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Although I attend all too infrequently so that I can be at home with the growing fam, I am allowed back in to study occassionally with the great teacher and my friend Toni Silveri of The Voice Actor Workshop here in town.

Quick plug: Toni is bringing into Buffalo her long-time friend Pat Fraley on August 16-17 for two classes. The Saturday workshop “The Silly, The Serious and The Subtle” character voice class is full but there are a few spots left for the class I am attending on Recording Audio Books. Contact Toni through All Coast Talent to reserve your spot.

WHY ARE YOU IN A WORKSHOP?!

I was talking with my friend Amy Snively yesterday. She’s a marvelous voice talent in Los Angeles that you’ve probably heard on network shows as a promo voice or as a narrator (her commercial work is cool too). In a wonderfully wide ranging conversation she hit on a theme that that people have brought before me many times: why do you (me) attend voice over classes?

The question is usually meant in a complimentary way (I think) as if to say you’re very talented and knowledgeable about all things voice. You should be teaching not studying.

Well I do teach (if you can call it that, compared to the scores of more thoughtful tutors in our industry) but I am so knowledgeable about voice and about life that I know just how much I don’t know. You may have to read that again to grasp the intent. The point is: there is always something more to learn. Our brains may have a finite capacity for knowledge but I’m pretty sure I’m still only using a ¼ of the tank in my cranium. So I need to keep filling.

GROUP OR SOLO?

Amy wanted me to consider private coaching as all of my learning as been in a group environment when it comes to voice over. She and many of my peers have accomplished great things in this format. I probably should try private coaching to actually compare but my inner-sense (and certainly experience) tells me I learn more in a group setting. Your mileage may vary as we all learn in different ways (best to check under your own hood for directions on preference.)

Maybe I’ll change my mind after I try the private route.

It could be that I “think” I prefer the group setting because of the solitary nature of our business; the chance to interact and work with peers helps renew my joy for voice over. “There are others like me, I am not a freak!” (Or at least the other freaks are very nice and I enjoy their company.)

But I think it’s getting input and direction from my respected teachers and insight from my fellow students that helps me improve so much in both my performance and my mental game. I will grant you that in a workshop setting, you would have to respect and value the opinion of your fellow students for this to be applicable and if you didn’t get a good group at the outset, you’re pooched). There are nuggets of voice over and performance gold all around in a great VO group class.

HIDDEN TALENTS REVEALED

There is always some epiphany I come away with when I study with Toni and the rest of the class who are by and large some of the most talent and under credited voice talents I have worked with in twenty-five years. Their talents and mine are always magnified under Toni’s tutelage.

Last night I was encouraged to use a narrator voice that to my ear sounded awfully but the class went nuts over it!

That to me is just one great example of why voice talents need to study: we as voice artists cannot rely constantly on our own ears to ensure our performances nor can we rely on the clients’ ears. Why?

Our ears are too used to and accepting of our own VO quirks and short cuts that can (long term) hamper our performance. And clients are not professional voice talents; they’ve hired you because you sound great to them so even if you know you offered a slightly flawed performance, they may love it. Well great, the check cleared and the client’s happy but should that in itself be enough? If you are a true voice professional, I say no.

VOICE 2008 AND OTHER WORKSHOPS

As we approach VOICE 2008 in Los Angeles in early August, there’s a lot of talk now about voice training. That event will bring together voice talents from around the world with some tremendous teachers – it’s a group learning setting where I know I would learn lots but I am not going. Why?

Cost? Not really as I have airline mileage points and hotel stay points that make travel a minor cost issue and certainly the show is not cost prohibitive. But as I told Amy ultimately the time and travel commitment is – I have to justify to myself taking a lot of time away from my children and my wife to pursue my professional education. And I’ve already done a lot of training this year.

Deb Munroe who is based out of Vancouver, B.C., came into Toronto a few months back to hold an advanced training of her Mic & Me Workshop. It was a two day event but I came up for only one day. What a fireball of energy Deb is! She’s a very focused teacher who helped me further my “everyman” persona is a great way. She’s a charmer and a go-getter who really helped everyone with their VO needs. You’ll see her at VOICE. Please tell her I said hi.

