AFTRA to Go It Alone on Interactive Contract Negotiation.

Here we go folks.
Deadline Hollywood has the scoop.
Here's the letter sent from Michael Bell regarding the negotiation:

ALERT TO THE VOICE-OVER COMMUNITY
"PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERY VOICE-OVER ACTOR YOU KNOW"

It has come to the attention of the S.A.G. Interactive Committee, that AFTRA is about to negotiate the Interactive contract without the participation of S.A.G.

As you probably know, AFTRA and S.A.G. jointly bargained the Interactive Contract three years ago. Although the joint committees both agreed that RESIDUALS were the number one priority of the negotiations, the AFTRA committee members ultimately agreed to a contract with NO residuals. As a result, the S.A.G. committee members were left no choice but to accept the same terms.

In the three years since those negotiations, the Interactive industry has grown from $9 Billion dollars per year to $27 Billion dollars per year.

Also during that time, your S.A.G. Interactive Committee has been successful in organizing efforts that have turned a long time major non-union employer into a S.A.G. signatory with two huge projects in production.

We have been informed that AFTRA claims to be holding Wages and Working Conditions meetings with Interactive actors in preparation for their negotiations (which are said to be imminent.)

We know for a fact that a majority of the top Interactive actors (those who record numerous games each year) know nothing about AFTRA’s present W&W meetings or AFTRA's plans to go it alone in the upcoming Interactive contract negotiations.

Since AFTRA has not told the S.A.G. Interactive Committee anything about these negotiations, here are the questions all SAG actors that work that contract or expect to work that contract must ask:

1) Is AFTRA really holding Wages and Working Condition meetings with Interactive actors? And if actors are part of those meetings, who exactly has been invited?
2) What criteria did they use for their invitations?
3) Why have not all AFTRA members which are comprised mostly of VO talent been officially informed of these meetings?
4) Who is on the AFTRA committee that will be negotiating this contract?
5) What employers will be involved in these negotiations?
6) Why hasn't AFTRA contacted S.A.G. to coordinate negotiations?
7) When are the AFTRA Interactive negotiations set to begin?
8) Are RESIDUALS part of AFTRA’s proposals?
9) And most importantly: Will AFTRA abandon RESIDUALS once again as they did three years ago?

You can write directly to the AFTRA Interactive negotiator Mathis Dunn.

Please demand that AFTRA hold a caucus of the entire Interactive community of actors before beginning any negotiations.

Demand that AFTRA coordinate their negotiations with S.A.G. instead of de-leveraging S.A.G. as they did in the current TV/Theatrical negotiations.

Please send a copy of your correspondence to the S.A.G. Interactive Committee.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Interactive Contract is completely independent from the TV/Theatrical contract currently being negotiated by S.A.G. The outcome of those negotiations have absolutely nothing to do with the Interactive Contract. No job action, if any, will have anything to do with this contract.

In solidarity,
Michael Bell
S.A.G. Interactive Chair

Merging these guilds can't happen soon enough...

Kudos for a Guitar Center?

So recent snarky-butt posts aside, I am trying to share more of my positive experiences here, as opposed to complaining about things all the time. That in mind, I just had to share a really great experience I just had at, of all places, Guitar Center.

Helping a client set up some home kit he had just ordered, we realized that he hadn't gotten all of the cables he needed. I almost always have some spare XLR's, but I didn't think to pack some Insert/TRS and Instrument/TS cables. I made a quick run, expecting to hit a RadioShack, but it turned out there was a GC right by his place. I gritted my teeth, and pulled into the parking lot.

I usually avoid big-box stores like the plague. SamAsh, BestBuy, Circuit City, etc, I've had mostly horrible experiences at almost all of them. I either get the "know-nothing" guy who takes longer to "help" me find something than if I just looked for it myself, or I get McUberNerd who acts like he knows more about what I do than I do, yet still manages to not really provide any solid solutions.
Problem is I'm pretty good, and I have a McUberNerd streak myself, so when I need to ask for help, I'm already not in a great mood. I'm pretty much primed to not like what I hear, and it's unfortunate that this stance of mine gets reinforced more often than not.

I walked into this GC ready. Frowny "don't talk to me" face on, shoulders squared, ready to storm in, grab my cables, and get out. I was immediately dismayed by the first wall-o-cables I was confronted with. It was all Monster Cables. I'm still boycotting Monster. This just wouldn't do.
I'm pretty much just ready to leave at this point, but I really wanted to get back to my client, and I didn't really want to drive all over town. Expecting horrible, time wasting failure, I approached an associate.

"Hey I need some TRS patch cables, some TRS to dual Mono TS, and a couple instrument cables. All of them about 2 meters."

"Oh, sure, rght over here."

And then he walked right over to where they were (tucked behind one of the microphone displays), pulled down six packages, and walked me right back to a cash register.

Done.

Helpful, friendly, no cheesy up selling, and he didn't even look at the Monster wall.

Looking around the place, all of the employees were my age or older. They all seemed really casual, joking around with each other and the customers. While there were a lot of associates around, none of them approached me. They seemed ready to help, they just didn't get in my face about it. I like that.

After getting back to my client, I checked out online to see how badly I had been "screwed" by paying "retail" and not ordering these cables online. Turns out the whole purchase was $3 cheaper than where I normally buy from, after accounting for shipping.

