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Voice Coaches Radio #523 – Top Of the Mornin’ To Ya!
Voice Coaches Radio. Everything voiceover. Welcome to another episode of Voice Coaches Radio. I hope this is finding you well. If you are listening to this on release week, then you are well aware that things are about to get sloppy, uh, because everybody is, uh, Irish this week. It is St. Patrick's Week. As of yesterday, it was officially St.
Patrick's Day, but this is the weekend that all the debauchery happens, right? I mean, like, I mean, I will say this. I... I realized, God, only a couple years ago, I think, that, uh, like, my family thought that we were more Italian than anything, and then it was like, I had this epiphany one day where I'm like, wait a minute.
Nana's a hundred percent Irish. That means that we are more Irish than anything because I am at least a quarter Irish now, right? Like, I mean, I know my math is bad. I should never ever do math, but I'm, I'm pretty sure, uh, that, that we are more Irish than anything, or at least I am. So... I mean, why am I not drinking right now?
Nobody would hold that against me, right? You know, it's funny though. I was actually just pointing this out to a student yesterday who had a demo that uh, I have in my cup right now is it's Cran Raz Seltzer. So it's LaCroix Cran Raz and. What I mix with it is these like iced tea drops that are zero calorie just to like mix things up But here's the thing when I make a vodka drink at home, I'm just gonna throw it out there It's usually like a raspberry flavored vodka mixed with a little bit of seltzer and those iced tea drops So basically right now it does it's almost like placebo effect that it feels like I am doing something I shouldn't be here in the office.
I'm like having my little vodka drink and then I'm about to go crazy and get a little loopy. Uh, but whatever to each their own. It's, it's St. Patrick's day and that's going to be my excuse for any ridiculousness that happens today on the pod. But listen, thank you for hanging out with me. You know, I know it's It's been a little bit of an adjustment here getting used to the solo ride of things But I will admit it feels like i'm right back in the radio studio and and doing things kind of live It's just there's no commercial break, which I think you're probably thankful for.
I know I am. I mean, uh, I know they They pay the bills and, uh, and you know, they're, they're exactly why a lot of us honestly want to get into voiceover in the first place. But you know, a lot of us just want to get to the heart and the meat of things. And that's the fun stuff. But now that you have started diving into voice, I mean, let's be honest.
Sometimes we do set a set around and like just listen a little bit deeper to those commercials and those voices and how things are done. Um, you know, I. I very much remember when I was starting in radio and, like, they hadn't given me any commercial copy yet at the radio station. I was brand new. I was doing overnights.
You know, when you're doing overnights, which really is not even a thing anymore because, I mean, technology, uh, but when you're doing a position like that, you're not around a lot of people. Cause I mean, who else is going to be hanging out in the overnight? It's usually just that person kind of overseeing all the radio stations in the building and like trying to stay awake and be perky to do your own show.
I remember I used to get so frustrated because there was this one commercial that, I'm not going to call anybody out here, but it was voiced by somebody else that also worked on the same station. And I just remember being like, man, she sounds awful, like why? And I had to listen to it a million times. And I was just like, can you please let me redo this?
Like I will do it so much better. And eventually they actually did give me that copy. I can't tell you. I mean, I probably did it like 50 times before. I was like, you know what, this is the one I'm going to send them in. I'm not going to sue my own horn. Yes, I am. Of course I am. It sounded so much better.
But sometimes you just have to wrap your head around things a little bit differently. And, and I always looked at things because I remember, you know, in radio school, it was very much like conversational tone. It was very much you're talking to your best friend. That was all they gave me. I had nothing else to go on.
But because of that. I just started kind of building my ear to what conversational sounds sounded like and I knew that what she was doing was not that and it was very reedy and I was very upset by it so, you know, I was kind of proud of myself for being so new and being able to create something that was so So much better than what somebody who was a little bit more seasoned than I was doing, you know, um, so, so that was just, you know, me patting myself on the back a little bit as a, as a newbie, but here's the thing is, is you are like getting into this industry, like some of the questions that I get a lot are, are very much the same, it's like, how much time do you get to review copy?
How are sessions run? How long do I get to work with a particular project? Will they expect perfection quickly? You know, and, My, my short answer is every single project is different. They are. I mean, you are going to work with different people. It is going to be... It might be a commercial one time, it might be an audio book another, it might be something that's more educational or instructional and something else, like every single scenario, every single situation, every project will be different.
And it's kind of hard, even now, here I am almost 20 years in, sometimes it's hard for me to wrap my head around it, you know, because I'll also get the question of like, well, I mean, how much do I charge? For me, I still, I'm like, I don't know, uh, you know, it's, it's tough because you don't want to, I've always been that person where it's like, I don't want to say too much because I don't want it to be all of a sudden a no, like they're just going to say flat out no and then not even come back with an offer.
