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On The Edge

May 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Time and time again I disavow being an expert on ANYTHING.  I’m just uncomfortable with it.  Maybe…maybe I’m an expert on me…and that’s about it.

I prefer to say I’m a student.  I’m certainly a student of life and people and  relationships.  I have been for 59 years now.

But when people call me a Social Media “expert” or “guru”… I just cringe.  There are thousands of people whose knowledge of Social Networks FAR surpasses my meager skills, and I’m not even sure THEY’RE comfortable being called experts.  People like Brian Solis and Robert Scoble and Chris Brogan.

I don’t think my experience with New Media makes me even uniquely positioned to coach voice actors on FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn and so forth.  The things you do to get clients as a freelance photographer, writer, plumber, or car salesman on social networks will work for you as a voice-actor too.

That is the lousiest build-up to a promotional announcement for an upcoming webinar I’ve ever seen.  But at least you can say I’m honest.

Here’s what I will tell you if you sign-up for my Edge Studio Social Media Webinar this Saturday:

  • The over-arching mind-set you must have to create relationships, trust, and clients on Social Media.
  • What and how and when to Tweet.
  • Understanding FaceBook’s ever-changing interface.
  • Using LinkedIn’s powerful search functions.
  • Why you need to join groups on social media platforms.
  • Video. Video. Video.
  • Google Plus, and why you should care.
  • What is Pinterest?
  • Blogging successfully.

Just because I’m not an expert doesn’t mean I won’t talk A LOT about what I DO know.  The above list of topics are but a framework for working through the broad, deep, and tall topic of Social Media.  I’ll fill in lots of blanks, and work from a PowerPoint presentation that will outline all my thoughts.

We’ll leave plenty of time for questions and (hopefully) answers at the end.  The whole thing is scheduled for Saturday, 5-19-12 9am PST / 10am Mountain / 11am Central / Noon Eastern.  Again, you can see all the details and sign-up here:  http://www.edgestudio.com/social-media-marketing-for-voice-over.

C Ya There!

CourVO

Filed Under: Social Media/Networking, Teleseminar, Training/Education, Webinar Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Let Your Words Glide”

May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

That’s a quote straight from VO Coach and producer Nancy Wolfson in this, her 10th mini-video lesson of our weekly series.

The comment deserves some context, for sure, and Wolfson’s remarks are designed for the female voice actors having an issue with relaxing the voice…letting go of the tension, and luxuriating into the emotive words present in the copy.  Remember last week, we addressed the same issue with the guys in HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

When you watch these videos, it’s so easy as the observer to think:  “I totally get what she’s saying…I could do that…lemmee up there!”  –or–  “Why can’t Xxxxx get that?…it’s so easy!”

Just remember, the subjects in these videos are ON THE STAGE with the awesome Nancy Wolfson, and standing in front of a roomful of peers all ostensibly better than you.  Most voice-actors would HATE that setting.  In this case, the subject is VO Talent Mo Holland, and she totally nails the copy in the final take.  Just watch:

You can also watch this video from the site: http://www.braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/10.html

OK, now back to the context from whence the Wolfson remark came:  “let your words glide”.  I’m no Vince Lombardi of voice coaches like Wolfson, but I AM a graduate of her World-Cup Series Olympic-Scale VO Obstacle Course, and I’m sure she’d say the answer to your questions about delivering ANY copy come from the words themselves.

TV or Radio copy?  That’s the first consideration.  Then:  are the words evocative?…telling?…descriptive?  In this case yes YES YES.  So use them to your advantage. (Holland made it happen in the final).

We’re in the last few weeks of this 13-part series, but the fun doesn’t have to end.  Wolfson is making available the entire 127-tip motherlode video for a price that is far below its worth in my estimation.  Check out the site:  HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE  for the details.

Next week: Support the End of Your Sentence.

CourVO

 

Filed Under: Training/Education Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

5 Ways to Conquer “The Wall”

May 14, 2012 By 8 Comments

You’re there…standing right in front of it, and it appears immovable.  There’s no way around it, and no way over it.

Chances are you yourself have created the wall, so it’s insidiously well-designed to foil any attempts to find a weakness.  You know yourself to well.

It’s the agent (or agents) who won’t return a call.  It’s the E-Learning project director you can NEVER seem to get a hold of. It’s the nagging crackle in your audio chain that intermittently screws up your recording. It’s the newsletter that WON’T get written.  It’s the cold call you JUST. CAN’T. MAKE.  It’s the demo that never sounds right.  It’s the branding slogan you can’t nail down….and on and on and on.

“The Wall” takes one of two or three forms:
1) A mental roadblock you’ve nurtured into a full-fledged fortress.
2) A procrastination that seems larger-than-life after weeks ‘n’ weeks.
3) A circumstance that befuddles you or is beyond your skill set.

