Five voice over stars in a limo heading to an awards show

 OK. OK. I know this clip is very dated but ...here's a funny skit with 5 VO superstars from way back. Don LaFontaine, the late, great movie trailer voice (''In a world...") was booked and in such demand that he took a limo during the day to production studios (pre-home studios) to record voice overs;one after another. He was a generous guy and would sometimes allow certain people to ride with him. He was also known to record simple voicemail messages for folks he met in between sessions. What a kick to have Don recording your voicemail message!  Your friends were impressed. Or, maybe somewhat envious.

This is an old video but always makes me smile. Stay with it!  It's not very long. To see the faces that go with the voices-PRICELESS!  Classic voice over guys including the man who was the voice of Disney-Mark Elliot;a very familiar voice taking some of us way back to our childhood.

Well, "I'm movin' on up"... to a new recording space

 After 14 years of recording voice overs from a good studio location, I was informed the building was being taken over by the owner. It made me a bit sad;and frankly, dreading making a move to a new location. I was very comfortable where I was. As any voice actor will tell you, when recording, silence is golden. Not everyone works from a soundproof booth. So, the challenge is to find an acceptable recording space without unwanted sounds leaking into your recordings. No easy task!. We're all so used to living in a very loud world. We let the noise go in one ear and out the other. But sensitive microphones can pick up everything! And we don't want that. Your neighbor running his weed eater at 8 o'clock in the morning can be problematic. Where I recorded, I was working around the occasional noisy truck coming down the street, or a dog bark or two off in the distance. My Sennheiser 416 microphone does a great job rejecting outside noise. So glad I bought one years ago. It's my workhorse mic. 

I have a fellow voice over friend named Christy who I've known for many years. She lived in LA and recorded mainly audio books from her pro voice over booth. She decided to leave LA and move to Oregon. I remember her telling me how god awful heavy the booth was and what a huge effort it was to break it apart and take it to the new location. That definitely doesn't sound like fun. Time to hire a few, big, burly dudes to help out.

As for my move to a new, suitable recording location, I had a sort of miracle happen. I was able to find a spot right across the street from me! I am beyond grateful. Tears of joy come to mind. I fine tuned my new recording space and away we went. No long moving trips across town here in the very busy traffic of  East Bay San Francisco to relocate my recording equipment. And I actually like my new studio set-up better than what I had.

I have a longtime e Learning client (my #1) who was patient and understood I was going to have to take a break from recording her scripts as the hunt was on for a new studio location. She told me she would rather have her fingernails pulled out in a torture treatment than have to make a move. I think lots of folks hate moving. You're reminded of all the junk you've accumulated that you never use. But once you get settled, you can prop your feet up and take a nice, long rest and be thankful the move is over. I know I am. Cheers!

"Pssst! I have something really cool to share with you"

 One of my favorite, top tier, A list voice actors is Scott Rummell; a terrific promo and trailer voice. He's a big league talent you've no doubt heard over the years. A Disney voice, Lee Jeans and much more. He also seems like a very generous and nice guy. 

Here's a link to Scott in an L.A. studio recording a new commercial demo. Watch the process. Much to learn from this. It runs about 20 minutes. You'll notice the session was "light and breezy." The guy producing the demos is Chuck Duran of "Demos That Rock Studio" in L.A. 

And here's a link to a really entertaining TED Talk Scott gave where he speaks about how he got started in voice acting. Very enjoyable. I highly recommend you watch it. It's truly inspirational and also runs about 20 minutes. If you've been sitting on the fence about getting into voice acting, maybe this will give you the kick in the pants you need. Even if you're not a voice actor, check it out. The power of persistence comes through loud and clear.

Scott has a terrific sense of humor and looks like he would be most pleasant to work with in a session. And that's key as a voice talent. No one wants to work with a diva. Follow their direction and make it easy to work with you. If word gets out you're "cranky and crabby" to work with, you'll probably not be on their short list of professional voice over talents to audition for the good jobs you're looking for.

Is perfectionism ruining your voice over auditions?

