New Business Development Feature
By Liz Raphael Helgesen

A professional voice talent and business mentor Liz will present an inspirational quote and then share a personal application of that wisdom to help us achieve greater success in our field.

“We need to be open to the possibility that colleagues and even strangers have information and perspectives that may be of value to us.” --Margaret Wheatley

If I am closed off to your perspective, I cannot be fully available to serve my higher purpose. As talent, each day we are presented with words on paper reflecting someone else’s point of view. It is our job to ‘get it’, own it and then tell the story. The writer hopes that we will interpret and perhaps bring some of our own uniqueness to the read to passionately convey their intent. But what if I disagree? What if I have conflicting opinions or experiences, or I’m simply stuck in my own stuff that day? How, then, will I be able to convey the right message for my client or theirs? First, I breathe, pray, breathe and pray again. This helps me connect--first with myself, and then with you.

Connecting with others is about empathy. True empathy is stepping into some else’s shoes and feeling what it feels like to be that person and then doing something to make a difference in their world. For me to make a difference for you, I must first draw from my own experiences to truly relate to your experience—your joy and your pain. I have to learn who you are without judgment. When I know exactly where you are coming from I can bring my self to your reality and take action to affect your world. Only then will I be of most value to you. I must work to remain unstuck, flexible and open to all of what new possibilities may bring to me so that I can bring more to you.

Top

Welcome to Sound Ideas

Glen Campbell welcomes all CV Newsletter subscribers and readers with an exciting exclusive offer that you will not find anywhere else. Simply submit your name, mailing address. phone number and email address to Glen monthly...that's all there is to it. First he will offer to send you a Sound Ideas Sampler of many of their terrific products and you will also be eligible to win one of two great Production CD's, Captain Audio (450 sfx) or Mzzz Muzic (200 music tracks). Just click on Glen's name to submit. I have been dealing with Glen at Sound-Ideas for many years both in radio and in VO. He is very knowledgeable and professional about his business and is not a sales-hound if you know what I mean. Give Glen a call anytime at 1-800-665-3000 (within Canada) or 1-800-387-3030 (USA), 905-886-5000 (International). Check out their Blue Plate Specials every month for amazing deals!

Welcome to Sound Ideas Online The world's largest publisher of professional sound effects, royalty free music, and your source for a comprehensive selection of production music and production element libraries.Buy direct from Sound Ideas - our e-commerce Web site offers secure online purchasing of more than 200 different sound effects and stock music products for broadcast, post-production, multimedia, game development and other wireless and entertainment applications.

Top

Union/Non-Union...that is the question?.....Deb Munro

To be union or not to be union, that is the question isn’t it? I will start out by saying everyone is entitled to their opinion and both sides

have valid points. Keep in mind this is all the info that I’ve heard/accumulated through various professionals. Research for yourself....More

Top

To MIX or not to MIX?.....By Jon Thomas

I think we can all agree on the advantages of recording voice-overs at home. The convenience factor is huge, the investment is for the most part reasonable, and you can do the recording in your PJs (not that I’ve ever done this, but it’s nice to have the option.) It also adds an additional title to the job description: the title of engineer. You’re not just responsible for the performance anymore. You’re now responsible for providing optimum sound quality. Suddenly your head is spinning with terms like EQ, compression, and reverb. Eek! Now what?

The good news is that depending on who’s receiving the audio, you may not have to worry. For example, say you’re sending the finished audio to a production house. More than likely the person on the other end will prefer that you don’t add anything fancy to the audio. No processing, no echo-y effects, nada. Oftentimes they’re going to be adding their own music or sound effects, or possibly editing you together with another voice. By sending them a “flat” audio track, you’re making it much easier for them to mix it in a way that works with the finished product.

But what if you’re savvy in the ways of mixing and processing? Ideally, you should always ask what they prefer, but when working with another producer, I’ve personally found it’s better to let them make the final call. The reason being is that even if you’ve given them the world’s greatest mix of your voice, you run the risk of limiting their options as far as putting their own spin on the audio. If you were sending the audio to a radio station or satellite radio service, chances are they also have to take the on-air processing into consideration.

