There are many really good mics and this is one of them:)
#USBmics #podcast Rob and I have chosen the Aphex Microphone X
as our podcast mic. Great USB mic Here's a review. http://www.nethervoice.com/2013/12/11/aphex-microphone-x-review/ …
#voiceovers Great deal on the USB Aphex podcast mic at B&H photo
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/919982-REG/aphex_mic_x_usb.html …
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
- Some Thoughts On How To Succeed in Voiceovers, or Anything
One cannot help but notice how differently businesses and people behave. We all see restaurants, service companies and individuals that have radically different approaches. We all tell stories about the impossibly stupid as well as the amazingly great.
Here are just a few thoughts about some things I've noticed that help create success.
Always, always be on time and provide service in a timely manner. We have a local cafe that just opened that tries to justify waiting 40 minutes for a sandwich because everything is made from scratch. People create bubbles they live in that aren't connected to the quality of service they are providing and then wonder why people stay away.
If I have a VO project due at noon, I deliver it by 10am, period.
Listen to what people are saying and sympathize. The thing most people want more than anything is to know they are heard, and that you are their ally. Don't allow the difficulty of a situation to break the bond of the mutual effort required to find resolution.
Be responsible for your actions. Companies, people and yes artists sometimes spend a lot of energy avoiding responsibility for mistakes. Own it and fix it. Stuff happens all the time that isn't correct, people just want to know you're on it and it's going to be fixed.
I've heard a lot of stories from different people, explaining why they aren't more successful or the poor quality of the work wasn't their fault. This includes VO artists, escrow companies, cafe's, plumbers, automobile service departments, etc. An important key to success is to provide quality service in a timely manner according to the standards of the particular industry. It is not to have a big pile of explanations justifying poor work, service or bad attitudes. No one cares about excuses, just results.
The most important thing I have seen and experienced and benefited from is kindness. There is nothing more appreciated from the weary as simple kindness. Kindness is the most inspiring, helpful, healing, transforming, success generating, problem solving miracle that anyone can experience.
Whether one is in a voiceover session with advertising clients, negotiating a contract, managing a sales team, helping a dissatisfied customer, or trying to solve any other problem, being kind is really a miracle force that can change lives and produce unlimited personal success.
Here are just a few thoughts about some things I've noticed that help create success.
Always, always be on time and provide service in a timely manner. We have a local cafe that just opened that tries to justify waiting 40 minutes for a sandwich because everything is made from scratch. People create bubbles they live in that aren't connected to the quality of service they are providing and then wonder why people stay away.
If I have a VO project due at noon, I deliver it by 10am, period.
Listen to what people are saying and sympathize. The thing most people want more than anything is to know they are heard, and that you are their ally. Don't allow the difficulty of a situation to break the bond of the mutual effort required to find resolution.
Be responsible for your actions. Companies, people and yes artists sometimes spend a lot of energy avoiding responsibility for mistakes. Own it and fix it. Stuff happens all the time that isn't correct, people just want to know you're on it and it's going to be fixed.
I've heard a lot of stories from different people, explaining why they aren't more successful or the poor quality of the work wasn't their fault. This includes VO artists, escrow companies, cafe's, plumbers, automobile service departments, etc. An important key to success is to provide quality service in a timely manner according to the standards of the particular industry. It is not to have a big pile of explanations justifying poor work, service or bad attitudes. No one cares about excuses, just results.
The most important thing I have seen and experienced and benefited from is kindness. There is nothing more appreciated from the weary as simple kindness. Kindness is the most inspiring, helpful, healing, transforming, success generating, problem solving miracle that anyone can experience.
Whether one is in a voiceover session with advertising clients, negotiating a contract, managing a sales team, helping a dissatisfied customer, or trying to solve any other problem, being kind is really a miracle force that can change lives and produce unlimited personal success.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
- Breaking Into Voiceovers
The main question I get all the time is how does one break into voiceovers. Here are some thoughts about different ways that might work.
For starters, its' not a candy store thats locked at night so breaking in is maybe not the image you want.
