I especially love the service ERS provides in checking to see if your travel location (hotel) will be able to handle your ISDN needs.  Great idea!… but of course, you need to be a subscriber.

Link to his blog and read it…you’ll learn a bunch!

CourVO

Workshops are coming from ERS George Whittam brings VO Tech to the people! May, 2009 – Vol 12, Issue 4
Quick Links ERS BLOG Source Elements Out of Hear- Bridging made mobile! VO2GO Voiceover Universe MicnMe Voice Over Bulletin Board VoiceOverXtra.com Voices.com VO Mic Tests		Dear Dave, ERS brings in more unique products. We can ship anything in the Namba Gear product line within 24 hours. These amazing bags are light weight, capacious, and protect your traveling recording kit.  See below for product photos and descriptions. George Whittam’s Pro Tools for VO workshop focused on Pro Tools techniques for the voice over actor’s studio in Studio City, CA at VoiceTrax West is rescheduled to May 30th. Also at Voicetrax West, George will be guest for Debbie Munro’s MicnMe workshop in Los Angeles, June 6th and 7th.  See the flyer for more information. Planning to travel this Summer? Concerned about connecting with Source Connect from your hotel?  We’ve got you covered, read below for details. The Console Cover & Copy Cradle is ready and we’ve got photos to prove it! The Don LaFontaine Celebration of Life Tribute DVD is now available through donation from ERS.  Our very own George Whittam handled production sound mixing for the live event. We’ve been a customer of Beyond Green Services & Consulting for a year now and love how our work and living environments have improved!  Read about Rebel Clair’s life changing services below.
Namba Gear bags protect your travel kit, while remaining light and versatile Namba Gear bags come in 5 versions, and the largest will swallow just about everthing you’d need to take on the road to record, and probably a change of clothes as well.  We’ve sold a Big Namba fully outfitted as a VO2GO to Kiff Vanden Heuvel, who immediately took it on a business trip to stay connected with his clients.  Vanessa Marshall has the Lil’ Namba, and it holds everything she needs for VO while traveling, even her HP portable printer! The bags are reasonably priced starting at $35 for the Personal Stash bag up to $150 for the Big Namba.   With several color choices, the bags feature myriad pockets and compartments, all within the dense foam padded outer shell. Check out our store for the full selection.  We can usually ship it within 24 hours of your order, as their warehouse is right in our neighborhood! ERS introduces the Console Cover & Copy Cradle, AKA “C4″ Doesn’t it drive you NUTS when there’s a problem in your recording studio you just can’t figure out?  You guess it must be one of those knobs or buttons on your mixing console, it’s just so easy for one of them to get screwed up.  Or maybe one of the “kids” got into your booth and couldn’t resist the urge to twist some knobs.  You call in your studio technician, who promptly turns a knob and hands you an invoice, and you slap your forehead. We came up with a product that any studio user who’s ever run into that situation, or would love to avoid it ever happening, will surely find useful and cost effective.  The Console Cover & Copy Cradle (C4) is just the thing! Custom fabricated to fit your mixer, the C4 serves several useful purposes: The C4 covers up all of the knobs that you just don’t need to adjust on a regular basis, leaving only the fader knobs or sliders and mute buttons accessible. It is constructed of attractive clear acrylic so you can see the console’s meters. It acts as a dust cover to keep dust from accumulating between all of the knobs. It features an integrated copy stand with a deep lip to hold pages of copy securely. The C4 tilts forward easily to provide access to the covered knobs, in case an odd adjustment must be made. The C4 can a also be configured without the copy stand portion for those who don’t position their mixer at the mic position.  Prices start at $80 for the non-copy stand version, and $150 with copy holder.  Photos and order link now available. ERS makes it easier for traveling Source Connect users with a new service Free for all Premium Service and SMS subscribers! Next time you make your travel plans, contact ERS first.  We’ll check ahead with the hotel’s IT department to ensure that your Source Connect or AudioTX software WILL WORK with their network when you arrive. Sometimes the hotel has a firewalls or proxy setup on their Internet connection to protect their network, but render your Source Connect software crippled.  We’ll make sure that when you book your room, the Internet connection will be configured to work properly, painlessly.  If we think you’ll run into problems, we’ll let you know immediately so you can plan accordingly. Studio Maintenance Service plan- one visit per 3 month period for complete studio once-over, computer updates, plus Premium Remote support included.  First service is $250/3 months. Request week of first service Basic Service includes unlimited phone, email, and Skype support for 3 Months for $100. Premium Service includes Basic phone support as well as remote access to your computer for tech support and maintenance on short notice in or out of the Los Angeles area.  We can help guide you through software difficulties, provide computer support, and guide you through OS and software update minefields, while you watch. 3 Months for $200. *Currently available only in the greater Los Angeles County area. George Whittam has Workshops on the brain, from ours to yours! ERS partnered up with VoiceTrax West of Studio City, CA to bring a series of workshops specifically for the voice actor’s needs. The first workshop in the series for 2009 is “Beginning Pro Tools for Voice Over”, and will be conducted Saturday, May 30th from 1:00 – 5:00 pm.  Follow this link for more info and to sign up. George will be a guest for Debbie Munro’s upcoming workshop. Click the flyer to sign up. Beyond Green Services & Consulting by Rebel Clair Call 310.745.9440 to schedule a service and for a quote.Organization, Feng Shui, Healthy Alternatives for Home and Work Environments. · Inspired by Rebel’s desire to share training in Feng Shui and a natural organizational talent, she focus’s on the integration of functional order, beauty and health, including an in depth walk-through, written reviews as needed and safe alternative suggestions. Feng Shui This ancient art addresses these nine fundamental subjects within the home. Are you wanting to enhance any of these things in your life? Start in the home.  A two part planning process which is dynamic and holistic. · Career · Prosperity · Health · Partnership · Creativity · Fame · Family · Beneficial People · Knowledge Organization Simplicity and logical arrangement of things is often the most beneficial way to clearer vision and path to efficiency, success and a more relaxed life. Healthy Alternatives Let us assist you in bringing your home to its optimal health. A practical, easy to follow overview addressing specific issues in the home that effect the overall health of the family. Don’t forget to subscribe to the ERS blog We are keeping this newsletters brief and focusing more attention on the blog from now on, since we can stay current and on top of the latest innovations this way. George Whittam ElDorado Recording Services

