When You Do A Lot Of Live Sessions, What Makes One Standout?
As a full-time, professional voice over actor, I typically have multiple live sessions every week. Most of my clients prefer Source Connect, and in truth I am so used to that at this point that I do too. On Monday morning, my first session of the week, with new clients, was over Teams. That was fine, so that was the first item that stood out. The second was that I was the only one with my camera on. Next, we were all in different countries. I was in the United States, and they were scattered from Italy to the UAE to Bahrain to India. I believe there were nine of us on the call, but possibly more. This session was different because this group was very chatty and wanted to talk amongst themselves a lot. They also wanted me to hang out while they edited their video, which is not standard, but luckily I had time on the other end and I could accommodate. So, from the get go, this session was different in all kinds of ways.
Why I Was SO Excited About this One
Well, if you know me you know I love chocolate. If I had to have one food on a deserted island, it would be chocolate. This commercial was for Ferrero Rochet. Not only do I particularly enjoy their delicious candy, but I also love that it is a brand that is eaten all over the world. This spot will run in the entire GCC, in places like the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and more. I think it is pretty awesome that this little candy also serves as a cultural bridge of sorts. When I think about many of these places that will view my spot, none of which I have ever had the privilege of visiting, and I think about their culinary traditions, I confess that I never imagined this decadent chocolate as part of it. I was delighted to know that we share this.
We Have More In Common
At the start of the session, the creative director wanted to make sure that I understood both the branding and the traditions surrounding Ramadan in the region. While I had, as I always do, done brand research in advance of the session, I was very pleased to learn about the traditions surrounding Ramadan, like the way that they decorate their homes with twinkle and fairy lights, in the importance of gracious hospitality in this festive holiday season. He also spoke of the emphasis of the changing and more egalitarian roles that their footage was clearly depicting. As I watched the footage and listened, I was struck by how many common shared values our cultures shared, especially with all of the spring holidays coming in the States. I was delighted by what I learned and it certainly informed my read.
The Technical Stuff
The trend for almost all my commercial bookings of late is the conversational read. Clients always want the reads to sound authentic, like I am talking to a friend. Well, authentic and relatable were not the sought after tones in this session. And don’t forget, that when taking direction, it is about giving the client exactly what they ask for. I happen to know the brand well as I often transcribe their scripts when coaching. Yet, the direction that I got went well beyond what I anticipated. The clients wanted every word of every line to be measured. In the VO coaching world we often say that if everything is important then nothing is important. But the client wanted every word emphasized the same way, and he gave precise readings for how he wanted each line broken down. The pacing was not conversational. He did not want the rhythm and the cadence to vary. He wanted every. Single. Word. Measured.
Pronunciation was another interesting part of the direction. Even though the team specifically wanted a voice actor with an American accent, certain words were non-negotiable. One of those words was “Ramadan.” They instructed me to pronounce it like rum-a-done. Next, the word “sweeter” was very important. They wanted me to hit the “ter” hard. We never do that here, but that is how they wanted the word said. So, that is how I did it.
Don’t Sound Happy. Umm, What?
Perhaps the most confusing bit of direction was the “don’t sound happy.” If you don’t already know, my tagline used to be “The Sound of Happy.” So, my voice sounds pretty happy, just on its own, without doing anything, this is how I sound. This bit of direction was tricky. I’m sitting there reading a script about a product I love, with a care bare hanging over my head (because it makes me happy) trying to sound, basically, unlike myself. I decided to flatten out the read and just try to be void of all emotion. I had to stop smiling, which is also hard because I am a smiley kind of gal. I did, in that moment though, question their casting choice.
Conclusions
Not all live sessions are the same. Give yourself the grace and time to listen to what the clients want. If they want a live session, it is either because the really want to direct you, because they are legally obligated to have someone on the team present when you record, or because they cannot please the commercial script without being there. All of these things matter, a lot. So make it great for them. Don’t talk money during the session, ever. This session ran over in time which almost never happens with me. Most of my sessions are pretty short. My instinct was to say nothing and smile while they chatted about their choices and options. Afterwards I spoke with the producer and he confirmed that it never goes well when the VoiceOver actors start talking about money and time with the end users, who typically have nothing to do with our rates. In the end, smile and breathe and hope that they have the courtesy of sharing the final cut with you to promote!
When I started my voice over business years ago I had headshots done for my website. While a long time ago people used to say that voice actors did not need to show their face, as the VO industry has continued to evolve and we, as talents, now have to bring in the bulk of our own work, it is on us to run our business like a business. If we want our clients to connect with us, having current pictures is a must. So, about a year back, I was presenting at an online eLearning conference and I was super excited. When they asked for my head shot, I became for cognizant of the fact that the photo no longer resembled me. I was thinner, my hair was shorter, I always wear glasses… the list went on. I decided to take new photos and update them. While my old headshots had been done by a professional, I took the new ones in my booth with an iphone. I loved them and was thrilled.
As I said before, there were elements of my previous branding that I loved. I loved a lot of the pink. I did not love the contrast between the pink and the black. Instead of the bubbles I had before, we whose to do something that combined my favorite flowers and leopard print. Again, I wanted this to have some edge to it, while retaining some warmth.
