Just finished going through the blog links on this blog (cast your eyes to the column on the right for a moment to see the list).

You’ll probably not notice that the list is shorter by two names of folks who’ve stopped publishing a blog or just haven’t written in a long, long, long (you get the idea) while. Not looking to punish anyone but if they’re not writing what’s the point of the link?

Writing a blog is tough and at least one voice talent who dropped off the blogosphere acknowledged that writing a blog just wasn’t for him. I say kudos…one should only keep a blog if they want to keep a blog…sure it’s a great optimization tool in many ways but if you’re not churning out content (and readable stuff at that) or worse don’t want to churn out content then spend you’re valuable time elsewhere.

So while we’re on the subject, please make sure you:

a. Have a link to this blog (and the audio’connell web site if you like)
b. Advise me if I am missing your voice over blog on my list (my apologizes)
c. Have freshened up your blog list too
d. Mow my lawn and wash my windows (just kidding, unless you really, you know, want to)

Tags: blogs, commentary, internet, search engine marketing, social media, social networking, voiceover advice, voiceover blog by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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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.

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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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Whether its blogging, podcasting, social networks (like LinkedIn etc) and the other tools, some folks either understand social media or they don’t.

But just because they don’t understand the tools and more importantly the community, doesn’t mean they don’t pick a channel and run amok. They just look a little foolish doing it.

New Blog

I was pinged to a new blog today being written by a fairly well know broadcasting name. That’s about as much information as I am willing to share as I’m not looking to bury the person. But in this individual’s frequent communications via various media over many years (long before social media was even a concept) this individual’s writing and attitude kind of rubbed me the wrong way.

Hyper-critical when critical would have been fine. Self-aggrandizing and always selling something (and for those who may be confused, I am not talking about myself in the third person here).

For what it’s worth, this same individual seems to make a good living at communicating and selling his/her wares. For my taste, it lacks a kind of style but maybe that’s just me.

So as I read this new blog I see some terrific content! Read some stuff, watch some stuff and think to myself “hey, good effort.” Then I read the very bottom of the blog.

Splat!

It’s a disclaimer about the content contained on the blog. I’ll have to offer a paraphrased summary to maintain the blog’s anonymity but also because as this disclaimer intimates – woe to the persons who tries to use any of my stuff elsewhere’. What?

Basically if you post something on this blog, you can use “your” content anywhere you want and (the author notes) so can they in her/his various communication tools. It goes on to say that no one can use any of his/her stuff anywhere.

This person does not understand social media and how to be successful in it.

Different Rules

I am no stranger to copyright and ownership laws etc. And those laws can be applied to content in social media. Certainly nobody wants their content stolen and repackaged under another author’s name. I get that.

But have you ever looked up the definition of social media. I don’t think this person had. Let’s check in with our friends at Wikipedia.

“Primarily, social media depends on interactions between people as the discussion and integration of words builds shared-meaning, using technology as a conduit.

Social media utilities create opportunities for the use of both inductive and deductive logos by its users. Claims or warrants are quickly transitioned into generalizations due to the manner in which shared statements are posted and viewed by all.”

Do you see a word that dominates in those graphs? Shared. In fact, in the blogosphere, the more you’re quoted or linked to the greater your popularity. People feel your content is worth sharing and discussing. That’s a compliment, hello!

To not allow sharing, indeed to forbid it, is akin to buying the car and not bothering with the gasoline. What’s the point?

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

If there is content you want to hold sacred (and that’s true in my case, on occasion) then don’t post it. The community (probably also a foreign concept to this person) will only absorb what you put out there. In social media, the rules are completely different from “what was”.

People can produce podcasts and twitter and blog until their blue in the face but if they don’t bother to understand the foundation of social media, they are only communicating with themselves.

And in high school they told me I could go blind doing that.

Tags: blogs, commentary, podcasting, social media, voiceover advice 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.

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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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Vox Daily has a very insightful story regarding union voice over work, voice over agents, how the field of play has changed and where it might be going.

Always a good read, Stephanie’s post today was especially informative.

Thanks for reading.

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 talent, voiceover advice, voiceover blog, voices.com 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.

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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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