The Most Important Ingredient For Success

The end of 2010 leads many to reflect on New Year’s resolutions. Yet, there is an ingredient for success that must exist before any New Year's Resolution gets off the ground. This ingredient is important because a career in voice overs, or any form of entertainment, is a career where one seeks approval from complete strangers for artwork created, in order to be paid to fund more creating. It is a career where one wakes up everyday to start a new job search. It feels impossible without the most important ingredient for success...Love

Love serves every person as a foundation; a cornerstone engraved with a purpose. Love serves as a free pass for when the entire world seems to say “STOP!’, but you say, ‘GO!’. Love serves as confidence and a safety net to make choices when others think you have gone crazy. Love makes you right when all signs, all people, and all opinions, tell you that you are wrong. Love gives an artist the ability to romanticize the times they are considered, ‘Struggling’. Love just makes living life, and sharing, much easier.

In that respect, Love is the ultimate wisdom, for without it we will never be sure why we are building a career in a business considered to be ‘unreal’ by those whom have never dared try it. This is the one career that demands a person love him/herself, support group, and belief in his/her own talent, before they can even get started as a business. Love is most important, simply because if one does not love what they do, feel loved, or have no love in life, they may never know how good it feels to share what makes them special with the rest of the world. Love is the ultimate force against negativity, and that voice that says, ‘It's ok if you make a fool of yourself....I still love ya’.’ Love also helps people take responsibility for what they do.

For me, Love was a voice that said, “Hey it is fine that you want to quit your Wall St. job at AIG, and work as a manager at a website with staff in Latin America despite the fact you do not speak Spanish. We can buy Rosetta Stone. No big deal.” Love is also that voice that leads one to make smart decisions, and smile at challenges. Love drives people to express; when there is doubt one is being too 'mushy'. I had doubts of writing this, but my wife expressed, ‘You should not be shy especially because you sleep well at night knowing the company you work for loves the people they serve everyday. Be thankful.’ Love, for all its magic, brings us back down to earth, humble, and understanding.

Love will carry Voice123 into 2011 and beyond because it is a creation based on loving intentions for helping a loved one find voice over work. When Love is well-placed, it is impossible to deny.

What ‘Love’ inspires you to carry on into 2011, and for years to come?

Happy New Year from Voice123, and may 2011 be exciting and prosperous!

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

A Voice For Every Need: Voices For Commercials

Announcing, hard-sell, real, conversational, and energetic voices will help your product stand out above the rest. The selection of the right voice over for your commercial is critical. Many times people remember the voice that is selling the product, as well as, the product itself!

Voice123 allows voice seekers to listen to voice over demos online and select the best voices for their commercials. Create and post a project online to be answered by voice over talents, or browse Voice123's voice over talent database and select voices for commercials. Voice talents will send you custom voice demos with your script and a price quote in a few hours.

Start using Voice123 today and learn how to manage voice over castings for your commercials!

Find the Best Voice For Your Commercial Now!

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

Voice123 Thanks The Voice Over Community For 2010!

Voice123 wants to take a moment to thank the entire voice over community (we know voice talent work as voice seekers too) for helping set a record of over 1000 voice over jobs posted a month in 2010 with our SmartCast system; not to mention the private jobs posted!

On the chart below, you will notice that Voice123 continues to grow, and continues to provide voice over jobs for the voice talent, who is all about ‘do-it-yourself’!





This has been an exciting year, finding out that jobs passing through the site came close to earning voice talent an Oscar-nominee, and also landing a major motion picture voice over job for the highest grossing animated film of all time!

For 2011, we leave voice seekers with a quote...from a voice talent, Naomi Mercer:

“There is no such thing as a small job; just small thinking.”

Any plans for 2011? We hope they include posting voice over work on Voice123!

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

Community: Living With a Voice Actor – Internet Blues

The blog below is part IV of a series of blogs written by Dianne Russell, partner to Voice123 voice talent, Adam Behr; a successful voice talent with Voice123. The series gives insight into what it means to be ‘living with a voice actor’, based out of South Africa:

"When I first started writing these posts about my voice actor, I really didn't understand a lot about the voice business – it simply provided me an endless and ever-changing stream of personal entertainment. However, in 2010 I have come to understand and appreciate the complexities of running a voice acting business from home, especially when trying to set up in a developing foreign country like South Africa, where Internet is an unreliable and frustrating luxury.

