all that, and just enjoy the looooong list of great stuff your friends and fellow VO pros are posting every day:

[Read more...]

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The day after…

July 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When holidays come on Mondays like this 4th of July…it’s such a wonderful break from facing the work week. BUT…Tuesday is a bear!

Luckily, I worked my regular day yesterday, and will not suffer that shock.  Will you?

I did catch up on back email, yesterday, ’cause Lord knows NOBODY was online except the very few hard-core social media junkies playing with Google+.

In catching up, I realized how much great info has been coming into my mailbox lately, now that it’s taken me a full week to recover from the time I was gone on vacation.

Hence, please peruse the quick digest of great links below to see if you too, may have missed one of these great resources.

I blog about this stuff partly because I love sharing information (it’s the news guy coming out in me), and partly because I want to have that link at MY fingertips without having to scour through scads of emails to find it!

VO DIGEST

1)  IK Multimedia is running a special on some plug-in effects for their Vocalive and Amplitube iPhone apps. You can see the offer on the IKMultimedia site.  IK also makes a sweet iPad (they call it the iKlip)stand with holding mechanism if you need to use your iPad that way.  This is the company that makes the iRig mic, which I’ve blogged about a couple of times.  It’s not a high-quality mic for recording auditions, but it beats iPhones ambient mic (I think).  Take the time to look around their site.  They also have a LONG list of other apps they make for people in the business of recording sound.

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2) VO talent Anne Ganguzza has published a 3-part guide to SEO for voiceover.  Part III has links to the first two SEO articles, so you may want to backtrack, but she definitely has some find food for thought in this series.

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3) Turkey-based Brit VO talent Andy Boyns brought to my attention that cloud-based data company Box.net has entered into a strategic alliance with Google Docs, and together that functionality makes for a pretty powerful argument to think about a subscription with Box.net.

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4) ) Lisa Biggs mentioned that MaryLynn Wissner posted an invite to an event called “Meet The Agent Night” in Los Angeles, July 12th.  If you are in this area, the event could be a perfect “foot in the door” for you to get representation in certainly one of the top US marketplaces.

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5) David Rosenthal at the website Internet Voice Coach tackles the unthinkable subject of Turning Down Work. You’ll find plenty of thoughtful arguments to chew on here. My thanks to Meghan Weimer for bringing this to my attention.

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6) Voice Actor Jon St. John posts a video with a full-blown rant against Film actors taking jobs from voice actors.  I’ve raised this issue before, but got voted down.  If you think I was ever opinionated on this issue, St. John  makes me look like a schoolboy.  See “Jon St. John Gets Angry at Hollywood”. My thanks to John Armstrong for offering this link.

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7) Juliette Gray has launched a new LinkedIn Group for VO called:  Voice Over Innovators.  She says:  “…the concept  is to create a new paradigm that can defeat how the work is being eroded and diluted because of globalization and the internet and anyone with a USB mic and a cheap laptop who throws $300 at a pay to play site…”  Hmmm, I know this will touch a nerve with some people, but not all the same way.  Still, you may want to visit and add your 2-cents.

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8) Similarly, Mark Weitzman has started a group on  SoundCloud called: VoiceOver World.  ‘Might be with a look-see, considering the growth SoundCloud has had within our business lately.

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9) Scott Fortney has a nice way of putting together tutorials for VO’s that get to the point and make sense.  His latest is a look at the basics of audio production usig Adobe Audition 3.0.

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10) My thanks to Rick Lance for offering the link to the Blue Microphone Blogsite that gives info on using the Snowball and Yeti  USB mics with your iPad.

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11) In a related note, seasoned Pro Beau Weaver gets detailed in his explanation of how to use the Centrance MicPortPro with the iPad.  Since the iPad is finicky about power consumption with these USB peripherals, Beau explains how to lend some power to the audio chain, and still be able to use ANY mic through the MicPortPro and into the iPad recorder.

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See?  Toldja there was a lot of stuff out there!

