ONE:

The Voices.com iPhone app is now available for free download and install.  I first noticed it being in the App Store at 2am PST.  There is no iPad app per se…but like all other iPhone apps, you can install and run it on your iPad too

I blogged about the Voices.com app Friday.  Right from the installation and on through the log-in and use of the app, you’ll feel right at home with the branding look and feel of this app (that is, if you’re a subscriber).  Voice seekers, too, will recognize the familiar navigation and feature elements of the web-based Voices.com.  The interface is very intuitive, visually appealing, and a cinch to navigate. The Ciccarelli’s — as usual — have done their homework with the seamless marriage of content and technology here.

TWO:

We Sooooo take our physical speaking apparatus for granted, don’t we?  We just expect the ole voice to BE there whenever we need it.  That is, unless you’ve had allergies, or some laryngeal illness, or you yelled too hard for too long at your daughter’s soccer game.  THEN you start to think maybe the vocal cords are NOT an endless resource.

The voice-box is an organ that deserves to be protected, nurtured, and methodically cared-for.  Among her many other talents and abilities, VO coach Bettye Zoller is passionate about vocal health.  There’s a helpful webinar on that tonite with Bettye, but first try taking this quick quiz on the topic:  http://www.voiceoverxtra.com/article.htm?id=nmslirag.

Yeah, I didn’t get ‘em all either.

If you noticed at the bottom of that article, you’ll see this link to the VoiceOverXtra webinar on vocal health: Your Vocal Health
Learn Truths - Shatter Myths.

This would be a worthwhile and affordable webinar to brush-up on the basics of vocal cord health, as she’ll be joined by a leading voice physician from the Dallas area for the session.

CourVO

Voices.com‘s David Ciccarelli is known for his  business and technology acumen, and VO industry watchers had long suspected the P2P service would launch an app soon.

The mobile phone — or smartphone — is quickly becoming the go-to device for modern connected citizens who turn to it for news, social media, texting, video, pictures, recording voice, and, yes, finding clients.  So this is a move that makes great business sense.

You can see a Preview of the Voices.com iPhone app here.

The app is due out for release Monday, May 7th.

You can also download the Voices.com iPhone app user guide, now available before Monday’s release.

The Voices.com app is certainly not the first app of this kind to hit the market that promises to match talent with voice-seekers.
On my short list of similar apps:
TalentPlease   (my blog about Talent Please)
Rehearsal2      (my blog about Rehearsal)
Artist Grrowth (my blog about Artist Growth)
Doddle              (my blog about Doddle)

And I’d be nuts not to mention that I developed my own CourVO iPhone and Android app last October.  You can find it here: IPHONE and ANDROID.

The CourVO app offers all my great blog info on-the-go for your smartphone.

CourVO

Up to this point, the Alesis iODock is the only device this reviewer evaluated that really met the minimum recording quality most voice acting pros would be comfortable sending to client…and it’s not that portable.

A caveat:  ANY $3,000 microphone will not fill the bill if your recording environment sucks.  So the Tascam iM2 is no panacea if you’re recording in the men’s bathroom at Target.

Having said that, though, the iM2 is the closest we’ve seen to making the grade with portable, on-the-fly, smartphone-device recording that you won’t be embarrassed to send to your best VO client.

Right now, it seems to be available only from B&H Photo.  $80.

See my video below for a quick look at the device itself.  My previous blog on the iM2 gives the specs.  Most importantly:  this device plugs into the 30-pin connector on the bottom of the iOS device (works with iPhone 4 & 4s, iPad, iPad2, and iPod), giving it the best possible shot at a decent recording since the Blue Mikey.  Apple changed the internal wiring when it moved from the 3Gs to the iPhone 4, rendering the Mikey unusable going forward.

(ed. note:  see a similar review of this device by Beau Weaver in the comment section of this blog)

Match the iM2 with Twisted Wave’s iPhone/iPad app for the optimal recording.  Twisted Wave also gives you powerful editing and post-production tools, and lets you share by FTP, iTunes, DropBox, email, or Wi-Fi, but does not record in .mp3.  Instead you can convert it to mp3 through a service online TW supports. Save in .wav, AIFF, CAF, or AAC.   Not quite as good, but getting close in quality are the apps:  FiRe,  Monle and  MultiTrack.