Um, you know, so I kind of always try to work with somebody's budget, but you know, when it comes to these sessions, what I'll tell you. You know, the, the big, we'll start with that first question of like, how much time do you get to review copy? Sometimes not much. I'll be honest. Sometimes it is not much at all.
Uh, but then there's other projects where, you know, maybe you're working on your own timetable. You know, maybe it's an audio book and you get that whole audio book. And do you have the time to go ahead and read the whole thing before you go ahead and actually do it? Maybe. It depends on when that. That due date is set.
You know, if you're doing this project from home, then it is working around your own schedule when you can record and when you're going to be able to reach that deadline. So if you decide, you know what, I got nothing but time. I'm going to go ahead. I'm going to read this book, not once, but twice, then, you know, more power to you.
Uh, but you know, first audio book I did. I mean, I'm over here doing like six jobs. I'm like, I'm just going to go downstairs when I can in my studio. I'm going to hit that record button and I'm going to hope for the best. And I will, you know, say that I am very much, you know, intricately listening to even myself as I'm recording stuff.
So, you know, I feel like no matter what I do, I give a thousand percent. So I'm never really concerned about what the. The final product is going to be, but it can be a little nerve wracking and it can be frustrating as somebody like myself who is slightly dyslexic, reading something for the first time on a whim, it can not go very well, let's face it, I mean, sometimes it is messy and I had to realize It's what I do naturally to allow things to flow a little better.
And for me, it is talking with my hands a lot, even though nobody can see me, you know, maybe that's why I thought it was Italian this entire time so much more than anything else. Uh, it's just because I'm very, very animated and movement and motion, but, um, but yeah, like, you know, time, time again, it depends on the project.
You know, you're going to find, say. You get hired for a commercial or something and you might get the commercial itself a couple days in advance, but then you like you get on site and they're like, Hey, here's a, here's a new revision. We changed a couple things. Take a look over it. You know, like that's, that's what happens in this kind of business is like, things are constantly being reviewed.
Things are constantly being updated and, um, you know, just checked for grammatical. things. And if you're, if you're doing like bigger projects in, in bigger markets like that, it's, there's a whole department for that. You know, if you're working in a smaller market, you know, somebody that wrote that copy probably had no business writing that copy in the first place.
So it might be a little messy. Uh, but you know, again, everything is going to be different. How our sessions run, same thing. Everything is different, but you know, if you're working from home, you know how your sessions run. You do that on your timetable. You do that your way. Send in what you've recorded, you get some feedback, maybe you do it again.
Um, you know, but if you're there physically with other people, you know, it depends on who's being, who's partaking in this project. There might be, you know, a few different people that are there listening, but you've got that producer on site. They're going to let you know in the recording and you guys work together.
You work together to get the project to where it needs to be, to what the client is expecting, you know, because. You know, it's a team effort. You just happen to be the one that is going to provide the final product. You're just all working together to get it to where it needs to be, where you can perform it to the, what their expectations are.
So how long do you get to work with a particular project? It's all of when the due date is set, you know, sometimes they want things rather quickly. Sometimes you've got, you know, some, some time to play around with, you know, to, to kind of, I don't know, perfect things in your own kind of manner. And then, and then the last question, you know, will they expect perfection quickly?
I don't think there's a human being on the planet that can be perfect. Let's face it. I mean, that is an unattainable goal, but Will they be guiding you to get you to what they feel like is what the project needs and what the overall goals and intentions may be in the mind of what they wanted out of this project were, they're going to guide you.
Yeah, and hopefully, you know, the session is. for the allotted time that you need, you know, they're, they're usually pretty good about understanding how much time they're going to need and sometimes they book too much just to make sure that they don't have to book more time, you know, um, so every single project is going to be different and, you know, really what you can do for yourself is just be kind to yourself along the way, you know, and understand that Perfection is unattainable, you're going to fumble, you're going to fall, but you're going to have a team to help lift you back up, you know, we're all here for the same purpose and it's all to just, you know, go ahead and have a good time and enjoy what we do and, and, you know, knock that project out of the park, whatever it might be, so don't be too hard on yourself and, and know that, yeah.
Everything gets easier with time and, um, yeah, it's, it's just, every project is going to be so much fun and the more comfortable you get, the more fun you have. But that is what I got for you for today. Again, I hope St. Paddy's Day weekend is going to be fantastic for you. If you are listening to this and it's like sometime down the line and it's like mid June, I mean, I say you just tip one back anyway because it's five o'clock somewhere.
All the time, like literally everywhere. Uh, but uh, have a fantastic weekend, and we'll be talking to you soon. If you got a question that you want answered on the pod here at Voice Coaches Radio, just send in an email to info at voicecoaches. com, and we'll be getting to it very, very soon. Have a great weekend, guys.