 So you work from a home studio and do your fair share of auditions for voice over jobs. You preview the copy for clues as to how to audition; trying to zero in on what they are looking for. You read the specs the client has provided as to what they want. You crank up your recording software, and with copy in hand, head into your booth, or wherever you do your voice work, to record the audition. Being a fairly new, enthusiastic voice talent, you aim for perfection. At this point, I'd like to step in and ask your permission to kindly offer you some advice. And here it is...   STOP trying to be perfect with your auditions! Aim for good or very good. Perfect? NO. Perfection is a very subjective thing. One man's perfect is another man's "Just OK." Trying to be perfect is a fool's game you'll never win. If you're standing or sitting in your booth recording an audition and wondering how you're doing as you're recording the copy ("Hmmmm. Does this sound right?") there's likely  going to be a disconnect. In other words, you should NOT be self critiquing as you're voicing the audition. 

Merriam-Webster dictionary has this definition of perfectionism:

"a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable"

Trust your voice! Try to bring something unique to your audition. Maybe a take on the copy that they would not expect. And definitely forget about trying to be perfect. That's a waste of time; you'll drive yourself crazy in the process. In my humble opinion, if you can't nail a solid audition in no more than 3-4 takes, you probably shouldn't be auditioning for the job. Too many takes and you'll be second guessing yourself as to what take to submit for the audition. Be selective in what you audition for. And again, drop the need to be perfect. It's a myth. No voice actor markets himself/herself as a "perfect voice talent." No voice actor is right for EVERY job. Even the greatest of the greats. 

About this blog and "time flies!"

 It's hard for me to believe that this blog is now 13 years old. I write this blog mainly for new voice over talents and intermediate. I want to thank a friend of mine, David, for helping me set up the technical stuff. I can create these blog posts at ease. I enjoy writing and try to post new messages at least 2 times a week to keep things fresh. I go to voice over blogs and see the most recent posts were created a year ago or more! That's one thing I swore I would never do; let my blog get stale and abandoned looking. I also knew that writing just about voice over was going to be a huge challenge. There are so many blogs and videos on You Tube talking about voice over technique already, and I didn't want to limit myself to just writing about voice over. I believe some voice over talents start out with good intentions about writing a blog, and then often hit a wall; a writer's block, lose interest and their blog becomes very dated looking. I have two goals with mine; be informative... and be entertaining. 

I've been contacted by folks through the years who visited this blog, and then emailed me with questions about how to get into doing voice overs and make some money. Just last week, a female voice talent emailed me and said she was recording voice overs years ago, and then took a break for 15 years (!) and she now wanted someone that could help her stay focused and motivated as she wanted to get back in. I  emailed her a link to a very popular voice over forum I'm a member of where people freely share. Bob Bergen, the voice of Porky Pig, often drops by to weigh in on discussions. (the man knows what he's talking about). How he landed the gig of being Porky Pig is so inspirational. Check out his website at www.bobbergen.com.

I'm always happy to offer advice and tips. Feel free to email me. Over the years, I've found many people in the voice over community to be very generous with helping others with their expertise. We all start somewhere. It IS very competitive, but it can be rewarding honing your craft, and then landing some voice over jobs to be proud of. 

If you've come to this blog to hear me spew politics or religion, you'll be very disappointed. (you'll have to come to a family get together to hear that!) I'll leave that to other blogs and websites. I have a "no politics" policy here.

If you scroll down to the bottom of this blog, you'll see "Older Posts." Click on that to see posts I did when I was just starting out. There's a bunch of voice over info there too, including a post about Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson. (what a job she landed).

You'll find contact information and my updated voice over demos at the link below.

https://www.johnmilesproductions.com

Good luck on your journey!

The amazing Morgan Freeman and his voice tip

 So I was online and stumbled on to an interviewer and the incredible Morgan Freeman talking about his big, deep, distinctive, authoritative voice. The interviewer, who was sitting back to the camera and not anyone famous, asked Morgan how he, the interviewer, could get a deeper voice. Morgan said something I have never heard before. He said, "yawn a lot." Yawn... really? He went on to say that yawning is one effective way to RELAX your vocal chords which will give you a deeper, richer pitch to your voice. I had heard about relaxing your vocal chords for effective voice over, but never heard about using yawning to go deeper with your voice.

 I yawned a lot in junior high school as the teacher lectured on and on with a topic I was zoned out on, my eyes glazed over, but I don't recall my voice getting any deeper. But when Morgan Freeman speaks, people listen. So, I'll definitely take him at his word. Just be careful not to yawn when your other half is speaking to you at the end of his/her day with another all-important, drama filled story from work. Full attention please. Yawn at your own peril.

Then from an article in Time Magazine there's this...

