OK, the World Wide Web isn’t all work — but it has been lately.  I have done some redesigning of my website and of this blog, too.  I have also been searching for ways to improve my web “presence”.  It’s all about being found by the right people.  That’s why I’ve categorized this entry under “VO Tools”.  The Internet is one of the biggest tools in the business now.  It is so important for a voice talent to be web savvy.

Once again I am blessed to have help in this area.  My website has evolved over the past few years into something I am pretty pleased with, especially considering that I’ve paid practically nothing for it.  Yup, doing it yourself is lots of work, but it is also super rewarding, and a huge savings on my budget right now.  Of course, I can in no way take full credit for this site, since I’m no web programmer.  However, thanks to a good friend who is, I’ve learned a lot (well, enough to get me through the basics anyway).   The site isn’t anything real fancy, but it is functional, and overall I think it represents me pretty well.

Obviously, even the fanciest website is worthless to a voice talent without some well-produced demos to be heard on it.  So…that’s the other thing that has been keeping me busy in recent months.  Please check out my newest demos (each complete with its own video) on my demos page.

VO Demos are such a tricky thing.  You’ve got 60 to 90 seconds to showcase your voice, but realistically, it’s more like 5 to 10 seconds.  Voice seekers and producers are often so busy that 7 seconds might be all they will listen before deciding you aren’t what they want and move on to the next person.  But…I AM what they want, and they would have known that if they had only listened to 30 seconds of my demo, because that’s where I did that style of read.  Hmmm, so what to use first?  What order should all of these pieces fit together?  Well, that’s the tricky part.  Your first piece can’t be the perfect read for every job, so at least make it something you do well.  Even if it isn’t the style a seeker has in mind, if you’ve done it well, it just may get your full demo heard (or at least more than 10 seconds)!

So, I do my best and then hope for the best.  But I never rest (not for long anyway).  Marketing is so important.  There is more competition out there every day, so I need to stay on top of my game.  Keeping my demos updated and fresh is one way.  Befriending the World Wide Web is another.   And then there is the networking…

I’d like to recommend a couple of people in my personal network.  In case you were admiring my way-cool logo, it was created for me by Erin Fike of Erin Fike – Graphic Design.  She came up with so many excellent logos for me to choose from; I had a really hard time deciding.  If your business could benefit from a personalized logo, contact Erin, she’ll fix you up with the perfect image.  : )

I also appreciate the expertise of audio engineer, Jim Mikles.  Jim is the designer of my home studio and has been a consultant on many audio related topics.  In addition, Jim is now offering web programming services, and he has been invaluable to me as I set up my own website.  When you need a top-notch audio engineer, or someone to create a functional website for you, contact Jim at jimmikles@audio-simplified.net.

When you contact Jim or Erin, tell them that I sent you.  I can’t say that it will get you anything, but maybe I’ll get a few brownie points!  ‘Cause you know, it’s all about the networking…

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One of the things I really love about this business is the ability for my voice to be heard around the world (literally!).  One of the things I don’t like so much about this industry is that it can be so impersonal.  Many clients hire me through the Internet and we do all of our communicating via email, and I send them the completed audio files over the Internet.  We never actually see or even speak to each other.  The hardest part for me is the fact that everyone knows what I sound like (of course!!), and they even know what I look like because of pictures on my websites, while I have no idea of anything about them.  There have been instances when I’ve been hired by someone in a foreign country and I couldn’t tell you how to pronounce their name or even if I was being hired by a man or a woman!

So, I really enjoy those occasions when I at least get to speak with a client on the phone.  I also prefer using a phone patch whenever possible in order to get that immediate feedback and direction, so that I can be sure I’m giving them what they want.  Recently I was contacted by someone in Germany to do a video narration.  What I especially loved about this prospect was that he wanted to record via phone patch.  Finally, an opportunity to “meet” one of my overseas clients!  The date for recording has not yet been set, but the producer did already call me to introduce himself and talk through a few things.  Fortunately, his English is quite good, so we should have no problem communicating effectively.  : )

When I titled this blog entry, I had an old song running through my head by ELO.  Anyone remember “Calling America”?  I don’t know if it was one of their more well-known songs; it was off of the album “Balance of Power”.

A brief excerpt of some lyrics from the song…

“Talk is cheap on satellite
But all I get is (static!)
Information, I’m still here
Re-dial on automatic.

CHORUS:
Calling America (can’t get a message through)
Calling America (that’s what she said to do)
Calling America (that’s where she has to be)
Calling America (she left a number for me)
Calling America.

But I’m just talking to a satellite
Twenty thousand miles up in the sky each night
Yeah, we’re living in
In a modern world.

All I had to do was pick up the phone
I’m out in space, trying to talk to someone
Yeah, we’re living in
In a modern world.”

Fun lyrics from the 80′s…anyway, it’s stuck in my head now.  Fortunately it’s a song I like.  : ) I’ll let you know how the session goes!  In the meantime I need to go dig through my tape cases…

I just found the “Calling America” video online to share. Looks like the early days of “Google Earth” in this video. : ) What fun. Enjoy!

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Living in a smaller town was once a hindrance to my dreams and goals, but no more!  The World Wide Web has opened up countless opportunites.  The big cities of Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Pittsburgh may still be a 2 hour drive, but why commute when I can work from my comfortable home in the beautiful mountains?  : )

In 2006, I determined to make my dream of starting my own business working from home as a professional voice talent come true.  I did hours and weeks of research, bought the needed equipment and began phase 2 of my voice acting career.  (Phase 1 was all of my years of work at various radio stations, as well as recording radio & television commercials and corporate video jobs for some clients outside of my radio work).  This new phase was going to be just voiceovers — not all of the other miscellaneous jobs that come with working at a radio station (ie. writing copy, conducting interviews, gathering news stories, trafficking, billing, and anything else that needed to be done), not to mention the hours!  No, this was going to be my own business from my own home in lovely Western Maryland.

Fast forward 3 years…I love what I do!  After years of experience as a voice talent, I was finally being identified as one, and doing it from my home in the “big” city of Cumberland, MD. I currently have a pretty good set-up, using a spare bedroom as my office / studio.  Fortunately, I live in a pretty quiet neighborhood, off of any main roads, so outside noise isn’t too much of a problem (at least on some days).  I’ve set up an acoutic backdrop away from my computer to record in front of, and it all sounds pretty good.  I started out using Audacity (as most people do), but have graduated to ProTools for the past 2 years, and I’m pretty quick with it now.  I have a super fast Dell Dual Core computer and an M-Audio Firewire 410 preamp that does the trick.  However…

Work is starting to be more steady now (yea!), and recording long narrations can sometimes be pretty frustrating on heavy traffic days, or when the neighbors are using lawn equipment, or one of my little birdy friends decides to happily sing to me on my windowsill while I try to record.  So…it’s time for the real deal.  A complete, professional, sound-proof recording studio.  And I have just the place for it!

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