Voiceover Culture

The other night I was sharing some VO trivia with a friend of mine, and realized that so many people don’t really know what VOs do. There are so many funny pieces out there that illustrate our world, and I thought we should have them in one place for easy reference. And what better place than my blog? So, I’m going to post the ones I know about, and other VOs out there, if I’ve missed any post it here.

Here’s one of my favorites, Five Guys In A Limo. And this is a classic-Hal Douglas (one of the great names in VO) doing the trailer for The Comedians. More classics, Blooper’s Soap, and out-takes of Orson Wells in a VO session. Here’s a great one if you have some time, the entire cast of the Simpson’s on Inside the Actor’s Studio. I’ve watched this so many times I can quote dialog. Here’s the hilarious session with William Shatner.

Here are some holiday classics. One of my favorites of all time, Santa’s Session From Hell. And this is a fun one, with famous voice actors reading The Night Before Christmas.

I know there are more out there. If you have one, post it here. And as I find more, I’ll update the blog.

Getting Into VO

Oh, the stories we can tell. How easy people think it is to do voiceovers, how they know they can do it because they’ve been told they have such a great voice. The hordes that are out there with a cheap mic and Garage Band, thinking it’s so easy to break in, to get jobs, to make a living, to make a fortune. Why is VO suddenly the flavor of the month? VO is a tough, competitive business, especially if you’re a woman. I’ve had a lot of jobs, and several careers, and NONE has been as challenging to me as learning the craft and art of VO. It has taken me to places inside myself that I’ve paid good money in therapy to get to. I’ve literally been in tears with pain and joy in the course of my career in VO. It can be damn painful to be a VO . And I love it more than anything I’ve ever done in my life. It’s challenging and fun and joyful and frustrating and ecstatic and infuriating . . . all at once. I would never do anything else.

But why the general perception that it’s easy? It’s not, and it’s also expensive. Good equipment and training aren’t cheap. Neither are marketing materials and good demos. But if you MUST do VO (and I’m right there with you), here is a good, realistic article about it. And here’s another one (thanks to Bob Souer for that one).

Tim Robbins Addresses the NAB

Actor Tim Robbins made the keynote speech at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas on Monday night. Read the transcript here. It’s worth a read, mainly because he holds the industry to task for appealing to our lesser selves, and that it’s time for those in power in broadcasting to say “enough is enough”. Here’s more of what Tim had to say, it brought tears to my eyes. Imagine what this world would look like:

Now is the time to move away from our lesser selves. Now is the time to stop making money on the misfortunes of others and the prurient and salacious desires of the public. Now is the time to admit and recognize that we aren’t just businessmen but the guardians of the human spirit, with a responsibility to the health of this nation. That we can lift this country up with our programming, that instead of catering to the gossips and the scolds and the voyeurs we can appeal to the better nature in our audience, the better nature of what this country is all about. “This is a country filled with people of great compassion and tremendous generosity. This is a country that has survived dust bowls and depressions, that united to defeat Hitler and fascism and communism. We are a resilient people and a tenacious people. And we are ready for change.Imagine a new broadcasting industry aesthetic, that respecting the better nature of the American people, produces shows that promote strength instead of fear. That does not divide, but inspires, that does not promote hate, but unity, that will not tear the weak down, but build up their strength. Imagine a world of broadcasting where the American people are encouraged to reject despair and distrust. And when they turn their TVs and radios off at night and go to sleep they possess strength, and unity and compassion for those they disagree with. That’s not out of the question. You can make that happen. It will be difficult, and will fly in the face of conventional wisdom, and standard operational procedures. But do we have any choice? The road we are on is leading us to a corruption of our former selves. We are better than that. You can help us reclaim our better nature, our perfect union. It isn’t necessarily a matter of country before profit, or of patriotism and truth before personal comfort. There could be money to be made in appealing to our better selves. Wouldn’t that be great?

Yes, Tim . . . that would be great, an evolution of consciousness for the industry and the country. I hope with all my heart I see it in my lifetime, and that I can contribute to it.

Meditation And Me

I’ve been meditating, in one form or another, for most of my adult life. It is what anchors me, and keeps me grounded and free. Why then do I find it so hard to sit down and do sometimes? It’s the same thing with exercise, but that’s a topic for another day. Today was one of those days when I had time and still didn’t do either, and then tonight a great article in the AARP Webletter (yep, I’m signed up) showed up in my Inbox. It was on meditating, and the author reminded me of me, (except she went to India). Anyway, if you’ve ever tried . . . and failed . . . to meditate, read this, it’s good. And well written too, I think.

Authenticity

Here is a great article in Advertising Age that says consumers are yearning for authenticity in advertising. Well . . . duh. After the Bush years, aren’t we all hungering for something . . . anything . . . that’s authentic? Someone that genuinely talks to us from the heart? Someone who isn’t conning us, or screaming at us or talking down to us? Someone who isn’t bling? Someone who treats us like the adults we are? I see the author of the article lives in Montana, and I live in Oregon so I can reate. Sustainability is big here, as is the local food movement and alternative fuels. Barack Obama resonates with most of because he’s genuine. It’s what we’re craving. As VO artists, I think it’s a good idea to pay attention to things like this, because this may be where the next advertising trend lies.

BTW, I’ve gotten myself a Velveteen Rabbit to sit in my booth. It came with a wonderful book, “The Velveteen Principles”. I’m enthralled. More on this later.

