Laura Schreiber

A Voiceover Pro Talks About Connections for Live Sessions

December 30, 2018 by Laura Schreiber

from ipDTL to Source Connect and Everything in Between, Laura Schreiber Talks about her preferences

So You Want to Direct Me…

The answer always is, and should always be, great! I always want to make my clients very happy, and this is just another opportunity to do so! As a full-time, professional voiceover actor, I have been set up to provide my clients with live/guided/directed sessions since I opened shop. One of my coaches used ipDTL for every session, so I felt very comfortable on that platform from the very start. I remember my first directed session like it was yesterday! It was a video game session with a German director. He wanted to use skype and their were 3 others on the other end giving me feedback. I loved working with them because I was able to give them specifically what they needed and wanted from the character that I was playing, a teenage badass called Jes, in the moment they needed it! There was no need for revisions because when the live session ended they had every line just as the wanted it. I put so much energy into each take and gave them multiple options. Having feedback as I recorded was so valuable. I was not nervous, I loved every minute. Another advantage of live sessions is that it is much easier to get to know your clients and build relationships with them when you actually work directly with their team. I learned that early on too. While you can certainly get to know clients from back and forth emails, there is nothing like actually speaking to them and working with them to make them happy. Guided sessions are fantastic and that is why I offer so many options to accommodate my clients!

ipDTL and the ISDN Bridge

I love using ipDTL. As I mentioned earlier, I started using it during my coaching many years ago and loved the clear connection and the ease of use. As I try to be a client centered service provider who makes everything as easy as possible for the folks I work with, I like that this as a service that I provide my clients free of charge for them. I simply send them a link and we are ready to go. I have never had issues with my ipDTL connection and my clients always comment on what a clear connection it is. Here is a brief video where I show how user friendly it is:

https://youtu.be/eSn2y2utYJk

Laura Schreiber and Guided Sessions (https://youtu.be/eSn2y2utYJk)

I also have a direct ISDN line with my own Los Angeles phone number through an ipDTL bridge. Several of my agents said they would not sign me without an ISDN line, so this was the easiest way to solve that challenge as Verizon stopped installing new ISDN lines in the winter of 2015. I have been pleased with this as well although I have had some hiccups with the ISDN service. The owner/founder of ipDTL looked into it and found no problems with my line, so I was left befuddled.

I do also like the ipDTL facebook group. It has helped answer a lot of questions over the years! It is free and a great asset for those of us who use ipDTL often.

Source Connect

To be totally transparent, I actually signed up for Source Connect in a state of total hysteria when my ISDN would not work and I needed to connect with a studio in LA for a big commercial at that moment! Thank goodness it was up and running quickly and Source Connect saved the day. I did not initially find it as user friendly as ipDTL and needed a lot of directions and help from others. Since installing Source Connect, quite a few producers have wanted to use it which is great. The connection is extremely clear and it is also easy to use, once you know what to look for!

Skype

It seems that a lot of my overseas clients still want to use Skype. Skype is fine. It is not great, it is fine. There can be a frustrating latency issue, or lag. I also find that there can be a lot of hiccups when there are software updates. It makes me nervous to use Skype in lieu of ipDTL of Source Connect, but when a client strongly prefers this I will always accommodate. Perhaps when they are comfortable with the format this drives their preference.

Speaker Phone

I have had a handful of clients demand to use the speaker phone in my booth! My mobile phone does not work in my studio as it is so sound proof it blocks the signal. I do have a land line there instead and I can use this upon request. This is the worst option as it does not go through my pre-amp and microphone, so clients cannot hear the actual audio quality and sound. There are nuances to the recording that they will totally miss. Again, if the client is most comfortable like this I will oblige.

Sum Up

Over the years I have had a chance to do countless guided sessions. Across genres, for all sorts of projects, I have had clients direct me for everything. While most commonly they are used for commercial sessions, I had one helluva narration session where the client was paying for an hour and she intended to use every minute of it! Boy did she have me jump through hoops, it was somewhat shocking! Whether it is for commercials, narration, IVR, video games, or promos, there is one thing in common: every session should end with a very happy client!

Voiceover and Fudge- What Could Be Better?

December 24, 2018 by Laura Schreiber

Giving Thanks

I don’t know what it’s like in your family, but around here when we have a yummy treat like fudge it only lasts for seconds! We circle around that package like a bunch of starving wild animals in for the kill and in the blink of an eye that box is torn apart and empty!

