Voicebank.net’s VoiceRegistry Blog

Some thoughts on the 2008 Union Contract negotiations.

The current SAG and AFTRA negotiations for their expiring contracts is the big topic of conversation in the voice over industry. Over the past 12 months, I’ve had discussions with everyone from Producers and Creative Directors at Ad Agencies to Talent Agents to Actors - even a few SAG & AFTRA officials from both coasts have chimed in.

Yes, the base point that people bring up is money:
- For the Actor, how do i protect what I have now as well as grow it in the future?
- For the Agent, how do I effectively represent my client base without increasing the commission I charge, while dealing with increasing business costs?
- For the Producer, how do I deliver the best product to my client, within budget, that allows me to make a profit and grow my business?

Important questions to answer, but these negotiations aren’t just about dollars and cents. There are SO many issues. Below are some of the re-occurring themes that have been discussed with me:

- Emerging markets and how to quantify and monetize them.
- The difference in how companies do business in different media areas (Commercial, Film, TV, Radio, etc…).
- The needs of Actors, Agents and Producers in different regions of the country.
- How technology impacts the industry.
- The most effective way to reach the consumer.

I will avoid printing and summarizing opinions from “off the record” conversations that I’ve had but in the next couple of weeks, I will be posting articles and conversations that I think are important for people on different sides of the industry to be aware of. Don’t fool yourselves: these negotiations will affect ALL performers, whether Union, Non-Union or Financial Core and anyone who is a part of our business needs to be aware and informed about what’s going on.

This is your business. Knowledge and informed opinions are the only way to make progressive decisions.

Read, Listen, Think, Talk.

- Stewart Wilson-Turner, Voicebank.net.

The San Francisco Voice Over Market- Q&A with Voice One’s Elaine Clark

I’ve known Elaine Clark for years, when I began studying voice over in San Francisco. Elaine’s very successful school, Voice One , is one of San Francisco’s best known places to train for voice over (and on-camera acting). Not only is she a great teacher, Elaine is a successful voice talent and actor. I interviewed her recently about her school and the San Francisco voice over industry.

-Tracy Pattin

TJP: How long have you had your Voice Over School in San Francisco?

EC: I founded Voice One in 1986.

TJP: What’s the market like in San Francisco today?

EC: The voice over market in San Francisco is strong. The Bay Area is rated 4th or 5th (behind Los Angeles, New York and Chicago) in advertising.

TJP: What types of voice over projects are produced in San Francisco?

EC: San Francisco is often thought of as a radio commercial town. Corporate narration remains consistent with all the high-tech industrials (one of the benefits of being so close to Silicon Valley). The video game industry continues to hire actors. Toy voices and voice mail systems are bread and butter for many actors here.

TJP: What was the industry like when you started?

EC: In the early days, I walked my demo reel (yes, reel-to-reel tape) into advertising agencies and production companies and asked for work. You definitely can’t do that now! There are too many filters that prevent talent from contacting advertising agency people directly.

TJP: How has the industry changed in San Francisco over the years?

EC: There have been numerous changes over the years. I became a voice actor in 1980. At that time, there were only a handful of people doing VO in San Francisco, 25-50 at most. Now, there are hundreds if not thousands. Another change of course is that demos went from cassette to CD to mp3.

TJP: What 5 tips do you have for voice over success?

EC:

1.You need to develop your ear first, emotions second and your voice third.

2.Get training, listen to commercials, dissect them, figure out what works and what doesn’t work.

3.Understand what motivates the listener to take action.

4.Then, connect with your feelings and share them with your audience.

5. Once you’ve done your technical and emotional homework, the appropriate voice usually follows.

For more…check out Voice One’s podcast.

Voice Over Conference in Los Angeles

I went to Dave Courvoisier’s Blog, and read his post about the upcoming 2008 Los Angeles Voiceover Conference August 8-11th. Dave’s April 23rd blog ” VOICE 2008 Mythbusters” refers to the VO 2008 Conference newsletter where they dispel rumors about the voice over industry like “Those who can’t ‘do’ teach.” I especially love this one as I’ve talked to several teachers for my podcast interviews like, Bill Holmes and Rick Zieff who enjoy voice over teaching AND acting success.

- Tracy Pattin

New Media and Voice Over

I just got back from Podcamp D.C. Podcamp is a usually free un-conference focused on everything New Media; From New Media Marketing, Podcasting, Blogging to YouTube-ing and powering your personal network with Linkedin and other Social Media sites.

So what does this have to do with voice over? With the rapid expansion of audio podcasting….everything. Voice actors can bring a lot to the New Media table, like knowing your way around a studio and microphone. That puts you ahead of all the podcasting novices.

Gretchen, from MommyCast gave a talk on how she and her MommyCast co-host Paige built their very successful audio podcast show in just three short years. Each week the moms chat from their Northern Virginia recording studio about the trials and tribulations of motherhood. Turns out lots of listeners have their own mom issues and tune in to the tune of millions. Once that happened, of course the sponsors came knocking.

So, voice talent, you might want to expand your skills and think about creating your own podcast show. If you don’t know how, check out the upcoming Podcamps!

-Tracy Pattin

Voice Registry Podcast- Tracy Pattin talks to 13 year old Film Actor/Voice Actor Forrest Landis

Red headed Forrest Landis at 13 already has a long film acting resume; Cheaper By The Dozen 1&2, Flight Plan and stars as Thomas Miller in the upcoming Doubting Thomas. He’s also a very talented voice actor, playing the main character, Miles in BBC Radio’s The Highest Tide (airing on BBC Radio and on their website this June 4). He’s clearly older than his years and offers wise advice in this podcast interview.

right+click here to download this podcast (8 MB)

A Young Voice Actor Has Lot To Say

If you read my blog post about Forrest Landis called, “All I Ever Needed To Know I Learned From A 13 Year Old Voice Actor” you’ll get a pretty good idea that this young man has a lot of wisdom for just over a decade of life. So much so, I decided to interview him after he finished recording the BBC Radio play, The Highest Tide. In my interview tomorrow (Tuesday April 22) you’ll hear how he approaches voice acting and how it compares to his abundant film resume. (Cheaper by the Dozen 1 & 2, Flight Plan and the upcoming Doubting Thomas where he stars as Thomas Miller)

-Tracy Pattin

Online Marketing-More than SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Okay I stand corrected on my blog post from April 3rd on Search Engine Optimization thanks to the person I was quoting from in his blog, Peter O’Connell. When I wrote ” The internet is like the biggest shopping mall in the world, all we have to do is get those shoppers to come to our store.” Peter responded with, “getting them to the store is NOT enough, unfortunately. Once they get there, prospects have to be wowed by the unique point of difference that the business offers.(hint: it has nothing to do with colors or flash). Too often many websites think an on-line brochure is enough.”

Peter is so right. As voice actors we have a lot of competition. How are we different from the voice over actor masses? Just like companies have to reinvent themselves in this new internet age, so do we. So, voice talent- What are you doing to reinvent yourself? I’d love to hear your comments!

(and thanks Peter for another blog idea!)

-Tracy Pattin

Podcamp DC - The New Media UnConference

I’m off to Washington D.C. today to go to the Podcamp DC conference.

Podcamp DC is an “unconference” focused on educating participants on how to use, implement and share any/all new media tools including, podcasts, videocasts, blogs, Second Life, Facebook, and YouTube.

Stay tuned! I’ll be blogging from Washington D.C. with new info for voice actors and New Media.

-Tracy Pattin

Long Form Documentaries

I love getting questions (and comments) from our voice actor audience and even better being able to answer them! Doug sent in this question and I’m putting it out to everyone. Maybe you can answer this. Here’s what he asked:

“In looking over agencies and production companies, I’m wondering if there are any that do Long Form Docs. Like Biography Channel, History Channel, etc. I was particularly interested in your suggestions about how we should market ourselves these days. I have a website and keep a list of all my clients but how the heck do we get new ones?”

Voice actors….it’s your chance to speak up! Please post your comments.

-Tracy Pattin

Voice Registry Podcast- Tracy Pattin talks to Producer, Casting Director Rick Zieff

Rick Zieff (Yellowbird Media) directs, casts, produces, writes and acts (on-camera/voice over) for film, TV, stage, radio CD-ROM and the internet. His reputation for innovative multicultural casting and finely tuned character direction make him sought after for animation, videogames, industrials and marketing/promo projects. When voice directing the animated feature “Steamboy” Rick cast not only in LA, New York and London, but also in the Northern England towns where the movie took place. Rick cast “The ChubbChubbs!” which won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

right+click to download this podcast (13.7 MB)