Voice123 Blog has moved to a new location...

Hello!

This blog will qualify as the shortest we have ever written! Our blog has moved to a new location.

Please click here: http://voicethedream.com/

We invite you to our new voice over blog, and thank the loyal and commenting readers!

Our team hopes you like the new look, too!

Steven Lowell
Community Development Guru
Voice123 Facebook
Voice123 Youtube Channel
Twitter: @voice123

Voice123 Seeks Voice Casting Advisers!

Hello!
Voice123.com is looking for Account Managers/Customer Service Specialists aka “Voice Casting Advisers” to work remotely from anywhere, while handling a wide variety of responsibilities. This position requires, a trustworthy, highly innovative and energetic personality with an eye for making things better, and a problem solving attitude with the passion for collaborating with others in the voice industry, and the desire to learn and teach users how to grow their own online career.

If you are interested, please see more details!

Steven Lowell
Community Development Guru
Voice123 Facebook
Voice123 Youtube Channel
Twitter: @voice123

Voice Over Projects During The Past Holiday Season

The Holidays are behind us all now, but in December I had the chance to work in Account Managing for Voice123, and I directly communicated with many voice seekers during that time. In doing so, I came to find reasons why certain voice over projects received fewer responses than others. I would like to share with you some helpful hints on getting voice over projects approved quickly, getting more auditions, and hearing the right voice for your project!

Transparency:

• This is the day and age of transparency. It will help you to be upfront about what the job will be all about. We see sometimes in the ‘director’s mind’, projects may be created under a false scenario; almost to trick the voice talent into giving the best voice over audition; maybe a form of 'method job posting'. However, the attempt to ‘trick’ leads more to confusion. When you are honest, upfront, and detailed about what you need, the artist will speak for you more often.

Details:

• Yes, but it deserves mentioning twice. The most common cause of receiving the wrong audition is because ‘something was left out’. Think of it this way: The time spent now on explaining details is time you will save later when you have to re-post a job because you left an important detail out.

Grammar and Spelling:

• In digital communication, for some reason, people are less forgiving when they see spelling errors or poor grammar. Proofreading what you are about to send in takes only a few minutes, and will help you get auditions. Taking these extra couple minutes tells a person you care about the project; a great reason to audition.

Emails and Phone Numbers:

• Use an email and phone number that works. It helps Voice123 staff get in touch with you, and it also lets us know that you are a legitimate business or person. Voice123 protects your privacy at your request. You will see that in the project posting form.
  

In closing, you may notice I did not touch on ‘budgets’. The fact is, working online is about building relationships. Those who ‘think of the bigger picture’ will work with an honest person, even if the budget may be smaller than normal. Honesty is the strongest foundation of any long-term working relationship. It is the same mindset behind why people find a car mechanic they can trust, and stay with that person for years, regardless of cost...just because they trust them for being honest.

Comments? Let us know!

Steven Lowell
Community Development Guru
Voice123 Facebook
Voice123 Youtube Channel
Twitter: @voice123

Community: More Living With A Voice Actor - 'Do's & Dont's'

In 2010, we presented four blogs written by Dianne Russell; partner to successful Voice123 talent, Adam Behr, from South Africa. It was an insightful and fun look into the lives of a very successful voice talent, and the partner who is there to support his career. Today we present part V: The do’s and dont’s when living with a voice actor:

It is now 2011 and I have been living with my voice actor for about a year and a half. During this time, we have moved twice (including a move to Africa), and I feel like I have a much better understanding of what it means to be a supportive partner to a voice actor, who works from a home studio. Here are some of the thing I have learned in the last year:

• Do not go on a trip to Africa and let your voice actor use one of your suitcases for his equipment. You never know if you will leave Africa again, and if you leave all your precious shoes at home so he can fill your bag with equipment, you will certainly be sorry. Put your foot down and spring for the extra baggage allowance; do not sacrifice your shoes.

• Do not attempt to help your voice actor set up his home studio unless he/she asks. Having no comprehension of the mechanics of sound reverberation, it is silly for you to offer advice on how the studio should be configured from an aesthetic point of view. Stand back, watch the transformation of blankets, dresser drawers and pillows be transformed into something hideous, and say nothing. In the end it will sound great and pay for the food on your table.

• Do make sure you find out when your voice actor will be recording in advance so that you know when it is acceptable for you to open/close doors. Otherwise, once the recording has started, you could find yourself either trapped inside or outside for hours, unable to exit/enter for fear of disrupting the recording.

• Do give your honest opinion when your voice actor plays his/her recordings for you. I used to daydream a bit when listening and say that it all sounded great, but then I realized that it is not helpful to stroke a person's ego if it really does not sound good – better to give constructive criticism than have your partner lose out on a job.

• Do not sit in the room while your partner is recording. It means that you have to stop everything you are doing again and again (including breathing), and any slight noise on your part will result in an eye-roll and the need to re-record, which means you have to sit perfectly still and silent again.

• Do try to listen for your partner's voice on local radio and TV. It is fun when I unexpectedly hear my partner selling whiskey or Italian food on the radio while driving to work, and he always appreciates the recognition.

• Do not touch your voice actor's computer or sound equipment. Moving one of the dozens of cords or USB’s could result in a catastrophe of seismic proportions. Forget about dusting the equipment or trying to straighten it up – just leave it be and accept the fact that this one room in your house will always look chaotic.

• Do invest in a good pair of earplugs. Self-explanatory, I think.

Finally, be thankful that you are lucky enough to live with a talented, creative person whose job allows him/her to work from home, have flexible hours, and, most importantly, provide hours of entertainment. Living with a voice actor has its ups and downs, but at the end of the day, it's a pretty sweet gig.

- by Dianne Russell

Voice123 thanks for Dianne Russell and Adam Behr for this transparent, intimate look into life with a voice actor. If you have a ‘Do-it-yourself’ story you would like to share with Voice123, we would love to share what the Voice123 Community is doing!

Steven Lowell
Community Development Guru
Voice123 Facebook
Voice123 Youtube Channel
Twitter: @voice123