/ Voice Coaches press appearances. en-us Copyright 2008 CVDG / Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:08:30 EST Sometimes it’s not about the quality of a person’s voice but how he or she uses it. Last week a group of curious learners convened at Devon Manor to discover that and more about a line of work known as voice acting. The Main Line School Night class, titled “Getting Paid to Talk: An Introduction to Professional Voice Acting,” focused on the primary aspects of voiceover work, such as making a demo and marketing. One of the first points that producer and instructor John Gallogly of the company Creative Voice Development Group LLC made was that “I love what I do” but “that doesn’t mean you will love it.” Gallogly went on to squash a common misconception that many people have when considering voice acting as a career: there is no guarantee for success, and it is very possible that you will fail. One of the main keys to success is being proactive and remembering that you are running your own business. Marketing yourself to potential employers means creating a demo, which was one of the focal points of the night. According to Gallogly, the demo “is your resume” and must follow a specific format. The demo is important, but so too are Gallogly’s three keys for success: passion, belief in yourself and taking action. As the class neared its conclusion, participants were given the chance to record their own commercial spots following a specific script, or copy. Gallogly gave each participant the option of getting feedback the next day via telephone from one of his fellow producers. This course, which was an introductory class, was also offered as a six-week program earlier in the year, which is what piqued the interest of several participants, including Henry Worthington of Newtown Square, a retiree looking to “keep busy.” Melissa Lewis of Conshohocken found out about the class in the same way, even though her reason for taking it was slightly different. “People told me I had a nice voice,” Lewis said. But Lewis said she has no plans to make voice acting her career. She jokingly declared that voice acting is “something to do if you have another job.” Not everyone in the class would agree with Lewis’s statement, especially John Sauer of West Chester. Sauer, a pharmaceutical representative, attended the class in consideration of a possible career change. He found the idea of working for himself appealing and plans to continue exploring the field. While professional voice acting is a long way from the days when he made prank phone calls using the Moviefone voice, Sauer justified the venture with one belief: “You only live once.” /press.cfm/pressid/73873 Creative Voice Development Group Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST It sounds almost too good to be true: getting paid to talk? That was the name of an introductory class to voice acting at Santa Fe Community College last week. The 12 locals who showed up, though, weren't treated to fantasy tales but to a realistic view of a side career that might lead to full-time work. "You're not 'in the industry' until you make a living, or at least a partial living," said instructor John Gallogly, a producer with the national company Voice Coaches, based in Schenectady, N.Y. "You are starting a business — no one's going to make you send out your own demo or send follow-up calls." The good news for those gathered at the 2 1/2-hour class was how the industry has changed. "Some 20 to 30 years ago, 90 percent of the talent was the male announcer voice," said Gallogly. "Now it's 50-50 women to men, and now ... I'm looking for natural, real voices." Gallogly also corrected some common assumptions about what type of work is possible. "Only 10 percent of the industry is commercial," he said. "And 90 percent is narration." Work includes public service announcements, audio books, training videos, documentaries, announcing for TV shows, museum needs, voice mail systems, voices for toys, video games and animation. Gallogly said there are other misperceptions about the industry. "It's not as competitive as you think it is in the way you think it is," he said. "Your biggest competition is the voice talent that sounds exactly like you." At the end of the class, Gallogly gave everyone a chance to do a test voice-over that would be evaluated by his company. And even though most of those in the class had come because they'd been told by others they had good voices, many were surprised by how much better their voices sounded on professional equipment. Sandra Wilson, who has a company that does appraisals in antiques, fine art and folk art, said, "Most people think I have a slight Texas accent, but I didn't hear it on the tape at all." Wilson moved with her family from Texas to Santa Fe when she was 5. Wilson, like most of those in the class, was not planning to give up her day job for a new career. "But it's something I'd always thought of doing," she said. "I acted in plays in high school and took an acting course in college. "But I've been too self-conscious," Wilson said. "It's finally, `Oh, what the heck, I'll do it.' " David Bourgeois, president of Voice Coaches, said last week, "I think when you look at voice acting, it falls under the guise of something they've always wanted to do. But things that people have always wanted to do tend to go to the back burner. There's always a reason to not do what you always wanted to do." Marcie Davis could relate to that sentiment. Davis, who has an organizational development consulting firm, said, "I've done a couple of narrations for some of the projects we've worked on, training videos, and always just thought it would be fun." Davis said taking the class is part of what she enjoys about the community college's offerings. "I can dabble in something I know nothing about," she said. Gallogly offered all the students professional critiques by phone from Voice Coaches the following day if they were interested. Davis took him up on the offer. "I was surprised he thought I could do children's voices, although I've always wanted to narrate children's books," said Davis, who admitted her voice had a childlike quality to it. Based on the class and her evaluation, astrologer Atma Devi decided to sign up for a continuing class with Voice Coaches, available by telephone and the Internet. She was told she had a good voice for travel programs, narrative material, audiobooks and commercials for luxury items. "It all resonated with me," she said. "I came initially because I could learn something about using my voice," said Devi, who co-hosts a Saturday program, "Moonwise," on KSFR-FM, Santa Fe Public Radio. She said the community college class inspired her and took her "out of her box," giving her some new possibilities. "I did not know about this actual way you can make a living," said Devi. "I've got a pretty good BS detector, and I liked his directness and his honesty. What he said about being a professional and showing up and taking action are all things I do in my own life." The $29 course, "Getting Paid To Talk," will be offered again in April 2009, according to Deborah Carr, program administrator in continuing education with Santa Fe Community College. For more information, contact Carr at dcarr@sfccnm.edu. /press.cfm/pressid/73083 Creative Voice Development Group Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST Getting paid to talk – how many chatterboxes have dreamed of such serendipity? In fact, countless people do make their living by talking or reading; they’re called “voice actors” because they’re not seen except for the image their voices may conjure. Radio, of course, is the home of “voice-overs” – that is, whenever you hear a recorded voice but don’t see anyone. Voices help animate TV and Internet, as well as various message systems. Maybe those with versatile, unusual or mellifluous voices haven’t exactly been told, “You oughta be in ‘voice acting,’” but they may have wondered about using their voices that way. For them, as for merely curious, the East Windsor Regional School District’s Community Education program is presenting a one-session class on “Getting Paid to Talk: Introduction to Voice Acting” Monday evening. The 2 ½ -hour noncredit class will be taught by David Bourgeois, 42-year-old president and creative director of Creative Voice Development Group. Doing business as “Voice Coaches,” the Schenectady, N.Y.