Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Happy Holidays! Going on Vacation?

This is a very popular time of year for travel, and given that every voice talent is their own online business, it is important to communicate when you have gone on vacation, and let them know 'your personal voice over store is closed'. This avoids a feeling that a business inquiry was ignored. Voice123 has such a tool for your profile. Simply go to this link here and leave a return date from vacation.

'Must Read' Notes:
  • This does not work like an 'Out of Office' email message.
  • This feature provides a note on your profile that you will not be available. You will still get invitations, which you can ignore and it will not affect anything on your profile.
  • You can also get direct invites if the voice seeker wishes to directly invite you. The voice seeker will be forewarned of your absence to better communicate your availability.
  • Please take a look at my profile and note how the 'On Vacation' feature works.
  • Voice123 will be closed for operations Christmas Day, Friday, December 25th, and will be open Saturday, December 26th.
We wish all the best this holiday season!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Follow us on Twitter! @Voice123

Monday, December 21, 2009

Bogota, Colombia: Great Film Shoot with Hangar Films!

I feel like an idiot that I once believed there was any truth to what I watched on TV or in movies in the US. In the two years I have been working for Voice123.com, a company with an office in Bogota, Colombia, I found out:
  • 'Clear and Present Danger' and 'Miami Vice' is laughable. I sometimes apologize to people I work with from Colombia on behalf of the US film and television industry.
  • 'Mr.&Mrs.Smith'...Bogota is not a tropical weather city with cops dressed in black, carrying AK-47 machine guns.
I also learned Bogota, Colombia is an amazing place to shoot a film! I see several reasons why from the creative perspective:
  • The city is filled with electric, creative energy and freedom.
  • The people of Bogota are the most hospitable, caring, warm, and positive individuals I have ever come across.
  • The locations around Bogota are versatile and equally beautiful.
  • You can always count on consistent weather all year. The sun rises and sets at the same time almost every day.
From a business perspective?
  • The cost of shooting is lower, with no sacrifice of production quality. That should keep both business and creative satisfied.
Recently, I was assisting a Voice123 staff member, Giselle Geney, with her short-film based around the experiences as a call center phone operator for a cell phone company.

Such inspirations for this blog came from speaking with a film production service in Bogota, Hangar Films. Please check out their website. The staff I spoke with were incredibly friendly, absent of egocentric behavior, and completely supportive of Giselle's efforts. They supplied equipment and technical crew to assist with lights, grip, and cinematography equipment.

As a student, Giselle took advantage of a student discount Hangar Films offers with the understanding of the 'bigger picture' that all students will be customers one day of Hangar Films. They gave Giselle an 85% discount on rentals. As a former actor, and director of theatre, I can honestly say I was never offered this end of financial support as a student. Saving Giselle money now, to be returned as repeat business in the future is the true act of a company making an effort to build a film industry. Once more, the shooting lasted more days than expected, and they didn't charge her more than what was agreed.

The equipment was picked up and returned to Hangar every single day, so it was managed well and not held for more than 24 hours. The equipment was professional, and in great shape.

The shooting ended this week, and maybe inspired by the end of this, it felt like a great time to talk about Hangar Films. If you are ever looking for a new place to shoot, I do recommend Bogota, Colombia. You will be pleasantly surprised. I also recommend contacting Hangar Films to assist you.

Hangar Films was founded on 1979 and is one of the main film and television production equipment rentals in Colombia. They also train their own staff to assist with shooting. Currently, they are co-producing films in a strong effort to build the Colombian filmmaking industry.

Best regards,
Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace

Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Twitter: @stevenNYC123

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Toolbar Contest Winners Announced & Ranking System News!

Back on October 27th, we announced the release of our new Voice123 Toolbar. In the blog post, we mentioned two special offers for voice talent, as well as, the voice seekers posting voice over jobs:

   Voice Talent: PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION RAFFLE!
   Voice Seekers: GET UP TO $100 FOR YOUR NEXT PROJECT!

This week, Voice123 would like to announce the winners of the Premium Subscription raffle. These members of the voice over community were chosen at random in a lottery-style format among those eligible:

Congratulations to the following winners of a Voice123 Premium Subscription!
(Winners of the Voice Seeker raffle will be announced to the voice seekers in a separate message!)

Voice123 wants to thank all those who downloaded the Voice123 Toolbar, and hope you continue to enjoy it in the future! If you would like to download the toolbar, you can do so here (Toolbar for voice talents).

One last note, you may notice a change in the ranking system. It was put into place this week based on ideas from Voice123 voice talent.

The phrasing 'Likely Hiring' has been switched to 'Finalist'. The idea was originally proposed in this forum post by Voice123 talent, Mark Weitzman.

The best thing about a ranking system is that it gives buyers the ability to find voice talent they enjoyed working with, as well as, those they enjoyed hearing and could not hire; each time they use Voice123. Although 'likely hiring' worked at first, at some point in recent months, it didn't anymore and we noticed the trend had changed. Change was in order, and it always will be when it comes to working online.

We know the most professional voice talent in the world are on Voice123. The technology created looks to serve this voice over community by creating positive, professional business relationships, and will do its best to always look out for the needs of the online voice over community.

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace

Juan Salcedo
General Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Twitter: @JuanSalcedo

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Ranking System Change on Voice123

Voice123 created the Ranking System as a form of 'keeping you connected to the very voice talent you enjoyed listening to while using Voice123.'

Each time you use Voice123 SmartCast to post a project, and the auditions come to you within an hour, you will find a series of stars next to the audition.

The 5th star used to read 'Likely Hiring'. On December 15th, 2009, it was changed to 'Finalist'.

Why? The reason for this is that Voice123 learned through user feedback from voice talent and voice seekers, that 'Likely Hiring' was not satisfying the task of connecting people, whether they would be hired or not, and at times led to confusion between the voice seeker and talent.

We made this change to assist you in connecting with voice talent you enjoyed hearing, through steady usage of the ranking system.

You will now see these choices, when you run your mouse over the five stars listed:
  • Finalist (highest)
  • Considering
  • Maybe
  • Not Likely
  • Never Again (lowest)
You will also see an option to make someone a 'Preferred Talent', under his/her name. Such algorithms found in the audition inbox are great for the entire voice over community because they help build you a network, and still stands as a reason why Voice123 shines brightest when it comes to building professional online voice over relationships. With so many repeat clients offering work to voice talent, SmartCast, and our voice over search feature, we see at least 2500 voice over job solicitations pass through Voice123 during our high traffic months, and slightly less during holiday seasons.

If you have projects open right now, try this out for yourself, or post a project to see how Voice123 works for you in finding the most professional voice talent, today!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask us!


Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace

Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Twitter: @stevenNYC123

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Voice123 Quality Assurance

The explosion of social media has made the online world a much smaller and safer place to find work. There is growing responsibility each day in all websites, not just Voice123, to pay attention to the 'small things' that take place in the voice over community. I figured I would use this week to explain how Quality Assurance is done at Voice123.

