Today is the last Friday of the month, and that means Game Day at the “Working” Voice Actor club on Clubhouse! Today’s theme was “Read a boring script like a romance novel” and what a riot. So much fun to hear people’s sexy interpretations of everyday copy like instructions, labels, signs, etc. Replays are never turned on for Game Day, giving us the freedom to get crazy with reads for things like:
baby powder instructions for use (who knew you should sprinkle it in your sheets???)
how & where to apply insect spray, and what pets can and cannot be sprayed with it (and where and where not to do so)
waffle mix instructions
how to clean a Reddi Whip nozzle
a technical document about FAQs & spreadsheets (that’s what I picked to read!)
instructions on washing hands
instructions on hand washing an extremely delicate piece of clothing
how to register your car so you don’t get towed
all the intimate details of activated carbon A4 filters
Thank you to George, Roshelle, and Megan for organizing this space, and thanks to everyone who played along! Catch the next Game Day on the last Friday of July, and in the meantime check out the “Working” Voice Actor club on Fridays on Clubhouse at 9am PST/noon EST.
Huge thanks to Marc Guss and his guest tonight on the Marc Guss Voiceover Club, Eric Romanowski! Eric, trusted demo producer and head of Ear Blowing Audio Productions, joined Marc in the Club to discuss commercial demos and analyzing that all-important first spot.
Eric has a background in radio imaging, which Marc said can sometimes be a negative in the voiceover world because people can get pigeonholed. However, Marc said this was an asset for Eric because of his creativity and talent. Eric said that when he got into voiceover he worked hard and studied to learn what he needed in order to be competitive and make the best demos possible.
First, Marc and Eric talked about the importance of nailing it on the first spot because you don’t want the listener tuning out after the first few seconds. It’s about finding a way to grab the attention of decision makers and to keep them listening. “We have to get to the point very, very quickly,” Marc said. How quickly? Forget 15 seconds, even 12 seconds is too long. The ideal length for the first spot is around 6-8 seconds, they said.
The stage was open to those who wanted to play their demo’s first spot and get feedback from Marc and Eric. Here are some key points from the discussion and demo analysis:
Your first spot should reflect the real you on a daily basis and show your relatable, conversational sound.
Something slightly different from a conversational spot, like dramatic or warm, could be good for a second or third spot.
Eric likes a contrast between the first and second spot to keep people listening.
The subtlety of the spots was something that Marc talked about, and he said that even a quarter of a second could make or break someone continuing to listen to your demo. “There’s no luxury anymore to wait to get to the next spot,” he added.
Your first few seconds are valuable real estate on your demo, and it can feel like a lot of pressure to choose exactly the right spot. But then again, Eric reminded us that “not everyone is going to like your first spot.” He said that you can go crazy if you try to please everyone, and that ultimately it’s your business and you’re in charge of your career. Good to remember. And, as we heard from the people who shared their demos tonight, spots can always be reordered and moved around. So try to make the best decision with your demo producer, but know that it can be changed up later.
Thanks so much to Marc and Eric for the great advice, and thanks also for talent who played their demos, which helped everyone listening learn so much! Check out the Marc Guss Voiceover Club every Wednesday night on Clubhouse at 8:30 pm ET or catch the replay later.
Huge thanks to Marc Guss and his guests tonight on the Marc Guss Voiceover Club, Carin Gilfry and Jamie Muffett!! Carin and Jamie talked about their awesome conference, eVOcation, which took place last weekend. I attended, and what a valuable, educational, inspirational, and fun weekend it was (see my write-up here)!!
Carin and Jamie are both voice actors who started Facebook groups for local voice actors in New York and Philadelphia, respectively. In addition to the online groups, they also held in-person events. The eVOcation conference came about around 2018 when they met and realized that they were doing similar things in cities not far away. They thought, “Why not have a conference that focuses on the business side of being a voice actor?” And in September of 2019, the first VOcation conference took place in New York.
