Voice Overs in the Dark - or at least without power

Well, here I am again after another long absence. Hurricane Ike played a big part in this absence, though. Recently, Hurricane Ike ravaged Galveston and the Bolivar peninsula and on up into Houston and beyond. The little town of Bridge City, Tx, where my parents lived for almost 40 years, that had suffered a great deal of wind damage from Hurricane Rita in 2005 was flooded as never in it's history with the storm surge from Ike which reached up to the ceilings in many homes. There are many people who lost everything. The devastation is immense.

In Houston, many are still without power after 14 days. The beautiful pine and oak trees that fill Houston making it lush and green can also come crashing down damaging power lines and creating a huge job for power companies in removing the debris and repairing or replacing the lines and transformers.

Fortunately, we had a generator to run my studio and although I had no internet service, I was still able to work on a limited basis. My ISDN lines were not affected, so with generator power, I was able to participate in ISDN and phone patch sessions. I managed to find a friend whose power and internet service had been restored to carry my flash drive loaded with audio files to for uploading. I'd also download job and audition scripts to take back to my studio for recording, so some work did continue with determination and creativity.

I really appreciate the fact that our power was restored ahead of the projected schedule, and I feel for the folks who are still without. But my heart aches for those who have overwhelming damage to their homes and worse yet, for those who have lost loved ones.

A Great Voice Talent and More - Don LaFontaine

The voice over world was rocked this week with the passing of Don LaFontaine. He was the larger than life voice of thousands of movie trailers, promos, commercials and more.

It's so interesting and fitting that this man has had such an affect on us all. Although I never met him and certainly never worked with him, his passing has truly moved me as it has so many others. I have found myself thinking of him and his family often over the past several weeks and certainly the past several days.

I think much of this feeling of closeness comes from our online community, comradery, and friendship. Never before in this business have so many of us been able to communicate on a daily basis with mentors, peers, and students. We truly feel a part of the big picture, the whole. We're not just voice over artists in one city, small town, or even out in the countryside working from home - a concept unfathomable in this business just a few years ago! Because of the internet, we've been able to join together in this and many other forums to share our knowledge, joys and sorrows. I'm amazed by it and truly grateful for it every day.

Because we all have such access to our peers as well as those we aspire to emulate, it seems that anything is possible. Our dreams are within reach.

Thank you to Don for his generosity of spirit and candor in sharing his knowledge, experience, and humor. We are grateful for his monolithic talent and soul.

May we all infuse every project we work on completely with our own talent, spirit, and humor in his honor and in ours.

Voice Over Coaching

Ahhh, summer…… It’s been an incredibly busy one! Can’t believe it’s almost over, and soon it will be back to school for the kids. There are a few outings left and many things to accomplish before then. Sorry to say, I’ve been neglecting my blog, but I do intend to get back to it. Thank you to all of you who have been reading my “Voice Talent Advice” series, the "How To" pages on my web site, and taking the time to comment, thank me, and/or ask questions. If there are any topics you’d like to have me cover, please feel free to let me know!

Some of you have expressed an interest in voice over coaching. I’ve been tempted to start down that path as well, but just haven’t had time in my schedule to commit to that on any type of regular basis. I have been thinking about it, however. I think I’d prefer to start by offering coaching for voice talent via phone. “Teleclass” is a term that’s been used for group voice over training sessions via the phone. At this point, I think I would rather work one on one with students. This is all in the beginning stages…. I haven’t even come up with a rate, yet. I have been referring people to some of the people I know in the business who I know teach a good class. Rodney Saulsberry is a working professional voice over guy who does great classes!

If you would be interested in private coaching sessions via the phone with me, please feel free to comment here and /or email me at: Melanie@melaniehaynes.com

Voice Talent Advice - Overview for Beginners

Numerous prospective professional voice talent have contacted me asking for advice on how to get into the business. They ask, “What do I need to do?” Wow, talk about your loaded question! And to seriously address it, requires a long winded answer!

