VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

COURVO

....that was the topic of last Saturday's Teleseminar I did with James Alburger and Penny Abshire.

I'm not sure we ever really answered that question, but we got into a lot of other fun stuff, including Social Networking, on-camera tips, demos, career motivations, and more.

Almost 400 people signed-up!
(but only 50+ were live on the call).

You can download a free copy of the 1-and-a-half hour program on James and Penny's site HERE until July 26th. Just scroll down a bit when you land on the page...it's right smack in the middle.

Hey, even Kara Edwawrds listened to it!

CourVO
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Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

I have not listened to the teleseminar, but I have a few comments.

It really, REALLY helps a talent find work if they have their own competent studio and some basic audio editing skills. Yes, it is an investment and there is a learning curve. But my own investment in my studio 7 years ago paid itself off in about 8 months, and now *most* of my VO work is from my own private studio. So - being a recording engineer - in addition to being a VO talent - can make a big difference in your VO career. Especially if you are female!

Secondly, at the urging of some of my talent agents, I reluctantly got into on-camera work after being VO-only for the first 5 years of my career. I didn't feel confident about it at first, but it turns out I had a knack for it. These days, on-camera work (including mostly ear-prompter industrials, but also TV commercials, some print work, etc). accounts for about 1/3 of my total business. I think that all VO talent should consider branching out to on-camera/print work, if their agents think they are marketable in that field. Diversification is a wonderful thing, IMHO.
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KaraEdwards · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:52 am Post subject:

First off- it was a great teleseminar Dave!

Second- Tom is spot on! My biggest client has me voicing and producing full audio pieces for them. It's a huge blessing to have that ability!! Also, I didn't realize how valuable the on camera work was until I moved and rarely do it anymore. Yup- missing those gigs! So, now I am trying to find a good agent locally to get me back in it. Being diverse is a great thing- it opens up lots of ways to meet our clients needs!
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Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

Interestingly Kara, I *rarely* am called upon to do any production whatsoever with my clients. I'm glad I've learned some of those skills, and I use them when I create my specialized VO demos. But 95% of the time, my clients only want the raw tracks.

So while having those production skills (processing with compression, eq, adding background music, etc.) IS valuable, IMHO they are not necessary for one to make money recording themselves in their own studios. Having a good set-up (good mic, good recoding environment, basic audio editing skills, etc.) is needed, and not outrageously expensive or incredibly time-consuming to learn.
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Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
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Monk · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:37 am Post subject:

I initially contacted an agent just to rep me for VO work, and he said, why limit myself!

Took some pictures, created a composite card, and now I book VO gigs as well as on camera.

I agree that having my own studio is an incredible asset. I get emails from clients with scripts and can turn them over by lunch. No appointment needed.

Smile

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flaspots · Contributore Level V Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Posts: 191

Some of us truly have a "face for radio", so we avoid the shiny eyeball end of a camera. Having to pay for replacing the lenses that commit seppuku when we are in the viewfinder kills the profit margin.

Of the forty or so talent I work with or represent, only a handful are "v/o only" people. Most of us have some sort of supplementary income, whether it be a secondary skill, or a spouse with a conventional employment.

Some are also still full time broadcasters. One is a professional aerial photographer. I do IT work. It doesn't dampen any enthusiasm for the craft in the least. Most of us have had "real" jobs, and we enjoy our surreal jobs better. We may be broke, but we're not bored.

I'm going to download the teleseminar and listen. Thanks for the lead, Dave.

voicy1stef · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:58 am Post subject:

I'd signed up for the teleseminar [with intention of downloading].

I'm looking forward to listening to the MP3.

Thanks for the heads up Dave

Laugh

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British-American voice artist based in England for the past umpteen years. I say, has it really been that long!

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Chrissy · Guest

I also signed up with the intention of downloading and I plan on listening soon. Since it costs me long distance $$ to listen live, I wait for the file to become available.

Philip Banks

COURVO · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:21 am Post subject:

Philip,

I personally felt that there was not enough focus on the topic during the teleseminar, but James and Penny stated that they thought we, indeed, spent most of our time on it...and they were quite satisfied that we had met our stated promises.

I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment...and luckily, I can continue to pursue this dream from a position of power and funding. Others may not be so lucky, but would you squelch their dream with statistics? Would Obama be president if he had believed what others likely told him about his chances when he was a young man?

I know, I know...that wasn't your point...but part of the equation MUST be hope and an ethereal quality of human determination that evades quantifying.

I am face-to-face with this question everyday being the father of a 20-yr-old who will likely spend the next 10 years of her life as a starving artist in NY, auditioning on the stages of broadway hoping to be a professional dancer. HER chances are probably worse than VO newbs...but am I going to stand in her way? Not on your life! This is something she must taste on her own, learn from the experience, and hang the probabilities!

CourVO
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Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

Philip Banks · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:49 am Post subject:

Don't read my using the subject chosen by James and Penny as a criticism of the way they handled the topic, I merely used it as a springboard to pass on some facts and figures.

Your daughter has the support of those closest to her and that will take her a lot further than a lot of the nonsense we see and hear in this business.

ccpetersen · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:31 pm Post subject:

Philip is absolutely right. Selling one's talents as a VO-er is not different from selling one's talents as an artist, writer, doctor, lawyer, etc. It's a BUSINESS and needs to be treated as such. Running a business costs money, and thus you have to think about what it costs to do business and then hope to make MORE than that so you can eat.

So, to ask the question, "Can you afford to be "just" a voice talent" is, to me, somewhat a come-on -- since the answer is clearly "No, you have to be MORE." That doesn't mean you have to be the sound engineer, although maybe you will for some clients. It does mean you need to be CEO of your realm, CFO, bookkeeper, etc. It's a business and every business needs those roles filled, as well as the principal product or service delivery.

I've spent much of my career as a writer and not every client wants everything I can do. So, I plan and price accordingly and make those fees known up front in discussions with the client (current and/or potential). The actual work isn't just the writing, sometimes it's the research, editing, communicating with the client, re-writing, etc. And then, once I deliver, you add in the work of chasing after the rest of the payment (because I don't do squat until I get a deposit).

Not sure what James and Penny covered -- guess I'd have to go listen, but I hope their answer was "this is a bidness... treat it as such and do what needs to be done."
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JBarrett · Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 6:57 pm Post subject:

Saw an interesting tweet come through today from "Weird Al" Yankovic. Many folks here are familiar with his music, I believe. Do you think that he's just a parody musician? Did you know that he also directs music videos? The tweet that Al posted today was a pic from a session where he was directing a video for Paul McCartney.

Al may be silly, but he sure ain't dumb. Smile

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Steve Royal · Guest

To answer the original question:
Yes.

Mike Harrison · Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:41 am Post subject:

To add to JBarrett's observation that 'Weird Al' Yankovic "might be silly, but he sure ain't dumb," the same was true for Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy, et al), Tom Smothers (The Smothers Brothers) and Gracie Allen (Burns & Allen). Each of these television pioneers portrayed themselves as 'dippy' on-camera, but they were actually quite shrewd business people.

(If you haven't seen the series, do yourself a favor and look for on PBS or buy from http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=2965540 'The Pioneers of Television.')

And, reading Kara's post here, specifically about some clients having her provide production as well as voice-over, I wonder... what types of clients might require production and/or writing services? I've been writing and producing for as long as I've been doing voice work, but thus far have been marketing only VO.
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Male Voice Over Talent
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