Since then the conference has been held virtually, hence the addition of the “e” in eVOcation. This year’s event covered a comprehensive range of topics applicable to voice actors as well as to others who own a business. As Jamie noted, an issue like work-life balance is something that all entrepreneurs have to deal with. Streamlining your workflow, negotiating rates, marketing, optimizing online casting profiles, website design and SEO — hearing other voice actors talk about these topics as it applies to us was a goldmine of information.
The workshops after each presenter were gold, too. The idea that Carin and Jaime had was for the workshops to provide steps that we could take away that could improve our businesses, and having the virtual conference means that you can be sitting in your workspace and make progress in real time. As Carin said, with the workshops it’s like a working weekend and a learning weekend.
In just a few months, there are plans for an in-person event this fall in New York! The conference returns to Symphony Space from September 10-11. Carin and Jamie said that they don’t have any announcements yet, but they are organizing it now so stay tuned.
And mark your calendars for February 9-12, 2023, and pack your bags for Cancun! Plans are in the works for a conference at the all-inclusive Moon Palace Resort. The plan is for classes to run from 10am-3pm every day and have the afternoons/evenings free.
Thanks so much to Marc, Carin and Jaime for the behind-the-scenes look at eVOcation, and thanks also for the audience questions that helped everyone listening learn even more! Check out the Marc Guss Voiceover Club every Wednesday night on Clubhouse at 8:30 pm ET or catch the replay later.
Huge thanks to Marc Guss and his guest tonight on the Marc Guss Voiceover Club giving a home studio intensive, Frank Verderosa! Frank is an audio engineer, sound designer, he does casting, and he offered his honest, expert advice tonight on all things regarding studios, mics, demos, booths, recording — he covered it all! Check out FrankVerderosa.com for events, help, or chat (but give him some time to respond because he’s a busy guy!)
Frank works at Digital Arts in NYC as senior mixer and splits his time between the studio and working from home. He and Marc talked about the rapid changes and adaptations that had to be made when the pandemic started so that business could continue. Frank ended up helping a lot of voice actors (nearly 2,200) set up and fine tune their home studios, which is a service he still offers.
Some home studio advice that Frank shared tonight includes:
He loves this quote by the Booth Junkie, Mike DelGaudio, “Booth first, then the gear.”
It’s all about finding the sweet spot on your mic, and finding proper placement is key.
Regarding mics, shotguns are more forgiving in small spaces, but they have to be properly positioned. He added that shotguns are not great for singing, and that the average booth is also not great for singing. You don’t want to be in a tight space and he advises people to try recording in their bedroom rather than a closet or small booth.
Don’t overprocess your audio, keep it simple. And he advises not to spend a lot of time worrying about breaths and mouth noise. Frank said that he knows someone who spends hours removing breaths and mouth noise on auditions and he said that no one cares about that, “we’re just listening to your read.”
Frank has some thoughts on demos, and that is that some voice actors have too many. When he sees someone’s website and they have 20 different demo reels, he says “I don’t know who that’s for.” Maybe if someone is doing direct-to-client work, they like to see that, but overall Frank thinks people spend so much and so often on demos that perhaps aren’t necessary.
And then he discussed “one of those things that ruffles feathers” and he put it this way: “I feel like there are two voiceover industries: there are all the people like the casting directors, the Marc Gusses of the world, whose job it is to get you work and get you paid; and then there’s this other whole industry of people that take your cash. And I don’t mean it’s malicious, taking your cash, but it’s demo reels, conferences, festivals — all of this stuff that none of the voice actors that I know in the NY area have even heard of, so it’s a weird thing.
He says that he walks a fine line because he loves doing consults, helping people figure out their booth, teaching the occasional class, producing the occasional demo reel, and he likes doing these things, but it’s not his income and he doesn’t want to be that guy. He’ll turn people down who aren’t ready to record a demo and suggest they instead invest in their booth or in coaching. It’s nice to see Frank looking out for voice actors’ best interests in a world that can sometimes feel exploitative and predatory.