I'll be talking to you next week. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
Patrick's Day, but this is the weekend that all the debauchery happens, right? I mean, like, I mean, I will say this. I... I realized, God, only a couple years ago, I think, that, uh, like, my family thought that we were more Italian than anything, and then it was like, I had this epiphany one day where I'm like, wait a minute.
Nana's a hundred percent Irish. That means that we are more Irish than anything because I am at least a quarter Irish now, right? Like, I mean, I know my math is bad. I should never ever do math, but I'm, I'm pretty sure, uh, that, that we are more Irish than anything, or at least I am. So... I mean, why am I not drinking right now?
Nobody would hold that against me, right? You know, it's funny though. I was actually just pointing this out to a student yesterday who had a demo that uh, I have in my cup right now is it's Cran Raz Seltzer. So it's LaCroix Cran Raz and. What I mix with it is these like iced tea drops that are zero calorie just to like mix things up But here's the thing when I make a vodka drink at home, I'm just gonna throw it out there It's usually like a raspberry flavored vodka mixed with a little bit of seltzer and those iced tea drops So basically right now it does it's almost like placebo effect that it feels like I am doing something I shouldn't be here in the office.
I'm like having my little vodka drink and then I'm about to go crazy and get a little loopy. Uh, but whatever to each their own. It's, it's St. Patrick's day and that's going to be my excuse for any ridiculousness that happens today on the pod. But listen, thank you for hanging out with me. You know, I know it's It's been a little bit of an adjustment here getting used to the solo ride of things But I will admit it feels like i'm right back in the radio studio and and doing things kind of live It's just there's no commercial break, which I think you're probably thankful for.
I know I am. I mean, uh, I know they They pay the bills and, uh, and you know, they're, they're exactly why a lot of us honestly want to get into voiceover in the first place. But you know, a lot of us just want to get to the heart and the meat of things. And that's the fun stuff. But now that you have started diving into voice, I mean, let's be honest.
Sometimes we do set a set around and like just listen a little bit deeper to those commercials and those voices and how things are done. Um, you know, I. I very much remember when I was starting in radio and, like, they hadn't given me any commercial copy yet at the radio station. I was brand new. I was doing overnights.
You know, when you're doing overnights, which really is not even a thing anymore because, I mean, technology, uh, but when you're doing a position like that, you're not around a lot of people. Cause I mean, who else is going to be hanging out in the overnight? It's usually just that person kind of overseeing all the radio stations in the building and like trying to stay awake and be perky to do your own show.
I remember I used to get so frustrated because there was this one commercial that, I'm not going to call anybody out here, but it was voiced by somebody else that also worked on the same station. And I just remember being like, man, she sounds awful, like why? And I had to listen to it a million times. And I was just like, can you please let me redo this?
Like I will do it so much better. And eventually they actually did give me that copy. I can't tell you. I mean, I probably did it like 50 times before. I was like, you know what, this is the one I'm going to send them in. I'm not going to sue my own horn. Yes, I am. Of course I am. It sounded so much better.
But sometimes you just have to wrap your head around things a little bit differently. And, and I always looked at things because I remember, you know, in radio school, it was very much like conversational tone. It was very much you're talking to your best friend. That was all they gave me. I had nothing else to go on.
But because of that. I just started kind of building my ear to what conversational sounds sounded like and I knew that what she was doing was not that and it was very reedy and I was very upset by it so, you know, I was kind of proud of myself for being so new and being able to create something that was so So much better than what somebody who was a little bit more seasoned than I was doing, you know, um, so, so that was just, you know, me patting myself on the back a little bit as a, as a newbie, but here's the thing is, is you are like getting into this industry, like some of the questions that I get a lot are, are very much the same, it's like, how much time do you get to review copy?
How are sessions run? How long do I get to work with a particular project? Will they expect perfection quickly? You know, and, My, my short answer is every single project is different. They are. I mean, you are going to work with different people. It is going to be... It might be a commercial one time, it might be an audio book another, it might be something that's more educational or instructional and something else, like every single scenario, every single situation, every project will be different.
And it's kind of hard, even now, here I am almost 20 years in, sometimes it's hard for me to wrap my head around it, you know, because I'll also get the question of like, well, I mean, how much do I charge? For me, I still, I'm like, I don't know, uh, you know, it's, it's tough because you don't want to, I've always been that person where it's like, I don't want to say too much because I don't want it to be all of a sudden a no, like they're just going to say flat out no and then not even come back with an offer.
Um, you know, so I kind of always try to work with somebody's budget, but you know, when it comes to these sessions, what I'll tell you. You know, the, the big, we'll start with that first question of like, how much time do you get to review copy? Sometimes not much. I'll be honest. Sometimes it is not much at all.
