VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #585 – Prep For Anything
Voice coaches, radio, everything voiceover. Welcome to a brand new episode of voice coaches radio. My name is Marissa and I hope that you are ready for the Memorial day weekends. I mean, it's finally here. I looking at our forecasts all this past week, it has been a. A back and forth fiasco. Like, I didn't know what was gonna happen.
I still don't really know what's about to happen. I'm just hoping that it's nice. Uh, you know, cause one forecast is saying sunny and like, 75. Uh, and then the other is like, yeah, 75, but rain. Duh. Uh, but, so, it's like a wait and see kind of situation. So, it's a good thing I don't have any like, actual plans set in place.
But I will admit, I would have made plans. If I had more of a definitive forecast, you know what I mean? Like, I'm not gonna waste my money on potentially trying to go and enjoy some sort of body of water if, uh, if it's just not gonna be worth my time, you know what I mean? So hopefully in your case, you are able to go ahead and enjoy the weekend no matter what it is, uh, gonna bring to you.
It tends to be a time of parades and remembrance and also just like a lot of barbecues. So as long as you get some good, you know, friend and family time, I think that it's going to be a solid, uh, solid weekend. You know, as we're getting into a brand new episode here, I have something that I feel like is really important to just throw out there as a reminder, um, you know, because it's like I get all these classes under my belt sitting, you know, we get to that one right before we get to a demo session and I get a lot of the same questions over and over and over again and I get that, um, you know, but every once in a while, you know, you get a little So, Screwball of a question thrown your way, but it all kind of leads to the same thing and it's like being prepared For for the day itself and and whatever's thrown at you and that's the thing right you could almost never know What is going to be thrown at you?
Any recording session with any project with with any situation of a director or producer a company that you're hired for and to work with so What do you do? I mean my big advice for a lot of people especially lately is just that you've got to be prepared For literally anything and everything, you know, it's kind of going in with that mental clarity and not just like You know, building something up, you know, and having it sit on this giant pedestal of greatness.
And then, you know, going in and feeling like, you know, you've been let down because there's really only one way for something to go if you've built it up, you know? It's like, it's, almost nothing lives up to the, uh, expectation that's, you know, we give it ahead of time. But the basics of all basics before you are leading into a session, it's like, you know, you've been hired for something, you know, you've got your demo day coming up, you know, you got to do the smart things, which is just the things that you can get your body ready with.
To reiterate quick from past episodes, if you don't have the allergy pill in your body consistently leading up to that session, it will not work. If you are already showing sniffly symptoms like I am this morning, it is, uh, it's just, you know, it's like too late, you know, like that, that medicine is not going to kick in.
The way it needs to for that session, you've got to have it built up into your system. For me, you know, seasons are still changing and, uh, you know, things have been growing and I just sound like this all the time, every morning. So it's just like, I know that about myself too, that sessions need to be typically like an hour from now.
And for this... You know, sometimes it's, it's worthwhile to sound a little stuffy. Uh, but you want to make sure you're getting enough rest. You want to make sure that you are, you know, staying away from caffeine. You're staying away from dairy. That you have been practicing, not necessarily the pieces for the the demo or for you know the project because in some cases you might not have that script but you know if you're consistently reading out loud and you're getting you know that eye to mouth coordination continuously built up you're just going to be a stronger talent walking into the studio that day so consistency is key now When it comes to these different projects, you know, it can be a free for all.
I mean, you, you can almost never really know what to expect unless you've worked with that set of people before. And I think, you know, mentally preparing ahead of time as you're going in can just be an added strength for yourself because I'm not going to say like it's, it's setting up a little wall of like Uh, boundary from, from ego knocking or whatever, but it's, it's just allowing potential anxiousness or other feelings to, to be drudged up in a quick manner.
You know what I mean? So it's like that mental preparedness is very important because You are gonna get feedback, you know, and you've got to be willing to hear the feedback You've got to be accepting of the feedback because you know, we all go in with the creative, you know It's like we all go in and we give what we've got and here's what we think that we should be doing with this project And then we have to have the realization of like, oh, right.
Somebody else has hired me for this, and they are going to now guide me to what they want. Your creative is important, and your creative may allow them to kind of have some eye opening moments of things that maybe they overlooked. That, that are beautiful for whatever piece it is. Uh, but, at the end of the day, you know, that person that has hired you is going to be then...
You know, getting you to where it needs to be in their mind. Um, and you gotta be willing to accept that feedback, and you gotta be willing to accept that direction, and, you know, go ahead and just keep moving forward with it. You also have to prepare to do more than you think you're gonna need to. You know, we go in, and maybe we had the script ahead of time, and we're like, ah, cakewalk, I got this.
