Two Millionth Audition: And The Winner Is...

Voice123 would like to congratulate Charles Kahlenberg for submitting the Two Millionth Audition, and is the winner of a free one-year Premium Subscription to Voice123!

The project it was submitted for is "Ten Second Thank You".

Charles Kahlenberg is an experienced voice over talent in the business since 1974, and has an extensive list of credentials.

We thank him and everyone who auditions at Voice123 everyday that helped us reach this milestone! We hope you are all with us when we hit three million!

Thank you!!!

The Voice123 Team
12 Desbrosses St. New York, NY 10013

Will You Be The Two Millionth Audition?

Hello all!

In case you have not noticed, Voice123 is coming up on processing its 2,000,000th audition/proposal!

To celebrate this event, we are giving away a FREE one-year's subscription to the person who submits the 2,000,000th audition/proposal!
We are watching for it!

It is our way of saying thank you to all of you who use Voice123 everyday! This event is quite the milestone for our staff and we hope you will share in the enjoyment. We will announce the winner shortly!

With almost 700 SmartCast® projects, 233 non-SmartCast® projects and 3627 private messages and project invitations posted in February, Voice123 processes more voiceover projects than any other voice casting site on the Internet.

Thank you for your continued support of Voice123!

Sincerely,


by Alex Torrenegra
President and Co-founder

Version 2.5: This Weekend & Going Forward

Hello everyone!

I am Steven, Quality Assurance Manager with Voice123 & Voiceover Talent. I wanted to send you a quick note before version 2.5 is released this weekend, and also give you some much needed information about the 'Audition and Proposal Rating System'.

First, I would like to reassure you that you will be given instructions on how to proceed this weekend through emails from our team at Voice123. Please read each one very carefully! We expect a high volume of chats, phone calls, and emails. We will strive to reply to each and every request, quickly & efficiently!

Being a talent myself, I am very proud & confident in the changes to the Talent Voice Producer profile, and even more confident in the fellow peers who are currently beta-testing it. They are sending us their wonderful, professional suggestions. From what we have seen, we at Voice123 are grateful for their participation!

Secondly, an update about the Audition Proposal & Rating system. Your comments & suggestions have been heard, and I have been discussing this in detail with you and internally with staff.

So...what now?

Going forward:
We will be applying changes to the 'rating system' that are more transparent both for talent voice producers & voice seekers.
We will get through the release of Version 2.5, and begin working on those changes shortly thereafter. Details will be available for you when the changes take place.

Lastly, we appreciate your patience & comments over the past months, and ask that you understand that the intention was to give you information on how to improve your chances of booking voiceover work while using the site. We know we have many professionals on Voice123, many of which inspired me to go into voiceovers 15 years ago.

Here I am now at Voice123. I feel blessed to be able to give back to the voiceover community that I have always cherished, and desired to help. I am even taking Alex Torrenegra to my voiceover coaching lessons now in NYC!

Thank you so much for reading!

Your QA Manager,


by Steven Lowell
Quality Assurance Manager
12 Desbrosses St. New York, NY 10013

PS. Alex is really good, and shows great potential!

SERVICE UPDATE: Voice123 Version 2.5!

Hello everyone!

In just a few weeks we will be releasing a significant set of improvements for you to enjoy. It keeps all of the features offered by the New Voice123 (Version 2.0) plus many more advantages! We call it Voice123 Version 2.5!

The voice industry has talked and we have listened. These are just some of the most important improvements that are coming to Voice123:

• You will now have access to opt out from receiving Voice123 SmartCast invitations on projects that don’t match your budgets requirements.


• If you offer pre-, -post, or production services, you will now be able to showcase them in your profile.


• You will be able to specify more accurately your union and membership affiliations (if any).


• When you upload demos to your profile, you will be able to provide more detailed information regarding each of them.


• You will now be able to showcase the payment methods you accept.


• An improved set of categories and delivery capabilities will allow you to better determine the type of services you wish to offer.


• If you own a recording studio, you will be able to showcase its details.

All of the above improvements will automatically help you get better-matching invitations sent by Voice123 SmartCast®. These improvements will also serve as the base for the upcoming talent and voice producer search system (SmartSearch®) that will be released later this year.