• The dual-positioned mics rotate so you can direct these condensers to the direction of sound.
• The unit works best when you set your iPhone to Airplane Mode, avoiding any interruptions.
• The unit is also very sensitive to movement, so you need to get a comfortable grip and not move the phone around, nor move your fingers on the unit while recording.
• To listen to what you’ve recorded, you must then UN-plug the iM2 to hear the speakers.
• The iM2 does not come with it’s own headphone jack.
• If you have the Apple-supplied earphones plugged in the phone will prioritize the built-in mic on the headset cord, and not record through the iM2.

Now the mic comparison.

I simultaneously recorded a couple of sentences holding the Tascam iM2/iPhone4 as pictured.

The saved .wav file on the iPhone, I uploaded to DropBox, opened in AA3.0 and converted to .mp3.

The Studio Projects C-1 recording was into the AA3.0 DAW through a Steinberg CI2 USB interface.  That recording was a  native mp3.

The ONLY tweak was a boost to the gain in AA3.0 for the Tascam recording.  Even though I had the volume control on the iM2 at max, the two comparison sound waves were not equal in gain.  I had to boost the Tascam recording by about 30%.

Below are the two comparison sound files.  I think you’ll agree that while they are not equal, the Tascam recording — standing on its own — would probably pass muster for an acceptable audition, or even a final cut.

The first soundfile is the Tascam iM2/iPhone4 recording.  The lower soundfile is the Studio Projects C-1 recording.

Tascam-iM2 against StudioProjectsC-1 by CourVO

StudioProjectsC-1 against Tascam-iM2 by CourVO

Pretty close, eh?

LA voice acting pro Beau Weaver has also previewed this device extensively, and his analysis is included below in the comment section.  Absolutely a must-read if you are interested in the deeper technical side of this issue.  Beau is very thorough in his critique.

CourVO

On the hardware end, many devices have launched over the last year, mostly for some version of the iPhone or iPad.

I’ve blogged about a number of these:  the iRig Mic, the Blue Mikey, the Tascam iZX, the Vericorder XLR Adapter Cable, the Alesis iODock, and probably a few that I missed.  Trouble is, only the Alesis iODock offers a means of input through the 30-pin connector at the bottom of the device…anything else is poor quality.

A guy who’s way ahead of me on the technology of it all — SoCal based professional voice-actor Beau Weaver – recently explained it this way in response to a thread about the technology in question: “…The audio input via the 3.5mm connector has a radical EQ curve built in, attenuating everything under 150hz and above 7khz…..which is to say “telephone filter” quality. There is no way around it, other than to introduce a reverse eq curve to compensate, which raises the noise floor. The work around with the camera connection kit USB adapter worked on the older version of the iOS operating system, but no more. The only way to get pro quality audio in is through the 30 pin connector. Several devices are in the pipeline, but none are shipping yet. For iPad, the Alesis iODock is the only thing that works…..at this point. iOS may be a pro recording platform at some point……but it is not there yet…”

So, why don’t equipment manufacturers develop more products that take advantage of this market?  Beau had an answer for that, too, when I asked him about it: “…they are just afraid to make a commitment because Apple keeps changing the API and  rendering their devices obsolete.  Case in point:  the Blu Mikey….which the second version of iOS broke, with no warning, and no recourse.  Equipment manufacturers are wise to be warry of making mac accessories……because there is a good chance apple will pull the rug out from under them…”

Still, apparently, some audio-equipment companies are willing to take the chance.  Case in point: the new Tascam iM2, seen above. 

It uses the 30-pin connector available in the iPhone and iPad, and according to the product website:  “…a high-quality stereo recorder.  A pair of condenser microphones – the same high quality as TASCAM’s best-selling DR-series recorders – plugs into the dock connector of your Apple device.  The microphones are adjustable over 180 degrees for the best sound placement.  The uni-directional elements are arranged in an AB pattern for detailed stereo imaging while capturing the ambience of your room.  The iM2 contains its own microphone preamp and analog-to-digital converter for low noise and great audio quality.  Unlike mics that use the built-in iPhone preamp, the iM2 can handle up to 125dB sound levels…”

Tascam certainly has a track record of making quality portable recorders like the DR-40, and the DR-07mkII…but this is a bit of a departure for them to release a hardware product that depends on the hardware/software of another device for their success.

Check it out.  I am.  When my unit arrives, I promise an evaluation with sound file samples.

My thanks to Beau Weaver for his help in this blog, and agreeing to my excerpting his comments.

CourVO

Disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology there.*

Examples:

-The Wheel
-The Printing Press
-Firearms
-Air Conditioning
-Nuclear Power
-Plastic
-Telephones
-Computers
-Digital Cameras

See?  Thee’s no end to it, and there will be no end to it as long as innovation continues.