I was hired as a QA Associate back in July 2007, a few days before SmartCast was released, and during my time here I have seen how Quality Assurance can also be considered 'customer service'. I will do my best to explain exactly what takes place to give you a better understanding as to how much Quality Assurance plays a role in Voice123:

There are two types of Quality Assurance:
  • Proactive: Using proven experience to stop things before they happen.
  • Reactive: Fixing issues when something new has happened and must be corrected. These are usually isolated instances, reported to me, directly.
I manage a team that does Quality Assurance for several areas:
1. Profile content (see tips on filling out a profile)
2. Voice over demos on the profile
3. Voice over auditions
4. Voice seekers and voice talent website problems
5. Voice over projects

How it works:
1. Profile content is screened for typical things like spam, or damaging content that could affect our ranking on search engines. Profiles are also screened to make sure that the person's profile belongs to them, only, and no one else. The reason for this comes from past experiences with profiles that lacked truth or integrity, which is something that is costly to all members of the Voice123 community. Sometimes, you will see emails from our staff that requests 'link exchange' as a great way to display a link on a profile. In general, no matter your profession, it is important to keep in mind when creating a profile or demo, that lying about your ability on a resume never has positive results, whether you work online or off. (A 'spin' is different. You are not lying about your ability, and you show your creative side; for example, checking off that you have ISDN, but you have to go to a studio to rent it because its not at home. If you can take care of it, why bother a buyer with the details of how you delivered?)

2. Voice over demos are screened to make sure that the audio quality is good, and has no problems that affect the professionalism of the talent or Voice123. (Examples would be, a demo for phone messages uploaded ten times under ten different categories not related to IVR, or a demo removed because it is not the voice of the person who owns the profile). When such things happen, a person is emailed to let them know of the decision that it had to be removed. This may seem somewhat 'harsh', and for that I apologize. Our problem is that we have close to 80,000 standard voice talent, and not all understand the importance of positive and professional web content.

3. Voice over auditions are screened for spam and audio quality. Spam is considered the 'junk mail' of the Internet; basically the 'I did not ask for this. Why are you sending it?' type of file. For audio quality, if a demo cannot be heard, or there is significant background noise, it is sent back to the voice talent, and the voice talent is emailed that there was a problem, and to send it again. You may also find emails from me or my staff offering advice or praise. Sometimes, voice talent do things that completely break the mold, and it makes me smile so I write to the talent. That is the absolute level of the process that the staff is involved in. On Monday, we had a total of 65 projects posted, with 104 direct invites, and 1018 auditions. It takes great concentration to pay attention to each one and get it to the client. As a rule, if an audition is not sent to the client, for any reason, the voice talent will be notified immediately to fix any issues.

4. Voice seeker and voice talent quality assurance is something I personally do more than any other form of quality assurance. It is both proactive and reactive. There have been isolated cases of payment disputes, undelivered work, website abuse, dropped communication between parties, and poor online behavior. This has to be attended to at all times. Most of these QA issues are reported to me personally at steven@voice123.com, but I can also be reached through the Customer Service page, if you ever feel like working with someone left a bitter pill in your stomach.

5. Voice over projects require quality assurance because, even though the voice seeker interface offers a wide variety of explanations as to how to help a voice seeker request voice talent, not all of them understand the process, or know how to fill things out to get the best results. As a rule, we do not adjust 'manual' data so you get a picture as to how that person filled out the project. We also offer automated data, so you can see how many jobs they posted in the past, their listening behavior, and if the project is a re-post. This data is helpful in analyzing the professional level of the person you are dealing with, so you can see if it is something you may want to pass on.

Voice over QA has been made a great deal easier because of social media. Almost all businesses using Voice123 have a social media profile on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. Given that one-sixth of the world uses the Internet (true stat), all you have to do is talk to someone online, or search Google, and you will find out who you are working with. Do some people slip through the cracks? We try our best not to, but that is when I must do quality assurance in the 'reactive' state of mind.

A quick thanks to Voice123 voice talent, Barry Hayes, for inspiring me this past week. He contacted me about a problem on Voice123 that affected some who had already auditioned for a project. I appreciate him taking the time to be thoughtful enough to help others, and it showed me how simply 'talking about what you see' can do so much for the voice talent community. He helped more people than he is aware of, and when this happens, I become aware just how Quality Assurance plays a part in customer service, and the importance of social media to help grow a safer online industry.

Thank you for reading!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace

Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Twitter: @stevenNYC123

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Ways to Take Positive 2009 Voice Over Inventory

Working in the voice over industry, or any media field, is the most exciting and challenging of all careers. If you think about it, it is the only career you can spend a life-time in college or classes learning about, and educational degrees are no guarantee that you will always land full-time work. It is definitely an adventure, not a '9 to 5' gig, so it is very important that every voice over talent stays positive about upcoming adventures in 2010, and leave negative days in 2009, behind us.

Psychologically, the end of the year brings with it the potential to start feeling negative about working in the voice over industry. There is typically a business slow-down, while people doing the hiring enjoy the holidays. Business slow-downs are not easy for creative, energetic voice talent, who are ready to work at anytime.

What I wish to give to you are positive ways to take inventory of the past year, and a 'belief system' that used to get me through the holidays, while working as a voice talent in New York City:
    1. Take care of the bills first:
    Around this time of year Voice123 is emailed consistently asking for receipts of payment by those looking to gather information to do taxes in the first month of the year. Knowing this career is not about 'steady paychecks', it gives peace of mind to know that finances are managed before going into the holidays. Stress has been known to affect a person's body physically, and we all want to be healthy and ready to start 2010.

    I also tried something a few times that gained me experience I consider priceless. If money is really tight, find a part-time 'holiday season' job. This was something I used to do in New York City to keep my spirits up during December. Being around those who are smiling and enjoying the holiday season rubbed off on me, while working part-time jobs in Times Square, or FAO Schwarz. When the season was done, I also had a nice paycheck to handle some minor bills going into 2010, and literally, I felt like I was paid to be part of a month-long holiday party. I also made some great connections in the voice over field because the people I worked with were also voice talent. In addition, I was learning how to sell products that gave me experience towards future voice over jobs I booked. Selling over 400 Incredible Hulk action figures to kids in an 8-hour shift is not easy. Knowing 'how to sound' played a part in it.

    Some may not see how that is related to voice overs, but being that we all 'sell' with our voice, I found a way to apply it to my voice over career. The opportunities for voice over work will always be there. December is just typically a slower month. It is best to emerge from December, in shape and ready to go for January 2010.

    2. Take note of the amount of voice over contacts you have met this year, online and offline: Contacts are essential to this industry. Feeling like you have a large group of people to start working with in 2010, makes 2009 feel like a success.

    3. Take an honest look at what helped you get voice over work in 2009:
    Life is all about decision-making. Some decisions maybe did not turn out the way we had hoped, and some were surprisingly successful. The importance of taking a look back at decisions during the past year is to leave behind what did not work, and most importantly, build on what worked for you in the voice over industry to have a fresh start to 2010.

