VO Tips

Welcome everyone to the new home on the web for Voice Over Tips!

My name is Michael Flowers and I have a knack for telling people how to get stuff done. I’ve finally achieved my dream of becoming a voice over artist. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t know everything, but I know a lot about how to become better at what I do and help people get started reaching for their dreams- that’s what this blog has always been about.

To get the latest updates on my tips for voice over success, subscribe to my “feed” in the top right hand corner and have the most recent posts from this blog delivered to your email inbox, or, use your favorite feed reader and subscribe that way.

I’ve got some great content coming that you won’t want to miss. I can’t say too much about it right now, but I know you’re going to love it. Stay tuned!

What do you think of when you hear the word meditation?

Most people think of monks high on a mountain somewhere high in the Himalayan mountains sitting around on mats with their legs crossed.

That’s not where I’m going. Meditation is simply deep thought. It’s actually something I practice quite often.

Let me explain…

Last post we covered some pretty awesome open source programs. Programs that are free to download, use, and modify (if you are a fellow programmer). This time around, we cover 5 more awesome applications that you should start using right away. Programs (and websites) that will benefit you and your clients.

Who doesn’t like the word free? They say nothing in life is free, but they’re wrong (for the most part).

What is open source? Open source means that the program is not owned by any one certain company. This is great, that’s one of the reasons why the software is free. Programmers give their time and help develop the program, and they’re paid by donations made to the project (please donate to the developers, they’re good people) and ads they sell on their sites for the program (click on their ads too).

I felt compelled to make a list of the open source applications that I use daily because these are truly great programs, sometimes even better than the program upon which they’re based.

Well, as they say, the third time’s the charm.

And NOW, the Subscribe by email form is REALLY fixed. I just tried it with my own email to verify it (like I should have done the firs two times.)

Now it’s even easier to get the newest posts from my blog in your email inbox, just put in your email on the top right corner of the blog, fill out the information in the pop-up window, and you’re all set!

If you have any questions, contact me.

Another awesome resource on the web for any freelancer, not just voice talent:

The Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

This should help you figure out what to charge per hour to make ends meet. Keep in mind though, as a voice talent, you will work less than most other types of freelancers out there, unless you have more to offer your clients (script writing, audio editing, etc.) You also don’t want to charge more than you’re worth. Don’t worry, clients will be the first to tell you if your rate is too high, but by then it already be too late.

The more you offer, the more you get paid (that is, if you’re jack or jill of all trades and also master of all of them). This is true with your voice as well. If you have a very bland and uninteresting voice (which sometimes is called for) you probably won’t get called again. Practice and you won’t have to worry about it.

Ok, post complete. If you’ve tried to subscribe by email in the past, it was broken (since the introduction of the new theme). Now it’s fixed! Subscribe by email and get new posts right in your email inbox!

You’re really missing out if you don’t know about this awesome resource for scripts:

Script Collection

I was writing a script collection until I came across this AWESOME resource on Jeff Kafer’s blog.

There are thousands of scripts in this collection and they all seem really great. DEFINITELY take advantage of this resource for your demos.

Sorry about the downtime, I should have announced it, but I got anxious to get the move over with.

I moved away from GoDaddy and moved to HostMonster since they’re better, cheaper, and faster (and a lot less vulgar).

Thanks to those of you who stuck around.

Anyways, here’s a cool site I found that can help anyone who needs help with timing. (I know I do more often than not).

The Online Stopwatch is an awesome resource for voice talent. I use it to time myself on dry reads before I step into the studio to keep my practice on track. I like using the countdown clock because it gives a visual reference you can see with your peripheral vision (without taking your eyes off the script).

I have it bookmarked, you should too.

Thanks again to all of you for hanging on through the downtime. Many more great resources like this headed your way.