Tell me if I’ve forgotten something.  Either way, the result is the same:  arrested development, zero progress, stagnant growth.

It’s time to punt.  Everything you’ve tried (or haven’t tried) isn’t working.  Be honest enough with yourself to admit it and take action (finally) to break the logjam.

Here are 5 suggested formulas to conquering your “wall”.

1)  Talk to a friend or even better…a mentor (or two).  Talking through the issue helps.  The conversation opens up ideas, offers encouragement, gets the juices flowing.  It could be your friend or mentor has been there, and has a possible solution, or knows someone who does.  You’d be surprised — if nothing else — how talking about it takes the power out of the quandary.

2) Break it down to smaller steps.  Try for a couple of smaller “wins” first, then build on it.  Make your list of the most elementary incremental advances, then revel in crossing each one off with a big thick felt-tip marker.

3)  Turn the issue upside down or work backwards.  Imagine what you’re doing or able to do now that your roadblock is GONE.  See all the potentials and developments that came from it.  Or what is the very last step you would take BEFORE climbing the wall..then what’s the step before THAT…and so forth, until you arrive at the place where you are today.  Now…do you see the way?

4)  Go out and play.  See a hilarious movie.  Take an old friend out, and crack open some old stories.  Read a short book.  Break the cycle.  Hit the period on your keyboard.  Strike out in a new direction entirely for a day.  Take a drive.  Divert your thoughts from the issue for an hour, a day, a week…refuse to think about it.  Then come back around and try again.

5) Service.  Nothing breaks your pity-pot more than doing something for someone else.  No other action resets your gauges better than offering a humble, free, pro-bono service to somebody, anybody who can use a hand or a boost.  When you take your mind off your own troubles, and focus on helping someone else, it’s cathartic.

Honorable mention:  Walls are bridges.  As trite as it sounds, conquering the wall puts another feather in your cap, adds another tool to your toolkit, and makes you a stronger person.  When you “cross over” that wall, it becomes the path to a new you, and a better you for having seen it through.  Bravo!

A couple of caveats: There may not be an answer.  It may have nothing to do with you and what you did or didn’t do.  Sometimes you have to realize you’ve been banging your head against the wall for too long, and then you have to accept that your own stubbornness is getting in the way of your progress, not the wall.  The wall can be there to tell you you’ve reached a limit…and realizing your limits is not a bad thing…like pulling your head out of the sand.

What have I missed?  What’s worked for you?  Got a quick anecdote you can share?

CourVO

The following sites helped me focus on the solutions I’ve written above:

http://www.workshifting.com/2009/08/when-you-hit-the-wall.html
http://www.empowernetwork.com/osmanamg/blog/what-do-you-do-when-you-hit-the-wall/
http://blog.chron.com/careerrescue/2011/09/when-you-hit-the-wall-its-time-for-a-change/
http://joelrunyon.com/two3/what-to-do-when-you-hit-a-wall

Filed Under: Advice Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

You Can Do This Lying Down

May 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

For Nancy Wolfson‘s 9th instructional mini-video in our weekly series, you get a real lesson in (men) learning to relax the voice.

This is one of the longest of the 13 video tips in the series: HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE. What I like about this and all of the Wolfson mini-video lessons is her ability to improvise on-the-spot to get the read she wants out of the unsuspecting VO volunteer.

Watch her as she brings out the best read…even if it means getting “down” to basics.

Here’s the video:


You can also see the video here: http://www.braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/9.html

Honestly, you may not even have the space in your whisper room to do as Wolfson suggests for your audition, but to find that voice you need, it could be a useful technique.  You’ve probably heard the phrase:  “…if you keep doing the same thing, and getting the same result…then try something different…”  Using that admonition within reason, you’ll find that Wolfson constantly challenges you to be smart in your approach to acting for advertising, but to also think outside the box when other techniques are not bringing desired results.

You could watch all 13 of these video vignettes and come out a much wiser voice-actor…or you could purchase the whole kit ‘n’ kaboodle, and be the Flash Gordon of voice actors.  Your choice, but given the ridiculously inexpensive price-point for the 127 tips you get in Wolfson’s video, there are few things that meet the value you’re being offered here (well  maybe a giant box of Junior Mints…but that’s another blog).

Give a look at the site:  SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE for the complete offer.

Next week with Wolfson: Women: How to Relax Your Voice for Auditions.

CourVO

 

 

Filed Under: Coaching, Training/Education Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rume for Volume

May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

So many of us got into this crazy business of voice-acting from the crazy business of radio.  Hey, we’ve been cutting spots for the clients every day in our radio jobs…surely there’s better money in this when you’re working for yourself, right?

There are so many things fundamentally wrong with that approach to VO that it’s beyond the scope of this blog, but in Nancy Wolfson’s 8th tip in our mini-video series: HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE, you’ll find that some of the powerful voice techniques you brought to those radio spots might actually have a place in your voice portfolio.

