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Turnabout

April 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

directvoicesAt the end of February, I posted a video interview with Constantino de Miguel — an international journalist, producer, and voice talent.

You can see that interview here: DIRECTVOICES.

Constan is leading a development team spread literally around the world to launch his directvoices.com site.  To say the least, it’s a unique business model.  Until his service reaches full functionality, the site offers resources and information for budding voice over talent.  While I was interviewing him, his staff was negotiating a time for Constan to interview ME.

That finally happened a couple of weeks ago, and now the video is out.  It’s not an 0n-cam interview…but an audio track with some hi-production values and pull-quotes.  I must say, his production team made me sound good in this video…cutting out all the pauses, stammering, and unfinished thoughts.

I’m not sure you’re going to hear much new in my ramblings during this interview, but remember, de Miguel’s audience is global, and DirectVoices claims the information we shared in this interview will serve their audience well.  I hope so, and I was grateful for their expert handling of the 9-min video production you can see below:

Dave Courvosier Intvw with Direct Voices from Dave Courvoisier on Vimeo.

Thanks Constantino!

CourVO

Filed Under: Interview, Training/Education, Web/Tech Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Fraley Magic

March 28, 2013 By 1 Comment

photoEveryone has favorites.  Pat Fraley is everybody’s favorite…coach, that is.

But beyond that, don’t you just appreciate a guy who loves his work, and takes pride in his student’s achievements?  That’s Pat.  Through and through.  I’ve been to several of Pat’s classes.  He presents a consistent theme each time, but somehow always manages to keep it fresh and engaging.

Most of the day Thursday I spent in a little-known theatre on a Las Vegas back street.  The occasion was Pat Fraley and Brad Garrett’s “Getting Serious About Comedy” actors’ workshop.  Garrett makes a point of heaping praise on Fraley whenever they appear together.  Their friendship is genuine and readily evident.  Seeing them interact is a quick clinic in relational, improvisational humor.photo(1)

Pat invited me to come to the session Thursday as a “guest performer”.  I really didn’t find out what that meant until I arrived at the theatre…which was fine with me, especially in light of one of Pat’s themes in this training:  Be fearless.  Go with confidence.  Make mistakes, then come back and deliver the killer take.

Another theme Pat (and other advanced coaches) likes to hammer home is script preparation.  For hours we dissected this mandatory step in the audition process.

  • who is the audience?
  • what is the intent of the writer?
  • what will the casting director expect to hear?
  • follow the included specs or not?
  • what can you bring OF YOURSELF to the copy?
  • how can you deliver a perfomance different from all the others auditioning?
  • what’s your mic technique?
  • which attitude will you assume in your role?

….and more… so much more.  I didn’t take notes, but maybe I should’ve.  I just know his admonitions will echo in my head when I sit down for the next audition, and that’s a good thing.

Below, just a quick clip I grabbed with my smartphone of Brad Garrett talking about “raising the stakes” in comedic situations.

Pat Fraley teaches all over North America.  He’s based in LA, and his workshop schedules can be found here:  http://patrickfraley.com.
You can purchase his many valuable teaching tools here:  http://patrickfraleyteaches.com/shop/Shop.html,

CourVO

Brad Garrett & Pat Fraley from Dave Courvoisier on Vimeo.

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

Garret/Fraley Get Serious About Comedy in Vegas

February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

fraleyHow many times have you heard that you won’t break through as a voice talent until you’ve taken some acting classes?

Have you ever taken a class from Pat Fraley?

No?

Make an appointment with yourself to do so.  (Here is a list of his upcoming workshops).

If you have trained with Pat, you know what I mean, right?

I mean, the guy has done it all (resource docs noted below), and he always makes his topics SO EASY to digest.

Next month, Pat will be holding some acting workshops in Las Vegas along with his pal, comedian Brad Garrett.  It’s all part of Brad Garrett’s Craft Acting Workshops during the last week of March, 2013.  Brad is gifted, hilarious, down-to-earth, and smart.  He headlines his own Comedy Club at the MGM Grand in Vegas, and has paired with Fraley before in coaching (VOICE 2010 in LA for one).

