Dave Courvoisier's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘voice actor’

You hear me talk about this publication every month….but have you actually flipped through it’s amazing online pages?  And by “flip” I mean it literally.  This is one of the coolest online magazine formats I’ve ever seen.

EQ mag is for musicians, studio geeks, audiophiles, engineers, and studio techs, but so much of what you’ll find on these pages is helpful to voice actors.  Tons!

For instance, an article this month entitled “Why settle for tracks that sound good when they can sound great?”  is packed with tips on audio editing, including use of plug-ins, equalization, and mixing.

And like I always say, the ads alone are worth checking out, just to keep current.

Click HERE or on the pic above.

CourVO

Most twittered comment about the female VoiceOver for the Oscars Sunday night:

“She just said ‘pitcher’ again, instead of ‘picture’.”

Second most twittered comment about the female VoiceOver for the Oscars Sunday night:

“Did she really say ‘Barber’ Streisand?” (she did)

That female voiceover for the Oscars, BTW is Gina Tuttle.  I had not heard of her, but thought she did a pretty good job with nice energy.

HERE is a link with more about Gina.

And didja hear about the SNAFU Jeff Bridges got himself into with one of his best voiceover clients?  Hyundai was all set to run a rash of spots on the Oscars, but was turned-down for a conflict-of-interest.  Read HERE and HERE all the details.  Hyundai ran the ads anyway, but used several other celebs as substitutes for Bridges.  Hey, Hyundai…how ’bout trying out some PROFESSIONAL voice-actors???  Hmmm?

Finally, did you notice for the first time in over 20 years presenters were allowed to say: “…and the WINNER is…” instead of that contrived phrase: “…the Oscar goes to…”

I’m so glad they made that change.  If you happened to have missed the Oscars, what’s the first question you ask. Uh-huh….”Who WON”?

CourVO

Why am I such a sucker for this stuff?

It just FINDS me.

Simple, harmless, helpful FREE.  ‘Takes minutes to set-up.

Check out FLAVORS.ME.  It aggregates all your social networking sites into a sublimely plain, customizable interface on an easy-to-find page.

To see mine, just click on the pic above.CourVO

Make no mistake, many things are going on in the background big-time as preparations build for the only major conference for VoiceActors known to mankind.

VOICE2010.  You know…that thing happening in Los Angeles in June of this year.

The early-bird pricing specials are over, but James Alburger and Penny Abshire have plenty of surprises that may benefit you as a registrant between now and then, so keep your eyes open for specials.   Those of you who are SaVoa members will be seeing a promotion distinctly tailored for you as well.  If you haven’t seen it or heard of it already, contact your SaVoa Advisory Board member for more.

Actually, I’ll be IN Los Angeles this weekend as a sort of advancer.  The reasons I’m there vary from pure R ‘n’ R to professional…don’t ask…but call me if you wanna get together with me.  I’m there by noon Friday, and leaving about the same time Sunday.

You truly need to be there if:

1) you like to see, talk to, and learn from all your VO peers
2) you’re a seasoned professional
3) you’re a learning professional
4) you want to meet any and everyone in this biz who has connections
5) you want to learn the latest in gadgets, methods, technology & techniques
6) you like to see how crazy VO’s get after-hours.

Me and Terry at VOICE 2008

But all this is not what I REALLY wanted to get to in this blog article…what I really want to know is what YOU want to know about applying Social Networking to your VO Biz.  Terry Daniel and I will be doing the General Session Saturday morning, and it should be worth your while.  Got questions?  Let us know now.   Seriously.  Call me at 702-610-6288 or email me at courvo@courvo.com with your thoughts.  Make a comment below. We want to make this something you can take to the bank.

CourvO

The country that calls English its second language.  The home of more outsourced American jobs than any other country.  A place that practically worships US popular culture.  Why wouldn’t they want native North American or British-speaking voiceovers?

They do. 

The trick is to find a reputable company that actually pays it’s talent, and is responsive/responsible as a lead-generator.

I wish I could tell you which companies those are.  I have worked with VOICE ARTISTES, and they seem above-board.  But keep in mind, they don’t mess with SAG and AFTRA, and the global market is not up to par with the US market in compensation for jobs…so your rate sheet may not work there.

Below is an email I got yesterday.  Maybe some of you did too.  I CAN NOT vouch for the efficacy of this overture, and have not replied myself…but I reprint it below for anyone who may want to test the waters. 

Please let me know if you find out anything…or not…I’m not asking anyone to give away lucrative job leads, just to be so kind as to let us know if it’s a sham.

Their return address is:  info@cosmicgloballimited.com

CourVO

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Anybody know who first coined that term: “PIEHOLE”? (usually associated with the phrase “Shut your PieHole!”)

