GARY MASON

Voice Over Talent

443.624.3014

gary@audiomaticvoice.com

Voice Over

Keep a picture of your first fish, first car, and first boy/girlfriend

Acting, Encouragement, General, Voice Over

Continuing the series

With this week’s topic “Keep a picture of your first fish, first car, and first boy/girlfriend”.

Not sure why

Confession time:  I’m not really sure why I chose this as one of the topics to write about, but I really liked the sentiment and now I am committed so here we go!

Second confession

Typically, I research these topics (read: google them) once I select them to get some idea about how to approach them.  I did that this time, too, but all I got in return was either the original list of 100 things, or people’s snarky responses to them.  As a result, you will now be subjected to my very own mad ravings about the topic instead of a well-researched discussion.  Bad for you, maybe more fun for me!

Overall

Overall, the sentiment here is a good one.  Firsts are important.  Remember the first fish you caught.  That was a red-letter day for you even if, almost especially if, you have gone on to catch many more fish.  Remember your first car.  That was a milestone day in your life when you became independently mobile.  Even if you have subsequently driven millions of miles, that first car was a special one!  Remember your first boy/girlfriend.  Another milestone for life!  This is where you began learning about how to be in a relationship, and that not everything is about you.

Maybe…

Maybe these were not awesome milestones in your life (although I struggle to think of a way catching your first fish might be bad) but it’s still a good idea to remember them.  I’ll talk about why in a minute.

Pictures

So maybe you didn’t TAKE those pictures, I didn’t.  But I still have a picture of them in my mind.  Just because you didn’t have a “Kodak moment” (and yeah, I know I am dating myself here) shouldn’t stop you from picturing it and remembering it (fondly or not).

Fish

Why is it important to remember that first fish?  No matter how old you were, it was your first success at fishing.  Maybe you caught a fish the first time you dropped a line in the water.  Maybe it took several fishing trips before you caught one (They DO call it fishing and not catching).  Either way, you were clearly trying to catch a fish, and then you did!  You succeeded!

Perhaps

There is a fair chance that this first fish was caught while you were still young.  Maybe pre-teen.  It MAY have been your very first success at something you were trying to do.  These early successes set the stage for future success if for no other reason than learning that persistence pays off.  A string of failures does not make YOU a failure, because a success may be right around the corner!

Car

This one is also a success story.  People obtain cars in a lot of different ways.  Some save up for a long time to buy one, some are gifted cars from their parents.  It’s different from catching a fish because it MAY not have been anything you did to acquire it (not minimizing those of you that worked hard to be able to afford it).  You can get a car a lot of ways, but you can only catch a fish by…fishing.

Independence

The really important thing about your first car is the independence it affords you.  You no longer have to rely on your parents, siblings or friends to get to where you want to go.  You can now make your own schedule and not tie it to bus or train schedules or rely on taxis or Uber to get around.  Your first car sets you apart and establishes you as an individual.

Boy/Girlfriends

Unless you are married to your first, then this one could be tricky (depending on how jealous your SO might be).  Like the fish and the car, it is a success.  Like the fish, you had to pursue them to achieve success.  However, the real reason remembering that first boyfriend or girlfriend is important is because it was likely the first time someone other than your family valued you for who you are.  Regardless of how you felt about them, THEY wanted to be with you!  They saw your value, your worth.

Certainly

EVERYONE has value, partner, or not.  I am not suggesting that you need a partner in order to have value, only that they are one outward sign of your value as demonstrated by another human.  It’s not the only way to get that affirmation, but it is one way so if you have that, remember it!

All of these things

Each of these “firsts” in a person’s life marks a transition for them.  It changed the way they looked at the world AND made them “feel” a certain way.  With your first fish, you got the sense that if you just stick with it, you can accomplish your goals.  With the car you get the feeling that you don’t HAVE to depend on anyone anymore and with that first partner you understand that you have value to others.  These are all important things to remember.

A journey of 1000 miles

It is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.  Simple, but true.  These firsts, and MANY others are steps along that journey that it would do you well to remember.  The original author chose these three things to highlight, but I submit that they were talking about ALL your firsts not just these.

Your first VO Demo

I remember receiving my first professionally produced VO demo and how AWESOME it made me feel to listen to it for the first time.  That demo represented WEEKS of training and preparation, as well as my first trip to a professional recording studio and it helped me to remember that training, preparation and hard work will definitely result in something worth having.  It’s important to remember that, especially when things are slow or being a drudge.  Work through it, keep practicing/improving and it will happen.

First VO Gig

Man, what a great feeling the first time someone wants to PAY you for a VO gig!  I remember the excitement of booking my first gig and imagining myself as a professional voice over artist!  It serves me well to remember that feeling with every new gig booked, but more importantly when I’m in a slump: I WILL book another!  I keep a copy of that check to remind me that people DO want to hear me read their copy.   I mean, I DID cash it, so it is now just a worthless piece of paper, but it symbolizes something.

First acting gig

For me it was a background role in a Hulu/Disney production (Dopesick – check it out on Hulu October 13th).  I was both excited and nervous to arrive on set that first time, but MAN it was absolutely the coolest thing I had ever done.  That feeling compelled me to study acting and submit for numerous roles.  The first time I was cast in a speaking part I was OVER the moon!

