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A Day in the Life of a Voice Actor…

December 6, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

My jam

You might be thinking, hey- I wonder what it’s like to be a voice over actor? As a full-time, professional voice actor, sometimes my days can feel a little bit like Groundhogs Day, meaning that there is a certain rhythm to my days that tends to play and repeat. To be honest, as a working mom, I’ve come to count on this routine and structure and don’t mine it at all. I find this order and structure is really helpful and as my business has grown over the years, and I have expanded into coaching and demo production, I have carefully worked all of that into my schedule. There are some basic elements that are to be expected in every voice actor’s day:

Auditions:

Laura Schreiber AuditioningI typically do these quite early, and I think my auditions serve as a great warm up for my actually paid work. Whether they are for pay to plays or for agents, I love running through the pace of auditions and feel that this helps me stay on my toes and understand the current industry trends for what is being sought after. Daily submissions are a must, and I typically submit early morning and late afternoon at a minimum. I like submitting, and relative to other talents I know, I regularly submit a lot. I think it depends on your specific goals, but auditioning is for sure a part of my daily routine.

Booked Work

Then I begin my booked work. Depending on what is do when, and how urgent some bookings are, I decide my order of events. Sometime the vocal age of the casting comes into play for me. For example, if I am required to sound young, I have a specific window when I sound really young during the day, so I make sure to record at that point. Conversely, if I need to sound like a mom, or a 40 something, I save those recordings for after lunch. Thus, I plan my day.

Website Updates

I am often doing website updates. From adding blogs like this one, to adding client logos, testimonials, new demos we have done for students, and samples of finished booked work, the like of website updates goes on and on. I try to do these regularly so they do not become insurmountable.

Marketing and Direct Outreach

Marketing is a constant it my daily routine. I think the only day of the month when I do not send any emails is the day my newsletter goes out. I have different groups of people I work on reaching out to, and I am always keeping in touch with current clients and reaching out to new ones. I also do all of my own social media work, so marketing is a daily constant.

Billing and Invoicing

I do this regularly. Every time I deliver finished audio to a client, I send their invoice along with it. I send regular reminders, and am very on top of my invoicing. After all, voice over is not a hobby!

Equipment

My gear is so important. It is the foundation of all of my work. Whether I am researching my next purchase or neatening my wires, I am doing something related to m studio gear every day. I also constantly watch YouTube videos about equipment and find tis very helpful.

Dog walking

Laura Schreiber Walking DogsA highlight of my day, throughout my day, are the breaks I take with my studio dogs Violet and Daisy. I love walking with the girls and taking these sporadic breaks every few hours is really good for me. It is so good to leave the studio and get actual fresh air. I occasionally run into neighbors and that is really nice too.

Workouts:pilates

In addition to walking, I do Pilates regularly and this is very much a part of my routine. I find that scheduling this time for my self is essential to my mental and physical wellness. I tend to do these reinvigorating workouts either early morning, before work, or mid-day on my lunch break.

Household Chores

As a wife and mother, my daily household chores are endless. From cooking and cleaning to laundry and homework help, the list goes on and on. This time of year, there are holiday chores too like gift wrapping and all of those cards!!

The Glimpse….

So a lot needs to happen to run a successful voiceover business. There are a lot of moving parts, and when something falls off of my radar, ultimately it means less work will come in. So, it’ on me to make sure that my work gets done, and all of my ducks are in a row.

Filed Under: Studio/booth, Voiceover, working mom Tagged With: auditions, billing, booth like, chores, equipment, Groundhogs day, healthy living, lady boss, pilates, routine, solopreneur, studio, voice actor, voice over, voiceover, walking the dogs, website, working mom, working out

Mindset Matters in Voice Over

November 9, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Construction and The Foundations We Establish

Recently my husband’s parents bought a ranch around the block from us. They needed to gut renovate it and my brother-in-law is the project manager. It has been quite the undertaking, and my brother-in-law has done everything, from day-to-day interactions with all of the various crews working on the job site, to making choices about every material to use each step of the way. He has had to sort out bids and come up with various plans all while weather and kids pose on-going challenges.

