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JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.
I'll be adding the effects, so all I need are clean takes. I got your email and will respond the second I get a chance (currently in my studio recording a friend's songs).

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Stinkmeister
Sep 20, 2004

Lipstick Apathy

The Aphasian posted:

Are you going to do the effects edits (over the radio distortion, etc.)? And I'll try to do one tonight, Davis or Kevin. I'll send an email too, to get context and maybe hear your lines.

I'll do whichever of these you don't end up doing. Should be able to get it recorded tonight. Jossi, could you please email or PM me the background info?

[edit] emailed Jossi.

Stinkmeister fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Aug 24, 2012

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.
Hey guys, just sent out an email to you both with more information. I'm still looking for a final male to play the Davis role, small role so could be done quickly. If anyone is interested let me know or just go ahead and do it! Thanks again!

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

JossiRossi posted:

Hey guys, just sent out an email to you both with more information. I'm still looking for a final male to play the Davis role, small role so could be done quickly. If anyone is interested let me know or just go ahead and do it! Thanks again!

I'm interested!

Edit: Davis lines emailed to you.

CuddleChunks fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Aug 24, 2012

khan!
Aug 3, 2010
Hey everyone,

I'm currently in SA Mart looking for voice recordings (on a now and ongoing basis) for telephone related use. I know it isn't high end voice acting, but maybe it's a way to make a few bucks quickly now! One very cool guy who put in a recording suggested maybe I crosspost here.

My thread is at: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=350319

King Lou
Jun 3, 2004
They say the fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live

khan! posted:

Hey everyone,

I'm currently in SA Mart looking for voice recordings (on a now and ongoing basis) for telephone related use. I know it isn't high end voice acting, but maybe it's a way to make a few bucks quickly now! One very cool guy who put in a recording suggested maybe I crosspost here.

My thread is at: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=350319

This thread you speak of... she doesn't exist...

In other news someone just asked me to do some free recording for some educational presentation and I did it... came out ok. Bored at work I guess. I just hope that all this talk of students, synax & compiling isn't really just a secret commercial for Pepsi.

The Joe Man
Apr 7, 2007

Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

titties posted:

This is from a while ago, but I've watched this 3 or 4 times since you posted it and I think that it definitely would have been better if they'd have let you read it like you wanted.

Also, you're a sentient telepathic house. I would have expected that weird reverse echo fading in effect thing.
Yeah I have no idea what kinda vibe she was going for. Is it supposed to be funny? Is it meant to encourage sobriety and becoming a cop??

I really wanted to go full-on Murray: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3OT-ppvii4. At least it would've been kinda funny and being an old sentient house, there'd be an excuse for the over-the-top insanity.

The Aphasian
Mar 8, 2007

Psychotropic Hops


King Lou posted:

This thread you speak of... she doesn't exist...

In other news someone just asked me to do some free recording for some educational presentation and I did it... came out ok. Bored at work I guess. I just hope that all this talk of students, synax & compiling isn't really just a secret commercial for Pepsi.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3503193

Looks like he truncated the thread id.

INTERNET NERD RAGE
Mar 17, 2002

Take the key.
Boy I wish I found this thread a few months ago.

Name: INTERNET NERD RAGE

Specialties: Corporate, Professional "Banker" sound, Guy Next Door, and some character voices.

Tindeck: Here is my commercial demo and character demo.

Contact: I have PM's enabled but I never check them, email is better.
david.cramb @ gmail

Payment: Paypal!

I'm interested in hearing some reactions to the two demo's. I know I'm my own worst critic and I'm not the biggest fan of some of the music and effects put in (I didn't have a choice) but it is what it is. Tear it to shreds, goons!
:ohdear:

The Joe Man
Apr 7, 2007

Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

INTERNET NERD RAGE posted:

Boy I wish I found this thread a few months ago.

Name: INTERNET NERD RAGE

Specialties: Corporate, Professional "Banker" sound, Guy Next Door, and some character voices.

Tindeck: Here is my commercial demo and character demo.

Contact: I have PM's enabled but I never check them, email is better.
david.cramb @ gmail

Payment: Paypal!