In closing, Marc and Frank shared stories about Gilbert Gottfried, someone who was very special to each of them. Frank recommends the documentary Gilbert, saying that you’ll laugh and cry and see a side of him that you won’t expect. He also recommends the podcast episode with Bob Bergen and Rob Paulsen for those who are interested in animation.
Marc recalled how he set Gilbert up to work with a writer to create a book about his life, but that ultimately it was too much for him and too personal. Frank added that he would have loved to see Gilbert play a criminal mastermind because that would have been so unexpected using his regular speaking voice. Marc and Frank also shared a laugh about how Gilbert’s notorious frugality. Frank said that Gilbert and Richard Kind had a competition on who could steal the most food from the studio, and Marc added that Howard Stern recently talked about Gilbert’s habit for clearing out the green room of drinks when he was a guest. Definitely a treat to listen to these insider stories of a legend.
Thanks so much to Marc and Frank for the great advice and for sharing your anecdotes and memories about Gilbert Gottfried. Thanks also for 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 or catch the replay later.
Yesterday on Clubhouse we heard Liz Atherton of CastVoices talk to Adam Creighton, the founder and studio head of Enduring Games. Adam works in many aspects of video games production — as a voice actor, a casting director, a developer, and also provides support to video game studios on ambitious and specialized projects. Some recent achievements that he’s proud of are bringing the Crunchyroll app to the Nintendo Switch, and the enablement of cross-platform play for Gearbox’s Borderlands 3 and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands on Xbox, PC, and most recently Playstation.
As a lover of all things pop culture, Adam was able to combine that with his background in the start-up tech sector and his collaboration and problem-solving skills in the formation of his own company. In July, Enduring Games will celebrate its third year. For Adam, it’s all about bringing together the things that he loves to do, like grow people, being able to contribute to pop culture, and include voice acting side of things. He says that while it’s challenging running a start-up, “It’s that great mix of making a difference, and being able to make decisions that benefit everyone who’s making the thing successful.” Liz said that she loves that outlook.
Nick and Adam discussed the evolution of narrative in games and how many games use storytelling to move players through an immersive experience, as if playing through a movie. This cinematic style of game requires great voice acting, but unlike a two-hour movie or a season of a TV show, these types of games could be a 60-hour experience, Adam notes. The decisions that players make throughout the game lead to different sets of dialog, and all of that needs to be recorded by the voice actors. This can differ from voice acting for animation because of the amount of recording to be done due to the variations of the lines. Adam says it’s important for the actors to understand the differing context of the lines and to be consistent in all those different variations.
Liz asked about the requirements of the voice actors that fill those roles, and Adam said there are several things that he’s looking for when casting for video games: actors who are a good fit for the role, and actors who can do multiple takes and emotions to produce diverse reads. He finds that as a voice actor for games, he puts more of himself into the role, and that because of the choices that players make as the play, he may have to react in a number of different ways emotionally.
Just to get an idea of the scope of what goes into producing a large game, Adam said that some studios will create their own tools to stay organized. This means keeping track of things like the script, script changes, localization, voice over files, and auditions. Imagine the organization needed to manage hundreds of characters and then have it translated to 14-18 languages, and also designing the game, and making decision-point changes in the design, narrative, and consequences of player choices. And don’t forget that the dialog pieces have to fit into the sound and design, the background sounds, and it all has to work together.
“That’s part of what’s fun” Adam says. “I’ve done voiceover for games where I wasn’t sure it was my voice because the context is so much different from what I recorded in the booth. When you hear fighter jet engines or things like that over top of things, it’s really a fun part of them making me sound better than I probably do on my own — it’s great. I love it.”
And that’s just the sound of a game — the visuals, game play, story, and more also have to be created and managed. This extensive production process is why it may be several years from the time that an actor is cast in a role to the time they can hear themselves in a game. Adam said that for very small games, production may take around 9 months, but for larger games it’s around 3-4 years. In fact, game production is such an involved process that larger companies have their own internal casting directors, relationships, and system in place to find talent.
