Tuesday, March 09, 2010
-- By: Mark Dolliver
The results of an AdweekMedia/Harris Poll, conducted last month, give reason to believe gender stereotypes are alive and well in the way many people react to male and female voiceovers in commercials.
On the question of which sort is "more forceful," 48 percent of respondents said a male voiceover is, vs. 2 percent saying a female voiceover is. (The rest said it makes no difference.) The pattern was just the opposite when people were asked to say which is "more soothing," with the female outpointing the male by 46 percent to 8 percent. There was no significant gap, though, on the question of which is "more persuasive." Eighteen percent said a male voiceover is, while 19 percent said a female voiceover is.
Elsewhere in the same survey, respondents were asked to say which sort of voiceover is "more likely to sell me a car." The male was the bigger vote-getter here, 28 percent to 7 percent. The same was true on the question of which is "more likely to sell me a computer," with 23 percent picking the male voiceover and 7 percent the female voiceover.
Are you shocked and appalled? Do you agree with the findings? Leave us your comments and thoughts here!
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
"With my genuine British accent, I am very lucky to sound different than anyone else I come across living in Tennessee!"
Natalie Donegan has done an amazing job of marketing herself in her local area by capitalizing on her unique voice; in this case, it's her British accent! Since training with Such A Voice, Natalie has worked with MotionFoundry, Inc. doing a voicemail and web commercial. She has also done several telephony recordings for other clients both locally and abroad. Natalie says, "I love the flexibility, the variation in projections I work on, and the fact that I am my own boss!"
Natalie decided to pursue voiceovers because she has always had an interest in the arts, and she studied Drama and Theatre Studies in Cambridge, England. She was always drawn to the off-camera voice-over jobs, but she accepted a desk job as a Sales Manager at a daily newspaper and found that she was unable to dedicate the time to following her dreams. Now, as a stay-at-home mom, she has the time and luxury of pursuing her voice-over dreams, and she admits, "It's nice that now I'm not required to immediately get regular paychecks for my work." She adds, "But so far it's working!"
Natalie dedicates 3-4 hours a day to her voice-over work, and sometimes she works into the evenings. As a member of Voices.com, she is able to audition everyday. She also makes sure to dedicate time to corresponding with clients and recording tracks that she has been hired for. Networking also seems to come naturally to this transplant, Natalie says, "I really enjoy the marketing side of my business and the constant contact with potential clients, too."
In fact she has a business plan that she sticks to, which includes a goal of new contacts to make on a weekly and monthly basis. She constantly works on her web presence, making sure her portfolios are complete on her social media sites, such as Facebook, My Space and Twitter. She also makes sure to update her email contacts every so often to let them know of new projects that she has been involved with.
She shares with us her most recent success story: I took the advice on the Such A Voice marketing CD and recently offered my first free service to a new client, and it has worked out really well! I did a 30-second free web commercial for a company called MotionFoundry, Inc, who added my voice to a video for one of their clients. From this free track, the client has then hired me to record the telephone systems for their office. Then, they called me back again and said they had selected me as one of 16 voice talents to join a new project they have recently launched called Spot24. Spot24 is a new idea in which a client can upload camera, camcorder media and/or stock images, choose a theme music, pick a pro voice-over talent from their pool of artists (of which I am one), tell MotionFoundry what they want to say and MotionFoundry puts it all together. The TV/Web spots are completed and delivered back to the client in 24-48 hours.
Her advice to new grads? Natalie says, "MAKE SURE YOU GO THROUGH THE WHOLE TRAINING PACKAGE SENT FROM SUCH A VOICE! It took me quite a lot of time, but it taught me so many useful things -- especially when it came to marketing myself."
Great job, Natalie, and we look forward to hearing more of you in the near future!
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Voice-over training requires a lot of talking! If you are not used to projecting your voice for a continuous period of time, your vocal chords may tire easily. [Teachers: you have a leg up on all of us!] Your vocal chords will eventually adapt to the added demand you make on them as you practice controlling your pitch, attitude, volume and energy. If you find that you feel a bit tired or winded after practicing voice-over technique, maybe you are not using your diaphragm. Learning to use your diaphragm will not only increase your stamina, but it will allow you to control your pitch, attitude, volume and energy more adeptly, and put you in the perfect place to get more
voice-over work!
