Dave Courvoisier's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘voiceover artist’

….or Congress should declare it as such.

I know there are always workshops and conferences and meet-ups going on EVERY month, but for some reason September seems to be a veritable cornucopia of opportunities.

First and foremost, there’s FAFFCON.  Ho, boy!  Have you signed up for this yet?  Do. Be part of the first-ever VO UNconference.  Portland.  2nd weekend in September.  Click on the logo for all the info.

Then, there’s THAT’S VOICEOVER, Septemer 22nd.  Hosted in NYC by David Letterman’s Alan Kalter and created by Rudy Gaskins and Joan Baker.  This is an event that just keeps getting better.

And then, there’s Marice Tobias — that elusive, but coveted coach holding an “Established Men in VoiceOver” event in my own hometown of Vegas on the last weekend of September.

Will I  make all three?  Nope…but 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

Sleep?

It’s so unnecessary…don’t you think?

CourvO

All trends are pointing to the contrary.

Don’t believe me?..then maybe Roy Wells’ article on the website Social Media Today will convince you.

It’s titled:  Social Networking is Dominating Online Activity.

…and while you’re at it, take a moment to read some of the related posts at the bottom like:

“I only use email to communicate with old people” -and- “Four Things That People Do Online” (very thought-provoking)

Don’t forget our specially-designed web page for voice artists who want to get a handle on social media:  SocialMediaVO.com.

CourVO

Ever since VOICE2010, and the wildly acclaimed presentation I did with Terry Daniel on Social Media for VO’s (I lied about the wild acclaim thing, BTW), I’ve had many questions about what a person should “DO” when they finally get somewhat established on these sites…like Twitter, FaceBook, and LinkedIn.

The answer — written succinctly — and explained better than I’ve seen anywhere, is summed-up in THIS article by @thatdamnredhead for Social Media Today.

She expands on everything I’ve tried to say over and over.
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BE YOURSELF.

CourVO

(P.S. see this link and more tips about Social Media for your VO business on the website http://www.SocialMediaVO.com)

When the VOICE2010 conference kicks off during the first week of June, my co-host at the event will be the lovely Bobbin Beam.

We put together our collective talents and recorded a little invitation for you to come to VOICE.  James Alburger did the audio engineering.  It was a quick and fun project, and you can give a listen right HERE.

Click on the link: LISTEN TO BOBBIN AND DAVE TALK ABOUT VOICE2010 under our pics.

CourVO

My Friend Paul Strikwerda has written a golden blog article entitled: “10 ways to spot a voice-over amateur“.

Of course, this is not for US professional voice actors.  It’s for when…uh, er…when we might all become casting agents…. yeah, that’s it!

Seriously, this is a must-read!  CLICK.

Great job, Paul!

CourVO

Here’s proof positive that virtual relationships can grow and bloom and become real-world friendships.

Voice actor Karen Commins and her husband Drew visited in Las Vegas last week.  The main reason: celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with a drive-thru renewal of their vows at the Little White Wedding Chapel on the strip — on a Harley no less!  Great style!

In between scheduled items on their busy visit to Vegas, though, Karen and Drew took time to visit me at the TV station during a newscast, and then to break bread with me at an off-strip restaurant.

I wanted in the worst way to write about that visit last week, but certainly understood and honored the Commins’ wishes NOT TO, for the sake of confounding social media rules that dictate revealing all our whereabouts all the time!  In other words, protecting their home while they were away.

I’d write more about it, but Karen already has done so quite eloquently.

Please click HERE for more pics, and a great review of their visit.

Karen is a kindred soul, an astute and savvy student of the digital age, and a wonderful person (even though she’s seen Barry Manilow in concert 51 times).  ;-}

CourVO

….is really no trouble at all…’cause he constantly brings a fresh look – a fresh perspective on the business of voiceover.

His “Frankenstein” idea (see blog here) garnered attention from some of the major P2P sites, and the exchange of concepts led to some significant revisions in the plans for David Ciccarelli’s new Beta roll-out of Voices.com.

See more about that HERE, including a chance to participate in that Voices.com Beta site.

