VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Bruce]

How much do folks in Hollywood make? From dog trainers to top dogs this article is fairly comprehensive of the entire industry. They quickly gloss over non-star VO work but the other numbers are interesting:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-salaries-revealed-movie-stars-737321

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[melissa eX]

Curious how they've left off PA's. Production Assistants are staple of every production and they make next to nothing. I don't see VFX there either. I wonder if that's because of the controversy over sending the work out of the US.

[MooreVoices]

Bruce, I am not an avid "The Hollywood Reporter" reader, but this article would compel me to check them out more often.

A rather comprehensive run down of Tinsel Town, in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

I personally like what a game show host can make...I have been told I have THE personality for that.

The studio exec, for me, stole the show admitting that there was no middle ground in the film director category. It is clearly split between those that direct a lot and those that direct a little.

As to not get to winded, I believe this article shed just enough light on the VO industry for me to add this supplement about the "capitulation" of worth and rates, concerning VO talent.

That Guy...That Was in That Thing is a great supplement to this article, and possibly, VO rates.

This documentary focuses on character actors, their journey through Hollywood, public perception of them, and how the industry has changed since they first stepped foot in Tinsel Town.

The most telling stat from the documentary was when Mark Ralston (FBI agent in Rush Hour 1) said when he first got to Hollywood to work on a TV movie, it was nothing for him to get paid $40 GRAND a week...since the writers strike, he stated he is LUCKY to make 6 to 7 GRAND, in the same situation!

Think about that...

I say that to say this: when I witness veterans who have been in voiceover for the last 15 to 40 years and they talk about how it used to be, are not factoring in the paradigm shift of entertainment treating "talent as talent vs. talent as a commodity?" It comes off as if VO should be immune to change because it is so "niche."

The actors in this documentary, although disgruntled, were very aware of that plight in Hollywood and appeared to be well adjusted in the new paradigm due to the writers strike, which of course was prompted by greed.

I believe if we look at P2P sites, as "our" writer's strike, we may become more solution oriented on how to integrate P2P in a talents favor vs. nudging talent to choose sides on a paradigm shift that is not a concept, but a reality, that is affecting ALL talent whether talent choose to participate or not.

On a high note, for those that may get discouraged, or cannot read between the lines, with the cream of the corp getting all of the high paying gigs...that is under the entertainment industry.

There are at least a dozen lanes in VO that can allow you to make a nice living if you never voice in the entertainment industry or a national commercial EVER. Always keep that in mind, speaking to vo talent in my realm and/or who are beginners.

Again, Bruce, thoroughly enjoyed this article. Thanks for sharing.
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Freedom is not knowing your limits but realizing that you have none.

[Foog]

[Scott Pollak]

Fantastic article.

Some telling excerpts:

"According to the most recent SAG statistics, the average member earns $52,000 a year, while the vast majority take home less than $1,000 a year from acting jobs."

"PORN STAR $120K"......... uh.............. never mind..............

"But major stars account for only about 20 percent of the voices you hear in commercials. The other 80 percent — non-celebrity voice actors — don't make nearly that kind of dough. Typically, they'll earn scale, which works out to about $3,000 to $5,000 an ad." (Obviously the article's author didn't bother to check out the offerings on Pee-to-Pee sites.)

"According to the WGA West, screenwriters in Hollywood earned a combined total of $331 million last year, down nearly 25 percent from 2009."
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Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

www.voicebyscott.com

[Frank F]

It is interesting to review the "fees" listed.

I know many who are not stars in the VO field and earn a better living that the union average. And, to distill the numbers down to a reality rate... that means the average VO talent (non-star) creates 18 commercials a year. I do that many a week.

So the numbers are not a reality rate of figure.

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com