I’ve been a working professional voice talent and actress for 25 years. I have taught classes and workshops on becoming a professional voice talent, although my schedule doesn’t often permit it. Since I’m hearing more and more often from aspiring voice over performers, I thought I’d try to cover some basic topics and offer suggestions and hints from my experience. Although voiceover for commercials, on hold messages, and narrations might seem to be an easy to learn process to some, there are many facets involved in actually becoming a working professional voice talent. And, there are continuous changes!

Years ago, a nice well modulated voice was a requirement – not so, today! Listen to TV commercials and radio commercials. Many producers are going for that “quirky”, “different”, or “real person” sound. So, today, I’d say, the more distinctive your voice is maybe the better. I say maybe because if you’ve got a distinctive voice and live in a major market like New York, L.A. or Chicago, you might find enough work for your “quirky” style to make a living. If you’re in a smaller market, there may not be enough call for an unusual sound to keep you going. If you have a pleasing, non-accented sound, you may be more viable for a broader range of productions. The more versatile you are, typically, the more work you will get. But whatever your voice “type”, there are basics that you need know and practice to become a professional voice talent.

Many voice over performers come to freelance work from radio or television programming or news. DJ’s often have a specific style that is required for radio programming. That style can work against them in the commercial or corporate marketplace. They have to work at getting back to a more “normal” way of speaking – a bit more relaxed with more natural inflections and pauses - more “conversational” if you will.

Often, people will want to become a professional voice talent because they have been told they have a nice voice or a good phone voice. That’s all well and good, and in addition to years of acting experience, that’s one of the things that guided me to looking into becoming a professional voice talent. I thought, yeah, that just might be something worth finding out about. Not having been a DJ or in television news, I had not experienced the broadcast arena. Little did I realize at the time, that becoming a professional voice talent would become my bread and butter! But, the most important thing to remember here is, having a nice voice is not all there is to becoming a successful professional voice talent, the number one thing is how you interpret the copy or in other words, your acting ability.

To learn more about becoming a professional voice talent please read my Voice Talent Advice blogs starting from #1.

Voice Talent Advice #8 - Voice Over Rates – What Should You Charge?

I was recently asked what rates a beginner should charge for voice over services. This is a rather difficult question as there are many schools of thought. When working via the internet, you can find rates anywhere from $15 - $500, $1,000 and up. Some feel like it’s worth it to work cheap in order to at least bring something in and for the experience. Others feel like you’re selling yourself short or even that there must be something “wrong” if you don’t charge enough! On a personal note, I once bid what I thought was the going rate for a project inadvertently overlooking the rate the client had posted (sometimes they’re higher than normal rates!). I was contacted by the casting person later saying that although the client liked my audition, he was afraid that something must be wrong for me to bid lower than their posted rate! I must say, that was the first and only time I heard that, and generally, we worry that the jobs go to the lowest bidder. What I learned from that, of course, was to thoroughly read all of the information given about the job with particular attention to the rate posted by the client! Even if it’s higher than what would be the norm, you won’t find me bidding a cent lower!

Some of the mass voice talent websites have come up with rates based on surveys of talent listed on their sites. Other voice talents base their rates on AFTRA and SAG scale – or their minimum wages. And even so, if you are also working as the engineer, it’s difficult to list flat rates for work without knowing the length of the script, how long it will take to record and edit the audio, the area where the commercial will air, how long the spot will air, how many phone prompts there are, if music and/or sound effects will need to be added, etc. Your voice over rates have to encompass all aspects of the job.

I wouldn’t presume to tell a performer what to charge for his or her voice over services. The best I can advise is to study the rate ranges posted for jobs found via internet sites. Decide if those rates are enough to justify giving your time and talents. And always, ask to see the complete script, find out all of the details of usage and what editing is required by you before giving a firm bid. You also need to clarify how any pickups and/or client changes will be handled after your final recording has been delivered.

