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This week on the VO School Podcast, we’re discussing studio connectivity. While this may not be the sexiest subject, it is an aspect of voiceover that needs to be understood in order to compete as a voice actor in 2018 and beyond.
What is studio connectivity? It’s the technology that allows you to connect your home studio (however modest) to the world. This enables you to be directed live in much the same way as a talent visiting a recording studio but from the comfort of your own home. This can be a complicated subject and is often misunderstood, so allow us to strip everything down to the basics as we discuss the history of this technology, where we are today, and where this tech is going in the next five to ten years. If acronyms like ISDN, IPDTL, SPID, SIP, VOIP, or PRI hold little meaning for you, this episode is for you! Joining us this week are Kevin Leach and Tim Friedlander. Kevin is the founding director of In:Quality, makers of the popular ipDTL studio connection service, and an engineer with decades of experience in radio for the BBC. Tim is a voice talent and owner of SoundboxLA, a recording studio in Los Angeles that specializes in recording voice talent.
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We’re back with an all-new season of the VO School Podcast and for our first episode, we’re tackling a very popular voiceover genre: video games!
Working in the video game genre is both challenging and rewarding, and offers an opportunity for talent to become recognized for their work (a rarity for voice actors). How does a voice actor make their way into this genre? Do they need to have gaming experience to be successful? What skills are needed to compete and where does one go to acquire them? Joining us this week are three extremely successful video game voice talents, covering the union AAA and indie worlds, as well as gaining perspectives from both sides of the pond. Dave Fennoy has been an industry heavyweight for over 20 years and has voiced major roles in games such as “The Walking Dead,” “World of Warcraft,” “Lego,” “Final Fantasy,” “Star Wars,” “Batman,” “Transformers,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Fallout 4,” “Minecraft,” “Infinity Blade,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Assasin’s Creed,” “Metal Gear Solid,” “Mass Effect,” and many, many others! He is also an in-demand voiceover coach and travels the world teaching and speaking about the craft. Amelia Tyler is a prolific voice actor and motion capture artist from the U.K. She has voiced games such as “Divinity Original Sin II,” “The Spectrum Retreat,” and “Elite Dangerous: Horizons.” She’s also voiced multiple characters in “Star Wars Battlefront II,” “Forgotton Anne,” and “Frostpunk,” plus motion-capture work for “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.” This year, she’ll be appearing in “The Occupation” and as several characters in titles including “We Happy Few,” “Du Lac and Fey: Dance of Death,” and “The Bard's Tale IV.” Jay Britton, also from the U.K., is a Voice Arts Award-winning voice actor and motion capture artist and has appeared in over 50 titles and 285+ roles. You will have heard him in “Divinity: Original Sin II,” “Elite Dangerous: Horizons,” “Total War: Warhammer II,” “Planet Coaster,” “The Turing Test,” and “Augmented Empire,” among many others!
This week on the VO School Podcast, we’re talking technology. Specifically, digital audio workstations or DAWs.
These are the software applications that voice talent use to record and edit. There are many options to choose from and many things to consider when making the choice: What is a DAW? What types of DAWs are there? Which DAW sounds best? How can a DAW speed up your workflow and allow you to get more work done? Joining me this week are audio engineers and respected audio professionals in the voiceover world, Emmett Andrews and Tim Tippets. Even if you aren’t technologically minded, this is an important episode for anyone looking to voice from home, as your DAW is one of the most important tools you have in your own studio.
This week on the VO School Podcast, we’re exploring the commercial voiceover genre.
Commercial voiceover is one of the most sought-after genres and it can also be one of the most lucrative. So how do you break into this part of the industry? To find out, we spoke with Alison Freed, a Los Angeles-based voice actor who counts Metflix, AT&T, Disney, Dunkin Donuts, CNN, Buick, Whole Foods, eBay, Twitter, and M&M’s amond her clients, and Roger Leopardi, a 16-year veteran of the industry who has worked with AARP, Sprint, Taco Bell, Go Daddy, Toyota, Geico, McDonald’s, Disney, Nickelodeon, and Michael Kors. We discussed the skills you need to have and/or learn to not only break in but continue to work in this ever-changing industry. We also find out the importance (or not) of training, what the work is like day-to-day, how you adapt to shifts in style, what’s popular in commercials right now, and what the future of the genre looks like.
Let’s be honest: LinkedIn is confusing. Are you sure you’re using it correctly? Are you getting the most out of it you can? I know that for a long time, I wasn’t, which is why I so excited to speak voice talent and LinkedIn guru, Tracy Lindley.
After her now-infamous talk at VO Atlanta 2018, I knew I had to get Tracy on the VO School Podcast to help us to optimize our LinkedIn profiles and offer strategies for reaching out to producers, colleagues, and potential clients. In this week’s episode, Tracy shares how vital the platform has been to her career and how she uses it to connect with clients. She also offers advice on optimizing your profile for maximum success and to project your unique personality, how to build touchpoints with your dream clients, maintain relationships while having great LinkedIn etiquette, and just how much time you should devote to the site every week.
The tables were turned on me this week on the VO School Podcast as students from Syracuse University pitched their questions about voiceover to me, in a Q&A covering a wide range of topics.
Tina Perkins teaches voiceover at S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and she invited me to talk to her students about my experience in the industry and my thoughts on where it is going next. We run the gamut, covering subjects such as characterisation, accents and accent reduction, getting high profile commercial contracts, production value, finding your niche, audition technique, how to read conversationally, reimagining characters and career ending mistakes! Many thanks to the students of Newhouse and course leader Tina Perkins for facilitating this Q&A.
This week’s VO School Podcast is the first episode in a new series we’re calling, Ask Jim!
Jim Kennelly is a studio owner, producer, and legend of the voiceover industry in New York City. What Jim doesn’t know about voiceover isn’t worth knowing, so we’re presenting all manner of listener questions to him this week. We find out things like how to give yourself a competitive advantage, the importance of marketing, the way emerging technology is changing the game for voice talent, determining what to charge, and what first steps a newbie should take. If you’d like to submit your own questions for a future installment of Ask Jim, email the VO School Podcast at voschoolpodcast@gmail.com! |
Jamie Muffett
Blog and show notes for the VO School Podcast - produced by Jamie Muffett. ArchivesCategories
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