CourVO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wednesday VO Digest

June 15, 2011 By 2 Comments

A concise listing of recently-released valuable voice over business information.

Brad Venable posts his inaugural edition of “The Voice Actor’s Studio” with voice talent and casting director: Mary Lynn Wissner.  Great interview!   Thanks, Brad!

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Anne Ganguzza contributes a new blog article called:  How to Increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a VO Talent: Part 1.
Can’t wait for Part 2!

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The YouTube video of the latest EWABS show is up.  The guest is Voice talent, voice agent, and newlywed Erik Sheppard.  EWABS is East West Audio Body Shop with hosts Studio Master Dan Lenard, and Technophile George Whittam.

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Top audiobook narrator Xe Sands (pronounced Eck-See) posts a link to a captivating interview with noted AudioBook narrator Robert Fass on “Abbreviated Audio”

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Audio Engineer ace Dan Friedman writes: The Best Voice Over Coach is…Your Ears.  Dan knows of what he speaks.  A must-read!

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Noted VO coach, thinker, talent, and Radio Ad Guru, Dan O’Day is once again teaming up with legendary voice coach Nancy Wolfson to conduct “… A live teleseminar during which she reviews real voice over auditions just before the auditions are submitted — giving the voice talents a last chance to tweak, improve or fix the audition just before hitting the “send”  button…” See all the details of the upcoming Tele-Seminar.

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Finally, a new iPad app that  holds incredible potential for those who read music and play musical instruments.  It’s from AVID, and conjures up in my mind an entire orchestra pit filled with iPads on the  music stands.  Go ahead.  Check it out real quick.  The Avid Scorch.

CourVO

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Wednesday Digest

June 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Lots going on the Voice Over world these days.  Herewith a few nuggets I’ve found while panning.

Cold Calling

‘Seems a good  many voice actors disagree on the value of cold-calling.  Some swear by it, others think it’s a waste of time. The concept of “warm-calling” seems a bit more on the mark to me, especially with all the resources available on the internet these days to scope out your prey, er, uh prospect.  With those tools, you should be able to walk into the call a little more prepared.  In that spirit, check out the article called:  Five Modern Resources That Boost Cold Call Results.

June is AudioBook Month

The Audio Publisher’s Association (APA) is just coming off a heady weekend in NYC with the APA conference, BEA, and the Audio awards, and they’re not done yet!  They’re encouraging everyone to get busy and spread the word that June is AudioBook Month.  They’re launching a Social Media campaign called GET CAUGHT LISTENING.  You’ll find a list of events this month on the APA website, and if you decide to tweet about this or anything on that calendar, be sure to use the hashtag  #JIAM2011  (get it?  June is Audiobook Month, 2011).

AudioBook Online Community

Speaking of which, if you’re inclined to pursue more opportunities in AudioBooks, you must insinuate yourself in that unique community.  Starting with peers — other narrators — helps.  Check out this AudioBook Forum for Narrators.

Try a Different Approach

The rebel in me appreciates an approach that Bettye Zoller is taking with an upcoming VoiceOverXtra Webinar.  Along with Nashville-based VO Coach Joe Loesch, you’ll hear some suggestions to break away from the “cookie-cutter” demo, and do something that stands out from the crowd.  See an explanation of this idea by Bettye on VoiceOverXtra.  You can go right to the sign-up page, too.

Critical Mass

VO artist Bill DeWees posts a helpful video on YouTube about “Reaching Critical Mass in Your Voice Over Business“.  Bill makes a nice presentation on-cam, and he also makes a lot of sense in his content.

Acoustic Treatment

Mel Allen talks about sound management in his blog series on audiobooths.  It’s a meaty article packed with great suggestions for “…minimizing the sound you are creating, and the sound that wants to jump into your recording from outside…” Check out YOUR AUDIO PRO.

Twitter

Finaly, confused as to why Twitter is so popular?  Then you need to read the article titled:  Users Say They’re More Likely To Buy If A Business Answers Their Question On Twitter.  That’s why.