This parallels running a voice over business in many ways. In voice over, like with a construction project, the mindset matters profoundly. The foundation of our business is ours to build, and to create by our own design. The intent of this blog is to think about a few key components of mindset related to voice over.

What are your Goals?

GoalsWhen you build a house, sometimes you are doing an update to make a space your own and sometimes you are doing a gut renovation. Either way, from the outset, you need to consider your goals for the project. In voiceover, knowing your goals enables you to have direction in your daily pursuits. If you know where you want to be, and if you have a clear vision for yourself, it is easier to work towards reaching those goals. And the goals you have might well be completely different from other voice talents you know. For instance, I do not do medical narration or audio books. Two of the women in my accountability group work in both of these genres, so their goals and their day to day marketing endeavors look quite different. As a professional voice over actor, I am very clear about my passions and where I want to spend my time. This is a key component of my mindset.

Business Mindset

Have a Business MindsetEven though I am a working creative, from the start I have run my business like a business. Our mindset and the choices we make determine whether voice over is a business or a mere hobby. Do you want this to be your career or something you simply dabble in? For me, from day one, this was going to be a career. There was no other option. When I decided to pursue voiceover, I did so in lieue of returning to teaching, so I had the luxury of plunging into VO full time from the get go. Besides working full-time, other choices helped establish this is a business. Using a CRM is essential. This helps you track all of your outreach, your costs, your bookings, your contacts… all of your efforts in one place. I have blogged before about my experience using Voiceoverview, but I truly believe this specific CRM is essential to the success of my business.

Having an invoicing system and being consistent about it is essential to a business mindset in voice over. After all, it’s a business and you want to get paid! I know many talents who invoice weekly. For me, I invoice with the delivery of the finished audio for every single booking. When I send the audio, I send a link to the invoice. If you happen to use Voiceoverview, it integrates with Waves App, Freshbooks, and Quickbooks! Ultimately you need to decide how often invoicing will work for you, but for me I love doing it at the time of delivery because it means no job ever slips through the cracks.

Another aspect of a business mindset is having a business checking account. No one told me about this when I launched my voice over business, so I mention this often to try to make it easier for those starting out. I actually learned the hard way about 18 months in to my voice over journey. I tried to deposit a check at the bank at my local branch and suddenly they would not accept it. It was an eye opener, as by this point I perceived myself to be running a small business. So, if you are a solopreneur, you must actually also open a business checking account. This, too, is crucial.

Make Your Studio A Pro Studio

Pro Home Studios are a MustIf you really want to succeed in voice over, and establish yourself as a professional voice talent, you need to have a professional studio. First, it is essential to maintain business hours. As a business owner, if you want to be available and accessible to your clients, you should have set business hours each day. For me, I typically work from 8 am- 6 pm, and schedule breaks for myself at my lunch hour for things like exercise classes or seeing friends. I also use my lunch hour to make myself available for consultations with new students or people looking for demo. But, the main point, is that I am available to clients all day, every day, during regular business hours.

Next, it is also important to have a professional home studio set up. I often have folks new to voice over ask me if it is really necessary to go to the effort and expense of buying equipment and if they can just rent studio space. I can tell you unequivocally that if you intend to succeed in voice over you simply MUST have a home set up. Further, it is not enough to have a basic home set up, you have to have a quality set up so that you produce pristine audio. This requires a booth with acoustic treatment, gear, and training in audio engineering so that you are capable of mastering your recordings. Once this is in place, you are ready to have your business up and running.

Mindset matters. Every choice you make matters. Run your voice over business like a business from day one.