So, when I need to come up with a special gift, naturally fudge comes to mind! As a professional voiceover actor, all year I am rather focussed on physical wellness as it is so essential to my success. But, when holiday season rolls around, this is the time to roll out the treats and send them to the folks I am most appreciative of- my major clients. Each year, I review my financial data and take my top clients and send them a special treat. The treat should be just that, a special indulgence that they are not likely to buy themselves and lets them know just how thankful I am of their repeat confidence in me. It should be something that they are super excited to receive and that they will truly savor.

So, why did I pick a special assortment of fudge and salt water taffy from the Fudge Kitchen in Stone Harbor and Cape May this year? Well, first and foremost, the fudge is outstanding. Next, this fudge shop is special to my family. Let me flesh this out a little more….

Another Opportunity To Get to Know Each Other

As a small business owner, it is really important to me to build meaningful relationships with my clients. So, I try to make it easy for them to get to know me better. When I started my newsletter, I included this video

https://youtu.be/M7wSb_xZ1lg

which talks about how important going down the shore every summer is to my family. When we go down the shore, every night my kids get fudge from this very fudge store. They try different flavors from the samples being passed out and we typically let them buy a square. Let’s just say the fudge doesn’t last long! The fudge, then, is one of the best items that seems to be authentically part of the Jersey shore and since I am a Jersey girl, this is just perfect!

Carrying on the Tradition – While Supporting Local Business

It means a lot to me to take my kids to the beach every summer. As a full time working mom, I treasure this time with them and love every second! As a voiceover actor, it is often hard to step out of the studio, because leaving the booth means walking away from potential work, and I think as a small business owner there is always that struggle. But, on a beautiful, sunny summer day, there is no where I would rather be than on 96th street in Stone Harbor with my kids!

I have memories of being at the fudge store with my grandparents, and parents, and of all of them there with my kids, so in a very real sense with every purchase of fudge I am carrying on a family tradition.

I also love supporting a local business. It means so much to me that the small businesses stay open and continue to thrive. I have joked with my dad since I was a teenager that when I shop it’s good for the economy, but in this era of online shopping, I feel that it is more important than ever to patronize local stores. If we want these businesses to be there for the next generation, we must go to them now! Otherwise, with such stiff online competition, they will not stand a chance. So, when it came time to select a special treat for my clients, buying local was a priority.

The Holiday Spirit

How better to thank my clients and let them now how I feel about this special time of year then to give them a present fraught with meaning? When folks say “’Tis the Season” the words “Of Giving” or “for Thanks” immediately spring to mind. I am thankful for every single booking, bug and small. That is why I also take the time to send all clients and industry friends holiday cards as well. But I cherish the relationships I build as a small-business owner. I am not looking for one-offs, I look forward to working with clients over and over again, and I use this time of year to acknowledge how appreciative I am.

Building a voiceover business does not happen over night. It takes years of hard work and diligence. It requires a level of perseverance. It also requires an attitude of gratitude, because at the core of a sustainable voiceover business are these repeat relationships. I believe that clients come back for a reason, and I do not think that it is ever as simple as the voice on the other end of the mic or the equipment in my broadcast-ready studio. After years of working with clients all over the world, from video production companies, to advertising agencies, to talent agents, to instructional designers, it is essential to stand out. And if you want to know me and to know my brand I leave you with one final thought before Christmas: fudge helps.

Make Your Marketing Dreams Come True: Hire the Right Voiceover Actor!

December 13, 2018 by Laura Schreiber

Between Generations…

When I was in high school, a movie that was supposed to epitomize our generation, Generation X, came out. “Reality Bites” was supposed to be about us. The problem, which my sister and I have discussed at length, is that we just miss being Gen-xers and we just miss being millennials. How much of a problem this is I’m not sure, but I loved the drama of reality bites and wondered why my life was so lacking of such problems. As a teen, I thought this was clearly because I was really not a Gen- xer, not understanding at the time that it was Gen-X in Hollywood.

But what I now appreciate is that being born in between periods gives me an advantage, I hope. I easily identify with and relate to people a little older and a little younger, finding a lot in common with both, and this is essential in helping be the voice of a brand. As a full time, professional voiceover actor who does a lot of commercial work on tv, radio, and internet, I want to make sure that I deliver what my client wants: an advertising package that is memorable!