"But there’s something deeper going on with the appeal of Freeman’s voice—literally. In scientific experiments, people consistently perceive low-pitched voices in men as stronger and more physically attractive than male voices with a higher pitch. “It’s not surprising that Morgan Freeman is used for a lot of voiceover work, because his voice is perceived as that of a dominant, strong male figure,” says Casey Klofstad, associate professor of political science at the University of Miami and researcher of how society and biology influence the way we make decisions."

I always have to laugh when I see cheesy ads where the voice seeker puts in their ad, "MUST sound exactly like Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones." And then you see they're offering $20 for the voice-over.  Comedy at its best.

Why your voice sounds SO different to you on playback

 I was recently reminded about this phenomenon when a friend of mine visited my studio to record a few demo intro tracks. David has a wonderful South African accent and I asked if he wouldn't mind helping me out. He said, "Sure, no problem." After the very brief recording session, he came out of the booth to watch me edit the tracks and hear his takes through my monitors. He noted how it's always strange to hear your recorded voice, because it sounds so different from how we hear ourselves through our heads.

Here's a link to "Why we hate hearing our own voices."

"Everybody tells me I have a great voice!"

 Seems everybody and his brother is getting into voice over these days. There's the promise of making some good money and the cost to set up a home studio is quite modest. Decent microphones are not expensive. And setting up an OK/acceptable studio is not going to break the bank. 

But here's the thing. If I were to teach voice over and somebody came to me for instruction, my first question before we even started reading practice copy would be "So why do you want to get into doing voice overs?" If the answer is "I want to make a lot of money and be famous;" I would more than likely pass on giving that person instruction. The harsh reality is even if you have the skills and talent, making a lot of money at voice over is questionable at best. The vast majority of people doing voice over work do NOT make the big bucks. (six figures on up). As for the fame part, well, there are folks making really good money and have been at the craft a long time and if you ask them if they are famous, they might fall down laughing. If you're getting into voice over because you want to be famous, good luck with that. Many successful veteran voice actors will tell you they like the anonymity of doing voice over work. They actually love going unnoticed in the supermarket or on the street. "Fame...Shmame. Just make sure my check clears."

I sometimes hear, "everybody tells me I have a great voice to do voice overs." You can have a so called great voice but it's what you do with your voice that matters. Do you have a marketable voice? (i.e. is your demo competitive?). Do you have the skills needed?  Are you willing to forgo a weekly paycheck? How do you deal with a lot of "nos" and rejection? Are you willing to put up with the peaks and valleys of the business? I can go out and buy a shiny new set of quality golf clubs, but unless I have the skills and have practiced and trained, those fancy clubs aren't going to help me. It's unlikely I'll be bragging to everyone in sight about my amazing 76 I shot at my local golf course.

I love doing voice overs. But it can be a tough go. You'll be auditioning a lot and not landing any jobs. That's the way it goes. If you're not recording a job, you'll be looking for work. (or should be). Don't let anyone sugarcoat things and tell you how easy it is to make big money in voice overs. Bull. Or as we use to teasingly say as kids,"You're full of it!" There's a well known lady pitching her voice over classes online and I actually cringe when I see her because she makes it sound like winning great paying jobs is a breeze. (Her first name is Susan). And let's not forget the folks who "inflate" their income when asked how much they make doing voice overs. By the way, I would never ask a voice actor what they make. None of my business and, in my opinion, poor form.

I'm not throwing a wet blanket over anyone's dreams and aspirations. I'm just telling you it's a very tough, competitive business and getting into it because you want to make lots of money and be famous is not good motivation. Or realistic. It's not a get rich quick industry. Feel free to prove me wrong.

Personally, I think the way to go is keep your day job and explore voice over on the side. You'll know when it's time to go full-time with voice over. Or, maybe you have no intention of going full-time at all. Either way, good luck!

"This ain't no funeral! What's with the coat and tie?"

 So you are about to head out to your very first recording session as a newbie voice talent, excitement abounds, then it hits you; "What should I wear?" I can't speak for others, but what I've seen at almost every recording session I've done is casual to business casual--without fail. Why is that? I think that COMFORT rules the day in recording studios. Simply put, you want to be comfortable when you're recording. You'll notice the folks who run the recording studio are dressed quite casually. Also, remember that you don't want to wear clothes that may create unwanted sounds when you move in the recording booth. Sensitive mics can pick up EVERYTHING! Now, there are limits when it comes to casual dress. I use to work with a guy in radio who was known for his deep sea diving exploits off the air and he'd show up in flip flops, cut offs and a tank top to do his show. OK. No big deal with that. He was on the overnight show and there were few people around. I wouldn't recommend you show up for a recording session with flip flops though. That's a tad too casual. On the other hand, if you show up with a suit coat and tie, you'll be way too formal and look like you're heading to a funeral. And NOBODY wants to work with someone who looks like they're heading to  that big microphone in the sky. 