Your diaphragm is a smooth muscle that lies beneath your lungs and controls the mechanics of inspiration. You are always using your diaphragm to inhale and exhale because it is a muscle that works automatically, like your heart. When you inhale, your diaphragm actually contracts to allow air to be sucked into your lungs. Your diaphragm then relaxes, which puts more pressure on your lungs so that you exhale. While your diaphragm does this without your conscious awareness, you can deepen your breath, calm your nerves, and control your voice by consciously engaging your diaphragm.
First, you need to find your diaphragm! Do this exercise to learn where your diaphragm is and what it feels like when you consciously control it. Start by lying on your back on the ground. Place a book on your abdomen and breath easily for a few minutes, just like you normally do. The book should rise and fall with each inhalation and exhalation. Next, watch the book rise on an inhale, and this time when you exhale try to keep the book (and your abdomen) raised like it was at the end of your inhalation. You'll feel like you are pushing down into your stomach when you exhale in order to keep your stomach raised, which is why this exercise is sometimes called "deep belly breathing". Continue to keep the book elevated with your abdomen as you slowly inhale and exhale.
You should feel a definite increase in your lung capacity after doing this exercise for only a few minutes. Try starting each
voice-over job or practice with this exercise, and see how you feel after only a couple weeks!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Today we would like to take a moment to pat each other on the back for receiving this certificate of excellence from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). I mean, we know we're good -- but it certainly feels good to get that validation nine years in a row from someone whose job it is to rate businesses according to customer satisfaction, "honesty, integrity, ethics and trust".
"I'm really proud when I look at our record with the Better Business Bureau,"
Ben Werlin, Business Manager at Such A Voice says. "I think it clearly illustrates our commitment to the success of our clients. It also speaks to the strength of our voice-over coaching and production staff and their ability to really deliver quality training and demo production on a consistent basis." He adds, "I am truly thankful to have the opportunity to work with all the talented individuals that make up the Such A Voice Team!"
In case you haven't had the pleasure of working with us, I can tell you that we all love what we do here. Like, seriously -- we love our jobs! We have so much fun working with clients, and you definitely get that sense from attending one of our classes or even just calling us to ask questions. It's hard to
not get so much satisfaction working at Such A Voice when we get to see -- and hear -- our clients making their
voice-over dream jobs come true every day.
Thanks to everyone for all their hard work, and thank you to our students, past and future, for giving us the opportunity to do what we do best: voice-over training and demo production.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Like any successful
voice-over artist will tell you, becoming a pro in this industry takes more than the voice-over training. There's a website to build, marketing to plan, Pro Tools to master, and then there are little "details," like what information to include in a contract. Make sure you have your ducks in a row when you land your first
voice-over job so that you
look like the pro in the client's eyes that you
sound like!
Sending the client a contract is a good idea so that both you and the client are explicit about the details of the project, the timeline, the agreed upon price, and the deliverables -- including how many iterations of the voice-over they get for the rate. In most cases, a standard template in Microsoft Publisher will suffice. Devise a contract template ahead of time, complete with your brand name and logo, which will save you time later on.
You may run into a situation in which you will go back and forth with a client through email about the details of the
voice-over job, but it's generally a good idea to summarize everything in a contract one last time. The organization will be appreciated by the client, and documenting your projects will make it easier for you in tax season!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Name and title: Voice-Over Coach and Producer
Where are you from? Born New York, raised in Kentucky until the age of 10, then fell of the turnip truck in Jericho Vermont.
Job responsibilities: I produce Demos, write scripts, coach, record and teach students in the Master Class. I also vacuum the studio and put the toilet seat down a few hundred times a day.
Favorite food: My favorite food? Fresh greens, fresh greens and more fresh greens!
Hobbies: My hobbies are listening to music, playing cello, long distance road biking, snow shoeing, hiking, wilderness camping, sewing, cooking, reading, independent films, drinking, renovating, restoring, decorating, entertaining, herb crafting and gardening.
Destination vacation: Cooper Island in the Caribbean or New Zealand
What are you listening to right now? The Avett Brothers, K.T Tunstall, Toni Caitlin (!) and an incredible compilation Aaron (my buddy in Post) put together- It features everything from Jazz, African and Americana to Pop, Alternative and Esoterica. I love variety and this compilation really delivers.
One piece of advice for aspiring talent: Believe in your power to do anything you have your heart set on. Dream it. Believe it. Receive it!