Filed Under: Business Management, Studio/booth, Voiceover Tagged With: booth, booth life, Business, Business hours, CRM, gear, goals, Home Studio, hours, professional voice over actor, set up, small business owner, solopreneur, studio, VO, voice over, voice over coach, voice talent, voiceover, voiceoverview

VO Booth Set Up Q and A

May 17, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Q: What tweaks have you made to your set up that work well?

When I first built my professional home studio, I worked with my MacBook Air in the booth. For years I did this without issue. About two years in, I noticed that after very long recording sessions i had a lot of fan noise. I had gotten a great tip from Jack de Golia, a brilliant voice actor in Las Vegas, to always have ice packs handy, but after a while this became burdensome so I upgraded and put an iMac outside the booth and a monitor in the booth. This works MUCH butter. Here is a video made from a recent instagram story based on this very set-up question. If you can have this kind of set up, it’s great.

https://youtu.be/KGkESZa0X3o

Well Placed Hook with Head PhonesI also recommend having practical hooks in your book. I have a hook for my cans and a hook for my wires. It helps keep things neat and organized.

Q: What is your favorite way to connect for live sessions?

I have a new favorite way to connect: Zenncastr!! I have used this quite a few times recently, especially for long, guided eLearning sessions and it is great. There are no latency issues and it is very easy to connect, even easier than Source Connect. If only one person who is connecting has it, you can send them a link so it eases the financial burden as well. There are multiple price points, all of which are affordable. I love that when we speak during the session, all participants are recorded on separate tracks. So, if you are a coach recording a demo, or a voice over actor recording for a client, you never have to edit out any back and forth as you might on zoom. Then, at the end, you simply upload the audio.

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent In Her BoothI also do love having Source Connect. So many clients and agents require it. I occasionally need to have support sessions, and they do offer great support from Source Connect. Again, like with Zancastr, there are no latency issues. There are, though, sometimes quirks connecting. Sometimes people are confused with how to use it. If you are not both connecting with the same sample rate, for example, you won’t connect smoothly and it will be an issue, so that all needs to be decided ahead of time.

I also do still like to use zoom for the ease of use. Sometimes, even with the latency issues, it is great to just throw up a link and go! Especially this year, everyone knows how to use zoom, and it is nice to have a stress free connection for a live or guided session.

Q: If you could change anything about your studio, what would it be?

This might sound trivial, but it is not meant to. My booth is a rectangle and I have all this wasted space behind me. I could have saved a lot of money by making it a smaller square. The space behind me goes unused and is just a waste. I have to work with an acoustic board behind me, so I don’t even get to enjoy the roominess. 

I have blogged about this before, but I would also choose a different color foam if I had the option.  I hate that my white aurelex foam has turned yellow. I would either do panels or grew foam next time around.

Q: Can a voice over coach help with your studio set up?

A good voice over coach is still not an audio engineer. While I love to talk about gear with other voiceover actor and with students, it it is fun to talk about set up, I did not go to school for sound engineering. I do not have a degree in audio engineering. Everything I know about my studio, I know from having training with various audio engineers. As a voice over coach, I do work with students on microphone technique, but that is NOT the same thing is telling you how to set up your studio. Dave Scott, who  do demo production with, can give you expert advise on how to set up your booth and guide you about what to invest in and how to actually set it up.

Q: What do you wish you knew when you first started your voice over studio?

Travel Rig then and NowI wish I know how important a good travel rig is. It took me five years to get my travel rig to sound as good as my home set up. That is WAY too long. If you are just starting in voice over during the pandemic, I realize it is hard to imagine actually packing up and leaving home, but when we do, the rig matters.