Voice Talent Advice #7 – Working Via the Internet From Your Own Home Studio

So, you’d like as broad a marketplace as possible? The internet is obviously the place to be. But you need a web site, right? Not necessarily. Many of the larger voice over web sites you may list with will create a web page for you on their site as part of your listing fee. You can post demos, list experience, vocal quality, etc. and have a web page to direct potential clients to. Eventually, you will want your own web site, but…it’s ok to take one step at a time.

If you want to work via the web, you really need your own studio, though. If you have access to a studio free of charge or very cheap, you could go that route, but most internet work demands a speedy turnaround of auditions and often the finished job as well. Also, there’s not usually a lot of budget left for you to pay studio charges. With more and more professional equipment being made to work with home computers, you can set up quite a nice studio without a huge outlay of cash. You definitely want a good microphone with shock mounts, a preamp, processor, a good recording and editing program, and sound proofing.

When I was setting up my studio, I was fortunate enough to make contact with some very helpful people who were willing to share their advice. There are also books available with information on creating your home studio. You’ll find a listing of helpful professional voice talent how to books and books on creating and tweaking your home studio listed on my website.

Good Luck on Becoming a Voice Over Professional!

I hope I’ve given you something to think about and some useful information to help you on your journey.

Voice Talent Advice #6 - Voice Over Agents

This is basically a reprise of a previous blog with a few additions. I felt it would be easier for those of you who are following my "Voice Talent Advice" segments to have it's title formated the same as the others, and as I mentioned there are a few additions.

A voice talent agent is often necessary for you to work in any given city. Ad agencies and casting directors look to talent agents to provide master demos, recommendations, and voice over auditions for specific projects. Where do you start? How do you find an agent? In addition to asking professional recording studios about local agents, get a list of the AFTRA and SAG franchised voice over talent agents in your area – they are the most reputable as they are bound by agreements to the performers unions. They can't require that you purchase classes or photos from them. They can make lists available to you with the names of photographers and teachers, but they may not provide the services themselves. They are certainly not allowed to require the voice talent or on camera talent that they represent to purchase services such as those in order to be represented. They do not charge you any fees for representation, although many agents do ask you to pay a portion of the expenses incurred for your inclusion on their master demos. Generally, they make money taking a commission on work they get for you.

The biggest agency in town is not necessarily the best place for a newcomer. If the agency handles a large number of working voice over talent, you may not get called for as many auditions. On the other hand, if you go with a smaller voice talent agency with a small voice talent pool, they may not get as many of the calls from the advertising agencies or casting directors. Experiences of other performers you talk to, common sense and your gut feeling will have to prevail. When you interview with an agent, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you! Do your personalities mesh? Do they seem to be genuinely interested in you? How do they market the talent? Are they energetic and enthusiastic?

If you’re going to seek voice over work via the internet, you’ll probably want to list with several voice talent sites which in many ways act as an online voice talent agent. They generally don't negotiate for you or represent you in the traditional role of a real world agent, but they function as a virtual voice talent agent in that they provide a place to list you and your voice talent services. Of course, they are not franchised agents, but more like listing services, and most of them charge a yearly listing fee. Again, if you can check with other talent to see what their experience has been with listing on a particular site, it might be helpful. But keep in mind, that whether they’re getting work or not does not necessarily mean you will have the same experience. As with a regular voice talent agent, some of it comes down to trial and error. You have to test the water to see what and who works best for you. Some sites charge around $200 for a yearly listing including all the bells and whistles – your own web page with space to upload many demos, and some even allow video! There are other sites that charge far less – but may work out better for you! There are some sites that charge much, much more and may not get you any work at all! Know that these listings, like your real world voice over agent, help you get auditions and find work, but you still have to do as much marketing of yourself as possible. Many agents, like the web sites, basically just list you and your demos, but do not promote you specifically. They’re not out there on a daily basis representing just you to potential clients. They’re representing their “pool” of talent. However, a good agent will, of course, recommend you specifically for projects for which you are well suited. Still, you can’t just sit back and wait for that phone to ring!