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154,748 pairs of eyes + 50 cents = advertising

Why wouldn’t any business owner want the opportunity to place their brand in front of 154,748 pairs of eyes.

In essence, they are all potential customers.

It’s true that most of them might not be, depending on your business. But even when marketing to a specific market, you can’t always know who is and who is not a prospect. I believe the marketing term is “fudge factor”.

That’s especially true in voice-over.

Video producers, ad agency commercial producers, small business owners and probably about 50-75 other jobs titles make up the voice talent’s target audience. If you were to run some numbers on the cost of print, radio or on-line advertising to all of them, I’m not sure whether you’d feel more faint or nauseous but I’m pretty sure we can agree you couldn’t really afford it.

So where does the 50 cents come in?

Between the cost of a stamp, a piece of letterhead and logoed envelope, I reckon that’s the cost to mail a press release to a local newspaper touting your latest project.

And if the circulation numbers from Wikipedia are correct for my city’s local paper (and I have no idea if they are), 154,748 pairs of eyes represents the total number who will see my press release in my paper if they print it.

No, they won’t likely see the whole thing, maybe just a part of the release that an editor sees fit to print, but it will be out there.

Will all of the readers see it? Nope. How many will read it? Wanna guess with me?

Let’s say that circulation number is overblown by 50% and that actually only 77,374 people read the paper daily.

Of all those people, about 1/2 (or 38,687) read the business section where a voice over press release might get printed.

Of that, let’s say only 1/2 of them read the little press release blurb section that newspapers run (in my paper, it’s called “On The Record”).

That would mean that 19,343 and a 1/2 people in Western New York would read my press release if the Buffalo News printed it in its paper (not counting the on line version of the paper – which most cities now have).

So to get all those readers, all those pairs of eyes – none of whom I am guaranteed will be a target audience for me – I have to invest about an hour’s worth of time writing a press release, printing it and mailing it to the paper. Costing me in real hard dollars about 50 cents (ignoring my hourly fee – let’s say I did it on my lunch hour, N/C)

Will the newspaper print the press release?

YOU will never know unless you write it, print it and mail it in.

5 Questions for a Professional Voice-Over Talent – Scott Nilsen

Today’s 5 Questions for a Professional Voice-Over Talent are answered by Scott Nilsen, a professional voice over talent based in Placentia, California.

1. The beginning: When did you know you wanted to be a voiceover talent; how did your career begin (please include what year it started) and then when did your passion for voiceover develop into something professional?

Unlike many of the people I have come across in this business, I did not come out of a radio or advertising background. I was a pastor. In the mid-to-late 90s we were living in Southern California, and I would see this particular advertisement in the newspaper for a place in Irvine called Del Mar Media Arts, featuring a headshot of Gordon Jump (“Mr. Carlson” of TVs “WKRP in Cincinnati”), offering classes in acting and voiceovers. We made a couple of moves to different states, but 2005 found us moving back to the area. I started seeing the same ad in the paper again. Life circumstances had changed drastically and I found myself in June 2005 as a widowed father of 3 who really didn’t want to go back to pastoring. I thought this was as good a time as any to check this place out. I started taking classes for voiceover (as well as on-camera acting) and really enjoyed it. I got my first voiceover job in 2006 and have been working more and more steadily ever since.

2. What is the one thing you know now that you wish someone had told you when you first started out in voiceover?

I think the fact that this is a business, and that you can’t wait for things to come to you. If no agents come knocking down your door, what are you prepared to do?

3. What do you see as the biggest professional or personal obstacle you face that impacts your voiceover business and how are you working to overcome it?

It can be very easy to get caught in a rut, so continued training and practice is important. I am fortunate to live close enough to L.A. that there are plenty of workshops and coaching/training sessions available. I’m working on squirreling away a little cash regularly for these to try and keep sharp.

4. What personal trait or professional tool has helped you succeed the most in your career so far?

There are a lot of people in this business that I have found to be very generous with their wisdom and advice. I don’t think I’d be anywhere near as successful as I’ve been without the voiceover folks I’ve interacted with on the VO-BB and other places.