-based company not only offers this introductory class, but also trains voice actors all over the country. A composer and professional music and audio producer for 25 years, Bourgeois developed training methods for voice actors through “conversational reading” of virtually anything in print. People today aren’t receptive to being told what to do, he explains. Because they prefer to be convinced in a process of genuine information-sharing, conversational techniques have replaced announcer-style voice acting. In a lively informative phone conversation – something to be expected of anyone with his credentials – Bourgeois said the course is “crafted to be entertaining” and stressed its introductory nature. At most, it can provide answers to questions people may have. The course will not equip registrants to start off in the field, although they’ll learn what it takes to become a professional voice actor – from getting started through working in the studio and recording a demo to landing jobs. Those in class also will have a chance to record a mock commercial, directed by Bourgeois. Of all the opportunities in the voice-over field, commercial work takes up just 10 percent of the total, Bourgeois says. The remaining 90 percent is noncommercial, or “narration,” and can include educational resources such as audio books in schools; training videos; voice=mail systems; documentary, historical or travel materials; the Internet and video gaming. Voice acting’s an entrepreneurial field, Bourgeois says. It consists of having the right voice for the job, along with the personality that’ll put you in a situation to get it. It can supplement other jobs or be a component of retirement. In a surprising good news-bad news statement, Bourgeois says that the field can be very lucrative … but most people are not successful at it. They may keep up with the creative parts, but too often forget they’re also running a small business. (The majority of small businesses, he reminds, fail in the first year.) He recommends an additional motivation beyond money to be made: Love what you’re doing. And Voice Coaches practices what it preaches: The company’s Web site mentions “we love what we do. This may not seem important, but to the thousands of individuals (more than 5,000 people in 11 years) we’ve been fortunate to train, it made all the difference in the world.” How long does it take to break into the field? Bourgeois calls this “a bad question. That’s what you do with a jewelry store.” Instead, he ticks off steps: You get information, do a demo, think about it, network with others in the field, build relationships … Unlike the old story of the starlet discovered on a soda fountain stool, becoming a voice actor takes concentrated hard work. If after next week’s class you decide to try to “get paid to talk” as a career, Voice Coaches also works on the professional training side. Its offerings include “premier training” for aspiring voice actors. Neatly spelled out on the Web site, the program’s features include private instruction that can take place either in the company’s studios with high-end equipment or from the student’s home via a telephone-link system. The initial session includes a student evaluation, and Voice Coaches can terminate training then if a client does not meet basic speech language requirements. The program also includes intensive self-marketing training and provides network quality production of both commercial and narration demos. “Here’s listening to you, kid.” The “Getting Paid to Talk” class will meet at Hightstown High School Monday at 7 p.m. Cost is $32. To register, contact Jill Horowitz, (609) 443-7717, extension 2005. For more information about training for professional voice acting, call (866) 887-2834 or look online (www.VoiceCoaches.com). /press.cfm/pressid/70915 Creative Voice Development Group Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EST Creative Voice Development Group has been selected for the 2008 Best of Schenectady Award in the Recording Studios category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA). The USLBA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community. Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2008 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA and data provided by third parties. Voice Coaches specializes in voice over training and demo development for aspiring voice actors. The company employing 18, has earned an exceptional reputation in ethics in dramatic arts education. Voice Coaches' professional affiliations include the Better Business Bureau, The Voice & Speech Trainers Association, The American Society For Training And Development, The Albany Colonie Chamber of Commerce, and The Schenectady Chamber of Commerce. /press.cfm/pressid/71846 Creative Voice Development Group Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Her creamy vocals make you feel as if you're soaking in a tub, while her boisterous tones can transport you to the front row of a rodeo. Woodstock resident Julie Evans is a professional voice actress with about two years of on-the-job experience. She received her training at Voice Coaches, a Schenectady County-based vocal training company. Her portfolio includes work for WDST (100.1 FM), a radiostation headquartered in Woodstock, and Bragada, a mattress company. Her dream job is to work for National Geographic, she said. Voice actors are people who use their voices professionally and are paid to talk. They can be hired to do a variety of work, such as radio promotions, audio book narration, training videos, Internet sites, video games, even company phone systems. Voice Coaches President and Creative Director David Bourgeois has more than 25 years of industry experience. His company has done voice over recordings for the The Learning Channel television show "While You Were Out." "It's absolutely a fantastic field - fun and lucrative," Bourgeois said. "Julie Evans went through training and is a perfect fit. She has a wonderful voice and a great personality." Bourgeois said the voice acting field has expanded recently. The type of voice hired today is no longer the typical male game show host/announcer type, he said. Clients want their customers to be able to connect to the voice actors. A broad range of both male and female voices are needed, he added. "We hire conversational and believability," Bourgeois said. "That really has opened the door." Another trend is the popularity of voice work on Internet sites. Actors are being hired to record product descriptions, company histories, do podcasts, etc. As a result, Bourgeois said the field has "virtually doubled." According to the 2007 Voices.com annual report, talent is in demand for Web advertising. "As multimedia hits the Web, the demand for voice talent is surging," the report said. Technology has played another role. More voice actors are recording work from their home recording setups, Bourgeois said. You don't have to live in a major city to find work. "It's easy to see why people are moving to this as a second career," he said. Voice acting is only one of Evans' many pursuits. The 51-year-old Minnesota native's focus is mentoring, but she also enjoys storytelling, horseback riding instruction, dance, American Indian history and ministry. "I love story. Everything about me revolves around it," she said. "Our words are so important." Mentoring sparked interest It was through her mentoring work that Evans discovered the passion for voice work. "My voice has always been a tool to soothe, encourage, enlighten, to make people laugh and to make them cry," she said. "People have always said, 'You have such a great voice.' " During her professional voice training, Evans fine- tuned her talent. She learned about posture and breathing. She had to correct speech abnormalities. When she gets in the recording studio, she said she always forgets to smile when she talks. "If you aren't nervous, then you probably aren't alive," she said. Evans said she can see the potential to live off the wages she earns with her voice, but she warned: You have to be committed and send out a lot of demos before you start booking jobs. Bourgeois said the average Hudson Valley gig pays about $75 to $350. Keep in mind, that's about an hour's worth of work, he said. Metropolitan work for a big company, such as Burger King, could pay $200,000 for just one line, he said. But typically, you