On March 23-25, 2012, Faffcon 4, presented by Voicebank.net will take place in Ventura Beach, CA at the Ventura Beach Marriott.

Registration opens this Friday, January 6 at 12:00 noon eastern time (9:00 a.m. pacific time – check your local listings).

If you are a PAST Faffer, the first 25 spots on the list will be open to YOU a full day before general registration opens, on Thursday January 5th at 9am PT (Noon ET).

I’ll be working on selling sponsorship packages to Faffcon 4 with my friend Connie Terwilliger and some options are not too expensive if you have a product or service you’d like to promote to some very successful or soon to be more successful voice talents (but as in life, nothing is free). Let myself or Connie know if you’d like to support with a nice door prize package or MORE.

Last Thursday night and Friday morning on the drive down to Faffcon 3 with my friend Ed Thomas, I reminded myself to enjoy this part of the trip, the anticipation, the excitement, the beginning of Faffcon 3. I did this because I knew, like Faffcon 2, it would be over MUCH to soon.

As it always does, Sunday came and Faffcon ended. Oy, I hate that feeling. Not that I don’t want to go back to my great family (Happy Anniversary, dear) but rather I want to not be so darned rushed in my time with all these other voice over people. It’s like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and the VO’s are the Oompa-Loompas (only happier and only slightly less orange). But I suppose like to much of a good thing, we’d all get sick of each other after a few weeks.

So without giving out information that ought to remain among those who shared great stuff, let me offer these thoughts about Faffcon 3.

- Thank you Amy. I can’t write more because it will take the entire blog post but if you know anything about Faffcon you know of whom I speak.

- Philip Banks is a voice talent from the U.K. and a friend of mine for some years now thanks to the VO-BB. He does OK for himself and doesn’t need to spend the hours and money traveling to and from his home to come to Faffcon, but he did anyway. He hosted a session that helped me tremendously. And he spent most of his time outside of the sessions – talking and listening to others who sought his counsel, who hoped a bit of his magic or at least his insight would rub off on them. He didn’t have to do that….yet that’s a pretty simple (and powerful) example of the Faffcon attitude.

- Connie Terwilliger and Pam Tierney are Miss Amy’s right and left hands (which makes shaking hands with Amy mighty awkward as you can imagine). There are other volunteers as well like CC Heim, Natalie Stanfield Thomas, Bob Souer (actually ALL the Souers) and others who I’ve insulted unwittingly by thoughtless omission but I tell you Pam and Connie are Captain Amy Picard’s Number Ones (you’ll either get that Star Trek reference or you won’t but I’m not spending any more time here esplainin’).

- My friend Bob Taylor came down from Buffalo from the Faffcon 3 waiting list – he got in and I don’t know if I could have been more excited for him…he was concerned to be on the wait list and I so wanted him to experience this event. I hope it really had some wonderful insights for him. I didn’t get to ask because he got on the road before I could say goodbye (as was true for so many folks).

- Thanks to some direction from my friend, teacher and agent Toni Silveri, I managed an Improv class that was very well received for many folks who had NEVER done improv before (they may now be addicted to the resulting endorphins). As I told the participant on both days (yes they asked me back for a second day because more people wanted to do it) Faffcon gives you a place to safely succeed or fail, privately in public. That’s the gift of Faffcon for voice talents and those participants in that Improv class – sharing their thrilling talents in my forum, were a gift to me.

- You see that picture in the blog….the crazy popular voiceover blog laureate Paul Strikwerda took that picture doing one of my improv sessions. Sorry to sound like a more egotistical twit than usual but isn’t that a cool picture? Thank you Paul.

- So my big idea was to have the improv sessions recorded, which turned out not to be necessary but my friend Dan Friedman agreed to help me out with the audio…while he easily could have been a part of other sessions. But he stayed for both and better yet…participated. I am so glad he is my friend and I have Faffcon to thank for formally introducing us.

- Doug Turkel taught an incredibly insightful and helpful class on marketing and I spoke much too freely in it, but let there be no doubt (and I don’t think there was) Doug is so on his marketing game and I learned a ton. He’s a great friend and stellar professional example. Plus when you’re in LA, chances are he’ll have a truck and he’ll take you around to places like the Don LaFontaine Voiceover Lab…it’s so nice when the upper classman give the younger students like me a ride.

- Rowell Gormon allowed me to participate in his performance class and for as long as he has been my friend, I never really knew what I kick ass director he was…just terrific! No other forum (save for a paid gig) would allow me such an opportunity except Faffcon.

