VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Rick Riley]

Re ‘wanting’ to join. The union and agents are alike. They don’t want to make money for you unless they can make money FROM you. When I began, I wanted an agent. Good luck with that! I found that before I could get an agent, I had to show that I was already doing a lot of business and didn’t really NEED an agent. Now I work with five, all in different regions of the country. But the one in the area that I live, was the most difficult to get and illustrates the point very well.

When I moved to the Pacific Northwest, I was told that I should contact a particular agency, as they did most of the work in the area. So I found out who was the contact and sent them my demos along with a synopsis of my track record. They wrote back with a form letter saying that they only went through their roster once a year and that wouldn’t be for a few months. When they did, they would get back to me. A year later I wrote and reminded them of my presence… and nothing. A year after that I received an email saying that they were casting for a particular spot and I was recommended by someone for the spot. And they asked ‘if I would be interested in being represented by them.’ REALLY? THE SAME GUY WHO’D CONTACTED YOU TWICE OVER TWO YEARS AND YOU WOULDN’T GIVE THE TIME OF DAY?? YOU WANT TO REPRESENT THAT GUY??? Sure. Why not. I booked the spot and have been with them for three years now.

The point is, don’t expect anyone to do anything for you, businesswise, unless you’ll most likely be able to do more for them… businesswise. Unions and agents being at the top of that heap.
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[Bob Bergen]

Well, since Rena was asking about the union and LA, LA is a very different animal from other areas of the country. Being that I trained, work, and live in LA, I kinda know the drill.

The union. Yes, you need to qualify. I as well was Taft-Hatley'd. (google it...google everything! all the info is at your fingertips, which it was not when I was just starting out) You will spend a lot of money on training, brilliant demos, a website, and joining the union just for the privilege of calling yourself an out of work actor. This is nothing new and has been the ways of this business since day one.

No agent in LA will take you seriously unless you are in the union or union eligible. Just don't join until you have to.

It is miles easier to get a job than it is to get an agent in LA. There are less than 2 dozen of em and they each get 100 plus submissions a week. For the most part, they demand you live here. Proven successful actors may live elsewhere. But statistically, they demand you live here.

Surf through Voicebank. Listen to the actors represented by the top agents in LA: CESD, WME, Atlas, DPN, SBV, AVO, etc. This is what they DON'T need. This is what they already represent. Regurgitate on your demo what they already have and you have blown your (probably) one and only opportunity.

Now, if you are truly ready, you will establish your individual personality/read/style in the first 4 seconds of your demo. Any demo, be it commercial, promo, narration, etc.

Put "seeking representation" in the subject line of your email submission, and you might as well have put "oh, just dump this submission." "Referred by" will get you a listen. And they usually listen immediately as they are working by their computer all day long. Don't have a network of impressive buyers to refer you and you probably aren't ready to submit to agents.

The body of the email should state "recent jobs include:," etc. The word recent is relative. As long as the agent knows what is (and isn't) a conflict, list work up to 2 years old. You will impress more if you also list the ad agencies, producers, buyers, and casting directors you've worked with on each job. (haven't kept track of these buyers, ya better start now!!) Don't have a list of impressive past work and relationships, you probably aren't ready to submit to agents. Agents are sales people. They need a good product to sell. You are the product. You need to have something to offer the industry, something of value for the agent to sell. You need to come with a track record, mutual buyers, and in a perfect world your own list of buyers that the agent doesn't already know. Ninety plus percent of the submissions to agents get rejected. That's because most don't bring to the agent 10% of the sales incentives and leverage listed above.

Yes, it's true that the agent only gets paid when you get booked. But they are working on your behalf everyday.....for free! They are pitching and selling you to buyers, wining and dining, they are casting auditions, they are listening and redirecting auditions, for you, everyday, for free.

LA agents used to take on and develop newer talent, even non union talent. But the erosion of union vo work has made this a rarity. It's getting harder and harder keeping their signed working actors working. They just don't develop talent like they did when I started out.

But don't put the cart before the horse. You need to be ready for each step. Let's start with training. My favorite acting teacher in LA is John Ruskin:

http://ruskinschool.com

I'm also fond of Howard Fine:

http://www.howardfine.com

Good acting classes will allow you to audit/observe for free before committing. I know John does. I think Howard does as well, but not sure. And John treats every actor the same. So if you are a rank beginner or an Emmy nominee, and my class had both caliber of talent, all are on a level playing field.

When you have that training, when you have that demo and website, when you are union, you need to meet the players. There are a handful of "meet the pros" workshops where you will get face and mic time with agents, casting directors, producers, etc:
http://www.voiceactorsnetwork.com
http://voicesvoicecasting.com/Services.php

Do NOT put yourself out there until you are ready! Brilliant actors are getting signed by agents and booking promos/commercials/games/cartoons every week in these workshops. Mediocre actors are closing doors left and right. Everyone wants to work with brilliance. But everyone remembers mediocre. The cream always floats to the top.

