If only jobs were as easy or exciting as they initially sounded.

The idea of being a chocolate taster seems like a good idea but if you think about it, maybe not. After a while, you are likely going to be pretty sick of chocolate.

It’s kind of the same thing when casting a voice for a production. There are lots of talented men and women out there who serve as professional announcers or voice over talent and can easily a voiceover your commercial, imaging project, on-hold message or video narration.

And I mean lots.

That’s where the challenge comes in.

Describing the type of voiceover you want

As the potential voice over employer (client), having to describe a voice you want for your project for a production house or on-line audition service will almost require a PhD in similes. If it makes you feel any better, voice talents are just as bad as describing their sound for clients (the over used description “voice of God has always struck me as a rather unqualifiable reference that always makes me chuckle).

But these totally subjective descriptions from clients and voice over talents are a large part of what makes voice casting an incredibly inexact science that rarely proves accurate. It’s not because the employer or announcer wants to mislead, but more because the spectrum of sound quality is so skewed to each listener’s taste.

Sifting through voice over talent auditions

If one voice over talent audition is heard, a hundred are heard. Old voices, young voices, sleek, rough, country-bumpkin and city slicker. The even worse news is that on some auditions all the aforementioned voices may be on just one audition.

Set some uninterrupted time aside and plow through them… it’s going to take awhile.

The weird science of voice auditioning

From the office secretary of a small business to the Chief Creative Officer at a worldwide advertising agency (and that IS how broad the range is of people selecting a voice talent nowadays), what you think you want at the beginning of the process is rarely what you end up with at the end of the voice over auditioning process. Of course, there are exceptions but usually the process of voice talent auditioning creates some sort of epiphany for the client at some point in the production process.

Whether it’s the special sound of a female talent’s low vocal register or the dead-on impersonation offered a male talent, a voice talent can cement an ad campaign’s direction or so amazingly enhance a marketing concept that a new campaign idea is born. It happens all the time.

Ultimately, the best suggestion for a client is to keep an open mind, even when you “know what you want”.

Going through the process

Here are some simple tips to get you through the voice audition process:

• Decide whether you want to request general audition recordings (which mean listing to generic voiceover demos) or if you want the talents to record a customized demo for the audition. While customized auditions are usually free (especially for non-union voice over talent) voices usually want to know a budget range to see if the project is ultimately going to be worth their time to audition for so…

• Establish a reasonable budget for the voice talent’s services and let the talent know what the “range” of that budget is

• Be sure to indicate the type of production it’s going to be: commercial, video narration, voice imaging…and be as specific about details as possible. This will ensure the voice talent can send you the demo that most suits your needs

• Be sure to indicate what format you want the audition to arrive as: MP3, WAV file or mailed on a CD. Voice talents are usually glad to give prospective clients want you want in whatever format you want it

• If you’re going to initially ask for generic demos, make two piles, keepers and tossers:
– The keepers you may ask to audition again with a more specific piece of copy or you may want to interview them, your choice
– With the tossers, while it would be more professional if you created a generic but personally addressed letter politely saying “thanks but no thanks” most voice over talents subscribe to the notion that they didn’t get the job they just auditioned for; which make the “you got the job” call THAT much sweeter.

• If you want a custom audition, make sure you provide pronunciation keys in the script. A mispronunciation is upsetting for the talent and frustrating for the listener

• On customized demos, be ready to hear the same script over and over….focus on listening for script intrepretation, tone and inflection. Don’t focus on the words or you’ll zone out (see the earlier chocolate taster reference).

Tags: advertising, character voices, commentary, commercials, narrations, podcasting, radio, technology, tv, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I get asked all the time about producing voice over demos. I certainly have produced more than my share and its a lot of work for one minute’s worth of voiceover, job-getting magic. But you’re impatient and you want the golden ticket NOW.

Well to answer all the voiceover newbies, here’s the magic answer:

You’ve got 20 seconds, if you’re lucky!
Now get in line, cross your fingers and say a prayer.