Cold Calling

I’ve been doing a lot of marketing lately, and I’m again reminded about how tedious the whole thing can be . . . the database and the Excel spreadsheets. I usually feel like an idiot after an encounter with Excel, but it’s useful. So, data entry is tedious, and after the data entry there is the cold calling. But this is the part I like (she says as she takes a break from cold calling to write about how much she likes cold calling). Seriously, it’s so cool to call someone who is doing their day in NY, or MN or wherever, and just have a bit of a chat about who to address a postcard to. It’s not such a bad way to spend an hour or two. I’d still rather be voicing something, but this is part of the “business” end of VO most people don’t see. There’s a time and a place for all things, and now it’s time for me to get back to calling someone I will probably never meet. I hope they’re nice.

Becoming Real

I used to work in radio. This isn’t necessarily a good thing in today’s VO world. I’ve spent the last year trying to lose that radio sound in my voice because it isn’t really in demand in the VO market these days. A key person in helping me find the “real” in my voice has been Marice Tobias. Me, Bob Souer and 10 other other talented VO artists found ourselves at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle several weekends ago for a promo/trailer seminar with Marice. Bob has made several entries about that in his blog, so check it out for his thoughts on the weekend. Seminars with Marice (I’ve taken three) are never a passive experience, internally or externally. You are up at the microphone working on scripts in front of your peers, all of them working VO professionals at the same level or above where you are. It can make grown men and women shake in their boots. Many of us go back to our hotel rooms on Saturday night and cry.

Marice often says the time spent with her is only a small part of the process. She can point you in the right direction, but you have to do the work if you want to improve. For me, working with her has been a self-excavation. I have the notes from our first private session over a year ago, and they aren’t pretty. “Formal, cool, information-driven, let’s get to the bottom line” read. That makes sense, as I spent three years as a news director in radio. It’s the read that booked me a lot of business and medical narration, so I was successful in those areas. But I didn’t have access to high level commercial reads, I didn’t have the right dress for the party, as Marice would say. It was all business all the time. Working with Marice changed that, but I had to basically take apart the way I had been doing VO and put it back together again. It is sometimes a painful process, becoming real.

So what is the result of all this deep work for the last year and a half? Last week I booked 2 national commercials for General Mills YoPlus. One was a national cable, the other was national broadcast, both SAG. I had the dress, the shoes and the accessories to wear to the party, and as a bonus it was BIG FUN. Perhaps I could have booked this job a year ago, but I know I wouldn’t have been as confident. I now have the skills to do these jobs, and it feels great.

As part of the seminar, we all had to write and deliver a monologue at the mic on Sunday afternoon. It was a revealing exercise. In my hotel room on Saturday night, after a day in the studio where I came face-to-face with my vast shortcomings in even coming CLOSE to a trailer read, I thought of a story I used read to my boys called the Velveteen Rabbit. It’s about a stuffed rabbit and about his longing to become “REAL”. The Skin Horse, an older, wiser character in the story, tells the Velveteen Rabbit; “‘Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you.”

Being real in life and in voiceover, is a becoming, a peeling away, a grounding in that which makes us all One and speaking from that place of Oneness. It is a privilege to be in this conversation and to do this work.

Thanks Marice.

Getting Out of the Basement

I know this is a common ailment these days, but I have trouble getting out my front door. There’s a whole, wide world out there. . . not to mention fresh air. But there’s a whole world in here too, and it’s tempting to stay in and “interact”. Anybody else?

I have several things that usually get me out the door. I’m involved in Zonta, and I exercise. Nothing like a walk and a good audiobook. I have several other passions, but the one on my mind today is City Club of Corvallis. Is that not a great concept, a city club? A place where citizens can get together and talk about things together, in a civil manner (meaning no fist-fights). It’s on my mind because I’m on the steering committee and we have a meeting on Thursday, hence thoughts of the agenda.

But I digress, back to getting out the door. No matter what door it is, getting out it is important. Go interact. Talk to people. Sit in the sunshine. Pet a dog. Zonta and City Club are two of my things. What are yours? Would love to hear about them.

Why I Love VO.

Marice Tobias (my voice coach) introduced me to Seth Godin, and his blog has become one of my favorite reads in the morning (along with Andrew Sullivan). His post “Workaholics” describes perfectly the way most talents I know think about VO. It’s our passion, something we absolutely love to do. It’s not easy. It’s the most challenging job I’ve ever had and I’ve had a few. But oh my. . . the satisfaction that comes from lifting words from a page and bringing them to life, hearing the beauty of the language and using it to communicate the client’s message . . . that’s what really floats my boat.

VO Remedies.

Most voice talent I know have remedies for things that normal people probably don’t even think of. Clicks and pops (the dreaded mouth noise). Raspy throat. Nasal sound (like during & after a cold). Stomach grumbles during a long narration. Noisy clothes (if you’re a normal person you probably just said “. . .noisy clothes?”) Yes, VOs need soft clothes that don’t make noise . . . microphones are really sensitive. Likewise squeaky shoes.

But back to remedies. I’ve heard of lots of things for mouth noise. Stay hydrated all the time, because it takes at least 2 hours before your tissues absorb the water, or something like that. Listerine (sounds drastic). Tums. Salivert, an artificial saliva. Sounds gross, but it works. Honey for a raspy throat. A friend of mine swears by Bengal Spice tea with honey and apple cider vinegar for throat phlem. There was a whole discussion on VO BB once about what folks use when they sound nasal. Now I have Breathe Right strips in my medicine cabinet. And protein water works great in a long session around lunchtime. Luckily I mostly work at home, so I can keep all this stuff around. But I carry a big bag of tricks when I have to do a session in Portland!

Another whole category of remedy would be around how to avoid getting sick, and how to get rid of colds ASAP. But that’s another topic, or several.