Here’s a recent posting about Garrett, his Comedy Club, and mention of the Acting studio.

Partners in the week-long Acting Studio are Adam Hill, Jeremy Guskin, and “guest performer” Dave Courvoisier.

Wait.  “Guest performer”?

Yeah, I’m stumped too, but Pat said I’d be perfect for what he has in mind.  I’m not sure what that is, I just know that “getting acting classes” was on my TO-DO list this year, and Pat handed it to me on a platter.

The specific announcement about Pat’s session in the Craft Acting Workshop (with nutty pic of Dave).

Need more? Below are the links to .pdf and .docx News Releases with more details.

CRAFT Press Release

CRAFTPoster

So, we’ve established that you need acting classes.  You KNOW you need to be in Vegas in March…AND you’d like to see CourVO make a fool of himself on stage, right?  So come on out!

CourVO

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

Voices For All

January 23, 2013 By 2 Comments

voicesforallJust in the last week, I’ve been approached 3 times by people who want to know how to break into the business of voice-overs.

No wonder it’s such fertile ground for unscrupulous “coaches” promising the world in a weekend “intensive”.

I advise well-intentioned VO novices to read my ADVICE FOR NEWBIES blog..written 3 years ago, but updated and loaded with links…not the least of which is Peter O’Connell’s “Voice Over Entrance Exam”

As for references to national schools that I trust to do the right thing with a first-timer…I’m very cautious.  I like Edge Studio a lot.  Of course there’s some well-known individuals like Nancy Wolfson, Marice Tobias, Pat Fraley, MJ Lallo, Deb Munro, Betty Zoller, Elly-Ray Hennessey, and Bob Bergen.

But all-encompassing SCHOOLS that cover a myriad of issues in setting up a voice over business…that’s a short list (and James Alburger’s and Penny Abshire’s Voice-Acting Academy would certainly be on that list)

They have to be trainers, demo-producers, business designers, directors, audio engineers, marketing professionals…available over many weeks and months…have a reasonable pricing structure…dedicated, knowledgeable people, with experience and passion.  It has to be a place with stick-to-it-tiveness…a shop with deep resources and a history.  It’s more than just a coach…it’s a package.  THAT kind of training is really hard to deliver.

Voices For All might just be the real-deal.  I only qualify it with a “might” because I have not actually experienced their course myself.

I do, however, know one of their top trainers:  Mike Elmore.  Mike stopped by here at the TV station a few months back.  We’ve had a great acquaintance ever since.

He approached me about doing a blog about Voices For All…’cause he’s really jazzed about what they offer, and the efficacy of their program.  After talking to him for a while, I realized this might really be the ticket to help some people, so I agreed to do a Skype Video interview with him, and the result is what you see below.

Mike brings a wealth of experience from radio, and other areas of this business into voice-acting…and that explains why he gets a kick out of coaching.  His professional resumé is impressive, and his dedication to VFA is convincing.  If you have friends who are seriously SERIOUS about getting into VO…Voices For All could be a smart investment for them.

Thanks for explaining things, Mike!

CourVO

Here’s the interview:

MikeElmore talks about Voices For All from Dave Courvoisier on Vimeo.

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

Scene & Herd

November 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Terry Daniel & CourVO at VOICE 2010

When the 5th annual NYC VO mixer happens this weekend, I know I’m gonna wish I had spent the money to go…but honestly, it’s the time, not the money that I can’t afford.

I told my  VO friend Terry Daniel to take lots of pictures, and speak kindly of me if and when my name arises.  I’ll be there in spirit.  A cliché thought, but oh-so-true!  (this is the scene part)

In the meantime, I just wanted to mention a couple of things I saw in the ether recently…maybe you did too:

1)  VoiceBunny is not going to go away, and I applaud founder and innovator Alex Torrengra for continuing to develop this product…I just don’t want to participate.  (this is the herd part)    Now VoiceBunny is launching SEARCH ‘N’ BOOK.  From the TechCrunch article by Anthony Ha: “…The Search ‘n Book system also allows VoiceBunny to enlist better-known talent at a higher price, such as Jon Saint John, the voice of video game icon Duke Nukem. And you can use the Speedy and Search ‘n Book systems together, by using the search program to narrow down the field to the candidates you prefer, then use Speedy to automate the final selection and get a rapid turnaround on the finished product…”

—-and—-

“…CEO Alex Torrenegra told me that a search engine was the most-demanded feature among VoiceBunny customers. One of his main goals is to make voiceovers cheaper and easier,…”

Can a bunny change its spots?  I don’t think so.