Remember it never hurts to ask the client what they’d prefer. They may be open to your ideas as well as their own. And what if you’re not sure what to tell them? Toss around words like compression and reverb, and I’ll get back to you. ;-)

Top

If you refer to yourself as a VO Talent then show your talent.....by Rick Gordon

Offer variations in your reading style to your client in Corporate Narrations. Don’t be shy. Perhaps the producer has not given any thought to a different inflection or accent on a word or phrase. But, I bet the writer did. Don’t forget that as a VO talent you are almost at the end of the production. The script(s) which started out as an idea has been written and rewritten many times before you get the final version and in many cases the final version is not the final-final version.

Once your production is heard there may be some script changes requested and you should happily supply at least 2-3 no charge adjustments for your client. Many, many hours can be put into creating an audio message. Give it the time to offer your client “your talent” in how you see it or how he may want to alter the project. Don't forget that he is considering the fact that you have probably recorded hundreds of similar narrations and your input, whether considered or rejected, is important to him.

When I run into this situation where I think the producer may want multiple takes on a part of the script I simply insert "John.....coming up are 2 more alternate reads on the next bit of script" and then I record them as version 1 & 2. In most cases my clients do their own production so deleting and/or copying pasting is second nature to them. They love that extra bit of service.

Top

The Funnies

Top

A SPAM to our members.....Rick Gordon

In the last few weeks a number of CV Members, including myself, have received the request below. I have responded to it myself and received no reply as have others. Below the SPAM you will see my standard response to Members.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Greetings,

I'm interested in your voice (demo/recording) and am also willing to follow you guardline.We have a 60 secs script for a phone message. i need to get the recording in wav. a warm and confident female/male voice for spoken word Hypnosis recordings. I also have voicemails to be done.Delivery of demo via email, Please send your demo and prices as soon as possible.My rate is between 1200-1'800 US Dollars.
So i would like you to get back to me with more info about your availability and you contact details aswell.also i want a fast arrangement because time is not on my side here... contact me back directly at derekcollin@yahoo.com . i got your contact info from www.commercialvoices.com so kindly get back to me asap.

Regards
D.C
_____________________________________________________________________________
Hi CV Member,

Hundreds of VO talents have received this, including me, and I am quite sure it is spam. I replied and have heard nothing more. You could respond if you wish but don’t hold your breath for an answer. If you do and you do get one please let me know.

I guess it’s the old story “ if it looks too good to be true…..then, it probably is”.

Cheers,
Rick
Top

Producer's Corner
Pop Filters
I've been doing a lot of voice work lately - with a wide variety of voice artists (many of them presenters, not pro voice artists).

One of the most important things to prepare for on a VO session is making the talent comfortable. They need to be able to read their copy, hear what they need to hear in the headphones (if anything), have good lighting, comfortable seating (for longer presentation-style copy), and a nice ambience doesn't hurt either.

Sometimes, in our attempt at capturing the sound properly, we can forget that the artist as we place mics, screens, or stands... some artists will object right away, but more often, they'll "take it" - out of politeness or not wishing "to cause trouble." The problem with this is that their discomfort can result in an inferior session.

While I've always accommodated my client's needs - one big headache for me has always been POP screens - essential little tools that eliminate breath blasts (called plosives) from hitting the mic - creating an obvious and bassy "pop" noise. The standard screens are about 5-6 inches in diameter and are notorious for getting in the way of talent's line-of-sight of the copy.

I found a company that produces 3-inch screens very useful for VO work.
They don't get in the way at all, and reduce the plosives just as effectively as the larger screens. I bought several and they've performed excellently. (No - I don't work for them or have any affiliation with them in any way - I just a user that found a tool that
works!)

Check them out at http://www.popfilter.com/

Happy recording!

Top