They sustain you

These firsts serve to sustain you in slow times, and help you remember why you do this.  I can tell you that in both VO and acting, there are a LOT more submissions and auditions than there are roles cast.  Sometimes, it is remembering those firsts that help me to keep moving forward.

At the end of the day

There are so many firsts in our lives, and each one opens a new chapter for us.  It’s important to remember them, and how they made you feel, as you continue to grow and improve.  And if you haven’t had some of these firsts yet, look at and maybe talk to those who already have.  Believe me, they’ll happen if you keep striving toward them…and they are AWESOME to think about when they do!

P.S.

If you should be on the hunt for your next great read, check out some of the titles in this October promo!

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Don’t Dumb It Down

Acting, General, Voice Over, Wisdom

Continuing the series

With this week’s topic “Don’t dumb it down!” (Exclamation point mine)  The Urban Dictionary defines “Dumbing Down” as: The process by which products are stripped of depth and complexity in order to simplify them for the masses.  In this instance, the “product” is information.

What in the world does that mean?

In the simplest of terms, this phrase simply means if you are talking about a complex topic, don’t try to oversimplify it for your audience.  Are you an electrical engineer?  If it adds clarity, go ahead and use those engineering terms. If your audience doesn’t understand, they will ask (or not, but that’s on them).  Are you a doctor?  If it adds clarity, then use the medical terms and let your patient ask for clarification.  I will qualify the above by adding: If it makes the communication clearer.

Simplifying versus Over-Simplifying

Simplifying something is not nearly the same as over-simplifying it.  Simplifying your message means you bring the message down to the simplest terms possible WITHOUT losing some part of the message. While oversimplification often results in losing nuances or details required for complete understanding.  Hence, the phrase “dumbing it down”.

Over-simplifying things reduces meaning

Look, almost every profession on earth has certain “jargon” that goes with the territory.  The jargon is there for a reason and serves (in most instances) to make sure communication within the industry is clear. Now, I am NOT talking about industry or (SHUDDER) government acronyms.  I spent 40+ years working for the government and know that the same acronym may have multiple meanings depending on what agency or program you are talking about.  Government acronyms drove me batsh*t crazy the entire time.  Industry is almost as bad as government.

Generally…

The “don’t dumb it down” issue arises when you are attempting to teach, mentor, coach or otherwise help someone.  That help can take many forms such as giving a presentation to a group of industry newbies, writing a series of blog posts or even allowing someone to shadow you as you go about your work.  I’m thinking primarily of speaking to someone who is either trying to break into your industry, is researching the industry, or who is generally interested in learning about the industry.

It’s not really helpful

Here’s the thing.  When you dumb things down, you risk not fully communicating what you are trying to pass on.  Even   worse, dumbing something down has a tendency to add a lot of words in order to convey the same information, which is likely to cause you to lose your audience.

It makes assumptions about your audience

And not good ones.  Feeling the need to dumb things down indicates you feel your audience is not smart enough to understand something. That may or may not be true, but it’s bad to assume in any case.  Much better to assume they DO understand and let them ask for clarification where they need it.  Dumbing down can also make your audience feel patronized.

The better approach

Instead of dumbing down your material, there are several things you can do to make sure your audience understands:

  • Define unique terms and acronyms. This is particularly necessary when (as in the case of government acronyms) the same acronym may be used for different ideas.
  • Whenever you use an industry term or phrase with an unknown audience, briefly explain the term after the first time you use it. EXAMPLE: For this audio I need 10DB of dynamic range – in other words I want the difference between the loudest and softest parts of the audio to be no more than 10DB.
  • Offer additional information (presumably offline). Simply make additional information available if the audience wants or needs it for clarification.
  • Break down complex ideas into smaller bits and explain the smaller bits. In my previous example you may first discuss decibels (DB) and explain them, then define what dynamic range is, and finally what 10DB of dynamic range means.
  • Offer a Q&A period. Along with offering more material if needed, allow for some Q&A as well.  You can do this easily if live, or if in writing (like this blog) provide a comment section and a way to contact you for further clarification if needed.
  • Show…don’t tell. Whenever possible provide a demonstration of the concept you are discussing.

Or…

You COULD just simplify whatever it is you’re trying to say.  “Isn’t simplifying it the same as dumbing it down?”.  No.  While I just spent several paragraphs telling you to “Go ahead and use the jargon” …I would suggest that jargon be used only when it is the BEST word or phrase to convey the information.  If it can be said more simply without losing important details, becoming over wordy or insulting your audience, then feel free to simplify.  As Albert Einstein said: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

Sometimes jargon is just shorthand

This shorthand assumes a level of familiarity that may or may not exist with your audience.  Using industry shorthand is really not the same as using industry jargon.  Using the term packet when referring to transfer of data over a network means something very specific.  A packet is a small subset of a larger dataset broken down and then reassembled on the receiving end.  A packet is jargon, but NOT shorthand.  A DB, on the other hand is shorthand jargon for decibel, a measure of magnitude.