CourVO

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Thursday Digest

May 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The other day, I blogged about Scoop.it pages, where you could see an aggregation of current articles on all sorts of topics.  Well, now I’m helping to “curate” one of those pages.

VO pro Fran McClellan was willing to let me come aboard her Scoop.it page titled VOICEOVER, and help curate.  Yep, that’s what they call it:  “curate” the articles.  Please stop on by and take a look.  I “curate” at least once a day, and some amazing resources show up in the search engine.  Thanks Fran!   The Voiceover Scoop.it page.

I’ve also started my own Scoop.it page dedicated to the topic of Audiobooks. Stop on by sometime and see how it grows.  The AudioBook Scoop.it page:  Everything AudioBooks.

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My VO friend Paul Strikwerda worked hard at constructing a new soundbooth on a budget.  He posted his progress along the way, documenting his challenges and discoveries.  Now that it’s done, he’s compiled his chronicle of Building a Vocal Booth on a Budget into book form, and made it available for a pittance on Scribd.com.  Nice going, Paul!  BTW, you really should check out scribd.com if you have not yet done so.  VERY cool site…lots to see.

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BTW, if you have a second, trot on over to Paul’s Blog and read his latest (as always, erudite) article on YOUR BIGGEST BLIND SPOT.  It’s spot-on.

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This year’s APAC just finished in NYC. (APAC=Audio Publisher’s Association Conference).  It’s an affair geared to the AudioBook publishing industry.  Publishers, agents, producers, narrators, listeners…they all congregate for the conference and the Audie Awards event.  My friend John Pruden attended, and is making available a .pdf of the home studio overview he participated in at the conference.  Click to download —->  HOME STUDIO OVERVIEW.

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VO talent, coach, author, and actress/speaker Randye Kaye has posted a nifty article for those considering getting into the business of voice overs. You have such a nice voice!”: the 5 layers needed for voice-over.  It’s from her blog: Life on the Voiceover List, Tips and thoughts on Voice Acting.  This might be a great resource to direct people to who have approached you with questions about being a VO talent.  Here’s another link to a blog I wrote about this:  ADVICE FOR NEWBIES.

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The Rode NT1a Condenser Microphone gets a lot of good reviews from many voice actors.  But some don’t take it seriously because it’s not that expensive.  The guy evaluating the Rode NT1a from Recording Review wasn’t convinced either, but after taking it through its paces, he changed his story.  Read Brand Drury’s Review of the Rode NT1a.

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Finally, tons of people use FreeConferencing.com to make conference calls.  It really IS free, and quite a professional service with all the bells and whistles.  Well, now the service is adding a feature providing each host with the ability to share their computer screen during their live conference calls.  This can come in mighty handy, and you’d have to pay for screen sharing on other competitive products.  Check out FREE SCREEN SHARING at freeconferencing.com.

CourVO

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Wednesday VO Digest

May 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Being a newsguy by trade, I just can’t sit by and let great info stack up without sharing it.  So again it’s time to unload the great VO “stuff” I’ve found in a blog digest.

I love Jim Kipping‘s mention of a useful method for employing Skype in your studio.  “…my biggest gigs have always been through my ISDN setup at the house. Still are, but I am doing so many more SKYPE sessions where my production rig is routed through the Skype GUI, where they are getting broadcast quality audio of me on their end to direct, but I’m rolling on my end. THEN not even posting it on FTP, but dropping it in the chat window for immediate download…”
Love it!…Thanks, Jim!  (and thanks to Terry Daniel who administers the Voice-Over Pros FB Group where I found this tip)

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Nick Ivanov has been a great addition to my Voice-Over Friends FaceBook Group page.  Nick runs Graffitti Studios in Sophia, Bulgaria, and recently posted some great articles about setting VO Rates.
Setting VO Rates, Part I
Setting VO Rates, Part II

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My friend Karen Commins is a very smart cookie, and a good audiobook narrator. What she writes in her blog, I eat with a spoon. One of her latest offerings is:  1o Ways to Get Work in AudioBook Narration.  Worth the time to see her suggestions if you want to pursue this niche in VO.

