Dave Courvoisier's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘voices’

More and more I’ve been thinking about all the great voice-actors who are teaching:  Pat Fraley, Deb Munro, Marc Cashman, Hillary Huber, Bettye Zoller, Harlan Hogan…

Why?…

I mean, is teaching VO more lucrative than DOING VO?

If you can do both, then, of course, more power to ya!…but all I EVER wanted to do was VO…not teach VO.

Do you reach a point in your VO career where you want to teach more than voice?  Don’t you just want to put all your waking energy into getting better VO jobs?…wouldn’t that pay better than putting all your energy into teaching VO?

Do you reach a point where teaching VO is more FUN than doing VO?

I’ve been anchoring local TV news for 30 years, and I’ve never reached a point where I want to coach TV newscasters for money.  I LOVE mentoring others trying to get a leg-up in the business… but coaching people to be better broadcasters?  ‘Doesn’t appeal to me in the least.  I’d rather just anchor.

So I ask…why teach?

The only variable I keep coming back to is money.  It must be more lucrative to teach than to voice.  Maybe ego.  That would motivate some, I guess.

Of course, you can’t just set up shop and teach VO without having DONE it to the point of respect.  THEN you can legitimately hang out a shingle, and expect to get students.  Right?

Maybe the pros who are teaching are just more naturally drawn to teaching or suited for teaching rather than voicing….

This is just stream-of-consciousness thinking-out-loud, here…

I’m trying to understand this.

I’m doing a session at VOICE2010 on social networking, but it’s not because I really want to.  I was asked.  I’m not getting paid.  People say they’re interested in what I might have to say.  Maybe I can help.  I could see where ego comes into it.  It’s nice to be wanted…but I’d much rather spend that time voicing a sweet national network spot at union rates.

Could it be that picking the low-hanging fruit is too irresistible?  I mean, there’re all those eager newbies who say “…I’ve always been told I have a good voice…could I do commercials?…” Do they make it more lucrative to teach than to voice?

Anyone?

CourVO

What I know about finding VO jobs on Twitter would fit on Trish Basanyi’s hat brim.

The woman was an early adopter of Social Media, and continues to lead the pack among her VO peers.

Now, she’s got a boffo idea that she’s parlayed into something of substance….well,virtual substance anyway.

Visit VOICETWEET.COM now and sign-up.  The site is intuitive, simple, accessible, and …well….purple!

Check it out, and be sure to let Trish know if you find something wonky with the site.  She claims it’s just a little side business, but I think it’s got legs!

Thanks, Trish!

CourVO

If China gets to make EVERYTHING…maybe all that’s left for us to do is VoiceOver.

The global marketplace is glowing, and why not?  English is emerging as the language of commerce around the world.  To market a product with a wide audience, at some point, you’re gonna want to put a proper English-speaking voice along with the product/service.

Giving the Brits their due for a piece of the pie, that leaves North America as the source of an authentic English sound.

No one preaches this marketplace more than Bettye Zoller.  She’s been working this angle for years…maybe longer than anyone else.

In preparation for an upcoming Webinar on VoiceOverXtra.com, called “Foreign Job Sources for VO”, Bettye told me: “…for this webinar, I had to do serious research and even get help from foreign sources who gave me more input. It is the hardest research on a topic I’ve done for a long time and I hope as many people as possible will tune in…”

The Webinar is April 5th, the price is modest, and you get a download of the session when you’re done.

Click HERE for more details.

BTW, there’s a preview article of Bettye’s webinar on VoiceOverXtra, HERE.

CourVO

Thinking back…I’d have to say I get the most spirited reaction to blogs about setting freelance VO rates…and I’ve done a few of those blogs, ’cause the issue keeps coming back for me.

I wasn’t overwhelmed with a response to yesterday’s blog: SETTING VO RATES, but the few who chimed in added much to the conversation.

Perhaps the best post-script to yesterday’s tale was the response from my client.  I’ll save that for last.

If you read the comments to the blog, you’ll see that VO talent Jeffrey Kafer cautioned me to NEVER share my rate sheet with clients.

The dean of VO blogging — Bob Souer — reminded me that it’s great to have a spine about these issues, but reminded me that a spine is flexible, else we would never be able to tie our shoes.