Uh, but then there's other projects where, you know, maybe you're working on your own timetable. You know, maybe it's an audio book and you get that whole audio book. And do you have the time to go ahead and read the whole thing before you go ahead and actually do it? Maybe. It depends on when that. That due date is set.
You know, if you're doing this project from home, then it is working around your own schedule when you can record and when you're going to be able to reach that deadline. So if you decide, you know what, I got nothing but time. I'm going to go ahead. I'm going to read this book, not once, but twice, then, you know, more power to you.
Uh, but you know, first audio book I did. I mean, I'm over here doing like six jobs. I'm like, I'm just going to go downstairs when I can in my studio. I'm going to hit that record button and I'm going to hope for the best. And I will, you know, say that I am very much, you know, intricately listening to even myself as I'm recording stuff.
So, you know, I feel like no matter what I do, I give a thousand percent. So I'm never really concerned about what the. The final product is going to be, but it can be a little nerve wracking and it can be frustrating as somebody like myself who is slightly dyslexic, reading something for the first time on a whim, it can not go very well, let's face it, I mean, sometimes it is messy and I had to realize It's what I do naturally to allow things to flow a little better.
And for me, it is talking with my hands a lot, even though nobody can see me, you know, maybe that's why I thought it was Italian this entire time so much more than anything else. Uh, it's just because I'm very, very animated and movement and motion, but, um, but yeah, like, you know, time, time again, it depends on the project.
You know, you're going to find, say. You get hired for a commercial or something and you might get the commercial itself a couple days in advance, but then you like you get on site and they're like, Hey, here's a, here's a new revision. We changed a couple things. Take a look over it. You know, like that's, that's what happens in this kind of business is like, things are constantly being reviewed.
Things are constantly being updated and, um, you know, just checked for grammatical. things. And if you're, if you're doing like bigger projects in, in bigger markets like that, it's, there's a whole department for that. You know, if you're working in a smaller market, you know, somebody that wrote that copy probably had no business writing that copy in the first place.
So it might be a little messy. Uh, but you know, again, everything is going to be different. How our sessions run, same thing. Everything is different, but you know, if you're working from home, you know how your sessions run. You do that on your timetable. You do that your way. Send in what you've recorded, you get some feedback, maybe you do it again.
Um, you know, but if you're there physically with other people, you know, it depends on who's being, who's partaking in this project. There might be, you know, a few different people that are there listening, but you've got that producer on site. They're going to let you know in the recording and you guys work together.
You work together to get the project to where it needs to be, to what the client is expecting, you know, because. You know, it's a team effort. You just happen to be the one that is going to provide the final product. You're just all working together to get it to where it needs to be, where you can perform it to the, what their expectations are.
So how long do you get to work with a particular project? It's all of when the due date is set, you know, sometimes they want things rather quickly. Sometimes you've got, you know, some, some time to play around with, you know, to, to kind of, I don't know, perfect things in your own kind of manner. And then, and then the last question, you know, will they expect perfection quickly?
I don't think there's a human being on the planet that can be perfect. Let's face it. I mean, that is an unattainable goal, but Will they be guiding you to get you to what they feel like is what the project needs and what the overall goals and intentions may be in the mind of what they wanted out of this project were, they're going to guide you.
Yeah, and hopefully, you know, the session is. for the allotted time that you need, you know, they're, they're usually pretty good about understanding how much time they're going to need and sometimes they book too much just to make sure that they don't have to book more time, you know, um, so every single project is going to be different and, you know, really what you can do for yourself is just be kind to yourself along the way, you know, and understand that Perfection is unattainable, you're going to fumble, you're going to fall, but you're going to have a team to help lift you back up, you know, we're all here for the same purpose and it's all to just, you know, go ahead and have a good time and enjoy what we do and, and, you know, knock that project out of the park, whatever it might be, so don't be too hard on yourself and, and know that, yeah.
Everything gets easier with time and, um, yeah, it's, it's just, every project is going to be so much fun and the more comfortable you get, the more fun you have. But that is what I got for you for today. Again, I hope St. Paddy's Day weekend is going to be fantastic for you. If you are listening to this and it's like sometime down the line and it's like mid June, I mean, I say you just tip one back anyway because it's five o'clock somewhere.
All the time, like literally everywhere. Uh, but uh, have a fantastic weekend, and we'll be talking to you soon. If you got a question that you want answered on the pod here at Voice Coaches Radio, just send in an email to info at voicecoaches. com, and we'll be getting to it very, very soon. Have a great weekend, guys.
I'll be talking to you next week. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa chats about the questions she gets allll the time: How long will I have to review copy? And how long is a session typically? There’s a short answer but you might not like it!