    This leads into creating a 'belief system' for yourself as a voice over talent for 2010:'Success' is usually determined by how well a person learns from mistakes they have made, even if at times, they seemed like the right thing to do. The one great thing that makes being a voice over talent so great is that you are your own boss, in control of what you decide to do to get work. Bosses make mistakes, too! Do not beat yourself up over something you decided to with great intention, and found it was not the right move to make.
Voice123 does stay open on certain holidays simply because we all understand that the voice talent's quest for work rarely takes a holiday. Given that this company is international, we know work must be out there everyday. So, in closing, cut your boss (you) some slack this holiday season. Do not beat yourself up over anything. Spend time around your family and voice over friends, either online or offline, and use that support group to prepare for a positive 2010!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Twitter: @stevenNYC123

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

'Walking Through the Mall... Hearing Voices'

Last week, I found myself hearing lots and lots of voice overs on a simple walk through a local mall. This will give you some insight as to just how small the online community is, and just how many types of jobs are out there.

The first store I heard a voice over in was the place I was getting my wife's glasses. I look up and find this incredibly high-tech commercial on an LCD HDTV above my head. I thought, 'Wow! That is really well-produced.' Being the person I am, I embarrassed my wife and asked the manager, 'Who made that video?'. The manager replied, 'I am not sure, but they only show it in stores.'

Ok... I have seen jobs posted for 'in-store commercials' on Voice123 before. It is 'new'.

When we left, and continued to walk past kiosks that try to get you to buy everything from soda to hand-lotions, I heard another voice over promoting the kiosk! It almost sounded like a spoof of radio imaging ads. I have seen promos posted on Voice123 before for even kiosks.

Of course, I then had to pass through the videogame store. I look up again to find this amazing voice over speaking about upcoming games. My wife won't go in that type of store, so I had no problem asking the manager, 'Where was that video made?'. He explained, 'It was made by the owners of this chain of stores during the E3 convention.' I told him where I worked, and in his excitement, proceeded to show me videogames that he felt had some great voice overs on it (I even wrote two of the people he was talking about through customer service feedback on Voice123). We also discussed 'indie games', and he was explaining to me how the videos in that store change quite often, and they are fun to watch.

I have now seen another in-store project, as well as, discussed videogame voices both for major companies and indie games, all jobs I have seen posted on Voice123...Ok, something old, something new.

Oddly, when I got home that night, I was channel-surfing and saw a Colombian actress on Telemundo. I had met her on a trip to Bogota, Colombia last summer when discussing voice over work in the US at a university.

All of this sticks in my mind because there is such a huge variety of jobs on Voice123. The belief that the online casting world is an 'anonymous world where no one knows what is going on' is quickly going away. 'New media' is not very 'new'. Those on Voice123 since it began have been doing this work for years now. So, when you really dive into the thick of what is being done online, you find you know more than you think, and there is a whole new land of opportunity for jobs online. Most importantly, there are answers to questions about 'who is doing what' or 'how much is one being paid for these new jobs that have only popped up in the last 15 to 20 years'...and you always have people to help you out.

If you are ever curious, talk about it here on the forums.

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Twitter: @stevenNYC123

Not Hearing What You Expected? We Will Help!

The Voice123 SmartCast system is an automated system set up to match your project request to the profiles of Voice123 voice talent. Voice123 also offers a search feature where you may directly invite voice talent on your own.

If you ever feel your project is not getting the response you had expected, please contact us and we will gladly take a look into your project to assist you!

Feedback in the past has shown that voice talent seem more likely to respond to auditions that have the following characteristics:

1. A transparent and detailed description with proper grammar and spelling.

2. A description of how the script is to be read, and help with words that need special pronunciations.

3. A person posting a job that listens to all auditions usually gets heavier response.

4. A job posting with a budget that states a descriptive amount as to how each voice talent is paid.

5. Of course, being friendly with the way one writes is a big step towards building harmonious community business transactions.

You can read our Guide to Hiring Voice-Over Talents for more information and tips!

If you would like to post a project please do so! We will be here to help you through the process!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace

Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Twitter: @stevenNYC123

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The First Voice Over Mic Designed by a Voice Over!

Voice over talent have rapidly become their own self-sustaining business. Just like a mechanic needs tools to fix automobiles, voice over talent have to pay attention to the tools they use when recording.

If after all the effort you put in researching what mic is best for you, you are not satisfied, what would you do?

Just ask Harlan Hogan! After suggesting mic after mic, he took on the task, and became the first voice over to design a mic for other voice over talent:

'The VO: 1-A Harlan Hogan Signature Series Voice Over Microphone'

Click here to read more about his accomplishment! Be sure to scroll down for the slide show and audio.

Harlan explained to Voice123:

'Bottom line is... it's the first voice over mic designed only for vo by a vo! Second, they get everything, even the mic cable, so no trip to Guitar Center just to plug it in. Third, we have a USB specially priced package with the Mic Port Pro if they prefer USB. Fourth, and most important, the voice talent can try it out and return it if it's not their mic of choice at no cost....we even pay the postage! So, talent can honestly judge without spending a penny. So far, rave reviews... NO returns!'


This new microphone has been tested by voice over talent in Los Angeles, and New York City.

We know that the 'search for the perfect microphone' can be difficult. Voice123 appreciates Harlan Hogan for letting us know about this new achievement, and we hope you can take advantage of it!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace

Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Twitter: @stevenNYC123

Friday, November 20, 2009

Success Stories from Voice123


One of the most enjoyable thing for us at Voice123 is to hear about success stories from those booking work through our site. This week, we would like to share some messages sent to us recently. We hope this provides insight into the 'before and after' of certain situations when jobs were booked. Please see below!

Kristin Lennox writes:
"I booked a national spot for Passages Malibu a while ago through Voice123, but then they called back and needed me to record a second spot, so it turned into repeat business as well. You can see the original spot here!, I want to share this to give others hope; when I auditioned, I was ranked 2nd out of 25, along with 6 others for it -- not the best odds. When they emailed to tell me I got it, they said the client decided to go with me instead. So you just never know... So thanks, Voice123 -- this was a GREAT gig!"
~Kristin


Rachel Anslover writes:
"I am a voice actor based in NYC and am always looking for more opportunities to do what I love. I took a chance by getting a Premium Membership at Voice123, and I couldn't be happier with the results! Thanks to my new demo produced by Nancy Wolfson of Braintracksaudio and the fabulous workings of Voice123, I have already been contacted by several interested clients. After hitting them back with a quick audition, I have booked enough jobs to pay for my Premium Membership for the next several years and more! I'm actually on my way to the studio to record one of those jobs right now! Thanks for all the fantastic work you do at Voice123!"
~Rachel Anslover


Voice123 would like to thank Kristin and Rachel for sharing their emails with us! Keep your chin up and stay positive!

If you would like to read more positive testimonials, please visit this link to read from Voice123 voice talent!

If you would like to share positive experiences please write us.



Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace

Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
Voice123 Premium Forums
Steven's Blog
Twitter: @stevenNYC123

Friday, November 06, 2009

Voice Over Tips: Common Mistakes on Personal Websites


An important part of being a voice over talent is advertising. This week, we write to give some tips on what to avoid when creating your own personal website.

Mistake #1 Overly Creative and Innovative Design:
  • For the most part, web site design should follow convention. For users to be able to navigate the web site, it is useful to have familiar things in familiar places. Magazine and books publishers understand this about print, but the understanding seems to get lost on the web.
  • A related problem is the attempt to create your own original brand for navigation. Using "original" names for navigation just makes it harder for your audience to enjoy your site. Navigation links are like road signs, they need to be descriptive, and make sense to everyone. Unconventional design and navigation will most likely result in confusing your audience.
Mistake # 2 Too Much Focus on a 'Flash and Dash' Homepage:
  • I know it is fun for a creative person to make his/her voice over homepage look like Times Square on New Years Eve, but this is a common mistake. If you want your site to work for you, you need to think about how people will use your website, not 'how I want them to use it'.
  • There are many ways for people to land on your site, such as search engines and external links. It is important to understand how each page created serves the person viewing it. This is easy to research using conventional testing i.e. If you were going to find your own page as a potential client, would it make them reach out to you for work, or just confuse them.
  • One effective strategy is to have parallel, consistent links in articles so users always know where they can go to find the next bit of your information (without overdoing it... I explain below).
  • Related stories about you and recent testimonials on your voice over work all work well.
Mistake #3 Being a 'Link-aholic':
  • Offering links for users to find more content is great, and essential to usability. However, it is often overdone. Links should be treated as if they were advertisements. Commercials are good in moderation, but disastrous in excess.
  • Why? Links are work. They require the user to make a choice. Finding great content is a reward for the effort to get to your page, so there is no value in spoiling the experience for them. The point of creating great content for your audience is so that they can enjoy it. Loading the page up with columns full of links inevitably reduces the space for reading and makes text harder to read.
  • It also sends the wrong message: "Thanks for coming, now go somewhere else."
Most Important: Don't Forget the Page is About 'You'
  • Perhaps the biggest mistake is to create "the digital community of you" through your own personal website. It usually starts innocently enough, having you and your many friends discussing things back and forth on your website, but inevitably this will lead to your web page becoming an effort to discover its original purpose; to sell YOU.
  • The general message of your website should be about selling you. A website with any other information not related to you becomes irrelevant, and it is unlikely to have much meaning for anybody else.
  • In the end... when creating a personal website for you, the voice over talent. Remember this quote: "The shortest distance between two points is simplicity."
Stay creative and original, but never forget what the customer looking to hire you is thinking!

Best always,


Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Steven Lowell
Public Relations Manager
My Blog
Twitter: @voice123dotcom

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

New Voice123 Toolbars!

Our development team was very busy this summer and they worked on some upgrades to improve the Voice123 experience of voice talent, and voice seekers. This week, we would like to announce the first one, the Voice123 Toolbars:

With this new Toolbar (available for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari) you can have Voice123's main features just one click away, making your navigation on Voice123 much more comfortable. The Voice123 Toolbar is available free of charge to all subscribers of Voice123, Standard and Premium, and also those looking to post voice over projects (aka. voice seekers).

The first toolbar gives voice over talent direct access to key areas of the Voice123 profile:
  • Search the Resource Center.
  • Receive alerts for audition invitations!
  • Quick access to Voice123's social media tools: Premium Forums, Facebook, Twitter and The Voice123 Team Blog.
  • Your "My Home" section.
  • Monitor your marketplace stats.
  • Your voice tags.
  • Upload a demo to your website.
  • Refer friends to give and earn Premium Subscription.
  • Project Directory and Marketplace stats.
With the second toolbar (for Voice Seekers), you have quicker access to the following:
  • Quick Search for Voice Talents and Producers.
  • Search the Resource Center.
  • Receive alerts for new auditions in your voice casting projects!
  • Quick access to Voice123's social media tools: Premium Forums, Facebook, Twitter and The Voice123 Team Blog.
  • Your "My Home" section.
  • Shortcut to post new voice casting projects.

Here are two SPECIAL OFFERS for Voice Talent and Voice Seekers!


Voice Talent! PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION RAFFLE!
We are so happy to bring this new tool to our users, that we are giving away five 1-year Premium Subscriptions to talents who install the toolbar and keep it for at least one month.

Install now to enter the contest! (Talent's Toolbar)


Posting a job? GET UP TO $100 FOR YOUR NEXT PROJECT!
We are giving away five $100 USD bonus towards your next voice casting project to voice seekers who install the toolbar and keep it for at least one month.

Install now to enter the contest! (Voice Seeker's Toolbar)

(Please note all Voice123 projects pass through a verification process).


Stay tuned, we have more great news coming in the following weeks!

So what are you waiting for? Click one of the above links to start using The Voice123 Toolbar!

Cheers!

Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
Juan Salcedo
General Manager

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Voice123's 'Voice Over Trials for Kids Program'

Are you a Premium Subscriber on Voice123 with a child looking to go into the voice over field? If so, please read on!

Voice123 is now offering a free trial program for those children of Voice123 Premium Subscribing Parents, who wish to involve their sons and/or daughters in auditioning online with Voice123.

How it works:

  • A Voice123 premium subscribing parent/talent will create a new profile, and upload demo samples for their son or daughter.

  • The parent will email help@voice123.com with the link to the child's profile.

  • The Voice123 staff will verify that the parent is a paid Premium Subscriber on Voice123 and will give the child a two month trial.

  • After the two month trial, the parent will be offered two additional months for free for the child's account, if they upgrade their accounts to continue being a Premium Subscriber at the end of the trial.

  • This is a total of 16 months as a premium subscriber. (2 month trial, 1 year paid, 2 months free)!

    Voice123 hopes you can take advantage of this offer, if your child is looking to become part of the next generation of the voice over industry!


    Rules and Regulations:
    • A 'child' is referred to as a 'minor under the age of 18 at the start of the two month trial promotion.' There are no retroactive promotions available.

    • The account must be created under the child's name.

    • A parent may not share an account with a child.

    • The parent is responsible for monitoring all emails through the Voice123 system, and assumes all risks that come with having an online profile. Voice123 is not responsible for online interactions with clients online.

    • Voice123 reserves the right to remove profiles if the integrity of a promotional effort, or Voice123, is compromised.

    • If at any point, a parent wishes to back out of the trial, please email help@voice123.com, to request the profile be removed.


    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Thursday, October 15, 2009

    The Diverse Languages of Voice123


    Did you know that based on private messages, private projects (aka SmartCast disabled projects), and SmartCast projects, it is estimated that over 2500 voice over jobs pass through the Voice123 system each month!

    What makes Voice123 special is that you are connected to a community of more than 4000 premium subscribing voice talent, and thousands more when you include voice talent with free standard accounts, covering languages ranging from Arabic to Welsh! In fact, it is very difficult to not find the voice talent you need when using Voice123.

