Get Out Of Your Cave, Voice Talents!

Thanks again to Joe Cipriano for being our guest on the Voice Over Cafe. You can listen to the episode here. Please +9 it and all that good stuff.

I started reading The Moth book, a compilation of 50 true stories. I don’t know which one is my favorite so far: the one where Andrew Solomon goes to Senegal for a depression exorcism or the one where Ernest Hemingway cons his friend into being a matador for a day!

I will be hosting another Tom’s Tiki Lounge session on Tuesday November 29th at 7 PM EST at Voice Over Virtual, the voiceover conference that keeps on giving!

Last week I got an email from a regular client with three scripts attached, asking me to record them from home. One was your usual e-learning stuff, one was a one-page audio book (?!), and one was a commercial for a new app but the scene has two roles, one male and one female. My client asked me if I know Cris Dukehart, the female talent. I said yes I do! Cris is a fellow FaffCon, APAC, and Audie attendee and a wonderful person. I thought it would be a good idea to schedule a recording session via Skype with Cris so we could get a better performance. This of course it’s true, but it was actually just an excuse to work with a friend!

Cris happily agreed and we scheduled the session. We recorded it three times, trying out different tempos & tones each time, and we bounced ideas off each other about reading certain lines. Cris is VERY talented & professional and she was a genuine pleasure to work with. It was the best hour of my week!

TIP OF THE WEEK: We live in a digital age. Technology, specifically the Internet, has become interwoven to our lives and is a critical part of the voiceover industry. Society in general and voice talents in particular are becoming more & more isolated. That’s why voiceover conferences like FaffCon and APAC have become so important to so many people as not only a means to be social & professionally engaged, but also just to get the hell out of the house!

This increased isolation also means less live recording sessions with fellow talent and producers/directors. The ability to self-direct, especially when narrating audio books, has become a critical skill set. With that in mind, take every opportunity you can to work with real-live people. It will improve your performance, your fellow talent’s performance, and create a better product for you client. and not turn you into a hermit!

Also, make it a point to get out of the house every day. Hit a cafe and bring your laptop, treat yourself to lunch, take a walk, even step outside to get the mail. Don’t be a hermit!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

STUFF

This is a ratty anniversary to observe but it was one year ago this week that Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Northeast coast. I still see vestiges of the destruction here & there and hope that everyone’s lives have gotten back to normal. Here’s to a quiet, quiet Autumn!

From Tom Dheere’s apartment, this is Tom Dheere: GKN News…