Get their attention

When my sister and I used to get in and out of taxis in college in NYC, somehow we often said hello and greeted our driver in unison. This in turn would call attention to our high and youthful voices which were then typically commented on. I never minded, especially since it has now turned into a career. That was the beginning of getting their attention. You want to pick a voice to represent your brand that people associate with it in a positive way. When I do youtube videos for the New Jersey lottery, and I get to say the famous tag line “Anything can happen in Jersey,” this is my chance to give my spin on the brand. I imagine being the girl at the party or in the casino that is so fabulous that everyone wants to be with her, the life of the party that no one can resist, and that is the sound I project. As the voiceover talent, it is our job to self direct and coordinate with our clients to create the right image for that brand.

Keep their attention

Casting the right voiceover actor allows you to get brand recognition. Using the same voice for a campaign instead of hiring talents for one-offs allows them to get to know the brand. This brand recognition helps you carefully define the relationship you want your clients to have. This can happen very commonly with on-camera talents, but it happens quite a lot in voiceover as well. For example, I have been working on an on going campaign for a hospital in Florida. It is very important that all of the reads for these local tv spots be the same: warm, comforting, trust worthy, and reliable. That voice is now associated with the brand. When I work with the producer, the only direction he needs t give me at this point is how to pronounce the different names in the spots, because we need to maintain consistency for each commercial. The viewers in that area recognize what the ad is for as soon as they hear my voice, and that is brand recognition.

Stay Current

Choosing the right voice will not only enable you to draw in your dream clients, but it will help you reach across generations from millennials to baby boomers. Why have major brands like Cadillac chosen a millennial female voice for their national tv campaigns recently? Because they know this voice reaches across generations and has universal appeal. The millennial, conversational read is the sought after commercial read of the moment, where it sounds like you are the girl-next-door talking to a friend. If you want to reach your dream clients and keep them listening this is who you need to cast for voiceovers.

Maintaining Relationships

If you want to maintain a lasting relationship with your clients, then you need to cast a voiceover talent who will work hard to maintain a relationship with you! In order to have brand continuity, a professional voiceover talent who can truly deliver will work hard to get to know what you are looking for during the duration of a campaign to bring out all of the nuances of your brand. She will work hard to deliver the best quality audio and let you know that you can rely on her repeatedly. And in the end you will be proud that you chose so well. You want new. You want fresh. But at the end of the day you also want reliable.

It’s not about the voice…

The voiceover is never about the voice. There are so many of us out there who can do the same job, and there are a lot of talented folks. And it is not even about the studio, because we do all have different studios that give you different finished audio. It is about the result of the voiceover that we leave you with, the impact it has on your brand and on your marketing. You need a talent who understands that!

It’s That First Few Seconds…. Getting Their Attention

December 5, 2018 by Laura Schreiber

You get an audition and you think wow, I would be perfect, just perfect for this project! You spend time analyzing the role and marking up the script. You record your best take and edit it beautifully. Then you send it off, hoping that the voiceover gods shine down on you and today is your day, your turn to announce the booking. Unfortunately, no matter how much time you spend on putting your best self out there, very little time will likely be spent listening to your voiceover submission. Whether it’s a commercial, a narration, or a video game audition, when a casting agent or a video production team is listening to your read, you only have a few seconds- sometimes three and sometimes 8 to catch their attention. If they like what they hear they keep listening, and if they don’t it’s on to the next one in the pile. As a professional voiceover actor, it is so important to use the audition to catch their attention at the beginning of the read.

The Professional Demo

I often get complimented on my demos, and people say things like, “Wow, did you put that together yourself?” I try not to gasp in horror before I respond that no, my professional commercial demo is my calling card and a professional voiceover actor should NEVER produce their own demo. As we only have precious seconds to seal the deal, we need to make that initial investment so that our best work is heard. Now, when the time comes, we need to be able to perform just as we did on every single demo or we will crash and burn very quickly, but that demo should represent where our ability is at the moment we submit. So if that is what a casting agent or production team has to go by, then they should be confident in their choice based on our demo.

Making the Audition Stand Out

Even though I have talent agents all over the country, the majority of my daily auditions come from pay to play sites. While try to submit in the first 10 or so auditions and have a very solid booking ration, sometimes upwards of 70 people submit for the same job. So, how do you make your read standout? How do you get on the short list and even get noticed? Self direction is really important. When I analyze a script I have to make a choice about the character I am playing, and whether it is a voiceover for a phone message or an eLearning module, I am someone and the person choosing the talent better identify with that character right away.