I'm interested in hearing some reactions to the two demo's. I know I'm my own worst critic and I'm not the biggest fan of some of the music and effects put in (I didn't have a choice) but it is what it is. Tear it to shreds, goons!
:ohdear:

Just took a quick listen to both. Character demo isn't linked right; use this: http://tindeck.com/listen/acqs (or don't; see below)

Without getting into the nitty gritty (yet), your Commercial demo is pretty decent. There's a couple little things you could work on (like robotic rollercoasting problem on 2nd commercial), and you should either rework or completely trash the Spec-Ops part at the end.

As far as the Character demo, I think you should delete it and never, ever look back. The only decent voice in the entire thing was the last one (the superhero), but it's not going to win any awards. Ditch it; your commercial demo is a TON better and you're a lot more believable when not trying to force a weird voice.

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.
Silent Escape has been released! Featuring the vocal talents of:

The Aphasian as Kevin
CuddleChunks as Davis
Stinkmeister as Thomas
JossiRossi as James

Thanks a ton guys you all did a really bang up job. Silent Escape is a Half-Life 2: Epsidoe 2 mod, so if you guys have that give it a whirl and hear yourself in action! There's a few spots where things are a bit weird because the language barrier between me and Pro-Bones the maker made things a tad confusing at times. I'll try to get those patched however. It's a fun mod and your voices add a lot so again thanks!

http://www.moddb.com/mods/silent-escape

King Lou
Jun 3, 2004
They say the fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live

If any of you are going to be watching the League of Legends North American Regional championships tomorrow you have a chance to catch my VO at the very beginning. I'm introducing the event and announcing the shoutcasters. 10 seconds of glory.

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

King Lou posted:

If any of you are going to be watching the League of Legends North American Regional championships tomorrow you have a chance to catch my VO at the very beginning. I'm introducing the event and announcing the shoutcasters. 10 seconds of glory.

That's awesome, congratulations King Lou!


Of course, it's hardly as prestigious as a role in a Half Life 2 mod, but hey, it's a good start. :c00l:


:v:

titties
May 10, 2012

They're like two suicide notes stuffed into a glitter bra

The goon erotica thread is talking about recording audiobooks RIGHT NOW.

You know, in case you guys want to read some smut.

E: I posted about reading for them, but nobody seemed interested. They kept talking about paying $600 for a studio session.

titties fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Aug 31, 2012

The Joe Man
Apr 7, 2007

Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

titties posted:

E: I posted about reading for them, but nobody seemed interested. They kept talking about paying $600 for a studio session.
I saw that too and it looks like they'll end up doing their own, much more expensive thing. Eh, so be it. Thanks for trying to help them/us though!

khan! posted:

Hey everyone,

I'm currently in SA Mart looking for voice recordings (on a now and ongoing basis) for telephone related use. I know it isn't high end voice acting, but maybe it's a way to make a few bucks quickly now! One very cool guy who put in a recording suggested maybe I crosspost here.

My thread is at: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3503193
Posted in the other thread too but did anyone get hired for this?

Fuzzy Modem posted:

Hi there! I'm hoping to find two voice actors, one male, one female.

For the male part, I'd love to hear those of you from Ireland or Scotland, but it's by no means a prerequisite.

I need to replace the narration in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKGS00aq7wE
Or this?

The Joe Man fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Sep 5, 2012

INTERNET NERD RAGE
Mar 17, 2002

Take the key.

The Joe Man posted:

Just took a quick listen to both. Character demo isn't linked right; use this: http://tindeck.com/listen/acqs (or don't; see below)

Without getting into the nitty gritty (yet), your Commercial demo is pretty decent. There's a couple little things you could work on (like robotic rollercoasting problem on 2nd commercial), and you should either rework or completely trash the Spec-Ops part at the end.

As far as the Character demo, I think you should delete it and never, ever look back. The only decent voice in the entire thing was the last one (the superhero), but it's not going to win any awards. Ditch it; your commercial demo is a TON better and you're a lot more believable when not trying to force a weird voice.
Thank you for the honest opinion. You've pretty much summed up how I felt about the character voice demo after I'd heard the finished product; sadly since I paid for the demo and cd printing already I still feel compelled to use it, but keeping it after the commercial one.