A couple of qualifiers about disruptive technology, though: Disruptive innovations are typically innovations in marketing. For example, the automobile was a revolutionary technological innovation, but it was not technically a disruptive innovation, because early automobiles were expensive luxury items that did not disrupt the market for horse-drawn vehicles.*

Also, it’s much more than just “businesses can’t keep up with the technology”, good firms are usually aware of the innovations, but their business environment does not allow them to pursue them when they first arise, because they are not profitable enough at first and because their development can take scarce resources away from that of sustaining innovations (which are needed to compete against current competition).*

These are important distinctions for freelance business people.  We’re typically agile enough to keep up with the “disruptions”, but are we bold enough to take new innovations by the horns and risk the tried and true.  How do these disruptions affect our Voice Over Market?  How can you capitalize on them?

First, my list of 7 Disruptive Technologies that have shaped the current business of Voice Overs:

1)  The Internet.  So profound has been it’s effect that it’s hard to measure.  The internet as a fundamental disruptor of the business of voice-overs has changed many of the accepted standards of the established paradigm; including auditioning, travel, communications, file management, real-time production-at-a-distance, coaching…OMG the list is endless!  It’s at the heart of the rest of this list.  Most disrupted:  Business as usual with agencies and Unions due to Pay-2-Play services.  The internet has disrupted their comfort factor.

2) Digital Storage/Transfer.  No more cassette tapes (or analog ANYTHING), mailing envelopes, magnetic tape back-ups, or even CD’s.  Enter: FTP, YouSendIt, ZipFiles, Carbonite, thumb drives (fading), Multi-Terabyte USB drives.  Cheaper, more capacity, instant delivery, digital enhancement, and most of all, virtually no degradation of content with multiple copies.

3) The Cloud.  I purposely left innovations like DropBox and SugarSync off the list included in #2 above.  It deserves a place of its own because it’s dissrupting the disruptors.  Not only are we moving to off-site cloud storage and transfer for almost all forms of content…but the cloud is also disrupting operating systems, computers, software, hardware, and speed of business and collaboration.

4) Live Studio-Quality Broadband Sessions.  I’m talking next-gen ISDN.  The extent of disruption with technology like Source-Connect is yet to be proven, but many would generally agree that ISDN is dying.  It’s a slow death to be sure, but if nothing else the TelCo’s will force it to die.  With the improvements in broadband drop-outs…Source-Connect, AudioTX IP, and even Skype present a disrupting market for hi-quality distance recording.

5) Tablet Computing/SmartPhones.  A computer that replaces paper.  Fits in your hand. Carrry it with you.  Download from the cloud.  Turn pages effortlessly and silently.  Be in touch with your network, record on the go, edit on the go, audition on the go.  What does tablet computing disrupt?  Anything that requires physically handling paper: filing, bookkeeping, reading, learning, internet browsing, networking.  This one is here to stay, and it’s mostly good.

6) Social Media.   We’re  not alone anymore.  Sharing information, advice, techniques, rumors, and news is instantaneous, sometimes to its detriment.  Social Media disrupts much of what was heretofore formal communication: letters, phone calls, and hard research on a target.  Social media threatens the keeping of secrets, the maintenance of a subterfuge, and layers of protection.  It’s not all bad.  Just about ANYONE can be approached, contacted, and vetted thruogh social media.  Which leads to #7.

7) Digital Marketing.  Remember newspapear classifieds?  Gone.  Thanks Craig.  Although it takes some finesse, a freelancer can successfully markekt themselves FOR FREE on social media.  Forget the PR machine, the PSA, the Advertising Firms, and the agencies.  You hold the key to your own marketing machine in your hand (see #5).

In the midst of all this disruption, there are several “sustaining” technologies:  The Microphone being the most obvious example.  Newer, better microphones do not create new markets or value networks but rather only evolve existing ones with better value.*  Cables, mic-stands, pre-amps, desktops, laptops all fall in this category.

Now, back to the question:  How to capitalize on disruptive technologies?

You’re doing it!

Many of us did not work in this field in the Don LaFontaine years of traveling to all the different studios to earn his way.  We started out auditioning on the internet.  Are you on FaceBook?  Then you’re already engaging your potential customers, and marketing yourself in ways you probably aren’t even aware of.  Much of embracing disruptive technology involves taking a bit of a leap…a calculated risk into new areas that may seem challenging, but within days, you’ll wonder why you waited so long!  (iPad, SmartPhone).