And then all of a sudden, you're like, 20 takes in, you're like, what? Why is this taking me so long? Uh, again, it goes back to the feedback and it goes back to the direction, right? So you've got to be mentally prepared that this is not going to be a simple, smooth process always that, you know, maybe it doesn't take just 15, 20, 30 minutes for a smaller project.
Maybe all of a sudden it's, it's taken an hour and a half because they are going to nitpick depending on the You know, the bigness overall of the project, how important it is for that, that company. Um, so be prepared for that because man, that can really trip you up if you're like, Oh God, I thought this was gonna be like a three take thing and all of a sudden I'm 20 takes in.
You get, you start like nitpicking yourself. You start like saying, Maybe I'm not as good at this as I thought I was. Uh, you know, and I don't want to see that happen either. Just know that you were hired already because they like you. So you've brought some great stuff to the table. They just have, you know, a certain, uh, I guess goal in mind that they want to end up getting to.
And with that, it's like you also want to be like, Hey, I can't take this personally. It has nothing to do with, with what you've brought to the table, right? Like, you're creative, like I said, it may have shined a light on something that they overlooked. But, you know, it's like they have their goal in mind, and that's why you don't want to take anything too personally.
Um, and that goes, you know, right back to what we were saying, like, you start taking it too personally, then you start knocking yourself. And, um, you know, it's, that can just totally destroy, uh, what you're providing at the end. At the end game, you know what I mean? Like, you don't want to... end up knocking yourself because you're, you're just making it so your confidence level is down and you're not necessarily providing the best of the best of you in a moment where you really need to get to remember that you're working as a team.
I think that is always very important. You know, some people, not all people, in fact, not most people in this industry, but some people Develop quite the ego over time and, uh, you just kind of have to always remember that anything is a team effort, uh, you know, you're the one who's kind of like dance monkey dance at some point, you know, you're the talent that has to provide, you know, what is going to end up being heard, uh, you know, by the mass public.
So it's like you, you are the one that obviously is, is given the goods, but. You know, it is a collaborative effort to get whatever to where it needs to be. So you just always have to remind yourself of like, Hey, it's not just me. This is a team effort. And the director is always right. Uh, you know, because they are the ones that they know what the be all end all needs to be.
And you, you're not necessarily in that, uh, that inner circle to know what, what exactly it is until that moment. So team effort, director's always right. Most important thing is to have fun. You know, when we start looking at a lot of this as like, This is, this is work. Uh, this is my be all end all when it comes to financials.
Um, you know, I, I gotta knock this out of the park so I can make sure that I work with these guys again. We, we, we make things too heavy. You know, we're, we're like, Walking around with a boulder on our shoulders and and that can really just weigh everything down I always love to remind students It's like nobody gets into this industry to not enjoy themselves to not have fun And I'm not telling you to not take it seriously.
You want to take things seriously But if you're putting so much pressure on yourself You're also not allowing yourself to shine in the best of ways. So, you have to go in with that mental clarity ahead of time. You know, it's like, here, here are some things that I need to remind myself of, and I need the most, like, the biggest thing overall.
I need to go in and have fun. Because the more fun that you have, the more it reflects in that audio. No matter what the tone of the piece needs to be. Whether it is something very excitable and fun. Or maybe it's something a little bit more on the somber side. If you're enjoying what you're doing, it is reflected.
The care is there, you know what I mean? So you've gotta go in and have that, that clarity overall. Uh, but, this is just like one of those things that just hit me. You know, I've been, I've been kind of reiterating it over and over and over again for the last couple weeks. And it's like, you know what? I think it's worthy of talking about.
Uh, it, just because it's like I get into some of these projects too. And I, I can be really hard on myself. Especially like with radio, there's ratings involved. You know, so it's like sometimes those ratings come out and I'm like, well, what am I doing wrong? And it doesn't necessarily mean i'm doing anything wrong.
It's based on who wrote something down uh that they remembered they listened to or You know incorrectly wrote down because they thought they were listening to something else. See how that happens Or in the bigger markets, you know, people are sent something to wear. So it's not even necessarily catching what somebody wants to listen to, it's what they're exposed to instead.
And, like, if somebody's in an office all day and, you know, they're stuck listening to a station they don't want to listen to, uh, so what? That station's still getting their, uh, They're raiding, you know, so it's, it's a weird little market and game that we play. Uh, but that's why again, you can't take anything too personally, which is why I just kind of go in every day.
I'm like, you know what? I'm going to kill this. I'm going to have a blast doing it and I'm just going to go and be authentically myself. And, and kill it. Um, and that is always my mental clarity going into anything. Um, so hopefully this episode has given you some mental clarity in general. Uh, but we will have a brand new topic coming at you when it comes to voiceover and voice coaches radio next week.
Hey, do me a favor. You got something you want discussed. Info at voicecoaches. com. Let's go ahead. Let's get some more listener questions in and on. And so yeah, brand new episode is coming next week. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and stay safe. Everybody.
Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news.
I still don't really know what's about to happen. I'm just hoping that it's nice. Uh, you know, cause one forecast is saying sunny and like, 75. Uh, and then the other is like, yeah, 75, but rain. Duh. Uh, but, so, it's like a wait and see kind of situation. So, it's a good thing I don't have any like, actual plans set in place.
But I will admit, I would have made plans. If I had more of a definitive forecast, you know what I mean? Like, I'm not gonna waste my money on potentially trying to go and enjoy some sort of body of water if, uh, if it's just not gonna be worth my time, you know what I mean? So hopefully in your case, you are able to go ahead and enjoy the weekend no matter what it is, uh, gonna bring to you.
It tends to be a time of parades and remembrance and also just like a lot of barbecues. So as long as you get some good, you know, friend and family time, I think that it's going to be a solid, uh, solid weekend. You know, as we're getting into a brand new episode here, I have something that I feel like is really important to just throw out there as a reminder, um, you know, because it's like I get all these classes under my belt sitting, you know, we get to that one right before we get to a demo session and I get a lot of the same questions over and over and over again and I get that, um, you know, but every once in a while, you know, you get a little So, Screwball of a question thrown your way, but it all kind of leads to the same thing and it's like being prepared For for the day itself and and whatever's thrown at you and that's the thing right you could almost never know What is going to be thrown at you?
Any recording session with any project with with any situation of a director or producer a company that you're hired for and to work with so What do you do? I mean my big advice for a lot of people especially lately is just that you've got to be prepared For literally anything and everything, you know, it's kind of going in with that mental clarity and not just like You know, building something up, you know, and having it sit on this giant pedestal of greatness.
And then, you know, going in and feeling like, you know, you've been let down because there's really only one way for something to go if you've built it up, you know? It's like, it's, almost nothing lives up to the, uh, expectation that's, you know, we give it ahead of time. But the basics of all basics before you are leading into a session, it's like, you know, you've been hired for something, you know, you've got your demo day coming up, you know, you got to do the smart things, which is just the things that you can get your body ready with.
To reiterate quick from past episodes, if you don't have the allergy pill in your body consistently leading up to that session, it will not work. If you are already showing sniffly symptoms like I am this morning, it is, uh, it's just, you know, it's like too late, you know, like that, that medicine is not going to kick in.
The way it needs to for that session, you've got to have it built up into your system. For me, you know, seasons are still changing and, uh, you know, things have been growing and I just sound like this all the time, every morning. So it's just like, I know that about myself too, that sessions need to be typically like an hour from now.
And for this... You know, sometimes it's, it's worthwhile to sound a little stuffy. Uh, but you want to make sure you're getting enough rest. You want to make sure that you are, you know, staying away from caffeine. You're staying away from dairy. That you have been practicing, not necessarily the pieces for the the demo or for you know the project because in some cases you might not have that script but you know if you're consistently reading out loud and you're getting you know that eye to mouth coordination continuously built up you're just going to be a stronger talent walking into the studio that day so consistency is key now When it comes to these different projects, you know, it can be a free for all.
I mean, you, you can almost never really know what to expect unless you've worked with that set of people before. And I think, you know, mentally preparing ahead of time as you're going in can just be an added strength for yourself because I'm not going to say like it's, it's setting up a little wall of like Uh, boundary from, from ego knocking or whatever, but it's, it's just allowing potential anxiousness or other feelings to, to be drudged up in a quick manner.
You know what I mean? So it's like that mental preparedness is very important because You are gonna get feedback, you know, and you've got to be willing to hear the feedback You've got to be accepting of the feedback because you know, we all go in with the creative, you know It's like we all go in and we give what we've got and here's what we think that we should be doing with this project And then we have to have the realization of like, oh, right.
Somebody else has hired me for this, and they are going to now guide me to what they want. Your creative is important, and your creative may allow them to kind of have some eye opening moments of things that maybe they overlooked. That, that are beautiful for whatever piece it is. Uh, but, at the end of the day, you know, that person that has hired you is going to be then...
You know, getting you to where it needs to be in their mind. Um, and you gotta be willing to accept that feedback, and you gotta be willing to accept that direction, and, you know, go ahead and just keep moving forward with it. You also have to prepare to do more than you think you're gonna need to. You know, we go in, and maybe we had the script ahead of time, and we're like, ah, cakewalk, I got this.
And then all of a sudden, you're like, 20 takes in, you're like, what? Why is this taking me so long? Uh, again, it goes back to the feedback and it goes back to the direction, right? So you've got to be mentally prepared that this is not going to be a simple, smooth process always that, you know, maybe it doesn't take just 15, 20, 30 minutes for a smaller project.