Could you explain more about what you mean when you mentioned the robotic rollercoasting problem? And more about the problems with the Spec-op spot? Thanks.

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.
Do people still listen to demo CDs these days? I know personally I'd rather just get some business cards with a link to a portfolio if I am seeing someone in person. After all I can hear you talk when we trade cards.

I think a strong portfolio site will do you loads more good than even the best physical copy of anything.

King Lou
Jun 3, 2004
They say the fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live

I was told in a meeting with multiple agents that they don't want links. They just want you to send your MP3 in your email. If they have to click it they trash it instead. They just want your small mp3 file they can listen to in the email and if it catches their ear then fine. CD's are pretty dead but I guess they might still be accepted.

Stinkmeister
Sep 20, 2004

Lipstick Apathy

The Joe Man posted:

Posted in the other thread too but did anyone get hired for this?

Or this?

I haven't heard anything about the phone message. I ended up working with Fuzzy Modem on his trailer, but I haven't seen the finished product yet. I think he's still working on it.

JossiRossi
Jul 28, 2008

A little EQ, a touch of reverb, slap on some compression and there. That'll get your dickbutt jiggling.

Stinkmeister posted:

I haven't heard anything about the phone message. I ended up working with Fuzzy Modem on his trailer, but I haven't seen the finished product yet. I think he's still working on it.

*cough*He'sWaitingOnMeToAssembleItAllBecauseISuck*cough*

Skippy Granola
Sep 3, 2011

It's not what it looks like.
So Jossi pointed me at this thread. I've never worked - the only thing approaching VO work is doing Let's Plays here on the forum.

I put a couple of samples up on my Tindeck account, just a reading from a book I had close at hand, and some stupid character stuff, vocal tests for that E/N fighting game etc. Anyway, I'd be very grateful for a prod in the right direction and maybe a second opinion on my strengths and weaknesses.

Name: Skippy Granola

Specialties: Youthful, low-key, aimiable

Tindeck: http://tindeck.com/users/SkippyGranola

Contact: skippygranola at gmail

So here's the Summerset Hills promo



Also I recorded The Raven. Holy crap that hurt, and that was only 8 minutes. This is mainly for fun, even though that was like ten pages back.



Skippy Granola fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Sep 8, 2012

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

Thank you for posting. I've got some notes for you and I hope you will keep posting and recording and having fun with this stuff. Please do not get discouraged by one person's opinion.

Skippy Granola posted:

Also I recorded The Raven. Holy crap that hurt, and that was only 8 minutes. This is mainly for fun, even though that was like ten pages back.



Hahahah, welcome to the club my friend. I think we've all tried to record something like this and well, "The Raven" has been done so many times and by such distinct voices that it's hard not to draw comparisons. I didn't hear any general technical problems with the recording, it sounded nice and clear over my speakers.

Now comes opinion time. In my ~*opinion*~ it sounds like you are reading the poem but don't understand the text very well. You're locked into a sing-song voice because of the rhyme scheme of the words and that leaves you with very little dynamic range to your voice. Worse, parts early on that are questions to the reader don't get inflected as such, nor are the ranting sections full of the fire of incipient madness. The raven's response doesn't stand out from your louder passages very well. This is both a timing issue and a vocal inflection issue.

Listen to the voices as they play their different parts. Doing this yourself is difficult, that's why this is a hardass poem to do well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlgQQgDhH7U

Don't have a cast of voice actors at hand? No problem, check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7zR3IDEHrM

Note how he breaks up the sections into paragraphs and full sentences in spite of the rhyme scheme. Sometimes he runs a couple lines or half a line together - it depends on what the text is actually trying to say. If you compare a section from mid-poem with the start you'll also note that he's louder and faster. This is because he's building dramatic tension as he goes and the energy of the reading is building.


