It was pretty interesting….Take a look:

The latest videos covered everything you need to set up an in-home studio, a video tutorial of a multi track audio editor, and how to get that multi track audio editing software absolutely FREE! Plus a lot more!

These videos are not currently available on the public blog…They are offered to people that have signed up for the newsletter first. As time goes, I plan on also posting these to the public blog.

Until now, these videos were only available to the students that took my Voice Over Success Formula course and classes….but for now they are only available to anyone who signs up….And it’s so easy!

Just look to the upper right hand side of this blog to find the form….Just put the email address you want the stuff to be sent to…and that’s it! I don’t use the address for anything else…just this Voice Over info….PROMISE!

After you sign up…leave a comment or write me back to tell me what you think, or if you have any questions.

Real quick tip I’m not sure I’ve shared yet…

Today I was auditioning for an internal corporate video that had a lot of industry jargon that I was not familiar with. So, I went to a couple sites that I always use for getting the proper pronunciations. And as usual, it worked great!

These sites actually give you the phonetic spelling of the word, but they also give you audio examples of how to pronounce the word, as well. VERY COOL!…..VERY helpful!

Remember….The last thing you want to do is to mispronounce a word on a clients copy. So first…Ask the client if you find words you’re not familiar with, (don’t be shy…they’ll be glad you asked.)  However….if the client is not available, then these sites are the next best alternative.

Check them out here:

http://forvo.com/languages-pronunciations/en/
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
http://inogolo.com/pronunciation
http://dictionary.reference.com/
And here’s another I just found recently from the VO-BB bulletin board:
http://www.howjsay.com

So, now there’s absolutely no excuses!     Have fun pronunciating!  (Save you time looking that one up….I know it’s not a word!  haha)

This kind of relates to the last post, but a former student sent me a demo to listen to.

She couldn’t figure out where the faint hum was coming from in her recording. She was asking if I thought it might be the microphone or something else. Wellll…..after listening several times, very closely, I realized what the low hum was….

TRAFFIC! Outside her window….the same window she cracked open to let some of the warm fresh spring air into her studio.

Remember as the weather gets nicer and you open those doors and windows to let a little fresh air in…You have to close them again, tightly before recording. Or you too may find yourself scratching your head, wondering where that “low hum” is coming from on your next recording.

Just a quick tip….Talk soon…

Actually, there is a way that you can kind of have your cake and eat it too. Simply stick to a simple schedule….nothing fancy or complicated. Literally block out specific time during the day when you work on your training or marketing….Then go out and have fun in the sun…AFTER you’ve finished your work.

I’m working on a simple scheduling technique that I’ll be releasing soon (maye today or tomorrow,) that will increase your productivity by at least 400% AND give you plenty of free time!  Don’t believe me? Well, just check back….

AND….Be sure to sign up to the newsletter on this page to keep up to date and to get free videos, tutorials and reports that I don’t always put on the blog.  Maybe this scheduling technique/report will be one of those bonuses. 

The Fox animated TV series, The Simpsons is reaching a new milestone… TV’s longest-running scripted nighttime series marks its 450th episode!

After 20 years these animated characters (and the Voice Actors behind the animation) can easily claim the title as TV’s longest-running scripted nighttime series — period…. With the same Voice Actors that started it all! That the great thing about Voice Acting….you can play roles outside your age, gender or even species!

Had this not been an animated series, no doubt the actors would have been written out because they started aging or gaining weight, etc. But not so in Voice Acting! You can forever be the same lovable character you were 20 years ago…(as long as you keep training and exercising your intrument(s)).

So, that is why Voice Acting is the best gig in entertainment….the opportunities are endless!

Congrats to the Simpsons…. Dan Castellaneta  as dimwitted dad Homer, Julie Kavner is mom Marge, Nancy Cartwright is first-born Bart and Yeardley Smith is daughter Lisa…Also regular Voice Actors - Hank Azaria, for numerous characters including police Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy and convenience-store owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and Harry Shearer, whose stable of roles includes Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, Dr. Hibbert and Principal Skinner….Plus EVERY celebrity in the last 20 years has made guest appearances.

Here’s to another 20!

But recently it hit me. Since I’ve really started blogging and coaching so much more…I’ve been heavily emphasizing that this is Voice Over ACTING…Not just a disconnected voice, over some cartoon or visual imagery. It’s ACTING…and in the truest form!

So…That being said…I guess I really have no right to be upset or deny a fellow actor the right to practice his or her craft. We’re all in the same pool…just different areas. And if you really want to look at it as: “The glass is half full”, this is really a great wake up call to a lot of the seasoned voice actors to step it up…go back to get some more training/coaching…expand your offerings, etc.

Whatever the case… Don’t let this deter you from pursuing the dream and becoming the absolute best and most successful Voice Actor you can be! Bring on ALL contenders! Famous actors or not! 

The proposal, if approved, would give actors a 2.5 percent pay raise and a .2 percent increase in employer contributions to health and pension beginning January 1, 2010. It would also create a new category for actors in games, “atmospheric performer.”

Back in 2005, a Variety report claimed only 10 to 15 percent of video game voice work is done by SAG or AFTRA actors — although included in that figure are such heavy hitters as Halo and Madden.

Wages for game voice actors under SAG were raised by 3 percent, bringing them in line with existing AFTRA wages. This would be followed by a 2.5 percent wage increase for both organizations’ workers on April 1, 2010. The SAG agreement is still awaiting ratification.

“AFTRA members pioneered union work under the Interactive Media Agreement in the early 1990s, and today this contract generates millions of dollars in earnings and benefits for thousands of AFTRA members in both large and small markets around the nation,” said AFTRA president Roberta Reardon in a statement.

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Screen Actors Guild thesps have thrown a wrench into the world of videogame voice work, rejecting a tentative deal for a new contract and asking employers to return to the bargaining table.

The American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, which covers the lion’s share of unionized voice work for vidgames, is sending out the same deal to its 2,200 members who work the contract with a Nov. 12 deadline for response. AFTRA’s national board OK’d the deal Saturday with “an overwhelming and strong” recommendation for a yes vote.

Click here to read the rest of the story…

This is so cool…Video game technology is opening up a whole new world for Voice Actors. Check out this article about the voice acting AND on camera acting for the new video game, Uncharted 2.