In “Make Room for Volume in Radio”, Wolfson’s admonitions are short ‘n’ sweet.

Just watch:

You can also watch from this link: http://www.braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/8.html

Now…I’m not going to draw this out to be more than it is, but Wolfson has the sublime talent of making a profound observation sound obvious without making YOU feel stoopid.  In Wolfson’s approach to acting for advertising (totally different than acting for stage, screen, TV, or even HS musicals), you’d better get used to deciding in the first 3 seconds whether you’ve got a sheet of radio copy vs. TV copy in your hands.  Once you’re decided on that…THEN you can move on to the 126 analytical tools she’ll be providing you in HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

You could make the argument that today’s tip is pretty obvious, and then assume you aren’t getting much from the entire Wolfson video offering, but you’d be wrong Bosco.  Nancy Wolfson may not be the only VO coach in Rome, but in this arena, no one has trained the Gladiators better.  I can’t imagine a better value for your dollar other than engaging Wolfson for her personal training.  Get details on the whole video here:  HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

Next week: Men: How to Relax Your Voice for an Audition

CourVO

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pictures In Your Mind

April 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A 30-year TV career, and I was never exposed to the concept of a StoryBoard until I started dabbling in Voice Overs.

In TV News there’s no time for the luxury of conceptualizing your perfect pictures first.  You just use the available pics you’re given…and write the story as best you can in a given time slot on a set deadline.

But in ADVERTISING, the storyboard makes all the difference…especially for the voice actor who’s just received a new audition from a client they’ve never seen, and copy that’s unfamiliar.

Nancy Wolfson’s free video mini-lesson: “StoryBoard it in your mind to hit the right words” hits all the right notes.  Watch this:


You can also see the video here:  http://www.braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/7.html

This is the 7th mini-lesson in a string of 13 total videos from VO Coach/producer Wolfson.  The mother lode video from whence the 13 “minis” come is called:  HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

What up-and-coming voice actor hasn’t heard that training with Nancy Wolfson is the bridge to success in this business?  There’s no subsitute for the one-on-one with Wolfson, but the 127 tips in this video is either a great introduction, or a complete review…depending on whether you’ve worked with her or not.  If you ask me, she’s giving away the farm for the price of some hay bales with this video…but you’re the one who benefits.  HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

Next week:  Make Room for Volume in Radio

CourVO

 

Filed Under: Coaching, Training/Education

The Truth About Lying

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A famous actor is said to have once remarked that “…acting is all about being genuine and true to yourself…once you can fake that, you’ve got it made…”  (generally attributed to Spencer Tracy).

Today’s Nancy Wolfson mini video lesson about lying struck me almost as hard as the one where she asks you to cuss (in your mind) to reach a certain attitude.  [Being an on-air talent, I purged swear words from my daily life as protection from getting fired...and here is my trusted coach telling me to do exactly that!  Never mind... she was right!]

The thing about Wolfson’s approach to voice-coaching is that it always moves you out of a place of comfort (read: rut), and bids you discover something you didn’t realize you had in you, until somebody (Wolfson) forces you off the cliff.

But as usual, I’m getting ahead of myself.  You’ll see what I mean about that in today’s video about not judging the copy.

Watch:

You can also see the video on her website:  http://www.braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/6.html

Politics is a great example here, but it could be a food item, a hotel, or a car that you don’t like…reading a spot for something that has a negative connotation for you.

I like the politics example, though.  It comes up regularly in election cycles because the liberal/conservative passion brings out strong emotions and allegiances in us.  Some voice-actors simply find they cannot retain their integrity and do a spot for an opposing viewpoint.  The typical rejoinder is that the political client WILL find someone to pay good money to do the spot…it might as well be you.  Personal decision, I guess.  But if you find you have to lie at some point in life, ‘might as well be openly disingenuous about it AND get paid for it.

The lying lesson is but a smidge of the total wisdom you’ll find in the complete video offering called: HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.  Wolfson’s shrewd analysis of acting specifically for advertising speaks for itself in this insanely-inexpensively-priced video of 127 valuable Coursework Tips from Nancy’s private curriculum.

The result is, you’re gonna want to hire Wolfson for the Olympic-scale Circuit-training Triathalon series of real-time lessons anyway, and THERE you’ll get the swearing lesson and the lesson on lying and oodles of other career-changing tips right from the source.  No subsitute!

So start with the video (HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE), and if you don’t believe me, call:  702-610-6288 and I’ll give ya the straight poop on Wolfson….I don’t get any kickbacks for it.

CourVO

Filed Under: Coaching, Techniques, Training/Education Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

You Got Some ‘Splainin’ To Do!

April 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By now you must know (expect?) that I’m posting a video tidbit from Voice Over coach and producer Nancy Wolfson this time of the week, every week.