There are many points of entry. On hold messaging for small companies is a simple way to start. You can do audio books for ACX (Audible.com) and hope they sell so you get your percentage. The experience of doing an audio book will hone your skills and then you can tell voiceover talent agencies that you have done a couple of audio books. You have to create a few projects because no one wants to go first when it comes to hiring.
HR departments use an endless stream or narrations explaining company policies. This can be for powerpoint presentations, videos or just audio.
There are media production companies that make their entire living just creating presentations that all have voiceovers.
You must have a really great voiceover demo that you can submit to people to keep in their files so when they need narrations they have examples of your work.
You will find a way to get work if your skills are professional, and you set out to explore. Keep in mind that no one will come to "Discover you" You have to prepare your skills and then take yourself into the market place and you will find work if you make the commitments needed.
For starters, its' not a candy store thats locked at night so breaking in is maybe not the image you want.
There are many points of entry. On hold messaging for small companies is a simple way to start. You can do audio books for ACX (Audible.com) and hope they sell so you get your percentage. The experience of doing an audio book will hone your skills and then you can tell voiceover talent agencies that you have done a couple of audio books. You have to create a few projects because no one wants to go first when it comes to hiring.
HR departments use an endless stream or narrations explaining company policies. This can be for powerpoint presentations, videos or just audio.
There are media production companies that make their entire living just creating presentations that all have voiceovers.
You must have a really great voiceover demo that you can submit to people to keep in their files so when they need narrations they have examples of your work.
You will find a way to get work if your skills are professional, and you set out to explore. Keep in mind that no one will come to "Discover you" You have to prepare your skills and then take yourself into the market place and you will find work if you make the commitments needed.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
- Success and the "Power To Persuade" - What You Can Learn From Voiceovers
The human
voice is a wonderful musical instrument. We rely on it to transmit the symphony
of our ideas and feelings. The ability to persuade
determines our financial success. Everything in life is about presentation, we
connect with people based on how well we do it Whether we are
teachers, CEO’s, sales people, lawyers, politicians, religious leaders
or managers, our voices are the engines that carry our ideas to others. Our
voices provide the point of first contact with people.
We all want
to be able to communicate effectively with people in our personal and
professional lives. We all want to do it better and more successfully. No
matter who we are, we all seek the power to persuade.
Non of this is magic. Rapport is composed of certain
elements in our delivery. Voiceover artists have refined those elements to enjoy
Becoming aware of them, mastering them, hands us
the keys to effective and successful communication which can take our lives to
a whole new level of success. Whether you want to be a voiceover artist or just enjoy new levels of success in your profession, study the art of voiceovers.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
- How To Start Your Voiceover Career
There are so many ways to give advice about how to start. There are many ways to look at how one begins. A lot of it depends on your personality and how one deals with the unknown. Having said that, here are some thoughts to encourage and support you in this wonderful world of voiceovers. Do not over estimate everyone else's intelligence. I tweeted last week that an old time voiceover guy told me when I was 22 years old and nervous about trying to get into voiceovers, " People dumber than you are making a fortune, just get out there and do it."
Never worry about what everyone else is doing or what "the odds are" it's completely besides the point. The question is do you love it enough to develop a great set of reading skills and start doing it. Training is the first and most important place to start. No one on a job is there to run a trade school. You have to know what you're doing. It's been my experience that a lot of people seem more interested in how to network than they are in developing the skills necessary to be hired and then re hired because they've done a good job. Learn the trade and whats required. Develop your skills so you know what you're doing. Be good company on the job and always, always be on time/ deliver on time and a voiceover career will treat you very well.
Never worry about what everyone else is doing or what "the odds are" it's completely besides the point. The question is do you love it enough to develop a great set of reading skills and start doing it. Training is the first and most important place to start. No one on a job is there to run a trade school. You have to know what you're doing. It's been my experience that a lot of people seem more interested in how to network than they are in developing the skills necessary to be hired and then re hired because they've done a good job. Learn the trade and whats required. Develop your skills so you know what you're doing. Be good company on the job and always, always be on time/ deliver on time and a voiceover career will treat you very well.
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