don't get rich quick and you don't become an expert over night. Voices.com reported high-paying contract jobs with residuals can range from $150,000 or $200,000 a year, while nonunion freelance jobs fall between $150 and $500. "You don't break into it. It's a flaw in the way people look at the entertainment field," he said. "There is an expectation of job knowledge, training and hard work involved." Reach Sarah Bradshaw at sbradshaw@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-437-4811. /press.cfm/pressid/69989 Creative Voice Development Group Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Curtis Gibson of Odenton had a voice that was deep and grainy, like actor Vin Diesel reading Shakespeare. Maya Wilcox of Severn sounded like the most riveting Scripture reader at church. Derrick Jones of Gambrills is someone you wouldn’t mind having read to your kids at bedtime. For years, they’d been told they had the kinds of voices that could earn them money. So they decided to explore the possibility. They and more than two dozen others showed up at Anne Arundel Community College recently for an adult-education class titled "Getting Paid to Talk." They were interested in a second career or post-retirement pursuit in the field known for broadcast commercials, but has other lesser known opportunities, such as recorded voices that announce floors in an elevator or the words uttered by a toy. "The field has broadened in terms of acceptance of voices," said David Bourgeois. "It used to be that you had to have ‘the voice,’ Now you just need the voice for the particular job." Bourgeois is president of Voice Coaches, a Schenectady, N.Y. based company that ran the class at AACC, one of the more than 500 high schools and colleges it visits each year. He projects that the industry may grow fivefold within the next couple of years because of podcasting and other Internet audio. Five years ago, none of the voiceover work he performed was internet related, he said now more than half is. Those who seek to go beyond the company’s introductory class can try out for its professional training program, a $3,200 course that requires a voice evaluation for acceptance and includes one-on-one training, commercial and narrative demo development and a personal Web site. About 450 clients are enrolled in that program, up from 30 a decade ago. "This experience helps the individual who has the talent and just needs that push," said David Wengermax of Pasadena, a mortgage broker with a rich voice like the narrator of the Lexus car commercials. The introductory class persuaded him to pursue the field. "Let’s face it," he said, "About 20 percent of the people who come to these classes have the talent, and the other 80 (percent) are wasting their time." At the introductory class, participants took turns reading scripts for imaginary advertisements into a microphone as if auditioning for a radio spot. As each student spoke, Voice Coaches senior creative director John Gallogly manipulated a console of round knobs and switches, blending their voices with background music for a crisp, professional sound. "Here’s the thing," Gallogly said before the students began. "I’m going to tell you what you did well, what you didn’t do so well and what you need to work on if you want to get into this and make money." "I’ll even tell you what kind of work I hear you doing, if any, based on your voice. And if I don’t think this is something you should do, I have absolutely no problem telling you so." Apparently, the students had no problem receiving criticism, because nearly all of them signed forms for Gallogly or another Voice Coaches representative to contact them the next morning about their voice quality. The next classes scheduled for this area are Feb. 18 at the First Class learning center in Washington and April 10 at AACC. Professional voiceovers for training exercise videos are particularly in demand in this region, which is laden with government jobs, Gallogly said. Bourgeois said many students discover that to make it in voiceovers, you must treat your voice like a product, improving upon it through training, then marketing it tirelessly. Wilcox, a part-time AACC student and stay- at-home mom, decided two years ago that she would pursue any voiceover opportunities that came her way. "I feel that the gift I was given from God is my voice," she said. "I have always used it in church, reading Scripture and singing in the choir. My husband says I’m a Disney soprano." Jones, 26, an AACC student and manager at a video-game store, grew up enamored of the voices of characters in children’s movies and TV shows. "I want to follow in the footsteps of my heroes, Jim Henson, Mister Rogers and Raffi," he says. "I want to do stuff for the little kids." He was slightly younger than most of the students enrolled in the school’s $35 class, who are in their 40’s and 50’s. After the session, Gallogly said the AACC class was typical of what he hears in classes around the country: About one-fourth of the students have what he believes are professional voiceover potential. But only about two from each class go on to pursue the field, he says. "If you market yourself, and I mean truly market yourself, for a year and a half, I cannot fathom you not being in the field," he says. But most people don’t do that, They market themselves for three months and never send another demo out." Gibson, an active-duty Army officer, said he had hoped the class had more hands-on training, but said it still interested him to possibly pursue voiceover work. Gallogly told the class about those who did pursue the field with impressive results. They included local talent Evan Farmer, a television actor and voiceover professional from Rodgers Forge. Farmer is best known as the host and voiceover actor of the former Learning Channel series While You Were Out. Before that, he landed voiceovers on two MTV series, Daria and Celebrity Deathmatch, where he portrayed the voices of three Backstage Boys. "I just basically said ‘yes’ to every job possibility," Farmer said. "For MTV voiceovers, I called MTV casting line, which had an answering machine message that said, "At the tone, leave an audition.’ That’s how I got the job." Farmer says that during the 10 years he’s been in the profession, he’s honed his talents to where he can do voiceover for a one-hour, prerecorded show within 20 minutes. And he’s made good money for his efforts. "I once did a radio spot for a one-hour session and got $100,000 over 2 years," he said. "Commercials are where the money is. The dream commercial is a pharmaceutical commercial. McDonald’s commercials go away every two months, and when they change the prizes and the menu. "I once did a Midol commercial and a Tagamet commercial, and those two commercials took less than a day of shooting per commercial, but easily made $400,000 combined for them, including several years of residuals." A striking voice is only half the story, said Sara Kozak, senior executive producer for the Silver Spring based Discovery Communications, which produces Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet. Voice timing is essential, particularly in entertainment, when the visual elements are prerecorded and voiceover actors must tailor their words to image sequences. "It’s a basic rule of thumb that it takes one second to read three words," she said. "To get the timing right, you look at your gap (pauses), and if it’s 30 words then you know it is going to take 10 seconds, as simple as that." Jones was told afterword that he had a voice for children’s literature or PBS children’s shows. That was more than enough for him to begin raising money to release a demo tape in spring. "When they told me about my voice, I started laughing profusely," he said. "It was a nice little bonus that they said I would be good at what I wanted to do." joseph.burris@baltsun.com Reprinted with permission from the Baltimore Sun /press.cfm/pressid/69988 Creative Voice Development Group Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Dunedin – I’m supposed to make "mmmm" sound like an expression of pleasure, but my voice coach tells me I sound like someone just kicked me in the shin. Furthermore, I ran roughshod over periods and commas in my haste to pitch the delights of the functional restaurant in my script. When I reminiscence about Grandma’s cooking, I sound like it wasn’t very good. Looks