VO School Podcast

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This week on the VO School Podcast we are looking at the process a voice actor goes through when building a character for animation and video games. Helping us to examine this subject is voice director and coach, Everett Oliver.

Everett is one of LA’s most respected and sought after voiceover coaches. A former booth director for the AVO talent agency, he’s worked for such high-profile animated series as Men in Black, Jackie Chan Adventures, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill, among many others.

What factors go into the character building process? How does the actor stay in-character at all times. How can you use your friends and family in the crafting process, and how does the actor collaborate with the writer and producer when forming new characters in the studio?

We also discuss some of the common mistakes actors make, and how to cope when you have to create a new voice on the spot!

for more information visit: https://www.voschoolpodcast.com

This week on the VO School Podcast we are doing something a little different. I’ve invited four successful voice talent to share with us how they find work. In part one of a two part series, we cover five areas: telephony/IVR, radio imaging, Spanish language in the US, promo and commercial voiceover.

Radio Imaging / Spanish Language

Issa Lopez is a bilingual voiceover talent, actress, singer and spokesperson with global, national, regional and local on and off-camera credits. As one of the most in-demand Spanish-English and radio imaging voices in the freelance world, she has been recognized among the TOP BILINGUAL voiceover artists available.

Telephony/IVR

Liz de Nesnera brings years of experience working at the French Embassy Trade Office, then as a radio station Copywriter/Production Director, and ultimately corporate recording studio Producer/Casting Director up to the mic.

She records phone system prompts, medical and technical narrations, eLearning modules, explainer videos, as well as TV and radio commercials – in both English and French. Clients such as La-Z-Boy, Pier 1 Imports and Porsche have hired her for her sound and experience.

Promo

Rider is an in demand voice by the Promo industry currently being used as the signature voice of Nascar on NBC, CW Network’s hit shows Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl as well as the MLB on FS1 & Fox Sports, Spike TV, the American Heroes Channel, Epix, the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team, the San Antonio Spurs NBA team and was the commercial voice of the San Diego Chargers for 7 seasons.

Commercial

Carin Gilfry is an experienced voice actor who has narrated and produced over 100 audiobooks, and voiced thousands of commercials, instructional videos, IVR systems, documentaries, and video games. She works primarily from her professional home studio in New York City. Her past clients include Duncan Hines, Quaker, Clairol, Zulily.com, Neutrogena, Benjamin Moore, GrubHub, Jakks Pacific Toys, Little Tikes, Play Doh, Luxury Retreats, Audible.com, Quell, and many more.

For more information visit: http://www.voschoolpodcast.com

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This week on the VO School Podcast we are discussing the principles of direct marketing!

As voice actors we find projects a variety of ways; via agents, online casting, our websites, and networking. Direct marketing is the process of reaching out to clients and production houses, directly!

We discover who benefits from this process, who should be reached out to, how a voice actor goes about this, and some tips to ensure that your emails and phone calls are best received.

We also analyse what a good response rate is and workshop some tactics if a talents direct marketing efforts aren’t being rewarded.

Joining us this week is Tom Dheere, a New York-based voice actor with over 20 years of experience. Tom has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. His experience as a corporate trainer as well as a voice talent makes him uniquely qualified to help both aspiring and veteran voice talents navigate the voiceover industry. Tom specializes in marketing and business consultation as well as eLearning and Explainer Video demo production.

This week on the VO School Podcast we are discussing a taboo subject - money!

I’m thrilled to be joined by financial expert, Stefanie O’Connell. We tackle the tricky subject of keeping track of your finances when your income is unpredictable. We discover some of the most common mistakes that people make, what first steps to take to seize control of your finances, and some tips for saving and managing your money.

Stefanie herself started in the entertainment business and is fully aware of the unique struggles facing working actors!

Stefanie O'Connell AKA the ‘Millennial money expert’ and author of the book, The Broke and Beautiful Life, has helped thousands of people take control of their finances. Her client list includes: Capital One, Charles Schwab, Columbia University and NYU.

