Sunday, May 15, 2016

- Audio Repair & Recording Tutorial Resources

This is an unpaid recommendation
Mike Thornton iZotope RX 5 advanced tutorials for repair are great.
They also have a full range of tutorials including ProTools.
Lynda.com also has really great video tutorials

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

- Voiceover Coaching Styles and Topics


I get many questions asking what should voiceover coaching be like. What topics should great voiceover coaching cover? How do I pick someone who is good at voiceover coaching?

These are natural good questions for some one who is starting out. There isn’t one simple answer, of course, but I’m going to list some guidelines that in my opinion are very important qualities that good voiceover coaching should have.

Lets start by saying that there are many different approaches to voiceover coaching, different strokes for different folks is the rule in all education. Different people require different approaches because of how they learn. One size never fits all.

Some people need a very structured approach, while others need to be free to achieve in an open ended setting.
Regardless of the structure of the lessons, it’s important that the voiceover coaching explains:
The various voiceover styles, cold reading techniques, the radically ever changing nature of the voiceover business, voice and breath development, marketing, getting jobs, how to behave in a recording session, working the microphone, editing and mastering your recordings, and how to set up a home studio.

That’s a good list of topics to start and they are interdependent on each other. They require each other to have a clear view of the voiceover business and talent required to succeed. Those are the subjects that in my opinion are very important.

The next and equally important topic is the nature and manner that the voiceover coaching is presented with. Some instructors are, in my view, artificially rigid and or condescending. They are gruff to prepare a person for how tuff the industry can be. They explain how you have to be tuff to succeed.

I am not sympathetic to this approach. I’ve always associated it with a lack of knowledge or skill on the instructor’s part.
It is my opinion that the most successful way to train any student in any skill is always to provide accurate feed back in an atmosphere of safety, respect and fun. Discovery and learning is a fun activity and can produce miracles if students are lead by kindness and also never patronized.

I don’t believe in having beginners, intermediate and advanced series of classes. That of course works for some people and there is nothing wrong with it. I personally find it remedial when dealing with most adults. I put new students in my class with people who are great so they are surrounded by A List talent. I just limit the length of the reads the new people do so they don’t get over whelmed. That way the ear training that they are receiving in the group class has professional examples that helps them jump to the pro standard more quickly.


The important thing is that a student starting out should always follow their own intuition regarding how they want to be trained and pick the teacher or classes that they are the most comfortable with.

There are really a lot of terrific teachers in the world who are very skilled and fun that provide great voiceover coaching. Go out there and find the one that works for you.
Becoming a successful voiceover artist requires developing ones own intuition and awareness. The first place to exercise that awareness and intuition is in the choosing of the voiceover coach who will introduce you to the wonderful world of voiceovers.


Monday, May 2, 2016

Superior Speaking Skills Will Create Greater Success

People who have the most responsibility in business need the most effective communication skills. Our Voice is the Engine that carries all of our ideas, thoughts,and  plans to everyone we come in contact with. A leader with superior speaking skills has an enormous advantage over someone who is less polished. All great athletes have coach’s and its not because they don’t know what they are doing. It is because in this competitive world communication skills need to be honed to the highest levels.

How often after a meeting or presentation have we felt that we fell short of what was needed to succeed? The coaching of speech for business success is one of the most important investments an executive can make. It can literally increase ones income in ways that are life changing.
The most limiting factor in a persons career is often as simple as not developing their speaking skills. We don’t listen very closely to people who don’t impress us, and the main reason we aren’t impressed is because of how someone speaks.

We have entered a great new age where communication is dependent upon our ability to connect, and our ability to connect depends on what we decide to say and our manner of delivery. This is the result of the intensity of the information age. We cannot rely solely on the fact that we have the authority or the answer. We must have the ability to organize and personalize thoughts in order to be heard and understood. This has become of paramount importance in, corporations, hospitals, organizations and all of the service industries. How we communicate with our voices and how we organize ideas has never been as important as it is today. Our voice is the engine that carries our thoughts to people. Our voice and presentation is the point of first contact. The point of first contact must be maximized in order to achieve success consistently.
A business person gives many kinds of presentation to many different kinds of groups.
The vocal game plan needs to be different for each different circumstance. When giving a presentation, “one size dos not fit all”. The manner of a presentation to a group of sales people is different than the manner that is used to talk to investors, or a board, or a jury. Those different approach’s need to be worked out using a persons natural speech patterns and personality to communicate successfully.  Voice coaching is designed to orchestrate the various vocal elements for maximum natural impact without going outside the natural compass of ones voice or personality. Learn the secrets that Hollywood voiceover artists use to make millions, to take your career to a whole new level.