Shifting gears from outside recording sessions to at home ones, the cool thing about recording from a home studio is no one sees how you dress. Well, maybe your kids or other half do, but they could probably care less how you dress while you record just as long as you make lots of money so you can support their fast food habits. 

There's a voice actor who runs a very popular (if not controversial) blog that wrote a book about making a living doing voice overs from a home studio in your pajamas. Who would know? I say"Go for it" if that's your thing. Or, you could take it one step further; do voice overs in your birthday suit. OK. Maybe not. This I wouldn't recommend for a number of reasons. I won't go into that here as we're approaching creep factor X 10. 

So, when heading out to a recording session, think casual NOT funeral formal. You'll fit right in.

"One man's sandwich is another man's..."

 A number of years ago, I would leave my home studio to record in San Francisco. As mentioned on this blog, working alone from home can be very isolating. So, it was fun to get out and be around other voice talents as we recorded together at the wonderful Pyramind Studios. (Yes, "Pyramind" not "Pyramid.")

I can hop on our rapid transit (BART) here in East Bay where I live and be in the heart of the city at Powell and Market Streets at a cable car turnaround in about 30 minutes. Super convenient. The walk down to the studio is 10 minutes or so. Always the early bird, I landed in San Francisco with about half an hour to kill. I decided to buy a croissant ham and cheese sandwich  from a vendor at the Westfield Shopping Plaza. It was much larger than I anticipated. So, I finished half of it and wrapped the whole other half in the food wrapping paper it came in inside the bag. It was great that the lady used a knife to neatly halve it back where I bought it. The thought quickly occurred to me as I walked down the sidewalk to the recording session, I could give the food to one of the many homeless folks frequently seen. After a short while, I spotted a man down on the grass near a bus stop. I told him I had an untouched, half, fresh ham sandwich in the bag and he could have it. He immediately declined and said "I want money, not food." So, I bid him a good afternoon and continued down the street a bit where I saw another homeless man lounging on the grass. As I approached and told him I had free food for him, he jumped up excitedly and snatched the bag from my hand and put it in a backpack he had on.  He was thrilled. I told him to enjoy the sandwich and continued walking to the studio. Off in the distance he yelled at me, "Hey man, can I come with you?" I told him "No, but thanks for asking." I had work to get to. But the encounters left an impression on me. Money well spent on the sandwich and an  interesting study in human behaviour. 

"Let's Get Physical!"

 Some of us remember the Olivia Newton John song, "Physical," from way back when. It was a song full of sexual tension and play. Here's the chorus line.

"Let's get physical, physical, I wanna get physical, let's get into physical. Let me hear your body talk, your body talk, let me hear your body talk." 

Why am I posting this on a voice over blog? Folks are often surprised to see all the physical movements that voice actors use in the booth. Established Hollywood stars often find voice over quite challenging. That makes sense. Think about it. If you're on camera, you have both sound (your voice) and visual (body movement) coming into play. With voice over, visual is not a factor. So, there's that additional requirement of needing to convey the emotion through words alone. Not always an easy task.

Beginning voice over artists are often told by their coaches to go ahead and get physical. (Not the kind Olivia sang about, but you get the idea). Move those hands! (the exception might be if you're recording a very low energy piece of copy). Make those facial expressions as you voice! It all comes through in the recording. So it should come as no surprise to see voice actors gesturing a lot in the recording booth. Watching an animation recording session is particularly loaded with actors using body language to the max for high energy reads.

Here's an experiment. Grab some copy for an auto dealership ( or write a paragraph or two) where the direction is "High energy-over the top" with the delivery. You've no doubt heard these hard sell spots on your TV. (Yep, the loud, annoying ones). Now, put both your hands in your pocket and try voicing with that high energy direction in mind. I'm sure you'll find that the hands in your pocket will clamp you down considerably. It's much more productive to get those hands moving as you read. It's the same reason why many VO artists record standing up. Sitting down can cramp your style. Studies have shown there is a direct correlation between your vocal chords and body movement. 