Liz asked the big, hard question: Are video games leaning toward using AI voices? Adam said that yes, there are initiatives around that, but there’s still an enjoyment of the in-person actor. AI voicework is being looked at by some, he said, reminding us to think about the number of takes and iterations there could be in a script, as mentioned before.
Something that is important to Liz, Nick, and Adam is the element of community around a game. As Adam says, it comes down to engagement. Some games, Factorio for example, add content, mechanics, and visuals that change over time to keep people coming back. Other games like Fortnite offer many different multiplayer options. And massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) like Final Fantasy XIV have the community built into the game. But, Adam notes, “Community within a game can be a double-edged sword, because there can be the very positive and elevating protective communities and there can be the toxic and unpleasant and not-fun communities.”
He said that the gaming industry has made strides in acknowledging toxicity and taking steps to reduce it. There is live support for many games now to help grow the communities that build around games, because the community need to be nurtured and that there should be a way to report bad actors.
Community is important to Adam as a player, voice actor, and head of Enduring Games. “If there are games that have a more negative community that’s not a fun thing for me and not a thing I want to support or contribute to. I tend to make business decisions based on the quality of the community and the people involved whether that’s the company we’re working with or the community of the game that they make. That’s a very active part of my decision process for the projects we work on.”
In terms of reaching out to Adam, he likes to understand what the person is about as a professional and individual. So people should introduce themselves, give a link to their demo, and say what they’re about as a human being.
Adam also mentioned that he doesn’t give much weight to how many followers an actor has on social media, but that he will check that someone isn’t toxic, abusive, etc. He added that a positive following is good for everyone, as it could be elevating for all involved. For him, it’s more about whether someone is pleasant and professional to work with and whether can they nail the role. And Liz and Adam agreed that the acting chops have to be there in this type of work.
The conversation closed with Adam offering advice to voice actors to “follow your passion — if you’re excited about voice acting or video games, really pursue that in a thoughtful and researched way where you can take that knowledge and passion and turn it into a vocation.” Adam, who said that he tends to want to pole vault before he can crawl, shared some great advice that he got when he started voice acting: “Get trained, get good, get work, get an agent, get paid.” In other words, doing things in the right order and taking it step by step is what he suggests.
Thank you so much to Liz, Nick, and Adam for your time, and to the wonderful audience questions as well! You can catch the replay on Clubhouse. Be sure to check out CastVoices, too!
Recently, The “Working” Voice Actor covered some important topics: casting sites and 1-star movie reviews on Amazon. OK, the movie reviews weren’t exactly hard-hitting news — they were the subject of last month’s Game Day (always held on the last Friday of the month). Let’s get to that in a moment.
Two weeks ago, the topic for discussion was casting sites, pay-to-plays, all those different places for VOs to find work. People talked about their experiences on different platforms — the pros and cons of various sites, things they’ve learned, tips and tricks. A brief discussion of those other sites took place, too. You know the ones I mean, those names we dare not speak….Fiverr and Upwork. (I am so interested to hear the panel at eVOcation next weekend called, “We don’t talk about Fiverr, no, no!” What a brilliant title!)
Jen Greenfield talked about CastVoices, which just celebrated its First Birthday!, and said she’s working with the CV team to get more auditions on the site. She also shared the idea that casting sites, along with direct marketing, should all be “spokes in the wheel” of your voiceover business. You should have as many spokes in your wheel as you can, and you get to choose what’s right for you and your business. (Also check out Jen’s YouTube video about shifting your perspective about cold calling.) Check out the replay to learn more about the discussion on casting sites.
Game Day
So, this past Friday on Game Day, George had collected a big group of 1-star movie reviews, which he had pinned to the top of the Clubhouse room. Each player got to choose two to read (they were usually pretty short) out of all these reviews shared in Google Drive. I remember one of mine; it was for Avengers Infinity War and it read, “I wish Iron Man died.” That someone bothered to write that review on Amazon is just silly. And that was one of the more coherent ones! Some made no sense whatsoever, but it made last week’s Game Day all the more fun. But don’t look for a replay of this one — Game Days are never recorded because they can get a bit crazy.