Maybe all of a sudden it's, it's taken an hour and a half because they are going to nitpick depending on the You know, the bigness overall of the project, how important it is for that, that company. Um, so be prepared for that because man, that can really trip you up if you're like, Oh God, I thought this was gonna be like a three take thing and all of a sudden I'm 20 takes in.
You get, you start like nitpicking yourself. You start like saying, Maybe I'm not as good at this as I thought I was. Uh, you know, and I don't want to see that happen either. Just know that you were hired already because they like you. So you've brought some great stuff to the table. They just have, you know, a certain, uh, I guess goal in mind that they want to end up getting to.
And with that, it's like you also want to be like, Hey, I can't take this personally. It has nothing to do with, with what you've brought to the table, right? Like, you're creative, like I said, it may have shined a light on something that they overlooked. But, you know, it's like they have their goal in mind, and that's why you don't want to take anything too personally.
Um, and that goes, you know, right back to what we were saying, like, you start taking it too personally, then you start knocking yourself. And, um, you know, it's, that can just totally destroy, uh, what you're providing at the end. At the end game, you know what I mean? Like, you don't want to... end up knocking yourself because you're, you're just making it so your confidence level is down and you're not necessarily providing the best of the best of you in a moment where you really need to get to remember that you're working as a team.
I think that is always very important. You know, some people, not all people, in fact, not most people in this industry, but some people Develop quite the ego over time and, uh, you just kind of have to always remember that anything is a team effort, uh, you know, you're the one who's kind of like dance monkey dance at some point, you know, you're the talent that has to provide, you know, what is going to end up being heard, uh, you know, by the mass public.
So it's like you, you are the one that obviously is, is given the goods, but. You know, it is a collaborative effort to get whatever to where it needs to be. So you just always have to remind yourself of like, Hey, it's not just me. This is a team effort. And the director is always right. Uh, you know, because they are the ones that they know what the be all end all needs to be.
And you, you're not necessarily in that, uh, that inner circle to know what, what exactly it is until that moment. So team effort, director's always right. Most important thing is to have fun. You know, when we start looking at a lot of this as like, This is, this is work. Uh, this is my be all end all when it comes to financials.
Um, you know, I, I gotta knock this out of the park so I can make sure that I work with these guys again. We, we, we make things too heavy. You know, we're, we're like, Walking around with a boulder on our shoulders and and that can really just weigh everything down I always love to remind students It's like nobody gets into this industry to not enjoy themselves to not have fun And I'm not telling you to not take it seriously.
You want to take things seriously But if you're putting so much pressure on yourself You're also not allowing yourself to shine in the best of ways. So, you have to go in with that mental clarity ahead of time. You know, it's like, here, here are some things that I need to remind myself of, and I need the most, like, the biggest thing overall.
I need to go in and have fun. Because the more fun that you have, the more it reflects in that audio. No matter what the tone of the piece needs to be. Whether it is something very excitable and fun. Or maybe it's something a little bit more on the somber side. If you're enjoying what you're doing, it is reflected.
The care is there, you know what I mean? So you've gotta go in and have that, that clarity overall. Uh, but, this is just like one of those things that just hit me. You know, I've been, I've been kind of reiterating it over and over and over again for the last couple weeks. And it's like, you know what? I think it's worthy of talking about.
Uh, it, just because it's like I get into some of these projects too. And I, I can be really hard on myself. Especially like with radio, there's ratings involved. You know, so it's like sometimes those ratings come out and I'm like, well, what am I doing wrong? And it doesn't necessarily mean i'm doing anything wrong.
It's based on who wrote something down uh that they remembered they listened to or You know incorrectly wrote down because they thought they were listening to something else. See how that happens Or in the bigger markets, you know, people are sent something to wear. So it's not even necessarily catching what somebody wants to listen to, it's what they're exposed to instead.
And, like, if somebody's in an office all day and, you know, they're stuck listening to a station they don't want to listen to, uh, so what? That station's still getting their, uh, They're raiding, you know, so it's, it's a weird little market and game that we play. Uh, but that's why again, you can't take anything too personally, which is why I just kind of go in every day.
I'm like, you know what? I'm going to kill this. I'm going to have a blast doing it and I'm just going to go and be authentically myself. And, and kill it. Um, and that is always my mental clarity going into anything. Um, so hopefully this episode has given you some mental clarity in general. Uh, but we will have a brand new topic coming at you when it comes to voiceover and voice coaches radio next week.
Hey, do me a favor. You got something you want discussed. Info at voicecoaches. com. Let's go ahead. Let's get some more listener questions in and on. And so yeah, brand new episode is coming next week. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and stay safe. Everybody.
Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, as we prepare for Memorial Day weekend, Marissa jumps into something that can help prepare you for anything and whatever session you’re about to tackle as a voice actor.
