Entries Tagged as 'guest blogger'

guest blogger – stephanie ciccarelli of voices.com

Stephanie Ciccarelli of Voices.com

Editors Note: When the content merits it (or we’re just feeling too darn lazy to write our own stuff) voxmarketising welcomes guest bloggers. Today we welcome Stephanie Ciccarelli, Co-Founder, and Chief Marketing Officer of Voices.com, who blogs today about how handsome and talented I am.

Social Media for Voice Talent from a Casting Perspective
by Stephanie Ciccarelli

Social media is fun, it’s free and generally the return on investment is exceptional… but what happens when you’re tweeting or updating your status on various properties about auditions, experiences and information that might be considered classified by those in casting circles?

Most of us have pretty good manners and keep details about gigs with non-disclosure agreements off the social media circuit, but what about grey areas such as auditions or jobs before you’ve signed an NDA?

What’s off limits and what isn’t?

Perhaps the thought hasn’t even crossed your mind. For many, it doesn’t. A perfect case in point is when the celebrity cast of a certain animated feature film decided to tweet about their involvement with the project before the PR department at the production house gave the official okay to shout their joyous strains from the rooftops. Needless to say, the cat had been let out of the proverbial bag and the actors were reprimanded in some capacity for tweeting about it.

What are producers doing about this?

According the Hollywood Reporter new artist contracts are now drawn up with special clauses that pertain to social media with the purpose of obtaining a commitment from talent to not leak juicy details or the like when signing on to work with companies such as Disney. Disney’s contract has a clause forbidding confidentiality breaches by way of “interactive media such as Facebook, Twitter, or any other interactive network or personal blog.”

How has this played out in practice? Cameron Diaz and Mike Myers are said to have both signed DreamWorks contracts with anti-Twitter clauses prior to the release of the newest Shrek movie.

While many celebrities declare that their tweeting days are numbered, others opt to honor their contracts and use their Twitter accounts in relation to a given project when and if appropriate.

To ensure you don’t get into a situation, check with the producers you’re working on projects with to see if there are any clauses that might affect your ability to publicize your involvement and or experiences. It also may not hurt to check with those who didn’t make you sign an NDA and see what their preferences are with regard to social media and their project in development.

Although sharing insider information can make you feel like you have a special currency with the public, beware! Releasing behind the scenes features, dev journals and the like usually fall into the realm of the companies themselves. Does this mean you can’t write about or share your own experience? More often than not you’ll meet with a positive reply, but ask before you post, tweet or speak.

About the Author
Stephanie Ciccarelli is one of the most connected people in voice overs, a sought after industry expert and respected blogger. In 2003, she co-founded Voices.com, the voice over marketplace, and has been actively engaged in the voice acting community ever since. Mrs. Ciccarelli graduated with a Bachelor of Musical Arts ’06 from the Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario and is also the author of many eBooks, including the Definitive Guide to Voice Over Success, editor of the VOX Daily Voice Actors Blog and also shares her insights and unique perspectives via podcast.