Keith Carson of Top Hat Productions presenting at VOICE 2010

I am ashamed of myself for the length of time it has taken me to properly thank Keith Carson of Top Hat Productions. Were my dear Mother alive she would rip me a new one for taking so long with a proper thank you. That was always a big deal to her and she was/is right.

Here’s the story:

Thursday at VOICE 2010, I pop into Keith Carson’s presentation “Your Voiceover Demo” which not surprisingly was packed. I was sitting on the floor against the wall in the back of the room listening and working on my laptop (busy day).

He’s talking about some good stuff when Keith holds up a CD (which I couldn’t see cause I was in the back on the floor) and says something to the effect of “what a great example of branding this CD has, this is Peter O’Connell’s.”

My head pops up like a gopher in heat cause I have no idea what CD he’s talking about as I hadn’t sent one out in about 5 years. And yet there was one of my CD’s in Keith’s hand as he continues to say how unified and perfect my branding is.

He held on to it…for years!

So with this gracious public compliment I repay him by waiting over a month to say thank you for the kind words. I’m not worthy but I am grateful and I do want to publicly say thank you to Keith for his compliment and his very generous presentation.

Thank you Keith!

Best always,
– Peter

Tags: commentary, voice 2010, voice actors, voice over training, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
6 Comments »

Some will think this stuff and nonsense but I have been stewing about something for while and it has truly been bugging me.

Facebook Fan Pages.

Specifically, should I have one for my voice over marketing?

I have one for the Voice Over Entrance Exam and I have my own personal Facebook page…but do I need a “Fan” page? Sheesh!

Social Media clearly has a narcissistic component to it. Rarely are you asking people on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn or on your blog how they are doing – more likely you are telling people who, what, when, where and how you are doing.

There is no ME in team but there sure is ME in Social Media.

Yet most of us play the game and often times enjoy it especially when there is give and take, usually always pleasant.

But I guess it’s the term Fan Page that has bothered me (I think Facebook is trying to get everyone to call it a Like Page but you’re basically asking for fans or for people to vote that they like you.)

That’s awkward to ask and seems kinda desperate in appearance when the Fan Page is about me (the e-book is a “thing” and it helps people – I have no problem with a Fan Page there).

I have joined a ton of fan pages for other people and never gave it a second thought. No, I didn’t think they were desperate at all because of their Fan Page.

But I look at myself differently. It feels like I am being egotistical if I do this Fan Page thing. The old comic line “But enough about me, what do YOU think of me?” comes to mind. Again…awkward is the word that keeps coming to mind for me.

From a business stand point, it could help me communicate with people on Facebook who are interested in my voice over business (the same reason I participate on LinkedIn and Twitter). That’s the big “Pro” in the “Pro/Con” debate that’s been raging in my cranium literally for months.

Well, ultimately that was the deciding factor for me and shamefully, I am announcing I have a Facebook Fan Page now (talk about burying the lead). Peter K. O’Connell – Male Voice Over Talent is what its called (for the SEO lovers out there). In this context, it sounds as ridiculous as “Peter K. O’Connell – Male Model” but, in for a penny, in for a pound.

We’ll have to see how long I can stomach this. I make no promises.

Thanks for listening.

Tags: audio'connell voice over talent, blogs, branding, commentary, facebook, internet, linkedin, marketing, rants, search engine marketing, social media, social networking, twitter, voice over entrance exam, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
14 Comments »

Two thoughts before I include a link to Bob Souer’s blog post:

1. When Bob sits down to truly share his thoughts on his blog – it’s always among the most worthwhile stuff on the net to read.

2. For as long as I’ve known Bob (which seems like forever – in a good way- but really isn’t) I can’t ever imagine him being anxious. Obviously he’s human but Bob reminds me more of a duck: gliding seemingly effortlessly across the water but paddling like the dickens under the water.

Now read this, and then this post on HMHB.org about anxiety.

Thanks.

Tags: voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
3 Comments »

Courtesy of Doreen Mulman on Facebook, a saw a video featuring interviews with voice talent discussing the challenges of voice actor parts in animation going to celebrity actors and how that impacts their careers.

As I noted recently, sometimes animated movies get picked on for picking celebrities to voice characters primarily because they are marketable celebrities (MJ Lallo offers one funny example). In other cases (I would cite “Toy Story” and “Cars” as two examples) the celebrities chosen to voice are clearly great actors whose transition to voice acting was seamless and superb.

As usual, Pat Fraley offers some really salient insight into the benefits of celebrities working in voice over.

While I applaud the producers desire to tell the story, a little effort properly checking the spelling of the featured actors’ names for the lower third graphics would have gone a long way to making this effort that much more credible.

Tags: animation, commentary, video, voice actors, voice casting, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
1 Comment »

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.

Tags: commentary, guest blogger, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voices.com by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
1 Comment »

Social Media VO is the web child of its parents, voice talents Terry Daniel and Dave Courvoisier and their unholy union on the stage of VOICE 2010.

This was a presentation created from scratch, not part of some sales seminar they’ve given over and over. I know because at various parts of the past four months, I’d spoken with both of them and watched their creative process evolve on-line. There was a lot of work put into it and it showed. It was helpful, thoughtful and insightful.

Whether you are a voice talent who needs to enter the social media playing field and feels clueless, a voice talent whose been around social media but could use some pointers or someone not at all in voice over who falls under part of either criteria, this web site would be worth you time and attention.

Tags: announcers, commentary, community, search engine marketing, social media, social networking, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
1 Comment »