The sculpted gardens here are worthy of the ones at the world-famous Versailles Palace in France.  That caliber.

Over 30 different varieties of Peony are on display here…

Incredible blooms…all colors…and no thorns.  'Hate that about roses.

Of course, my day didn't begin here, it began at my sister's house, cooking bacon.

This exercise in social tradition is as much family reunion as anything.

All the in-laws are here from Boston…uh…that's Bahstahn to you, buddy!

I figured I'd better post something tonite…I may not be in any shape to do that tomorrow night by this time.

CourVO

HERE, a rather exhaustive evaluation of some of the better audio-editing software packages out there (albeit the most expensive).  Mac & PC.

CourVO

Blogging is fun.  I've discovered I have a talent for writing and sharing.  I enjoy connecting dots for people, and connecting people.

….but

….after all that time, and all those blogs, my average number of visitors per day is dropping steadily.

And it was never that high. 

I understood that when I started.  This was niche stuff, and there are lots of other places where people can find solid information about voice acting.

I've tried to follow the basic rules for building blog visitors:  give a piece of myself in each blog….engage the visitors to contribute or respond…be consistent in my blogging…frequent…helpful…sharing…all that.

The only thing I didn't do was go with the incredibly difficult WordPress…that may be my downfall.  I understand that Google bots are infinitely more gracious to WordPress blogs than Typepad.  I don't care.  If Typepad is good enough for Seth Godin…it's good enough for me.

So here I am, actually considering ending the blog.  The drop in visitations is very discouraging.  I spend a lot of time on this thing.

So before I throw in the towel…any suggestions for making it better?

I know my page loads slowly.  In your estimation, is that an issue for you?

Is there TOO MUCH "stuff" on my page?

Should I swallow my pride and go with WordPress?

Thanks for your input.

Dave C

Let me just point out that VERLYN KLINKENBORG (the author) was born the same year as me, to a midwest farming community (like me).  That's about where the similarities end.  He's pretty tight with the NY Times and has written several books.

His observations below about the spoken word are very well contemplated.

…and you thought it was only voice-talking!

CourVO

Some Thoughts on the
Lost Art of Reading Aloud

Sometimes the best way to
understand the present is to look at it from the past. Consider audio books. An
enormous number of Americans read by listening these days — listening aloud, I
call it. The technology for doing so is diverse and widespread, and so are the
places people listen to audio books. But from the perspective of a reader in,
say, the early 19th century, about the time of Jane Austen, there is something
peculiar about it, even lonely.

In those days, literate
families and friends read aloud to each other as a matter of habit. Books were
still relatively scarce and expensive, and the routine electronic diversions we
take for granted were, of course, nonexistent. If you had grown up listening to
adults reading to each other regularly, the thought of all of those solitary
21st-century individuals hearkening to earbuds and car radios would seem
isolating. It would also seem as though they were being trained only to listen
to books and not to read aloud from them.

It’s part of a pattern.
Instead of making music at home, we listen to recordings of professional
musicians. When people talk about the books they’ve heard, they’re often talking
about the quality of the readers, who are usually professional. The way we
listen to books has been de-socialized, stripped of context, which has the
solitary virtue of being extremely convenient.

But listening aloud,
valuable as it is, isn’t the same as reading aloud. Both require a great deal of
attention. Both are good ways to learn something important about the rhythms of
language. But one of the most basic tests of comprehension is to ask someone to
read aloud from a book. It reveals far more than whether the reader understands
the words. It reveals how far into the words — and the pattern of the words —
the reader really sees.