like I have some work to do before I become a voice actor. About 20 of us have gathered at the Dunedin recreation center to hear veteran voice-over actor Paul Greenberg tell us how to make it in the biz. Retired minister Fred Hass of Dunedin paid $20 for the one-night class so he can go on the church circuit as a guest reader of Scripture. Jim Martin, a Dunedin Highland Middle School Teacher with a convincing German accent, is exploring the possibilities of voice character action. A group of community actors from the Dunedin Showcase Theater also is here, along with public relations specialist Elaine K. Mann of Dunedin, who writes copy for voice actors. It’s different from being a radio disc jockey, says Greenberg, who travels the country giving one-night seminars for the Creative Voice Development Group of New York. Before that, he specialized in voice-overs. He has narrated a lot of corporate and industrial training films and did work for CNBC and the Financial News Network. You don’t need a booming announcer voice, he tells the class. You just need an interesting voice. He passes along a few voice- acting tricks, gimmicks that would make us sound crazy if we talked that way to friends. For an enthusiastic tone, try talking with a smile. It works, Greenberg says, even if it’s a fake one. For emphasis, try to pause between syllables: in- credible. When reciting flavors, create a tone for each. That keeps the listener’s brain focused on every word, he says. Obviously, there’s more to this than, well, talking. As Greenberg puts it, "You must be able to accurately read unfamiliar material expressively while taking direction." We gather in groups of four, each with a line in a fake commercial. Those who win praise seem to take their time, pronouncing each word clearly and conversationally. I’m supposed to say "Mmmm. That home-cooked aroma reminds me of Grandma’s house. I remember when we would get the entire family together, and everyone would just relax and catch up with each other." As I focus on smile-talk, I sprint through the words like a coffee mainliner. And "mmmm" simply eludes me. I have a second go: "Mmmm, that home-cooked aroma…" "Stop!" Greenberg interrupts. "That was still a shin-kicking! Goodness gracious!" He compliments my pace on the third try, but says nothing more about "mmmm." I sense it’s better this time – a softer, more relaxed cry of pain. A lot of us fill out forms to get a more detailed evaluation from another pro at the company, also known as Voice Coaches. We must sign a warning that "this evaluation may include critique." I take it they don’t mean a positive one. I predict they’ll tell me to stick to print communications, but I’m surprised. On the phone the next day, company founder, David Bourgeois, tell me I did well. Of course, I muddled a few lines, I needed to vary my tone. But I seemed to be having fun at the microphone (could be all that smiling), and I took direction well. With a bit more instruction, I may have a shot at a glamorous new career. "Mmmm!" /press.cfm/pressid/69990 Creative Voice Development Group Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Coming soon to a theater near you: a Washington lawyer you’ve never heard of. If that makes you raise an eyebrow, just think how it sounds to a federal prosecuter who last acted for an audience in law school 20 years ago. When “The Six Wives of Henry Lefay” opens mouths from now, amoung the leads will be Tim Allen, Elisha Cuthbert, Jenna Elfman, Paz Vega, Andie MacDowell, S. Epatha Merkerson – and Tony Quinn of Capitol Hill. Quinn, 46, did summer-stock theater in Vermont “with a lot of Broadway types” while in collage. During law school at Emory, he acted out – literally – at the Atlanta Shakespeare Company rather than clerk or research. But at 6-foot-7, “there aren’t a lot of parts for someone my size,” he says. “’Starving artist’ was not appealing.” Quinn took a law firm job in D.C., and in 1991 he joined the Justice Department. Chances to play to the crowd were few. “I’m a courtroom lawyer. There’s a bit of the theatrical to that,” Quinn notes, and he has performed a bit for free: as an MC at awards ceremonies and in the Department of Justice and Boy Scouts training films. Seeking other creative outlets, he wrote short stories and hid them in a drawer. Quinn’s wife, Anne, suggested he take up voice-over work or acting again. Last year, he spent an evening at First Class (Takeaclass.org; 202-797-5102), the “center for lifelong learning” near D.C.’s Dupont Circle, at a seminar called “Getting Paid to Talk: Intro to Professional Voice-Overs.” During the class – put on by the New York company Voice Coaches – students read from a script, get a chance to record and hear how they sound, and receive feedback on their performance. They can phone someone at the company the next day for further assessment. “We tell the good and the bad about voice acting as a business,” says producer and marketing director Warren Garling. “Radio and TV are only 10 percent of available work.” But wait, there’s more: “Everything that needs a voice, from voicemail answering systems to videos for business [called ‘industrials’] to narration, documentaries, audiobooks – a huge growth industry – podcasts, Web voices, the Disney World tram voice, elevator recordings.” At First Class, the next voice-over seminars are Sept. 22 and Nov. 5, 6:30-9 p.m.; tuition is $45, $35 for members. Voice Coaches (Voicecoaches.com, 866-887-2834 x 100) also teaches at Montgomery College Gaithersburg and through local public school adult-education programs. Quinn signed on with Voice Coaches for extra training, cut a demo at an affiliate studio and circulated it. A month later, fate called. Actually, it was Howard Michael Gould, a college friend who’d written for “Shrek the Third”, “Mr. 3000”, and hit TV shows. Gould had occasionally consulted his old buddy on such real-world concepts as “What does your office look like?” and “Where are the big mansions around Washington?” For his “Six Wives” screenplay, Gould had pictured Quinn while writing the part of a police officer. As director, he had the power to cast whoever he liked. Why not Quinn? Before filming began last fall, Quinn took voice workshops and worked with Brenna McDonough at her On Camera Training studio in Kennsington (Oncameratraining.com, 301-262-2796); her one-on-one coaching is $100 an hour. McDonough also teaches a $400 introductory course that runs three hours a week for four weeks. On the set, Quinn looked around, awed: “He’s won an Emmy … What was most striking was how nice they were to me. They didn’t have to be.” During two weeks of annual leave, he was paid to get fitted and made up; the production picked up his transportation, hotel room and meal costs. Besides all that, “my two paychecks I pretty much handed over to the union and Uncle Sam. But it’s better than a vacation!” Eventually, he may get residuals, too. Clearly, luck brought Quinn the role – but talent and preparation made it possible. “I don’t know what would have happened without the First Class,” he says. “Would I have had the confidence otherwise?” Lucky breaks aside, voice-over work is rarely a full career. Wannabes pay for training, demos and studio time. According to the Washington/Baltimore office of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Guild, union members making a local commercial earn at least $279 for a 90-minute radio recording session. For a two-hour off-camera session, the minimum is $533. For an eight-hour, on-camera session, the minimum is $722. Any residuals are extra. “This is a fallback. I have no plans to leave my job,” Quinn says. But he’s approaching 20 years of government service, which means a second career could prove irresistible. “If someone sees the film and is eager to hire me,” he says with a grin, “I’m open.” /press.cfm/pressid/70855 Creative Voice Development Group Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Words seem to roll effortlessly off the tongue of Kent Nelson, a 58-year-old voice actor from Plymouth Meeting. Actually, Nelson studied for months to achieve his polished sound, briefly at Montgomery County Community College, and later with a national voice coaching firm. You might know Nelson as the voice on TV urging you to ride Amtrak. He has recorded voice-overs for training films aimed at doctors and Rite Aid pharmacists. Now approaching retirement, Nelson hopes to land steady voice-over work to augment his home improvement business. “I don’t want to be rich and famous; I just like to eat regularly,” Nelson said with a grin. A growing number of voices are needed to record voice mail prompt, training films, museum narrations, audio and TV commercials, documentary films and Internet content, voice experts say. At the same time, a lagging economy is yielding career changers, second-job seekers and those who want a business with flexible hours that doesn’t require an advanced degree, education and voice experts say. The answer for some is t get paid to talk. But first, would-be voice actors must learn about the field. Local learning institutions, realizing that, have added voice-over classes to their rosters. Temple University, Montgomery County Community College and Chester County Night School offer an introductory class on how to become a voice actor. Main Line Night School has two classes at nominal cost this fall. The introductory course will be offered Tuesday night at Temple’s Fort Washington campus, and also at Montgomery County Community College’s Blue Bell site. “We’re not looking for celebrities,” said Rhonda Geyer, director of non-credit programs for Temple’s Fort Washington campus. “We’re looking for everyday people that somehow relate to this field.” Students learn about inflection and phrasing, said Nelson, who took the course at MCCC. They recorded an experimental demonstration, which is the voice actor’s marketing tool. They learn that jobs pay roughly between $125 and $300 for a short recording session. “We tell people that you’re essentially starting your own business, so don’t quite your day job,” said David Bourgeois, president of Creative Voice Development Group [Voice Coaches] in Schenectady, N.Y. The firm fans out across the U.S. and Canada to offer the introductory course. The group also has trained about 6,000 people as voice actors in the last 15 years, and is seeing growth in demand for it’s services in the Main Line and South Jersey markets, Bourgeois said. The voice actors are half male and half female, and tend to be middle-aged, he said. While the male radio announcer used to be the norm, there’s now a range of voice. Joanne Behm, manager of lifelong learning for MCCC, took the course herself, out of curiosity. In one exercise, the students read aloud for a radio commercial while the tape recorder rolled, she said. Instructor John Gallogly added sound effects to give the tape an authentic feel. “When he added the music and other stuff, we sounded terrific,” Behm said. “It’s a good example of what one of those [voice coaching] companies can do for you.” Some go on to take an in-depth training course for $3,250 with Creative Voice Development Group [Voice Coaches.] The session includes a demonstration CD and marketing advice. Allyson Joyner, 50, of South Philadelphia, took the in-depth course several years ago because she had always wanted formal voice training. She learned how to present her voice in a range of tones. She learned to navigate a script on the fly, if need be, and found she was well-prepared. “I walked in and was handed a 26-page script from a company,” Joyner said. “We had a four-hour session, and at the end of the session, they said, ‘We’re putting your name on a short list of preferred voice actors.’” Joyner markets herself by sending her demonstration CD to organizations that she hears are “looking for a voice.” If she gets the job, she’ll do the recording at a studio off the company’s site, such as the studios of WNWR (1540 AM) in Bala Cynwyd. “I love it. I absolutely find I have more range, more depth, more of an ability to do different things. Wow, what a surprise!” Joyner said. /press.cfm/pressid/70857 Creative Voice Development Group Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST What’s in a voice? Plenty, as a group of adult education students found on Tuesday night at “Getting Paid to Talk,” a one-time introduction to voice acting. Fifteen people attended the class, held in Centralia College’s Lingreen Hall. The attendees ranged in age (11 years old up to retirement) as well as occupation (Professions represented included massage therapy, teaching, driver instruction and banking). Mike Massa, a voice actor and producer from Schenectady, N.Y.-based Voice Coaches, hosted a class, explaining the ins and outs of the profession. At the end of the session he split the class into groups to read scripted “commercials,” which were played back, with music in the background, so the students could hear how they’d sound coming over the air. “If you have a voice, you can get a job,” Massa explained. Even in a market like Lewis County, he said, plenty of businesses create radio advertisements and are potential clients. “The thing is, you just need to know where to look.” One key is to create a voice-over demo, which, done professionally, can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000. The demo should have several narrative and commercial clips. “You can think of it as a voice résumé,” he said. The pros of a career in voice acting were clear: wardrobe doesn’t matter, recording studios are generally very nice place to work, and more and more actors are working via phone from home. The schedule, he added, isn’t hard. “Do most voice actors work 40 hours a week?” he asked. “Probably not, unless they have a gambling problem.” The cons, however, are that finding work and breaking into the field can be tough. One actor, whom Massa said he knows, waited nine months before finding a job recording a segment for a state detention center that paid $50. Ten years later, the same actor has single gigs lined up paying around $30,000 a shot. The key, he said, is to put yourself in a position to get work, through networking and making a good impression at the jobs you do find. “You have to go to this, and make it happen,” he said. “This is akin to starting your own business. This is an entrepreneurial event.” Voice actors also need to get the proper training, Massa said, which is what Voice Coaches can provide. Their training program, Massa explained, can be done over the phone, and starts at about $3000. Jenny Wade, a retired Chehalis resident, said she enjoyed the evening presentation. “I think it was great,” she said. “It gave (me) some insight of how this process works.” The work, however, was slightly more technical than she had imagined. “It would be a commitment,” she said, of pursuing voice acting. “I’d need time to think about the time and the cost.” Her own voice, however, was a pleasant surprise. “I was pleased,” she said. Gary Cowden, Centralia, brought his deep, distinct voice to the class. “It was excellent,” he said. “He’s very informative, and very exciting.” Listening to his own voice, however, wasn’t quite what Cowden had expected. “I was disappointed,” said Cowden, a mortgage loan originator. “I just sounded – not enthusiastic enough.” He added that he’ll probably pursue his interest in putting his voice to work a little further. “I’m going to ponder it, definitely,” he said. “I’ll probably take some additional steps.” For more information on voice acting, visit www.voicecoaches.com. Aaron Van Tuyl covers education, economic affairs and religion for The Chronical. He may be reached at 807-8237 or by e-mail at avantuyl@chronline.com. /press.cfm/pressid/71015 Creative Voice Development Group Sat, 17 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Attention all wannabe voice actors: your time has come to get the information needed to get a start in the field. That’s because West Seneca Community Education will present “Getting Paid to Talk,” an introductory version of a voice class for those who think this is a career they might like to pursue. Voice Coaches, the Schenectady, N.Y.-based company that works nationwide at helping voice talent achieve success, will be at West Elementary School at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 21. The class introductory Mike Massa said, will be an introductory look into the world of voice acting. “It’s a great way for people who are curious to learn a great deal about the industry in two and a half hours,” said Massa, who is an example of how far a person can go with a career in voice-over work. Starting out as a student of Voice Coaches, Massa recorded a demo before finding work as an actor. But now he works for the company as a recording producer and an instructor. Before working for Voice Coaches, Massa enjoyed a public relations job at MTV in New York City. But the Schenectady-area native decided to look into voice acting. “It’s a way to have fun and make money and not have to rely on corporate America for a paycheck,” he said. David Bourgeois, president of the company, added that the class will feature conversations on topics that include what a voice-over is, the types of voices hired today, where the opportunities are and how to prepare a demo. “We’ll give everyone who attends the opportunity to do a short recording,” he said. He did warn that this class isn’t going to prepare interested individuals to enter the field, because there simply isn’t enough time to prepare people for work. He also cautioned those looking for work in the broadcasting, saying that Voice Coaches is exclusively dedicated to voice acting training and does not offer broadcast career training services. The class, which usually numbers between 10 and 25 people at other venues, is not a private training session, he said. “We cannot guarantee training just because they come to the intro class,” he said. “Our students need to meet basic speech-language requirements before we take them on.” Voice work is featured throughout the world, said Bourgeois, and there is considerable growth opportunity in the field. “When people think of voice-overs, they usually think of commercials,” he said. “But the truth is, commercials make up about 10 percent of the work available.” Bourgeois, who has been in the business for 17 years, said there are plenty of areas outside commercial work, including narrative work on television stations such as Discovery Channel, audio books, and even car and elevator voice-overs. Massa agreed, adding that Internet and video games are other growing markets for voice work. He said that the video gaming market is the No. 1 growing source of employment for voice-over talent. “It’s a great class,” Massa said. “We play a demo. We help record a demo. My favorite part is when I play it back for them. It gives people a good sense of what their voice sounds like with professional equipment.” Voice Coaches has a long list of professional clients, both famous and anonymous. Most notably, it has recently begun work with former “Dynasty” star John James, training him in voice acting, Bourgeois said. According to Bourgeois, James had been meaning to get into the world of voice acting and finally did so three months ago. But the company’s work isn’t just limited to voice-acting classes, Bourgeois said. It often works with clients with specific needs, most recently corporate leaders in Massachusetts, often working to keep voices healthy with speech-language evaluations, he said. In addition to Voice Coaches, Bourgeois also owns and operates the White Lake Music and Post, a professional recording studio where he has done many pieces for various media around the country. “We’ve done work for TLC, Discovery, HGTV, WE and numerous other local, regional and national clients,” he said in an e-mail. If interested, Bourgeois said, these classes are the best way to find out about the business without a vested interest. However, he said, success requires an entrepreneurial spirit. “Some people find great success in this business,” he said. “But many others don’t have the drive.” For more information or to register for the class, call 677-3107. /press.cfm/pressid/70776 Creative Voice Development Group Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Voice actors can’t sell a car by showing it. They can’t entice a customer to buy a soda by offering a sip. Standing in a sound booth the size of a closet, they have only a few pages of unrehearsed copy and their unique set of pipes to get the job done. “Do a strawberry and a lemon taste the same?” That was the question John Gallogly asked Susan April and Lisa Caron after hearing them read copy for a commercial about a new kind of juice during a workshop last month at Holyoke Community College. “They don’t, so each one has to sound different. I want to believe this is the best fruit drink you’ve ever had. And smile,” he added. “I want a big smile. It comes through in your voice when you’re smiling.” Gallogly is senior creative director for Voice Coaches, a professional voice-acting company based in Upstate New York, which offers classes in the Pioneer Valley on a regular basis. The next sessions are at Springfield Tech on June 12 and Holyoke Community College, June 16, both at 6:30 p.m. In a March 4 class at HCC called “Getting Pais to Talk,” Gallogly immediately put the group of eight to work. Over the course of a few hours that evening, he gave an inspiring primer about voice acting – providing insider industry tips, discussing pay rates and offering caveats. “You need passion, belief in yourself and action. If you want to be a voice talent, be one,” Gallogly said. “Your biggest competition is you. Only you will keep you out of this industry.” Getting it going Nearly 15 years ago, Heather Frenz, a 37-year-old voice actor from Albany, N.Y., started her career reading on-hold messages. She was working in an office as a human resources department secretary when one day she checked an applicant’s references and a man she’d called commented that she had a distinctive voice. Inspired, she looked for ans found a job. Then she signed up for an introductory voice-acting class taught by Voice Coaches. She was hooked. Frenz said she liked the realistic, balanced approach to the industry presented by David Bourgeois, the president and creative director of Voice Coaches. In fact, shortly after taking the class she went on to train with his team at the main studio in Schenectady, N.Y. “They are very professional,” she said. “They train you in not only how to use your voice more effectively, but how to create a demo and market yourself.” Since then, Frenz has lent her vocals to a variety of narrative and commercial projects. In one recent week, she recorded radio and TV commercials for a car dealership and a clip on a Web site for a laundry detergent company. “I still keep a part-time job,” she said. “And it varies how much I make doing voice-overs, depending on how saturated my voice gets out there. But I make good money, and I’ve had work consistently for the past eight years.” For more than 25 years, Bourgeois, 42, has worked in professional music and audio production. He started out as a musician during his teen years, playing his own material and recording on other musicians’ albums, and eventually transitioned to the production end. Since 1990, he has promoted conversational-reading training methods. Gone are yhe days where only guys with announcer-like deep voices can get jobs, he said. Now the industry has changed. The definition of an appealing voice has become both male and female, and one that’s intimate, authentic and natural. He created Voice Coaches based on his experience with voice talent that didn’t quite know how to operate in the vocal booth. He saw a need for one-on-one training to improve professionalism and marketing. “There’s a flawed mentality – gotta make a demo first,” Bourgeois said. “But the first step is education, not a demo. I know if I look across a half million dollars worth of equipment whenever I have a professional or not. I’ve seen people who have made a great demo and then can’t deliver.” While Gallogly and Bourgeois recommend education before making a demo, Gallogly said they listen to all of the material they receive, whatever the quality. “The maximum length is a minute and 30 seconds,” Gallogly said. “You’ve lost a listener after that. The tracks can be diverse only if you are, but not if your not. Do what you do best and that’s it.” To create a demo, Gallogly stressed the importance of using license-free copy and recording on equipment that produces a network-quality product. Two tracks – about one minute to a minute and a half for several commercial clips and the same for narration – are all that are needed on a CD. Narrative clips need to be longer and fewer. “There are two types of voice work: commercial and narration. Ten percent of the field in commercial,” Gallogly said. “My advice is don’t put 100 percent into commercial, or you’ll fail.” One problem. Anybody who can read aloud wants to do voice-overs, especially when money is discussed. For a 30-60 second spot, a beginner may make between $150 and $350, Gallogly said. A seasoned pro makes approximately $300 for 15 minutes. After completing training and putting together a demo, the next step is getting hired. Gallogly said one way to start is to call a company and ask to talk to their audio visual, or AV, department. If a company has one, chances are they do their commercials and training materials on site. Frenz advised newcomers simply to type in “production companies” or “voice-overs” into Google or read reputable trade magazines for job postings. “And for me what’s also worked well is talking to people locally – networking,” she said. Another way to get clients to notice you, Bourgeois said, is to create an online profile at www.voices.com. That way, people can showcase their skills and clients can review them – without going through an agent. David Ciccarelli, 29, hatched the idea for the Web sire in 2003 with his wife, Stephanie, and launched it in 2004. It now posts 50,000 online profiles. In 2006, the Business Development Bank of Canada nominated the Ciccarelli’s for the Young Entrepreneur Award. The next “Getting Paid to Talk: session will be held April 17 at Springfield Technical Community College. People can sign up through Mary Breeding in the Continuing Education department at STCC by calling (413) 755-4501. /press.cfm/pressid/70815 Creative Voice Development Group Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST So you want to get into the voice-over business. For sure, the Internet has opened up a whole new world and work is more plentiful, but a golden voice alone won’t cut it. “As important as a person’s voice is, so too is their personality and ability to be perseverant,” said David Bourgeois, president and creative director of Schenectady based Voice Coaches, which provides voice acting training. “There is room for a much broader range of voices today, ans there has never been more opportunity in the field.” A large chunk of the business today has shifted from the commercial end to the Internet and narrative voice-work, including audio books, training and educational material, and documentaries, Bourgeois said. By most estimates, audio books are expected to increase fivefold within the next two years. Video gaming and podcasting also are red-hot, said David Ciccarelli, chief executive of Voices.com, a Canadian company that connects businesses with voice actors and voice-over talent. “All of this is creating new demand for new content because there is a new base of listeners and opportunity for advertisers,” he said, noting that the Internet and podcasting means a large audience and opportunities for more advertising dollars. “The industry is growing in leaps and bounds in terms of dollars that are being invested.” Bourgeois said the key to making it in today’s digital age is for voice-over artists to find their niche and then market themselves hard. “It is an entrepreneurial field,” he said. Many in this field are investing in expensive high-tech gadgets that allow them to work from the comfort of their home studios, which makes personal marketing and understanding technology crucial. Ciccarelli said the traditional model, in which a company often hired an advertising and talent agency, which then held a casting call, has fallen by the wayside. He said a person now needs to be able to strike a winning balance between their business, artistic and technical skills. “It’s working on your weakness and that’s how you’re going to raise your game,” Ciccarelli said. Growing opportunities led last year to the founding of Talent Guild International, which offers a kind of one-stop shopping for businesses searching for voice artists and actors in the Capital Region. Founder and president Elizabeth Colwell of Saratoga Springs said the group of about 20 actors and voice-over talent meets once a month to discuss their industry and to network. It also holds workshops and seminars. She agreed with others that the Internet has opened more doors and made the industry more competitive. Scotia resident Heather Frenz has been doing voice-over readings for online textbooks for 15 years. Though she has a small home studio, she prefers to get out of her residence and interact with people in her field. “I like working in the studio (outside) because it brings together all those creative, collective minds because you end up with a better program,” Frenz said, adding it’s also good for making business contacts. Voice Coaches’ Bourgeois said gender is not much of an issue these days, as it may have been before. “It used to be that you had to have been born with a voice for the radio, but today you have to have a voice for the specific job we’re casting,” he said. “People relate best to people they feel are similar to themselves.” /press.cfm/pressid/70808 Creative Voice Development Group Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST It’s nice work if you can get it. The dress code’s casual, the hours flexible. You can make a bundle in 60 minutes, and as you age, your opportunities are apt to increase. What’s more, everybody refers to you as “the talent,” whether or not you actually have any. A regular voice might be all you need. Male or female. Such is the state of the voice-acting business, no longer the sole province of baritones. “Everybody’s talkin’ at me,” Harry Nilsson crooned 40 years ago. Answering machines, ATM’s, elevators, Web sites, video games. “There are a lot of different voices out there now, and half of them women,” says Mike Massa, a producer with Voice Coaches of Schenectady, N.Y., who gave an introductory voice-acting class last week as a part of New London Adult and Continuing Education’s offerings. “You don’t have to be in New York or L.A.,” the 26-year-old Massa says. “Most of the work is in the big cities, sure, but so is the competition. There’s a lot of work in small markets like New London. You have to get out there and find it.” Nearly all of the half-dozen people in last week’s class had some relevant experience, be it commercial work, singing in a church group or acting in a school or community theater. Each of them stood before a microphone and read from a script. Massa edited the audio on his laptop, adding background music. Voila, a commercial voice-over. Later, Voice Coaches’ client services director, Don Bowers, a former radio disc jockey and career broadcast and public-speaking professional, provided feedback to those who had filled out a form indicating they wanted it. “He called bright and early the next morning,” Christine Benvenuti, a class participant from Old Lyme, says. “He told me I’d be better for narrative … maybe a diamond ring commercial or for an exotic getaway. …” Benvenuti, 41, who works as a stylist at Details Hair Studio in Norwich, says she’s likely to pursue voice-over work. She’s sung with wedding bands and in church choir, and is involved in recording a Christian rock opera that includes some speaking parts. “He (Bowers) said I talk a little fast, which I already know,” says Erich Greene, 36, of New Haven, who also took the class. “They liked me for high-energy (material), sarcasm, emcee-type stuff.” Greene, a research associate at Yale who holds degrees in physics from Princeton and Cornell and a doctorate in psychology from Princeton, has performed with The Funny Stages, the comedy wing of New Haven Theater Company. “What I found interesting was that people came in (to the class) thinking commercials; I came in thinking film dubs, radio dramas,” he says. “I’ve been doing improvisational comedy and I want to use my voice.” Greene says he could see doing voice-over work on the side to supplement his “academic salary,” adding, “I’m open to it taking off.” The demo. For Benvenuti, Greene and others who expect to pursue the voice-over field, an audio CD showcasing the strengths and range of one’s voice(s) is the equivalent of a resume. An all-important investment that should be professionally produced in a recording studio, according to Massa, it can cost from $1,400 to $4,500. “You hear a lot of the same voices in this business,” he says. “People think it’s an exclusionary field (but) that’s not it. We hire the same people over and over again because we know them. “(That’s why) you’ve got to make it easy for people doing the hiring. You have to have a demo.” It should have commercial and narrative tracks, says Massa, who notes that commercial work represents only 10 percent of the voice-over