Stevie Vallance presented her Tooned In Workshop on character voices also in Toronto this summer. She is a multi-talent performer, a three-time Emmy nominee and one-time Emmy Award winner who continues to excel in the animation field, having served as a voice actor and voice director on many network cartoon shows. That was a wonderful vocal work out where I again was introduced to some new talent while also working with old friends.

Combine that with Fraley’s workshop coming up in August and that’s plenty of workshops for me. Though I would love the networking I would do in LA, its very unlikely that I’ll attend….this year.

What have been your training experiences this year and how did they go? Planning on any workshops and what are your goals for the workshops? Let me know.

Thanks for reading.

If you haven’t already, we’d be honored if you subscribe to voxmarketising – the audio’connell blog and podcast by clicking the “subscribe” button on this blog.

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Tags: animation, announcers, audio books, character voices, commentary, commercials, narrations, peter o'connell, voice actors, voice over workshop, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Woe is me for being so late (over a week) in posting the happenings of a great dinner with my voiceover peers in San Diego. The words were ready but WordPress was being technically malfeasant regarding the picture upload. With the problem solved and all apologies for the delay, I shall commence.

San Diego, California is quickly ranking right up there with Toronto, Ontario as one of my favorite cities, this time made all the more enjoyable by a great dinner with my voice over friends of the left coast.

I had warned Connie Terwilliger back in December during the NBC Nightly News Voice Off that duties for a marketing client of mine would bring me out to SD where she’s based. Usually women who are forewarned of my arrival scurry like mice uncovered by a flashlight but not Connie. She up and helps organize a dinner out there with some great voice talents and their better halves.

I was the only one flying solo as she-who-must-be-obeyed was at her Mother’s house with the little O’s at a family gathering that I obviously missed (or that was strategically scheduled…take your pick…kidding).

Some great voice over stories, secrets and ideas on marketing tools were shared and a successful trip was made even more so by the kindness and generosity of some amazingly talented voice actors.

My thanks to my fellow voice talents (pictured from left to right) Bobbin Beam, Awesome Voice (guess who), Connie Terwilliger, James Alburger and Penny Abshire for sharing their time with me. Thank you doesn’t cover it…but thanks.

Tags: announcers, commentary, peter o'connell, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I am a non-union voice over talent.

I have never been a member of a performer’s union like the Screen Actor’s Guild (with an estimated 120,000 members) or the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (with an estimated 70,000 members).

Both unions are negotiating their new contracts with the studios via the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Normally, the two unions negotiate together. This time they are not. They are at war and they will both lose. AFTRA is voting on their contract with the producers and SAG is angry about it (there’s a lot more to it and you can read more details, starting here.)

I feel so badly for all the performers affected by this as they are simply trying to work within the system that’s been established. It has to be terribly frustrating. Adding my voice to the discussion won’t mean much but its been weighing on my mind for so long because of various discussion I have has with my fellow voice talents that I finally figured I should get it off my chest so that it can be summarily ignored.

WHY NON-UNION?
As a potential member, I am not against these unions but rather their features and benefits have never outweighed the features and benefits of being non-union. It’s a personal choice for every performer. It does not mean I wouldn’t consider union membership at another point in my career…if it were worth it.

As I have stated before, if I lived in New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago, I would likely have joined a union there, as most of the work up until recently has been primarily union. (Yes, the italics indicate where we should insert the dramatic music of a soap opera organ.)

CREATED FOR GOOD, CORRUPTED BY GREED
The foundation for these two unions (the primary unions for television, radio, movie and yes, voice over performers) was as necessary for the entertainment industry as it was for most other unions in other industries…management abused and neglected workers and wasn’t going to stop doing that unless they were forced to stop.

The creation of unions within many industries developed that force. Wages became equitable, working conditions improved, health benefits were established to name just a few of the benefits unions provided. Further, union membership was also meant to imply that the quality of worker was better (sometimes that worked and sometimes it didn’t). But as some unions gained prestige, they seemed to have become somewhat drunk with the abusive power that necessitated their inception. Power was abused, laws were broken and some union necessitated costs sky rocketed.