Your challenge:  Utilizing disruptive technology in disruptive ways that have not yet been pioneered.  Who was the first VO coach to use Skype for long-distance learning?  That’s a disruptive use of disruptive technology.  Who got their first VO gig after engaging someone on Twitter?  That’s a disruptive use of a disruptive technology.

Go for it!

CourVO

* Verbatim information gleaned from a disruptive technology:  WikiPedia.  When’s the last time you saw an Encyclopedia Brittanica salesman at your door?

Silly me, I thought it was a female voice…but it’s a guy. (editor’s note, 11/11/11:  It’s  male in the U.K., female in the U.S. per Jeff Davis)

URL:  http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/10/2551519/british-voic…

I’ve blogged extensively about the use of an iPad or Android-powered tablet as a mobile recording device, but perhaps it’s most useful role is that of a reader…replacing sheets of paper or a book.

Paper is a an ongoing tradition of centuries, so not everyone will be an overnight fan, but a tablet can be held in just about any position that a piece of paper can, and you can do away with the printer in your office.

Other Advantages:
-Silence:  no shuffling of papers
-Green: no trees sacrificed
-Immediately adjustable font-size with the flip of two fingers
-Downloads and displays docs and pdfs from “the cloud” effortlessly
-Allows annotations, marke-ups, underscores, arrows, etc to hilite the copy
-Replenishable.  Use over and over
-It has a certain “cool” factor (not that that matters, right?)

If you’re just jumping onboard the tablet wagon, or haven’t had the time to research the best apps for using the device in your studio…look no further…I’ve been sussing it out and humbly offer you my

TOP TEN TABLET VO APPS
(for the iPad/iPhone)

1) GoodReader — opens just about any kind of doc or pdf, downloaded from almost all the popular cloud services, allows annotation, and is intuitive to use.

2) QuickOffice — much like GoodReader…the pro version is a little pricier, but this one handles .docs better, also letting you generate new .docs, presentations, and spreadsheets; and connects to about every conceivablel cloud service

3) ReaddleDocs –  slick interface, opens .docs and .pdfs.  Connects to all the usual suspect cloud services, and email accounts.  Has a quick search function.  Annotation functions are easy but rudimentary compared to some of the others.

4) iAnnotatePDF — ‘Seems to be the fave of AudioBook narrators.  Rich annotation feature-set, search functions, and other key tools. Highly configurable.  I find the interface to be confusing, but after a while you get used to it.  Only plays in PDF-land, not .docs.  Downloads from cloud services.

5) PDF ReaderPro — An iAnnotate clone with it’s own style (more intuitive interface, I think).  Allows annotation, cloud downloads, bookmarking, printing, and a host of other handy features, like sharing, that make it tops on my list.  Again, only PDF.

6) PDF Expert –  Still another top-notch PDF reader. Allows annotation, downloading from the cloud, free-hand mark-ups, hiliting with different colors, printing, saving…the works.  The PDF Expert and iAnnotate as well as PDF ReaderPro are amazing in the array of things it can do.  You’ll wonder why you use a desktop or laptop computer.

7) Honorable Mention –  File Sharing:  iFiles, Box (Box.net), DropBox, Air Sharing, and Filer

 (for the Android)

8) qPDFNotes — Does everything the big boys above can do, and just as sweetly.  ‘Has rich annotation, and mark-up features, and connects to all the cloud services you could ask for.

9) ezPDFReader — Ditto.  Allows for magnification, split layouts, lots of annotation tools, plus has a nifty function for quickly scanning through the pages of a book.  Plenty to like here.

10) Quick Office — Appears under this OS as another strong contender with all the features of its Apple cousin…plays well with docs AND pdfs, and allows for annotation, as well as generation of new docs from scratch.  Cloud connections.

Honorable Mention: Documents to Go.  Allows for plenty of manipulatiion of existing docs, plus lets you generate .docs, .ppt (Power Point), and MX Excel files, as well as PDFs… pretty nifty and more features than you’ll ever use.

It’s hard to stop here, actually.  There are so many handy apps for file handling and reading — and more being issued every day — that you can find just the right one for you with a little searching through the AppStore or Marketplace.

What’s YOUR favorite?  What have I missed?

CourVO

You can download the CourVO app from the Droid marketplace.

Or just go to the Marketplace from your Droid device, and use the search term:  COURVO.