I still can't recommend them all, but if you're floating around Sherman Oaks, the GC there is pretty cool...

M-Audio FINALLY Replacing The Firewire 410. Introducing The ProFire 610!

Yup, it was bound to happen eventually. I kind of figured this was coming up, when I went hunting for drivers, and saw that the FW410 had been removed from the M-Audio site (it's back up now, but probably wont be for long).

So what's new?

Looks like we get 24 bit/192kHz (a step up over 96kHz), and the ability to function as a standalone mic preamp. I'm excited to see that it looks like we'll also FINALLY be able to use the front and rear inputs AT THE SAME TIME!

This was my biggest complaint with the FW410. It's really only a two input card (deceptive, as it's got "four" inputs and "ten" outputs - "FW410" - but it really only has two analog inputs and eight outputs, the other ins and outs are digital). This makes the mid range Firewire card competitive with the newer FastTrack cards.
I also like the new look M-Audio is taking. USB cards are still gray and rounded. Firewire cards are going for more of an edgy, black, industrial look. I dig it.

What don't I like?

Well I'd rather have buttons for the pads. I don't like having to pull on knobs. As it's most likely going to just be resting on a desk (as opposed to being rack mounted), that usually become a two handed maneuver (holding the interface in place while pulling the knob).
I really wish some manufacturer would step up and give us individual phantom power controls. The one button for all thing is getting a little tired.
I might miss having optical ports on the back. The only digital in/out is now S/PDIF, and I kinda like the skinnier TOSLink cables.

Hopefully they've figured out their problem with hotswapping. I've never hotswapped my 410, and I've been fine, but I have had clients fry firewire ports with M-Audio gear.

Lastly I'm kinda disappointed that M-Audio is still holding to a subtly deceptive naming scheme. It does have the ability to record six channels, and output ten. However, two inputs and two outputs are through S/PDIF, so using project studio gear, you really only have access to four in and eight out. This isn't quite as big a deal as when the 410 was released, but it can be a little frustrating when you're trying to research gear.

The Profire looks like a good step up from the 410 it's replacing, but if you already have a 410, it doesn't look like quite enough of an upgrade to make the plunge. That said, I am going to try and get my hands on one (without having to buy one) to play around and see how the new mic amps compare to my old 410. It certainly is a striking interface though, and along with the ProFire 2626 sets the trend for where M-Audio's Firewire line is headed (maybe an update to the FW1814 and ProjectMix soon plzkthnx).

M-Audio suggested retail is $499.95, but pre-order street price is $399.99 around the web (link to zzounds).

The ProFire 610 should be available to retail channels middle of September.

Would You Pay for a Software Update That Has NO New Features?

Before I jump in, I've just been turned on to a new blog for those of you interested in production work.

Scott Church is the software strategist (cool title) for Digidesign, and has started the protools|blog, chock FULL of helpful hints, tips, and video tutorials for getting the most out of Pro Tools.
If you do any production work, I would HIGHLY recommend checking it out.

That said Scott wont publish a comment I left for him, so I thought I'd pick a (little) blog fight, LOL.

In a recent post of his, Scott put up a poll asking for user's opinion on software updates:

If Digidesign offered a paid update which only included small usability enhancements, bug fixes and performance improvements, would you buy it?

The poll currently sits at 61.54% against (which I think is good), but since Scott wouldn't post my snarky response to the question I thought I would elaborate here.

Coming from a family of hardware and software engineers, I feel pretty strongly about this. Lately I've noticed a trend where it's perfectly acceptable to release products that aren't finished. There seems to be no marketplace consequence to delivering a product that is incomplete. Thanks to a lobster pot effect, it now seems most consumers expect that kinks will have to be worked out of the gadget they've already spent money on, and that there is no guarantee that the widget will ever completely function as promised (iPhone 3G and Vista I'm looking in your general direction).

What's sad is, we all seem to be fine with this.

Now, I will certainly pay for new functionality. Hell, I'll probably be first in line, but to start paying for optimizations and bug fixes, well that just doesn't sit well with me. Not only are we acknowledging that product QA isn't as high as it could be, but this almost feels like extortion to me: "Keep paying us, or your software wont work as well as it could".

A purchase is a contract (no really just try and read an EULA sometime). I give them money for a product. They give me a product that does what they say it does. Everybody is happy. I'm not giving them money for an idea of a product that isn't quite finished. If I'm spending money, I want a solid solution.

If any company were to seriously engage in this kind of "support" I would probably stop doing business with that company, or at least seriously start considering a competitor's product.

Whew, nice little rant there.
So again, if you use Pro Tools, then Scott's protools|blog is a little slice of incredible, and you really should check it out.


Just don't expect him to publish your comments (OOOOHHHHH DIS!!!!).

Video: Ira Glass on Storytelling

After discussing him so much with Mer of BrainDouche, I thought I'd throw down my fave Ira Glass (This American Life) interview. He has some incredible insights on how to tell stories and engage your audience.
Good lessons for us Voiceover people in here. Check em out.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4

IESB Confirms Michael Keaton in Toy Story 3

I'm stoked!
Keaton is one of my favorite actors (Johnny Dangerously!!!), and Toy Story is one of my favorite films.
This is kinda chocolate and peanut butter for me, LOL!