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Don’t worry if you missed last night’s excellent session on VoiceOverXtra on the Basics of ProTools with George Whittam.  You’re probably waaay ahead of the crowd, and will most benefit from the next session on Thursday about ProTools for advanced users. At $39 for George Whittam…they’re practically giving it away!

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Growing your Voice-Over Business is as easy as 1-2-3 according to the author Bill DeWees, who has a natural, easy-to-watch style in this YouTube video.  Good stuff, Bill!

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I’m a big believer in the power of LinkedIn as a way to build my VO business, but it’s a more serious social network than Twitter or FaceBook, and there are some pretty important (but not hard) basic rules.  Chris Tompkins covers it well in his quick-read: “5 LinkedIn Must Haves“  I really like suggestion #2…You must join groups.  Why don’t you go over to my Setting VoiceOver Rates LinkedIn group right now and ask to join!  (I administer a private version of this group, too:  Voice-Over Rates – Private)

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Mel Allen has written a wonderful summary of headphone use on Your Audio Pro. Luckily, I’m using two of the “cans” he recommends in this exhaustive look at quality/affordable headphones.

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Maxine Dunn‘s newsletter is a goldmine, and her latest issue has a must-read article on revamping your website called: Does Your #1 Marketing Tool Need a MakeOver?

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Speaking of newsletters, Melanie Haynes just published her first one, and it’s modest, but this pro will have plenty to say in coming weeks that you’ll want to hear, so why don’t you support her first effort by going on over to News From Melanie, and sign up to get her newsletter.

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If you want to really learn dialects, and can be in San Fran from June 4-6, Doug Honorof is conducting a chance-in-a-million weekend workshop that just might give you an added dimension to your work.  See details on VU:  Dialects with Doug Honorof.

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The author of CloudDrive — Jerry Wang — liked my blog on CloudDrive enough that he wrote to tell me of another product you might like if you’re investigating storage solutions in the cloud.  He writes:  “…Google Docs offers 1 GB of free storage, and you can extend it up to 16 TB at a fairly cheap rate: $5 USD for 20 GB per year. However, the lack of folder uploading support really prevents Google Docs from becoming a practical online storage solution. If you want to backup a folder, you need to manually create all the subfolders and upload files to the corresponding subfolders one by one. It is tedious and terrible! GDocsDrive can greatly simplify the uploading/backup process by enabling drag and drop folder uploading. All that is needed is to drag the files/folders which you want to backup and drop them into the GDocsDrive window. With folder uploading enabled, GDocsDrive allows people to fully utilize the cheap and reliable storage offered by Google..."

He goes on to say: "...we have a new upgrade for CloudDrive, named GDocsDrive, which is a client app for Google Docs. We would very much appreciate it if you would review/introduce it on your website again. Here are some information about GDocsDrive: Website: http://www.gdocsdrive.com GDocsDrive is a desktop client for Google Docs with a folder uploading enhancement. With GDocsDrive, you can backup thousands of files or folders to your Google Docs account with just a drag and drop, which makes your Google Docs a cloud storage drive (GDrive). Additionally, GDocsDrive covers most of the features of web- based Google Docs, so you can manipulate your Google Docs files from your desktop."

I’ve installed GDocsDrive and it’s pretty slick.  You gt a 14-day trial, then the full one-time ownership fee is $19.

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Finally, my good VO friend John Pruden highly recommends Alkolol when he feels his throat getting a little raw.  He says he mixes it with equal parts water and mouthwash. Yeah…I’d never heard of Alkolol either, but John says it’s an old reliable and effective product that you have to ask for from the pharmacist, even though it’s not prescription.  Here’s the Alkolol product website.  Thanks, John!

CourVO

 

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