Also, this email from VB late Monday:  “...Just hoppin’ by to let you know that tomorrow, we will make a change to your talent dashboard. You will no longer see the green button that says “Show projects below your rate preferences” or find this option in your preferences. Now, you will see (and be notified of) projects that pay at or above your rates. Please ensure you’ve set your rates accurately as you are expected to honor them when a client books you via our new search feature…”

2)  Ever heard of this site?  The Lau Lapides Company.  It appears to be a voice over training and coaching site…but any narrative that explains their overall service or their CV seems absent.  It does claim to do training in Theatre, Film, Television, Demos, and Audition TAPES (?), accent reduction, singing and more…all through location, telephone or Skype.  Now that I see my WoVO friend Mike McGonegal has given them a testimonial, I guess I’ll be calling her to see what they’re all about.

I DO see that the namesake, Lau Lapides, has the following acronyms after her name: AEA/SAG-AFTRA/AWM/NAST/MBA/TCG/TI/MPC.  Wow!

…and my good voice actor friend Deb Irwin says absolutely wonderful things about her work and her helpful personality.  Add this one to the list of “must-study-with”.

3) Finally, SAG-AFTRA is coming down decisively against BeeAudio…an audiobook production house based in Ashland, Oregon.  I’m not ashamed to say I’ve done some work for Bee as I worked to climb my way into the ranks of the experienced…but now that I’m union, and they continue to pay easily HALF of what’s acceptable, I’ll be moving on.  See SAG-AFTRA’s announcement below.

CourVO
____________________

Do Not Work Notice: Bee Audio in Ashland, Ore.

 Attention All Members – please read the following important notice regarding Bee Audio in Ashland, Ore.

SAG-AFTRA has been actively engaged in organizing in the area of audiobooks for the last several years. In fact, the union has organized 18 audiobook producers and publishers since 2008, including Audible.com and many of its subcontractors.

Bee Audio, based in Ashland, Ore., is producing books for various major publishers but is paying half or less than half the industry-standard rates to narrators per finished hour of recording and has refused to bargain, stating in a written communication to its narrators that to do so would “involve pay increases across the board” and opting instead to maintain its current “efficient business model.”

As such, and with the unanimous support of the SAG-AFTRA Audiobook Steering Committee, the SAG-AFTRA Executive Committee, and professional narrators coast to coast, the National Board of Directors has voted unanimously to issue a “no contract, no work” order against Bee Audio. Therefore, SAG-AFTRA members are hereby informed that no member may accept work as an audiobook narrator for Bee Audio and that violation of such order may result in disciplinary action in accordance with the SAG-AFTRA Constitution.

The Board resolution included a request to Actors’ Equity Association to support SAG-AFTRA in this effort by advising its members not to accept work as audiobook narrators for Bee Audio, in accordance with Article X(1)(f)(1) of the Bylaws of Actors’ Equity Association.

Members with questions may contact the following SAG-AFTRA staff:

Jane Love, Associate Executive Director, Washington – Mid Atlantic Local, jane.love@sagaftra.org / (301) 657-2560

Richard Larkin, Associate Executive Director/Labor Counsel, News & Broadcast, richard.larkin@sagaftra.org / (212) 863-4242

Steve Sidawi, Organizing Director, Western Region, steve.sidawi@sagaftra.org / (323) 634-8118

Filed Under: Audiobooks, New York Mixer, Subscription Services, Training/Education Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Awesome Pre-Thanksgiving Tune-Up

November 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There’s a fine line between passing along great opportunities and endlessly shilling for eager enterprises.

I hope you know, I really try to keep my blog largely free of shameless promotions…opting instead for useful information.  In today’s case, I hit both marks…and do so gladly.

Why?  Because both David Goldberg’s Edge Studio, and John Florian’s VoiceOverXtra are frequent partners with me, and both have selflessly done much to help my VO career.