If you want to know all things VO in LA, check out the VORG: http://www.voiceoverresourceguide.com/la/index.html

You will find listed:
- every agent
- union rates oral contracts and contact info
- demo producers and coaches
- casting offices
- recording studios
etc.

Lots and lots to do when pursuing acting and vo on a professional level in LA. It ain't for everyone. And there can be no shortcuts. In fact, the most successful actors wake up each day saying, "what else can I do?" Not "where can I save on money and time?"

[Rena]

I appreciate all the time, feedback, and support you have given to me. I don't know if you read this in my first post, but I am already union-eligible. At this point, I have done enough work so that if I want to join the union, I can. I have been training in voiceover for 2.5 years and for tv/film acting for 2 years... which is not a long time, I realize. I have a LONG way to go. I am currently training in Hawaii and have full intentions to continue training in LA. I do not take this lightly. Thank you for the LA training suggestions and resources! This is gold to me! I have been working with an agent in Hawaii for a year, but I know LA is a different animal.

From some of the responses, I felt that some of you might have misunderstood me. I will absolutely take my time. I will continue to train and do work. I've actually had more acting gigs than I have had voiceover gigs, so far. That being said, I consider myself to be very new to both games. I am open to any and all advice. I am not operating under the illusion that this is going to be easy. In fact, I think it's probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. My acting coach is on the SAG-AFTRA board for Hawaii, so I plan on hitting him up for his 2 cents, as well.

Thank you again for weighing in!
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Rena
I am officially Rena for good.

[Debbie Irwin]

I was non-union for a long time, while building my career.
(Spoiler alert: my career is still a WIP--work in progress).
Before the unions merged, I decided to join, since I always knew that I wanted to be able to have the opportunity to do union jobs.

A few months after joining I declared myself Financial Core,
allowing me to swing both ways. Some people are dead set against it, but from a practical standpoint I'm not closing off any doors.

Yes there are certain ramifications of being a "Dues paying non-member."
I can't vote (not a biggie to me), and I'm sure there are other issues.
Do a little homework and see if it's right for you.

I wanted to sleep at night knowing that I'm being honest with anyone who asks what my union status is.

Hope that's helpful.

[Rena]

[Bob Bergen]

The union, and those who work/sacrifice to negotiate for fair and minimum wages, working conditions, and benefits, and legal representation, pretty much equate going fi core with doing non Union on the hush hush. Both have the same detrimental outcome, damaging the industry and your fellow actors. It's the Federal judicial system that made it an option, and it was never, ever intended to give members the best of both worlds. This was just a loophole.

I advise people know ALL issues and consequences before making such a decision as going fi core. It's a huge, important career move.

[Deirdre]

If the union ever decides to actually represent its members instead of looking for ways to punish them, I think more VO's would be willing to make the union-only sacrifice.
Until then, Fi core is the only sensible choice for a voice actor if you don't have a fabulous agent in a huge town and enough union work to pay your mortgage.
Or you don't mind working at the local food co-op instead of using your talent and your studio to generate income.

Nobody needs to know anything about your union status except if your dues are paid up. And in my experience nobody cares if you are fi core. Not the directors, not the clients, not the agents.

Let me rephrase that-- nobody who MATTERS cares. And let me be clear I am only talking about home-studio voice work. Union suits wring their hands and shout doom from the pulpits and old guard actors care because it seems to threaten their status quo. To me, it's like straights getting all worked up over gay marriage. And in the end, they're not the ones who will be hiring you.
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[Bob Bergen]

Thoughts????

http://www.sagaftra.org/BestInTheBiz/about-initiative

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/sag-aftra-non-union-commercials-campaign-1201496823/

http://www.sagaftra.org/BestInTheBiz/key-discussion-points

[captain54]

[ConnieTerwilliger]

I looked at the links Bob provided.

While time doesn't permit a long response from me at this point in time, I did see one thing that I am curious about. It was talking about pre-member performers (non-union performers)

[Jeffrey Kafer]

[Deirdre]

Connie--It has always *been* true. I have no idea what the actual percentages are for the number of union members who don't reach the minimum to qualify for anything their money is going toward.

Beloved Bob: I am all for it and will be the loudest voice in favor of it. I've posted about the benefits of union jobs recently here, using a graphic from the "Best in the Biz" talking points memo.
That said, the union has a great deal to rectify with its freelancers if it wants to achieve the support it craves. I'll shout the value of union membership and the shoulder-to-shoulder significance of doing union-only work as long as I have a bastion of union people helping educate clients and production companies, and not just leaving it up to the lone free-lancer to tell a production company in Iowa why it's worth $2K to do an explainer vid compared with the $500 all-media buyout they expect.
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DBCooperVO.com

[captain54]

[ConnieTerwilliger]

Yes, that quote is accurate, but it wasn't the "reason" it was done. The reason was political contributions. And you are also correct - for what we do, it could be considered a loophole.
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[Deirdre]

The Fi-Core decision most people point to was Communication Workers of America v. Beck, 1988

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Workers_of_America_v._Beck
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