From IESB (Beetlejuice Cast in Toy Story 3!):

IESB has new voice talent confirmation for the upcoming installment of the Toy Story franchise!

Not much is known about Toy Story 3 with the exception of a short synopsis given to the Wall Street Journal earlier this year: “Woody the cowboy and his toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, leaves for college.”

It has also been revealed that Barbie and Ken would also be featured in the movie.

Jodi Benson best known for the voice of Ariel in Disney's Little Mermaid franchise revealed to the IESB this weekend during an interview on Santa Catalina Island for the release of The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning that she is returning to the Toy Story franchise to voice Barbie. You may recall, she voiced Tour Guide Barbie and Barbie on Backpack in the second film.

But what's Barbie without Ken?!

Benson also revealed to the IESB that her Barbie will be cuddling up to none other than Beetlejuice himself, Michael Keaton, as Ken in the new film.

Keaton worked with Pixar previously voicing Chick Hicks in 2006's CARS.

Also, because I know you are all wondering, she says that Barbie and Ken do not kiss...but they do embrace.

Toy Story 3 is set to release June 18, 2010.

Fox Finally Supports Digital Copy. Is It Too Little Too Late?

An interesting development in buying movies?

I'm watching TV, and I keep stumbling over commercials for 'What Happens in Vegas', a movie I have NO desire to see, but something strikes me as interesting. A large part of the ad campaign hovers around the support of Digital Copy, allowing people who purchase the film on DVD or Blu-Ray to transfer it to their computer and to their iPods.

That's HUGE!

Ok, now I'm curious. It's almost like Fox is listening to how fans of their films are wanting to consume content.

When I buy a film, I want to watch it where and how I want, not where and how the studio tells me I can watch their product. My movie purchasing has almost been completely curtailed by Netflix viewing, and the slow push into hi-def media. I just don't seem much reason to continue investing in a "library". Especially as most of the ways I want to watch movies I've purchased (Personal Media Players, my phone, my computer), technically make me a criminal according to the DMCA. If a studio were to support MY media habit (as opposed to making me a criminal for wanting to buy their stuff), I would be MUCH more inclined to purchase their movies.

Well there's NO way in hell I'm buying 'What Happens in Vegas', but I'm kinda stoked and more than a little curious, so I head over to the Fox Store to see what other movies they might have up with Digital Copy.

There are five.

FIVE!?!?!?

That's it. You get your pic of AVP, AVP2, Jumper, Juno, and Hitman. That's it. That's not really supporting customers. That's throwing a couple movies out there to say that there are viable alternatives to file sharing movies, but still trying to lock customers into purchasing discs, and having to re-purchase content for different formats.

What could be an incredible sales tactic (getting cranky-pants geeks like myself very interested in purchasing movies on Blu-Ray), is little more than a PR gesture constructed to combat the legalities of how media is consumed today.

Lame.

I think that's what's really frustrating me. I WANT to buy movies. I WANT to watch movies where, when, and how I decide. There is SO MUCH MORE MONEY to be made by opening up how consumers can use content, but instead studios seem more interested in trying more restrictive locks on content. It's like a wet bar of soap. The harder you squeeze, the faster it splurts out, until people get sick of bar soap and move over to liquid soap (how's THAT for following through on a metaphor, LOL).

For the time being I'll stick with Netflix I guess.
I'll probably skip over Blu-Ray.
No one seems concerned with selling me things I want to buy.


P.S.
Scott Kirsner has a great editorial over at Hollywood Reporter, discussing the current state of legit movie downloading versus file sharing movies. It kinda ties into what I'm talking about here. Studios are losing tons of potential revenue, but still REFUSE to support a business model their customers created. We're showing them this is how we want to do business. We've led them to their own salvation. We've dragged them kicking and screaming to water, but the stubborn horses wont take a sip...

From Scott:

"Citizen Kane" and "The Godfather" top the American Film Institute's list of the greatest movies ever made. James Cameron's "Titanic" still holds the record for biggest box office take, and "Annie Hall," "Star Wars," and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" are part of Roger Ebert's personal pantheon.
But almost a decade after consumers began legally downloading movies on the Internet, none of those titles is yet available for digital purchase or rental.

Scott Kirsner: Hollywood Classics Ignored Online @ Hollywood Reporter

Britney Spears LOVES The Autotune...

My title is implying that she can't really sing, and it takes a whole host of electronics to make her sound presentable when she "performs".

If only we could separate her mic feed from the rest of her concert audio...

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Give Your Brain That "So Fresh and So Clean Clean" Feeling

My last Audio Guy Mail Bag question was so ... interesting ... I had to trade a couple emails back and forth with the author of the question, Mer.
Turns out she's hosting a podcast, and I'm kinda smitten with it.
"Fun" name notwithstanding, BrainDouche.net is a charming storytelling podcast. Mer has a very comfortable delivery, and some silly fun "left field" observations on life. It's very appropriate that she brought up Ira Glass in her question to me, as her first episode is one of the most engaging stories I've heard in a while. Mostly because it's so simple.

That she's so new to producing her own content, I was surprised at how well her individual episodes have come together. She's got a great ear for timing, and her music choices are pretty stellar.

