VO Tips

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.

My blog has gone international! Welcome to all my visitors from around the world! Hopefully this helps with any language issues that were happening on the blog. If your internet browser is set to your default language.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click your flag to have this page automatically translated for you!

Leave comments and let me know if it works for you!

Going off of the last post, People. If you have thousands of connections and nothing to offer when they find you, you might as well not waste your time.

Sounds a little harsh, but it’s true. If someone finds you on your Myspace, Facebook, personal website (do you have one?), or they contact you by phone, are they going to be impressed with what they see or hear, or will they blow you off because you sound like an amateur?

There’s one way to prevent that: Practice.

I never say practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to voice over work. Practice makes persistence. You can’t always be perfect when it comes to voice over. Perfection lies in the ears of the producer or the client, not with your ears. Something may be perfect to your ears but completely wrong for the listener.

How do you practice using your voice? There’s a lot of great practice methods I use all the time.

“Surround yourself with the best people you can find…”

-Ronald Reagan

One of the most important (if not THE most important) aspects of being a voiceover artist is networking aka PEOPLE.

How does one go about making connections that can take you places?