Voice Seeker Q&A: Larry Maizlish

Hello again!

Voice Seekers play a vital role in the community of Voice123 by bringing job opportunities to the community of Talent-Voice Producers. Recently, I asked one of our most popular Voice Seekers on Voice123, Larry Maizlish from Voicesoncall, if he would give the Voice123 community some feedback on certain questions I have been asked in the past about auditioning.

Q: What are some things you would like to hear more?
A: More variety in read (copy or script) interpretations. This is different from a variety of voices. Many talents seem to read copy in the same style. It is almost like they are imitating a style they have heard on TV or radio. Talents should recognize each person has their own personality and interpretation. It is that unique personality that should be reflected in the read interpretation. As I often tell talents..."Bring your own unique interpretation to the table every time".

This is what sets one audition out from all the others. While the current trend in commercial reads is more of a conversational nature, it is still the unique personality and interpretation of the talent that makes their voice a better fit for a particular script than some other voice. Talents can increase their chances of getting jobs by just being themselves and interpreting the copy in their own unique way.

Q: What is something you feel the online industry could WITHOUT?
A: There are pros and cons to everything. The online voice talent industry is no exception. With the fairly low cost of basic recording equipment, it seems that almost anyone can call themselves a voice talent. While that may be true, talents could do themselves and the overall industry a service by realizing that being a good voice talent requires work. The industry could use less of the talents who are not willing to work on their performance skills.

Everyone has to start somewhere, so there will always be first time voice talents. If those talents can get involved with performance training and coaching early on in their voice career, everyone would benefit as the overall quality of voice performances is increased. Quality talents book more jobs. Clients end up with a better product and are happier with the result. The entire industry benefits and the bar is raised.

Q: What do you find the most positive aspect of casting online?
A: Casting online opens up many possibilities, the best one being the choice of talent voices is very large. With the current advancing online technologies, it is rare that we actually need the talent in front of us, in our studio. Still, we mostly want a variety of choices in order to make a selection. Online casting allows us to put together those different voice choices for review of each project.

Q: Where do you see this online industry in 10 years?
A: The online world is exploding for many industries and the voice business is no exception. This not only gives the clients access to more and more talents, the growth in the online voiceover business give talents more exposure to get their names and demos out in front of clients. The numbers of projects available to online talents is growing and will continue to grow at an increasing rate over the next few years. The key is not the quantity of the jobs, it is really the quality of the talent. The numbers of jobs are increasing, now. The talents who will benefit are those with performance skills and versatility. The people who regularly work on expanding their skills are the ones who will benefit from the increased job growth.

I personally would like to thank Larry Maizlish Voicesoncall for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions. Since April of 2007, Larry Maizlish has posted over 150 projects and direct invites. He is also a premium subscriber to Voice123 as a talent-voice producer. Voice123 hopes this insight has provided some new insight or ideas for working online.

Thank you as always!

Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager