/ Voice Coaches press appearances. en-us Copyright 2008 CVDG / Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:11 EST CALEDONIA -- Does an uncertain economic future have you bellowing for brighter days? David Bourgeois says your voice might have a higher purpose. Opportunities for voice-over work are abundant, said the president of Schenectady, N.Y.-based Voice Coaches Creative Voice Development Group LLC. If the thought of using your pipes to hawk cat food or cheap haircuts puts you off, fear not. Commercials are but a small piece of the pie -- less than 10 percent of the market, he said. Think instead of audio books, cable television, video games -- even voice-mail recordings, Bourgeois said. "If somebody is told their whole life that they have a good voice and they should be in radio, chances are what they're being told is correct," he said. "It's not about luck. It's not about breaking in. You develop knowledge, you develop skill and you persevere." Voice Coaches has trained more than 7,000 voice actors during its 12-year existence, Bourgeois said. Mike Massa, a former voice actor for MTV, the Music Television cable channel, is to host an introductory class Monday at Duncan Lake Middle School, 9757 Duncan Lake Ave. SE. Bourgeois said the course will provide a look at pros and cons. "The class is designed for people who are curious about the voice-over field and are curious about making a go of it in their own area." The voice-over market has changed much over the past 25 years, said Bourgeois, who has worked in production his entire life. He has produced voice-overs for the Home & Garden Network show "FreeStyle" and The Learning Channel series "While You Were Out." Women's voices and those that smack of ethnic diversity are more embraced, he said. "Our field is one of a handful of fields that is currently growing dramatically," he said. Gift of gab An introductory voice class will be presented by Voice Coaches Creative Voice Development Group LLC. When: 6:30 to 9 p.m. Monday Where: Duncan Lake Middle School, 9757 Duncan Lake Ave. SE. Cost: $19. Space is limited To register: Call 891-8117 Details: voicecoaches.com /press.cfm/pressid/76343 Creative Voice Development Group Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST The woman whose recorded voice on the phone tells you, “Thank you for your patience while you hold,” probably got paid a chunk of money just to say those words. Same goes for the people whose voices populate video games, audio books, GPS devises and instructional videos. These people get paid to talk, and there’s a class that tells you how you can do it, too. “Getting Paid to Talk: Making Money With Your Voice,” is being offered Aug. 3 by the BOCES Career Training Center in Liverpool. The class is upfront about employment opportunities and pitfalls, said David Bourgeois, president and creative director of Voice Coaches, the Schenectady organization behind the class. Taking the class was the first step to Susan Oaksford, 40, of Onondaga Hill, to launch her voice-acting career. “I saw the fliers from OCM BOCES, and it was something that had always interested me, ever since I was at Disney World as a kid,” Oaksford said. The class mad her evaluate her interest with a grain of salt. “They stressed over and over that it’s not like your going to take the class and watch the money roll in.” Oaksford is an MRI technician and said she wanted to pursue voice acting as “a kind of freedom.” This month, she is working on her first voice project for Cayuga Community Health Network. She hopes to establish herself as a part-time voice actor. “Voice acting is certainly not for everyone,” Bourgeois warns, noting some people try it for a time while others have been able to spin a career out of it. David Rodwell, 60, of Winston-Salem, N.C., is one such success story. He is a self-confessed “corporate refugee” – a victim of layoffs and unsuccessful job hunting. In 2006, when Rodwell and his wife, Lynn Felder, 58, enrolled in voice training with Voice Coaches, Rodwell was struggling to live on an income of $15 per hour as a handyman. After the couple completed their training, they started a business, Silver Tongued Angels, in 2007. Today, Rodwell runs the voice-acting business full-time and makes “right close to six figures” a year, he said. “It takes a lot of work. That’s the real truth of this business. It’s not so important how good your voice is, it’s far more important to go out and do something,” Rodwell said. “Often, people will erroneously look for a way to break into the field, but voice acting is like starting a small business,” Bourgeois said. And the good news about doing freelance voice acting is that it can be flexible to your needs. “Everyone has a unique motivation. Some people want a career kind of income, and some want supplemental income,” he said. “This is a field that will usually work around other priorities. If you’re married and have kids or a day job, you don’t have to compromise those to be successful in voice acting.” Also, the industry’s growth is unique in the midst of a recession. New technologies and a need for cultural representation in media have created a broad spectrum of new work, Bourgeois said. “In the past, almost everything went to the male announcer voice. Now, there’s a broad range. Children, ethnicity, older people, younger people – it’s created a tremendous growth opportunity,” he said. /press.cfm/pressid/84214 Creative Voice Development Group Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST PITTSFIELD – Mel Blanc and Don Pardo were know best for being heard and not seen. Blanc entertained us as the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and dozens of