Thank you to George, Roshelle, and Megan for organizing this space, and thanks to everyone who contributed to the discussion! I’m looking forward to the next one, and I hope to see you there: Fridays on Clubhouse at 9am PST/noon EST.
Huge thanks to Marc Guss and his guest tonight on the Marc Guss Voiceover Club talking about celebrity VO impressions, Jim Meskimen! Jim is an actor, voice actor, and impressionist with a hilarious YouTube channel. He also has created a career-management course for actors called The Working Actor Method.
Impressions are such a fun thing to listen to and try, and to hear Jim talk about that tonight was a delight. And just in going to his channel to get the link, I got distracted by video after entertaining video 🙂
Tonight in his interview with Marc, Jim said that he attributes his success to two main reasons: that he always had a strong interest in vocal performance, and that his mom (Marion Ross from Happy Days!) set a good example as an actress and artist because he saw that she was having fun and making people laugh. Jim says that she loved to do accents and voices and point out people who had interesting voices. He described it this way:
“It was like someone saying have you ever sniffed that flower over there, that yellow and orange flower? You say, ‘No, I haven’t,’ so you sniff that flower and say ‘Wow, this flower smells amazing!’ And then for the rest of your life you go around sniffing flowers.”
Talking about impressions, Jim says that for him it’s an acting exercise, and “in acting, we try to become another person.” He tries to get the viewpoint of the character, and the impressions that he really likes are when he does people that he admires, “because you want to embrace that personality.” He added that he thinks of impressions as being a part of an actor’s tool belt. And he agrees with something his mom says, that “to be another person is just a fun thing to do.”
Tonight we heard some really fun impressions from the audience too: dueling Jimmy Stewarts, Quincy Jones stopped by, and Alan Rickman had a quick chat with another Alan Rickman. I loved Jim’s description of how Rickman always seemed to hold on to his words for a very long time before he passed them out — a lot of percussion. Of course you know it when you hear it, but to me, being able to articulate the specifics of what makes someone’s voice unique is so interesting.
Thanks so much to Marc and Jim for the amazing conversation and for the audience performances and 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 or catch the replay later.
Huge thanks to Marc Guss and his guest tonight on the Marc Guss Voiceover Club, Bart Smith! Bart is an award-winning audio engineering and producer, casting director, and co-founder of the nation’s first all-digital post audio facility. Bart was also described by his friend and fellow engineer Frank Verderosa tonight as “a god among men in the world of audio production.”
Bart said that loved being an engineer and always had great rapport with the voiceover talent in the studio. He said that earlier on in his career, he found himself wishing that he knew more about the script from a creative standpoint. He then he went out on his own and got into all aspects of production: casting, booking, directing, sometimes writing, and putting it all together. It’s clear that he enjoys the creative process.
Several brave audience members read commercial scripts for Bart, and just listening to his direction was a great educational experience. Here are some of the tips that he shared:
The first sentence of a script is so important, as it needs to convey the idea of here’s what I’m talking about and here’s why you should listen.
Another note about the first line of a script is that sometimes it helps to act like you are answering a question about the product. Imagine someone says, “What’s that?” before you read that first line. It will come out so much more natural.
Even when time is tight, do as much as you can to slow down, have pauses, and make it dynamic. That’s what makes it sound conversational.
Even in a 30-sec commercial, there’s a beginning, middle, and end.
Use some physicality in your reads, like raising your eyebrows, physically smile, stop and wink at something — those things come across in your read.
Thanks so much to Marc and Bart for the amazing conversation and for the brave audience performances that helped everyone listening learn so much! Check out the Marc Guss Voiceover Club every Wednesday night on Clubhouse at 8:30 pm ET or catch the replay later.