There are many other major improvements for voice seekers being planned. Some of them are so innovative that we are in the process of patenting them!

You will soon learn the release date along with instructions on how to take advantage of all the new features. Stay tuned!

Regards,


by Alex Torrenegra
President and Co-founder

P.S. Would you like to participate in the beta testing of all these improvements?
Just click here and send us a message. Thank you!

Downloading Auditions Is Now Easier

If you as a voice seeker have the need of downloading the auditions that you get through Voice123, we have made an improvement that will make you happier!

You now have ONE-CLICK access to download your auditions.

If you are a highly active voice seeker, this small improvement may save you tons of time.

To check it out, simply post a project!

This is just one of the many improvements we are working on. Let us know what you think by writing your comments below.

Sincerely,


by Alex Torrenegra
President and Co-founder

Many New Improvements

During the past few days we have released several improvements as a result of your feedback:

• We believe you may be happy in learning that from now on all invitations sent by Voice123 SmartCast will include the deadline of the project as well as its budget. This information helps you save and manage your time better.


• The project creation form now warns voice seekers that projects with "To be defined" budgets may not offer the best results. As a result, we expect to see less projects with "To be defined" budgets.


• The project creation form now advices voice seekers that custom demos should only be required if the custom demo is going to be a deciding factor.


• The form where you submit auditions and proposals has an area where the details of the project are shown. The text on said area is now darker, thus easier to read.

These are just some of the many improvements we are working on based on feedback received from you. Please let us know what you think by posting your comments below.

Sincerely,


by Alex Torrenegra
President and Co-founder

Do I invest in ISDN or an Internet Audio Program? (By Harlan Hogan)

I'll try to keep this short...

If you are doing actual sessions from a home studio ISDN or an Internet equivalent (Source Connect, Audio TX) is an invaluable tool along with a traditional phone patch. To do Radio/TV imaging, ISDN capability is expected and necessary.

However ISDN is becoming hard to get from the Telco's in many places and it is expensive. Installation runs around a hundred and fifty dollars for the two lines necessary, plus a monthly charge of forty to well over a hundred dollars a month, depending on location. It's customary for the talent to not initiate a call, but if you do you'll also be hit with line charges per minute -- times two! A Chicago production house spends over a thousand dollars per month on ISDN line charges for audio book narrations. And there's the gear - you'll need an ISDN Codec (coder/decoder) essentially an expensive computer based modem - three to four thousand dollars new.

Enter the Internet and VOIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol. With a high speed Internet connection and a software solution you can send and receive air-quality audio via the Internet.

Source Connect is a plug in program that runs with Pro Tools or any audio program supporting VST plug ins (Cubase, Audition etc.) the cost is $395.00 and ---- that's it. No monthly fees. Audio TX in more expensive at about twelve hundred dollars - including an ISDN adapter card for your computer - but it has the advantage of being able to "Talk" directly to an ISDN user by emulating an ISDN codec and it can communicate over the Internet alone.

Now this would seem a simple decision, skip ISDN and go Internet - but like everything in life it's not quite that simple.

First off, ISDN has a big established infrastructure and is very reliable. I believe it will be remain the "mainstay" for real time professional audio production (especially among broadcaster who are LOATHE to change anything!) for at least another five years.

Internet based audio will make an impact however, as the user base grows and in time goes from being a backup to the main solution. Remember that with Source Connect BOTH parties need to have the software, high speed connection and fairly powerful computers. If the 'other end' doesn't have SC you'll need to set up (and most-likely pay for) a bridge - connecting the software to a traditional ISDN codec and on to the ISDN-equipped end user.

Secondly, because of the way data is sent via the Internet today (disparate packets of data are sent in bursts) vs. the streaming of contiguous audio, Internet audio can sometimes be choppy and have other audio artifacts. In fairness, ISDN can get a little goofy too from time to time but it's fairly rare. When (note: when) the Internet changes protocol (which it will) these minor hiccups will disappear and we'll be putting the ISDN codec up on the shelf next to the DAT machine. Meanwhile, Source Connect unveiled a new version of their software for 2008 that automatically detects and ‘dropped’ out of order packets and restores the audio seamlessly.