5. In your development as a voice over performer, who has been the one particular individual or what has been the one piece of performance advice (maybe a key performance trick, etc.) that you felt has had the most impact on your actual voice over performance and why?

The thing that sticks out most is the importance of being yourself. It can be very easy to get caught up in trying to mimic or copy someone else’s voice, and be another “them.” But there’s only one YOU. Show what “you” and “your voice” bring to the table.

walt disney meets db cooper

d.b._coooper_voice_talent

I always enjoy sharing projects featuring my voice-over pals and this video featuring the voice talents of DB Cooper is a very worthwhile watch.

voice over observation and insight

I’ve held on to a blog post from “Not Just Voiceover”, produced by my voiceover friend James Lorenz, since mid-March because I just wasn’t sure what to do with it…but I knew there was “something” there. The post noted:

Actor-singer Zac Efron, who is part of the animated movie ” The Lorax”, says giving voice-over for the film was not what he had expected.

The actor plays the lead protagonist Ted and admits putting his voice down for the part was not what he had expected, reported contactmusic.com.

“It was kind of weird. It was not what I expected. Luckily, I found out we got to record before it was animated, so we didn’t have to fit our lips into their mouths, which I always wondered if people had to do or not.

An “actor” who doesn’t understand voice acting? “Fit our lips into their mouths,” said Efron. Surely, that was a joke, right?

But why was Zac Efron (or Taylor Swift for that matter) the right voice for the movie? I kinda wonder, but do not know, if the casting was more about star power than voice acting skills.

Certainly, my opinion is tainted because this is my business. Further, in fairness, I’ve not seen the movie and maybe the performances by the two young performers were amazing. And movies are a business, not an acting showcase – stars do sell tickets.

But is it right? The answer is, I think, it doesn’t matter because the celebrity voiceover situation is unlikely to change.

But then I came across this AMAZING interview with the great voice actor Billy West produced by Dan Roberts.

There is so much great stuff here but West talking about celebrity voice over made me feel better and not so alone in my opinion.

What do you think?

5 Questions for a Professional Voice Over Talent – Erica Risberg

Today’s 5 Questions for a Professional Voice Over Talent are answered by Erica Risberg, a professional voice over talent based in Portland, Oregon.

1. The beginning: When did you know you wanted to be a voiceover talent; how did your career begin (please include what year it started) and then when did your passion for voiceover develop into something professional?

I knew I wanted to be a cartoon voice when I was about 4. My parents were very big influences on me – my mom was a kindergarten teacher and read stories with a variety of different voices; my dad did character voices and accents for as long as I can remember. I had a second life goal pop up when I was 12. My grandfather (aka my best friend) had died when I was ten, and I found out he wanted to be a physician when I was 12. I knew I didn’t have the fortitude to spend my days around blood, so I determined that I would be the family doctor, but I’d major in history. That second life goal took 25 years to attain, and kept me from focusing on my first love. I looked into voiceovers in my 20s, and again, when I started grad school in 2000 at the University of Maine. I went to the New England School of Communications and asked if they had voiceover classes. They convinced me to sign up for an announcing class instead. Great advice… I finished the class, and then took a course at the UM on making documentaries using archival sound. Thus was born another passion – sound preservation.

While living in Maine, I volunteered for the Maine Audio Information Reading Service, and then got a job as a part time announcer with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. I got involved with a local film company, Edge Studio, in Bangor, and voiced the openings to their TV series “Strange America”, and did PSAs for MPBN. I graduated in 2006 with my sought after Ph.D., and moved to the Seattle area, where I decided to invest in my original passion. I came across Penny Abshire’s and James Alburger’s Voice Academy and started listening to calls. From there, I heard Marc Cashman and learned about the Voice 2010 conference, and decided that if I was serious about my pursuits, I wanted to have Marc as my coach, and that I would attend the conference. Between 2010 and April of 2011, I moved across the country twice, so, once again, I had to put my dreams on hold a little to attend to family issues, but I’m VERY happy to say that I’m settled now and can focus on my career. I had my demos done in January, and have started focusing in earnest on growing my business.