When I was in high school, I used to get teased for talking with my hands. When I entered the voice over world, I realized that talking with your hands can make you money. Not a bad trade.

So, go ahead, get physical when you voice that copy! 

A question I never get asked

 I've been doing voice overs for quite some time now. And like many, I tend to look at other voice over websites to hear demos, read information, and see how other talents are presenting themselves.

From time to time, I'll see an overly lengthy description about what gear they are using...microphone, pre-amp, etc. In all my years of doing voice over, I have never had a client/customer ask me what microphone I'm using. Or frankly, about ANY equipment I'm using. For the most part, they don't care! So when I see all the specifics about equipment on a voice over website, I consider it wasted space. Here's what clients/customers want and expect. A good, clean audio file with no background noise in the format of their choosing (MP3, WAV, AIFF) with no or very limited processing, delivered on time. 

As a voice over talent, for the most part, it is the client's decision as to how the audio will be processed in post production. Whether it be the amount of compression (if any) volume adjustments, possible light reverb, or any other effect they desire. Some talents will do a light de-ess and EQ before sending the audio. But not much more than that. Less is more.

I have a Neumann TLM 103  and Sennheiser 416 in my studio. They are two of the most popular microphones for voice over work. They get the job done and satisfy my clients. But nobody ever asks about them. And I'm OK with that.

"Don't Touch That Microphone!"

Let me say up front that this information is for beginning voice over talents as more experienced ones will already know this. There is a thing called "studio etiquette." It's sort of the "code of conduct" when you go outside your home to record in a studio with a client or customer.

When in the recording booth, never EVER touch or move, in any way, the microphone. That may get you a major look of disapproval (or scolding) from the recording engineer who is there to set up the session. It's his job to reposition the microphone, if necessary. Microphones can be very sensitive and expensive. So remember, while out in a studio, "Hands off!" 

While recording the  script and being directed, should you flub a word, don't whine on and on and beat yourself up verbally. That makes you look like a beginner. And you won't win any points with the director(s). Simply listen to the direction as to where they want you to do the retake.  This is called a "pickup." Typically, you'll go back to the beginning of the sentence where you made the flub and read the line again. By the way, it's no big deal. Even the best of the best flub a word or two. Nothing to be embarrassed about.  

As noted in another post here, arriving late for a session is a HUGE no-no. (No explanation needed for this one).

NEVER make fun of or mock the copy you're recording. The person(s) who wrote it may well be at the session.

After the recording session, come out of the booth, sign any necessary paper work, thank them... and LEAVE. Don't linger with endless chatter. These folks are busy and that's bound to be very annoying to them. It's all about carrying yourself like a pro. It'll go a long way in your voice over career. The business is tough enough as it is. Don't shoot yourself in the foot and look like an amateur.  Be grateful for the work and move on.

Handling rejection in the voice over world

 So I was going through my book collection and pulled out one I bought several years ago. It's called, "Secrets of Voice Over Success" by Joan Baker. And while there are many voice over books on the market, I particularly like this one, as it features some of the top voice over artists in the industry talking about their path from unknown to the A list. Each chapter features a different voice, and the first one, fittingly, is the late movie trailer superstar, Don LaFontaine. (famous for his big, bold"In a world"...)

As anyone in this business knows, auditioning is the norm for landing jobs. I was taken by Don's observation about not only auditioning, but rejection. Here's the direct passage.

"No matter how good you may be, you're not going to book every job for which you audition. Sometimes the answer is going to be no. I never let it bother me. I keep in mind that this is a very subjective business. I am certainly not right for every job. As an actor, rejection is the first thing with which you learn to deal. It's not so much rejection as it is a process of elimination. You do it all the time. If you select Burger King over McDonalds, you're not rejecting McDonalds; you simply prefer Burger King. That's the way it is in this business. Don't dwell on it. Move on. Believe me; your career is not over."

This coming from one of the most successful voice actors of all time. Powerful stuff indeed.

Cool thing is the updated version of the book comes with a CD with demos on it. This is not a book that teaches voice over technique. It's a book with lots of real world advice from the best in the business about how to elevate your career.

The book is a great read.  You can find it on Amazon.

So You Want To Do Animation/Cartoon Voices

 There are lots of folks teaching the various niches of voice over.  One of the most qualified is animation voice legend-Pat Fraley. Over the years, he's voiced thousands of cartoons. Years ago, I ordered his cassette course (remember those?) and was beyond impressed. Now, if you have a sincere desire to explore with Pat, you might be thinking, "But I live in Minneapolis and he's in LA!" Good news. He has home study courses as well as remote teaching/coaching over the Internet. Here's a short, cool interview with Pat running through a few of his voices. Very entertaining.  It runs about 8 minutes.