Reading aloud recaptures
the physicality of words. To read with your lungs and diaphragm, with your
tongue and lips, is very different than reading with your eyes alone. The
language becomes a part of the body, which is why there is always a curious
tenderness, almost an erotic quality, in those 18th- and 19th-century literary
scenes where a book is being read aloud in mixed company. The words are not mere
words. They are the breath and mind, perhaps even the soul, of the person who is
reading.

No one understood this
better than Jane Austen. One of the late turning points in “Mansfield Park”
comes when Henry Crawford picks up a volume of Shakespeare, “which had the air
of being very recently closed,” and begins to read aloud to the young Bertrams
and their cousin, Fanny Price. Fanny discovers in Crawford’s reading “a variety
of excellence beyond what she had ever met with.” And yet his ability to do
every part “with equal beauty” is a clear sign to us, if not entirely to Fanny,
of his superficiality.

I read aloud to my
writing students, and when students read aloud to me I notice something odd.
They are smart and literate, and most of them had parents who read to them as
children. But when students read aloud at first, I notice that they are trying
to read the meaning of the words. If the work is their own, they are usually
trying to read the intention of the writer.

It’s as though they’re
reading what the words represent rather than the words themselves. What gets
lost is the inner voice of the prose, the life of the language. This is
reflected in their writing, too, at first.

In one realm — poetry — reading aloud
has never really died out. Take Robert Pinsky’s new book, “Essential Pleasures:
A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud.” But I suspect there is no going back.
You can easily make the argument that reading silently is an economic artifact,
a sign of a new prosperity beginning in the early 19th century and a new
cheapness in books. The same argument applies to listening to books on your

iPhone

. But what I would suggest is that our idea of reading is incomplete,
impoverished, unless we are also taking the time to read
aloud.

Nancy
Wolfson
Braintracks
Audio
www.braintracksaudio.com
http://twitter.com/NancyWolfson
Voice Over Coaching • Casting • Production •
Success

Some months ago, one of the smartest marketing guys in VO approached me to proofread a publication he was writing specifically for newbies in Voiceovers.  His name is Peter O'Connell, and of course the first thing I wondered is why he was asking me. 

It doesn't matter, 'cause Peter is such a good author that I think I found a missing comma somewhere on page 56, but that's all, and even that was up for debate.

OK, so his FREE online publication is called THE VOICE OVER ENTRANCE EXAM…and it's so timely.

Why?  Because if you're having even marginal success in voice acting, and you've been at it for a while, and your marketing is starting to get out there…then you'll be regularly approached by the throngs of hopefuls who just KNOW that in a few short weeks, they'll be getting sacks of money delivered to their door for the voice work they do.  In fact, I just got approached by a local DJ today.

For those people…Peter's work is tailor-made.

Peter's work is visually appealing, well-researched, engaging, imminently readable, true, and for some:  hard to swallow.  That's because Peter doesn't mince words when mincing would be unkind and unfair.

This is a competitive business with loads of misconceptions…especially on the front end. 

Even if you're a seasoned pro in voiceovers, take the time to read this.

NICE WORK, PETER!!!

CourVO

He mentioned "MULTITRACK Studio" as a fully-functional , inexpensive, sound editor worthy of consideration for voice actors.

I decided to take the plunge and purchase the lower cost version: MultiTrack Studio Professional for $69 USD. Hey, I'd overpayed my AMEXCO card recently, and couldn't stand the thought of them making money off my misstep.

At any rate, it's just installed, so I don't have much of an evaluation for you, but it installed pretty doggone effortlessly on my Vista machine…and BTW, it installs on any MS OS all the way down to Windows 95.

Here's what their site says about it's mixing capabilities:  "MultitrackStudio has a powerful mixer structure including an unlimited
number of Effect Return and Group sections, numerous built-in quality
effects and VST and DX plugin support. The Pro Plus edition features
powerful sidechain routing options."

I'm such a sucker for new geek-toys.  Check back here soon for a better evaluation…or better yet, call Frank.  I'm sure he could tell you 10 ways it's better than Pro-Tools ;-}

CourVO

Click HERE to see her latest voiceover salary survey, get help with what to charge for your work, and find hints on avoiding unscrupulous voice coaches.

Great work, Julie!

CourVO

On Julie Williams' online voiceover forum site you'll see a thread that raises some serious questions.

Click HERE.

I, too, rec'd an e-mail from "Chris Kellog" to do a link exchange with the new VoicePunch.  I never responded.  Joe Actor is seeking to have his unapproved link to the VoicePunch site removed.

CourVO

Keep an eye out in this edition for 'THE GREAT BIG DAW ROUNDUP"….an exhaustive look at all the many quality sound-editing and production software packages out there.

Also look for "MIXED ON A LAPTOP is no longer a criticism".  Great!

Click HERE or on the pic above.

CourVO