Just for fun, would you try recording "America the Beautiful" in as dramatic and over-the top emotional way you can? Not the whole thing, that would be insane but a couple verses would be fine. Thing is, don't sing it, *emote* it. Let go of any notion of propriety or whatever and just go nuts. Have fun being some bombastic goofus. What you're going for is to express emotion with your voice. In case you don't know all 8 verses, this should help: http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/americathebeautiful.html

PS: Hahahah 8 verses? Has anyone ever dared sung past the first? Only un-American overachievers, that's who! Real patriots get their meaning across in the first verse without all that extra guff. :patriot:

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

Some serious nonsense right up in here y'all:

Skippy Granola
Sep 3, 2011

It's not what it looks like.

CuddleChunks posted:

Thank you for posting. I've got some notes for you and I hope you will keep posting and recording and having fun with this stuff. Please do not get discouraged by one person's opinion.


Hahahah, welcome to the club my friend. I think we've all tried to record something like this and well, "The Raven" has been done so many times and by such distinct voices that it's hard not to draw comparisons. I didn't hear any general technical problems with the recording, it sounded nice and clear over my speakers.

Now comes opinion time. In my ~*opinion*~ it sounds like you are reading the poem but don't understand the text very well. You're locked into a sing-song voice because of the rhyme scheme of the words and that leaves you with very little dynamic range to your voice. Worse, parts early on that are questions to the reader don't get inflected as such, nor are the ranting sections full of the fire of incipient madness. The raven's response doesn't stand out from your louder passages very well. This is both a timing issue and a vocal inflection issue.

Listen to the voices as they play their different parts. Doing this yourself is difficult, that's why this is a hardass poem to do well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlgQQgDhH7U

Don't have a cast of voice actors at hand? No problem, check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7zR3IDEHrM

Note how he breaks up the sections into paragraphs and full sentences in spite of the rhyme scheme. Sometimes he runs a couple lines or half a line together - it depends on what the text is actually trying to say. If you compare a section from mid-poem with the start you'll also note that he's louder and faster. This is because he's building dramatic tension as he goes and the energy of the reading is building.


Just for fun, would you try recording "America the Beautiful" in as dramatic and over-the top emotional way you can? Not the whole thing, that would be insane but a couple verses would be fine. Thing is, don't sing it, *emote* it. Let go of any notion of propriety or whatever and just go nuts. Have fun being some bombastic goofus. What you're going for is to express emotion with your voice. In case you don't know all 8 verses, this should help: http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/americathebeautiful.html

PS: Hahahah 8 verses? Has anyone ever dared sung past the first? Only un-American overachievers, that's who! Real patriots get their meaning across in the first verse without all that extra guff. :patriot:

Thanks for the feedback! I have a long road ahead, it seems - and reading something in verse form is a hell of a mental exercise.

I've had a fair bit of practise on the technical side, but that's mostly me bullshitting over video game footage.

But I'm starting to clue in that acting is really hard - much harder than it seems, anyway. This is my sixth try at America the Beautiful, not including any phlegmy takes or voice cracks or errors in the reading. I've listened to it plenty of times, and to my ear it sounds kind of sarcastic.

:911:

INTERNET NERD RAGE
Mar 17, 2002

Take the key.

King Lou posted:

I was told in a meeting with multiple agents that they don't want links. They just want you to send your MP3 in your email. If they have to click it they trash it instead. They just want your small mp3 file they can listen to in the email and if it catches their ear then fine. CD's are pretty dead but I guess they might still be accepted.

The reason I'm bothering with CD's at all is for my local market. I did a workshop with a guy who acknowledges that while CD's are fading out pretty quickly, for commercial work it's not a bad idea to get in touch with local ad agencies' broadcast departments and try to schedule something for some quick face to face interaction. That way, they are more inclined to actually listen to the demo and hopefully keep me in mind for work down the road.

Or so I'm told. Can't hurt to try, right?

By the way, I'm having some technical issues with my Yeti mic. I've got a pair of headphones plugged in to the bottom and can listen out of them, but if I'm trying to monitor my voice through them there's still a lag with enough of a delay that makes it literally impossible for me to continue speaking. This microphone isn't supposed to have that lag because of the headphone jack built in to it but I can't find the right settings to fix the issue. The computer I'm using doesn't have a set of speakers plugged in to it and I don't have an extra pair lying around to see if that fixes it just yet. Thoughts?