Having just recently gotten into The Moth Storytelling Podcast, BrainDouche is a really good compliment. So good, in fact, I kinda had to add it to my little list of cool sites on the right.

It's a lot of fun, and I think you should check it out.

BrainDouche.net

Image Metrics: Crossing the Uncanny Valley in Style

So this isn't really directly audio related, but anytime we make headway crossing the uncanny valley it's news. It basically means we're another step closer to replacing actors with photo realistic cg clones. Attack of the pod people!

What's so exciting/scary about Image Metrics is they seem to have developed a method of motion capture that doesn't involve sticking little balls and sensors all over a performer.

Here's Emily O'Brien from Image Metrics to discuss some of the advancements made.



Uncanny...

Dave Matthews Band Saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, Has Passed Away

Is it me or has this month been a little brutal.
I was a HUGE DMB fan in college. This actually stings a bit.

From wiki:

Moore was injured on June 30, 2008 in an ATV accident on his farm outside Charlottesville, Virginia, breaking several ribs and puncturing a lung^{[citation needed]}, and was hospitalized at UVA for several days. Jeff Coffin, the saxophonist from Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, stood in for Moore on subsequent tour dates. Though released several days later, Moore was re-hospitalized in mid-July for complications related to the accident.
On August 19, 2008, the official Dave Matthews Band website reported that Moore died of complications from his injuries in the ATV accident. The following statement was released on the band's website:

We are deeply saddened that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. LeRoi had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program. ^[4]

Dave Matthews paid tribute to LeRoi on August 19, 2008 at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA after the first song "Bartender." "We all had some bad news today," Matthews told the sell-out crowd. "Our good friend LeRoi Moore passed on and gave his ghost up today and we will miss him forever." Fans then shouted Moore's name in tribute.

read more | digg story

Audio Guy Mail Bag: How "Bad" Can a Voice Be...

I have to say, this is probably one of the most ... uh ... interesting questions I've gotten in a while.
I kinda HAD to post it up.

Hi Audio Guy,

I'm a recent subscriber to your blog, and I've really been enjoying it, and I thought I'd kick you a question after reading the JS Gilbert article you posted. He said that the most successful voiceovers are the people who have the best grasp of business, but that got me thinking... a modicum of talent and a head for business will get you far, but how bad does a voice have to be before you shouldn't even try? In podcaster land (and I'm sure podcasters are the bane of many professionals' existence now) the answer to the question "is my voice ok?" is always "If Ira Glass can do it, anyone can!" and I'm not sure I buy that. What do you think?

Thanks for your time,
Mer
BrainDouche.net

Wow Mer, where to begin?
I'm very positive on podcasting. I think it's been a huge boon to content. It's been getting people off the bench like crazy, and not only participating, but contributing to the creative process. I probably wouldn't even be writing this blog if it weren't for guys like Leo Laporte, Dvorak, and all the people over at Revision3. I think the user generated content movement has opened up a whole world of commentary we wouldn't have had otherwise. It's showing people that they don't have to "settle" when it comes to entertainment. It's helping develop really interesting community discussion, and lastly it's helping the audience develop a respect for the work that goes into producing quality content.

I think podcasting is going to provide a whole new talent pool for hosted content.

How bad can a voice be before it's not marketable?
Geez, I don't know.
I think as long as a talent is being honest with his or her capabilities ,expectations, and how much time they can personally invest, then any voice can be marketable. Will every voice be capable of the same marketability? No.
Case in point, I had to record a deaf gentleman once. By definition, he didn't have a "good" voice, but that's what we needed. Will he do a lot of voiceover work? No, but he got paid the same for this gig as any other voice actor would.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is the same as when we tell little kids that anyone can grow up to be the president, but the cool thing about VO is it covers friggen EVERYTHING. Commercials, games, TV, film, radio, audiobooks, imaging, narration, industrial, phone systems, hosting, scripted, almost every facet of performance has a VO equivalent. If you can't find a niche to work in, it's because you didn't want to.

Now if I had said that "anyone could be Don LaFontaine successful" then I'd be full of it, LOL...

LOL! What do you have against Ira Glass. I think he's actually pretty good. He's engaging, savvy, and extremely authentic, and that's what sells right now.

Thanks for reading! Thanks for subscribing! Thanks for the question!
-Audio Guy

News Sound Bites - RIAA Sucks?, Groove Shark Competes With Pandora, VOLTRON!!!, and More

Hey all! Some cool links for you to check out!

Relativity Media is going to take a '300' style crack at a live action Voltron! Could Robotech be far behind?

Lifehacker has the skinny on audio editor WavePad. They compare it to Audacity, which is a pretty high mark to be comparing things to.

Steve Guttenberg over at the Audiophiliac has a great editorial up about how expensive audio equipment isn't as expensive as you think.

New Media Gear takes a look at the Olympus LS-10 Portable Recorder. They seem pretty positive on it.

In the wake of internet radio imploding, GrooveShark is adding a Pandora-like player to it's P2P service.

In other "crappy music industry" news, it looks like record labels aren't happy with music being used in games. Oh sure, they're happy to reap the rewards of greater exposure for their artists, they just want more money for doing ... well ... nothing ... I guess.

And in even MORE music industry news, has the RIAA shut down Muxtape? Better stick with Mixwit for now.