You’ve just sent in your voice over demo for a possible voiceover job….along with anywhere from 5 to 200 other voice over talents.

In 20 seconds (usually less) a producer is going to toss your demo into the :

• “Keep for review pile” (which will get whittled down again until the producer picks “the” voice talent) or
• “Throw in the garbage” file.

Anyone in voice-overs (even the so-called “big names”) know a voice over talent is going to get rejected more often than they get hired…the numbers are not in the talent’s favor no matter how talented.

Since most times the voice actor is not likely to be auditioning in person (especially outside the big 3 U.S. markets) you (the talent) have only one tool at your disposal to represent your enormous talent, range, creativity, charming personality, client-friendly demeanor, multi-faceted character repertoire and stunning good looks (in the eyes of the listener). That tool is your voiceover demo.

And now you’re only getting 10 seconds…this better be good.

A 10 second demo?

No, I was just kidding. The industry standard is one minute for the length of your voice over demo with segments of spots ranging anywhere from about 6 seconds to 12 seconds depending on the content. The point is that whatever the producer hears in the first 10-15 seconds will determine whether your voice has the exact (or very close to exact) quality the producer is looking for.

What is that quality? Only the producer knows (it’s very subjective) so all you should worry now only about showing your best work as professionally as possible.

Generic or customized?

Every voice artist should have at least one strong generic demo to be able to present to a prospective client (at the moment, the most favored demo format is an MP3 for e-mail and a CD for snail mail….and yes, the CD should have a professional look to it, not a Sharpie scrawl of your name across it).

Some folks create generic demos based on category…a generic commercial demo, a generic narration demo, a generic character voice demo and so on. Tailored demos simply mean the producer has a demo script he/she wants you to voice; if you are asked, do it.

How do I determine voice over demo content?

Assuming here we’re talking about creating a strong generic demo (not a category voice demo) the recommendations here are:

• The best or most widely heard of any spots or narrations you’ve been paid to create (this should include straight reads as well as character voices). Preferably you want the fully produced cuts on your demo, not the dry reads unless that’s how they were produced.
• Any tailored commercial, narration or voice imaging demos that you felt really presented your talents well.
• Determine your best work from all your categories (commercials, narrations, voice imaging, on-hold, audio books etc.). Then consider the type of work you’re most often hired or considered for and include best of all those segments mixed as you think works best.

When you’re done producing your voiceover demo….you’re not. Play it for other people in the business, get their opinions, and tell them to be cruel, put it up on some voice over bulletin boards that encourage member-to-member critiques. Take all the info to heart (but not personally, the critiques are about “the voice”, not you) and make the changes that you think make the most sense.

What’s in that first 10 seconds?

Your money voice. Every voice artists has one, some have a few. The money voice is either:

• That voice that seems to bring you the most work/that you’re most known for OR
• The voice that you can do well that seems to be in vogue among those who are hiring (at the moment, it’s the sort of conversational, everyman voice as opposed to the big-balls announcer voice).

Now the truth.

Voice demos are close to the apex of and imperfect science. It is an ever-evolving tool and one for which your lively hood depends…but no matter how good it is, your demo is useless if no one hears it. That requires marketing.

And that’s a subject for another day.

Hope this helps.

Tags: character voices, commentary, commercials, marketing, narrations, podcasting, radio, technology, tv, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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It’s funny how, not really so long ago, I was editing commercials, narrations and other voice over projects with a razor blade and tape on a beautiful Otari reel-to-reel machine. The digital age has made that skill obsolete.

While that’s not new news to most, take a moment to reflect on the time period of that change, how fast it took place, where technology is today and how in just a few future “blinks” we’re going to be producing audio and voice projects with even newer, faster technology.

ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network) has always had many applications but ISDN’s application for voice over talent has been a standard for over a decade (and its been around longer than that). But the question in voice over circles has been is “ISDN’s usefulness to voiceover’s about to change?”

