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A Caution for Newbies that Needs to be Restated
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Mike Harrison
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Joined: 03 Nov 2007
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Location: Equidistant from New York City and Philadelphia, along the NJ Shore

PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:02 am    Post subject: A Caution for Newbies that Needs to be Restated Reply with quote

If you are considering becoming a voice-over artist or are already on your way, there is one thing, above all, you need to understand. If/when someone offering 'how-to' advice makes things of a technical nature sound simple, run far away very quickly.

Those who may consider me a grumpy old guy need to know the reason: I am sick of newcomers to voice-over frequently being grossly misinformed.

Apart from voice-over itself (the art of reading, properly interpreting words written by others and then speaking them as confidently as if they were your own), there are two basic technical subjects of which you will need to have at least a minimal grasp to be able to provide your voice-over services. Acoustics (the science of sound and the sense of hearing), and audio (the science of recording, reproducing or transmitting of sound). Note the word 'science' in each of those definitions, but be assured I am NOT going into technical detail here.

There is a reason those called scientists are well-paid professionals. They've spent and continue to spend a good deal of their lives learning about (very generally) how things work. For example: computers work on what's known as the 'if, then, else' basis. IF one condition is true, THEN scenario A will take place, ELSE something different will take place. This process goes on perhaps hundreds or more times a second inside your computer as you simply point and click (that's why the Graphical User Interface was such an important breakthrough).

The point of all this is: there is a science; proven cold, hard fact behind what and how we hear, how sound is made, recorded, reproduced, etc. You don't necessarily have to learn all that stuff (unless you want to, which will only make you better equipped to make informed decisions), but here's the thing, using one topic as an example:

When you, as a (wannabe) voice-over artist, in your search to select and purchase a microphone... the very instrument that you will rely on to as faithfully as possible capture every nuance of your instrument (your voice), read or hear things like this:

Quote:
"Large diaphragm microphones were designed to pick up low frequencies, such as deep male voices, while small diaphragm microphones were designed for female voices..." OR... "The reason women weren't used in the early days of voice-over is because the microphones at that time were not sophisticated enough to pick up female voices..."


this is red flag time. Again, these are only two examples. The first statement is wildly exaggerated and over-simplified, and could easily cause men to seek out only large diaphragm mics, and women small diaphragm mics. The second statement is completely, utterly, embarrassingly false. And those who made these statements should be avoided at all costs if you are serious about learning facts essential to your success as a PROFESSIONAL.

The Internet created many self-proclaimed 'experts.' Anyone can now publish their beliefs under the guise of fact. And some do that because they want to feel as though they are helping others. Well, that's commendable, but providing false – or, at least, inaccurate – information helps no one, of course. Trouble is, it can be hard to separate fact from belief.

So the simple rule applies: especially in matters of great importance (such as your intended membership in a PROFESSION), do not immediately believe everything you read or are told without first doing more research.

Me? First, it took over an hour to compose this. I didn't just bang it out in despair. I thought very carefully about what I wanted to say and how to best say it. I began reading about these subjects in the encyclopedia at the age of 9 and continued from there. I've been recording and editing my own voice and that of others professionally for over 30-some years. But I'll happily admit I certainly don't know everything. And when there's something I don't know, I won't claim to and lead others to believe me. Unfortunately, with the growing amount of pure, unadulterated swill out there, the same cannot be said of others.

Be smart. Think for yourself. And have a wonderful, happy holiday, whichever you celebrate.

/end rant for a good cause
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Bish
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:04 am    Post subject: Re: A Caution for Newbies that Needs to be Restated Reply with quote

Mike Harrison wrote:
Those who may consider me a grumpy old guy...

Mike, you say that at if it's a bad thing Smile

You make some very good points. The internet has provided a platform for anyone to set themselves up as an expert with no expertise other than being able to type. Couple that with an audience that's always looking for short-cuts and easy options and you have a recipe for the propagation of misinformation.

But... here's the hard part... you need to publicly name where your quote came from. The only way to combat such blatant misrepresentation of technical facts is to publicly call them out. The grumpy old men have a responsibility to protect the innocents... grumpy old guys are the elders of the tribe.

EDIT:

Before hitting the send button, I decided to do my own investigation as to the source (rather than put Mike on the spot). No prices for guessing that it was Stephanie Ciccarelli on the Voices.com blog ... the producers of the recent "Voiceovers for Dummies" book.