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But Taj’s latest brainstorm (although not entirely novel) has likely never been applied to VO in the sense that he states in his latest blog TAJI’S BIG IDEA.

Oh, no…I’m not going to summarize it here… you have to click on the big tent, or the link in the line above to read all about it yourself. 

Then be sure to comment at the bottom of his blog to further the conversation.

Yeah, we need more trouble like this.  Nice going Taji!

CourVO

What’s a fair price for earnest work?

The quibbling over that simple question can cost you money if things aren’t laid out clearly from the outset.  Now I understand why some Voice actors demand a contract, and at least some pay up front.

Here’s a real-life example (names omitted to protect the innocent):

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APPROACH

A friend approached me about recording the first chapter of a newly-written book.  The author is a multi-millionaire, rags-to-riches CEO of a hugely successful XYZ firm.  The book is his inspirational personal story of how entrepreneurship lifted him out of life’s early disarray to find wild success.

My friend is handling some of the online marketing and SEO challenges for this company, and needed the chapter narrated ASAP for a deadline to launch a certain milestone for this company.

COMPLETION

Within 24 hours, I had the chapter narration done, editing completed, and file delivered with a smile.  My friend was grateful for the favor, and promised payment whenever I invoiced.

The uncertain but hoped-for promise in all this was that I may eventually get the nod to narrate the entire book. 

CONFLICT

When the author heard my read, he liked it, but HIS public relations people were telling him since it was such a personal story, that maybe HE should narrate it.  That’s still undecided.  We all know there are just a handful of authors who have the wherewithal to artfully narrate their own book.  I don’t know…maybe he’s one of those.

Regardless, when my friend attempted to pass the cost of my narration on to the author, this is the response we got:

“I asked for a test version just to hear how he sounds with the book. I wasn’t expecting an invoice for the test or I would have had him reread it with changes until it was a finished to my satisfaction. I am considering him for the full audio, but that phase isn’t ready as of yet. My understanding was this was his bid for the entire project and not something I was paying to test."

ANALYSIS

Let me offer a handful of observations:

It strikes me as somewhat insincere that a guy who’s a self-made millionaire based on principles of entrepreneurship (as stated in this very book)…is unwilling to recognize the efforts of another entrepreneur in setting a fair price for earnest work.

Granted, there may have been a miscommunication between my friend and the author, and it’s to his credit that my friend is stepping up to offer compensation even though the author is unwilling.

Finally, disregarding the quibbling about whether the narration was an “audition” for the whole book, or verbally-contracted work…an “audition” or “scratch-track” of this length (18 mins) would certainly demand SOME renumeration.  No?

LESSON

Some voice actors have a hard ‘n’ fast rule about signed contracts, and at least some pay up front.  They say it’s just a matter of time before you get burned.  I haven’t been burned yet, and my business doesn’t have the force of, say, a Jennifer Vaughn or a Harlan Hogan.

How do you, or would you handle this?

CourVO

The indefatigable Jeffrey Kafer — voice actor, award-winning audiobook narrator, spurned Microsoft employee —   is now running his own AudioBook Publishing business.

This is a smart move, as the AudioBook Publishing repeatedly comes up as one of the most resilient businesses in the economy, consistently showing up in surveys as a burgeoning sector of opportunity for publishers as well as narrators and distributors.

Jeffrey is a go-getter, and a persistent force in the industry.  I, for one, salute his enterprising spirit, AND his new enterprise.

Give it a look, especially if you’re an author.

Click HERE.

CourVO

How far does $49 go these days?  What does it buy?  A pair of shoes?  Dinner for two at Applebees?  10 minutes at the dollar slots down the street at the Bellagio?

…or would you rather spend it on about the best VO advice you’re gonna find anytime this year from a panel of industry experts?

Click HERE to see the line-up of VoiceOver sages Edge Studio is putting together for a teleseminar next Tuesday, the 12th in the evening.  I don’t know ALL the names, but even the few that I DO know would would be worth the price of admission.

And even if you can’t get free to listen-in at that hour on that day, the price gets you an archived copy of the two-hour session.

Worth $49?

CourVO