Voice Talents Peter K. O'Connell, Lisa Biggs & Diane Merritt

As people tell me all the time “you spend a lot of time in airports”.

That’s true but one of the benefits (besides making money on these trips) is the opportunity to visit with voice over friends old and new in the cities I travel to.

Some cities, like Sioux Falls, SD and Des Moines, IA have, like, no voice talents living there (or they’re hiding from me, which is understandable).

So either Diane Merritt and Lisa Biggs are lousy hiders or they didn’t have caller ID on their phones because we got to hang out together on my trip to beautiful Greenville, SC.

Diane (whose voice you may hear on a Colgate commercial airing across the country on CNBC among other channels) is originally from Buffalo, NY but ran screaming….’er, moved down south and lives in Greenville with her family. Her studio is wonderful, fully matching her voice over talent.

Lisa whose amazingly youthful and profitable voice recently was requested to be auditioned for a developing Snow White project (thinking good thoughts for the outcome there), came to Greenville from L.A. (she still occasionally commutes, doing VO work out there as well as in Greenville). She’s getting married soon to the very dreamy Robert (actually, I’ve never met Robert, so I cannot attest to his dreaminess).

Anyway, they were both very gracious to spend their lunch time with me and I am very appreciative for their friendship. Thank you both.

Tags: commentary, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Voice Talents Lee Gordon, Peter K. O'Connell and Doug Turkel

So you may have heard the news (which I wrote, egotastically) that I was fortunate enough to earn a second year as the voice of SunSetter’s national TV campaign.

What you might not have known is that I share the moniker of SunSetter VO Talent with some terrific voices and, fortunately for me, good friends.

Both Lee Gordon and Doug Turkel have also served as voice talents for SunSetter Awnings and done spectacular jobs for the client. The above picture came from Faffcon 2 in Atlanta.

I am always proud to be in their company professionally and personally.

Tags: commentary, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I’m not sure if everyone is getting these emails or if it’s just me but the big news in voiceover land this week seems to be that voice over talent Joe Cipriano is one of the announcers auditioning for the announcer job on Wheel of Fortune – one of the most popular game shows on the planet.

Sadly, long time Wheel announcer and true voice over legend Charlie O’Donnell died in November, 2010 and with complete respect, the show must go on – a new announcer must be hired.

So what seems to be happening is that announcers are being tested for two weeks worth of shows (according to the Cip interviews I’ve seen, the taping schedule is Thursday and Friday of every other week – each day taping 6 shows).

A big part of how the producers will decide who gets the gig is audience feedback on the Wheel of Fortune site. Smartly, Joe is talking up this “feedback” fact on shows like Westwood One’s Jim Bohannon Show and other media outlets – one set of Joe’s Wheel of Fortune show’s are airing this week.

Who are the other announcers auditioning? A quick Google search uncovered Lora Cain – a female announcer which I think is an idea long over due as I noted in a conversation following a blog post and an idea which certain female voice talents – who shall remain nameless but who has the first name Amy – thought was unrealistic.

Guess I wasn’t so silly after all.

Rich Fields I recall a while back as another candidate for the gig. And a voice talent named Jim Thornton is also in the running.

Now – I can hear you asking yourself – “Peter K. O’Connell when will you be auditioning for the announcer of Wheel of Fortune? O’Connell, O’Donnell – you’re both announcers, it makes perfect sense.”

Tell me about it! 😉

Well, I’ll check my voice mail and get back to you on that but certainly feel free to confuse the hell out of the producers and tell them in the comment section where they want their feedback how much you loved my audition.

Possibly a better idea would be to focus your votes for those folks who’ve actually been invited to audition for the job – all good and talented folks who would be a fine addition to the Wheel of Fortune cast.

But since I met and spoke with Joe for a bit at Voice 2010 in LA (which he does not remember I am sure) he’ll get my vote on this one.

Tags: announcers, commentary, tv, voice casting, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Voice Talents Kelly Klemolin and Peter K. O'Connell

OK, so it snow a little bit in Green Bay. They are STILL the Super Bowl champs and were the team I was rooting for since about half way through last season – about the time another certain NFL team was 0-8.

But another reason to visit Green Bay is to get the chance to visit with my friend and fellow voice talent Kelly Klemolin.

In addition to some great voice over stories, she shared insight into her work with her area Ad Club where she has made some amazing contacts. Great to see how well her business is going!

Tags: commentary, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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With those words above, Amy Snively kicked off Faffcon 2 in Atlanta and crystallized for me what the weekend was all about.