    If you would like to see for yourself, post a voice over project or maybe just look through our current search feature (an updated search feature is coming soon!).

    If for some reason you do not find what you need, contact us via live chat, and we can personally assist you.

    Please click on the table below to see for yourself:




    "…whence came all these people? They are a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes..." − J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    The Voice123 'Add a Demo' Tool!

    Do you have a personal website and would like to add your Voice123 voice demos to it?

    If you login to your profile, and go to the More Tools section, you will see an option to 'Add a Demo to your Site'. This tool allows you to select one demo, and personalize the player to match your website design, the type, color, and size that you prefer, and then get the HTML code for it to paste into your own website, in these simple steps:
    1. Select the demo
    2. Select the player style
    3. Select the color
    4. Generate the HTML
    5. Paste it into your own website!
    This is an example we created for this blog (just click the Play button):


    Powered by Voice123 - Voice-Overs


    You can make yours by clicking here.

    Having your Voice123 demo in more places on the web increases your online exposure. Remember, "The best way to be in the right place at the right time is to be everywhere!"

    A quick note from me: If you are unsure what HTML code is or how it works, just ask your webmaster or as I did, I created a free anonymous Myspace profile, and added the HTML of my demos to test and see how it would work. This was an easy and free way to teach myself how HTML functioned.

    If you have any questions about this or any other questions about the voice over industry, please write us or post a question on our Premium Forums!

    Special thanks to Zurek for the usage of his demo.

    Thank you!
    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Monday, October 12, 2009

    New Workshops! Award Winning Voice Talent Deb Munro

    New workshops for 2010! (See the website for more details):
    "
    Selecting Styles – Voicing the RIGHT way!
    • Knowing what the client wants is half the battle to voicing copy. Once you understand the clients needs you can then apply the right style. With so many different styles and options how do you know which ones to choose? Work with someone who knows how to find the clues in the copy that will help you land the role. Award Winning Voice Talent Deb Munro will direct you through a variety of scripts (with mic time) taking you through the clients point of view step by step.
    • Have you ever wondered what the clients say? Deb’s 6 years as a Casting Director offers her a unique insight into the clients eye. Even a seasoned pro will discover things they can apply to their reads to create their own unique style. Plenty of one on one time, and Deb’s unique class set up allows all levels to join in. Whether you’re just beginning or already working, this class is will cater to your Voice-Over needs.
    • Remember a variety of training is necessary to create your own unique style. The Clients do not need more voices, they need more PERSONALITIES. Get behind the mic and work with Deb Munro for an incredible 8 hour workshop. By the end of class you will know your own unique style and learn how to apply that with the right read at the right time to land you the right role.
    • You will walk away with a recording of your recorded sessions including direction and a 90 page take home workbook that will keep you growing even after class time is over.
    Talking Audio – Long Format Voice-Over
    • Long format Voice projects have proven to be a lucrative career. Due to the many job opportunities available in this field such as; training videos, podcasts, documentaries, audiobooks and more, there is much work to go around. Having what it takes to produce such long projects is another matter all together. Work on scripts of your choice allowing you to focus on areas of interest to you. There are many things to consider when working on long format and Deb Munro is just the right person to take you through it. Consistency, changing voices, energy, intensity, production and more.
    • Get behind the mic all day in this intense 8 hour workshop, voicing a variety of long format projects that will test your abilities and leave you with skills you can apply after your gone.
    • You will walk away with a recording of your recorded sessions including direction and a 90 page take home workbook that will keep you growing even after class time is over.
    Toronto’s workshop will be joined by Special Guest Roger King of PN Agency and VO Talent/Coach Dave McRae. Dave knows the TO market and will be available to answer many of your questions. It’s also very important to hear from the Agents who help you get the work and Roger King is an agent who cares about his talent and is willing to talk to the class about what is required in the TO market and beyond.
    New York’s workshop
    will be joined by special guest Rob Scigimpaglia (NY VO Talent/Actor and Entertainment Lawyer)
    Los Angeles workshop
    will also be joined by two surprise guests to be announced very soon!

    SEATS ARE SELLING FAST at this low of a rate:
    • Deb brings you LA style training at half the cost
    • $395.00 (referral discounts available) Receive $25.00 discount off your registration fee for every person you refer who books a workshop!
    • Tell Deb you were referred by us and she’ll give you even more off until two weeks prior to the workshop date.
    Deb Munro
    Award Winning Voice Over Talent"


    Check out her site with tons of free info and more!

    See more Deb Munro Workshop dates for info and discounts!
    • Dallas, TX – Oct 17th/18th, 2009
    • Edmonton, AB – Oct 31st/Nov 1st, 2009
    • Toronto, ON - Nov 7/8th, 2009
    • Vancouver, BC – Jan 30/31st, 2010 New workshop – Auditioning Acrobats & Telling the Story
    • Los Angeles, CA – Feb 6/7th, 2010 New Workshop – Auditioning Acrobats & Telling the Story
    • Philidelphia, PA – March 20/21st, 2010 New Workshop – Auditioning Acrobats & Telling the Story
    • New York, NY- March 27/28th, 2010 New Workshop – Auditioning Acrobats & Telling the Story
    • Honolulu, Hawaii – April 10/11th 2010 – WORKSHOP EVENT - $450.00 full weekend -
    • Orlando, FL – April 24/25th, 2010 New Workshop – Auditioning Acrobats & Telling the Story
    • Regina, SK – April or May, 2010 (Date to be Determined) Auditioning Acrobats & Telling the Story


    Thursday, October 08, 2009

    'Your Online Brand': Traditional Voice Over Experience May Not Be Enough

    The term 'brand' refers to the image, feel, and idea of your online product, in this case, your voice over abilities. Quite often at Voice123, I have seen amazingly skilled voice over talent from the traditional offline market struggle to make the leap to online casting. Many usually start by selling themselves based on their experience, first. Unfortunately, as much as I hate to admit it, the belief that just stating you are experienced is not definitive enough of your 'brand'.

    In the two years I have been behind the scenes at Voice123, combined with the two additional years of using online casting, only after leaving the traditional offline method of the voice over industry, I have come to learn just how the original 'you', your voice product, and how you use it in the present defines a person's 'brand'.

    The statement can be highly unsettling for those with great experience in the traditional market. However, the online voice over casting industry is a completely new market and way of doing business, and it is less than six years old. Compared to traditional markets, it is still just a child.

    Hear me out on this because I made a mistake while a voice talent on Voice123 by believing I could transfer all I learned while 'pounding pavement', and simply apply it to online casting. I was wrong. This information will prove valuable to any voice talent.

    There are five steps to building an 'online brand':
    1. Get noticed by being the 'positive' you, and only 'the positive you'. Avoid negativity.
    2. Be 'down to earth' while working online, understanding online casting is still new for many people auditioning and hiring.
    3. Build trust and relationships with those you come in contact with always by having a brand that is truthful to your ability.
    4. Get to know yourself, and describe what it is you actually do with your voice. Listing experience is not a description of what you do. It is a record of what you once did.
    5. Display flexibility when dealing with people online, and know how far you are willing to stretch.