Bass Guitar Update - Probably the Last Update Here...

So yeah, I practiced for an hour yesterday, and sadly the first TWENTY minutes were spent just tuning the damn thing LOL. My right hand is killing me just from walking the strings.

This might take a while.

Just to keep you guys from having to suffer through my general "suckitude", I'm going to move my updates over to my Twitter feed. I've been trying to figure out what to do with that thing anyway LOL.

Some Audio Guy on Twitter

Stop Hearing Loss With Antioxidants?

I wonder if this really helps.
I was always under the assumption that once you lost hearing, it NEVER came back.

Is there anything I can do to prevent my mild deafness from worsening as I age?

ROBERT ANDERSON, M.D., REPLIES: Yes. Researchers believe that as we age, cumulative exposure to everyday noise and occasional incidents of excessively loud noise damage delicate hearing cells to cause mild deafness. Fortunately, the following measures can slow, stabilize, or even reverse this process. Here's what to do:
Wear Ear Protection. Wear headphones or ear plugs whenever you may be exposed to more than 85 decibels of noise, like when you use a lawn mower or a chain saw, or attend a rock concert.
Make (and Take) Antioxidants. Large amounts of superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant, helped prevent noise-related hearing damage in animal experiments. Your body makes superoxide dismutase; to ensure that you produce enough, take 15 to 30 mg of zinc and 15 mg of manganese daily. Taking antioxidant supplements can also reduce the risk of noise-induced deafness, according to studies. Take 25,000 IU of mixed carotenoids, 5,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin A (do not take more than 5,000 IU if you're pregnant or planning to be), 1 to 2 g of vitamin C, and 400 IU of natural vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol) daily. The vitamin A and C doses are high because your body needs more of them when exposed to stress (like loud noise). Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) may also help stabilize hearing loss. Take 80 to 120 mg of ginkgo daily.
Nix Nutrient Deficiencies. People with age-related hearing impairment have been shown to have 40 percent lower levels of vitamin [B.sub.12] and 30 percent lower levels of folic acid compared to those with normal hearing. To stabilize hearing, take a daily B complex that has at least 400 mcg of [B.sub.12] and 400 mcg of folic acid. Studies have also connected a vitamin D deficiency with chronic hearing loss, so take 400 IU daily.
Cut Out Cow's Milk. Occasionally, I have found that partially deaf patients who completely avoided dairy products and other foods containing whey, like luncheon meats and puddings, returned their hearing to normal. Researchers found high amounts of a protein molecule identical to one in cow's milk in the cochleae (hearing organs) of 89 percent of patients with age-related hearing loss, while people with normal hearing had none, according to a 1994 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Bra (kinda NSFW)

My pal Melissa Rauch (who you've probably seen on Best Week Ever), just posted this vid on Funny or Die. It's kinda funny as there's a 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' sequel in theaters right now.

Whatta coincidence...

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Pssst, it's about a bra, tee-hee...

What Is Voiceover? Perspective and Advice From J.S. Gilbert.

If you read or post on ANY of the VO forums round the web, then you've probably bumped into J.S. Gilbert. Very direct, sometimes a little harsh, always honest, and very helpful.

I just caught this post of his over at Voiceover Universe, and had to republish it here. I've been asked many times about how to get into VO, but I don't know that I've seen a better answer written out than what JS delivers here.

Enjoy!

What is Voiceover?

Einstein said that "everything about us has changed except for the way that we think." It was a statement regarding the way man would wage warfare after the advent of the nuclear bomb, but I think it is a very appropriate statement for almost anyone in business today.

And voiceover is business. Unless of course you are a hobbyist voiceover, something I don't quite understand, but...

When I got into voiceover many years ago, the term seemed much more limiting than it seems today. While there were many people who would be considered voiceovers, the term didn't necessarily apply to those who were on air personalities, DJ's and some other categories.

Today, the range of work that appears to fall under the general umbrella of voiceover is staggering. The unique differences required for someone looking to do voices for cartoons are different than voices for video games and extremely different than the requirements for voice mail.

In another section of this forum I was giving advice to someone who mentioned they wanted to get into voiceover and while some of ti was applicable, his response was that he wanted to attend broadcasting school, which suggested to me that while it's great to have this huge community representing individuals of all different backgrounds and training, that indeed the term voiceover can be confusing.

Some individuals strive to get work in many different arenas; voice mail, corporate narration, commercial, games, cartoons, audio books. And many teachers will also have you believe that you need to take every class in the world to succeed.

The truth is that most voiceovers, while they may work in a number of areas, tend to have a "money voice" that clearly gives them an edge in one or two particular areas.

Audio Books and Voice mail/ on hold can have very different requirements than performing for a 30 or 60 second commercial. Having deep and resonant pipes and crisp speech that cuts across the airwaves can support someone in being a DJ, but may not suit work in some other areas.

Additionally the way we work has changed. Imagine coming into an industry where a home recording setup would run $100,000 or more. And it wasn't computer based, but based on tape. editing required taking a razor blade and literally cutting out the bad parts and splicing the tape back together. That's a lot how things were 30 years ago. In those days, the ability to record a radio commercial in 57 or 58 seconds perfectly in a single pass on the first or second try was a prized skill and this alone, combined with a strong set of pipes might allow someone to earn a pretty good income. Nowadays we can process sound to very small degrees. We can add an ess to a word that was pronounced in the singular. We can make someone sound deeper or pitch them up in tone. We can purchase home recording equipment for hundreds of dollars.