The irony is almost overwhelming.
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Lee Gordon
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:22 am    Post subject: Re: A Caution for Newbies that Needs to be Restated Reply with quote

Mike Harrison wrote:
Trouble is, it can be hard to separate fact from belief.


And that's especially true for newbies or even more experienced voiceoverists who have entered the business from the artistic, rather than the technical, side. Unfortunately, it often takes a bit of experience to be able to tell the difference between horse sense and horseshit.
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Last edited by Lee Gordon on Sat Mar 30, 2013 12:43 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Philip Banks
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Joined: 20 Jun 2005
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I suppose the real solution is to publish a thread with the title "Mythbusters" but that would require a level on honesty the majority would prefer to avoid. The way to prevent that happening is to stick to facts and steer clear of opinions, if you think that's easy ..TRY IT!

Here's an easy one. Philip Banks works from a broadcast spec studio. No he doesn't as there is no such thing. To be clear I know of nowhere in the world with an "approved broadcast spec code" for VO studios or any other type of studio. In the UK, many years ago there was the IBA (Independent Broadcasting Authority) and they had a code and specs for everything. They would make a mic live in a newly built radio studio, go outside and "fire" white noise at the soundproofing while an engineer listened to the transmitter to see if he could detect anything ... Now that there was a spec. Now the IBA and the codes all gone.
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Mike Harrison
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the support, guys.

You're quite right, Lee. And, what Peter said is also true, and it applies to not only voice-over, but to most everything: the lust for instant gratification, achieving the benefit easily. That is illustrated by those who – while logged in to the Information Superhighway – will publicly post a question and wait hours and perhaps days for an answer (which may or may not be true), rather than just visiting the website of a proven source of reliable information and finding the real answer within minutes. Here, time wasn't of the essence, but the desire to just ask and be answered.

With regard to Voices.com (and the other P2P sites) and their 'Voiceovers for Dummies' book, here's what we need to know: the people behind some of these pay-to-play sites are NOT voice-over people. They are marketing and/or IT people playing the flute of the Pied Piper: they saw the huge interest in what is largely a perception of voice-over (one demo mill says: "Make money by doing something you do every day: talking!"), and built websites where anyone willing to spend $299 a year to battle each other over jobs could participate.

$299 x {number of annually subscribing soldiers worldwide} = pretty decent pocket change.

Nothing of any value ever comes easily and/or inexpensively. There are NO shortcuts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNfGyIW7aHM
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melissa eX
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

HAHAHAHAHAHA - THAT was funny!

And sad. This is all nothing new. It just happens more quickly and on a larger scale now, with today's technology.
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Bish
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just KNEW what was coming on YouTube before I hit the link Smile

I think what bothers me is that people set themselves up as experts and then cultivate the myth. They regurgitate something they've read without having the background knowledge to dismiss it or put it in perspective, or the inclination to consider a number of sources and make some quantified judgement call. "I read it, so it must be true."

This is where I have a problem with blogs. 90% of them have no value except as a vanity mouthpiece for someone seeking attention. Setting yourself up as an expert has never been easier... just quote and spin, rinse and repeat. Your worth measured in hits and SEO results.

... and, as Mike says, it's all-pervasive, not just in our little corner of the world.
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Philip Banks
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Two things make me throw up. Gliclazide and the opener "Seth Godin says ..."

If anyone thinks I've been quiet over the last few weeks it's because I've been either sleeping or ..don't ask. Meds or blogs? I suspect the worse so I'm no longer reading blogs.
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Mike Harrison
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I consider blogs nothing more than the owner's opinion. It may be a side to an issue I'd not considered before, I may come away in full agreement, or anything in between. But it's just opinion.

I stopped believing everything I read back when 'New and Improved' began appearing on product packaging.
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Zach Meissner
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike, thanks for posting this. I can't agree with you more. I'll share my perspective of currently being one said 'newbie', because I'm coming across this type of stuff alot as I'm searching out resources to learn about voiceover.

For me, I will say this with unflinching certainty, this site, the VO-BB, has helped me avoid many, many, of these types of mis-guided advice/money traps. I come here and search first.

What I've found here is real. If you're also a noob reading this, go to the sites of the people who frequently participate in this forum and give their honest input and advice. The people who are writing and posting about the VO world because they love it, not because they're waist deep in a get rich quick scheme.

If you never went to any other site besides this one, although you would be missing out on alot of great material from board members here, you would be more than ok navigating the VO world in my opinion.