For many part-time voice talents, the benefits of having an ISDN studio was squelched by the significant start up and maintenance costs; basically if you didn’t have a regular client to foot the ISDN bill, why take the financial risk.

Entering the mainstream consciousness in the past 4-5 years has been Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Companies like Vonage and Skype have for a while now been promoted VOIP’s significant benefits over our traditional long distance telephone calls plans. But now the benefits are being noticed and exploited by voice over talents by combining it with ISDN technologies.

VoIP over ISDN has real cost savings potential but for voice over talents and studios, there has not been the establishment of a leading product or services system for VoIP over ISDN, especially in using IP Telephony. There is no Telos Zephyr (the world-standard codecs for radio and television broadcasters) for VoIP over ISDN Systems. At present, VoIP over ISDN can be done technically,but the standard for Quality of Service is presently a bit…cumbersome.

My bet is that there will be even a faster, less expensive service that will include VoIP over ISDN or even surpass it as the technology of choice for cross country and international voice over hook ups. Wait until the market shakes out from that change!

Your thoughts?

Tags: commentary, isdn, radio, technology, tv, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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It’s really the car dealers’ fault.

Somewhere in a marketing meeting in Detroit long ago, a car maker’s resident ad guru came up with the brilliant (?) idea to present at the national dealer’s meeting – have the owner of the dealership appear in the radio and television ads. Other business owners took note of the trend and figured they’d do it too.

What do I think of the idea?

Two words: New Coke®. Yeah, bad, reeeeeaaaaalllly bad idea. Get past the usually unfair stereotype of a Car Dealer for a second (although that negative stereotype was indeed fostered by dealers appearing in bad commercials, often late at night), these folks are often good managers, good salesmen and good people but they are rarely good spokespeople.

Oh, it worked once in the eighties but even when Chrysler recently resurrected Lee Iacocca to pitch cars again, it was simply not good (Iacocca playing golf with Snoop Dog dressed in pastel argyle?! That’s brain numbing on so many levels that we’re all lucky our eyeballs didn’t roll up in our heads and stay put!)

But it’s memorable, you say? So is a kidney stone but, not in a good way.

It’s the same note of severe caution I would offer to any business person looking to appear in a radio or TV ad. No matter what your TV or radio account executive tells you, it might not be the best idea to be your own spokesperson if you really don’t have the performance skills to pull it off.

What do you have to lose, you ask? How about your professional credibility and your reputation?

Example one: You come up with a concept to appear in a television commercial for your company that features you either “acting”, or dressing up in a silly outfit or behaving in a way that is out of character for you. The spot may be funny and memorable but likely not in the way you intended and not in a way that builds sales (which is why most of us advertise anyway.)

Example two: The business owner decides that he wants to be the “announcer” for his own radio commercial. Fine, except he speaks in a low monotonous cadence or she has a squeaky nasally voice. Neither is likely to encourage listeners to stay tuned in to hear the message and buy the product or service. Yikes! Those folks should never be featured in commercial except in extenuating circumstances.

There are no doubt many talented business owners who have great communication skills and look good on camera and will serve as terrific company representatives.  But that’s NOT everybody and a truly smart business person will “know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em” when it comes to picking a spokesperson or talent for their spots

Tags: commentary, commercials, radio, tv, voice actors, voice casting, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Whether the network you subscribe to (now or in the future) is XM or Sirius, satellite radio maybe one of the best things to ever happen to the medium since the growth in popularity of the FM band in the 60’s and 70’s. And the nice part is, no matter what side of the argument of indecency versus freedom of speech you sit on, everybody wins!

A Stern Awakening?

With radio personality Howard Stern’s contract with Infinity Broadcasting finally coming to an end (its expected his last terrestrial broadcast for that group will be sometime in mid-December 2005 if Infinity doesn’t end it sooner) Stern will finally be able to begin his long promoted run on Sirius Satellite Radio (for what is reported to be hundreds of millions of dollars for Stern).