    Why is this helpful for voice over casting online? A key factor in understanding exactly 'how the mindset of the Internet works', in my opinion, can be summed up simply as:

    'The Internet belongs to everyone. No one owns it.'
    • When something is shared by everyone, you can never display that you feel you are above someone else. It will turn people off to you, and you want people to trust you. Trust is the one ingredient in the online world that has to be proven time and time again. This is merely a psychological effect of trying to work with people you cannot see. The Internet carries that burden of proof, always, simply because it is so easy to lie on the Internet.
    • Therefore, telling someone, 'I have 30 years experience.', carries little weight because online casting for voice overs is just a six year old playground. It requires building trust and learning a new method of doing business all over again before the experience can be used to shape the future of online casting.
    • Finally, keep an open mind about what people think. With the entire world watching and listening, and with so many opinions, not everyone will think you are great, no matter where you come from or what you have done, and that is normal.
    Is this bad? No, not at all. The Internet, social media, etc. allows for everyone to market themselves, create a community, and all with a much more cost-effective price than in years before working online. Also, given that the 'Internet belongs to everyone', people will be allowed to either pass or fail on their own, as their own business, quicker than before.

    Always be your best original 'you'!

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Thursday, October 01, 2009

    Social Media: The Need for 'Give & Take'

    Social media has truly exploded on the web as a great way for voice over talent to find out about voice over jobs, the activity of other voice talent, and also a way to promote oneself. In the process, as the Internet has truly turned business into the 'Age of the Customer', there is a required 'give and take' for everything done in social media.

    A very long time ago, a talent agent said to me, 'Steven, are you aware that you talk too much?'. When I asked, 'What do you mean?', he stated, 'You need to tell me what I get from talking to you, and you need to know on your own what you take from it. I will show you that respect in return.' Indeed, tough words to hear while trying to impress an agent as a young voice talent, but he had a point.

    Years later, enter the 'Social Media Age', where talking/typing about yourself and what you do is a necessity, the 'give & take' is still required in building relationships through social media.

    Take an example from Voice123 this summer. During the summer months I had the opportunity to forge three great relationships through Twitter, with two very popular talent communities, and a great customer service company. I am referring to Voice Over Universe, and Parature.

    How did this start? (Well, it started by being...social!)

    • Voice Over Universe (@ZurekVO): Reached out to me on twitter with some questions about posting a job on Voice123, so Zurek and myself set it up in such a way that he was the voice seeker, and those auditioning would also be introduced to his site in the process. Zurek wrote to me and gave me an opportunity to help voice talent, while he was offering a job for people that signed up with his website. I also created a profile on VO Universe and have popped in for some of his webcam events to see some familiar faces. He also shared with me some feedback as to how voice talent viewed the Voice123 website, which helps us with new ideas for Voice123.
    • Parature (@Parature): This customer service company, invited me to a webinar, and I attended. I began following their great customer service blog, and told them I enjoyed it and learned from it. One day, they asked if anyone was looking to write about customer service, and I applied to do so, which they accepted.
    At the very heart of the 'give and take' mentioned above, lies one specific common thread: Each company, voice talent, and job poster is creating a dialogue within their community of followers, with the possibility of creating contacts and networking. At the same time, it is being done in a friendly, positive environment so people can simply 'talk about what they do, and offer to help others with their knowledge, knowing that in the bigger picture of one's career, one day it will lead to either notoriety or financial benefit for all people involved in the community.'

    In the time that Voice123 has been using Twitter, LinkedIn, and Blogs, great information has been exchanged between positive online communities, that for many, has even led to jobs offline, just by talking.

    It all starts with talking about what you do, being creative, and knowing what you offer...and in that respect... maybe talking too much is not such a bad idea? Knowing this article is one big 'give and take' is quite alright because I understand that many will be helped by the people I have mentioned. The 'give and take' may mean you will find yourself copied many times, but in the bigger picture, that is a sure sign you are doing something great for everyone, and you will be rewarded for it at some point in your career!

    Keep talking!

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Monday, September 28, 2009

    "Challenges of Managing & Motivating a Culturally Diverse Customer Service Team a Continent Away"

    Voice123 would like to offer special thank you to a great customer service software company, Parature, for allowing me to write about my challenges of managing a customer service team in two different cultures. If you look at their client list, you will see why this was a great honor for me to be able to write about Voice123.com's customer service team for such a well-known, distinguished company. You can read the original post here, or see below:

    "I am a customer service manager at Voice123.com, and a challenge I face is managing the staff we employ in Bogota, Colombia from the offices we have in New York City, NY. When I took this job as Customer Service/Quality Assurance/Blogger/Public Relations manager at Voice123, I understood ahead of time what challenges were ahead of me. I was not told what the challenges were, but my past experience in traveling to other countries filled me with the knowledge of how businesses in the United States were viewed internationally. I also understood that there are countries that view the United States as ‘1st World’, as if to say that their own country must be ‘3rd World’ by comparison. Luckily, traveling has also taught me that many times people who believe their country is inferior to the United States, may simply need to be reminded as to how the world is pretty much the same no matter where you go.

    Back in 1992, I read a book called ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill. In this book, he describes very basic needs shared by all human beings, or at least, that is my interpretation of his writing behind his Philosophy of Success:
    • The need to achieve prosperity
    • The need to feel appreciated
    • The need to love and be loved
    • The need to be successful
    Considering these four ‘needs’, then forgetting where someone was born or their views of the United States (because sometimes that opinion is not favorable), is how I approached my position at Voice123 when I was hired. I approached everyone with a clean slate. I never talked down about people in the United States to explain a cultural difference, nor did I ever say one country was better than the other. In return, I expected the same from the staff in Colombia. Our team has always had a ’silent pact of trust’ that we would never insult the culture of another person. This was not stated by me, nor was it ever discussed because I wanted our customer service team to be ‘people of actions’, not just words and mission statements. To build trust, unity, and understanding, we did the following:

    • When visiting other countries, Colombia or United States, our staff stays at other staff member’s houses and apartments, no matter what the conditions, and we commute to work together to get the experience.
    • Understanding the love of music that exists in Colombia, and knowing that people who love the same music share an instant bond, I hooked up Xbox Live in Bogota, Colombia and played a popular music-video game called Rockband from my apartment in New York. This was a team event that we still do to this day, and it has become a great way for our team to release stress.
    • I also found out that there is a heavy influence of US music and art culture in Colombia.
    • I agreed to learn the Latin American way of speaking Spanish, if they agreed to learn North American English.
    • As a former actor, I spoke at student seminars when invited by other members of my staff studying acting and film in Colombia.
    • In return, when they visit New York City, I have taken them to classes that I attended to give them a better understanding of what takes place in the United States.
    Generally, we keep a ‘family attitude’ within our staff, and never say things like, ‘Do it this way because it works in the United States.’ or ‘That is how Colombia works, so deal with it.’ I understand that would be a mistake because many of the business schools in Colombia teach students, and I have been told this is something teachers always say in Bogota, ‘You have to learn English because it is the business language of the United States!’ I have found that this type of teaching creates more resentment towards United States culture than anything our Presidents may decide on. (haha) This type of teaching makes Colombian residents feel as if their language is somehow ‘not good enough’.

    Meanwhile, when my staff visits New York City, they have an easier time of it than I do in Bogota because they are bilingual, and New York City is 50% Spanish-speaking. I am still learning Spanish, so I still need a chaperone when I visit Bogota.

    One important thing to all of this…is the difference in business cultures. In Colombia, it is very easy to just fire someone you simply do not like, where in the United States, we have the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which protects employees against wrongful termination, among many other things. As a manager (and former EEOC insurance claims assistant with AIG), I promised myself when starting that I would do my best to be as fair as possible in all situations, based on what I learned as a claims assistant at AIG. I also did something unique for someone working in Colombia, which has yet to adopt laws that protect people from being fired or not hired due to their age. I promised myself that I would hold onto staff for as long as possible for one reason…I have seen high turnover rates in customer service affect the quality of customer service. I also remember that the person who founded Wal-Mart named his original cashiers ‘associates’ and as stockholders, these employees helped Wal-Mart get off the ground because they trusted in their leader, and felt appreciated as part of a team.

    This type of behavior is a business culture that the staff from Colombia enjoys…feeling appreciated for hard work, and knowing that if they work hard, they will be appreciated. I acknowledge that at first, not every staff member was on-board with me, and some did quit, but that is the understanding at Voice123…”I will look out for you, if you look out for me and Voice123. If you want no part of it, it is ok to leave. We bare no ill-will and will help you in the future.”

    Of course, I should mention what tools we use to keep in touch during the work day. That is quite simple:
    • SkypeWebcams
    • Live Streaming of my office and theirs
    • Gotomeeting
    Some have viewed this type of communicating, where we are simply watching each other work, as maybe ’spying’, but it is nothing like that at all. We are a very happy staff that actually misses working with each other in the same office. The beauty of the Voice123 staff members in Colombia are their warm hearts, and hospitality, which I personally find to be lacking in today’s United States customer service.

    This in turn has made me a perfect fit, as I am working with people who validate my understanding of the need for hospitality in customer service. It is true, that I play a role in Voice123 as one who translate what is really being said to our customer service staff. The main reason for this is that the Colombian staff does not understand the United States culture of sarcasm, and double-meanings, and with that, I know my work is always cut out for me.

    Communicating via Skype and typing commands to people can sometimes be misinterpreted, but when this happens, we call each other and talk about it. I also sometimes jump on Skype on weekends just to talk to staff and see how things are going. I do this because I know I am working with truly beautiful, caring people. To date, we have had no issues of political conversations, prejudices, or cultural differences, and I do not think we will because our company is gaining a reputation in Bogota, Colombia as being a wonderful place to work that is open-minded, caring, and expects one to achieve for the benefit of the employee and Voice123. On top of that…their managers ask staff to play Rockband!

    Final note…You may read back through this and notice something I did not do. I never referred to people from the United States as ‘Americans’. To the people of Colombia, they consider themselves ‘Latin Americans’, so it is viewed as arrogant to say one country can hold the title ‘American’. I pay attention to these details out of respect for their beliefs, and they respect mine in return. I always view this staff at Voice123 as people I learn a great deal from, even if I am one of the oldest staff members at 36 years old.

    I hope my experience has served you as well,

    Steven Lowell"

    Perhaps the sign that you are truly in a job you love is when someone asks you, 'What challenges do you face?', and you find yourself smiling as you answer. The team at Voice123 is very special to me, and we work very hard to make sure all of our Voice123 customers find voice talent and find voice over work.


    Best regards,


    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Thursday, September 24, 2009

    Voice123 Important News: September 2009

    We would like to share important news with you from Voice123!

    Refer a Friend Contest Winner!
    Back in June 2009, we started the 'Refer a Friend' program. You can find this in your More Tools section of your profile. At that time, we held a contest for a 1-year Free Subscription to Voice123 for the person who referred the most friends. We are pleased to announce the winner, voice talent Mike Cooper, and we thank everyone for their participation!

    Voice123 Premium Forums!
    Voice123 watched the forum posting slow down over the summer, but since the first week of September, we have seen that more and more Premium Subscribers are pasting their demos in DEMO ADVICE, and also asking some great questions about Voice123. The Voice123 Premium Forums has always been a great place to ask questions about usage of Voice123 as a Premium Subscriber, and the voice over industry.

    Success Stories Flood My Email!
    Not too long ago, I wrote a blog asking for voice talent to send me their success stories. I love sharing such news as a way to promote all voice talent on Voice123. I received so many responses from countries around the world. I want to reassure all who submitted that I will be sharing your news very soon!

    Just to give you an example, Selcuk Birdal, a Voice123 voice over talent from Turkey, won a job doing voice work for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class automobile, through Voice123. You can read about it here!

    • "Selçuk Birdal studied drama as well as training as a speaker, therefore he is not only employed as a radio presenter in his home country, Turkey, but also for synchronized cinema films and TV series."
    Twitter Contest to Give Away 3-Months Free Subscription!
    Twitter followers of @Voice123dotcom are given the opportunity to win a free 3-months on their premium subscriptions to Voice123. The contests take place twice a month, and is a way for voice talent to try our system out and possibly win 3-months free in the process! The scripts are simple, short, and used for contest purposes only. Using Voice123's shared inbox links, you can listen to the great talent who have been submitting! It is all in good fun, and hope you will follow @Voice123dotcom, and try it out next month!

    Finally... Voice123 Will Now Be Sharing Info Via a Linkedin Group!
    Voice123 created a group on Voice123 to share information for voice talent and voice seekers, who wish to post voice over jobs. The group is less than two weeks old, so we hope you can come join and be a part of it. Voice123 will always share information with you to make the online casting process as transparent as possible for you! If you already have an account in LinkedIn, join the new Voice123 group here!

    We are happy to see so many of you back at work, and hope your summer went well!

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Friday, September 18, 2009

    Paul Liberti's Character and Animation Technique Class at Actors Connection!

    Interested in performing character and animation voice overs?

    Go to this link for more info and read about a great character and animation voice over technique class, being taught by Professional Voice Actor Paul Liberti beginning Friday, October 2, 2009 at 6:00pm, to run every Friday for five weeks!

    "Every voice over script you will ever read… is playing someone. You are never just a voice in a void. Developing your very own unique characters is essential for every voice over actor out there!

    Characters range from natural real people characters to the extreme over the top! Audio book actors, commercial actors, animation actors and even narrative voice actors all need to develop characters! Your ‘rep company’ of characters need to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, under pressure at auditions! Now learn the inside secrets and tips from a working voice over professional!

