All The Rage With Bill Stage

Get yourself an accountability partner or team. People with the same goals and struggles and routines. #QCVO had our monthly zoom meeting and there’s always a nugget to take away or a spark of inspiration to stoke.

Burn baby burn!!

Before the big snow today, I saw this trail. Not sure what it is that drags it’s dirty ass from barn to barn...but it probably needs a name. 

Any ideas?

On this weeks #WhatsTappening segment Glenn Cole and I talked about #BarrelAged beers where they age beer in a barrel that used to house booze (whiskey most likely).

Many Quad Cities breweries have their version. Some even feature local barrels from Mississippi River Distillery.

StageHands: Practicing scripts using a different point of view is a great way to connect to the story. If you’re not connected then the audience has no chance.

We got a couple good snow storms this past week which made it less fun to drive but more fun to look at.  As you'll see in my YouTube content below...it inspired me to coin the phrase "Aggressively Pretty."

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Bill Stage VO; Welcome to the Party, My Friends! Radio Imaging and Commercial Voiceover Artist

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I decided my webcam sucks.  Rather…I decided to act on the fact that my webcam sucks.  So, I dug out our DSLR Canon T3 and am now using it as my webcam. 

Is it overkill for someone who does audio for a living?  Yes.  Yes it is.  But does it make me happy to waste time nerding out and finding out ways to set it up and figure out the ISO settings and autofocus and manual focus and white balance?  Yes.  Yes it does.  Even though I’m still struggling to understand most of all the…I’m closer than I was a week ago.

My only issue now is getting the audio to sync up with the video.  I can fix it in post…but that’s super annoying.  But since Canon didn’t mean for their product to be used this way…it’s a price I have to pay.

Glenn Cole from Midwest Ale Works was on to talk about the 3 new beers he's currently canning at MAW: Sweet Pea is a Strawberry Rhubarb IPA and will be available Tuesday for one keg only at MAW then sold exclusively at Central Store in Moline. Wednesday, the Midwest Legend will be released and $1 of every can goes to Farm & Small Business Relief due to the derecho.  Then Thursday Old Maud will be released as MAW's flagship Kolsh style beer.

We picked a Craft Beer of the Week and I threw together a little commercial for it.  The Sweet Pea IPA from MAW was the first.  Just another excuse for me to do a voiceover, really.

Good news on The Stage Homestead & Ranch.  Our chickens are laying eggs!  We never thought we’d enjoy having chickens as much as we do.  Now, if I could just convince my daughter to eat the eggs.  She’s having a hard time as she’s seen the process with her own eyes. 

In the meantime…more eggs for me!

To wrap up this weeks “All The Rage” is a behind the scenes shot of me recording the 97X News Now feature where I talk about rock news from Ultimate Classic Rock.

New booking agent for 3 Years Hollow.  New music coming in April.  New project with Morgan Rose from Sevendust.  Plenty of projects with The Attic in Geneseo.

Jose Urquiza talks production and I geek out a bit about studio stuff.

A ton of cool things happening with Jose.  I'm glad he came in!

Thanks to Greg Hipskind for coming in this week to talk with me about the QC Rock Academy and Wicked Liz & the Bellyswirls.

Creative Media Recording in Cypress California.  Audio Recording & Sound Design in Orange County.

Tim Keenan has an ear for audio quality and is the 3rd owner of the full-service recording studio of which, he started off as an employee of.  70% of the recording they do is the non-broadcast corporate type projects like eLearning.  And 30% is commercial recordings for TV & radio.

I talked to Tim about how he goes about marketing Creative Media Recording. They’ve tried yellow pages and pay per click online ads but he says the best type of advertising is word of mouth.  And he does that by networking.

“We tried all kinds of stuff but you know word-of-mouth is the best. I love live networking so I network at organizations that would use my service.  Under “meet up” you could find hundreds of different things that would be potential producers that get together and you may not be interested necessarily in their subject but you go there to meet these people and establish relationships. Because people hire people.  They want to have a relationship with somebody.  That’s what it’s really about.”

Tim’s got a very interesting Twitter feed…actually 2.  He doesn’t spout off about politics and opinion pieces…or vinegar…instead he give shares information his target audience would enjoy reading about. Thus the dead squirrel quote at the beginning of the show. He really knows his audience.

“I took a workshop on ‘Twitter for Business’ and I opened up a second Twitter handle that was really targeted more towards my clients and I talk to them about the stuff that they are interested in: audio, audio for video, new microphones, new technology.  That kind of thing.  Whereas with voice over people, I talk about the voice over business and I try to give my tips and advice.  But yeah, I work it.”

Then we talked about his staff.  He’s got 2 studios that share 1 booth.  Over the years, they’ve downscaled and are now using a couple freelance engineers and tap into their pool of VO clients all over the country.

As a voice-over guy, I am always interested in what gets the attention of people like Tim.

He says, “It’s a fine line between keeping in touch with people and then overdoing it.”

He talks about this being a face paced business.  If he can’t find the voice over demos on the website within 1 click…he might move on.

Not everyone in this space is a “tech geek”…but he does have a favorite piece of equipment.  The iZotope RX helps reduce room echo.  It’s hum reduction, its noise reduction. He does a lot of sweetening audio in post-production, so the iZotope RX is perfect for that kind of work.