Besides all that, the two are combining forces for a truly awesome, affordable, timely, and bountiful weekend of intensive training.

The event is billed as the VoiceOver Expansion Event…Two accelerated Learning Days for Voice Actors.

The dates are Sat & Sun, November 17 & 18…which is more than a week away…but hey….remember how fast October flashed by?

I mean…Two weeks from today is Thanksgiving.  Sheesh!
So, click on the graphic to the left for info on the intensive on the 17th.
The 17th is more for advanced voice actors, the 18th for new voice actors.
The event is sponsored by two other outstanding partners:  VoiceBank/VoiceRegistery  and Harlan Hogan’s VoiceOver Essentials…so you know there are gonna be great prizes involved.
Also, respected names like Erik Sheppard, Carol Monda, David Kaplan, and Randye Kaye are all doing sessions.
The good news:  the classes are being held at Edge Studio’s brand new studio location in NYC!
The bad news:  the classes are being held at Edge Studio’s brand new studio location in NYC!  (meaning the rest of of sad-sacks who don’t live close…might miss out!)
So, if you are anywhere within reasonable reach, and need a VO Tune-up to wrap up 2012…this is the one.
CourVO
Filed Under: Training/Education Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 Ways to Spot Predatory VO Demo Coaches/Schools

June 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Believe me, I know this topic has been ballyhooed, broadcast, and blogged-about for years…but apparently it bears repeating.

Yesterday, I got an email from a respected voice over training studio in NYC warning again of the actions of scammy demo mills taking money from unsuspecting and eager would-be voice actors, and leaving them with unusable and unmarketable — even insulting — demos.

How easy it must be to defraud a person who has stars in their eyes about becoming the next Mel Blanc.  If you’re an established name in this business, you know that the calls come regularly from people with incredible pipes, who’ve been told they should be doing voiceovers, and who want to know how to get started in the business.  Thank goodness they came to you and not one of the scammers.

Since you have their rapt attention be sure to share with them the following 5 ways to spot predatory VO Demo Coaches/Schools.

1)  They will typically promise that a weekend’s work in their studio will result in a dynamite demo you can take to any agent any where to get voiceover jobs.  Beware the over-complimentary feedback and get-rich-quick promises.  VO learning takes time, demos take time, and successful voice-over careers are rarely realized in a weekend.  Even Ted Williams had some radio background training.
2) They can’t really give you names and contact information of truly satisfied past students when you ask.  You should be able to get at least 5 names from them of people who are effusive in their praise.
3)  When you Google them, their business, or their history, you find that no one’s ever heard of them, their Google search results are sparse, and their trail leads nowhere.  Good studios and coaches leave friendly traces of success and unsolicited recommendations in their wake.
4)  Their website, the studio, their equipment, and even their business cards look schlocky.  Not all demo studios look like a million bucks, but good ones will work like a well-oiled machine.  Even eager VO wannabes need to beware of voice-0ver phishing techniques.  If their website and their business cards DO look slick, but you’re still wary…revisit #3.
5)  Their ads and marketing materials use a lot of superlatives, are short on details, and long on promises.  Ask plenty of questions about their methods, their experience, proof of their promises, and don’t be rushed.  If they’re that good, they must have a long line of students waiting for weeks to get in.

Honorable mention:  They demand you pay them a princely sum up front. The good ones will only ask for a reasonable retainer to get started, and the balance upon completion.

Like any other training you would expect from any other field of endeavour, a little bit of homework goes a long way.  Be thorough in your search, and you’ll start hearing a few of the same names — the good ones — over and over again.

Here endeth the lesson for today.

CourVO

 

Filed Under: Advice, Bad Guys, Training/Education, VO Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tagging for Jobs and Profit

June 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Admissions with a hush.

Producer and Voice Over Coach Nancy Wolfson creates her own original lingo for getting her point across in acting for advertising, and it’s spot-on.   Admit the obvious, and tinge it with an urgency or a hush.