Canuck-Errant
Oct 28, 2003

MOOD: BURNING - MUSIC: DISCO INFERNO BY THE TRAMMPS
Grimey Drawer

INTERNET NERD RAGE posted:

The reason I'm bothering with CD's at all is for my local market. I did a workshop with a guy who acknowledges that while CD's are fading out pretty quickly, for commercial work it's not a bad idea to get in touch with local ad agencies' broadcast departments and try to schedule something for some quick face to face interaction. That way, they are more inclined to actually listen to the demo and hopefully keep me in mind for work down the road.

Or so I'm told. Can't hurt to try, right?

By the way, I'm having some technical issues with my Yeti mic. I've got a pair of headphones plugged in to the bottom and can listen out of them, but if I'm trying to monitor my voice through them there's still a lag with enough of a delay that makes it literally impossible for me to continue speaking. This microphone isn't supposed to have that lag because of the headphone jack built in to it but I can't find the right settings to fix the issue. The computer I'm using doesn't have a set of speakers plugged in to it and I don't have an extra pair lying around to see if that fixes it just yet. Thoughts?

Mine has a very slight delay, so I'm thinking it could just be something in Windows settings that's feeding back the audio input - check the Yeti mic properties to see if "Listen to this device" is set under the Listen tab.

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

Internet Nerd Rage - call Yeti support. I thought that bottom port was a direct monitor, it shouldn't have any lag.

I ran an experiment tonight to see if I could snuggle up in bed and knock out some audio. Result: worthless. I kept drifting off and retracing sections over again. Haha, guess I won't be busting out any chapters while getting snuggly. Best of all this is Lovecraft so it is full of tongue twisters and awkward grammar that really doesn't work if you are drifting.

So, sit up, drink plenty of fluids and make your recordings in a well lit room.


Hahaha this is going to be surreal when I get it on my computer for editing.

King Lou
Jun 3, 2004
They say the fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live

I have a Blue YetiPro that I had to send back 2x because of audio drop outs and issues with random bursts of static. They admitted that there was some sort of issue with the Yeti Pro and that they were fixing it. However I'm not happy with the 3rd one they sent me. I'm not convinced they fixed it at all. Also their tech support hasn't returned my emails/phone calls about it. I'm sure they think I'm a crank. Luckily I have Snowball & Mbox Mini that I can use instead. I would still buy Blue products but I think the Yeti Pro is sort of an over promised device.

The Joe Man
Apr 7, 2007

Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

King Lou posted:

I have a Blue YetiPro that I had to send back 2x because of audio drop outs and issues with random bursts of static. They admitted that there was some sort of issue with the Yeti Pro and that they were fixing it. However I'm not happy with the 3rd one they sent me. I'm not convinced they fixed it at all. Also their tech support hasn't returned my emails/phone calls about it. I'm sure they think I'm a crank. Luckily I have Snowball & Mbox Mini that I can use instead. I would still buy Blue products but I think the Yeti Pro is sort of an over promised device.

Sure it's not the recording program you're using? My Yeti was basically unusable (constant static) with Adobe Audition 1.5/WinXP, but I upgraded to AA 3.0/Win7 and haven't had a problem since.

Sounds like a software issue.

King Lou
Jun 3, 2004
They say the fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live

I had the problem with the Yeti attached via MBox to Protools & via USB using Audacity. Blue told me "There has been a few issues with the pro’s, the new pro’s will have a gain mod and a new driver."

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

CuddleChunks posted:

Hahaha this is going to be surreal when I get it on my computer for editing.

:aaa: Hahahahah okay, if you haven't ever tried this, you may want to fire up a recorder and start reading some text while you drift off to sleep. Ahahahah what in the hell? There's all these drifty passages as I fade in and out of consciousness. Holy poo poo I start blathering about work and other crap. I'm glad I have this on tape.

Sulphuric Sundae
Feb 10, 2006

You can't go in there.
Your father is dead.
I've been out of this thread for a while, but I'm back! I've mentioned the On The Air Radio Players here in Richmond, VA before, but we're doing auditions again! I will be the production manager for the next show being performed Nov. 13th and 14th. Auditions will be Sep. 30 and Oct. 1. Rehearsals end up being once or twice a week. No pay, but it's fun!