Some people elect never to have an agent represent them, while others have representation in every state they can get. Some of us go to a studio and work and others work from home. Others do a combination of both. The ISDN line has changed everything.

The one thing that is still true is that there are a lot more people who want to work in voiceover than there is available work. Like many creative pursuits, most people who attempt to make a living at v.o. will not be able to. And like many creative pursuits, those with the best heads for business seem to prevail.

I don't tend to agree with those who seem to think that if you do what you love the money will follow. I have seen too many people who appeared to love doing v.o. go off after several years to their old careers or scamper to try and develop some new skills set that will make them employable.

My recommendation is to learn as much about this business as possible. Look at where you might have the best chances for succeeding. Be cautious when it comes to spending money, especially on supposed industry gurus. Buying books is good - you can get them used and relatively cheap on Amazon and sell them there when you are done and the investment is minimal. I'd suggest getting every book on voiceover, improv and acting you can get your hands on. Visit the audio forums and v.o. forums and try to get a sense for who's who.

It's great to get your demo critiqued, but often the person doing the critiquing doesn't have the skills or background to give a true assesment. Many others will be overly "kind" because they think they're doing you a favor. This is a business where it pays to be thick skinned. Many more no's will come your way than yes's. And often you are left completely in the dark; did my audition stink or was I perhaps their second or third choice.

You do not have to be able to do a hundred different voices. If you can do one voice really ,really well, it trumps doing 100 voices with mediocrity. Learn to emote and act and how to interpret copy and I always suggest improv training. It's relatively inexpensive as far as acting classes go and it's a lot of fun once you get over the hump and give yourself permission to be silly.

Make some sort of realistic plan with goals and make sure you have a way of keeping from going into debt or being a burden on loved ones and friends. Realize that the part where you are in front of the mic is really a relatively small part of being a voiceover .

If I can offer any assistance, feel free to contact me. I am happy to help, if I have the time and I do not charge. There are also a bunch of very talented and knowledgeable voiceovers out there who freely give of their time and experience. But don't take anybody's word as gospel. My experiences are uniquely mine as yours will be yours. We are all different and you need to take all of what you discover and learn and make your own plan of action that serves you.

J.S. Gilbert on Voiceover Universe

***UPDATE 8/20/08***
HEAR J.S. GILBERT SPEAK!!!
There's a great five minute interview with J.S. over at Voiceover Experts, where he discusses problem solving and business.

So Begins My Musical Re-Education...

After years of playing the clarinet and the contra-bass clarinet, it's time to shake things up.

I've always wanted to learn how to play the bass guitar. 
For B-day #28, I'm starting now, and the goal is to "not suck" by B-day #29.

I'll let you know how it goes, and if any of you have advice, links, suggestions please send them my way!

Getting Stoked for 'The Life & Times of Tim' on HBO - Peter Giles Edition

Peter Giles is a pal of mine from my Abrams days, and he's a friggen GOOFBALL. I love it.

If you live near a Del Taco, you probably heard his voice on their 'Feed the Beast' campaign (he wasn't "the Beast" thank goodness). He's just a dry, cocky, smug, sarcastic, sumnabitch, and easily one of the funniest guys I know.

I was SO STOKED when he booked the voice of "The Boss" on 'The Life & Times of Tim', and it looks like we're gearing up for a September debut on HBO.

This show is going to be ALL shades of wrong, and Peter is going to fit in just fine, LOL.

Here's a clip of P. Gilly (AKA "Kid Lightning", just ask him about it) in action, it's a little bit NSFW, but not TOO bad.



The Life & Times of Tim on HBO.com

Awesome Narration Find: The Moth - Real Stories Told by Real People

I've just recently been turned onto The Moth - Live Storytelling Performances.

Basically it's a live storytelling slam in NY and LA, where people meet to tell each other stories about their lives.
I've been subscribed to the podcast for a little while now (while also trolling through their archives), and it's pretty great stuff.

People can be really interesting, and listening to folks share can be funny, silly, sad,infuriating, heartbreaking, and sometimes all of those at the same time.

For example here's Dr. Ari Handel talking about how he kinda fell in love with the first monkey he had to experiment on (he studied Neuroscience):


This is some of the most deeply personal and satisfying performance I've ever heard, and I highly recommend signing up for their podcast.

The Moth RSS Feed The Moth on iTunes

Here's more on The Moth (in their own words):

What is The Moth?

The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization, was founded in New York in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate in New York the feeling of sultry summer evenings on his native St. Simon's Island, Georgia, where he and a small circle of friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales on his friend Wanda's porch. After moving to New York, George missed the sense of connection he had felt sharing stories with his friends back home, and he decided to invite a few friends over to his New York apartment to tell and hear stories. Thus the first "Moth" evening took place in his living room. Word of these captivating story nights quickly spread, and The Moth moved to bigger venues in New York. Today, The Moth conducts six ongoing programs and has brought more than 3,000 live stories to over 100,000 audience members.

Why "The Moth"?