Sirius has garnered a number of positives in the Stern deal: Stern and his “brand” bring instant credibility to a young and fiercely competitive satellite market as the majority of Stern’s current audience is expected to not only subscribe to Sirius but also pay an additional fee to hear Stern.  The self-proclaimed “King of All Media” will enjoy the freedom to present his program sans restrictions much like cable’s subscriber and pay-per-view systems, which may entice current Sirius Satellite Radio subscribers to pay the Stern fee as well.  Stern will also be programming other channels (some featuring other radio personalities like Stern whose programming and style were not welcomed any longer on the AM/FM bands).

Broadcast Radio’s Death or Re-birth?

Infinity (and other radio stations that syndicate the Stern broadcast currently) now has new morning show host choices to pick from as well as decisions to make.  Former Van Halen front man David Lee Roth and comedian/radio personality Adam Corolla are just two show hosts that Infinity will offer its stations as a Stern replacement.  Morning drive is universally radio’s prime revenue source so there are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake as well as more than a few jobs at Infinity and other radio outlets.

Equally, though, losing Stern relives the strain on participating stations that were under extreme pressure from the Federal Communication Commission and the United States Congress to put an end to all indecent broadcasts (which based on the government’s targeted fines seemed to include Stern and other labeled “Shock-Jocks” around America). At the core of the indecency argument was the actual definition of what was considered “indecent”. The FCC and Congress didn’t seem to spend too much time on truly crafting that definition as it seemed hell bent on issuing fines to get their “targets” off the air.

But in addition to reliving the strain of towing the line of a foggy list of indecency rules, the fines and farewell of Stern from terrestrial broadcast may spark a new and better level of radio programming that, especially in the morning slots, had become lazy and complacent to let a bit too much either innuendo or outright seamy sexuality and vulgarity be broadcast when the majority of listeners (of ALL ages) were listening. Broadcasters (large and small) really have a chance to make a programming change and make it right. Entertainment doesn’t have to be about sex there are a lot more topics than that which audiences will find interesting and funny.  For broadcast radio, that knocking sound is opportunity waiting to be let in.  And for those who like the naughtier jokes. much like cable television, satellite radio awaits. 

The Irony Of It All

The amazing fall of Stern on broadcast radio had almost less to do with radio and more with television and Janet Jackson’s “Nipple-Gate” (though he had been fined before that revealing Super Bowl broadcast).  Now with radio’s act on its way to being cleaned up (more or less) it seems that network television’s entertainment content hasn’t really changed that much.  It will be interesting to see if government agencies now turn their guns toward prime time broadcast television programming and promotion which continues to expose kids to a wide variety of bad messages.

A Final Observation

Ultimately, though it’s not sexy programming or corporate ownership that has the final say about what is listened to or watched.  That responsibility falls to the viewer and in the case of those under the voting age, the parents.  As much as broadcasting is a privilege, the mediums of radio and television should not be used as a babysitter. As has been often been said about programs like Stern, there is an off switch and it’s up to every responsible adult to know when to “clap on clap off!”

Tags: commentary, radio, technology by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Jack Nicholson
 
Michael Douglas
 
Demi Moore
 
Julia Roberts
 
The story goes that Jack was offered over a million dollars by a U.S. car company (or more properly, its ad agency) to simply do a voice over for a commercial some years back.  Supposedly he turned it down. Michael Douglas did not (although it seemed Douglas’ fee wasn’t so high).

She was an attractive actress as many were and are on soap operas but when Demi Moore was on General Hospital in the 80’s, what made her stand out more than her looks was her voice.  Keds noticed…so did Oscar Mayer.
 
And when America On-Line decided to slant their logo, round their typeface and freshen their post-merger image, they called on America’s most famous actress to help build membership. A fairly pregnant Julia Roberts surely covered the twins’ college expenses with her AOL voice over.
 