other Warner Brother cartoon characters. Pardo was the off-screen announcer for the original Jeopardy game show in the 1960’s before gaining notoriety as the voice of Saturday Night Live. While Blanc and Pardo are among the best known American voice actors, David Bourgeois finds teachers, lawyers and other everyday working people often have the skills to make money with their mouths. “My average client has no background in the [communications] field,” said Bourgeois, the president for Voice Coaches Creative Development Group. However, the Schenectady, N.Y. –based company, which has trained more than 6,000 people as voice actors in the past 15 years, is not about finding the next big audio star. “You don’t break into this field,” Bourgeois said during a telephone interview from his office. “You become educated about the business and build success.” “People fail to recognize that voice over work is starting a small business,” he added. “They create their own big breaks.” Bourgeois said that’s the message his voice-acting instructors will try to get across Thursday night at Berkshire Community College. Voice Coaches in conducting a two-and-a-half-hour, non-credit introductory course for adults on what it takes to become a professional voice actor. Another session is planned Sept. 28. Students will learn the basics of voice acting, how to work in a recording studio and producing an audio resume – or “demo.” And like any resume, make it look professional, according to one of Voice Coaches instructors, John Gallogly, who palns to conduct the BCC class. “Don’t hand-write your name on the demo,” he said, “It looks like a mess.” Gallogly, speaking from his cell phone while on business in Virginia, said an amateurish looking recording was one of the first mistakes he made when trying to land voice acting work in the early 1990s. Since then he’s done a variety of work for commercials, music videos and Web site materials. Gallogly is best known to Berkshire television viewers as the voice of the animated cat for the Catseye pest control commercials. But Bourgeois said, “Less than 10-percent of professional voice-over work is in commercials.” Voice actors, he noted, are more likely to find jobs doing training material, video games and audio books. “Some experts are predicting the audio book field will expand [five fold] in the next few years,” Bourgeois said. However, he added, the fastest growing segment of voice acting is for Web development companies where “two or three years ago there was virtually none and now 60 percent of the business.” Bourgeois said virtually all voice acting is freelance, with pay rates from zero (for charity work) up to $10,000. He said fees more often range from $100 to a few hundred dollars per hour – about the length of one assignment. Voice actors have to find their own work, he said, and enterprise pays off. Even in Western Massachusetts, he said, opportunities lie with advertising agencies, public relations firms, recording studios and in-house audio-visual departments of big companies or organizations. He said actors need t develop a business plan with goals, educate themselves about the business, then create a professional demo CD that becomes their resume. “There’s no need for a written resume,” he said, “but have the demo professionally done.” It should have a 1½ minute track of commercial narration, he said, and 1½ minutes of other narration of interest to the actor. No matter the type of audio material involved, Gallogly said voice actors must sound natural and not like Don Pardo. “The client wants the consumer to believe the voice talent is just like them,” said Gallogly. In addition, voice actors must be conversational and believable to the audience. “When casting for medical or pharmaceutical work, I look for knowledge in the field,” said Bourgeois. “It is not just about the voice.” /press.cfm/pressid/82286 Creative Voice Development Group Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EST Their voices are everywhere – on television commercials and radio shows, Internet pod-casts and video games. Professional voice actors don’t just talk. They get paid to talk. “Overall, we’ve made a transition in our field away from hiring announcer-type voices,” said David Bourgeois, owner of Voice Coaches a New York-based training center for voice acting. “Today, we are more often looking for the ability of somebody to be conversational and believable. … We embrace a larger range of voices.” Think you’ve got the right kind of voice? On June 9, Voice Coaches is bringing n introductory workshop to Allegany College of Maryland for anybody who’s curious about the field of voice acting. The 2 ½-hour, non-credit class will include the basics of getting started, working in the studio, recording a demo and how to land jobs. It’s the first time such a course will be offered at ACM, according to a spokesperson in the school’s Continuing Education program. “The economy has really put people in the position where they’re beginning to look at ways they can build on their income,” said Bourgeois, a music producer who opened Voice Coaches 15 years ago because he saw a need for more streamlined training. Since then, the company, which employs 20, has trained more than 6,000, he said. There’s no “magic formula” for finding work as a voice actor, but the proliferation of technology has created extraordinary growth in the field, Bourgeois said. “I’ve never seen a time when there’s been more interest in it,” he said, adding that audio books and Internet voice-overs are especially popular. “We’ve never been busier.” At the June 9 workshop, participants will record a mock commercial under the direction of a Voice Coaches