October 26th, 2012
I just saw this posting on a job website and had to share it before it was taken down. Finally someone is speaking out! I did a quick edit on 1-2 things (plus removed the website's name) but other than that it's pretty much 100% as seen on the job website.
Please check it out!
October 12th, 2012
It's been a while since I posted videos here on VAN. And since my last post was "heavy on the deep-side" I thought it might be fun to put up a video or two (or three or four or...)
The following videos are from one of my favorite sites called "How It Should Have Ended".
Here are even more videos:
September 30th, 2012
I'm getting annoyed. Very, very annoyed.
I'm getting annoyed at how some voice seekers have become almost condescending towards voice actors. The tone with which they write their job descriptions and the budgets that they post are down right insulting. Yes, I understand that many voice seekers are ignorant of the voice-over world, its rates, and what voice talent have to go through to get to a level of professionalism. But gimme a break!
August 16th, 2012
Ok. So you wanna be the next Sponge Bob or Porky Pig or Joker or even just a smaller character in an animated series. It's a good goal. Goals are good. But if you are just starting out as a beginning voice actor, then you'd better stop packing your suitcase for your big move to Hollywood. There are so many smaller things you need to try before making it big as a voice over artist.
October 2nd, 2011
Here is a simple and crude, yet very descriptive image of what the path to voice over success looks like:
September 19th, 2011
After briefly mentioning the new voice over job that I got back in August I've received quite a few emails asking me to talk about some of the juicy details. Since I aim to please, this post will be all about what exactly the job is, how I landed the job, what the job entails, how much time I spend everyday on the job, and anything else that pops into my head as I write.
But before I begin to divulge, let me say up front that I am bound by a "somewhat relaxed" NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). Which means that there are specifics about the job that I'm not allowed to talk about, but I can talk about it in general terms.
So now, here are the most asked questions about the new job and their answers:
August 6th, 2011
This isn't a detailed scientific study. This isn't even a controlled experiment. It's just an observation of a single occurrence. And yet every voice actor in the industry has seen something similar. They know this is going on and they know it's causing the slow decline of the voice actor's salary and the cheapening of our image as highly-trained professionals.
It's called 'lowballing" — the practice of bidding extremely low on a project in the hopes of landing the gig — and it really does hurt!
Here's the latest occurrence I stumbled across...
On a voice over job website (which shall go unnamed) a client (who shall also go unnamed) posted a job for a 1-hour narration. The budget listed was between $350 and $500. About one week later that same client posted another 1-hour narration job. But this time: a budget of $50 to $100!
If you (as a voice seeker) post a job with a budget of, let's say... $350, and then you get offers to do the job for as cheap as $50, wouldn't you then set the budget of your next job to only about $50? I don't know about you, but I certainly would!
Everybody wants to get a great deal. And if there are talented voice actors out there willing to sell themselves short and bid ultra-low, then why wouldn't voice seekers take advantage of it? If voice actors are always quoting a low price, then why wouldn't voice seekers start stating that their budgets are smaller than they actually are?
For MANY projects, the voice over is just as important as any of the visual elements. And some projects don't even have the visual elements! Your voice will help companies sell thousands and sometimes millions of dollars worth of their product or service. And they'll be laughing all the way to the bank at the great deal they got from the voice actor.
July 5th, 2011
The good people over at VoiceOverXtra have been very busy this summer with lots of webinars. Here are two more that are worth checking out!
Three top talents/coaches (Bettye Zoller, James Alburger & Penny Abshire) reveal the techniques for making the right delivery choice for voice over scripts - to win auditions and voice actual jobs. Attendees will learn confidence, how to sound "natural" and how to quickly create and practice characters, read and practice cold copy, and much more. Starts 9 p.m. ET on July 12th.
Learn how to set up, use and get the most out of Mac's new Twisted Wave audio production software, in this live interactive webinar demonstration by acclaimed home studio expert George Whittam. Registered attendees also receive a recording of the entire audio/visual session. Online demo instruction includes setting audio device preferences, file management/organization, basic audio unit effects, creating effect stacks, exporting files, batch processing and more. Starts 9 p.m. ET on July 18th.
May 31st, 2011
Recently I was hired to voice as a young "cool and hip" 25 to 30 year old guy for an in-house video. I got the script along with the storyboard a few hours before the recording session. I then dutifully analyzed and practiced the script a few times. I was ready, willing, and feeling like a "cool and hip" 25 to 30 year old guy (in a 41 year old body 
)
The session proceeded as usual, ending with a satisfied client at its conclusion. Nice and smooth. Another day at the office. Except that the final read was almost 180 degrees different from what I had prepared.
What happened?
May 18th, 2011
It's every voice actor's dream: working full time purely as a voice actor. But how can one do it? Is there some magic to the whole process? Is it being connected to the right people? Is it just dumb luck?
'Nope' to all of the above.
Actually, success can be broken down into 5 simple steps, and voice actor Richard Horvitz tells you all about them in his popular 1 hour and 40 minute audio seminar that you can get through Dan O'Day's website.
If you want to boost your VO career, then now would be a good time to check this out:
How To Get As Much Voice Over Work As You Can Handle By Learning How To Play