Voice Over Talents from Around the Globe at Faffcon 2 - Atlanta, 2011

I specifically took some time following Sunday’s close (which came quicker than any of us wanted) to really reflect on what I came away with.

* I came away with a greater respect for voice talents – who we are, what we do and how we do it

* I heard some voice over performances that infused me with the desire to get better – some were so good I’d quit now if I had any talent at all to do anything else but, oh well

* The challenges people in our industry face are universal – we don’t train enough, we don’t market enough and we are all held back by something – sometimes external and often times internal

I noticed that I think we (me too) are all too often held back by some level of self doubt with in our business. When it is paralyzing, our voice business stalls or worse, fails.

But when we force ourselves to move past or at least forward from our self doubt, we succeed, even a little. I saw this more than I expected among my new and old friends and I saw it most often in the mirror. Because I was among peers, that realization felt a little safer to recognize and build upon for me.

I don’t know if this reads as earth shattering or game changing – it felt that way for me. Your mileage may vary.

What happens at Faffcon stays at Faffcon – many talents generously share intellectual property that rightly shouldn’t be spread everywhere. So if you want diagrams and recordings, you will not find them here.

Besides, the greatest value of what is learned by participants at Faffcon is ingrained individually based on what each Faffcon participant gleans from a shared presentation or conversation. What helped me might be useless to you and vice versa.

I will say this: it is that act of universal giving and sharing -that spirit – that permeates the air of Faffcon and provides maybe the best reason to secure your spot in Hershey this September.

If you can trust in that thought, you’d probably benefit from Faffcon.

If not (and that’s OK) you’ll probably want to pass.

Thanks, Amy, very much.

Tags: commentary, faffcon, voice actors, voice over training, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Sure, you can register for Faffcon AFTER tomorrow (Monday, January 31, 2011) but it will cost you more.

So if you are thinking of going…today or tomorrow would be the time to register.

And courtesy of public relations manager for Faffcon and lovely voice talent Pam Tierney, the news for Faffcon 2 is especially good with registration up 30% over the first Faffcon.

Need to know more? Here’s the full press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Registration Up 30% for 2nd FaffCon Voiceover Unconference

(Los Angeles, CA January 31, 2011) With 4 weeks to go until FaffCon 2, registration for the unconference for working voice over artists has risen 30% over last September’s inaugural event. Participants from 19 states, the District of Columbia and Canada will be attending the February 25th-27th unconference to be held at the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel in Atlanta, GA.

With a focus on performance, business and marketing, and technology, FaffCon follows a highly-interactive, peer-to-peer learning format. Previous session topics have included performance techniques, setting up and troubleshooting home recording studios, and finding new business.

Presenting sponsor Voicebank.net is once again on board. Voicebank’s VP Stewart Wilson-Turner says “one of the primary reasons Voicebank chose to partner with FaffCon was its demonstration of professionalism and genuine effort and desire to promote constructive dialogue amongst working voice over artists in the industry.”

One of FaffCon’s missions is to leave a positive footprint in each of its host cities by making a donation to a local communication-related non-profit. FaffCon’s organizer, voice over talent Amy Snively, selected Everybody Wins Atlanta as FaffCon 2’s charity partner. “As Voice Artists, literacy is extremely important to us,” Snively says. “Partnering with Everybody Wins Atlanta and their mission to get kids reading, and loving it, is a logical extension of that priority.” A portion of each FaffCon registration fee will be donated to EWA.

Space is still available for FaffCon 2: Electric Boogaloo with regular registration open until 1/31/11. There is limited availability for the Friday Fieldtrip, a VIP tour of the CNN Center and dinner at Max Lager’s with stand-up comic Mrs Hughes performing a live set. Dinner only tickets are also available.

###

FaffCon is a participant driven peer to peer event for working Voice Over professionals. It is an open space unconference revolving around a dynamically generated agenda to share tips, generate ideas and have fun. Unconferences are an emerging way to meet fellow professionals to share ideas and problem solve with others in the trenches.

Launched in 1998 and recognized as the service that “put the voice over industry online”, Voicebank’s voice-over audition system is the most widely casting software on the Web. It is the primary casting and project management tool used by more than 1600 top Ad Agencies, Animation Houses & TV/Film Studios, Independent Producers, Production Facilities and Casting Directors (voice over & theatrical) around the World.

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Contact: Amy Snively, Event Producer
E: Info@FaffCon.com
Pam Tierney, Media Liaison
P: 773-883-9084
C: 312-636-3174
E: Pam@PamtierneyVO.com

Tags: commentary, faffcon, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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