laura@volaura.com

973.747.6800

  • Home
  • Demos
    • Demos
    • YouTube Bumper Demo
    • Commercial
    • Covid Response And Emergency Management
    • Radio Imaging
    • TV Affiliate
    • Narration
    • Audiobooks
    • Tours
    • Character
    • Kids Voices
    • Baby Voices
    • Promo
    • eLearning
    • Explainer
    • Telephony
    • Government
    • Medical Narration
    • French Commercial
    • Podcast
    • On Camera
  • Copy Writing
  • Studio
  • Clients
    • Testimonials
    • Awards
  • Blog
  • Contact

TV

VO Holiday Wishlist: Have I Been Naughty or Nice?

December 20, 2020 by Laura Schreiber

Daring to Dream

Santa's Nice List‘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:

Commercial Campaigns

For the past two years, I have been focussing on booking more campaigns and fewer one-offs. Slowly but surely, it is happening. My hope is that in the coming year, these campaigns continue to bring a blend of tv, radio, and social media. Usage has been a big part of the conversation in most of my bookings recently, so my hope is that as more campaigns come in, the usage for clients is more clear and they are prepared to pay industry standard rates for it! I enjoy working with my clients on these repeat spots, so I sure hope Santa sends some my way! Here is one from a campaign I did in the last few months:

https://youtu.be/lZHAdtN3QZ0

Rosters

Santa, please help me join more rosters this year! Whether they are for eLearning content providers, explainer companies, or commercial producers, here I am! I am already on the rosters for Pandora, Spotify, and iHeart Media, and I love working with their teams and look forward to the repeat business. For my eLearning clients, when the work comes in, it is really exciting to hear from the instructional designers and know that they had my voice in mind specifically. I look forward to building my roster of rosters in 2021!

Website Updates

Photo of Website Homepage Mobile VersionSanta, 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!

New Demos

Santa, it is time for some new demos! In 2020, the only new demo that I did was a Covid-19 demo. I also did a refresh of my commercial demo and added in real, booked work that reflected trends in what I am typically asked for. While I have some demos that are still pretty solid, I think it is time to enhance my sweet of demos at this point. I think in 2021, I will focus on narration. I want to have demos that display the current, bookable reads and show my range. I think my basic narration demo is a little old and could be updated. I also have a medical narration demo in the works.

Demos

Let’s Get Real

Santa's sled and reindeerDo 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.

Filed Under: Voiceover, working mom Tagged With: branding, commercial Campaigns, dream, naughty or nice, new demos, radio, rosters, social media, TV, update, VO, VO Mama, voice over, voiceover, website, website update, working mom

VO TV Commercial Trends

September 6, 2020 by Laura Schreiber

They Keep Asking for that Chase Spot

https://youtu.be/Kk1dPgA2KxM

I think I actually know it by heart by know “Your bank could be here, or here.” I hear the words over and over again, and in truth I can’t tell you if it’s because I’ve seen this well placed and clever add so many times on tv or if it’s because it seems to be the go to spec of the summer when I book tv spots. That Chase ad seems to be the trend. I book a spot and the clients sends me this Chase ad and wants me to match it in tone, pace, vibe-basically every way possible. Now, if the script is written in a way that lends itself to that- great. But the catch is that not every script is written to the formula of the Chase script. So let’s look at this formula and talk about what they are asking for in current television commercial voiceovers and what is the current trend during the covid pandemic. And if the client wants this but can’t have it, there are some similar millennial, conversational commercial reads that are out there.

Impact of the Pandemic

Let’s discuss the elephant in the room: why the sudden shift to animation? While everyone is quarantining in place, and stock footage or footage filmed before the pandemic can only go so far, people can create unlimited amounts of new animation. This trend of increasing amounts of animated commercial content will be with us throughout the pandemic. My old friend from home and brilliant award-winning producer Ira Rosensweig has created a product called Crew in a Box which is “the world’s first plug-and-play, remote production solution,” but until this is more universally adopted or the studios reopen, we are looking at a lot more animation content on television.

