VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Christopher French]

So here it is, somewhere after midnight in Michigan, my wife is sleeping and I am on the voice123 website wondering if I should register or not when I see the automated demo section on their site. I decided to try it out and I must say, I had a butterfly in my stomach the size of a small weiner dog. I suddenly realized that I haven't acted in over 12 years and the thought of looking foolish scared me a bit. The biggest thing I realize is, I'm insecure about my voice. I know all the tounge twisters to do, I know the breathing exercises, I know what James Alburger recommends, but I need to get over that initial hump of "What if I sound horrible and can't make this work?!!" I'm so new to this profession that I haven't had the plastic removed yet. It's a thrilling, exciting, all the way scary place to be. Any thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Comments? Cunundrums? Thanks for the time.

Chris
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Christopher G. French

"The only limitations we truly have are the ones we place on ourselves." -Attributed to Donald Trump

[Deirdre]

YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE, CHRISTOPHER.


Read aloud every day.
Get a tape recorder. Read into it. Play it back.
That's your voice d00d.
The more you do this, the more you will get used to your sound.

If you can't do this exercise every day, hang it up now. Don't waste your time, anyone else's time, or your money.

You have to be willing to work your ass off doing scary stuff like this.
READ OUT LOUD. EVERY DAY.
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DBCooperVO.com

[brianforrester]

Well, at least you're normal!

Do you remember when you went for your driver's test, you were probably totallly confident right up until the dmv tester closed the door to the passenger side and said, "okay, you may start the vehicle". Then you broke into the cold sweats, your heart started beating really really fast and you thought "What if I can't do this? What if I fail? What if, what if, what if?"

However, you probably put it into gear and started off down the road cautiously, your confidence growing with each yellow strip you passed. By the end of the test you had probably forgotten all about your feelings about 30-minutes ago and felt one heck of a weight lift off of your shoulder!

Think of your first time on mic in this manner and remember that each word is a yellow center line that get's you closer to the "pass" stamp. You're fortunate that the closest you'll come to crossing the center line into oncoming traffic, is the occasional director who doesn't like what you've been able to give him/her. However, you pick up the pieces, learn what to do differently next time and hop back in the car, or in front of the mic!

Yeah, it's scary and intimidating and overwhelming, but I've gotta tell ya, when you finally get the first call from a director saying "we liked what you did, can you be at the studio on Thursday at 2:30... all the sweaty palms and shakey voices will be worth it!

This is an incredibly challenging business and takes a lot of time, training, practice, effort and persistence in order to begin making some $$$, but if you're committed to giving it a go and are able to grow some thick skin, what is for me a most enjoyable passion can eventually become a very profitable business.

Final bit of advice... don't be in a rush, cause you'll just be dissapointed when it doesn't happen the minute you cut your demo. From reading all of your posts over the past little while, it is very obvious that You definately have a boat load of enthusiasm, just take it slow cause I'd hate for you to become hisheartened when it doesn't happen quickly enough for you.

I wish you nothing but the best, and I've gotta say, you're on the right vo-bb to both be motivated and brought back down to ground when you're flying a bit too high!

Cheers,
_________________
Brian Forrester Voice Overs
www.brianforrester.com
brian@brianforrester.com
778.668.5715

[BBeen]

Christopher...I can totally relate to what you are feeling right now. The best advice I can give you is look at the top of the page and the Zebra quote. If you think you are successful you're right, if you think you're a failure your also right. there are amillion cliche's...But you won't ever know if you don't try.

Right now I work a full-time job, a part-time job and try to keep this voice thing going for me. Work trickles in for me, and keeps me wanting more. I totally expected that when I cut and posted my demo that my phone would be ringing off the hook....WRONG

Practice, market, practice, market, and then do it some more.

Patience is key, sometimes a little luck helps too.

all my best

Bud