THE WHOLE IS STRONGER THAN THE HALF
The fiscal reality that surrounds any business is that two entities that are bashing their brains out trying to go after the same customers, spending good money after bad to do so, might be better served by merging. Airlines do it; banks do it…all business does it. If it doesn’t cannibalize the market, merge – the businesses will be more successful.

AFTRA and SAG have been discussing merging for a while now and recently decided not to merge. 44,000 AFTRA members are paying two union dues by also being members of SAG…that a lot of crossover and in my opinion wasted money.

I don’t know the specific reasons each party had for walking away from the deal but in such matters I have sixth sense that, if it kicks in hard enough, always assures me I’m right. I call this sense the “Logic Sense”. It’s when an answer appears so blatantly obvious to everyone that it’s clearly the course to follow. Having over 50% of AFTRA members also paying dues to SAG (securing union services that overlap significantly) simply because there are two union contracts in place is to me crazy. One union would have been the smarter way to go.

But I also get the sense (maybe it’s my “seventh” sense) that ego, selfishness and pride (an ailment affecting all of us that may be slightly magnified in Hollywood and New York) is what was at the heart of the merger breakdown. But I wasn’t there so I don’t know for sure.

NEGOTIATING FROM A POSITION OF WEAKNESS
I’m not much of a protester. Carrying placards and signs at a rally or in front of a building is not my style.

One, I would find it embarrassing and that’s not an easy thing to do.

Two, I think a picket’s effectiveness to embarrass the people you have to negotiate with is really minor. After a few days and barring violence (never a good idea) the protest becomes blasé.

Three, I think the public ultimately sees it today as a nuisance; people don’t want the interruption in their lives (“You’re protesting to help provide for your family is getting in the way of me providing for my family and if I have to pick between the two, I pick my family over yours!”). There’s less “us against them” thinking (like in the unions early days) and more “me, me, me!’ thinking today. Yes that may seem selfish but I think it’s where we are today, like it or not, and again this is my opinion based on what I have observed and heard. And because it devalues a good part of what a union does (certainly visually) I think it puts the very foundation of all unions at terrible risk.

So while protesting and picketing has served the unions well in the past, watching the SAG members protest yesterday and reading about it just gave me the feeling that this whole negotiation isn’t going to end well for the members or for the union’s perception among the public.

Here was yesterday’s protest challenge as I understand it: SAG has to sway the opinions of 44,000 overlapping AFTRA members not to ratify the new AFTRA deal and then SAG has to go negotiate a new deal with producers. Yikes. Negotiating a new deal is tough enough but trying to get people to vote against a deal that would let them get back to their business and their lives for a few years too?! A two fold problem rather than being able to focus time, talent and treasure on one problem puts SAG in a position of weakness at the negotiating table. Maybe they can win both…good for them.

HOW’S THE NEW UNION MEMBER RECRUITMENT GOING?
So if you’re the Vice President for New Union Member Recruitment for either SAG or AFTRA, (if there even is such a job), do you like your job right now?

Sure, studio contracts say performers have to be in a union to work so you’ve got a good chance of getting a certain amount of new recruits every year….if you are in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago.

But there a lot of performance work that goes on outside those markets and the union’s regional recruiters I’m guessing are having a tougher time selling the value of union membership while watching all these goings on in L.A.

Then, in addition to the strike malaise a recruiter has to deal with, consider:

• The growing fondness producers have for working with non-union performers (especially in commercial work and voice over)
• The growth of non-union performers
• The dirty little secret of union performers working non-union jobs under pseudonyms or entirely un-credited.

I could mention financial core union membership as a tool to recruit new members, but from what I have been told, Fi-Core members are not looked fondly upon by the unions or its full boat members. Fi-Core may be legal but you’ll likely be as welcomed as the First Kazooist at the Philharmonic.

A SINGLE, UNIFIED PERFORMANCE UNION IS NEEDED
While I am sadly watching the performance unions self-destruct (in my opinion) I am not an advocate for non-union work either. Especially in voice over, the market is inundated with unprofessional, talentless voices that are bringing down the quality of work and the fees that are paid…it’s hurting the industry. Management who hire these less than stellar talents aren’t so worried about their sound as their wallets.

Sort of sounds like a place where a union might come in handy, doesn’t it?