2. What is the one thing you know now that you wish someone had told you when you first started out in voiceover?

How critical networking is to growing your business. I am much wiser now, and have strategically targeted groups that I invest time in, and it would’ve been very helpful to know that up front so I would’ve invested my time more effectively.

3. What do you see as the biggest professional or personal obstacle you face that impacts your voiceover business and how are you working to overcome it?

The biggest obstacle I’m facing is becoming a known quantity in the community. I’ve moved a lot and had lots of family members pass away in the past 6 years, and I’m finally at a place in my life where I can settle down and establish roots. I have enthusiasm and dedication, but until I break through and develop a reputation like I have as a researcher, I will keep spinning wheels. That requires a lot of investment in places that are out of my comfort zone, such as signing up as an extra for film and TV. In Portland, the best way to get known is to get myself out there in the community, and so, while I’m not a huge fan of being in front of the camera, it enables me to meet people that have connections. From there, it will grow, but I have to start where I live.

4. What personal trait or professional tool has helped you succeed the most in your career so far?

It’s hard to choose one. I listen very well and have an aptitude for hearing nuances and mimicking them with my own voice. I also have a very high standard of responsibility, and my manners seem to work well too. I’m also personable and a problem solver. More than you probably wanted to know, but I did say it was hard to choose.

5. In your development as a voice over performer, who has been the one particular individual or what has been the one piece of performance advice (maybe a key performance trick, etc.) that you felt has had the most impact on your actual voice over performance and why?

Marc Cashman has been incredibly helpful as a voiceover coach. I met him at the Voice 2010 conference and asked him if he’d like to take me on as a student. The growth I’ve had under his guidance has been remarkable. His balance of constructive criticism and encouragement has helped me develop my voice to a level I hadn’t imagined. I also have to thank Pat Fraley for his courses as well – I’ve practiced his “Greatest Cartoon Voice Tricks Ever Smuggled out of Hollywood” pretty regularly, and have developed quite an aptitude for some of the sounds. Past them, well, I have to say that the entire voiceover community is incredibly welcoming and supportive. There are several individuals whom I haven’t worked with personally, but have been really encouraging. Everyone I’ve met personally or online has been so forthcoming with their knowledge it’s amazing. It’s really a pleasure to be working in such a great environment.

serious improv at faffcon 4

So some of you may know that at the past couple of FaffCon’s I have run a well-received improv session.

I think this is extremely valuable for voice-over talents for many reasons including improving listening skills and being able to think fast on one’s feet. There’s more to it than that, but that’s a quick summary.

On FaffCon’s Saturday afternoon closing circle, I was grabbed by Pam Tierney (not an unpleasant experience) and advised that Connie Terwilliger and me were going to live announce the sponsor prize giveaways…in about 2 minutes.

Then Connie immediately noted that she couldn’t do the live announce because she was taking pictures so I would be going it alone. And this would all take place starting in about :60 seconds.

As would almost any voice talent, the first thing I asked for was a script so I would be able to credit each FaffCon sponsor gift properly as well as know the significant list of sponsors from every sponsorship level.

There was no list of sponsors on paper.

And yes, that was Amy introducing me live to the mic. Now.

Oh dear.

So I needed to figure out how to thank every sponsor immediately. I needed to improvise a sponsor list.

I looked quickly to my fellow FaffCon volunteer and the friend who saved my bacon in front of a very live studio audience, Lauren McCullough. She was wearing her FaffCon t-shirt which conveniently enough, listed every sponsor on the back of the shirt.

I had my script…as long as Lauren stood in front of me with her back to me…which she did (hence the picture above).

And we didn’t miss a beat.

Lesson: be ready.

Listen. Think quickly. Improvise.