Dave Courvoisier's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘narrations’

Almost two years…651 posts…countless hours…

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

With gratitude to voice coach par excellence Nancy Wolfson, I reprint the following she sent me yesterday by e-mail.

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

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Please!  No more IPhone apps!  I've got too many already!

But….just one more…really!

As a voice actor, you will LOVE this one.  It blows me away, actually.

Poddio is a voice recorder, yes, but it's also an audio editor…'very powerful one at that.

What really got me…was the quality of the sound.

Listen to this soundfile:

That file was recorded on my IPhone, transferred via the Poddio Software to my laptop by way of my home Wi-Fi as a .wav file. I opened it with AA 3.0 to listen to it. I added absolutely NOTHING. I applied NO effects, volume, amplitude, normalizing, compressing, or equalizing. Heck, I didn't even edit out the breath sounds (although Poddio has the editor to do that). I then saved it as an .mp3 and uploaded it to TypePad.  That's what you're hearing.

I don't know whether to be impressed with Poddio, or the IPhone microphone…but I think that sounds pretty darn good!

Poddio comes as a free version, or pay $10 for all the bells and whistles.  My opinion:  $10 buys a lot here.  Visit the Poddio website to see their full schpiel.  They  had musicians and podcasters in mind when they designed this software, but it can do most things your Audacity editor could do.

Possible use for voice-actors?

1) 'Client calls while you're indisposed away from your studio and wants a quick read to see if you've got the chops for the spot.  You read his e-mail on your IPhone, scribble out a few lines, go to a closet, and deliver your audition into your IPhone…then e-mail it back to him in a flash.  Quality is better than Skype, I think.

2) Quick on-the-run interviews for a podcast.  Take 10 minutes to edit out the guest's curse words, and some fluff while you were interrupted on the convention floor, and you've got a passable podcast.

3) Collect real-life sound-effects for use later in a demo.

4) Record answer-phone messages for friends, and send them by e-mail.

5) A regular client wants to change a tag for a low-budget spot, but you're in Dyersburg, TN getting gas on your way to Stubenville, OH to see a date you found on FaceBook.  He's not particular about quality, but when he gets your Poddio file, he says, "Hey, I thought you said you didn't have your equipment with you?"

OK…last one may be a little far-fetched…but you get the drift.

CourVO

Somebody who gets it! 

NEVERBLUE is all about affiliate marketing. 

Don't ask what that is.  I haven't quite figured it out yet. But I know some people swear by it. (someting about getting rich repping other people's products on your site…kinda like franchising online)

Here's their pitch: "Neverblue is a premier global lead generation network that delivers
millions of profitable customers to clients from all over the world.
Experience better affiliate marketing."

OK, that clears it up.

But Neverblue has apparently figured out that voice actors actually have value, and in THIS blog, they lay out several scenarios in which a smart person would want to hire a voice actor for professional product.

They make pretty good sense.  'Might even be worth a cold-call?

CourVO

Boy, am I late with the notice on this one, but that's what happens when I fail to visit the VO-BB for about a week.

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

My thanks to friend and mentor Frank Frederick (The Voice) for this tip.

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

Julie Williams' excellent monthly newsletter is out in .pdf format, and is imminently readable and worthwhile. 

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

My thanks to "Joe Actor" (Joe Thomas) for pointing me to some fresh information coming out concerning a new online subscription site for voice actors:  VoicePunch.

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

Time and again I've referred visitors here to workshops, articles, and offers from Pat Fraley…one of my favorite voice coaches and certainly one of the giants in our business.

Below, see the offer he's making to budding voice actors seeking work in Audibooks.  I've studied with Pat, and I have this set he's marketing.  It's the real deal.  Lots of really good tips.

'nuff said

CourVO

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Great minds think alike. 

Yeah, it's a hackneyed phrase, but I hadn't used it in a while, and actually I don't compare to John Florian's great mind anyway.

Yesterday, John and I both published content-laden articles composed by JS Gilbert.  John on his wonderful site: VoiceOverXtra, and me on this blog. Neither of us knew what the other was up to, even though we often collaborate and share content.

We had both sought-out JS's considerable expertise.  In this case, everyone's a winner, including you, JS, and our respective VO sites.  I encourage you to visit VoiceOverXtra today to see even more of JS Gilbert's wisdom on the business of voicing for video games.

As promised, though, I'm also going to publish the second half of my exhaustive Q & A with Gilbert.  Please see the very end of today's blog for a quick BIO on JS…he's an accomplished guy whom I applaud for selflessly sharing his depth of experience with us.

Thanks again, JS!

CourVO

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