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

I'd be all over that except for the gross mistake in having your rehearsals in some strange foreign land in the Far East. :(

Now if you suddenly transport yourselves out West...

blinkeve1826
Jul 26, 2005

WELCOME TO THE NEW DEATH
Edited with organization as this post seems to be pretty tl;dr:

1) Babby's first interview
2) New and improved VO website!
3) Thoughts on next steps in VO career
4) Money for your thoughts (yes, you)
5) More ideas for marketing and next steps, for me or for any VO talent looking to expand
6) HELP! with writing a cover letter to agents
7) Potential future VO opportunities for you (yes, you)

So I've been kinda AWOL from this thread for some time, but for good reason.

1) First it was this: http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?page=1&branch=NEWS&source=&category=society.people&art_id=1469552 I taught traditional Korean drumming to Korean kids at a Korean Culture Camp in Flushing, which apparently is newsworthy. Completely unrelated to VO but I thought it was cool and wanted to share it. My first interview! :3:

2) Thennnnn it was full-speed ahead with this: my new and improved website!

After being frustrated with a half-finished website for yeeeeears (someone I hired on SA-Mart stopped answering my emails after finishing like half the site and getting half-paid...???), a friend of mine who creates websites for a living helped me fix up mine, adding a nice new audio player, making the design much less pink (uggh) and making the whole thing mobile-friendly with a fancy shmancy responsive design! I finally feel confident enough with what I have on there to show it to industry professionals, which is exactly what my next step is.

3) Now that I have a solid commercial and animation demo, I'm going to start creating new promotional materials--namely, new business cards, promotional postcards, demo CDs for when I need to send out the odd hard copy, and pens, because who doesn't like pens?? People who throw away business cards keep and use pens. I'm anticipating that being a good idea. I'm also finding that even though I've never needed one before, more and more people are asking for a headshot and resume, so it looks like I'll have to (very grudgingly) plunk down some money on those, too. Since I'm not reeeeeally going out for on-camera work yet and am in the middle of a pretty big weight loss, I think I'm going to go with relatively cheap ones for now, and get nicer (more expensive) ones later on when I'm closer to my goal weight and my appearance will vary less, because holy cow headshots are expensive.

4) Aaaanyway, I'm currently crowdsourcing some ideas for taglines for the aforementioned postcards in SA-Mart. If you think you might have some ideas and might want to make a few quick bucks, thread is here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3507737

Mind you, I'm not exactly rolling in cash right now, what with having to drop my non-union VO clients and currently being in the scary "spend money" part of "spend money to make money" right now, but regardless, it's a few bucks for a few minutes of your time.

5) While I'm doing this, I'm making lists of every casting director, production house, recording studio, publisher (audio books), game developer/studio (for video games and iPhone games and the like), ad agency, etc. I can find within and hour or two of my home (which is a lot, since I live in the NY metro area) and once I have a comprehensive collection I'm going to contact each one, see if they work with voiceover talent, and send my stuff to those willing to take it. This is something I recommend to any voice talent, by the way, union or non-union, years of experience or not--you will always be your best agent.

I've also been going to as many relevant workshops and classes as often as I can, that are either voiceover-related or run by an industry professional I think it would particularly benefit me to meet. A few weeks ago I attended a workshop with a casting director where all attendees did commercial reads (fake auditions, essentially) for him, and I was happy that his comment for me after I read was "You're so darn likable"! I'm actually going to another voiceover class in just a few hours, and I haven't been able to sleep which really isn't good considering I have a full evening of work after that as well. Such is life.