Dissecting the Chase Spot

The voice over in the Chase spot is as au currant as it gets. This is the quintessential millennial read. First of all, she (the voice over actor) is talking directly to the viewer. It’s very intimate. She is clear and concise and to the point. She has great energy and she is relatable. As the Chase VO gal explains that when down loading the app “here’s my bank or here’s my bank” we are right there with her because we feel like we know her. It’s youthful and believable and the ease with which she does demonstrates it all instills us with the confidence that we too can use the app on the go. The upbeat, conversational, relatable, authentic pace is what producers want when they ask for this read. This read draws viewers in. This read helps viewers connect to the voice and more importantly connect to the product.

Recent TV Spot Like the Chase Spot

This month I was sent a television campaign for a retirement community and they wanted the read to be like the Chase spot. The scripts were all well-written and could easily be adapted in tone and cadence. Unlike the Chase commercial, my audience was different. My audience was the children and family members of the retirement community who would choose to place their loved ones in this residence. I needed the same upbeat, relatable, trustworthy tone. I needed to draw folks in and make them feel comfortable and like they knew me. I needed to make them feel like this home was their home. I needed them to trust that their parents would be happy. For me, this message hit home as my beloved grandparents had to live in a place like this when my parents could no longer support their needs, so I understood on every level what I was being asked to convey. Like the Chase spot, because of Covid, this spot is also an animation. Here is one of the four recent commercials I did for this client:

https://youtu.be/lZHAdtN3QZ0

Variations On This Read

Last month I was cast in a TV campaign for a bank in Montana that wanted a different variation on the millennial, conversational read. Even though this was done during the pandemic, these spots used video footage! This producer wanted a sound that fit the video and the music, and it was less upbeat, and more every day real. Sometimes in real life we are not bubbling over with enthusiasm, we just need something that meets our needs, and this is conversational in a different tone. It is more detached and less intimate, casting a broader net. You still trust this voice to be your voice, but the scrip is a different kind of script and it elicits a very different read.

https://youtu.be/p31p69CD_sM

Current Trends in TV Commercial VO Reads

In sum, I am cast in projects because clients still want that very millennial, conversational voice over read. Some reads are more intimate and connected than others. Some reads are more authentic. Some are more personal. Some are to video footage while others are set to animation at present. The trend, though, is to sound conversational and I think always, always believable.

Filed Under: Voiceover Tagged With: Animation, buy, conversational, Crew in a Box, impact of covid, millennial read, pace, pandemic, television, tone, trends, TV, vibe, VO, voice over, voiceover

What Voice Actors Can Learn From Mr. Seinfeld’s Raincoats

August 2, 2020 by Laura Schreiber

https://youtu.be/7NK5Uo0tSBg

Watching Kramer negotiate this deal with Mr. Seinfeld is quite humorous, particularly if you are a working voice over actor and have to frequently negotiate your own rates directly with clients. Here, Kramer, like voice talents, understands the market. Mr. Seinfeld has the product but little knowledge of the market, which can often happen with our clients. The nuances of the value that each bring to the table complicate matters, as George points out. Of course it is much easier when our agents can negotiate on our behalf, but as this is not always possible, this clip has a lot of relevance. This week I had to negotiate a TV and Web commercial campaign with a client I have worked with before. They wanted a buyout in perpetuity which is never great for voice over actors, and they came in with a very low ball offer. Luckily, I was not in uncharted waters. So let’s flesh out my experience negotiating through the much more fun lens of Seinfeld. In Kramer’s behavior we see a lot of mistakes that lead people down a bad path when negotiating.

Don’t Jump the Gun

Don't RushKramer is so excited to make a deal that he doesn’t hesitate to jump at 25%. I think this happens a lot in voiceover, especially with newbies, and especially when times are slow. You have to know your value and you have to know and more importantly understand industry standard rates. First the client asked me for a quote. We had a back and forth that went like this:

I countered by asking if they had a budget they were trying to stay within.
They said no and asked for a quote with a range.
I provided the range and they said they wanted a buyout in perpetuity. This was based on a known industry rates guide.
I did not have a problem in this instance given the end user I was dealing with here. I sent the revised quote.
They came back with a budget at about a third of my quote.
That is the moment you begin a dialogue with industry friends on where to go and how to proceed. I also did suggest to the client that they may want to speak with one of my agents. Notice that unlike Kramer, none of my actions were immediate. They were calm, deliberate, and provided detailed explanations to the client. It was a process. A detailed process.