The screen around Wanda's porch had a hole where moths would flutter in and get trapped in the light. Similarly, George and his friends found that the characters in their best stories would often find themselves drawn to some bright light—of adventure, ambition, knowledge—but then find themselves burned or trapped, leaving them with some essential conflict to face before the story could reach its conclusion. So George and his original group of storytellers called themselves "The Moths". George took the name with him to New York, where he hoped that New Yorkers, too, would find themselves drawn to storytelling as moths to a flame. They did. With no advertising, through sheer word of mouth, every show to date has sold out in 48 hours or less.

Thanks Uncle Bob!

Simply a Classic Day of Voice Casting...

Today was a good day.

I don't write about my actual jobs very often. I guess I still try to maintain a little anonymity with my real life versus my web presence. That said, I realized that I often only write about work when something is pissing me off, and that's not really fair.

Today was a VERY good day.

I spent all day directing auditions at a casting studio.
The spot was a silly radio bit, wall to wall 60, a touch over written, nothing super special, but pretty decent.
The actors we called into today however were classic, truly Hollywood veteran classic. Alan Oppenheimer, Andre Stojka, Billy Vera, George Coe, Jack Betts, James Karen, Jim Cummings, John Mayer, Richard McGonagle, Peter Jason, Richard Herd, Robert Pine, Ron Masak, Steve Eastin, Troy Evans, William H Bassett.

Today was a LOT of fun.

I had a blast just sitting in the lobby in between auditions. If you would've walked in off the street, you never would've guessed that they were all gunning for the same part. Chatting, laughing, catching up, putting each other down, vaudevillian one upping, it was like I was sitting in on a voice over country club luncheon. None of the standard Hollywood schmoozing, they were all genuinely glad to see each other, and they could not have cared less that they were each other's competition.

It was an eye opening wealth of improv, Second City, and general comedic performance, training, and experience, and I got to hang toe to toe. Apt, as they REALLY kept me on my toes.

I learned a lot today.

Today was a REALLY good day...

Flashback Charts Helps You Look Up the Billboard #1 Song For ANY Day in History

This is pretty sweet.
A guy by the name of Josh Hosler has taken it upon himself to catalog the Billboard #1 song for every day going back to 1892!

Have you ever wondered what the #1 song was on the day you were born? Day you got married? Day your kids were born? Day you graduated high school? Left home? Met your best friend? Bought a Wii?

Check out the Flashback Charts!

FYI, 'Magic' by Olivia Newton-John was #1 the day I was born. Yeesh...
 

Erik Weiner Googles Himself. Do You? (Maybe a little COMPLETELY NSFW...)

I've written about Erik before (actor, rapper, writer, voice talent extraordinaire).
He's a pretty fun guy.

This video made me "EL-OH-EL".
It's pretty dirty though, so no watching at work.



Famous Last Nerds (dot) Com

No no REALLY. I'm SURE This Microphone Sounds Great!

I write a lot about classic microphones. I also like looking up mics on ebay, but a reader over at the VO-BB found a great ebay listing.

From the listing:

RCA 74B microphone. Good over all condition. Great sounding classic microphone.

And now the pic:

Wait for it.

Wait for it...

Thanks Craig
someaudioguy microphone vintage ebay funny voice over

The Microphone Collection Grows - I Just picked up a Shure SM56!

So a while back I wrote about finding and restoring a Shure SM56 for a studio I was working at. It was a GREAT find, as it's not every day you find a 40 year old mic stuck in a box, and not only does it work, but it sounds great.

Unfortunately, no one liked using it.

Cuz it was old looking.

I brought it up with the studio owner, and he was fine trading it for an SM58 I had lying around. I jumped on it, and had the SM58 in his hands the next day, LOL. Now I own two SM57's and an SM56. Very cool stuff.

Now, this isn't a great VO mic. Like it's brother the SM57, it's a great studio and stage all-rounder. For any given application, there are probably other mics that might sound better, but I've never encountered a microphone that moves from application to application as seamlessly as the SM57/56.



It's silly, but this is a mic that I keep bouncing around. Getting into recording, it was one of the first mics I used in Albuquerque. Lately I seem to keep running into it, seeing it used in Johnny Cash's 'At Folsom Prison' and Jimi Hendrix's 'Live at Monterey'.


And now I own one!
someaudioguy microphone recording some audio guy music voice over studio classic vintage

Woot!

VOICE 2008 Coverage - Friend of Mine on Bob Bergen's Panel

Several places are doing a great job covering the happenings at VOICE 2008.
Bob Souer, Voice Over Xtra, Kara Edwards all have great posts up about the events, but I was super stoked to see a recent post from Dave Courvoisier.
He wrote a killer post about a panel discussion moderated by Bob Bergen, with tons of pictures, and lo and behold, who should I see on the panel, but an old co worker of mine from Abrams Artists.

IT'S MY PAL ADRIENNE!!!

Back in the day she was manning a desk while I was running the booths, and we used to work together on animation and video game casting. Since, she's become a great agent, and has started building the VO department's presence in Audiobooks and Promo work.

I was so glad to see her on this panel, as she's knocking out some really exciting work!

Congrats A!!!
voice over some audio guy voice acting interview panel someaudioguy agents demo business career talent agent

News Sound Bites - Mic Stands, Reverb, Theremin, and MORE!

Some cool stories that caught my eye this week.

