Friday, April 25, 2014


Even the Voice Acting Teacher books a gig now and then!
Interested in Private Voice Over Coaching?

If you are in the Cleveland area, you'll have your
coaching sessions in person, at the home
of Jean Zarzour, in Lakewood, Ohio.
http://www.jeanzarzour.com for more about Jean
Scroll down to
So what's the bottom line?
for details about these sessions.
Private Coaching
Scroll down to
PRIVATE COACHING CONTRACT AGREEEMENT
for the details on this training
Once you have the proper amount of coaching
that will give you a competetive edge,
(anywhere from 8 to 24 weeks, depending on your level of acting experience)
you will be assessed for the opportunity to
produce a 1:00 commercial demo.
Training is at a rate of $600 for the 1st 8 weeks
 and $550 for each 8 weeks after that.


For Demo Rates Scroll Down To
2014/2015 Demo Production Rates
They are separate from general technique training!
Each demo is produced with custom written copy,
designed to feature your voice acting strengths.
That's right. There are no "copy cat" recordings here.
Your demo is one of a kind and sounds as
professional as the best of them!

The benefit of customized copy is that your potential clients won't have to heard the same demo copy that everyone else uses from www.edgestudio.com!
(it's a great resource for pratice copy, but not for your demo!)
That means that no one will ever know 
if you're a newbie or a seasoned pro.

Here is a sample of what this coaching looks like,
with Danny Bass.
Danny first took my 8 week class and then we had 8, 1 hour writing/rehearsal sessions to create his demo copy before going to
Commercial Sound and Image to record the full length,
1:00 Commercial demo.


Here is the video featuring Danny's completed Demo!

Here is the link to hear more demos produced by Jean
Even if you don't live near Cleveland, Ohio, there's an app for that!
Here is a portion of a skype session with Pittsburgh student, Joanna.



So what's the bottom line?
What can I expect
from Private Coaching with Jean Zarzour, and what
is involved with producting a voice over demo?

(Below is a copy of the contract that we both sign when you decide to register for 8 weeks of private coaching only. Demo production is at a rate of $1000 for 8 weeks of copywriting, coaching on that copy, recording at an award winning studio and copies in mp3, wav and cd formats)

PRIVATE COACHING CONTRACT AGREEMENT

This letter shall serve as an agreement between Jean Zarzour of Find Your Voice – Voice Acting Institute and (print your name here)  X____________________________________________________________for 8, NOW TEN 1 hour, private coaching sessions beginning_______________________ A fee of $600 is due before coaching begins.
Private coaching includes all 8, 1 hour sessions either at Jean's home or by skype at mutually agreed upon dates/times.

Each week, your class work recordings are saved and uploaded to a storage website for your review.  You will also receive regular emails with other VO education resources, web links and other useful information related to the Voice Acting business and free recording software to donwload for practicing between our sessions. You are encouraged to send me those practice recordings for my critique by email. While we are in session, all recording equipment and copy will be provided. All you need to bring is a bottle of water to cool your chords!

The focus of the class is on voice over technique and/or Marketing technique. Jean Zarzour does not guarantee that students will be able to earn a living as a voice over artist after taking these classes. Jean Zarzour will offer all of her advice and knowledge about the proper skills and best practices necessary to launch a voice over career. Hand outs will be emailed to you on a regular basis.  All research of potential employers, marketing and other efforts to obtain employment as a voice over artist is the sole responsibility of the student.

The focus of the one day Marketing Seminar is on the tools, techniques, best practices and resources for marketing your brand in the voice over industry, and other performance industries like stage, film and television. Private coaching students are welcome to attend the Marketing Seminar 1 time whenever they are scheduled.

Jean Zarzour is a freelance actor and, as such, may be presented with work that conflicts with this class schedule. In the event that Jean Zarzour cannot coach you in person, you may opt to do a skype session or reschedule for anothe time. The same applies to your schedule conflicts. If you need to, we can reschedule at any time.

I voluntarily assume all risks of accident or damage to my person or property, before, during and after attending classes and seminars with Jean Zarzour and Find Your Voice - Voice Acting Institute. I agree to abide by all rules and regulations and hereby release from claim, liability or demand, all employees, representatives, trustees and officers of Jean Zarzour and Find Your Voice-Voice Acting Institute, as well as their heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns for any personal injury or damage of any kind. I understand that the above-mentioned parties are not insurers of my personal safety during this activity. This release is entered into freely and with full knowledge of its contents and effect and will operate for myself, my heirs, executors, administrators and assigns.

Please send a check or money order for $600 with your signed agreement to Jean Zarzour at 2300 McKinley Ave., Lakewood, Ohio 44107.  If you wish to attend the Marketing Seminar only, the fee is $150.  A copy of this contract, with Jean Zarzour’s signature on it, will be mailed or provided on the first day of class.

The undersigned agree to the terms of this contract.

Signed on this date ______________

Jean signs here______________________________________________

2300 McKinley Ave. Lakewood, Oh 44107 216-832-6557 jeanzarzour@gmail.com

You sign here ___________________________________________________

Print Your Name: _________________________________________________

Address _________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Cell:____________________________________________________________

Email:___________________________________________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2014/2015 Demo Production Rates
Once you have the proper training ($600 for 8 weeks paid separately) and are ready to produce a demo, here is what you can expect.
Jean Zarzour Fees
PRE-PRODUCTION
The fee below is for copy writing (about 10-13 spots), coaching, practice recordings you do from home and send to me between 1 hour sessions, directing you in the studio recording session and post production editing once the individual spots we record are “sweetened”. If this is your first demo, you will need 8, 1 hour sessions which can be scheduled in 2 hour sessions or 1 hour sessions twice per week or however you’d like, but you want to be sure that you have the right material for your skill level and that you are delivering the material with the optimum variety of reads. In order to be sure that your demo is one of a kind, we write all of the copy for approximately 10 spots that show your versatility as a voice actor. This also ensures that producers are not hearing copy that they've heard on dozens of other demos. It DOES happen because people accorss the country use the same copy resource at www.edgestudio.com! Not us. $600 (or $700 if you are over 100 miles outside of Cleveland) paid in advance to the order of Jean Zarzour.

Recording Studio Fees
The fee for up to 2 hours of recording time, 4 hours post production, 3 cds, an mp3 and wav file for web use is $400 paid directly to the studio immediately after recording your demo.

POST PRODUCTION After we record your "dry voice", the engineer edits the length of the spots, adds sfx and music (sweetening) and then sends the cuts to me for final editing to produce a 1 minute demo. When I am finished editing all of the material, I send the 1 minute demo to you as an mp3 file for your review. We make whatever changes are needed for the finished product and I send it back to the studio to create the master copy.  It usually takes about 2 weeks to make decisions/edits until we are satisfied with the final demo.  

Studio rates are discounted for Voice Over Demo Clients. 
Professional studios charge other clients between $75 and $200 per hour for their services. Revisions to your demo are usually done within 4 years after you produce your first demo and any recordings that you didn’t use in your first recording session can be used for revisions. You will not necessarily need a director for a demo revision, but if you like, you can hire Jean to assist with the revision process at a rate of $65 per hour.

Your first demo investment

Jean           600    (or $700 outside of Cleveland) 
Studio        400
Total       $1000   (or $1100)
http://www.box.net/shared/4ny3ngh2fy To hear more demos produced by FYV
www.jeanzarzour.com for more about Jean Zarzour