But bottom-line, what’s the value to the client paying the voice over bill?
 
Well, it depends.
 
And hadn’t commercials long ago become un-cool for A-List celebrities?
 
Um, sort of.
 
But what about the everyday announcer who doesn’t act in movies or television?
 
It’s just a few more swimmers in an already overcrowded pool, I guess.
 
The Value of Voice

There are no two ways about it; a celebrity endorsement can help build brand awareness…whether the celebrity is in front of the camera or behind the microphone. But for realistic brand and selling impact, the celebrity tie in must make sense…either by cutting through the clutter with a celebrity’s unique qualities (looks, sound, image, reputation, etc.) or by some sort of logical or direct tie-in with a product (a quick example would be a golfer endorsing and pitching golf products and/or apparel).
 
Does Demi Moore serving as voice talent for a TV spot for Keds women’s sneakers cut through the clutter? It did in my case…I didn’t think of her looks when I heard the spot…but her voice truly cut through the advertising clutter…it’s up to Madison Avenue to tell me whether women bought more sneakers because they “bought” Demi’s voice.
 
On the other hand, if the concept was that “America’s Sweetheart” would tie-in well voicing spots for America On-Line (America’s Sweetheart/America On-Line…get it?) it was lost on me after the initial “shock” value of having realized Julia Roberts provided the voice over. Somehow it made me think I was already paying too much for AOL’s service and now, if AOL had to pay Julia (a lot, I surmised), I was going to end up paying more for AOL. That didn’t make me want to stay an AOL subscriber. And I have nothing against Julia Roberts.
 
Are Actors Cool, Uncool or Just Trying to Pay Bill Via Voiceover?
In the old days, celebrities were expected to serve as pitchmen and women and accepted. Heck even newsmen did on-camera ads (Paul Harvey is the modern endorsement exception to what used to be a broadcasting news given).
 
More recently, it seemed un-cool for celebrities of any stature (fleeting as that stature always is) to appear in commercials…at least in the U.S. Brad Pitt has even done commercials recently….overseas. However, via voice over, celebrities can offer tacit endorsement of a product without actually being directly associated with it…it takes a trained ear to catch some of the relatively well known celebrities who are heard on commercials nowadays.
 
But hey, not all performers are really well known or always employed. When I hear David Duchovny pitching Pedigree Dog Food or Corbin Bernsen hawking Chryslers I think these are just folks trying to pay the mortgage between acting gigs…I bear no malice towards them for trying to make money.  But does such commercial work gel with their more artistic, less commercial endeavors? Should Fox Mulder really push puppy treats? I’m just asking!
 
The Poor Slobs Leftover

So what does the future hold for the rest of us (yes, me too) voice over artists in this growing circle of celebrity commercial voices? Well, whether or not we’ll need to wear shades, I see the voice over talents’ future as bright.
 
If a celebrity has the right voice for a spot then a producer will pick him/her…especially when it’s the voice and not the “celebrity” aspect that won the job. Kathleen Turner could easily become a voice over millionaire and there are fewer voices more recognizable or more listenable than the ageless Lauren Becall even when selling cat food (Fancy Feast) or discount retailers (Tuesday Morning). A great voice is a great voice and should be appreciated and enjoyed as such.
 
Better news is the new uses of the Internet for communication, marketing and advertising purposes…there’s lots of work for voice over artists who are sharp enough to embrace the opportunities the web presents. Plus, there are always plenty of reasonably well paying jobs around the world for aggressive, talented voice over artists.
 
Celebrities are taking some jobs because some companies need the extra push a celebrity voice can bring…initially. But whoa to a celebrity voice over that doesn’t positively impact sales and only results in a higher advertising expense lines…then even the most “in the moment” celebrity will become an “Apprentice” (i.e. “You’re Fired!”)

Tags: character voices, commentary, commercials, narrations, radio, tv, voice actors, voice casting by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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