Huge thanks to Marc Guss and his guest tonight on the Marc Guss Voiceover Club, the legendary voice talent and coach Dave Fennoy! Dave’s recently been teaching his way across Europe at different VO events, and tonight he spent some time on Clubhouse before he and Marc switched over to his weekly Ask Dave Fennoy Anything on Facebook. But even with just a few audience questions, Dave gave a lot of great advice and insights.
He talked about the ability to cold read copy as perhaps being somewhat overrated when it comes to voice over, and described it as coming across as read-y, non-focused, and that it’s like “singing a song that is not your real song.” This, he says, is not going to get you booked.
Dave said that he’s a believer in preparation: read the script in your head 3 times, mumble it 3 times and by the time you’re ready to do a performance, you’ll be at the point where “the words are only there to remind you of what you’re saying.” And make sure that the first few times you read it that you’re doing it slowly and accurately so your brain doesn’t get stuck repeating a mistake.
When asked about warm-ups, Dave says that he relies on his morning coffee, tongue twisters, fake yawns (they realign your pipes), and breathing exercises through a straw. When he’s working on a game with a lot of shouting, he takes as many breaks as he needs to, for example, instead of every hour, take breaks every 15-20 mins.
What does Dave recommend to make efforts seem realistic? He says to think about the breathing, that there are all these sounds that our character might make that aren’t words. Imagine yourself getting hit, jumping, running, etc, and although it all comes from your mouth, your body informs the voice, so get physical. Think about air coming in when you get hit, or if your character is hitting someone else, think of air going out. Bring the acting, be familiar with what’s going on in the script, and read the stage directions.
“The voice is the exhaust of the acting engine.” This is a quote from a colleague that Dave shared tonight, and he says he likes it because it’s a good way to explain what voice acting really is about. “We think it’s all about the words; it’s not,” Dave says. “The words are the last thing — the words are giving detail of what we’re thinking and feeling, what our action is. But it’s about what we’re reacting to, what we’re thinking, what we’re feeling, what we’re doing, and what’s the relationship with the person we’re talking to.”
Thanks so much to Marc and Dave for the amazing conversation and for the audience questions that furthered the discussion! You can find out more about Dave on his website. Check out the Marc Guss Voiceover Club every Wednesday night on Clubhouse at 8:30 pm ET or catch the replay later.
Today in The “Working” Voice Actor room, it was time to talk about business entities. What are the pros and cons of being a sole proprietor? What’s the best and worst about registering as an LLC? And how about an S Corp, is that the best move?
George starts off the conversation highly recommending the book Voice Over LEGAL by Robert J. Sciglimpaglia Jr., which goes over these categories in detail. And I should make the disclaimer that none of what was discussed today (and available on the replay) should be considered legal advice.
Talk to a lawyer and/or an accountant to figure out what’s best for YOUR situation. Fees, laws, details vary from state to state, so it’s best to get personalized advice. For example, forming an LLC in California is going to set you back around $800 each year! Other states mentioned, like Washington ($60) and New Jersey ($75), make owning an LLC much more affordable.
And in my personal experience, I want to give a shout out to my local branch of the Small Business Administration, who were so helpful in getting me registered and set up. In addition to free personalized help, my branch also offers free webinars on all kinds of topics that are important to small business owners like ourselves. So check out sba.gov and connect with your local branch — see what they have to offer.
In addition to these different business entities, the discussion also covered notes that people add to contracts and invoices to protect themselves, and some people shared stories about clients that won’t pay. Today’s talk is a lot to summarize, so I’m going to suggest the replay function on Clubhouse if you want to learn more.
And, our hosts asked for suggestions for The “Working” Voice Actor’s official Clubhouse name….preferably something with the word waffle in it…. Get in touch with George, Roshelle, or Megan with your ideas!
Thank you to George, Roshelle, and Megan for organizing this space, and thanks to everyone who contributed to the discussion! I’m looking forward to the next one, and I hope to see you there: Fridays on Clubhouse at 9am PST/noon EST.