I wish I know how important my website was. I spend so much time working on inbound marketing through my website now, but my business was going for several years before I figures that out.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: audio engineer, booth, Dave Scott, demo production, directed sessions, gear, iMac, Jack de Golia, live sessions, Mac Book Air, mic technique, monitor, professional voice actor, Source Connect, studio, studio set up, travel rig, VO, voice actor, voice over, voice over actor, voice over coach, voice over studio, voiceover, voiceover coach, Zencastr, Zoom

Voice Over on the Road

April 19, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

So You’re Leaving the Booth

It happens, even in the time of covid, we leave our studios. As a professional voice talent, we have work we can predict, and the joy of work we cannot predict, that comes in at a moment’s notice and can have a pretty tight turn around time. As a working mom, whether I’m home or traveling I’m always juggling my responsibilities as a small business owner and my role of a mom, this year more than ever. This year, my high school juniors are looking at colleges. And as if looking at colleges for twins is not challenging enough, their interests do not overlap at all. Emma is targeting schools with Speech programs and STEM programs. Jack is looking for International Relations and Russian. So, we are doing two completely different college searches at once. What does this mean for me as a voice actor? It means I’m leaving the booth for the first time in a year and I need to be prepared. Voice over work should never prevent travel, it just means you need the right set up for your voice over travel rig and to take the necessary steps when planning.

What’s in The Travel Rig

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent Rush Jobs Pc ImgThe point of the travel rig is to sound like you sound in your home studio when you are on the road so that you can provide clients with a continuity of service. I have tweaked my rig quite a few times over the years, and finally invested in a quality set up that I am pleased with. I now bring:

  • A VoMo booth to go
  • A Sennheiser MKE 660 microphone
  • Sennheiser headphones
  • An AUD Appollo MK II Preamp
  • A MacBook Air with Twisted Wave

The reason this set up works, is that an  effects stack works was created that gives the same sound to the finished audio of that recorded in my booth. It is quite remarkable.

If you are still in the pillow fort phase, here is a video that might be helpful from when I was using pillow forts as well:

https://youtu.be/b2kGnHYRA_o

To Bring Or Not To Bring

Now that I have this amazing set up, does this mean that I never take off or that I bring the travel rig everywhere? No. For instance, this weekend I am away Friday night through Sunday. I left the rig at home. I did have one booking come in from an international client. I asked if they could please wait until Monday and that worked out, but if not I was willing to let the gig go. Sometimes you just need a break. Typically, I evaluate what I’ll be doing, how much free time I’ll have, and how much I typically earn that time of year. For example, the last four years in a row July has been my highest earning month of the year. If I go anywhere in July, the travel rig is coming with me. June, in contrast is a slower month. It might be safer to travel without it or to plan travel for that month. Tracking your trends in a CRM can be helpful for you to make such calls. Ultimately, we are all entitled to a break, but you have to weigh how disruptive it will be to your long term success. If your client hires another talents, and then that talents gets then ongoing work instead of you, can you live with that?

Professional Procedures to Take

Ultimately the point of the travel rig is to serve your clients well. If you know travel is coming up, and you are starting a project that might have pickups or script changes you should let the client know. You might also discuss with them the option of recording on your travel rig from home so that the audio matches. If you will have limits to your availability while on the road, it is great to give your regular clients a heads up. If they are used to a speedy turn around and you will have a delay, they’ll appreciate the notice. If you send out a newsletter, the newsletter is a great place to let clients know when you’ll be out of the studio. If you are on regular rosters that send you work, they appreciate the advance notice as well. Typically two weeks notice before travel is  standard, and that way clients have the chance to decide of they want to work around your dates and you can decide whether or not you need your rig!

Last Thoughts

Ultimately, there are a lot of ways to get great sound on the road, from pillow forts made out of comforters to tiny mics that plug into your phone. It makes sense to decide what your goals are: ranging from auditions to booked work to pickups, and then determine what gear best meets your needs.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Studio/booth, Voiceover Tagged With: booth, college visits. professional voice talent, gear, good service, headphones, MacBook Air, mic, microphone, mics, preamp, quality audio, response time, RUSH Jobs, sennheiser 416, sennheiser MKE 660, set up, studio, travel, travel rig, VO, voice actor, voice over, voiceover, working mom

VO Workflow Tips From a Pro!