I think understanding music and notes also helps a bit. Sometimes I listen back and I hear that I started too high or too low. I can hear when the pace needs to be varied and when it is just right. I think the ability to self-access is extremely important in this scenario.

Make Them Want to Keep Listening

If you had to listen to the same script read 80 times, how would you feel? Give them something juicy, interesting, different, enjoyable. Something that makes them stop and say wow, this is awesome. I have friends who are such successful voiceover talents that they have crossed over into casting. They have shared that while they thought the would always listen all the way through, they confess that if the first 5 seconds are bad they are on to the next read. So that’s it, that’s really what you get.

And it Always Comes Back To The Booth…

In the end, you are only as good as you sounds. As most of our jobs are recorded from home, having pristine audio quality is paramount and if you deliver a brilliant read and your studio is clearly not broadcast ready then you will go nowhere. Imagine. these people are not just listening to your audition for your booking. They are looking for voiceovers all day long every day. They know the difference. You need good equipment. A USB mic will never sound like a Neumann TLM 103. It just won’t.

We ALL Keep Training

When our careers hang on split second decisions, this is why ongoing professional development and coaching is so crucial. The best in the business, folks making multiple 6 figures, continue going to conferences and having private coaches for a reason. We need to stand out. Our auditions are the job. They are everything. And if we cannot hear honest assessments of their strengths and weaknesses and then work on improving them, then we have no where to go and become stagnant. The hope for voiceover talent lies in the potential for development. We are never finished and are always evolving and that is why even in 5 seconds we can shine!

I’m Back Baby!

November 28, 2018 by Laura Schreiber

What’s so great about spin anyway

As a busy working mom, if I am going to leave my kids and miss time away from either the family or my work schedule, then whatever it is had better be worth it. Yesterday when I stepped back into Flywheel Millburn after a FIVE year hiatus because of medical issues, I can tell you with absolute certainty it was worth every second. You can feel the pulsating energy as soon as you step into the studio space. There is an intensity there that makes you want to do your best. Gina, the instructor for this ride, is incredible.. There is stadium seating in the studio and the lights go out. As soon as I clicked my cleats into the bike I felt like I had come home. The music started, my legs went, and I was back. I felt like a part of myself had been missing, like the party was going on without me all those years and I was all too aware. It was not just that I was dealing with GI problems, a bad fall that has permanently injured my back, and the struggle of gaining and losing and gaining the same 20 pounds; it is really that I have always loved spin, especially at Flywheel and I profoundly missed doing something I love. Now, there is another element to my fitness quest: as a professional female voiceover actor, it is essential that I maintain my instrument by staying in top physical form.

Other Strong Women

As a voiceover artist, I work like a dog. I work long hours and it is hard balancing my personal life and my business. I think, like a lot of other small business owners, I also struggle with boundary issues. There are so many times I leave my family and go down to the booth on a Saturday or late at night to do something for a client. So more than ever at this point in my life I need strong female role models! The spin instructors are unbelievable. The youngest ones I take class with are my age; however, most are about 8-10 years older than I am. They have very positive energy. It is not about what their bodies look like, it is about the way they have chosen to live their lives. They are extremely strong and fit and they have a “can do” spirit that is just fantastic to be around. It makes me feel that everything will be ok when I am around powerful ladies like this. Gina, Jill, and Candee rock my world and I bring that enthusiasm back into the booth with me. When I took Gina’s class yesterday just to be in the same space as her was so exciting. When she called out her age, 10 years older than mine, I was so inspired. I hope in 10 years we are both still riding passionately!

It’s good to leave the booth and see people!

I work very long hours in a padded foam booth. Granted it’s a particularly awesome booth with broadcast-ready equipment of which I am really proud, but at the end of the day it is still a padded foam booth and is quite isolating. When you walk into a workout place like Flywheel, and everyone there greets you, and you have friends who are also working out, it means so so much. You feel part of something bigger than yourself. This welness community is great on good days and bad days alike and trust me, we all have both, so it’s really important to have people. Whether it’s a gym friend you’ve known for years or just a kind sweaty guy on the bike next to you who is also doing his best to push through, feeling like you are not in the struggle of life alone is really special. As someone who was never talented enough to play team sports, I have learned to find my own team and to be thankful for it. We are lucky enough to live in the age of social media, so that support sytem can extend beyond the studio too which I really love!