producer. The class will be taught by John Gallogly, senior creative director of Voice Coaches. The workshop doesn’t include a voice evaluation, which is required for anyone who seeks a professional acting job. It’s merely an introduction to the profession. “We try to present a very realistic view of this field,” Bourgeois said, adding that a Voice Coaches workshop isn’t like a model search. “The class is for people who are curious about it, people who’ve been told they have good voices, people interested in recording audio books.” /press.cfm/pressid/82295 Creative Voice Development Group Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST Maybe you’ve always been told you have a great voice. Or perhaps you have some acting experience and you’re looking for a little extra income. If you fit any of those criteria, the voice acting industry is always looking for new hires. On Thursday, an organization called Voice Coaches will host an Introduction to Voice Acting Class at Naugatuck High School at 6:30 p.m. "Getting Paid to Talk: Making Money with Your Voice," is offered through Naugatuck Adult and Continuing Education and costs $30. So what exactly is voice acting? Think: voice-overs. Anytime you hear a recorded voice any you don’t see the person, that’s voice acting. Television and radio commercials make up just 10 percent of voice acting. The majority of work comes in the form of audio books; training and education materials; documentary historical and biography materials; travel materials; audio for Web sites: audio for phone systems; and computer and video games. "The field is very broad," said David Bourgeois, president and creative director of Voice Coaches, a Schenectady, N.Y. based company that trains voice actors in the U.S., Canada and Middle East. "One of the reasons we have seen so many people curious about the industry in the past year is because of the economy. People have taken on more of an entrepreneurial mindset of doing more things on their own and taking charge of their income and working independently." The amount of money to be made doing voice acting varies widely. For example, a non-union voice actor (typically someone who does not work in a major market like New York or Los Angeles) who is reading a page or two of copy in the span of an hour might make $75 on the low side and up to $450 on the high side, Bourgeois said. The 2 1/2-hour non-credit class will explore what it takes to become a professional voice actor – from the basics of getting started to working in the studio, recording a demo and landing jobs. Class attendees will even have an opportunity to record a mock commercial under the direction of Voice Coaches producer Leslie Maielo, who will teach the class. Maiello is a career voice professional with years of experience doing jingles and other voice work. "Anybody is welcome to the class. It’s an upbeat, realistic introduction to the field," Bourgeois said, adding that the voice acting range of work has broadened in the recent years with the Internet, video games and the growth of cable TV. "I’m 43 and when I was growing up, the voice you needed for the field was a low one, but now it’s all about finding the right voice for a specific role. It’s fifty-fifty men and women of all ages." /press.cfm/pressid/84203 Creative Voice Development Group Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST “Getting Paid to Talk: Making Money with Your Voice,” a recent introductory continuing–education class at Rhinebeck High School, ended the evening with a chance for attendees to step up to the mic. “I want you to smile. I want you to slow down. I want you to have warmth, but you’re arrogant,” instructed presenter Leslie J. Maiello to a reader doing a bit about a fictitious business called SmartCar.com. Others were told to read reflectively about a restaurant and energetically about the fake theme park “Wild World.” Afterward, some participants requested an evaluation from the company where Maiello is a professional trainer and producer at Voice Coaches, based in Schenectady. One man early in the 2 ½ hour class wanted to know, in terms of meeting a client’s budget, “How much (money) sticks to the fingers of the (voice) actors?” Maiello said at the lower-paid end of the voice-over profession, about one hour of commercial work can bring in from $75 to $500. The man who asked the question left later. Those who stayed included a high school teacher, an organist, a man with acting experience, another with a remote-access business, and a high school senior. Sometimes entry-level people work for free, gradually attaining a respectable wage. Maiello said. It is rare, however, for people to reach the heights of a professional she referred to as “Middle-of-the-Road Bill,” whose first job garnered him $50 from the state’s department of correction. His stick-to-it-style, however eventually landed him a job with Kraft Foods. “One spot paid him $30,000,” Maiello said. “Do you believe that?” She told the class, nevertheless, that voice-over work is not a break-in, get-rich quick field, although it can be fun and satisfying. Interested folks who have loads of perseverance coupled with ability and financial wherewithal for study might want to check into it, she said. David Bourgeois, president and creative director of Voice Coaches, who will lead an introductory class from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Monday at BOCES in Port Ewen, said a good voice and a demo CD are only starters for people who want to join the field. He, like Maiello, stressed the importance of education in the development of professional acuity required to snag and maintain a job. Apparently, more and more people are heading