What you get here is the ability to bounce ideas off of other real people who are in the thick and thin of this industry everyday, and who are not looking for another member to get signed up for their site.

When I reached out to several random VO people at the start of this journey, they pointed me here. Of which I had no idea this site existed, nor did I know they were members.

When I pinged people here about equipment I thought I needed, or that they were selling, they talked me out of it after long discussions and made me realize I could make do with what I had. It's this kind of thing that you want to participate in and be a part of.

As someone who's still trying to drink out of a fire hydrant of information in the VO world, I've learned this much - this is a good site to be a part of Smile
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kkuhlken
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

^^ what he said
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Lee Gordon
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 1:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This "I read it so it must be true" mentality was sketchy when it applied mainly to newspapers and books, and lost a shade more credibility when network TV news was added to the mix, but now that we have cable TV and, especially, the internet, it's just gotten out of control.

And by the way, if you "Like" this post, you'll get two free tickets on Southwest Airlines. Shocked
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kkuhlken
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

...and the VO-BB will pay for a llama to have life-saving heart surgery if the post receives enough likes...
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Mike Harrison
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the kind comments from the 'noob' gallery, Zach and Karl!

Lee is quite right with regard to the 'if I read it, it must be true' conundrum. And his earlier comment about those seeking to skip everything and just get to the payoff enters into it, too. I'll step away from the topic for just a moment to make a point.

We used to have something in the rules of the Federal Communications Conniption called the 'Fairness Doctrine,' which mandated that broadcasters must first devote some of their airtime to discussion of "controversial matters of public interest," and that they also provide both sides of those issues so as to allow the audience to make up their own minds. I will not get into a political discussion here, but since the Fairness Doctrine was done away with in 1987, some news media outlets have seen fit to 'customize' the issues.

I'll quickly use FOX News Channel as an example, only because of something that took place late last year, leading up to the Presidential election. During an interview with NBC's Ted Koppel, FOX host Bill O'Reilly stated, essentially, that on FOX, the truth is irrelevant. He and most other inflammatory hosts make big bucks by doing nothing more than repeating the things they know makes their audience members angry, regardless of whether it's true or not. What happens? When we hear things repeated over and over – especially if we're not motivated enough to do a little research on our own – we wind up believing them. A whole lot of folks are repeating things they hear(d) on FOX News, steadfast in their belief that it's the truth, because a news anchor told them... and well, if a news anchor says something, it must be true. It was a two-part story; here's the part with that interview:

http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/21/13998880-ted-koppel-takes-on-the-truthsayers?lite

And, as Lee pointed out, the same kind of thing is happening all over, outside of political discussions. It is unbelievably ironic how, with free and easy access to all kinds of information, there is such mass ignorance.

From Simon & Garfunkel's 'The Boxer:*' "Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest ..."

*©1968 Paul Simon
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Scott Pollak
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike, hope you won't mind if I tag onto this thread another warning for newbies.

I see seminars (note I didn't say classes.... yet!) being offered all the time for aspiring hopefuls. Which is fine, to a point.

As an example:
http://www.57thstreetmedia.com/voiceover-atlanta-032313.html

And I've taught a couple myself over recent years and will continue to do so.
There are two things I do NOT offer in my introductory overview though, that I see way too much of in seminars like the above:

- I do not teach or coach, thus I'm not trying to sell a package, demo, or additional classes
- I do not offer false promises or hopes. I'm very blunt about the realities of success and real-world earnings. Not to say I discourage people. I don't, because who knows that someone sitting in that class isn't the next Bob Bergen or LaFontaine or Joe Cipriano or ..... But I simply try to prepare the aspiring hopeful with realistic expectations instead of unrealistic ones.

I see way too many seminars that THEN offer classes, demos and wild promises of riches untold. In my mind, at least, there is an ulterior motive often (although not always) attached to a seminar being given by a person who also offers classes and demo production. Note I said "not always".

No question some folks - like Bob, for example - will be very honest and helpful when dealing with students and do, in fact, have the students' best interest at heart. There are teachers and coaches who will, at some point, say "This may not be the career path for you". But let's not ignore the elephant in the room, those many seminars where they'll sign up every single person who attends, if possible, for a long and expensive journey towards a forgettable demo at the end of a tunnel of promises.

All I'm sayin' here is: investigate and choose wisely who you decide to get training from. And if it sounds too good to be true........
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