April 11, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

As a working mom, there are only so many hours in a day. In order to maximize my time, whether I’m in the studio recording or in my office space doing client out reach and marketing, efficiency matters. Over my years as a voice over professional, I can tell you that these tips have made a difference for me in terms of my work flow. While every voice actor has to find their own flow, my hope is that some of this helps you too:

1. Choose the DAW the Works for You

Signal FlowDepending on which voice actor you ask, you’ll get a different answer to the questions “What’s the best DAW for VO?” I have used Audacity, Adobe Audition, and Twisted Wave. I may be proficient in all of them, but I LOVE Twisted Wave. To be clear this does not mean that other DAWs, from Reeper to Pro Tools don’t have immense value, but for me, I am quick and good on Twisted Wave. It serves my purposes well. And when I have a client who needs total production with music, I hire a professional engineer to mix it down anyway, so I really can do all that I need to do on Twisted Wave. Some of my favorite features are the shortcuts, multiple effects stacks, and ease of file splitting.

2. Put Phone in Airplane Mode

Airplane modeWhen I am in my booth, I turn my iPhone and Apple Watch to airplane mode. I do this because when I develop a good flow, I do not want the phone ringing to interrupt me. I do offer one word of caution: if you are doing a live session and you coincidentally cannot connect with your client, and have all your devices in airplane mode, it can be quite frustrating if they are unable to reach you. So, while you may not want your phone in the studio for a directed session, perhaps before you silence everything you should make certain that you connect.

3. Do All Recording Then All Editing at Once

This is a wonderful tip that I got from he amazing Kim Handysides. Before I learned this, I used to record an audition, edit an audition, and submit an audition. Upon Kim’s suggestion, I started recording my auditions the same way I record and edit eLearning. I record all of the auditions I’m doing in a given block of time. I drop markers in them, edit them en masse, split the files, and then submit. It really does go much faster this way. If you have shortcuts in your computer for things like your name and your email, then naming your files will go even faster. If you do not know how to use markers and split files, learn today, it will change your life.

https://youtu.be/kI8lIKLN0Sg

4. Plan Your Week With Your Goals in Mind

Weekly Planner SampleLike many in voiceover, I am constantly revising my business plan, shifting my focus from commercials to explainers to elearning to targeting specific industries. As I revise my plan, my goals change. While I have a planner or agenda that I love, I find that mapping out my strategy for the week helps me to keep my mind on the big picture. As auditions and work pours in, it’s easy to get caught up in the little things and push off the tasks that we think can wait, but in doing so, in pushing off those marketing emails and that LinkedIn outreach, we are pushing off the pursuit of our longterm goals. It is so important to always have an eye on your “why.” If you lose site of that, and you are just buys submitting audition after audition, you can easily get stuck in a rut.

5. Arrange Your Equipment for Efficiency

  • Laura Schreiber' Studio is Arranged for EfficiencyIf your fan makes noise,  only have a monitor in the booth, and put your computer outside the booth. After years of running to get ice packs, I got out my drill, made a hole in the wall to the desk, and hooked up a monitor. This has saved me so much time over the years.
  • You may a need dedicated printer for your booth, so that you are not constantly running to other parts of your house when you need to print work related items.
  • I have two pairs of cans, in and out of booth, so that I can edit or direct where I’d like.
  • Place hooks in thoughtful places. I have a hook for my cans on the wall which has been the biggest life saver. I also have a hook under my desk for cables. This has been useful as well.
  • Shelving can be quite strategic. I built a custom shelf for my preamp. It is perfect.

The point is that my equipment is arranged in a way that supports my work flow. From the angle of the monitor to the placement of the electrical outlets, it has all been done with efficiency in mind. It all matters.

After years in the business, I can say that I am constantly learning from my peers and improving my set up and choices. Be willing to try new things, you might be shocked at how it revolutionizes your work day!