Here is an example of jargon as shorthand:

“We have to drop a SOT and VO into the package and feed it to Atlanta on the bird.” Which can be simplified into “[We] have to insert a sound bite and some voiceovers into the news segment I’m working on and then send it by satellite to the Atlanta bureau.” (Throughline, Brad Phillips)  Note that if you are not working directly in the industry, that first phrase sounds like something your grandmother said while chewing a mouthful of mashed potatoes without her teeth in.  The second phrase, which has the exact same meaning as the first is easily understood by anyone.  This is an example of simplifying your message, without OVERsimplifying it.

How does this relate to voice over and acting?

I’m glad you asked!  In both of these industries artists tend to try and be very helpful with one another.  Actually, this aspect of the entertainment industry is one of the things I like best about it.  It’s very competitive, but the PEOPLE (by and large, not ALL of them) tend to not be competitive with one another.  Dumbing down, or oversimplifying, industry jargon when helping someone, especially someone new to the industry, hurts them (instead of helping) in a couple different ways.

Not capturing the full meaning

Whenever you are attempting to help another voice artist or actor, not clearly communicating your message with all the details and nuance required stunts the audience’s growth.  Anyone attempting to truly understand needs all the information and all the nuance required for full understanding.  True, with a novice, you may have to repeat the lesson, or follow up in some way with clarification, but you are not really helping if you aren’t using the correct terminology.

It puts them at a disadvantage

You may have helped, and they may think they get it, but once they get into a directed session or on set it is going to become painfully clear that something is missing.  If the director in a VO session says “Let’s do a pick up at 1:10, and you have not helped them understand what a pick up is, they will be dumbfounded (and possibly look unprofessional or unprepared).  If an actor is on set early in their career and the director yells “Cut, first positions” that new actor may stand there with a deer in the headlights look, instead of returning to his (or her, or their) starting point to retake the scene.  That’s just not helpful.

So, don’t dumb it down

It can be frustrating trying to explain your industry to someone new or inexperienced. I get that.  But “dumbing down” the information serves to hurt them rather than help.  Better to direct that person to someone who can help them without oversimplifying rather than “help” them in a way that is not helpful!

 

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Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Acting, Voice Over, Wisdom

Recovered

Well, I am fully recovered from vacation this week and ready to continue the series I started a few weeks back.  This week we explore the idea that “Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD”.

It’s a big idea

Yeah, I recognize this is a voice over and acting blog, and while this topic certainly has relation to those endeavors, as I begin to write it, I am discovering that it is a MUCH bigger topic than just those two areas.  So, excuse me if I stray away from them from time to time.

So MANY ideas

Are you a writer?  Ever written a regular blog?  No?  Well, let me tell you that the two most difficult things related to blogging are:

  • Coming up with what you hope are interesting topics.
  • Assembling your thoughts on those topics in a way that makes sense and doesn’t wander too much.

And there I go…

Wandering already.  See how tough this is?

Seriously

It is an age-old idea, but one that needs to be talked about.  There are just certain things that, although it is possible to do them, are not something you SHOULD do.  I mean, just because you CAN smoke while you fill up your car with highly combustible fuel, SHOULD you?  (SPOILER ALERT: NO).  You COULD walk into the reception area of your local police department sporting you shiny new Glock 9 handgun in an open carry (or even concealed carry) holster, but is that really a good idea?  Again, no.

A lot of things…

There are so many things that it is possible to do that are just not a good idea that it’s overwhelming to think about.  Shouting fire in a crowded theater (no, it is not actually illegal to do this)?  Making bomb jokes at the TSA checkpoint in your local airport (yes, it IS actually illegal to do this)?  Bad ideas.  Standing on the wrong side of the wall at the Grand Canyon so you can get a good picture?  Not the smartest idea.  The world is FULL of things that you CAN do but that really wind up being pretty bad ideas. Many of us learned this as teenagers (yeah, me included) and are probably fortunate to still be around today to read (or write!) this post.

OK, enough procrastinating…

OK, I’m done talking about nonsense, let’s get to the meat of the matter.  In both voice over and acting there are things (like with other areas of life) that are POSSIBLE, but not very smart.  What follows is a partial list of those things I’ve gleaned over the last couple years.  Some of these (and I won’t tell you which ones) I’ve learned painfully through experience, and others by watching (or reading about) others learn them painfully.

Voice Over

There are a number of things related to voice over that are possible but not really a good idea.  Again, this is a partial list and I’m SURE my fellow voice artists can list many more, but I try to keep this blog at around 1500 words, so it doesn’t become TLDR.  If you don’t know what TLDR means, ask your kids. Honestly, if you have other things you think I missed, related to VO and acting or not, I’d LOVE to hear about them in the comments.

Microphones

The selection of microphones these days is astronomical.  I think one of the questions MOST often asked in online VO forums by new or aspiring voice talent is: Which microphone should I use?  The short answer is (really) whichever microphone makes your voice sound the best within your price range.  But there are some that are JUST not professional sounding.  Yes, you can record voice over scripts with your cell phone.  No, you should not record voice over scripts with your cell phone (unless you are doing that to practice pacing and delivery and the quality doesn’t matter).

More on microphones

If you are interested, I have an entire blog post that talks about choosing a microphone for your VO business.  If you would like more detail, take a detour there for a few minutes.  At the end of the day, what seems to work best for most people is a large diaphragm condenser microphone, and they come in ALL price points.  Now, to be honest, a microphone choice is personal, and what works for one person may or may NOT work for another.  In general, a cheap USB mic you can pick up at Best Buy is not a good choice.  Just because you CAN record on a cheap microphone, doesn’t mean you SHOULD (not if you plan on earning a living this way).

Recording space

Like a microphone, you have a LOT of options where to set up and record your voice overs.  And like the microphone the number of opinions on the matter seem to be completely personal.  You can record in your untreated office, you can record in your walk in closet full of clothes, you can record in a blanket or pillow fort.  Sometimes, you even HAVE to record in a less than optimal space.  But at the end of the day, just because you CAN record in an untreated space, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

Here comes the hate

Like I said, your recording space is a personal thing.  At the end of the day recording in a less than well treated space, when circumstances don’t dictate the need (like recording in a hotel room on travel, when a pillow fort is the best you can do) is just not a good idea.  At best, it complicates your post production processing and at worst it renders your audio unsalvageable which translates to unprofessional and means you won’t book the gig.  So don’t shoot me, but just because you CAN record in a “poor” space, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

Acting

The list for acting is similar in many ways to the list for voice over.  There are so MANY things you CAN do as an actor that ultimately sabotage your chances and are just not a good idea.  In this day and age auditioning for acting roles has moved to a virtual space.  Rare are the in-person auditions from pre-COVID, so actors are now responsible for recording themselves and “producing” a professional audition video.

Camera

Believe it or not, an actor’s self-tape audition can be done well with a cell phone camera IF it is one of the newer phones with a 4K camera.  In this instance, because you can (and assuming you don’t have money to spend on a more professional camera) you SHOULD use your cell phone to record self-tape auditions.  Make sure your settings meet the spec required, and that you are filming in landscape (horizontal) instead of portrait (vertical).  So, while this blog is about what NOT to do even though you can, here is one that is perfectly acceptable.  Having said that, make sure you are using the best camera you own to capture your self tape!  Oh, and make SURE you have whatever you are using mounted on a nice, stable tripod.

Lighting

You CAN use your overhead (or natural) lighting to film an audition, but you really shouldn’t.  Typical overhead indoor lighting has an orange tint to it, natural sunlight has a blue tint, and having only that single source of lighting will add a lot of shadows to your face and background that will be distracting.  You want casting directors and producers to be able to see your eyes and focus on that…so you don’t want to have any distractions.  Just because you CAN film with your homes overhead lighting or the sun’s natural light, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.  You shouldn’t.

Background

Like lighting, the background you are filming in front of is pretty important.  While you CAN film your auditions in your home without a solid background, you definitely should not.  Like with lighting, all of the things lying around your home behind you are just going to be a distraction to the people viewing your video, and may just get you unselected no matter how good your performance is. Most sources I have found suggest a solid background, usually a light or slate blue color.  Stay away from white (It washes out the video) if you can, and unless you are a whiz with editing, don’t use chromatic green either.  Just because you CAN film with your home’s “natural” background, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.  Again, you shouldn’t.

Editing software

For both VO and acting, make sure you have, and know how to use, professional quality editing software.  For VO, you will be capturing your audio in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and probably editing it in that software as well.  I talk about DAW’s in an earlier blog post, so if you want to learn a bit more about them take a look there.  Suffice it to say you’ll want to use the best software you can afford to edit both your VO and audition tapes.  The software that comes bundled with your computer may do in a pinch, but if you want to provide professional level material you need to get good software.  Just because you CAN use the bundled software that came with your machine, doesn’t mean you SHOULD!

Suggestions

For you budding actors out there, just because I mentioned it, below are a few suggestions for the equipment I use for filming self-tape auditions.  Since I have covered VO equipment extensively in this blog, I am only including video related equipment here.

Lighting:  This is the setup I have, and it works well for me.  I’m not saying, “BUY THIS ONE”, but I want to give you a rough idea of the type of setup you’ll want.  Generally light both sides of your face to reduce shadows and the background from both sides to reduce shadows and give you separation contrast.

Background: While the lighting setup above comes with a cloth background, I found that to be difficult to maintain.  The fabric wrinkles, and those wrinkles create shadows that are distracting.  Instead, I use the frame and hang a large roll of photo paper from it.

Tripod:  I tried several tripods before landing on this one.  It is adjustable, stable, and pretty versatile.   The ones before this didn’t have the same number of adjustable bits, and even more importantly were not as stable.  Basically, they shook whenever I moved.

Well, I’ve gone over!

There is probably a LOT more I could say on this topic but I busted my self imposed 1500 word limit by at least 300 words this week, sorry for the TLDR post this time.  But at the end of the day remember that: Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you SHOULD do it!

 

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!

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If a street performer makes you stop walking, you owe him a buck.

Acting, Voice Over, Wisdom

The List

Last week, or maybe it was the week before last…I can’t remember (getting old aint for sissies, as my dad used to say – well, he was a little more “colorful”, but I digress) my Facebook friend Whit Whitman posted a list of a “teacher’s  100 wisest words”.  After reading through them, I decided some of them would make great blog topics.

A series

Obviously, not all of them were pertinent to this blog, but out of the list of 100 I was able to cull 32 that I thought would make good topics, so this week we begin a 32-week series I’ll call “Wisdom of the Ages”.  Thanks Whit for giving me 32 weeks of blog topics and thanks to the anonymous teacher he quoted.

Street performers

We’ve all seen them.  These are the guys who stand on the street corner or near the Metro and play an instrument (most times a guitar) with the case open at their feet and perform for the passersby.  Sometimes they’re very talented and sometimes not, but they stand there (usually during the evening rush) pouring their hearts out for people who mostly ignore them.

Why?

Why do these people put themselves out there?  The obvious reason is to pick up some spare change, or at least it seems so.  Most likely, the REAL reason is they are passionate about performing, in short: they love what they do, and the money is a bonus.

To be clear

Although they may be doing this just for the love of it, they also must eat.  So if you come across a street performer that makes you stop and listen, put a buck in their case!

Who are these guys anyway?

Many of these people are folks who have spent a lot of time learning and practicing their trade, and who want to share it with the world, even if it means standing on a street and giving it away for “free”.  The music is in them, and it is just bursting out.  Many times, they just can’t HELP but share their passions with you.

And they are not all unknown

Slow down a bit sometimes, and you may find that the guy with a guitar, or a saxophone or sometimes even a piano (!) isn’t  just some random guy.  I’ve seen instances where the likes of John Legend, Keane, Shawn Mendes, and even Ed Sheeran perform for random strangers on the street. (You can check out a street performance by these famous singers here).  These guys are making bank on their talents, so they didn’t do this because they needed the money.

Of course, that’s the exception

Most street performers are NOT famous or wealthy. I can’t find the stats anywhere, they may not even be known, but for every talented performer whose name you know, there are hundreds, if not thousands (if not tens of thousands!), of talented performers you’ve never heard of and probably never will. Not knowing their names doesn’t make them less talented.

And not just musicians

Mimes, actors, dancers…the list goes on.  Each of these people are out there sharing their talent with you…ostensibly for free…and mostly they become background noise.  I can’t remember the performer, but I read an article once about a well-known band who set up in the New York subway and performed some of their most popular songs.  Some people stopped to listen, but overall, they were ignored like any other street performer.  People were too busy or focused on their lives to even pay attention.

What you see -vs- reality

What you see is someone standing in public and performing, but what you DON’T see is the 1000’s of hours that went into learning and perfecting their act.  OK, I get that some of the people doing this haven’t yet perfected it, but that isn’t the point.  The point is, that the performance itself is just the “tip of the iceberg” so to speak…it is the smallest part of what these folks have done and are doing.  The bigger part of the iceberg, what’s below the water line, is the blood (sometimes literally – try learning guitar and your fingers will understand what I mean), sweat and tears that got them to that corner to perform.

And not just street performers

This is true even for the Ed Sheeran’s of the world.  What you see on stage, or when you listen to their albums, is the culmination of a LOT of hard work.  Subconsciously we know this, but consciously I think we forget.  We complain about the price of a concert ticket, without remembering everything that went into putting that concert together.  Even leaving aside the cost of the venue and travel and security and everything else that goes into being ready for the moment your favorite performer walks out on stage, the number of hours alone the performer dedicates to preparing for that moment is staggering.

What about actors?

Turning on the TV or heading to the theater is much the same.  Think about this:  For your average 90-minute film JUST the production (principal photography) takes months.  And that doesn’t consider the hours of rehearsal, memorizing lines and movements or blocking before production starts.  Pre-production (where it is all planned and locations and actors are decided and secured), postproduction (where the film is cut together, and special effects are added) add many more months to the project.  And THAT doesn’t account for acting classes and coaching for the actors, training, and apprenticeship for the crew either.

What about voice talent?

I’m glad you asked!  When you hear your favorite audio book, or a commercial on the radio, or even the on-hold messages when you call someone…those are real people recording those messages.  You may wonder: “How hard can THAT be?”.  I know I did before I began this journey.  Well, I can tell you that before I ever recorded the first thing, I needed hundreds of hours of training and coaching, I had to buy suitable equipment for professional voice over and learn how to use it all.  I needed a space suitable for recording…all-in-all I have somewhere in the neighborhood of $25K invested.  Odds of my getting rich doing this are close enough to zero to just call it zero without trying to figure it out.

If you ever thought you could be a voice over artist (Shameless plug).

And if you ever thought you could be a narrator or cartoon character, head on over to my series on getting started in voice over starting here, or jump on over to Amazon and get a copy of my book Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Getting Started in Voice Over But Didn’t Know Who to Ask and you’ll get an idea.  Or, if free is your thing, simply subscribe to this blog to get a copy free.

At the end of the day

The people who entertain you (and even some who don’t) have invested time, energy, and a lot of money to hone their performance skills.  Whenever you wonder about why a movie ticket, or a Broadway show, or a concert ticket costs so much, try to remember what went into bringing those shows to you.  If you need someone to voice a spot for you, don’t insult them by offering an absurdly low rate, and don’t choke on what the true cost is.

Which reminds me of a joke

A business owner had to shut down his plant because a machine he needed was offline.  He called in the repairman, who, when he arrived took one look at the machine, grabbed a ball peen hammer, and struck the machine gently.  As soon as he struck the machine with the hammer it started working perfectly.  Next, he presented his invoice for $1550.00 whereby the business owner got very angry.  “$1550 dollars for hitting it with a ball peen hammer!?  I’d like to see an itemized invoice!”  The repairman retired to his truck and soon returned with the itemized invoice:

Item 1: Striking the machine with a hammer: $50.00

Item 2: Knowing WHERE to strike: $1500.

The same holds true for performers.

And finally…

If a street performer makes you stop walking to watch/listen to them…throw a buck in their case.  You owe it to them.

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A different perspective

Acting, Encouragement, General, Voice Over

Last Week

Last week, I wrote about my new E-Bike and how sometimes we all need to seek out help when we need it.  In that post I featured my partner, Karen, who actually got me interested in biking (among other things).  Of course, she approved that message before I posted it, and this week she asked if she could write a post for the blog.  Below is her post, enjoy!

From Karen:

I enjoy several hobbies and always hoped to find someone who enjoyed them as well.  I grew up in Utah and learned to ski when I was 10 years old, so when Gary and I started dating, I asked if he liked to snow ski.  His response was a resounding, “NO!” because he prefers to avoid anything related to cold weather.  With a little bit of prompting, he joined me on a weekend trip with some friends and family at a local ski resort.

The first ski trip…

Gary rented skis and joined a beginner’s class (any skier knows having a novice on the hill is a danger to others as well as the beginner).  After about an hour we checked in with him where he demonstrated he couldn’t make a turn to save his life – and so we gave him another hour hoping he’d get a feel for the snow (again, skiers know what I’m talking about).

Finally, he could turn

Once we deemed him a low risk to others, we hit the slopes.  By the end of the day, he was getting the hang of things and enjoying himself quite a bit – so much so that he promptly went out and bought skis, boots, and poles.

He was still not great

So we’d ski like this – I go fast for a ways, then stop and wait for Gary.  I’d let him ski past and then catch up and pass him again.  Although Gary found skiing to be a bit more challenging in Utah (he can fall down one hill just as easy as another), it didn’t deter him at all.   The last time we skied together, I let him ski past me and never caught up.  You heard me right, the student surpassed the teacher and it only took two seasons.

And then there’s golf

Our next conversation was about golf – I started golfing with my dad when I was eight.

Me: Gary, do you like to golf?

Gary: I’ve golfed before.

Me: Do you own your own clubs?

Gary: Ummm, no.

Me: Do you want to learn how to golf, because that would be really awesome because I love to golf.

Of course he agreed.

Much like skiing, Gary gained speed quickly (no pun intended).  His “starter” clubs lasted less than half a season before he bought a full set of custom Pings.  Within a year, he was asking ME if I wanted to go golfing, not me asking HIM.  Today, Gary golfs twice as often as I do, watches golf on TV (even I don’t do that very often), he joined the Veterans Golf Association so he can play in a tournament every weekend and his handicap is half of mine.

And of course, biking.

I saved my favorite hobby for last.  I’ve been an avid bike rider since I bought my first road bike in my early 20s.  I’ve been riding in some fashion ever since.  Why was this not the first hobby I shared with Gary, you ask?  Because I know how Gary feels about exercise in general and this hobby is a LOT like exercise.

I had to get a little creative…

So I took the alternative approach – I gave Gary a bicycle for Christmas – self-serving I know, but I really wanted to share this sport with him.  If you read Gary’s blog last week (and if you didn’t you should) you know how that went down – he was much slower than me so I had to wait for him a lot (which I really didn’t mind) but he wasn’t up to riding most days and going on a long distance ride was out of the question due to his knee pain.

I was sure he’d never enjoy it like I did.

I’d resigned myself to this harsh reality and along came the e-bike. Now Gary wakes up in the morning and asks me if I want to ride.  Several times I’ve told him to take the lead because I don’t want him to run into the back of me when I’m going slower than he is.  When we go up a hill, he passes me like I’m standing still.

It’s like Deja vu all over again.

I’m happy to report Gary has yet to crash his bike.  Yeah, yeah – I crashed AGAIN – this time on the darn driveway!  Yes, folks, I crashed on my own driveway and it hurt like the dickens.  Fortunately, Gary was there to pull the bicycle off me this time.  Once he was reassured I was okay he documented my indignity with a picture.  It’s a good thing I can laugh at my own lack of grace.

She fell
Karen After Her Fall

Put it all together and…

Let’s recap, shall we?  Gary is a faster skier than me (I still have more style).  Gary is a better golfer than me.  And yes, as much as I hate to admit it, Gary is a better biker than me.  I really thought I had him on that one, but I never factored in the e-bike.

And I’m competitive…

Ask anyone who knows me well and they’ll tell you I’m competitive by nature.  Seriously competitive actually, so I often have to remind myself to chill out and just have fun.  So, what does a competitive person do when faced with the fact that her significant other has now surpassed her in not one, not two, but three sports?  Quit?  I think not.

It’s STILL fun!

Some of you may be asking why I’m not aggravated by the fact that I’m second chair to Gary in three of the sports I INTRODUCED TO HIM?!  It’s simple – there will always be someone better at “fill in the blank” than me, so it might as well be Gary.

It doesn’t bother me (much)…

Does it bother me that he started participating in these sports WAY after I did?  Again, not really because Gary is one of those guys that takes to everything like he was born to do it.  So I’ll keep skiing, and golfing and biking with Gary right beside me because I’m still having fun.  I’ll share his successes as if they were mine – I did have a hand in them after all.

Gary again…

First, I’m delighted Karen wanted to weigh in here, and I LOVE that she can laugh at herself about falling down on her bike.  I just want to take a moment to point out that, falling down aside, Karen is a strong, intelligent, beautiful and VERY capable woman.  In no way are the stories (and pictures) of her crashes meant to put her down in any way, but we do chuckle about that together just like we ski, golf and bike together.

She’s better than me at a lot of things too.

Karen is FAR more organized than I am, she is a better cook.  She has a WAY better memory than I do and (as I think may be typical) has a much better sense of fashion (She regularly asks me: “Did you look at yourself in the mirror when you got dressed?).  The great thing is, we complement each other and that’s kind of the way it should be.

Here’s the rub…

It really doesn’t matter who’s “better” or “worse” than you…whether in sports, at work or in voice over and acting.  What matters is that you are working at it and improving…and HOPEFULLY enjoying yourself in the process.

Don’t compare yourself to others!

It’s self-defeating.  If you want to compare yourself to someone, compare yourself to yesterday’s you.  Are you improving?  Learning something new about the craft?  THAT’s what’s important!   It’s OK to look at another VO artist or actor and say, “That’s the level I want to reach!” but comparing your own skill to theirs and thinking you’ll never get there leads to disaster.  I tell my kids all the time: If you want what they have, do what they did.

You typically can’t see…

What you see is someone more successful than you.  What you CAN’T see is all the hard work, pain, struggles, rejections and anxiety that went into making them what they are today.  You may see an “overnight success”, but remember: It takes YEARS to become an overnight success!  Nothing good just “happens”, you have to work at it!

This is YOUR journey…

And that person you are comparing yourself to, and probably feeling like a failure because you aren’t as successful or accomplished as them, was once where you are.  Like you, they had to work hard to get where they are; keep working and one day you’ll have the success you seek too!

P.S

If you enjoy reading this blog, you may enjoy some of the wonderful non-fiction titles in this promotion: Non-Fiction Galore.  Head on over and find your next great read!

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Lean on me

Acting, Encouragement, General, Training, Voice Over

A BICYCLE?

Last Christmas my girlfriend, Karen, bought me a bike.  Yes, I know, I’m 60 years old.  It was the first time in 50 years I have received a bicycle as a gift.  You see, she loves to ride, and I was like “Meh”.  So, she bought me a (NICE) bicycle for Christmas so we could ride together.  It was sweet and made me smile BIG.

But…hills…

And more importantly, knees.  Mine.  And they remind me of being 60 every day…even when I’m not on a bicycle.  On the days I rode with her two things happened:

  • She had to stop way sooner than she wanted to because…well…my knees hurt.
  • I’d have a really hard time walking without pain for two days afterward.

I really wanted to enjoy it

I mean, it worked when she got me started with golf and skiing! Riding is something she really enjoys, but, alas, I just didn’t.  Well, that’s not completely true, I DID (mostly) enjoy riding with her.  It just HURT…bad.  Like, lots of pain relievers afterward bad.  So, I would ride, be down for a couple days and she would wind up truncating her ride to accommodate me.

I was also slow

Probably because my knees hurt so badly, but we “hardly” rode together anyway.  We’d arrive together and leave together…but mostly I spent a lot of time watching her backside (not a bad thing now that I type it out loud, I suppose) getting farther and farther away until she disappeared altogether.  Eventually she’d notice I was nowhere to be seen and come back for me and we’d put the bikes back on the rack and head home.

She would get excited…

Several days a week she would wake early, which is an indication of how much she enjoyed riding all by itself and ask, “Are you up for a ride this morning?”.  Many times, I would cringe (internally of course).  I always felt bad saying no, because I know how much she likes it and I appreciate her wanting to share her passion with me.

There’s also kind of another reason I wanted to go

Secondary for sure, but a reason, nonetheless.  You see, sometimes Karen can be a little clumsy (sorry hon).  A couple weeks ago she took a tumble over the side of the trail, down a 3-foot embankment into a bunch of poison ivy.  She was going very slow and trying to turn a corner.  Oooops.  I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop her fall, but I COULD have helped her back up…and if it was really bad, I could have called an ambulance so she wouldn’t be lying in a ditch waiting for someone to come by and notice her.

I jest…a little

Actually, I make it sound a lot worse than it is.  While it is true, she can be a little clumsy, emphasis is on “little”.  For the record, she is a smart, funny, capable, and accomplished woman.  But the bruises up and down her leg accompanied by huge patches of poison ivy rash attest to the fact that when she IS clumsy, she is clumsy GOOD!

Anyway…

Because of the poison ivy oils on her clothes, helmet and gloves, day before yesterday we headed out to the bike shop to get new ones that weren’t covered in poison ivy oils.  Yeah, she tried washing them, but her confidence was low, and who doesn’t like new stuff, right?

I went with her

We had other errands to run anyway, so we went together.  Mostly we go places together anyway…I mean, I LIKE hanging out with her after all.  The point is, while we were at the bike shop, I saw a shiny new E-Bike in the window.  Curious, I started asking questions about it.

E-Bikes…a gift to bad knees

What is an E-Bike?  I’m glad you asked!  Essentially, an E-Bike is a bicycle that incorporates an electric (the E in E-Bike) motor that “assists” the rider in pedaling.  Honestly, I’d heard of them before but thought they were like those little electric scooters you can rent for getting around in the city.  I never considered them because I didn’t need a fancy, expensive, electric motorcycle.

Test ride

Once the salesmen explained it to me, I thought…hey, I should give one a test ride.  So, I did.  Let me tell you folks, those things are a GAME CHANGER when it comes to old people and bicycles. I didn’t ride long, but I was sold pretty much right away.  Being a guy, of course, I wanted to see how fast I could get it to go, so I went behind the strip mall where the bike shop is and rode back and forth several times.  WOW…I got that bike up to 40 MPH uphill! (Not a big hill, but still).

Some details

OK, so the bike does NOT ride itself, you definitely need to pedal so you still get good exercise using it. It has four “speeds” or levels of assistance, and in the highest it will assist you up to 28 MPH (in the model I was on…there are several models).  It’s almost like another set of gears.  It just makes pedaling a little easier (in the higher modes a LOT easier).  So, obviously, I bought it.

And then we went riding

Not a long ride, just about 40 minutes, but for the first time THREE things happened:

  • I was able to easily keep up, and not struggle with hills (she had to tell me to “back off” because I was making her nervous being so close behind her)
  • She wanted to quit BEFORE I did.
  • I was not only able to walk the next day but play 18 holes of golf…without medicating!

Frankly, it feels pretty miraculous.  Now I WANT to ride as much (if not more) than she does!

What does all that have to do with voice over and acting?

Again, glad you asked!  It occurred to me that sometimes you just need a little help to get over the hump.  As much as we’d like to be independent and accomplish things on our own, In the immortal words of Bill Withers:

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
– Lean on Me; Bill Withers 1972

You can’t go it alone.

I guess that’s not really true, you CAN.  But why would you? Honestly the road to success in both acting and voice over is long, and mostly uphill.  Going it alone is going to be rough and take a LONG time if you try to be a one-man (or woman) show.  As Mr. Withers says: “We all need somebody to lean on” (Bonus points if you just sang that to yourself).

Where do I get help?

You are FULL of great questions today!  I’ve written about some of these before, but there are a lot of places you can get the help you need. What follows are some ideas, but I’m sure you can come up with a few more:

  • Get a coach.

    • It doesn’t matter whether you are an actor or voice artist, a coach will be able to help you improve your chops. Even A list actors see a coach regularly.

  • Take a class.

    • Google can be your friend here, no matter where you are you have access to the classes you need. Find something local and attend in person (assuming your region allows it now) or find virtual classes around the world.

  • Find a Mentor.

    • This one can be a little harder but reach out and get to know people who are more successful than you in your field and see if they might be willing to mentor you. This is not an invitation to pester people, and emphasis is on the “get to know” part…so it takes time to establish, build and maintain these relationships…but it’s worth it.

  • Seek out an expert.

    • Having trouble dialing in your audio?  Find an audio engineer who can help you get your audio right.  No matter what the issue, there is likely someone more knowledgeable who can help.

  • Farm out part of your production.

    • No time to proof your work?  Hire a proofer, or an editor, or an engineer.  You don’t need to be a one man show.  If you’re not a mechanic, you wouldn’t hesitate to hire a mechanic, right?  This is no different.

You see where I’m going…

Trying to do everything on your own is possible, but it can be frustrating and a lengthy proposition.  Sure, you’ll have to pay some people for their time and effort, just like you want to get paid for yours, but the investment is worth it.

Sometimes, they just want to help.

I recently was having trouble with my audio quality.  I am not an audio engineer, and to top it off my hearing is not great thanks to 20 years in the military around weapons (LONG before hearing protection was a priority).  I contacted an audio engineer I “met” on Facebook and offered to hire him to help me out.  He spent several hours listening to my audio and tweaking my settings until it is now really great…and in the end he wouldn’t charge me for his time. I’ve also gotten a lot of help (both free and paid) from Don Baarns with my DAW setup (Don is a Studio One Wizard) and from Josh Alexander with marketing as well.

I’ve gone long this week

But here’s the takeaway:  Sometimes everyone needs a helping hand.  Whether it’s climbing a hill on your bike or working out what’s wrong with your audio.  There is no shame in asking for help when you need it.

You just call on me, brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on.- Lean on Me; Bill Withers 1972

 

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!

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