I’m a little late catching up to emails but I see now that Marice Tobias is doing a workshop in Toronto on April 30th and May 1st 2011.
This one is on Commercial, Narration, and Promo…not sure what studio but there are plenty of nice ones in TO.
I think this is similar to the one I took in Atlanta a few years ago. If you have a chance to go to Marice’s seminar, you will not regret it.
If you need a referral, check with me.
Sometimes I truly think I write this blog just for me in that I can’t fathom that there are people who want to read what I write let alone want to subscribe to the blog to get my stuff regularly.
But you folks DO exist and I am ever so grateful for that.
Even stranger over the years have been the requests from folks to have me serve as a guest blogger on their blogs. That to me is a real honor, more so than all the folks that redirect this blog to their sites, repurposing my content for their blogs – as long as they fully credit me, I don’t have a problem with that.
So when my agent Jenny Bosby from Pastorini-Bosby Talent sought me out to write a blog post for their site, I thought that was just great…and a bit of pressure too.
But here is a link to the post which I hope you’ll read and then leave a comment on their blog.
Thanks.
Like all things gadget and quasi-technical, I think it was Dave Courvoisier who first posted something about the new i-phone application called iAudition which promises: “You can record, edit and send your auditions from wherever you are, without the need for a recording studio or computer!”
It dices, it slices it even make julienne fries! But wait, there’s more!
Well then George Washington, III chimed in with his experience on the device. As I am not nor really ever been a pioneer on technical items, I figured now that these two fellas had tried it, maybe for a penny under $5 I could try it for my iphone.
So I pinged in Facebook that I had done just that and one of the comments I got in response to that post got me to thinking.
Facebook friend and voice talent Don Capone opined “bottom line… it maybe ok for a quick edit or to… but lets be real…the audio recording quality is hideous… but i guess if its a must have situation and u need to do a quick audition…”
I love comments like Don’s because they start me thinking and in this case three thoughts popped into my head.
1. The technology boat will leave with or without us
It is pathetically obvious to even the most unengaged user of technology that as soon as you buy the newest computer at the store, it’s outdated in some aspect of its internal technology. Beyond computers, it the tech sectors business model – always be improving so customers will buy your newer stuff.
This is, to my knowledge, one of the first apps of its kind for iPhone and it’s very specifically targeted my area of business. Obviously my biggest concern with something like iAudition is audio fidelity and quality…so will Don be proven right? Will I hate it?
I won’t know unless I try it and at under $5, I can roll the dice on this technology.
2. As technology changes, so do people’s expectations
As an example: black and white TV’s died when a successful color TV model was invented. HDTV is having the same effect on analog. People expect better.
BUT sometimes people’s expectations for quality can be lowered and those lower expectations become acceptable. One example I site is this: I remember, growing up, that people always dressed up when one flew on an airplane; jackets and ties were the norm. Now it’s just nice if people keep their flip flops on during the whole flight.
In voiceover, the same thing has happened whether we like it or not. Recording studios and their amazing acoustics have given way to home studios where voice talents manage their acoustics with bed foam and moving van blankets…the clients know not the the recording room difference most times when they listen to the finished file.
Remember when voice over agencies ruled the business? Most professional voice talents signed with an agency and the agency did all the marketing for the talent (one might even go to the agent or the client’s office to audition). Now the Voices.com and Voice123’s of the world have changed that dynamic. And while some of their clients offer fine quality audio recordings and performances, some are pathetic in both those measures. But because those lesser talents will work for pennies on the dollar, they get work.
Sacrificing quality for lower cost is an American retail tradition. Which led me to think…
3. What is the tipping point for “acceptable” audio fidelity on auditions?
Whatever it is today, I think it will be different tomorrow. In much the same way America had recording studio quality standards years ago, today radio stations will seemingly broadcast almost anything for ad dollars and I can’t blame them. And video not audio has always been a prime focus for television ads as anyone who has ever watched a local cable ad can attest.
So what about when auditioning? Will clients and production houses sacrifice pristine audio quality on auditions since they are only auditions? Shouldn’t the audio quality of the audio represent the level of the finished product should that voice talent get the job? Or will the client assume that can all be fixed in post?
It’s an evolving answer but as our national consciousness seems to be focusing on faster and easier more so than better and quality, I think this debate in the voiceover industry isn’t but a year or so away from getting a clearer answer.
As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!
No…wait.
As God as my witness, I had no idea that starting a blog all those years ago would result in 700 posts.
I like to write but that’s not the challenge; the challenge is if people will like to read.
Many of you do, catching this blog via subscribing to Voxmarketising through RSS or reading links on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. The comments, retweets and repostings really make me happy. Not egotistically happy but really because someone took the time to read about my thoughts on voice over, marketing or advertising and thought they were worthwhile enough to share with others.
That kind of endorsement and support cannot be quantified.
So whether you like the logo posts, or the Fauxditions, or the videos or the Faffcon stuff or more recently the National Voice Over Month stuff, I keep writing about those type of things and more going forward. None of that stuff existed when I started.
God only knows what lies ahead for this blog in the future. Boy, I hope its all good stuff!
Thank you.
Gotta love Google Alerts.
So many voice talents are starting (or have started) blogs that it’s impossible for me to keep up. But fortunately Google Alerts finds them for me.
Such was the case today when I found the blog of Voice Talent John Miles, who is based in San Francisco.
I’m a subscriber now (and the link is also on the Blog Roll) and I hope you will be too. Welcome John.