There have been many non-union voice talents like me who have charged a fair wage that was either at slightly less than union scale. We also work primarily via full buyout rather than the residuals system that union performers enjoy. Many clients in the American market also cannot or will not support union fees for work in their projects. These are the prime value factors of working with a non-union talent. For the talent, in summation, we are not subjected to the various requirements and rules that restrain union talent from taking work nor do we have to share our revenues with the unions in the form of dues or fees. So non-union work is a quality option, as it should be.

But non-union work has its challenges too.

Technology, which has been a prime negotiating topic for many performing unions, has also become a problem for non-union talent as well. With technology so abundant, there are people now calling themselves professional performers and charging vulgarly low fees which adversely affect the perceived value of the voice over market. It’s becoming a garage sale at times (especially on some pay-for-play sites), which is bad.

If someone could show me a unified performance union, that controlled one contract with studios, agencies etc., kept all fees reasonable (for members and clients) and operated with as little politics as possible (certainly no political leanings or strong arming) I would be very willing to discuss membership. I think it could happen and I think the benefits for everyone would be significant.

But I don’t think it will happen and I think performance unions as we know them today will be significantly different, smaller and less effective than they ever have been or certainly were originally meant to be. And that’s probably not good for any of us.

Tags: announcers, commentary, commercials, radio, technology, tv, voice actors, voice casting, voice talent, voiceover by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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At this time of year, between graduations and wedding and celebrations of all kinds, there is a ton of advice being tossed around (mostly in speeches and quiet one-off conversations). Everybody has good intentions with their advice generally and it’s out there for the picking.

Voice over coaching is the same way. You need advice, I’ve got experience so let’s sit for a spell and visit. There are a ton of coaches in the VO world most of them far more talented at it than I am. With Voice Over Workshop, that’s what I advise my students from the start. I’ll share with you what I know on whatever relevant voice over topic they want.

Its more about conversation with a few soliloquies thrown in that seems to have a greater impact and longer lasting results for my students. They seem to have genuinely learned something by the end of each session and are certainly motivated.

That makes me happy on two counts:
1. I’m helping people learn more in an area they I have great experience in while watching them bloom in the pursuit of their voice over dream.

2. I’m getting paid for what was for too long offered as free, really helpful advice.

Everybody learns differently. Certain phrases or words or visuals are processed in a unique way by all of us. But too often I notice some students trying to absorb every morsel of what I say and make all of the examples I offer applicable to them as individuals. I think it’s due to their desire to be a successful voice artist “yesterday”!

I’ve been in learning situations where I react the same way, and I remind myself I need to settle my brain down a bit and just listen.

While students may want wrap their craniums around my 25 years in voice over, media production and business into a few 2 hour sessions, even they realize it can’t happen once I point it out to them. Better, I tell them, to “take what works and discard the rest.”

I advise them to let their brains find some offered nugget(s) that is really and immediately applicable to their career today. They’ll find information I offered that will stick like cement and really help them in their VO quest. The other stuff, well, we’ll file that in the recesses of their brain for later. It works. When students accept it, you can see their faces relax and the learning begin. And that is a great gift for both of us.

Take what works and discard the rest. It’s not just for voice over training.

It’s a powerful phrase (not originated by me). It’s an impactful way of learning. It’s a wonderful way to achieve physical, mental and spiritual balance in life.

Letting ourselves do it? Well, that’s what takes practice.

Thanks for reading.

If you haven’t already, we’d be honored if you subscribe to voxmarketising – the audio’connell blog and podcast by clicking the “subscribe” button on this blog.

If you really like this post (of course we hope you do), please feel free to bookmark and or promote it by clicking the buttons below on your preferred services.

Tags: commentary, peter o'connell, voice actors, voice over workshop, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Voice over actor and teacher Pat Fraley teaches his seminars around the country when he’s not working on a voice project in LA. If you’ve been in voice over for anytime, you’ve likely heard of Fraley’s classes and how wildly popular they are.

Well there’s a wonderful, well-known voice actress and teacher in Western New York named Toni Silveri who has worked with and been friends with Pat for many years. That friendship coupled with their mutual professional respect and the Buffalo Niagara region’s storied broadcasting/voice over history has encouraged Pat to visit Buffalo numerous times with his wonderful always sold out classes.