6) And while I'm doing THAT, I'm also trying to draft an email/cover letter to send agencies along with my demo and resume. Theoretically this shouldn't be TOO difficult--I've written plenty of cover letters before and know how to make myself sound good--but this industry is different, and I want to get it right. And everything I write, I feel like it sounds sell-y and desparate and "HIRE ME GIVE ME VOICEOVER WORK". I want to sound confident without coming off as cocky, and I'm having trouble doing that. Any suggestion for what to say in this thing to do that? I'm mainly having trouble with a salutation/introduction, and even more so with a subject line; once I'm past that, I know how to include my accomplishments and make myself sound good, it's really just the opening that's getting me stuck. I want to stand out from the hundreds of "Dear (name of agent), I am an experienced, professional voiceover actress and I would love to be represented by your agency. I have years of experience..." they get weekly, but don't want to sound like a jerk. I want to grab their attention and make them see that they have a potential goldmine with me, but don't know how! If it helps, some key things that I'm thinking of pointing out, but don't know how to phrase in the best possible way:

-I've done a LOT of voiceover work. Well over 200 recordings, probably over 300.
-I've done a wide VARIETY of work: commercials, corporate narration, training videos, ESL materials, museum audio guides, documentaries, PSAs, animation, iPhone games, computer games, student projects, phone message systems, hell, even in-flight videos. My voice is in airplanes, tour buses, classrooms and museums.
-Said in-flight videos were for Japan Airlines, and I recorded that (as well as voiceovers for Apple and Ebay) before I turned 21. I'd recorded over 150 (if not more, I honestly lost count) by the time I turned 23.
-I did all of that as a non-union voiceover talent, without an agent. Imagine how much money I can make them with the right agency working with me, you know?
-I have a wide range of solid character voices, in a variety of age ranges and in both genders, as is demonstrated by my animation demo...provided, you know, I can get them to pay attention long enough to not delete the email/trash the CD and listen to the darn thing!

So yeah, any advice you guys may have for this would be greatly appreciated, because aside from this I'm completely ready to start sending my stuff out to agents and really getting things on track!

Oh, also, there were two of you I think who had suggestions a few pages back for improving my home setup--thank you!! You can probably see why I haven't replied yet (I've been a liiiiittle busy) but once I have a moment I will try what you suggested, and hopefully it will work!

Sorry for the block of text--the way things have been going, I have to post if and when I can. I've gotten a lot of useful advice and help from this thread, even just from seeing what others post, and I'm hoping my posts are doing the same for others.

CuddleChunks posted:

:aaa: Hahahahah okay, if you haven't ever tried this, you may want to fire up a recorder and start reading some text while you drift off to sleep. Ahahahah what in the hell? There's all these drifty passages as I fade in and out of consciousness. Holy poo poo I start blathering about work and other crap. I'm glad I have this on tape.

I am looking forward to trying this.

7) Edit: I just got an email from someone who spotted a post I made in a forum for iPhone developers asking me to do voice work for an upcoming kids' educational game thing his studio is making. I'm trying my darnedest to turn this into my first union VO job, but that said, I'm sure this isn't the first time I'll get a request for a non-union job I can't take, so anyone who's interested, can you send me your demos and/or samples? If your demo wasn't recorded on your own equipment, please send me a sample of what your setup sounds like as well so I know what I can expect from you in terms of quality. Decent quality and noise-free, please (no Logitech headset mic recordings with your little sister crying in the background). Preferably as links to downloadable and streamable mp3s so I can just keep a list of links handy somewhere, but be able to download one or two if and as needed. Email to ListenToMelanie at gmail.

Now that I go union, NOW I get a hit from those posts, gahh

blinkeve1826 fucked around with this message at 16:34 on Sep 23, 2012

blinkeve1826
Jul 26, 2005

WELCOME TO THE NEW DEATH
Also, crossposting from this thread, where the OP abandoned his thread after getting a bunch of VO samples:

Just a heads up to everyone who posted in this thread who's interested in doing any VO work in the future, especially through semi-anonymous means of communication like this--I don't know exactly what happened on the OP's end, but this is a prime example of why you should somehow watermark your auditions. Like a visual watermark, this just means doing something to your work so that it can't be used without your knowledge and/or permission. For audio files, this can mean making/sending a lower quality file than that which you would send for a real booking (like IzzyFnStradlin did), or adding intermittent sounds, like a beep or tone, throughout the file (that's what I do). This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way myself and hopefully it'll help some of you in the future.

