VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[juliaknippen]

I honestly did not notice the lo-res-iness of the photo on my computer, so that is a very helpful observation. If I'm going to go the photo route, it's clear I need to hire someone to do the job right.

Bruce, I'm trying to figure out how to get videos on the homepage - I might need to go with a different template, or again, get a professional to design/build it for me.

This is all really helpful, and I so appreciate all the feedback, sincerely. Thank you, thank you.

It's interesting though, what is it about a homepage that will get someone to click play on your demo? Is it a tagline? A logo? A caricature? Some other well-chosen imagery? If your imagery represents "who you are" even if it's not a picture of you, what is to convince the agent or producer or casting director that your voice will be the one they're looking for if they only listened? I think the answer is obviously out of my wheelhouse, and it may be time to call in the big guns. Or maybe just some gigantic text that says PLAY ME.

Thanks again for taking the time, everyone. I'm off to contemplate the big questions.
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[Frank F]

[Bob Bergen]

Just know that a website, like a demo, is never finished. They are always a work in progress, always evolving and growing as your career and the industry evolves and grows.

A few years ago my commercial agents sat me down to have a little chat. They were both nervous and hesitant. I thought they were going to drop me based on their demeanor. But they wanted to talk to me about my website. They loved the site overall. But the opening home page had a flash animation with dozens of animated feature posters flying by to the tune of the Looney Tunes theme. They were concerned that when they sent ad buyers to my site, by being slapped in the face with animation it prevented any branding of my career other than animation. They loved the idea of a flash opening that highlighted my overall career, but didn't want to limit visitors to just my animation career. I told them this was a brilliant suggestion, and asked why they were so hesitant in telling me. They looked at each other and admitted that most actors don't take these kinds of suggestions well. They get their egos bruised and, in some cases, have left the agents for making such suggestions I told them my ego isn't as big as my mortgage. I was happy to make the adjustment.

Frank was right. The bottom line is, all need to market in a way that they feel is best. I still stand by my suggestion that those who are in the beginning stages of their career should not include a picture on their site. But if it works for ya, mazel tov!

I took a poll of about 30 agents and casting directors, and they unanimously agreed a picture prejuduces the buyer. Four of the agents said that when they have limited time to consider new talent, if they see a face that they feel they already represent/have conflicts with, they won't even listen to the demo. When ya get 100 demos a week you need to manage your time as best as you can. One casting director said that a picture on your site "pre-casts you." And I chatted with a couple of ad execs who said the same thing. One said, "Don't give people any reason to judge your voice and acting other than your voice and acting."

B

[yarg28]

here is my 2 cents.

For me its a mixed bag.

I like the feel of the old site better. The white background and the graphics really work well and feel right when I hear your voice. It just seems to fit.

The downside of the old site:
I felt like it was too difficult to locate your demo tracks. They were small, and in an odd location.

Also, I hate when I click a link and it takes me to another page to hear or see what I've clicked on. That means I have to click something else to get back. Too much time and aggravation.

Another thing, I positively despise overlapping clips. For example, if I click on your commercial track and it opens a page to play it, then unless I close that page, it will still play at the same time if I go back to click on your character page. Tons of distractions and navigation. If I'm a decisive person and I'm churning through content, your page design would annoy me and I'd probably move on pretty quickly.

Now to the new page.

This will sound "silly" because its essentially a giant bar, but I found it difficult to locate your demo. I saw the "bar" that its embedded in as a page separator. The text is small. The ability to play your demo should really be in my face when I land on your site. Everything else is secondary.

I do like the idea of having all of your youtube videos available but again, it drove me nuts that I could begin one and then click on another and have them both play. It's just asking a lot for somebody that spends most of their day clicking stuff to click more than necessary.

Not a fan of the black after seeing the light fresh look of your older page.

I think both are better than a lot of sites that I see but they could both use improvement. I personally believe that the first design "feel" with some improved function would be best for your voice.

Just try to think about the goal of the person interfacing with your site as well as your goal for having a site.

Good luck.

Admittedly, that was more than 2 cents.

[juliaknippen]

Ok, I now have 2 new versions - with a pic (a higher res one) and without.

http://www.talkingladystudios.com/
http://www.talkingladystudios.com/juliaknippen

I know there's no way I'm going to please everyone. But I tried to incorporate all the feedback. Thanks again for taking a look!
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[FinMac]

While I love the simplicity of the website that has your face on it, the picture feels a bit too much to me.

I have one of those macs with the very large screen, and when your website opens up with the picture, it feels as if I am staring into the face of a stranger from 1 foot away! That takes away my focus from listening to your voice.

So, my preference is for the website without the picture.

Really like your demo, the voice and the performance

Only thing that I noticed, that might need attention, was that on the youtube videos, the audio level was much lower than your demo audio level. Don't know if that is a problem on the website or on my computer.
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www.scottsvoiceover.com - An American voice in Finland

"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

[ballenberg]

Hey Frank..I hope you're not old..because I've got a lot more years on me.

But to the point: Julia, you know I'm a big fan of your work. And yes, I do like the videos on the front page.

But please, here's not really a question about using a photo. It's not a choice. Just don't do it. Please. Not big, not small, not high-res, not lo-res. ( and this means no caricature... We should only exists in the eye of the listener's mind. Not their actual eye. Trust me..I'm old and wise. As noted above.

Simple. Classy yet super-approachable . Thats' the key. That's what you sound like. That's what you are.

Plus, and sorry..I also saw Talking Gladys. Web addresses can cause problems the creators don't notice at first. Two real examples, which have since been changed: The Dallas Art Museum used to have this address : dallasmuseumofart.com. Whoops. Then my local Middlesex County police department has this address on the back of their cruisers for people to call in crime info. middlesextips.com See what I mean?

Don't be Talking Lady. Be Julia. That's who they'll remember.

That's my two cents.

[Fran McClellan]

Hi Julia!

I really like both a lot, but if I had to choose, I would say the one without. Not really because of the lack of picture, but because the demo and video examples are front and center. As soon as that one came up, I thought, wow...now that's how to do it . I've actually been playing around with a website update myself and the rough draft has video examples right on page 1 as well.

Hope that helps
Fran
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Back into the murky lurk from whence I came
--
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

[juliaknippen]

Thanks so much, Fran!

I've done some more tweaking, and I've settled on something I'm happy with (for now).

Thanks again to everyone for all the input.
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[juliaknippen]

Just an update and to thank everyone again for the advice: I've ditched the Talking Lady and am going with my name: Julia Knippen Voiceovers. No picture, no caricature, just the voice. I think I'm happy with this for now...

www.juliaknippen.com

Thanks again!!!
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[heyguido]

Yes.
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Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

[Lance Blair]

I like the new (online) you!
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Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!