Huge thanks to Marc Guss and his guest tonight on the Marc Guss Voiceover Club, Carli Silver! Carli, the Chief Creative Officer for the voicecasting company Sound & Fury, took the audience through a Sound & Fury intensive with Marc tonight.
With her background in acting and degree from Syracuse University, Carli knew after graduating that she wanted to work in the space in some way, but that acting wasn’t for her. Someone suggested she get into voiceover, and she tried it for a while. She later saw a job listing for an assistant, then worked her way up to becoming a talent agent. She did commercial, promos, political — a bit of everything — but commercial was her specialty, she said.
Carli said that Jill Kershaw, the founder of Sound & Fury, invited her to join her in casting. Carli credits Jill with being an early adopter of working remotely and breaking down the barriers of working with people in different cities. “She was on the forefront of what VO is now,” Carli said about Jill.
Carli took questions from the audience and also listened to commercial reads. She gave great feedback and advice, which includes:
- Think of the copy as being in your head. That inner speech can turn out a read that doesn’t sound so presentational, and it can tap into something that’s more human.
- When your personality comes through, we feel like we know you.
- “Good for you for trusting that you are enough, that’s the key to the copy,” she said.
- “Confidence is everything, literally everything. Trust that you’re doing the work and the bookings will come.” Carli added that even if you don’t book, it may make a big impression on her team or on the buyer, and they may remember you for next time.
- Even a stumble can make you sound more real, and it can make you sound authentic and not too polished. “None of us are perfect and we want to hear ourselves,” Carli said.
- Sound & Fury’s work does have a certain vibe, she said, and it’s because they do a lot of national spots, which have a different sound from local market ads. “That’s why people come to us”, she said.
Carli said that talents agents can reach out to Sound & Fury on behalf of talent, and she confirmed that they only work with talent who have representation. To find out more, check out the website for Sound & Fury.
Thanks so much to Marc and Carli for their advice and insight into the industry, and thanks to the audience questions that helped everyone listening learn so much! Check out the Marc Guss Voiceover Club every Wednesday night on Clubhouse at 8:30 pm ET. You can read more of my recaps of Marc’s Clubhouse rooms by checking out this link.