Go to his website at pat fraley.com to see all that he has to offer, which goes way beyond just animation. He also has regular course offerings on audio book narration which has been a booming segment of voice over for years now. There's a "free stuff" section you might want to check out. And be sure to click on "demos" to hear Pat's amazing animation demo.

Hoarse throat relief to the rescue!

One of the challenges of voicing many scripts in the same day is that your voice may decide to get in a funk from time to time. Dryness, raspiness... just plain ol' sore throat. Not being able to deliver projects on time can mean money lost, or worse yet, the loss of a client. (We covered in another post the need to drink water throughout your day and stay hydrated).

I use to live in Charlotte before moving back to the Bay Area, and when Spring rolled around, it was not uncommon for yellow pollen to be all over the place---on cars, on buildings... and on yourself. I would usually catch a bout of scratchy throat. Or worse yet, a case of mild laryngitis. I dreaded pollen season in the South. Here on the West Coast it's a non-issue for me.

A number of years back, I heard about a terrific product from that great animation voice actor and coach, Pat Fraley. It's called "Entertainer's Secret." This stuff's been around for some time and professional singers, including Billy Joel and Katy Perry, swear by it. You spray it into your throat or sniff it into your nostrils. It's distributed by a company out of Indiana. The bottle indicates the main ingredient to be Aloe Vera Gel; not surprising as we've long known the power of and many uses of AVG.

I know that there are many other tricks of the trade that VO folks and singers use to keep their voices fine tuned, but this stuff works for me. And it's not messy. 

Check it out here. 

Magical Mornings

 I totally enjoy getting out of bed early and getting at the day. I was raised in a small country house in Ohio with one bathroom. I have quite a few siblings (8) and mornings were very hectic. There was no such thing as "sleeping in." My Dad, who was a fantastic drywall and  plaster man, made sure that we got our outside chores done...raking the apple orchard, cleaning the barn stalls where we kept a few horses, weeding the garden, and so on. And yes, he made a list of chores in the morning before he left for work and would check to see how well we had done when he came home. He was a taskmaster for sure, and as a young boy, I sometimes resented it. Later in life, I came to realize it was a good thing as I was held accountable. My Dad's motto was the familiar refrain, "If you're gonna do something, do it right, or don't do it at all."

I learned to enjoy waking up early and starting my day. That motivation has stuck with me. As mentioned in another post on this blog, Dad and I would often play early Sunday morning golf. As in, still kind of dark outside and dew on the grass.  My brother and I slept in a bunk bed. I remember Dad coming in early Sunday morning and shaking me and telling me to get up as we were going golfing. It was a special ritual.

And today, as I do voice overs from my home studio, I find mornings to be very special as there is the promise of a new day and the expectation of getting things accomplished. Yesterday is done. Time to focus on the NOW. And early mornings are quiet. Some of my most productive work has occurred at 4 or 5 AM. But don't worry, if you hire me to do a voice over and you want to listen in as I record, we don't have to go with "crack of dawn" times. I realize early mornings aren't for everyone!

Who is that lady's voice you hear overhead in the airport?

 As more and more folks begin again taking to the sky, they'll be moving through airports to get to their destination on time. In the background, they're likely to hear a female voice making all kinds of announcements to travelers. She does it in such a nice way and has to have one of the best jobs in the world! Literally. Her voice can be heard in about 200 airports globally. She records the announcements from her cozy home studio. Through good luck and timing, she landed this unique job many years ago. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!  Imagine introducing yourself at a party and someone asks you, "So what do you do for a living?" You reply,"I make airport announcements. I LOVE working from home and the pay's pretty good too." CBS News did a cool feature on her. It's  brief and fun. Take a look.  She has a great laugh to boot. 

It's like show business. If you don't take care of business, there'll be nothing to show!

 As Woody Allen said years ago, "Just showing up is half the battle." 

