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Voice talent renewal

5 Types Of Voice-over Enthusiasts

July 27, 2021 by Leesha S

Boy shouting into microphone
Photo credit: Yingnan Lu from Pixabay

Do you ever wonder what makes a quality voiceactor or narrator?  There is no sure-fire predictor.  Quality is forged in fire and effort, and top voice talents are no different.  Let’s look at five of the most popular types of voiceover or VO enthusiasts that could lead to great voice talents.

Curiosity Seekers

The seekers have become aware of voiceacting and think it’s great.  Perhaps they are into gaming or elearning and have become curious about voice acting.  They may know someone or have seen an advertisement about voiceover and believe they can have a good shot at being a top in the industry.  They think with some information and an agent, they can start working as a voiceover practically overnight.

Professional VO Students

These students have taken class after class and have a good handle on the voiceover basics.  They may have had instruction in Improv and or acting plus have an idea of their best niche.  But, year after year, they have still not invested in a good demo or actively pursued any voiceover jobs.  They may feel they need a little more time or need to become better situated in their day job before looking for VO work.  It will be soon for them, but not today. They feel they’re not quite ready.

VO Sales Pitch Buyers

These poor souls may have attended a class at their local community college or participated in an online advertised voice-over presentation, and as a result, invested money in a voice-over demo.  Unfortunately, they recorded their demo before they had the basic skills necessary as an actor and business owner.  They may have paid out thousands of dollars (sometimes from credit cards or needed savings).  While they have tried to make sound business and marketing gains, the work is just not coming in.  They have or are starting to become discouraged about voice acting altogether.

“Where’s My Money” Talents

These folks had a few good jobs at the start of their voice-acting career.  It looked like they were headed towards great success.  Yet, after that great start, the work came to an abrupt halt.  They are puzzled as to what is wrong since they booked some great jobs at the start of their career.  They are beginning to lose confidence and wonder if the system is rigged.

Enthusiasts Turned Professionals

These budding professionals may have started voice acting career as anyone of the first four. They may have been told they have a nice voice and should consider voice acting.  As a result, they invested money in the field, but, initially, were unable to maintain a business or find VO jobs.  Some may have procrastinated because they dreaded marketing or rejections from lost auditions. Yet, while the times were tough, these folks did not quit. They made changes to keep their VO business dream alive.
“Unfortunately, … ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.’” 
Rita Mae Brown, mystery novelist, in her 1983 book “Sudden Death”
The enthusiast turned professional did something about their situation.  They understood fictional character Jane Fulton’s quote in Rita Mae Brown’s novel.  Instead of doing the same, they found their path to growing their success.  Perhaps they worked more hours at their day job to pay for good voice-over training.  They may have attended Improv and other training to improve their creativity. Some may have sought professional help to set up their home studio equipment properly and learned how to edit their recordings.  Some may have also partnered with others, joined mastermind-type groups to learn how to set up and run their business.  They learned about marketing their business according to their particular personality type and style.

The professionals don’t take audition rejections personally and taking care of themselves and others to ward off burnout or arrogance with their success.  Unlike the other four types, these up-and-coming talents realized that it doesn’t matter how you get into voice acting.  What matters is knowing and deciding if voiceover is right for you.  The professionals learned that following a dream is a decision that leads to a commitment to do what it takes to become a quality working voice talent.

Being in voiceovers is not easy, but it can be very rewarding for talents and buyers.  Helping clients develop great products can be so gratifying.  But it takes work and devotion to becoming the best voice talent one can and reaching one’s goal for success.

Keep breaking that lip!

Filed Under: Personal, Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips, Voice over Training, Voice talent renewal Tagged With: bussines skills, voiceover

A Hike to Remember

June 7, 2021 by Leesha S

The pre-hike briefing
Getting ready to walk

I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned that many changes and challenges have similar lessons.  If you participate in sports, you know full well how sports can relate to business, even the voiceover business. With that, I’d like to tell you about my first adventure hiking.  Hiking and voice acting are alike; you have to go with the flow and don’t quit.

The Adventure Begins

Recently, I went on my first real hike.  Before the trek started, our leader asked us not to talk too much as we walked and focus our thoughts on nature. So, I was expecting a nice calming walk through gentle backwoods near Northwest Washington, DC’s old and historic neighborhoods.  Instead, I experienced rough milled trails through wooded areas and dirt corridors compacted with sharp rocks, small and round boulders, hard stones, and bulging tree roots.  Small streams were also in our path that ran under full, leaf-laden trees that shaded our two-and-one-half-hour walk.

The tree cover was fine, especially when a summer shower passed over us.  But then, there were the steep inclines and descents.  Someone (the U.S. Park Service, I presume) nicely positioned long wooden planks, like the ones you see on railroad tracks, as steps along the steep inclines.  We walked up and down the vertical passageways over the planks with some protruding because erosion had washed away some of the dirt and sand that initially surrounded the wooden stepladders.

After about an hour, the hike was no longer fun for me. But, not wanting to show my unease about the terrain, I followed my group of hikers with a smile and kept moving.  The leader, a well-seasoned hiker, strolled over the stone and dirt almost gliding as she took every step in a carefree manner.  She seems to glance down only occasionally at the changing surfaces under our feet.

On the other hand, I had to carefully watch my every step to not trip over a stone or tree branch and break my neck! (No Uber here.) I was so happy for the occasional stop for a quick drink of water, but we were soon up and at it again.

I know we were supposed to be enjoying nature.  But my primary thoughts were not to fall and keep moving.  Each time I saw another steep climb or questionable ascent, I just told myself to keep going.  Complaining was not going to get me out of this hike any sooner or stop the slight pain in my toes from wearing hiking boots that were just a little too snug. I tried to adjust my toes in my shoes the best I could and kept walking…and walking…and walking until the walk was finished.

After what seemed like hours, we ended our walk, which was just over two hours.  We each reflected on our experience and what we thought of the walk. My comments were brief, but my primary thinking was I just had to keep moving and I would be all right.

Hiking and Voice Acting

You’re probably wondering what does hiking have to do with voice acting?  Two words: keep moving.  The path to voice acting success is never a straight, smooth path.  Granted, some people find success quickly and consistently, but I don’t believe that is the case for most of us dedicated to finding our voice acting success.  After the walk, someone said that we bump and hit our way through finding our right path to success.  Sometimes, the trail is impassable and we have to try again or we find that our timing is off.  So, we stop for a while, regroup, and start again. It can take years to find the right niche for our business.  And it may take years for us to partner with stable clients with whom we can enjoy working regularly. So, it sounds like voice acting is a lot like hiking.

Life is a Mirror of Itself

Life takes us on many fantastic journeys if we allow it to teach us along the way.  Our goals may point us to what we want, but our paths are usually never straight or smooth.  We have to take each day as it comes and keep our most important things on top of mind.  Today we may do our best and accomplish much or perhaps not.  Either way, we must courageously walk these paths if we expect to carve out a life that we can look back on, and with assurance, know that we did our best and learned from the tests.

Keep breaking that lip.

Filed Under: Personal VO Views, Voice talent renewal Tagged With: bussines skills, compassionate voiceover, voice acting, voiceover, voiceovers

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