Now, this thing doesn’t solve quadratic equations or anything, it just reflects all the content from this blog.  You can read the full article, comment on it, respond to it, and share it however you like.  It pulls all the latest content from the blog’s RSS feed.  Plain and simple.

Just for the record, the Android app was infinitely easier to build, submit, and launch than the iPhone app.  That presents good and bad realities.  The iTunes team closely guards a high standard with its apps…no fluff, no porn, all high quality.  Android apps don’t go through much screening, and I think the quality suffers.  In this case, I submitted the same build to both formats, so you get the iPhone quality in the Android platform.

I hope to augment this app along the way…developing it to the point where it will display and play my demos, and even become a portal for my clients.

Let me know how you like it!

CourVO

Among the handful of true corporate dynasties that sprang from the last twenty years of internet/dot-com/computer/social media ascendance, Google continues break ground faster and farther than most of the others (possible exception:  Apple — and even that’s up for debate).

On today’s Voice-Acting in Vegas blog: a few Google-related developments that you might find useful for your voice over business.

First:  Are you on Google+?  You should be.  Since July, Google+ has grown to about 50-million subscribers.  That’s faster growth than FaceBook, Twitter, My Space or any other social media platform can boast.  On Google+, you can creat your own “circles” of friends.  I have circles for “Vegas”, “Journalism” and others…among them:  Voice Over.  In my voice over circle are some 350 voice over talent.  I’m sure that’s not all the voice talent on Google+, but it’s a start, and now when I want to get a sense of what’s going on in the VO world…or when I need to ask a question or get a word out…that’s a great place to go.  If you need an invite to get on, just email me at CourVO@CourVO.com, and I’ll send you an invitation.

Second: How to keep up with all that Google does?  Simple:  go to the official Google Blog.  It’s updated frequently…several times a day even, and always features the latest moves by this company.  (BTW, Google should NOT be referred to as “…that search engine company…”  It is SO much more, now!)

Third:  Don’t take my word for all this…see this latest article entitled: 5 GREAT HIDDEN GOOGLE SEARCH TIPS THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT…including “Search for People’s Profiles”, and “Read Articles Without Paying”.

Fourth:  Last week, I launched the “CourVO” app for the iPhone and iPad.  Although it was an inexpensive process, there were plenty of hoops to jump through.  By comparison, creating the CourVO ANDROID app was brainless.  That’s right…the new CourVO Android App is now available. (BTW, both the iPhone and the Android app are free, and reflect the daily changes in the content on this blog…on your smartphone!).

Fifth:  Most everyone has at least a perfunctory Gmail account…it’s the portal to much of what you want to do on Google.  Watch for a big change to the way Google Mail looks very soon.  In the meantime, please consider trying either one of two add-ons to Gmail that will immediately double or triple the information you can glean about anyone who writes you an email.  both GIST and XOBNI offer integration to Gmail.  Both of these 3rd-party programs will analyze any email you receive for information about the sender.  LOTS of information about the sender…especially their presence on the other social media, along with contact information, frequency of posts, recent e-mails and even metrics about their presence on the web.  I find both these programs extremely helpful in managing connections…even the most typical time of day when events happen.

CourVO

TECHNOLOGY

5 Great Hidden Google Search Tips That You Should Know About

The COURVO app is now available in the iTunes store.  It’s free.

Now you can read all the great content of this blog on your iPhone/iPad.

You can also do a search for the app from your iPhone App Store icon by searching for “CourVO”. There’s apparently an app named “Courvoisier” too.  Not mine.  (the actual name of the app is CourVO’s Voice-Acting in Vegas)

The app presents all the branding and content of this blog by pulling the info from my RSS feed and displaying  it in a simple interface.

This was actually not brain surgery at all, and almost anyone can do it.  Visit AppMakr.com to see about doing your own.  There were some costs involved:  about $100 for the Apple Developer’s license, and some minimal AppMakr fees.

This was actually slated for launch a couple of weeks ago, then Apple announced iOS 5.o.  Immediately, all apps considered for review were rejected for rebuild to be compatible for the new operating system.  S’OK…the result is pretty much what I wanted.

• From the app, you can:
  comment back to the blog article
  share the article on Twitter
  share on FaceBook
  “like” the article
  see the original blog layout in a browser window
  email the article

Some functionality of the app is still in development.  You’ll see that if you select the “camera” icon, or the RSS icon.  Pressing the ATOM icon will bring you back to the list of articles.

I hope you’re reading this blog on your iPhone.

BTW, the Android version of this is coming…likely within a week.

Let me know what you think.

CourVO