This summer, Pat Fraley is coming to Buffalo again. Saturday, August 16th and Sunday, August 17th, 2008, Fraley will be presenting a two day workshop on The Silly, The Serious and The Subtle.

Download the Fraley Voice Class brochure here.

The classes will allow voice talents to hone their skills at creating and delivering character voice performances for the specific demands of the top three mediums: animation, interactive gaming and audio books (audio books will actually get a full day master class available only to VO professionals).

Class sizes are limited and are already filling up fast so contact Toni via email: tonisilveri at g mail dot com (figure it out).

Full disclosure: Toni is my voice coach and one of my agents (All Coast Talent is one of the few agencies that actually works at getting voice talents work). I have also studied with Pat before.

I am attending his August session and paying full boat because I know what a great teaching environment Toni establishes and what a great teacher Pat is. I have no stake in this presentation whatsoever except as a repeat student.

If you are a voice talent in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Fort Erie, St. Catherines, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Erie, Bradford, Cleveland and all points in between, I suggest you reserve one of the very limited spots for this voice talent training weekend.

If you miss because you’re slow to respond then shame on you. Get in touch with Toni today.

Thanks for reading.

If you haven’t already, we’d be honored if you subscribe to voxmarketising – the audio’connell blog and podcast by clicking the “subscribe” button on this blog. Also check out this cheap gaming PC build from the folks at BuildPC.

If you really like this post (of course we hope you do), please feel free to bookmark and or promote it by clicking the buttons below on your preferred services.

Tags: animation, audio books, character voices, commentary, narrations, peter o'connell, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I promise you by this point, Stu is so sorry he tagged me on this he may never blog again. But he should anyway 😉

4. What’s the best book(s) you have read to help you become successful at what you do?

Someday I may write a book about the voice over business and on that day I am going to be really pissed at myself for writing this but it’s what’s in my heart and my heart’s edit button seems to be on the fritz so here ’tis: voice over books are not very helpful for being a voice over talent.

Thud!

If you are at a point in your career where you have no idea about the technical and/or business side of the voice over business, well then you’re really behind the 8 ball and some of those book will be helpful.

Make no mistake here, the authors aren’t bad people nor are they full of beans. They have tips, they have tricks and some shortcuts.

But to be successful in voiceover, you have to be able to perform and performance comes from doing not reading a book (unless it is out loud). Focus on your talent before you touch a voice over book.

You need to get to a group class, especially if you’re new to the business. I do not recommend you go to an individual class. Do that later. First, get with a group. Audit the class, listen to the performers, and talk with them. Assess your own performance either internally or externally based on what you’ve seen. Do you have the voice for the business? No? Stop. Yes? Then go to about 4-6 classes.

Do you feel the passion going to class or does going to class get in the way of other stuff you want or need to do? If it’s because of the teacher or the group, find another one. Chemistry is important, to be sure. Is it not about the chemistry?

If going to VO class feels like a chore, stop! Get off the voice over horse. You’re done.

Go be a lector at church or call a bingo game for charity or offer to help with a local blind reading service. All sincerely noble and charitable tasks for which you will be greatly rewarded.

But you will not make it in the business of voice over so don’t even try.

Ouch? Oh please, not even close. When the door of voice over rejection smashes the cartilage in your nose to beyond repair then OK, maybe a little owie. But what I am doing here is saving you the pain.

You have to want it, this voice over dream. Thousands share that great passion every day. The art of performance has to be so deep within you that you dream about doing the work, not making piles of money or dating Scarlett Johansson (see, you thought we didn’t know).

If you don’t want to perform voice over so badly that a chance to get on mic makes you delightfully happy, if the thought of being picked for a voice acting role doesn’t really thrill you for more than just a paycheck, no voiceover book in the world will help you succeed in this business. Period.

You know, except maybe mine.

So endth the lesson. Blame Stu.

Thanks for reading.

If you haven’t already, we’d be honored if you subscribe to voxmarketising – the audio’connell blog and podcast by clicking the “subscribe” button on this blog.

If you really like this post (of course we hope you do), please feel free to bookmark and or promote it by clicking the buttons below on your preferred services.

Tags: blogs, commentary, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover blog by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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