Each segment (13 when we’re all done) is actually a worthwhile mini-lesson on its own, but begs the greater indulgence for the complete set of 127 tips in a video that — were you to engage in Nancy’s UFC SmackDown Full-Monty course — would cost many multiples more.  Don’t get me wrong, she’s worth every cent, but you could do some real audition damage with just this video.  More in a minute about which rainbow to look under to find this pot o’ gold.

First, watch today’s video on the topic of “Explaining”.  You may think you’ve heard this technique, and maybe you have, but not like Nancy tells it.

http://braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/5_explain.flv

[You can also view this video here]

On-camera talent (esp. in TV news) have long been told to look into the cold black eye of the camera…through the words on a Tele-Promp-Ter….in a mostly empty echo-y studio, and talk as if you are talking to one person…preferably your best friend.  That’s easy (kidding)…and probably wrong.  Once again — the common theme running through ALL Nancy’s lessons — is to pause and engage the brain before shifting the vocal cords into first gear.  In that pause, there is much to consider.  Wolfson can pack an entire VO coaching course into that moment…or in this case… 127 tips to be found at the site:  HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

Remember this is not just acting.  It’s a specific subset Wolfson calls “Acting for Advertising”.  Stuff Shakespeare never came up with….she did.

Next week:  Learn to Lie

CourVO

Filed Under: Coaching, Training/Education Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Books, Docs, Jacks

April 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

BOOKS

Jeff Kafer has carved out a successful niche for himself with determination, savvy, and entrepreneurship.  Proof that he’s a success in the field of narrating, producing, and casting audiobooks comes with the invitation from top AudioBook coach Pat Fraley to co-host a weekend workout together.  Pat  — of course — is…just…the best.  ‘Nuff said.

You’d have to go to Seattle (Jeff’s home-20) to attend, but Seattle’s beautiful in April, and it’d be worth the trip.  You’ll get individual coaching with your reads, lots of insider information about the audiobook business, and you walk away with working demos for your reads.

Click here for all the details on AUDIOBOOK READING ROYALTY.

DOCS

Google docs makes life so easy sometimes.  If you’re not using it, you could be missing out on some serious productivity shortcuts…and it’s free with your Google account.  ‘Need a nudge?  Read this article: 52 Great Google Docs Secrets for Students.  Yeah, I know it says “for students”, but that’s just because it’s posted on the site “Online Colleges.net”.  Believe me, 99% of these tips are applicable to anybody who wants to maximize their use of Google Docs.

JACKS

USB is everywhere there’s electronics …and USB charging cables are so ubiquitous you wonder why no one’s come up with a USB jack attachment for your hair dryer yet.
No, but how ’bout USB electrical outlets?  No joke…you can actually have them put in your house (or DYI), and save those USB wall warts hanging out of every available standard outlet.  Check it out on Gizmodo, and find out why it’s so cool, and yet soooo disappointing in its design.

CourVO

Filed Under: Technology, Training/Education Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Moody Clues

April 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Time for the latest installment in a weeks-long killer series of instructional VO videos from SuperStar voice acting coach and producer Nancy Wolfson.

…and once again, I find myself reaching into Rock ‘n’ Roll prehistory for a catchy title.  (Remember the Moody Blues?)  Uh…never mind.  The point this week in Nancy’s vid is CHOOSING THE MOOD.

Just so you know, there’s a graduate-level college course behind Wolfson’s approach to Acting for Advertising. I’m not kidding.  She could (did) write the definitive textbook for Voice-Acting 521, Transformational Approaches to Pithing and Dissecting Your Client’s Copy.  OK, I made up that last part, but when you engage Wolfson as your coach, you’ll come to appreciate the high level of erudition she’s brought to this field (erudition: impressive knowledge that is learned by studying).

There’s a big reason Wolfson chose the logo and the name she did for her company (did I mention she’s a branding expert, too?)  I’ll say more about engaging your brain before your voice in a second, but in the meantime, take a moment to watch this week’s video VO tip:

http://braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/4_mood_choose.flv

If for some reason, you need a URL to pass that video around, here it the site:  http://www.braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/4.html.

The lasting legacy Wolfson leaves with all her students is the admonition to pause with script in hand, mic ready and the record button blinking.  PAUSE.  Don’t just read it.  THINK ABOUT IT.  The few minutes you spend in diagnosing, analyzing, and picking-apart the psychology behind the words of the author/client/advertiser/copywriter will start winning you auditions.  It’s everything.  Well, almost. But we’ll get to the rest in future videos.

This is the fourth in Nancy’s 13-part series of snippets from the motherlode video (127 tips), which in my unabashed opinion is being offered for a steal.  See the offer for HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

Next week:  “Explain It To Me”

CourVO

 

 

Filed Under: Coaching, Training/Education, Tutorials Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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