‘Tis the season, and this season, after another year of really hard work, I’m sure hoping that I made Santa’s nice list! Anyone who is an established professional in voice over will tell you that at some point we were bold enough to chase a dream. I would not be where I am in voiceover today if I didn’t have confidence in myself and passion for voiceover, but ultimately, it all came from a big dream of a career in voice over. Having dreams, or visions of where my career will go has served me well, and what better time of year to think about what I want for myself in 2021 then the week that Santa is getting on his sled! So Santa, please stuff this VO Mama’s stocking with:
Santa, a website package would be great this holiday! It’s been a while, and I sure need to shake things up! I love working on my website. I look at it as my storefront, and I try to add new content regularly. This year, I think it is time to freshen up my branding. A lot has changed in my business since it was done five years ago, and I would like my website to reflect that. I love the team that I work with, and I want to come up with something that still reflects my brand but also works better with how I want my clients to see me. I want them to know how hard I will work for them and to have confidence when casting me. I still want my bubbly personality to shine through. My dilemma, because of the pandemic, is whether or not to keep my headshots and work with them or to get new ones, so let’s see that Santa suggests!
Do I actually expect Santa to stuff my stocking with all of these treats? In truth, Christmas is not a holiday that my family observes, but as an American I have always LOVED this season. From the decorations to the cookies, I savor this time of year with my family. I enjoy thinking about the idea of Christmas magic. In truth, I have seen many hard working talents on the verge of giving up. A little holiday magic could help us all. What I believe most is that success takes vision, hard work, commitment, talent, and yes, a little luck. So this Christmas, as we eat cookies, drink eggnog lattes, and enjoy time at home, my dream is also for a little holiday luck for all my VO besties.
My recent commercial booking for JP Morgan makes for a great case study in voice over bookings. As a professional voice actor, every booking makes us happy, but when the producer emailed me about these radio spots, his explanation was interesting. I was cast directly without auditioning. He did not mention my voice. Nor did he mention my demos. In this instance, it was a matter of scheduling and availability. As I work full-time, they needed someone who could accommodate a live session at a specific time, which turned out to be 11 a.m. on a Friday morning, and he needed to confirm that I was available. The timing, in this scenario, was the most important question I was asked. The producer got back to me and confirmed that I had indeed booked two spots and it was a go. I was delighted.
I prepare for every single session, whether I am self-directing or in a live session. Part of my prep is administrative. I take some time to log the job in my CRM and create the invoice. I then print a large print version of the script using my preferred font. Then, prior to marking up the script, I spend a bit of time researching the brand and their other ads. Interestingly, JP Morgan and Chase are linked. As a client, when I log in for my JP morgan account I also log into my chase account. Well, at the moment, the below Chase spot is the most sought after read in a long time. Clients often request this as the benchmark for tone, style, and pacing, so I had this in mind going into my session for sure.
I think the start of a live session is really important. There happened to be a lot of people on this call. In addition to the producer, there were several people from the Spotify team and several people from the JP Morgan Team, including the scrip writer. In my mind looking back here were at least eight people on the session. It is my job to make them happy and to make them comfortable. I try to use the time at the start of the session to let them know that my feelings are not a factor, and that the only thing that would upset me would be for them to know have exactly what they need at the end of the call. I try to have friendly banter, but I want them to know and to be comfortable that I will give them whatever they need, and that it is not about me, it is about them. I think there are a few precious moments to establish this rapport and set the tone.
With so many on the call, there can be a lot of side chats during a directed session to make sure everybody has the takes that they want. This team was fantastic. They gave very clear direction and it was easy to take their feedback and run with it. They also all remembered to mute themselves while I was recording, which makes everything seamless. In this session, I read the first script all the way through three times. They gave me feedback. I again did three takes, and then we did some variations of the lines. Then, after the line reads, we did the whole script again. It really came together nicely. It was also super exciting to use Zoom’s audio share feature to play back the audio for the clients during the session so that they could mark the takes that they liked and we could also check the timing of the spots. Then we moved on to the next script, and worked through it the same way. The second one went a little faster as I understood what they were looking for from the first spot. All in all, the group was great to work with. For me, because JP Morgan is my bank and I use the app, it was easy to see the product and be enthusiastic about it because I actually enjoy the very features I was describing.
I am often asked whether I prefer live sessions or self directing. The answer is really that it depends. I love self directing because it gives me a chance to be creative and a freedom to interpret the texts in front of me. I can explore my imagination and see where it goes. The downside, of course, is that there is always a chance of missing the mark and not giving the client what they need. With live sessions, I love the creative collaboration. I love working with other people. When I have the opportunity to work with the people who created the product or the people who wrote the script, I get a higher level of understanding and can often bring more nuance to the read. So, the answer is still: I depends.
As a voice over artist, I have the privilege of voicing projects for the brands we know, love, and use in our daily lives! While every single job is exciting, when a brand name that my family uses all the time, like Dove or Gap or Kind Bar, books me I am ecstatic because those brand names have such huge brand recognition. Why, then, does it matter if I, as a voiceover actor, have a brand associated with my name? What I learned as soon as I began my VO journey years ago is that I am not just voicing projects for these brands. Instead, I myself am also a small business owner and need to create and maintain a brand that my clients can identify with and connect to in order to understand the service that I provide. Branding is essential to success in voiceover.
Now let’s enter the folks at 
