Archive for April, 2009

Busy Week!

Posted On: Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 7:59 am | By: David
Related Category: Education, Effective Marketing | 3 Comments »

Well, there won’t be a lot of downtime for anyone at Voice Coaches this week. That’s because on Saturday May 2nd, we will host our third annual Advanced Marketing Expo at the GE Theater, right here in Schenectady.

With more than 150 attendees and guests expected from as far away as Alaska, New Mexico, Georgia, South Carolina, California, and Florida, this event is not only a great place to learn, it has become an incredible opportunity for voice actors to network with one another.

For our team, and my wife and I, the expo is also a chance to reconnect with friends who just happen to be some of the top professionals in our field. Stephanie and David Ciccarelli from Voices.com will again join us. In addition to providing incredible professional opportunities for Voice Actors, Voices.com offers customer service that is unmatched in their industry.

Legendary Voice Actor and Author Rodney Saulberry gave a call yesterday to confirm his travel arrangements that will allow him to join us for our event and the VIP Mixer the evening prior.

Super Agent Billy Serow will join us and be on hand Friday Evening and Saturday to interject realistic perspective to those considering pursuing major commercial VO work.

We’ll welcome for the first time, Award winning audio book producer and voice actor Dan Bostick who is sure to be popular as the audio book field continues to expand.

We’ve asked our good friend and Media-Technology expert Dan Dinsmore to share his perspective on emerging opportunities for professional voice actors.

We are excited to have Producer-Trainer David Goldberg from New York’s famous Edge Studios on hand to provide perspective on A market VO.

Traveling from Fort Wayne Indiana to speak about Home Recording will be Mark Magdich from Sweetwater. Sweetwater is the worlds number one audio equipment retailer and mark is an absolute expert when it comes to Home Recording.

Marketing expert and voice actor Jay Silverman will add perspective on the benefits of reaching close to home to build opportunities.

Television host, film, and voice actor Evan Farmer will join our expert panel and answer questions about building success.

Other folks who we expect to be on hand include actor and Voice Coaches Student John James, Voice Over Xtra’s John Florian, and many successful former students and professionals.

We will post videos on Voice Coaches TV, and interviews at Voice Coaches Radio.

and now… no sleep till Sunday!

You Could Too…

Posted On: Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 9:33 pm | By: David
Related Category: Motivation | 4 Comments »

So here’s one for you to consider. I was speaking to a guy last week who had ALWAYS wanted to go into professional voice acting. Though he thought the entire field was interesting, he had a specific interest in animation and cartoon voices. In fact, he had been creating his own cartoon ideas since he was a kid. (He is now in his 50s)
He told me he was very close to following through, but he still wanted to think about it for another year. I inquired about his hesitation and he explained he was concerned he would not be successful. I told him I understood his concern and explained further that there are no guarantees of success in voice acting, or any other small business venture. I wished him luck and reminded him to call if he ever had a question about the field.

Just for something to think about, let’s contrast this with a similar story, the story of a Guy named Seth.
Seth grew up in the North East and took an interest in cartooning from an early age. He certainly could have put it off or pursued other things, but he went ahead with the support of his parents and did the thing he wanted to do.
For Seth, this ended up being a great choice.
Today, many of us know Seth MacFarlane for the results of his follow through. He is an Emmy Award Winning Voice Actor, Writer, Cartoonist and Composer. Perhaps best known for creating the animated series Family Guy and American Dad, MacFarlane won a Best Voice Over Performance Emmy Award for his work voicing the Stewie Griffin character from Family Guy.
MacFarlane’s production company Fuzzy Door Productions continues to develop a broad range of concepts and a recent deal with Fox Broadcasting is rumored to have made him the highest paid television writer and producer in history.

Again, there are no guarantees of success in any endeavor, but if you don’t pursue the things you want to do, let’s just say your odds go down hill fast!

Now, go do YOUR thing!

Voice Over Training From A Cat!

Posted On: Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 11:47 am | By: David
Related Category: VO News | 2 Comments »

Cat Can Voice!

With the expense of on camera actors and the complications of shooting on location, more and more companies are opting to use animation as a component of their marketing strategy. For those looking to work in animation, certainly Disney and Nickelodion are great options, but a road far less traveled might be building success through emerging animation opportunities.

Both television and web are growing outlets for animation. The recent fast growth in these areas has dramatically added to the need for voice actors with character voice capability.

Voice Coaches Senior Creative Director John Gallogly recently learned this first hand when he was chosen to voice television and web animation for Cat’s Eye Pest Control.

If you’re a character voice actor, get out there and voice something!

DB (more…)

10th Grade Perspective

Posted On: Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 10:37 pm | By: David
Related Category: Motivation | 1 Comment »

Here’s Some Interesting Perspective For You
I’m learning more every day!

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was approached by our local Chamber Of Commerce to participate in a workshop designed to allow area 10th graders to gain real perspective on occupations that might interest them.

800 some-odd 10th graders…. sounds like fun to me, so off I went.

I was stationed in a room with a guy representing a Video Game Company, a woman from our local CBS affiliate, a theater guy, and a chef. The way I figured it, we were one of the cool rooms.
And when they set the 10th graders free to speak with whomever they chose, my suspicion was correct. There are a lot of 10th graders with interest in some facet of the professional recording field, and many who were specifically interested in voice over.

The thing that i heard repeatedly that really got my attention was the pure determination these young adults had when it came to doing the things they wanted to do in life. I spoke to many who couldn’t imagine not doing the thing they want to do!

There might be something that can be learned… or re-learned here. You have a great deal of control over follow through and success in the things that you want to do.

I contrast this experience with many experiences I’ve had with adults who really want to pursue voice acting. The difference is that 30 or 40 years later, in many cases it seems there are always roadblocks, both real and imagined that grownups can’t overcome, particularly when it comes to things we want to do.

My advice…. listen to a 10th grader once in a while!