Stefanie has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Oprah Magazine.Stefanie has lent her expertise to ABC World News, CBSN, Fox & Friends, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Dr. Oz Show and various other print and digital media outlets.

This week on the VO School Podcast we are talking about your voiceover recording environment!

The space you record in is the single biggest factor determining the quality of your voiceover recording, so we are devoting an episode to this extremely important subject!

What are the qualities of a good studio space? What is the difference between acoustic insulation and treatment? How much do I have to spend on this stuff? And can I record from home if I live above a subway line.

We also look at the realities of some of the acoustic products currently on the market, and whether a talent would need to purchase or construct a VO recording booth.

Joining me this week are audio engineers and respected audio professionals in the voiceover world, Emmett Andrews and Tim Tippets.

For more information, visit: https://www.voschoolpodcast.com

This weeks VO School Podcast doesn’t contain a lot of VO chat, but we do discuss something that affects all voiceover actors - the future of advertising!

In the week that SAG-AFTRA presents it’s new look commercial contract it seems fitting that we discuss modern marketing methods and how this will affect voice actors.

The title of this weeks episode is ‘Marketing in the Social Era’, which is lovingly stolen from the website of ‘Truly’ a company who’s goal is to deliver Insights-driven strategies for the digital era. Truly CEO Tara Hunt and COO Carlos Pacheco join me on the podcast!

Tara Hunt has over 19 years experience in market research and strategy on both client and agency side. She is an author of one of the first books published internationally on how the social web is changing marketing [The Whuffie Factor: 2009]. She’s been quoted in dozens books and articles, spoken at over 150 conferences, was named one of 2013's Entrepreneurial Women to Watch by Entrepreneur Magazine, and one of the Most Influential Women in Technology in Fast Company.

Carlos Pacheco has over 17 years experience in marketing optimization, audience development, and paid media strategy. He spent the first 13 years of his career on the agency side at Cossette and Touché! Media working on national brand campaigns.

Visit https://www.voschoolpodcast.com

This week on the VO School podcast we review listener commercial reads!

Members of our official Facebook Group were invited to submit two versions of the same television commercial script, taking into consideration the specs and direction notes.

Joining us to examine the reads are Jim Kennelly and Sam Ufret of Lotas Productions. Lotas is one of the premier voiceover production studios in the city, and has been at the center of the voiceover industry in NYC for the past 30+ years.

We break down each submission and analyze how closely they interpret the specs and direction, the characteristics of their delivery, their studio sound and the occasional esoteric qualities of each read.

This is an illuminating look behind the scenes of the casting process!

This week on the VO School Podcast we are talking about Motion Capture… or is it performance capture? Or maybe facial capture?

It is in fact all three, and we learn what each one is, how they work, what you need to know to work in them and how an actor can forge a career in this mysterious corner of the video game industry.

Joining me to discuss this is Carlo Mestroni, voice actor and voice & performance capture director extraordinaire from Montreal, Canada.

Find out about Tee-Poses, facial ROM’s, eye lines, constellations and volumes. We also talk about a typical working day, the unique challenges present in motion capture and what to expect in your first mo-cap session.

To help support the podcast, visit: https://www.patreon.com/voschool

This weeks episode of the VO School podcast is very special indeed! It features an interview with an animation legend, Emmy Award winner, Nancy Cartwright - voice of Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders as well as Rufus in Kim Possible, Mindy in Animaniacs and Gloria in Richie Rich.

Nancy has achieved that rare feat of becoming a household name as a voice actor, thanks to her immense talent, determination and the wild success of her voice work on The Simpsons.

We find out how she got started, how a Simpsons episode is brought to life, her tips for newcomers to the industry and some off-the-cuff vocal gymnastics!

We also discuss an upcoming episode of the Simpsons that was written by Nancy, and take a peek inside the writers room.

For more information about the podcast, please visit: https://www.voschoolpodcast.com