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

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.

"Tiny Tim on MY country radio station? Oh, hell NO!"

 So I was broadcasting my midday, country radio show from a remote studio at the Burt Reynolds Ranch in Jupiter, Florida when our station photographer Sam called to tell me of a celebrity he had in his van. They were coming down the Florida turnpike not far from my studio. He asked me if I wanted to put Tiny Tim of "Tip Toe Through the Tulips" fame on the air with me. He said Tim was in South Florida to cut a new record with a country music flavor. I told him, with some reservation, "OK. Bring him by."

They showed up, and I must say, Tiny Tim was just like he looked on the Tonight Show when he married Miss Vicki with Johnny Carson overseeing the proceedings.  Make up on, he was looking like a stretch from being masculine and a very quiet man. We chatted on air for a while and at the end, I told him we needed to hear a bit of "Tip Toe," his novelty hit song with his ever present ukulele and high falsetto. He gladly agreed, and then left after taking a picture with me. 

The negative phone calls I received afterwards from listeners was off the charts. I took heat. How could I put this feminine man on their macho country radio station?!

I shook it off. He was a well known celebrity at the time and a super nice guy. Too bad the good ol' boys had an issue. It saddened me to hear he died of a heart attack while performing on stage in Minneapolis in 1996. 

My broadcast studio is right behind me in the pic below. Those boxes over Tim's shoulder in the storage room have all manner of western wear in them...cowboy boots, belts, jeans, shirts/blouses, over sized belt buckles etc.

When she was married to Burt, Lonnie Anderson came in one day with her daughter to buy some boots while I was on the air. I about fell off my chair in the studio. Prettier in person (if that's possible) but highly demanding of the staff that worked in this store. Boots were flying everywhere as she tried on the various styles and the staff tried to accommodate her. Between you and me, I think the ladies who worked in the store were happy to see her go! OK, I'll be quiet now.

                                                                         

"Take a Walk on the Wild Side"

 If you're a busy voice over talent, you may have those days that can be overwhelming with client expectations about your turnaround time/tight deadlines and everything seemingly coming at you all at once. I record a good amount of learning content. Some of it is very technical. Aviation scripts comes to mind. I think it's super important to force yourself to take a break and reboot. Do something that centers you again. In my case, I like to go out and walk a bit through my neighborhood. Lately, here in the Bay Area, we've had some outstanding weather; mid 70's and a slightly cool breeze. The streets are such that I can take a short walk, or much longer one, depending upon how much time I have. I say hello from afar to a big, bad, barking dog that's fenced in and looks very intimidating. I absolutely love walking as you notice things you would never see while driving. Sometimes you find a few coins in the dirt. And unfortunately, sometimes you see litter. Time to bring back that 60's TV campaign, "Don't be a Litterbug." There's a mom and pop convenience store just across the way I can get to in about 8 minutes from my front door. I'll go over there and grab a snack and buy a few lottery tickets. They have those "pickle in a pouch" things which I like a lot. (Van Holten's). I've enjoyed those since I was a kid. I'm also addicted to homemade pickles... but that's another story. There's a hofbrau in San Francisco called Tommy's Joynt with a big barrel of all you can eat pickles! I'm dying to try that out. (I know! I know! It's the little things in life). Anyway, I head back to my home studio, enjoy the snacks, and get back to recording or editing the audio. It's not an overly long break, but just enough to reset. When I walk, I always try to take some deep breaths along the way and move briskly. Of course, if walking's not your thing, there are so many other options. Some like to close their eyes and meditate or listen to music with headphones on. Hey, whatever works for you. 

Over the years, I've gotten many compliments about my fast turnaround of the voice overs. That's totally cool. But you really should take those much needed breaks. Resetting is, in my opinion, a very wise thing to do. And you might even save yourself an aspirin or two at the end of the day!

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."