business. Narrative, the other 90 percent, includes audio books, educational materials, documentaries, voice-mail systems and the Internet. (Five years ago, none of the work produced by Voice Coaches’ recording studios was for the Web; this year, half of it is, says David Bourgeois, the company’s president.) The other thing a would-be voice actor must have is perseverance. Ultimately, the person in the mirror is the competition, Massa says. No two voices are the same, and few are similar. “It’s like you’re starting a small business; it’s entrepreneurial in nature,” he says. “You need to create a business plan, and you need a goal. You need to put in 15 minutes on it the first week, and the second week – and every week.” While it can be lucrative, with pay for an hour’s work ranging as high as $450 to $500, the novice should be willing to accept a lot less, he says. You might even consider doing public-service announcements for free. “Have you heard about Blue Mountain Fruit Coolers?” a participant in the class asks, reading from a script she’s been handed no more than a minute earlier. Her presentation’s a bit flat. “How would you make the copy sound more exciting?” Massa asks. “Smile,” someone suggests. Sure enough, that does the trick, the now-smiling participant’s voice full of enthusiasm as she delivers the line again. “So, what if you need to convey sarcasm?” “Roll your eyes.” The exercise demonstrates that the voice actor must be adept at reading fresh material expressively while taking direction. In the business, it’s pretty common, Massa says, to get a script 60 seconds before you have to read it aloud. “Unlike in radio and film, we don’t want you to memorize lines,” Massa says. “You don’t get to take it (the script) home with you.” Voice acting’s a collaborative process, he says, one that involves playing with different approaches. What looks good on paper sometimes doesn’t sound so good when read aloud. Words get cut. Still, the typical voice-over job takes no more than an hour, Massa says. And it doesn’t much matter what the voice actor wears to work. Sisters Julie Rue Browne and Krista Mingo, both of Waterford, decided to take the class after the death last month of their father, Robert Rue, the founding president of Mohegan Community Collage, which is now Three Rivers Community College. Mr. Rue had signed up for the class. “While I was working on his obituary, I saw the invoice (for the class) on my mother’s desk,” Browne says. “I thought I would go in his place, and Krista was thinking the same thing. He was always involved in educating himself in different arenas, even into his 70’s. I feel like I’m fulfilling an interest of his.” Browne, 31, who works as a business analyst with The Oliver Group, a Pawcatuck litigation-support company, says she’s “90 percent sure” she’ll pursue the voice-over field, including professional voice training. The day after the class, she got some encouragement. “They told me I had excellent diction,” she says! /press.cfm/pressid/70584 Creative Voice Development Group Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Thank you for reading the Hartford Courant. If you are interested in the changing and expanding voice recording industry, please continue reading. If you are not interested, please refer to the index on Page A-1 for other news and features … Sorry, I didn’t get that. Would you like to read your choices again? People will hear different voices in their heads when they read those sentences. The sound may be polite and carefully cadenced, monotonous, excited, male of female. On the phone and in the car, on the Web, radio, TV and public square, the reach and range of recorded voices is wider than ever, an expanding chorus echoing in every aspect of American life. The motorist hears not only the radio commercial voice, but also the global positioning voice and the movie trailer voice on the DVD kids are watching in the back seat. The employee hears the voice mail voice and the Web-based training voice. The consumer is confronted with recorded voices at service kiosks, retail stores, airports, museums and gas stations. In their free time, people hear recorded narratives and dialogue on websites, interactive games, audio books, TV shows and toys. Technology and a shift in marketing strategies have pushed the expansion and changing tone of the recorded voice. “The biggest change in my career has been enormous broadening in the number of voices acceptable for voice work,” said David Bourgeois, president of Voice Coaches, a voice training and production company in Schenectady, N.Y. More Voices In Voicework Before the 1970s, radio and TV commercials were dominated by “the announcer,” who was male, authoritive and not someone you would think of having a beer with. “They told you what to do,” Bourgeois said. “This is America’s favorite; do this; do that.” Today, professional voice actors are about evenly split between make and female with a wide variety of tones, styles and accents. The product selling voice has branched from the smooth announcer (think of Gary Owens on the TV show “Laugh-In”) to the girl next door or the guy on the next stool. “People realixed they wanted a real sound,” said Michael Valentin, president of New York Voiceover Academy, a training school on Long Island. “It’s all about believability and comfort nowadays,” said Marcus Graham, head of Georgia-based GM Voices. “It’s a testamonial that sounds like the girl down the street, rather than a big booming announcer that pronounces every work precisely, but there’s no sincerity in the delivery.” This shift toward the get-real delivery has opened more opportunities for voice actors, because the voice that sells sports cars or video games is not the same voice that an airline wants for its phone system. Graham, whose company produces recorded voices for corporation phone systems, the Web and other media, calls the matching of a voice to a company “voice branding.” He wrote a book on the subject called “Voice Branding in America” (2005, Vivid Voices Inc.) “The voice brand,” Graham wrote, “is that unique combination of voice talent, words, call flow, music, sound effects, technology and spirit that greets and guides callers. It’s largely experienced over the telephone today, but that’s changing.” “With the telephone, computer and television morphing into similar multifunction devices due to digital convergence, a company’s voice brand is being heard on websites, multimedia CD ROMs, kiosks, cards, point-of-purchase devices, and who knows what else.” Digital technology also has broadened opportunities for voice actors. In years past, much of the recording for commercials and other voiceovers was done in Los Angeles or New York City. Today, many voice actors record in home studios and deliver their work electronically. The cost for a home studio varies, Valentin said, but the set-up doesn’t have to be expensive. Requirements include a quite room; a computer with minimal fan noice (liquid-cooled is the best choice, Valentin said); a microphone; a headset; and processing software such as Adobe Audition. Not everyone can be a voice actor, producers and instructors say. “It’s art and science,” Graham said. “Do I believe it? Does it match the story that’s trying to be told. You can’t put this stuff on a spreedsheet.” Competitive Business Experts agreed that those interested in the field should get training and be willing to take direction just as a stage and film actor must. And don’t quit the day job. While some voice actors can make substaintial money, others will struggle (to get an idea of the marketplace for voices, visit www.voices.com or www.voice123.com). Product endorsements are only a small part of the soundboard these days, Bourgeois said. Much of the voice recording now goes directly to company-training websites, tourism, audiobooks, educational materials, documentaries and a wide variety of other applications. The good news for those who “crack the nut,” as Bourgeois put it, is the ability to make hundreds of dollars an hour. He said he was working with a voice actor recently who was to be paid $400 for about half hour’s work. Some people make $30,000 to $50,000 a year just from voice recording they do with his company, Graham said. “It’s a good time to be a talent,” he said. /press.cfm/pressid/70984 Creative Voice Development Group Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST