Friday, August 27, 2010

2 VO Stories. 1 Happy & 1 Sad with Useful Tips!

Hello Voicies! It's been a great summer, full of really interesting jobs (a feature film, a TV commercial, an internet spokesperson gig and voice overs) and fulfilling teaching assignments, from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. I hope the same is true for you. 
Find Your Voice is going strong, and this September marks my 4th year of teaching and producing voice over demos, under the Find Your Voice name. I'm tickled about that and so proud of the hundreds of students I've had the honor to work with. You can hear many of them on TV and Radio! Recent Congrats go out to: Jim M., Tony L., Susan W., Beth S., Mike M., Neal K., Ryan S., Karen S., Jimmy C. 

Just this morning, I was filled with both glee and frustration with 2 phone calls, 10 minutes apart. 
In each story, there is a little something for your "TIP Jar" as you build your acting career.

The 1st Call
was from my agent, saying that I booked a voice over gig for next week! Yipee! I'm even happier because it's a 2 person spot as husband and wife. Lots of opportunity to "play" there.

While many other talent would have been just as "right" for the job, there are a few reasons why my scene partner and I booked the job. 
Here are 2 reasons:

1.  Instead of just auditioning by myself, doing only my lines, I took the time to contact another actor who was scheduled to do the audition as the husband and did the audition with him.  This practice of solo auditions on 2 person spots has become more common and it drives me nuts, so I manage to work around it by contacting another actor who is scheduled to do the audition, and did it WITH him. My agent didn't mind because it helped them get both talent bookings out of their agency. Sometimes

2. The other actor happens to be someone I have worked with many times, on very funny, character-driven spots and industrials. We had a ball! Not only did we do the spot as written for 2 funny characters, we kicked it up a notch and did another take as Marge and Homer Simpson, as well!


TIP- Make
them laugh by doing something fun and unexpected!
My agent told me that the client hired us because we were so much fun. The really funny part is that we're not even going to record the spot as broad characters. We're going to record the spot as a real couple. Darn! No big blue hair!

The 2nd Call
was from a former student who called to tell me that he just did his first VO job! It was a PSA (Public Service Announcement) and he was thrilled!  The only problem is HE DIDN'T GET PAID!!
I thought my head was going to EXPLODE!  I almost composed myself and reminded him: "If you're right for the part, you're right for the PAY!" There is a Union rate for PSA's. If you aren't in a Union, (AFTRA or SAG), you should be charging at least the Union Session Fee, considering you won't get any residual pay from future broadcast cycles of the spot.

TIP -
"If you're right for the part, you're right for the PAY!" Remind yourself that A. when you do any VO work for NO PAY, you rob yourself and every other VO talent out there. SOMEONE should get paid, no matter how inexperienced. Why not you? B. You set a precidence that you will work for NO PAY and will always get the same, NO PAY gigs from that client in the future.

If these stories sound familiar, I'm both happy and sad for you.

Stay HAPPY!
Call 216-521-3831 to register for the next Voice Acting Class & Marketing Seminar, September 1-October 20

Your "TIP Jar" will be full and you'll get work in the Voice Over Industry!

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