Filed Under: Voiceover Tagged With: air plane mode, audio, booth, cans, DAW, editing, editing audio, effect stacks, efficiency, file splitting, goals, headphones, markers, monitors, phone, printers, recording, studio, studio equipment, tips, twisted Wave, voice actor, voice over, voice talent, voiceover, working mom

Q & A About Recent eLearning Trends

November 22, 2020 by Laura Schreiber

A Lot of eLearning Trends In 2020

Whether it’s because of the Covid 19 Pandemic or the industry just continues to boom, there is more eLearning work than ever! The demand for female voice over roles is continual, and as a full-time professional voice actor, every time an eLearning job arrives in my inbox I am delighted. I have always loved working with the instructional designers and project managers to bring their content to life. Before I became a voice actor, I was a teacher, so perhaps that it was I feel so at home with this genre. At the moment, there is a huge amount of eLearning content and based on the work coming in I have noticed a lot of trends in the type of work being sought, rates, tech needs, and what books the work. If you are looking to expand your eLearning bookings or to work more in this genre, these are questions you should be asking:

What gets your foot in the door with eLearning content creators?

The Demo MattersYou need a solid demo that represents both a range of your abilities and your understanding of the industry. My vocal range is from teen to middle age, and that is demonstrated in my eLearning demo, which goes from tech industries to pharma to medical. My demo switches gears from upbeat and engaging to serious and professional. My demo is set to music, which is controversial is often eLearning is dry. I wanted my demo to standout and by pleasant to listen to, and I believe it meets that goal.

What are you typically asked for when cast in an eLearning role?

You need toIt has been a while since I was cast as a generic third person narrator in eLearning. Instead, for the last sic months, ever booking to land on my desk is a character role, where the instructional designer wants an authentic, genuine role that is believable for their training. For example, this week I was cast as a college student who had gone down the wrong path and had a drug problem and was now in recovery. I had to be sensitive and relatable. It had to be believable. I was telling this girl’s story in this university’s training scenario. Last week I was a caller in a pay roll company’s HR training. I was the good caller this time, but in the past I’ve been the bad caller. In both instances the character had to be believable, authentic, and sincere. As a female eLearning narrator, this is a big responsibility: to continue booking work for clients you have to be able to switch gears and maintain whatever character you are playing for them that day. The character must be consistent throughout and must have nuance.

What Rates are you booking at?

Maintain Industry Standard RatesRates are really important. My bookings typically range between $0.25/word and $0.45/word with a $150 minimum and $1 per split. I charge for splits if there are more than 10. I prefer to quote the price per word and not per finished minute as I speak quickly. Last week I had a potential client reach out and ask me if I was on Upwork. I told them I was not. They wanted to know if I would honor Upwork’s rates, and I explained that at this point in my career I could not work for those rates. I then referred the client to GVAA and Gravy for The Brain, in hopes of keeping the conversation going. They did come back to me that if they had flexibility they would let me know, but in the mean time it is important to be willing to walk away. The next day I had a job come in that was 617 words and paid of $400. It is important never to settle.

What technological requests do you get from clients?

The Tech MattersMost typically, my eLearning clients want MP3s that are split and fully edited. I typically add EQ, compression, and a d-esser. If you are booking eLearning work for big companies, it is expected that you should have a professional grade studio at this point. Especially because they often do not have music or effects behind their training, the quality of the audio that you provide matters more than ever.

Final Thoughts:

There is a lot of eLearning work for voice actors at the moment. If you intend to be booking it, you need to have great sound and be able to maintain a character consistently for the duration of the script. Your demo gets you in the door, but if you can’t sound as good as that on every single job, then you are not ready to work.

Filed Under: Elearning Tagged With: authentic, believable, character, demo, elearning, eLearning demo, Fully edited, genuine, industry standard, instructional designers, MP3s, narrator, project managers, rates, real person, role, sincere, Specs, studio, teacher, VO, voiceover

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