Right now, I'm using both remote solutions with ISDN the main player and SC a nice backup. On the road, it's Source Connect - because so far I've never found a hotel room that just happened to have a couple of ISDN phone lines installed. While speaking at the NAB in Las Vegas last year I did a problem-free session from the 50th floor of the Wynn hotel on my lap top using Source Connect ---- wirelessly! This weekend I'll be connecting with London from San Francisco during my Long Haul Workshop...it's a truly amazing thing.

So to summarize my tirade.

Everything in life and business is situational - so evaluate the amount of remote work you are doing to help you decide on ISDN or an Internet program.

If - for example - you are doing windows for five TV stations five times a day then ISDN is the only way to go at this moment. If - on the other hand - your schedule includes only occasional remote work, then go for a software solution. You may have to bite the bullet occasionally and schedule an ISDN bridge, or go to an ISDN-equipped local studio but that's still far less expensive than the cost of full-time ISDN capability. BTW many recording studios give VO's a nice price break - especially if you can be flexible on scheduling - so be sure to ask. Patches in Los Angeles, Audio Recording Unlimited in Chicago and Full Compass is New York are a few examples of 'talent-friendly' ISDN studios.

I do believe ISDN audio will be replaced by Internet audio solutions .... but not just yet!

Of the two biggies - Source Connect and AudioTX - I'm betting SC will come out the winner because of their already large client base and low cost. I've seen and heard of several other Internet-based solutions, some with monthly fees which greatly lessen their value, but - at this moment - Source Connect is well-positioned to be the de-facto standard. In my experience, their customer support is beyond amazing - I can't say the same for AudioTX.

Wow that was long -- but you asked.

Hope this helps,

Harlan Hogan
www.harlanhogan.com
Harlan Hogan is a Voice123 Coach Partner

Voiceover Workshops in Houston, TX and Voice Acting Techniques Workshop in Tulsa, OK

Voiceover Workshops in Houston Texas: January 19 & 20
(Fundraiser Partially Benefitting Women in Film TV Houston!)
(Private One-Hour Consultation Appointments Available on January 21-23)
Back by popular demand! Voiceover Pro & Coach Bettye Zoller Seitz!
Winner Clios, ADDYS, Golden Radios, Audie Awards! Simon & Schuster Audio Author.
Recording Studio Owner/AudioProducer/Audio Engineer & One of North America's Most-Heard Voice!
For more details go to: www.voicesvoices.com

Voice Acting Techniques Workshop In Tulsa
Instructor: Bettye Zoller Seitz.
Winner Clios, ADDYS, Golden Radios, Audie Awards and one of North America's most well known Voice and Voiceover Coaches!
She is in Tulsa as the Feagin Artist Guest Professor at Tulsa University!
Don’t miss this opportunity to attend her workshop!
Private One-Hour Consultations in Tulsa also Available.
For more details go to: www.voicesvoices.com

Improvement To The "My Stats" Area

Hello all,

We recently released a small improvements to the My Stats area. You can now see how many direct messages you have received recently. This information is now shown alongside the number of invitations you have received to submit auditions or proposals, which was already there. You can access "My Stats" by going to http://voice123.com/web/talent/mystats.cgi

Please keep in mind that our system doesn’t keep track of the direct phone calls you may receive from voice seekers that find your phone number via Voice123. We encourage you to ask new clients how they found you, so that you can keep track of all the new and recurrent clients you get through Voice123.

We appreciate your comments and suggestions, please post them below.


by Alex Torrenegra
Leader and Co-founder

Improved Link Exchange, use it to increase your exposure on the web

Hi everyone,

We have listened to feedback from voice talents and voice producers like you, and have made many improvements to the Link Exchange feature.

You can use the Link Exchange feature to promote all your websites by exchanging links in your Voice123 profile. And now you can link to up to five websites!

If you have other websites, you can link to them from your Voice123 profile.

Some of the benefits from link exchanging:

• Increases your website traffic and exposure to clients.
• Helps to get your website in all the Search Engines quickly.
• Improves your position in the Search Engines.

Start taking advantage of this great feature, to begin your link exchange click:
http://voice123.com/web/talent/manage_linkexchange.cgi

This improvement to our system was implemented thanks to the feedback received from users like you. If you like these features, or if you have more ideas to share with us, please comment below.

Sincerely,

by Juan Salcedo
Marketing Manager