- Faffcon helps hold voice talents accountable for their actions and results. Two examples: I wanted my new voiceover web site to be online by the start of Faffcon. That was my goal and it went live Friday. The second example is that there is one particular voiceover talent who shall remain nameless unless she wants to out herself who WILL have her new voiceover web site live by January 1, 2012. Goal: set.

I would like to name about 90 other people individually (basically every person there) who by sharing a little time with me made my Faffcon experience so awesome. And countless others who wanted to be there but could not – yet had me thinking about them all weekend. But that’s too much work and I’m a lazy voice talent. I do want to say I am grateful to be able to share this voice over journey WITH EACH OF YOU! Because of each of you I am truly enjoying the ride.

Thanks again Amy.

It’s so crazy to even try to communicate what one absorbs at Faffcon 3 but I’ll just give you a brief, general sample of my day’s experience:

- During a presentation by my friend Philip Banks, he asked for a volunteer to do an announcer read for a game show pilot he did; there was a great deal of unrequested and so I’ll offer sincere positive feedback on my one take read…a nice way to start the day

- I hosted a session called Voice Over Improv – the Art of Listening which was popular enough to be requested for a 2nd day…I’m so glad it positively impacted so many participants (thank you Toni Silveri for the improv suggestions)

- I got be directed by Rowell Gorman and David Goldberg both of whom said with my voice over talent, I’d make a wonderful milk man (just kidding)

There was an enormous amount of meat off the Faffcon bone that I shall chew on for months to come – all of which I truly feel will help my voice over career. And a great number of new and old friends and industry professionals who will gladly help me achieve my goals.

And me theirs.

Thanks Amy.

It really is!

Great meeting up with old friends and making new friends in the voiceover world.

Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., we hit the ground running. Looking forward to seeing if anyone is going have an interest in my voiceover improv session.

Thanks Amy.

Well if you haven’t, Bob Souer and CC Heim can fill you in!

Just click here.

Maybe I’ll see you in Hershey, PA in September!

OK, wow.

I promised voice talent, author and ProComm audio producer Dan Friedman at Faffcon 2 that should I get to Asheville, NC I would catch up with him. He, in turn, promised a tour of ProComm. I got the better of this deal.

OK, wow.

ProComm’s studios are stunningly impressive from the building’s outstanding acoustical construction to the technical brilliance of the layout and studio execution to the professionalism and friendliness of their staff (thank you Sheldon and Chris). It’s like a voice-over paradise.

You want bells? They got ‘em. Whistles, they got ‘em. ISDN? Holy cow do they have that!

Then I got to see Dan’s terrific and customized home studio which allows him to do some great voice work after he’s done at ProComm (Dan is the national voice of the Crowne Plaza hotel chain).

Then Dan and his wife Melodie were kind enough to take me to dinner in beautiful downtown Asheville where we ate a little and talked alot more. It was a great deal of fun and I am so glad I got to visit with both of them.

Dan will be at Faffcon 3 and he’s got some cool presentation plans ready…bring your notebook.

And if you haven’t yet subscribed to the ProComm blog that Dan helps write – well, y’all best get on that!

You may know that the voiceover unconference, Faffcon 3, is sold out.

What you might NOT know is that there is a waiting list.

There are no guarantees but if you still think you MUST go (and you must) then you should sign up here.

If I told you once, I told you a thousand times.

Now there’s a waiting list and if you missed the sign up, your only shot at Faffcon 3 is being on it.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I tried but sometimes you just won’t listen.

You’re stubborn that way like your father .

A lunch time email from Faffy – actually a “frantic Faffy-gram” because evidently dolphins are not only smarter than we assume, they are also more high-strung – advises that only 8 (eight – the number less than nine but more than seven) spots remain for Faffcon – the Voiceover Unconference on September 23-25 in Hershey, PA.

This third iteration of the event has been selling faster than ever before – no video promotion necessary.

Faffy also advised: “Wanna go but need some dough? If you, or a deserving VO pro you know, would benefit from coming to FaffCon, but would need financial assistance to make that happen, please check out the FaffCon Peer-to-Peer Scholarship. It was generously funded by FaffCon 2 participants after the Atlanta event.”

Hope to see you there.

And it’s over 50% full after just two weeks. (The question to ask is how the heck is Amy Snively the TWENTIETH registrant to her own conference?)

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.