In this 13th and final video excerpt from her HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE package of VO tips, Wolfson dishes on one of the most ubiquitous copywriting devices: the tag.  The tag is usually a short phrase, that — as Wolfson says — engenders trust in the product or the company…and gets you to buy their stuff.  You’ll encounter “the tag” in what?…4 out of 5 radio and TV spots?  That’s a guess…but you might as well learn now how to deliver it…because you WILL see it — a lot!

So, watch this meaty excerpt, and learn another word Wolfson invented:  “happify”.

You can also watch the video here:  http://www.braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/13.html

See? You don’t need to make the listener feel happy about it, you just need to explain it.  OMG that sounds so simple, but when we try to DO it in the booth we wanna put so much on it, and “spin” it…but it just needs to be said or admitted.

All of Wolfson’s material is original and smart.  She’s dissected this corner of the universe with surgical precision, and is the grand poobah of all she surveys, ’cause she created it from experience, analysis and real-world results.  Ask any one of a barrel-full of working graduates, and they’ll all tell you the same:  Nancy Wolfson knows her stuff.

While there’s nothing quite like the visceral time you spend in session with Wolfson one-on-one, this packaged video of 127 tips from her Acting for Advertising treatise is by far the next-best value.  A steal, really.  Check it out at HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

Braintracks Audio:  A logical approach to Voice Acting.

A TRUE tag!

CourVO

(P.S. My thanks to Nancy Wolfson for involving me in her 13 week promotion for this video)

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

Seminar Preview

May 31, 2012 By 4 Comments

The month of May is gone, and I’m still trying to figure out where February went.

June brings with it the VOICE2012 Conference.  There’s still time to sign-up, BTW, although travel costs are starting to get expensive at this late juncture.

During the event, I’ll be presenting on the finer points of social media as it pertains to your VO marketing plan.  My cohorts in the seminar are Terry Daniel and Trish Basanyi.  Terry is presenting on FaceBook, and Trish will be explaining how she’s made Twitter work in her favor.

I’ll be presenting on the LinkedIn social network.  I’ve talked about this before this week here on my blog (LinkedIn Lip Service), and I’m hammering away at it, ’cause I think there’s a lot of value here for any voice talent in her/his search for new clients.

I’m also working hard on gathering resources for the presentation, and you’re my guinea pigs.  Below is a brief video I’ve recorded that profiles a particular tool on the LinkedIn site called “LinkedIn Signal”. It’s a great way to sift your way through the stream-of-consciousness on your social networks.

Take less than two minutes to watch:

I hope that tips you off to something about LinkedIn you were not aware of before.  The entire LI platform is riddled with opportunities to refine and advance your search in this manner…almost from every screen.

CourVO

Filed Under: Social Media/Networking, Social/Professional Networking, Techniques, Training/Education, VOICE 2012 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Like Driving Off a Cliff…

May 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

…when you get to the end of your spoken sentence….without enough steam

Obvious?  Apparently not, ’cause we’ve all done an injustice to it.  C’mon…admit it.

Nancy Wolfson‘s 11th video tip in a straight series of 13 weeekly video ckips seen here on the old blogeroo makes it clear:  Support the end of your Sentence.

Although each of these tips stand alone and stand strong, these tips are just “teasers” for the real series of 127 total gems of advice from Wolfson called HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE.

A few of these vignettes have been involved…lasting several minutes.  Not today’s.  It’s short and sweet.  Just watch:

You can also see the video here:  http://www.braintracksaudio.com/soundreal/11.html

Ad copy is such a genre all its own.  That’s why Wolfson’s over-arching thesis is “Acting for Advertising”.  In her many roles in this business, Wolfson has gleaned a savvy and shrewd spot-on perspective of the psychology of writing, listening, watching, and delivering ad copy.  Your VO career is not complete without offering your tithes at the altar of the tribe of Wolfson.  Ask any of her former students (raises hand).  When you’re done with a Acting for Advertising session, you’re sweating, but exhilerated to have reached new heights.

HOW TO SOUND REAL AND NAIL THE SALE is as close as you’re going to come to the authentic Wolfson sessions, at a fraction of the price.

Be sure to check out her offer.  I think you’ll find it well worth the asking price.

Next week:  Improve Acting with Onomatopoeia  (woohoo…should be good!)

CourVO

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