The Joe Man
Apr 7, 2007

Flirting With Apathetic Waitresses Since 1984

blinkeve1826 posted:

Also, crossposting from this thread, where the OP abandoned his thread after getting a bunch of VO samples:

Just a heads up to everyone who posted in this thread who's interested in doing any VO work in the future, especially through semi-anonymous means of communication like this--I don't know exactly what happened on the OP's end, but this is a prime example of why you should somehow watermark your auditions. Like a visual watermark, this just means doing something to your work so that it can't be used without your knowledge and/or permission. For audio files, this can mean making/sending a lower quality file than that which you would send for a real booking (like IzzyFnStradlin did), or adding intermittent sounds, like a beep or tone, throughout the file (that's what I do). This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way myself and hopefully it'll help some of you in the future.

This is also why voices.com is a complete waste of time. As for the linked thread, that probably won't happen since I highly doubt the dude works for Umbrella. Good advice though. When I was auditioning for gigs on voices.com, I would put highly inappropriate music as the background bed. I have a feeling they used it anyways.

ChaosTheory
Oct 1, 2003

Pillbug

blinkeve1826 posted:

Also, crossposting from this thread, where the OP abandoned his thread after getting a bunch of VO samples:

Just a heads up to everyone who posted in this thread who's interested in doing any VO work in the future, especially through semi-anonymous means of communication like this--I don't know exactly what happened on the OP's end, but this is a prime example of why you should somehow watermark your auditions. Like a visual watermark, this just means doing something to your work so that it can't be used without your knowledge and/or permission. For audio files, this can mean making/sending a lower quality file than that which you would send for a real booking (like IzzyFnStradlin did), or adding intermittent sounds, like a beep or tone, throughout the file (that's what I do). This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way myself and hopefully it'll help some of you in the future.

seconded, It happened to me in this thread, the guy never got back to me.

King Lou
Jun 3, 2004
They say the fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live

I've always wondered about people getting stiffed or having their work ripped off. I got stiffed for $3500 on VO with an ad agency in other state. As far as I can tell the company lost the job. None of my work was used. Doesn't make me feel any better about wasting all that time. If you're doing a job for something long get that poo poo in writing! I've also had a lot of jobs I was awarded on Voice123 just never get past the "You've been chosen!" stage. The people just vanish. It happens.

In happier news I just recorded two spots for Spotify. One for Carnival Cruise and one for McDonalds. Its pretty low-ball stuff, money-wise, but it looks like I may get to do some more work for them in the near future. If you don't pay for Spotify then get ready to mute your computer when I come on!

I also recorded something for some science project website for free just because they asked.

EDIT: I just heard my McDonalds spot on Spotify. Whee!

EDIT 2: I just booked another Spotify spot for Energizer that turned into 2 spots. Sadly the pay goes WAY down for the 2nd spot. Modern problems. :(

King Lou fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Sep 27, 2012

Meow Cadet
May 2, 2007


friendship is magic
in a pony paradise
don't you judge me
I got a part!

There was a random post on my local Craigslist for voice actors for a cartoon web series. I responded, and auditioned today. A few hours later, I was offered a part. Recording conflicts with my day-job, but I'll try and work it out. This is not a paid gig, but it should be fun. The ego boost for being offered a role is stupid. I want to brag to everyone I know, but I know that's lame. Oh well.

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King Lou
Jun 3, 2004
They say the fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live

Meow Cadet posted:

I got a part!

There was a random post on my local Craigslist for voice actors for a cartoon web series. I responded, and auditioned today. A few hours later, I was offered a part. Recording conflicts with my day-job, but I'll try and work it out. This is not a paid gig, but it should be fun. The ego boost for being offered a role is stupid. I want to brag to everyone I know, but I know that's lame. Oh well.

Its not lame to want to tell people or feel good that you were chosen to do something. Even if there is no pay it feels good to be picked! Congrats on getting the part!

I probably talk too much about getting gigs. Especially lately because I've been on a mini-run of work. But besides recordings for people who listen to my podcast I hardly did any VO work last year or most of this year for that matter. Now here in the last 1/4 of the year I'm landing work and it feels great.

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