In broadcasting’s early days, announcers had a critical job. Tasked with informing the public about everything from the mundane (the latest baseball score) to the essential (the attack at Pearl Harbor), networks needed voices that were clear, easy to understand, and good with challenging pronunciation on without much preparation. It was easy to find people […]
How It Started vs. How It’s Going
I’ve been doing voice over since the stone ages, if you count 1995 as prehistory. So I’ve seen the industry change quite a bit. Nothing brought that point home harder than what I found when cleaning out one of our little-used closets. In a box with some old photos and a few used notebooks were […]
The End of an Era
Saying goodbye to a venerable VO industry podcast, The Voice Over Body Shop.
Voice Talent Have Two Critical Jobs: Here’s What They Are
One of the first things I tell my new voiceover students is that being a successful voice talent can be boiled down to our ability to do just two jobs. A sustainable career comes from being able to do both of them reliably and confidently, on short notice. Without the first, we don’t get the […]
When You Get A New Commercial Script, Do These Two Things First
Two things can impact your VO commercial audition more than you know.
VO: Full Time or Part Time?
If being a full time voice actor is your goal, you should take a second to understand what that means. I hesitate to generalize because there’s a lot of variation in the VO world. Where you live, what kind of work you do and who you do it for can mean vast differences in lifestyle […]
What Will Future Movie Trailers Be Like?
The virus isn’t letting go. What does that mean for movies and their trailers? Funny how things work out sometimes. I began work on Movie Trailer Mastery well over a year ago in March of 2019. First, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to say in the book and then writing a […]
VO In A Time of COVID-19
Hollywood Issues Plans For Resuming TV/Film Production, But Remains Silent on Voice Over Last week, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers released a 22-page document with their suggestions for changes the film and TV industry could make when production resumes. This was followed by a much more in-depth joint report from the Director’s […]
Every Pandemic Car Spot
An ad copywriter sent me this, and I thought it was too funny not to share. Props to the VO, who handles the copy really well in spite of the jokes being made.
An Agent on How Talent Can Adapt To A Lockdown
A3 Artists (formerly Abrams Artists Agency) in Los Angeles has a very active VO department. James Murray, VO agent there, explains how their office and their talent have made changes in the face of the industry’s “new normal.” This article provides some really interesting insight. It’s always good to keep an eye on what the […]