Hello and Happy Star Wars Day and No Socks Day! I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan since I was a kid so I’m super-stoked for The Force Awakens in December. Please don’t let that diminish No Socks Day for you. I love wearing socks and I love not wearing socks. I’m a contradiction, I guess…
Last month I had the privilege of making many “The VO Strategist” appearances as both a guest speaker and a private coach. There’s usually a spike of requests when I return from a conference like FaffCamp. It’s really important to me to give back to the voiceover community and doing the VO Strategist thing does exactly that. Yay karma!
One thing I’ve noticed is that while the seminar/coaching session subject matter is generally the same (how to be a voiceover business), the way in which the information is disseminated has changed over time. Of course that’s natural with any presenter or coach who learns, grows, and improves their presentation skills. In particular I’ve noticed how quotables & analogies naturally spring up during sessions and I always hope I remember them for next time. For example, a few weeks ago I said at a seminar “People don’t want plans, they want lottery tickets.” I actually asked the students to write it down and send it to me so I wouldn’t forget. BTW thanks, Victoria!
Here’s another one; being a voice talent is like being a farmer.
Nice pic, huh?
Successful farmers possess two critical qualities:
Knowledge – They know what to plant, when to plant, where to plant, how far apart to plant the seeds, what fertilizer they need, how often to irrigate, and much more.
Patience – Farmers obey the law of the land, literally. They understand that things must be done a certain way at a certain time. and no matter how badly they need those crops, they won’t be ready until they’re ready. They don’t put the cart before the horse. Get it?
TIP OF THE WEEK: How does this relate to voiceovers? Voice talents also need knowledge & patience to ply their trade. They need training, proper equipment, diligence, vigilance, and persistence. Being a successful voice talent is a marathon, not a sprint. That’s why so many people try to do it for a living for a little while, see no immediate or tangible results and go back to their day job. Farming and voiceovers is not for the faint of heart!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Thanks, Bob Souer!
STUFF!: I saw two fantastic but very different movies last week – The Avengers 2 and Ex Machina. The Avengers was your basic superhero summer blockbuster and I enjoyed every minute of it. Ex Machina was a dark, foreboding thriller which was both gripping and thought-provoking. I recommend both!
From Tom Dheere’s apartment, this is Tom Dheere: GKN News…
Tom Dheere is an 18-year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a coach at Edge Studio, voiceover business consultant known as the Voice Over Strategist, and is currently writing & producing the comic book “Agent 1.22”.