If you want to find a terrific way to never get hired again to do an in studio voice over session... show up late. You MUST show up on time. The people who have hired you to do the voice over are paying good money to use the studio. If you show up late, you're costing them money. They won't be pleased. Instead of greeting you with a friendly smile and hello as you stumble in, you'll be met with a smirk of displeasure. It will be very easy to see they are not happy with you. And chances are, they've heard all the excuses before. "I got stuck waiting for a train to go by." "Oh, traffic was awful coming into the city...backed up for miles." "My alarm didn't go off." "My dog was out of control." Um, you're not fooling anybody. If you're chronically late to your recording sessions, you'll come off as unprofessional; maybe even a bit disrespectful of everyone's time. Playing the diva role and thinking it's cool to be late, well, you better think again. Divas are a dime a dozen. "Next!"

I once did a morning radio show with a co-host in West Palm Beach. When I was hired, our show started at 6 AM. I'm a morning person by nature and getting up early was no big deal. Later, our program director told us we needed to start the morning show at 5 AM. Again, for me, no big deal. (Not sure how my co-host felt, but I'm pretty sure she was not an early bird.) Now going on the air at 5 AM meant me getting up at 3:30 or so. I didn't have an overly long drive to the station. Patting myself on my back a bit; in the four years we did the show, I was never late to go on the air. Not once. And I had a few late nights out on the town. OK, maybe more than a few.

I was hired to voice a number of learning projects at a studio in San Francisco. I would take BART (rapid transit) from my town in the East Bay, to the city. It took about 30 minutes or so to land at Powell and Market in the city. I would always leave my place early and had about a half hour to kill before the recording session at the studio. That was fine. I was able to grab a snack before walking down to the studio; about a 10 minute walk. It was all very comfortable for me. If you get off BART with minimal time to get to the session, you'll be racing not to be late and perhaps anxiety will creep in. Not especially good for your nerves and voice over efforts. You want to have time to chill out front near the receptionist in the lobby and gather yourself. You might need to use their bathroom. Grab some water. Whatever. I say show up to your session 10-15 minutes early and you'll have enough time to focus and relax a bit. Showing up an hour early is not recommended.

Back to that radio station where I did that morning show. Our on-air time was from 5 AM to 10 AM. The lady deejay who followed us was ALWAYS late to go on the air. Instead of her going on at 10, she'd be late and take over the control board at 10:10 or 10:15. And this was almost EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! My patience was wearing thin. I heard all the excuses. One day she was 20 minutes late to go on the air as I covered for her and kept the music playing. She casually walked in and said "I'm sorry John. I'm always late." "Yep, I see that," I said. (even Mr. Magoo could see that).  She was an otherwise nice person with a pleasant on-air style, but showing up on time was a major challenge for her. And the problem was her showing up late all the time came off as very inconsiderate and unprofessional. The station was not asking her to be there by 5 AM. She needed to show up at 10 AM and ready to go! 10 AM!  Apparently, it was too much to ask.

Veterans of the voice over world know how important it is to be dependable and show up on time. Actually, that goes for everything in life; not just voice over sessions. SHOW UP ON TIME and be the pro that they expect. If you're always late, you better figure out a way to fix that if you want to work in this very competitive voice over industry. 

Set up your You Tube channel (It's a good idea for business!)

 There are many ways to promote your voice over business. I'm on Linked In, have my own website with my voice over demos and customer testimonials, email marketing, and this blog, to name a few.

My You Tube channel allows me to showcase work I have done for others needing a pro voice over for their videos. It's a great way to show your versatility. The channel is free. You can log in once you set up your account and rearrange your videos. Mine begins with a voice over I did for a San Antonio engineering firm. From there, I picked other videos that show another style of read from me. 

Here's a list of some of the video types I have on my You Tube channel...

A video showcasing a pressure washer (They wanted a "gritty, masculine" voice for this.) 

One about a Palm Beach golf resort. I used a very quiet voice for this one. Relaxing feel. ("Shhhhhh...somebody's putting!")

A TV commercial for "Think Like a Cat." One of four I voiced that aired on Game Show Network. Amusing voice. Light and happy. Fun

A mysterious book trailer voice over

A  narration I did for "In Pursuit of Passion," an inspirational TV series

A learning voice over for a video about plagiarism ("Salami Slicing")

An auto TV spot for a Texas dealership

An episode I voiced for "Grand Theft Auto." This one is mob/guns/drugs/shoot 'em up

A playful video voice over for a kid's charity

And a number of other videos with my voice; about 25 I recorded  voice over for.

The whole goal is to show you're versatile and not a "One Note Johnny."

And don't forget to freshen up your YT channel from time to time. It shows you're working.

Here's a link to my You Tube channel. You'll see and hear the videos I have listed up above.