I liked the response that came from a follower on Google Buzz:  “…sounds like a tough thing to gauge, I would imagine though that your work speaks for itself (literally) and that the client would find value in your service. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to mention on your rate sheet that these are introductory prices and you are building a business so take advantage of these low rates as they are lower than industry standard. I also like the idea of asking for more but that comes with lots of experience and rock solid reputation…”

Voice actor Justin Barrett responded that, “I kinda like the approach of telling the client you’re building a business. However, could that not easily backfire if the client interprets “building a business” as “not yet a working professional”?

The female voice talent mentioned in my tale responded with a wonderfully eloquent and involved email explaining her rationale for not really HAVING a rate sheet.  The response was so reasoned and savvy that I’ve asked her permission to reprint excerpts here so we may all benefit.  If she acquiesces, I’ll post that very soon (tomorrow?).

But here’s the response from my client that I promised above: He called me today apologizing for sending the rate sheet to the female VO talent, saying as soon as he hit the “send” button, he regretted it.  I believe him.  I told him that the whole experience has sharpened my ideas about setting rates, and made me re-evaluate my worth as a developing voice actor.  The conversation ended with a much better understanding of the process for each of us.

But here’s the real kicker:  The client (God bless ‘im) told me in the course of the conversation that “…Dave, I would’ve paid you more for your services…”

Wow!  See?  I left money on the table.  I didn’t ask what I was worth.  My product is undervalued.  I’m not respecting enough myself OR my work.  I’m selling short.

Lesson learned.  A valuable lesson.  I’ve already augmented my rate sheet, and am promising myself to remember to say to future clients:  “Tell me how much you’ve budgeted for this project.”….or….”What is the most you’re willing to pay me, and still feel like you’re getting a fair deal?”

Check back here over the weekend, when I hope to have the sage advice from the seasoned female voice talent who was willing to generously share her thoughts on this issue.

CourVO

A revealing study on the state of affairs with the voice and speech industry shows a very robust market.

Research available from Voices.com.  Apparently you have to call them for the full content.  You’ll find that contact information, along with a synopsis of the article HERE.

Thanks to Podcast-Marketing.com for the tip on this info.

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

Maybe I’m the last person on the planet to hear about this site, but on the off-chance that I’m NOT, I’m posting the link to this BlogSpot blog that lists VoiceOver jobs… or reportedly so.

I have no idea how reliable/helpful/authentic these listings are…just passing it along.

Click HERE.

CourVO

No it doesn’t have to be complicated, and no it doesn’t have to be expensive to build a quality VO recording studio.

Despite what all the equipment vendors want to tell you, it’s not Rocket Surgery to build a home studio.

Dan Lenard would tell you that.  He WILL tell you that, if you join the teleseminar being hosted by VoiceOverXtra.

What a combination!  The accessability and support of VoiceOverXtra, and the common sense practicality of home-studio guru Dan Lenard!  What’s not to like??!!

Click HERE for details. 

Better get signed up fast, though, it starts Tuesday.  Oh, and BTW, this is a steal at the price they’re offering!

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

Maybe the mention of Haiti on the news so much has addle-pated my brain.

Maybe 4am is NOT such a great time to get to bed day after day.

Maybe it’s the odd shooting pains in my foot, neck, and eyes.

Whatever the reason, I’ve had this idea that won’t leave me alone, so maybe if I put it down on virtual paper, I’ll finally find relief.

‘So many illusions surround the busness of voice-over.  To get a really – and I mean SOLID – grip on what lies ahead when you accept VO as a field of endeavour, you should certainly consult the excellent online publication that Peter O’Connell has authored called  “The VoiceOver Entrance Exam”.  It’s the long version of what I’m about to foist on you.

Below, you’ll find a short-hand version I concocted on my own called VooDoo vs. VO Do’s.

You’ll probably find that my little chart below is irreverent, a stretch, kinda kooky (honestly), but there are some “bones” of truth therein if you decide to chance a look.

Basically it follows the trail of VO development from start to finish, and whether you want to depend on Voodoo to succeed, or just “do” the right things from the start.

Let me know what you think.

CourVO

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