Regardless….in this case, PieHole is asking you to open yours….uh, your piehole, that is.

OK, wait-a-minute. PIEHOLE is the name of a company based in Ireland, that among other things, seeks to match voice talent with clients. 

Here’s the unique link, though: PieHole makes the connection through copywriters…not that uncommon in Europe, I understand.

It’s an idea that’s working.  Here’s the operative quote:  “…we stalk and harass advertising agencies to hire our voiceovers…”

PieHole is a fixture in the European ad market…expanding now into the UK and Canada, and – yes – they are seeking North American talent.

I was so intrigued, that I asked the founders – Priscilla Groves and James Kennedy – to offer a few quick answers to some pointed questions.

The result is below.  Click on the pic above to go to their site.

CourVO

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‘Love that word – looms.  Indicating many devices that weave rugs.

But I digress, and who would blame me?…it’s 4am PST, and I still think it’s Sunday.

The deadline that approaches is March 15th…the day business taxes must be filed.

Last-minute late-night toiling over THAT is what is prompting me post THIS blog (a stopgap) instead of the one that’s now coming tomorrow on PIEHOLE…an innovative voiceover talent P2P/agency (?) that operates on a rather unique paradigm.

I managed to secure a revealing interview with one of their “people”, and I guarantee you’ll find plenty of interest.

Thank for your understanding.

CourVO

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At 3:54am PST, I ponder this issue.

How much more of my personal time can I afford to give over to Social Media?

That simple question begets a rash of other questions that belie the complexity of the issue.

• First of all is the question: “Can I afford NOT to give that time, if I want a successful freelance Voiceover business under today’s new internet paradigm?”
• Secondly: “Is it really a burden if I’m having fun?”
• Thirdly: “Is it really a waste of time if it’s bringing me clients?”
• Finally: “If I DO draw a line…WHERE do I draw the line?”

(There are even more caveats, but again, you have to draw the line somewhere.)

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

I’ve been especially pondering this issue on behalf of the upcoming attendees of June’s VOICE2010 conference in LA.  Along with voice-actor Terry Daniel, I’ll be expounding on the ROI of Social Media for VO’s in a morning general session, and I hope to have some darn good answers for people who paid good money to learn something.

‘Trouble is, Social Media is such a moving target these days.  There’s a lot of flailing around in a pushing-the-envelope environment that sees trial-and-error success and failure in weeks, days, sometimes even hours.

Yet, in this new frontier, there are gold mines to be found.  Luckily there are also volumes being written daily…mostly in the blogosphere…to help.

RESOURCES

HERE is an extremely helpful, informative article entitled 10+ TIPS FOR USING TWITTER TO GROW YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESS.

And for those of you brave enough to take on Google’s latest Twitter challenge called BUZZ,  HERE is a primer for getting around, called HOW TO DO EVRYTHING IN GOOGLE BUZZ (INCLUDING TURN IT OFF).

Will you be there in June?  It really will be fun and worthwhile. I hope you try to make it.  See the registration site HERE.

CourVO

A chance mention on Twitter of a new website I found, grew into a full-blown exchange between me and the developer of the site.

The site is CHIRBIT

Briefly, Chirbit: “…enables you to record, upload, listen to and share sound bites easily. Chirbit is simple, useful and fun….”

It’s all true, actually.  Here’s the YouTube video I borrowed from the Chirbit site:

The site struck me as a delightful use of the potential of audio and social networking.  I eventually asked the originator of the site – Ivan Reyes – if he’d mind responding to a few pointed questions about Chirbit, specifically the possibilities for voice-actors.

Click below to see Ivan’s succinct, informative answers.  Pay special attention to the plans he has to apply the usability of Chirbit for voice-actors (answer 3rd from the last paragraph).

Whadya think? Any real-world application to the business of Voice-Over you can think of?

Thanks, Ivan!

CourVO

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Gee, ‘hope I’m not going to get into trouble for spreading this around, but it seems like a pretty good product, and they’re giving away the software.

Sure, you’ve got Adobe Reader installed, but can it do what the Nuance PDF Reader can do?

From their website:

“Nuance PDF Reader enables you to do much more than just view PDF files. You can convert PDF files to Word®, Excel®, and RTF via a hosted web service. Use annotation tools to highlight, cross-out, and underline text for more effective collaboration. Even fill out and save PDF forms. Nuance PDF Reader takes up less disk space, is more secure than Adobe® Reader®, and works with virtually any PDF file.”

I don’t know about you, but that part about converting to Word and Excel sounds mighty handy for some of the VO projects you get from time-to-time….’cause why the heck doesn’t Adobe (or Nuance for that matter) offer a word-counter integrated into the program?

Click on the picture above or HERE to go to the Nuance site for that free download.

CourVO