I now realize how North Americans take their fast, reliable, inexpensive Internet service for granted. South Africa is lagging far behind in the internet world; although somewhat faster internet has been available since the spring, it is expensive, limited, totally unreliable and apt to cause trouble at the worst possible times – a nightmare for internet-dependent voice professionals. It also comes “shaped”, a term I had never heard before. Shaped internet is internet that prioritizes certain functions during high traffic times. Email and YouTube are not priorities, nor are large voice files. During high traffic, the Internet slows to a crawl, and all one can do is wait...and wait...and wait. A voice actor in South Africa is doomed to the ebb and flow of connectivity, which requires immense patience when the connection is cut mid recording. I have spent hours of my time arguing with our internet provider, struggling to understand the foreign accents of the customer service reps and desperate to get my voice actor reconnected before a Voice 123 audition expires and he subsequently blows a gasket in frustration.

It has also been interesting to see how people in an internet-deprived country like South Africa try to grasp exactly what it means to be a modern-day voice actor. Although they seem to get the idea that it involves acting with one's voice (and therefore does not involve a camera), there is often confusion about the mechanics of how it actually works. For people who live without Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, the idea that someone can work from home by recording voices and sending sound files from Africa to North America through a phone line (Internet here is still ADSL) is a genuine puzzle. The concept of ISDN is mind-blowing to some, and the confused facial expressions make me think of what it must have been like when the telephone started coming into mainstream use.

At this time of year, we tend to think of our blessings and express gratitude for all that we have. I truly hope that voice actors in North America, who live with the joy of affordable, reliable, lightening-fast internet, comprehend how fortunate they really are!"

Voice123 thanks Dianne Russell and Adam Behr for the honest look into their lives, working in the voice over business. We hope you have enjoyed it!

What do you think?

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

Trend: Skype And The Voice Over Industry

Two days ago, Skype experienced world-wide outages, and for the next 24 hours, it was easy to witness just how important Skype is to the voice over industry, as people scrambled to find ways to communicate with peers, or just took it an excuse to take an early Holiday. Back in 2004, when online casting began to explode, the major concern was that auditions were being sent into a 'black hole' and no one knew who was who, and only had forums to communicate; a somewhat two-dimensional way of communicating.

Since 2007, and especially in the last three years, Skype calls have enabled voice over coaches, voice talent, and voice over clients to record work, create voice over demos, 'phone patch' (maybe Skype-patch?), and hold voice coaching workshops. Perhaps the greatest advantages to Skype continue to be:

• Face to face reassurance that you are working with a 'human', which helps build trust
  
• Increasing sound and picture quality
• Low or no cost (On average Skype customers spend just $8 USD a month)

Skype has also allowed Voice123 staff to communicate; not just within staff, but also with members of the voice over community. There is just something special about being able to say, 'Look! The guy writing emails is a real person!'. Perhaps, this blog is inspired by a story today on Good Morning America, of a US Marine in Afghanistan, who was able to watch his daughter's birth via Skype, I will be using Skype to stay in touch with my large family during a Holiday party, and all of the voice talent I had the chance to meet face to face this year while working at Voice123 (Skype call with Chris Kendall and Loren Gursky). Simply putting a face and voice to the email is enough to remind us what makes people in the voice industry so special.

What do you use Skype for your voice over needs?

Happy Holidays! Here is a gift for you: Skype Smiles & Skype Flags

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

Happy Holidays From Voice123!

The Voice123 staff wants to quickly take this opportunity to wish all of the Voice123 Community a very Happy Holidays!

In the past year, we averaged over 23,000 emails a month, and enjoyed every opportunity to help members of the voice over community with their voice over needs. We are grateful to be of service to the entire voice over industry.

This season leaves many thinking of Holiday memories and classics!

Do you have some you would like to share?

Leave us comments below!

Special Happy Holidays From The Voice123 Team!

Recording Booths: How Do You Do It?

Good day, and Happy Holidays! I am a staff member at Voice123, Leo DeLope, with the chance to write a blog this morning for voice talent. Some of you may already know me from Voice123 Live Chat and help desk emails. As an aspiring photojournalist, I can identify with running into economical obstacles, in the pursuit of working in a career that demands passion. Equipment can be expensive, and not being able to afford it, or not being sure what to buy, led me to the Internet to do research.

I came across the acronym, ‘D.I.Y (do it yourself)’, and fortunately, I found a large community willing to share ideas on how to get work at a great price. In the process, I continue to have fun, meeting new and interesting people from the Voice123 Community. Recently, I found a story of a voice talent on Voice123, who built his own recording booth. It caught my attention because the voice talent took ‘before/during/after’ pictures of the process. I know he is not the only one with proud photos of his recording booth! We would love to see your booths, and talk about how you did it! Being creative can not only save you money, but it can also earn you some free subscription time on Voice123!

Show us your photographs of your booth, and let us know how you did it!

The cheapest and most creative solutions will win a 6-month subscription on Voice123! We promise to share your tips with the voice community and promote you; maybe I can offer ideas that could work for your profile picture. If you would like to see some of my pictures you can go to www.leeooh.com, or check my flickr profile.