his advice. “Because of this weirdness we’re going through in the economy right now, people are really looking for opportunities to take control of their own income,” he said. “(For) our professional training, the investment is greater than $3,000. I will tell you we have never been busier.” Bourgeois said opportunities for jobs in voice-over – or voice acting, a term he prefers – might be surprising. Less than 10 percent of the work is commercials, he said. The remainder is “narrative” work, which may include audio books, educational or training material; documentary, historical or biographical work and opportunities for audio, video and computer games as well as Web sites. “Audio books are expected to double in the next five years,” Maiello said. “That’s a lot of work.” But animation is the no. 1 growth area in voice-acting, she said noting that the video-game console PlayStation incorporates about 300,000 voices spread over the console’s many games. “I can’t even fathom that,” she said. One-half of voice-acting work today is for the Internet, Maiello said, including pod-casts. “That is amazing,” she said. “People are getting paid to do that.” Another element that likely surprises many people is the new direction of the voice-over field. “The type of voice we hire has changed,” Bourgeois said. “We’re really looking for believability today, somebody who can convey the message sincerely. We’re not always looking for that (deep-voiced) announcer guy.” In fact, half the people doing voice-overs are not guys at all Maiello, who is just one example. Man or woman, one thing is for sure. “Everybody is expected to know their job when they get into that control room,” she said. “If you don’t know your job, you’re not going to be working long.” /press.cfm/pressid/85809 Creative Voice Development Group Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST PLATTSBURGH — The average age of professional clients enrolled at Schenectady-based Voice Coaches is 50. They're there to learn voice acting — to master the skill of voice-over performance for radio and television commercials, for cartoons, for TV shows and movies. Some find a niche narrating talking books. That midlife foray into a new field is one David Bourgeois loves to see. "I think too few people act on the things that would really make them happy," said the Voice Coaches' president and creative director. "Often, your greatest competition is the person in the mirror." Feb. 3, Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh will offer "Getting Paid to Talk: Making Money with your Voice," a one-session intro-to-voice-acting class. The instructor will be John Gallogly, Voice Coaches senior creative director. The class is one that Bourgeois's company has put on at numerous colleges — he calls it an upbeat, even humorous session. "The goal is to entertain, educate." ENTREPRENEURIAL Gallogly, an actor since age 9 and professional announcer, will talk about what voice-over is, about the many opportunities out there (commercials account for just 10 percent, Bourgeois said). The students will work in small groups, experiment with their voices in a nonintimidating setting. And each will have an opportunity to record a short script under Gallogly's direction and to ask for feedback after class. But don't go, Bourgeois said, if you think you'll learn how to break into the business. "A lot of people somehow miss this," he said. "When you become a voice actor, you're starting a business. It's entrepreneurial." Gallogly will stress that strongly during the Clinton Community session. "The class is for those who are curious about (voice acting)," Bourgeois said. "They will probably leave with a clear perspective on whether it's something for them or if it isn't." FLEXIBILITY Bourgeois isn't a voice actor himself, although he has worked around professional recording studios his whole life. He composes music and is a producer whose credits include production of voice-overs for The Learning Channel's "While You Were Out" and "Freestyle" on Home & Garden Television. He has trained voice actors for 15 years, realizing early on, he said, "that success didn't just come down to having a good voice and demo." He doesn't recommend anyone give up a job to go full time into voice acting. "You don't have to marry this," he said. "Just take a little time each week to build success." Voice acting offers a lot of flexibility, he added. "You don't have to travel to do it — many do it from home." FINDING A NICHE Voice Coaches isn't an agency that finds work for actors, Bourgeois emphasized, and he warns against falling for advertisements from companies that promise gigs in return for taking their training classes. Such promotions aren't ethical, he said. "Training companies should focus on education; agencies should focus on casting." Those who train at Voice Coaches first undergo an evaluation to determine whether they are suitable for the program. The training is one-on-one, including private sessions, demo development and lessons in marketing. The program costs $3,250; most complete it within a three-month period, Bourgeois said. And in the process, he said, helps clients find what niche best suits their voice, their abilities and their interests. The class at Clinton Community gives just a taste of how that all unfolds. "Go, get your feet wet," Bourgeois encouraged those tempted to give it a try. The field is a lot of fun." E-mail Suzanne Moore at: smoore@pressrepublican.com /press.cfm/pressid/75922 Creative Voice Development Group Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 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 Wengernuk 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