    There truly is no other class like this in NYC, taught by veteran voice actor from Nickelodeon, PBS, Noggin, Pokemon, Disney and former Muppet performer, Paul Liberti. You'll learn about voice placement, the facial mask and how you can create different sounds and vibrations that allow you to revisit the same characters again and again. Insider tips and tricks, marketing for the character voice actor, and unique in-class and extended at home character exercises will help the actor to sustain a career's worth of techniques designed to help you sustain characters and get work!"

    Workshop dates are Friday October 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th, at the following New York City location:

    Film Center Building
    630 9th Avenue, Suite 1410 (between 44th & 45th St.)

    New York, NY 10036


    Thank you!

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Wednesday, September 16, 2009

    Voice123 Update: Seeing Stars on Project Details? No worries!

    Voice123 recently made a small adjustment to the way voice over project details are viewed on Voice123. We did this to allow for voice seekers to protect the privacy of their companies, as done in the past in the script section. This was a small fix to our system that was requested by very popular voice seekers on Voice123. We always look to bring endless voice over work to Voice123 voice over talent, and we hope this will promote further posting of voice over work.

    Voice over talent will be able to see the info behind the '********' when logged in as a Premium Subscriber on Voice123.com. Here is an example of this feature, which is already in use for this voice over project. Look at the project description, and also the Voice123 Note at the bottom of the script:
    You will also see a note in project details, next to the script, explaining what you are viewing:
    • "Voice123 Note: Names, links, and contact information have been replaced by "*" symbols. If you have been invited to submit an audition or proposal for this project, you can sign in to see this information in full."
    If you have any questions about the update to project details being mentioned here, please contact us, or post about it on our Voice123 Premium Forums! Voice seekers...post a project and hire the most professional voice talent in the world on Voice123!

    Thank you always!
    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Friday, September 04, 2009

    Voice Over Coach Johnna Gottlieb Teaching at NYU This Autumn

    This news was passed to Voice123 by voice over coach, Johnna Gottlieb. We thank her for reaching out to us with this news!

    "In addition to teaching my online course for UCLA, I also teach a similar course for NYU called “Voiceover: Beyond the Booth”. My fall semester starts Wednesday, October 14th. Please go to this link to the NYU site for all those who may be interested in this great voice over course!

    I have been posting stuff on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the class is starting to fill up, so I hope all interested can get involved quickly."

    Voice123 looks forward to sharing more news from voice over coaches in the future. If you would like to be considered for Voice123's Coach Partner Program, click this link to read more about it!

    Thank you!

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Thursday, September 03, 2009

    The Summer is Done...Let the Fun Begin!


    Voice123 certainly hopes you have had a great summer. Yes, the summer is over, and it is time to get back to the daily grind. So, let the fun begin!

    Now that it is over, and it is time to get back to work, we look forward to working with you for the next few busy months of voice over work, leading up to the holiday season. We also hope that Voice123 will be your primary choice for posting voice over projects.

    We have two kinds of projects to post, SmartCast & private projects, or you can simply directly invite people yourself using our search feature.

    We will always be here to answer your needs for connecting to the best voice over talent in the world! If you are looking for voice talent today, or in the future, post a voice over project with Voice123!

    Thank you!

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    A Ladie Making The 'Mo$t' of Voice123


    Last week, while reading Twitter posts regarding @Voice123dotcom, I came across a tweet by @Ladiemost, a voice over talent on Voice123. She had announced that she had won a national gig via Voice123. I had reached out to her to see, if she would share the story with us, as to how it took place, and she generously wrote me this reply:

    "Last week, after many auditions, I finally was contacted directly by a voice seeker to re-audition for their project (LTK152025401668X "Find Your Voice"). After quickly turning around my second audition with short notice, they said it was good, but they felt I would really nail it with a little direction. Within 30 minutes, I was on a phone patch session with the creative director, he said there was one other person that their client was listening to, but they thought I was the voice for the job. So, he wanted to push me to the front of the line. Everything moved pretty quickly. He was pleased with my reads. The next afternoon I received an email congratulating me for booking the gig! I was just thrilled! Within one hour from that email we had another phone patch session to finalize the voice over for the National TV Spot!

    Voice123 has been a great investment for my voice over career. It has helped me to do more than book jobs. It has helped me to improve as a voice actor and discover my range. For me, being a Premium Subscriber on Voice123 is worth every dollar and every bit of effort I've used to audition, audition, audition!!! I have spoken to many people who aspire to be voice actors, and those who've been in the voice over industry for some time, about my experiences with Voice123 and I've highly recommended you guys. (I have) gone from 0 to 80 mph, within a matter of a couple of years worth of subscriptions. The voice over Industry has attracted so many more people who just need a good place to start getting "real" opportunities to compete for work on a daily/regular basis. This site is a great resource that really works. In life its all about what you put into something, that determines what you'll get out of it.

    Thank you so much for inquiring about my success with Voice123.

    PS - LadieMo$t is the name I go by in the voice over industry!"

    Voice123 thanks LadieMo$t for responding to us. In the coming weeks, we look to bring you success stories from Voice123 that will explain more about the 'before and after' of getting work. We certainly hope you keep an eye out, or let us know if you have any stories of success you wish to share!

    Thank you!

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom

    Tuesday, August 25, 2009

    Voice Over Talent Agent or Voice123? Why Not Both?


    In Voice123, we receive questions through our customer service department frequently wondering, if having an agent for voice over work is better than having a profile on Voice123.

    The best thing we can recommend... Why not try both?

    To start, Voice123 is not an agency. Most importantly, working on Voice123 is not exclusive, and Voice123 takes no commission. This means it is all about you as a voice over business!

    Voice123 offers informational emails about working online, and also offers help to both voice talent and voice seekers to maintain a sense of community filled with professionals that believe in integrity. Voice123 is also a great marketing tool, we invest heavily in Internet marketing, so it is easier to be found when you belong to Voice123.

    So, when it comes down to 'Which one?', think of it this way:
    • On days when the email invites from Voice123 do not look attractive, you always have the opportunity to get a phone call from an agent regarding voice over work.
    • If the agent isn't calling, you have Voice123.
    There are more voice over jobs available online, from your smallest shopping center's phone message to your big budget motion picture. To 'limit' oneself is to openly decide not to work. Take a look at the profile of Skid Trax. He recently wrote me about his latest work:

    "I've been very busy, in part, due to some of recurring clients I've picked up from V123, plus my other retainer and agency clients. I've also just completed my promo/show open voice over work for season 3 of "Destination Truth" on The Syfy channel, airing this September after "Ghost Hunters". I did season two after auditioning last year for the gig. Take a look at it here. I'm also still doing the animated fish character as it is an ongoing series from Ryno Productions, not to mention the dozens and dozens of other syndicated cable and radio spots I've been doing for them. Voice123 has truly paid off!"

    Just think...if he had chosen only one, he would not have been as busy as he is now!

    If you would like to share your success stories with Voice123, please write us! We would love to hear about it!


    Thank you!

    Voice123 - The Voice Marketplace
    Steven Lowell
    Public Relations Manager
    My Blog
    Twitter: @voice123dotcom