Archive for the ‘Tips & techniques’ Category:
March 23rd, 2012
Found in Careers in voice over, Tips & techniques | 1 Comment
I'm not sure where this originated, but it arrived in my inbox the other day. I usually don't pass along these "forward-this-to-the-whole-world" kind of emails, but after a quick read-through I knew this was something worth sharing.
It's mainly aimed at young students who haven't graduated yet, but I found many of its points very applicable to those of us who have moved beyond "higher education" and into real education (a.k.a. life).
Rule #1
Life is not fair. Get used to it.
Rule #2
The world doesn't care about your self esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.
Rule #3
You will not make $60,000 a year right out of school. You won't be successful until you've earned it. (And you don't earn it in school.)
Rule #4
If you think your teacher is tough, just wait until you get a boss.
Rule #5
Flipping burgers is NOT beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger-flipping: they called it "opportunity".
Rule #6
If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault. So don't whine about your mistakes. Learn from them.
Rule #7
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forests from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule #8
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as many chances as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.
Rule #9
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you "find yourself". Do that on your own time.
Rule #10
Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
September 10th, 2011
Found in Tips & techniques, Webinars | 1 Comment
Now in the comfort of your own home, you can improve your voice over skills for auditions and jobs in a new series of monthly online copy clinics with top voice talent, author and trainer (and incredibly cute 
) Terri Apple!
You'll be coached as you cold read scripts alone and with other class participants - getting direct feedback - and also learn as a "fly on the wall" when you hear Terri coaching others on how to improve their voice over delivery.
Follow the link below to learn more:
Beginning and Advanced Voice Over Copy Clinics
August 12th, 2011
Found in Careers in voice over, Tips & techniques, Webinars | 2 Comments
Are you ready to take your voice over social media game to a whole new level of awesomeness? Then let the voice over super socials show you how!
There's no other way to describe Terry Daniel, Trish Basanyi and Dave Courvoisier - the best known and most authoritative voice actors on social media today. And VoiceOverXtra is presenting them in three major live webinars beginning Aug. 17, revealing their time-saving methods for making money through social media.
To learn more about these fantastic webinars follow this link:
The Voice Over Social Media Success Webinars
July 5th, 2011
Found in Tips & techniques, Voice over acting, Webinars | No Comments
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 more
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.
Learn more
April 17th, 2011
Found in Tips & techniques, Videos, Voice over acting | 5 Comments
A while back I stumbled across this excellent audio seminar by voice coach extraordinaire Nancy Wolfson (the audio is brought to you by voice actor Dan O'Day) titled How to do voice acting without getting caught! It's probably one of the most eye-opening seminars I've ever listened to. In it you learn exactly how to not sound like you're selling something. Instead, the vital skills needed to put the sound of truth, honesty, and believability in your words (plus a whole lot more 
) are taught.
The 2-hour 45-minute audio seminar isn't free, however. But hey, the only way to become successful is by investing in your eduction right now, right? And in my opinion, investing in anything Nancy Wolfson teaches is a good deal.
Check it out:
How to do voice acting without getting caught!
April 13th, 2011
Found in Microphones & equipment, Studio tips, Tips & techniques | 1 Comment
Once again the good people over at VoiceOverXtra bring you a fantastic webinar!
On Monday, April 25th Dan Lenard (the Home Studio Master) will teach you how to choose the voice over microphone that's BEST for you and how to use that mic to win auditions and in performances. In addition, Dan will test various mics so you can hear the differences for yourself!
Sign up here:
Microphone Choice & Best Techniques webinar
March 7th, 2011
Found in Script & copy basics, Script analysis, Tips & techniques, Voice over acting | 1 Comment
On Tuesday night, March 15th, the good people over at VoiceOverXtra will be presenting another killer webinar called How To Nail That Copy! The webinar will be presented by best-selling author and voice actress, Terri Apple.
During the webinar you'll learn:
- How to understand FULLY what all specs mean
- Know the difference between your VOICE and THE SELL
- How to get out of your EGO and into the writer's perspective
- When it's OK to improvise
- What an ALTERNATE read means
- How to create winning alternate reads
- How to nail the SELL and re-nail it
- How to re-create your winning audition in the actual session
- How to create more "range" in your auditions
- The 4 Easy Steps to cold reading
- And more!
To sign up for the event or to learn more, just follow this little blue link!
February 24th, 2011
Found in Script analysis, Tips & techniques, Voice over acting | 1 Comment
Grab this free tele-seminar with VO extraordinaire Terry Daniel and legendary voice over artist Bobbin Beam as they discuss script delivery and how it applies to doing voice overs.
Get it here
February 14th, 2011
Found in Careers in voice over, Great web reads, Tips & techniques | No Comments
I subscribe to a wide variety of blog RSS feeds. Some are really good. Some are just okay. And some are better off being lost in the backwaters of Google's 100th page of search results. More often than not, when I see a great post I get the urge to write about that same topic. But two things stop me: 1) I don't have the time and 2) I realize that I couldn't do it better than the original author (number 2 being the case more often than not.)
With those two reasons staring me firmly in the face I have decided, instead, to round up some of best posts I've seen during the past week or so and present them here. I'll try to make this a regular feature here on VAN under the Great web reads category (say THAT five times fast! )
Here's the first installment:
Voice over related:
The power of pricing
Is Voices.com playing a numbers game?
A recent review of the voice over business
Interpreting and voicing a commercial script in under 7 minutes
Getting to “Yes” means different things!
Other good reads:
How To Stay Motivated When You Hate Your Job
(This post is meant for those who hate their current job as they work towards becoming a voice actor.)
Seven Secrets for Maximizing Your Concentration Skills
PS
Happy Valentine's Day!