Let us know what you think, and how you 'do it yourself'!

Happy recording and Happy Holidays!

Leo Lopez
Account Manager
Voice123 Facebook
Voice123 Youtube Channel
Twitter: @voice123

Community: Change The Voice123 Motto!

Since opening in 2003, Voice123 has always had the ‘title’, ‘The Voice Marketplace’.

Simply put...it is time for voice talent to change to a ‘motto’ and we would like you, the voice over community, to give us your ideas!

Please go to this survey to let us know in four words or less, what motto should be used for Voice123!

If your idea is chosen, we will give you a 1-year Premium Subscription to Voice123!

You can leave comments to tell us what you think, too! Just remember to leave your name to be considered for a 1-year Premium Subscription!

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

Soundproofing and Recording Part II: Recording

In our last blog from December 15th, 2010, we shared with you soundproofing advice from voice coach David Zema, as part I of this series. Today, we share part II: Recording!

"There are many tutorials on line for using Audacity and other software for recording. Learn how to set levels for your voice and how to fix some of the unwanted background sounds in post-production until you can set up a quieter recording environment. Using noise reduction and other post- production processes may help, but they add unnecessary time to your busy schedule. The time spent setting up a permanent quieter environment is time better spent than fixing it in the mix for every recording. Learn the best practices for recording sound:

• Get a fast, quiet computer with as much RAM as you can afford.
• Use only 7200 RPM or solid state hard drives.
• Use a second hard drive for recording your audio and not the same hard drive as your operating system.
• Use the best uni-directional or cardioid microphone you can afford.

You are welcome to send me an mp3 of a recent audition recording you have done. I will send back a brief note telling you what, if any background I can hear as well as what I think may be the problem. If you would like a private consultation regarding soundproofing or recording or voice over coaching and demo production, I am available for that as well. Soundproofing and recording take time to learn, troubleshooting and problem solving to get right. Be patient and persistent and you will succeed! - David Zema"

Coming up on Monday, look for a very special blog that will invite you to talk about how YOU, the voice talent, 'do what you do' from home! If you have pictures and info you would like to share from your Voice123 Meetup, please do not hesitate to write us, or share with the Voice123 Community!

Tell us what you think! Was this helpful?

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

Soundproofing and Recording: Part I

Last Friday, Voice123 held a Meetup at David Zema’s recording studio in New York City. We all discussed soundproofing and recording from home. David Zema wrote a blog on the topic. Today’s blog will be about ‘soundproofing’, and you will see the extreme limits one must go to when working in the 'city that never sleeps' as a voice talent:

"I have been recording audio since I was 12 years old and shooting video since I was 18. I have sound proofed over twenty spaces in the last 20 years. One thing I have learned about soundproofing is that I am always working to improve it.

When I finally got my last studio to the point that I thought was perfected, I had to move because a noisy performance space had set up operation on the floor below. Their speakers were located right beneath my sound booth. It was going to take layers of lead and concrete to muffle that noise! In 2008, I moved to my current location at 1123 Broadway. The room I rented had previously been a recording studio, and the building has solid walls built in 1896. But it took layers of plexi-glass (acrylic) and homasote to muffle the sounds reverberating up from 25th Street.

Then along with hanging many baffles made of Berber carpeting and soundproofing foam from Marketek, I found a used soundproof isolation booth on ebay. I added more soundproofing materials to the isolation booth and now everything is quiet enough to record. Additionally, I use pipe insulation on an iron based mic stand for a second corner area used for recording. This area uses a cork board, Marketek foam, Berber carpeting and a vinyl mat on top of the carpet to deaden sound before it reaches the mic. Remember that separation of your computer equipment from your microphone will reduce unwanted noise and vibration. Using the quietest equipment you can get is the ultimate goal. Consider a solid state digital recorder that is noise free as an option for small spaces. The microphone enclosure is another option if you can't soundproof an entire room. Materials that have mass or density are used to stop sound.

Homasote and even special sound resistant sheet rock called QuietRock, fiberboard, soundboard, fiberglass insulation and another materials when used properly have enough density to stop some frequencies. However, these materials will most likely need professional installation by a soundproofing contractor to be done properly, or require a patient ‘do-it-your-self’ craftsman with tools and a lot of time. Concrete, sand, lead and mass-loaded vinyl are used in professional sound studios, but are very expensive and not an option for most apartment renters."

Coming up on Friday...Part II: Recording! David Zema is a voice over coach with Voice123. If you are ever interested in sharing a blog, please do so with the Voice123 community, or please email it to help@voice123.com! We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Tell us what you think, and if you found this helpful!

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