It feels great…..

Sometimes working in voiceover is more sedentary than others. If I am doing a high energy commercial or an active character I might be moving around my booth a lot. If I am doing a corporate narration or a long eLearning module, in truth I am not moving so much and I have to struggle to keep my posture good so that my diaphragm is nice and open. Going back to spin yesterday felt amazing!! Moving, and moving fast, and really working up a sweat felt great. First, it was pleasant because Flywheel is just so nice and the music was great. Next, I got keratin in my hair recently so I did not dread coming home to the hour long blowout, so I must confess that actually took the stress away. Lastly, I have been doing A LOT of pilates so I was not worried about my back because I knew my core was up to the task. I just felt good to be there. It was wonderful.

So what happens next?? Well, I will take it one class at a time. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. On Monday my son and I are also starting the Max Fitness Challenge, so this is a week of new beginnings for me, and I am so glad to be sharing them with someone else!

What Exactly Am I Paying For? You Need Voiceover for Your next Project- Great! But What on Earth Does and Should that Rate Get You?

November 21, 2018 by Laura Schreiber

What Got Me Thinking….

I recently did quite a lot of holiday spots for a really good client. What makes the client a “good” client? Besides that they are lovely to work with, they send me consistent work more than every month, almost every week. This month, instead of my typical monthly invoice, this client sent so much work that I had to send multiple multi-page invoices! That’s what kind of month it was with them. But, in one phone conversation with this delightful and pleasant client, a usage issue came up. These were telephony spots. Instead of paying me for each spot for each location, I learned in conversation that after the holidays one message was going to be used across many locations, but it seemed clear that the client had no understanding that they had crossed a major line with usage. While I might be able to record the phone greeting in one recording session, the usage was no longer the same and the rate would need to be adjusted. For me, this new information about the usage of my voice was a pretty big deal. It also exemplifies why it is so important to actually speak to clients whenever possible and not do everything via email. Put simply, when you hire a voiceover talent for a job, the rate you pay includes both the recording session and is also for usage of that actor’s voice for the agreed upon amount of time.

Explaining Usage

When a professional voiceover actor talks about the usage of his or her voice, they are typically talking about three aspects of the deal: what the scope of work is, how long the work will run, and the market the work will run in. So, commercial work bills out at a very different rate than telephony. Within commercial, tv and radio have different rate scales. Understanding the type of voiceover the audio is being used for is the first step in the usage discussion.

Next, sometimes the length of run time effects the usage of the voice. Another way to say the same thing is: how long am I using this audio for? Is this radio ad running for 6 weeks, 13 weeks, or 6 months? Is this a tag for a tv spot? Is it an explainer video going on a website? Across all genres of voiceover, the person hiring the talent needs to determine the length of time for usage. If usage needs to be extended that can typically be arranged.

Another major component in usage is the market where the voiceover is being used. A voiceover in a major metropolitan area like Los Angeles or New York has a much greater intrinsic value than one running in a small town in West Virginia. Even with telephony, an on-hold message running in one office for one month in Texas has a much smaller value than a message running across several states on the West Coast.

The Session Fee

The recording session is part of what makes up the rate when paying a voiceover talent. You are not just paying for the actual time in the studio, but you are paying for their expertise as a recording artist. The fee includes the years of training and on-going professional development that they have had. It also includes access to their costly and necessary professional, broadcast ready recording equipment. From microphones to pre-amps, each piece of machinery makes a huge difference in the quality of audio that the voiceover artist delivers, and that is part of the fee that you pay.

Revisions and Pickup Policy

The rate that you pay a voiceover talent should always include revisions and you should know and understand your client’s policy on pickups before you start working with them. Performance errors should always be covered. I give tiered estimates but most clients choose an option that includes at least one round of pickups.

Who the Client is Effects the Rate

Again, this is all a part of usage. Who the client is does effect the rate. A huge international company should pay more than a small mom and pop and pop store. The usage of a big client versus the usage of a small client is different because they have different respective audiences and followings, so it follows that their rates should not be the same, irrespective of the level of excellence of the voiceover actor they are using.

Conclusions

We all wish clients understood how our rates were structured all the time. We also wish everyone had our best interests in mind for every booking. Sometimes as the talents it is our job to educate our clients about the rate structure. This may not be fun and may be totally awkward, but failure to do so will result in ongoing rates problems and inability to maintain industry standards.