Hello and Happy Halloween!
So what costume did you come up with? I’m gonna be an old school 1920’s gangster. I don’t have a fake gun so I will be a pacifist gangster. Maybe I’ll be vegan as well. “I don’t eats no dairy, see?” That’ll work, right?
NEWS AND NOTES!
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. And yes, Carly is in it! 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…