What’s his pain point?  He LOVES audio.  The diminished appreciation of audio quality is something he called The Youtube-isation.  So, even though there’s plenty of good quality software and hardware for a decent price…the file then gets compressed to unnecessary lengths.

One particular project he’s proud of is a documentary on his homepage, ww2 blimp hangars they did all the audio wall to wall for the project.

What separates CMR from the competition?  His niche, he’s a production coordinator, so he gets hired to provide clients consistent quality.  So, whether they’re hiring VO’s from the midwest, Nashville, or anywhere around the country…he’ll vet the studio and the sound. He’ll make sure it sounds as if it was recorded at CMR.  Plus, they’ve got a vast pool of VO’s that specialize in many things.  So, if there’s a medical script, they know an RN that also does voice over.

Creative Media Recording also does VO demos and complete foreign language conversion for projects. In fact, their biggest commercial client does English and Spanish versions of the same spot.

So, while I wasn’t able to post this podcast beforehand, Tim was a part of the VO Atlanta 2018.  He was part of a panel for e-learning/corporate narration with Christi Bowen and Anne Ganguzza.  He planned to talk about e-learning from the client side.  Especially since he’s had so many differen

This sounds like the beginning of a joke…but it’s not.  So, stay with me.

A monk slowly walks along a road when he hears the sound of a galloping horse.

He turns around to see a man riding a horse coming his direction.

When the man gets closer, the monk asks, “Where are you going?”.

Without even slowing down, the man replies, “I don’t know, ask the horse”

The moral of the story is…that the horse represents your subconscious mind. The subconscious mind runs on past conditioning.

Like the highway hypnosis that happens when you drive home from work…you land in your driveway and you’re like, “How the hell did I get here?”

You realize you’ve been daydreaming…but your subconscious knows the way home…so, you’re safe.

Once you interrupt that regimented routine…not just a different route home…a different way of thinking, you can become self-aware.  It’s being able to see things for what they are.  Seeing your strengths for the powerful tools they are.

Listen.  I don’t have it all figured out.  But this conversation I’m getting ready to play for you got me really thinking about what could happen if we really look at ourselves and stray from the path we think we’re stuck on.

Bristol Studios, based out of Boston Massachusetts, have been around for about 40 years.

 

They’ve evolved from just a recording and production studio into a multifaceted business with several divisions.

One division is a regular recording and production studio for beginners all the way to major label artists.  Corporations, audio publishers and the like.

Another division is their proprietary voice program where they train up to 150 singers every week from all over the world.

Ric Poulin calls this method The African American Pop method and it's the only program like this in the world

The 3rd division is artist development division which takes a look at the whole career.  A development program that they’ve grown and evolved over the past 25 years

Then they train audio engineers.

The great takeaway from this conversation was what Ric talked about with the vocal method.  Ric was stuck in the mindset that a lot of us are.  I’m a voice over.  So I record.  You produce.  You engineer.  He finally realized that not only did he have experience and talent…but he had knowledge that wasn’t widely known or in practice.  This is the African American Pop Method he perfected.

That was a really fun conversation.  The idea of Rick starting a recording studio and then branching off into 5 different divisions really makes you think.  Are you doubling down on your own knowledge?  Is there a way to diversify your business…and grow it even further.

My thanks to Rick Poulon and Chris Billias from Bristol Studios in Boston Massachusetts. Find them online at the domain wanted around the world!...BristolStudios.com.

Elin Barton, White Knight Productions

Today we talk with Elin Barton, the owner of White Knight Productions out of Vestal, New York.  When the business was first conceived, they created high-end video productions for television commercials.  Now, the business has shifted a bit so Elin got creative and invented what she call’s Video Crisps.

She works with production houses around the country to give her clients (according to her website) "Fresh, bite-sized and consumable video content that is designed to keep your social media, websites, blogs, and newsletters up-to-date and top of mind."

Not everybody wants or can afford the top quality video.  It might even be more beneficial to focus on great creative content and be a valuable resource for the target demo.  The great thing is...Elin talks with the client and they figure out a plan that is going to fit them.  It's not a one-size-fits-all situation.  Elin loves working with people to get the best fit for their video goals.

White Knight is actively looking for

Videographers

Editors

Voice overs

to be partners in this Video Crisp effort!

Elin also hosts a podcast called "Ready Set Grit".   She talks with influencers and professionals to help people live "an intentional and successful life with inspiration, tips and a little help from the power of the Universe too." 

Find Elin and White Knight Productions at whiteknightpro.com/contact.html

In this episode we talk with Justin Farley, owner of Skylark Recording in Davenport, Ia.  Skylark Recording is a boutique recording studio in Davenport catering towards musicians of all genres.  I sat down with owner, Justin Farley to talk about how he got started & where his business continues to grow.

Farley is a super talented performer and producer. His ability to pivot from marketing toward rock bands to rappers was super smart.

Ever since college, I’ve known the name “Amy Jefferies”.  She was in a broadcasting program I was in at AIC…a small college that’s since changed names…but Amy graduated a year earlier.  And we all held her in high regard because she got a job on the radio. She was doing exactly what we wanted to do.  She was a legend!

Here we talk about being technologically challenged and streamlining her work flow.  How she uses word of mouth to grow her business.

I recorded a commercial in 1995 & found it 20 years later.