Mary McKitrick takes a look at the M600 Universal Microphone Mount, and seems pretty positive on it.

What's that ringing in your ears? It could be reverb, and AudioTuts has an awesome post with FIFTEEN FREE REVERB PLUGINS! Go get your echo on!

So I wasn't so stoked about the Sirius/XM merger, but it looks like we might finally be getting dual format radios compatible with both Sirius AND XM.

So it's a speaker.
And it's round, so you can roll it around, so that's cool.
Does this make a speaker worth $21,000?

I've been constantly trying to find good places to host audio (right now I'm using Humyo). No one really seems that interested in it. Video? Sure bring it on, but free audio not so much. Apparently there have been complaints about the compression used on Youtube, so they'll be improving the audio quality of Youtube videos. Could this be the answer to free media hosting?

And speaking of Youtube, what do you MEAN you've NEVER heard the theme to Super Mario played on a theremin!?!?!

Well here you go:

Reverend Run Records an Audiobook.

WHO'S HOUSE???

RUN'S HOUSE!!!

Ok, we all know reality TV is anything but real, but I gotta say Run's House is becoming a guilty pleasure. It's WAY setup, and this clip is no exception, but I blog about VO and narration and junk, so it was just too hard to pass this one up.

Apparently Rev Run wrote a book about his family, and will be doing his own narration for the audiobook. I found this bit to be HIGH-sterical, as Run acts like he's NEVER been in front of a microphone before.

Of course nothing goes as planned [cue up sitcom music cue - WAAH WAAAAAAHHHH].



Hey, I think that's an Audio-Technica AT4040 he's on there. Neat, but what the crap is up with the engineer's FORTY track mixer there for ONE mic?

Anywho, I call shenanigans. Tomfoolery. Antics. Mischief. Hijinks. Malarkey.
During the "recording" session he seems really bored and stiff, very unnatural, almost like he's waiting for people to come in and interrupt him.

Like his kids.
Spontaneously.
Just at the same time he's reading passages in the book that are about them.

Right.

Also he's MUCH better at narration than this. How do I know? Well, see, he has this adorable candle lit, bath time, "Dougie Howser" style episode recap with his BlackBerry.

Which he narrates.

Really well.


audiobook voice over narration recording tv reality hip hop

Before the Music Dies

This is pretty powerful stuff.

I've written before about the "quality" of modern music, but usually in the context of the technical aspects of recording, winning the "Loudness War", etc. This documentary does a very good job of examining the history of the music industry, how we got here, and where we might go.
Moving interviews with Dave Matthews, Quest Love, Erykah Badu, and scores of other performers,  journalists, and critics painfully contrast with "man on the street" interviews of people talking about their current fave pop acts.
If you care about your "art", be it Film, TV, Music, Theatre, New Media, etc, this is a great look at what happens when the BIG money rolls in.

A film narrated by Forest Whitaker, 'Before the Music Dies' lays out a cautionary story about the deteriorating state of the music business, and argues that the quality of music is going downhill. This is a must-see for anyone who cares about music. Out since 2006, it's steadily gained a following and has achieved critical acclaim.

read more | digg story

And here's the trailer:

Growing Up - Going Back to Stanislavski 10 Years Later

So before I was 'SomeAudioGuy' I was 'SomeTheatreGuy'.
One of my biggest influences came my freshman year of college while studying with an incredible acting professor. After a gruelingly intense scene study, focusing on character motivations, we were turned on to Constantin Stanislavski, and my attitude towards performance changed forever.

I read everything he wrote in a period of about 5 months.

His ideas behind emotional imagination, context, and physical action were a personal thought revolution for me. Before reading Stanislavski, I was a firm believer in transference, or substitution.
My characters couldn't experience an honest emotion unless I had experienced something similar.
Constructing the emotional context would often be a more painful experience, but was incredibly effective. Studying the physicality behind characterization (I also studied a lot of dance in college) helped establish a two front attack on any character analysis. These were tremendous tools to add to my repertoire, and really laid the foundations for not only my performance career but also my current directorial career.

It's been ten years since I've picked up Stanislavski.

I've been feeling a little stale lately.
For no good reason I picked up 'My Life in Art' and started paging through it. It's sort of incredible, and there's so much I didn't fully understand reading it in college. It's not only taking me back to one of the most creative, explorational periods of my life, but it's also showing me how far I've come, how much I've grown.
Anyone needing a shot in the arm should seriously take a look.

I'm probably headed for another Stanislavski binge.

It's just so easy to be motivated by those that have led incredible lives.

iPhone Radio Interference Fix - Getting Rid of GSM Buzz?

Yup,

Actors are trendy folk, and I see more iPhones flashed around VO studio lobbies than at Apple Stores.



Neat...



Except for when you need to record them, and your microphone or speakers start going "B-R-R-R-R-R-R-BUP-BUP-BUP-BUP".



Well, MacLife might just have a solution for you.



Apparently you can use those ferrite beads you see on some USB cables to help reduce this interference.



Check out the whole post HERE.



[ (wagging fist) You kids with your iphones, and your texting, and your hotmail, and your friendster, and your rock music. GET OFF MY LAWN!!! - Ed.]

recording, help, how to, voice over, voice acting, diy, radio

Pic courtesy of MacLife