VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD! Forum Index VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!
Where A.I. is a four-letter word.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Bodalgo Currently
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD! Forum Index -> Chat
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
paulstefano
Backstage Pass


Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 411
Location: Baltimore, MD

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:47 am    Post subject: Bodalgo Currently Reply with quote

Hello Everybody and Happy New Year.

Has anybody used Bodalgo recently? I put in an application and was apparently approved. I say apparently because I received no notice, I just started to get audition requests in email. Of course, in order to respond I have to pony up more funds.

My question is, are they still considered to be more selective than their P2P counterparts? I was kind of surprised I was accepted at this point in my career.

Thanks,

Paul
_________________
http://www.paulstefano.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
paulstefano
Backstage Pass


Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 411
Location: Baltimore, MD

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay, I hate when people reply to their own posts, but I have to note this.

I sent an email through the general contact form asking if I had indeed been approved on the site, and I got a confirmation from Armin Hierstetter himself! It didn't appear to be a form letter, either, it addressed my question directly and with a real answer.

Color me impressed.
_________________
http://www.paulstefano.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Lee Gordon
A Zillion


Joined: 25 Jul 2008
Posts: 6843
Location: West Hartford, CT

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just as with the other P2Ps, I believe Bodalgo's "approval process" consists of "show me the money." Other than that, I don't believe they have any sort of vetting procedure. That said, if you want to try out a P2P, there are a couple of reason Bodalgo is a good choice. You've discovered the first one: Armin really is a decent guy and wants to do right by his members.

At just €10 a month, Bodalgo is also less expensive than the others, although the number of leads you are likely to get is also lower. Best of all, far more of the job posters on Bodalgo seem to be satisfied with a generic demo, rather than requiring a custom audition. So, between those last two items, it is not nearly the time suck that the other P2Ps can be.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Matto
Club 300


Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 386
Location: Vancouver Island, British Columbia

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't seen a lot of leads come through lately, but I've picked up some good gigs through that website - including a great regular client from Germany. They usually send me through at least a couple of videos a week now.

The focus is definitely Transatlantic English (British-ish, Americany Euro, Britstralian), so if that's not in your wheelhouse your marketing $$$ may be better spent elsewhere.
_________________
www.mattcowlrick.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bish
3.5 kHz


Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 3738
Location: Lost in the cultural wasteland of Long Island

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Armin wants to appear as the "honest broker" of the P2P world... and to a great extent, he seems to be accomplishing it. It's a small outfit and he keeps it personal. It's all down to a cost/benefit analysis (remember that you should also calculate time on the cost side of the equation).

I don't use them as I'm strictly Brit (not the Antipodean Chameleon that is Matt!) and find that his roster is fairly well loaded with Brits anyway, so I'm better off focussing on my niche as a US-based Brit.
_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
paulstefano
Backstage Pass


Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 411
Location: Baltimore, MD

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Guys, all helpful stuff.

I decided to take the plunge on a monthly basis. As a child of the 70's, and who still worked some before the internet age, I still am a sucker for the personal touch. That personal email from Armin got me hook line and sinker!
_________________
http://www.paulstefano.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Jeffrey Kafer
Assistant Zookeeper


Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 4931
Location: Location, Location!

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You know everyone gets that "personal" letter, right?
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Philip Banks
Je Ne Sais Quoi


Joined: 20 Jun 2005
Posts: 11046
Location: Portgordon, Scotland

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 5:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you write to Arm and Hammer explaining why he's wasting your time you'll receive a reply which is "very personal".
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
paulstefano
Backstage Pass


Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 411
Location: Baltimore, MD

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 5:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jeffrey,

It's not the same. I asked a specific question and Armin answered it in the email. I know a template when I see one. I've worked in customer service for years, using templates for all types of responses from emails, to online live chat systems.

I have received many templated emails from bodalgo since signing up, that have Armin's signature. I'm just pointing out I also received a personal one.

It's a small point, I know, but that kind of personal response really makes a difference in this digital world.
_________________
http://www.paulstefano.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Lee Gordon
A Zillion


Joined: 25 Jul 2008
Posts: 6843
Location: West Hartford, CT

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Philip Banks wrote:
If you write to Arm and Hammer explaining why he's wasting your time


He used to be the US ambassador to the Soviet Union. Shocked
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
WillMWatt
Contributor IV


Joined: 10 Dec 2013
Posts: 138
Location: New York, NY

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I book pretty regularly through Bodalgo. The clients tend to be European - lots of small to mid-size media companies looking for voices for their projects. Also a fair amount of European based companies who want a re-dub of a product video in English.

Armin is a friendly guy, and will usually respond personally to any emails you send. A job popped up the other day with the budget set at $900, but the body text stating "this is a student project and, as such, we can't pay you". I emailed this in, got a response from Armin within 10 mins, and the job was removed from the site.

Overall, I don't see a ton of American accent work popping up, but it's certainly there.

To answer your initial question, yes I think they're a little more selective than other P2Ps. I think this probably has a lot to do with the fact that the registration is laid out as an "application process". This likely dissuades the majority who are not serious. As for the approval - you run into difficult territory when you start making judgement calls as to whether or not someone is "fit to practice". Armin probably recognises this, and likely gives the benefit of the doubt in a lot of situations.

I personally appreciate this approach. It is not overly prescriptive (I found a a P2P in the UK which requests a sample of your noise floor as well as a recording of a set piece of copy using your home equipment...and which therefore suggests a five week average approval time from submission), yet it also doesn't go down the voices.com route of "anyone can be a voice actor profeshunal artist creative type! Literally!!!!! Got a phone with a mic built into it?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Just use that!!!!!!!!!!!!! From the comfort of your own hooooommmeeee!!!!! Can you imagine?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Sitting on your sofa and talking and being paid and having Maggie Gylenhall come give you foot rubs!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
captain54
Lucky 700


Joined: 30 Jan 2006
Posts: 744
Location: chicago

PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As a side note, there are a few US talent seekers posting there, and the majority of them are the slowest payers I've encountered… and of course, as usual, the slow payers with skinniest of budgets...
_________________
Lee Kanne
www.leekanne.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Yahoo Messenger
Philip Banks
Je Ne Sais Quoi


Joined: 20 Jun 2005
Posts: 11046
Location: Portgordon, Scotland

PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 1:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What dislike I most? Voice Talent or Talent Seeker? Hard to say. On the whole P2P owners are merely pickpockets who allow victims to use their own hands.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Tom Test
DC


Joined: 23 Jan 2007
Posts: 625
Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've had a number of very good gigs on bodalgo, and some have become regular clients. They generally pay as well (or more) than my American clients, and I have not had any slow payers yet (though all of my gigs have been with European clients). I'm strictly Midwestern US accent.

One tip for you: European clients don't realize that we make custom clips for our demos with clients we may have not actually worked for. To them our practice is misrepresentation! They expect that everything on your demo will be from an actual client that you have worked for. I have produced demos for bodalgo that are all clips from actual jobs.

I interviewed Armin a few years back, you can find it on the VoiceXtra website. It's worth a read to better understand that market.
_________________
Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
paulstefano
Backstage Pass


Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 411
Location: Baltimore, MD

PostPosted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 5:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tom Test wrote:


One tip for you: European clients don't realize that we make custom clips for our demos with clients we may have not actually worked for. To them our practice is misrepresentation!


I actually kind of agree with this! Nevertheless, I know it's industry standard in the US.

Thanks for the additional tips.
_________________
http://www.paulstefano.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD! Forum Index -> Chat All times are GMT - 7 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group