You Often Need to Show Your Value to Your Client

Here, Mr. Seinfeld did not appreciate the value that Kramer was bringing to the table. His perspective was very one-sided. Often clients need to be educated. When Mr. Seinfeld is in the kitchen talking to Mrs. Seinfeld, they only see the value of their product, they show little understanding of the service that Kramer is providing them with his knowledge of the marketplace. In voice over, some clients do not understand why usage matters. This is why it is always important to invoice for both usage and your session fee on your invoice Every. Single. Time. I have other clients who understand perfectly why it matters and what they are paying for but think that if they are in a very small local area or if their client has a smaller budget then none of that matters. In some instances, for folks who are new to casting voice over actors, they do not understand that they are casting professionals with thousands of dollars in equipment, years of coaching, broadcast ready home studios, and all that we have invested in our businesses. So, as a voice talent, you have to decide what you can live with and what you can’t.

You Need the Right Sounding Board

Kramer got good, solid feedback from George. Kramer listened to George. He was inspired by George to go back to Mr. Seinfeld and talk about the terms again. In George, he had a friend he could count on. Who are your industry friends? This is extremely important in voice over. This is no small thing. This is why conferences, holiday parties, and Uncle Roy’s annual BBQ all matter! When I have these negotiation issues I can talk to my accountability group, the ladies of the “VO Powerhouse” as we call ourselves or I reach out to Maria Pendolino and you can actually schedule consultations with Maria to help you bid. I like talking it through with friends because sometimes I need the right words so that I don’t seem like a crazy person. After all, do you want to seem like Kramer when you go back to your clients to “educate”them? I don’t think so.

If you prefer to brave it on your own, there are other industry resources available including the GVAA Rate Guide, Gravy for the Brain Rate Guide, and the SAG Rate Guide. All of this should give you a strong sense of where your rate should be.

Don’t be Afraid to Go Back to the Table…In the Right Way

Both Kramer and Mr. Seinfeld wanted to renegotiate. But there is a right way to say something and a wrong way, and these two, well…they do not really exemplify a way that a successful small business owner typically will build a meaningful relationship with a client. More than getting the rate that is best for you and best for the voice over industry, you also want a client and not a single gig. If you carry yourself like Kramer, or George, you are not likely to build lasting and meaningful client relationships. There is nothing wrong with taking the time to work through something. This week I was able to get my clients to double their offer. While it was lower than my initial quote, it was much higher than their initial offer, and it is a number I am comfortable stepping up to the mic for. Be positive, polite, and straightforward. Know what you are willing to do and be firm about your boundaries. And then book, book, book!

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Rates, Voiceover Tagged With: campaign, commercial, commercial campaign, commercials, educate, feedback, friends, guidance, negotiate, rates, small business owner, TV, usage, VO, voice over, web

Primary Sidebar

Laura Schreiber Voiceovers Recent Post

Recent Posts

  • Fiction Audiobook Narrator Award: Readers Favorite: We Won!!
  • Scheduling Tips to Book Like a Pro
  • I Practice What I Preach
  • Why You Need a Home Studio When You Start with a Coach
  • Crochet as Metaphor for Making it In Voice Over
Laura Schreiber Voiceovers Categories

Categories

  • Laura answers every correspondence with a smile and a prompt reply. In addition to RUSH jobs and quick turnarounds, guided sessions are available and Laura works hard to make every project perfect. Do not hesitate to call or email anytime :) The one exception to this is erotica. Should you need someone for adult content, all the best to you, Laura is not your gal, do not reach out.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent Contact Image

973.747.6800

laura@volaura.com

SKYPE: lauraschreiber324

ipDTL: Laura Schreiber Voice

Laura Schreiber Female Voice Over Talent Sourceconnect

LAURA IS REPRESENTED REGIONALLY IN THE UNITED STATES AND ABROAD.

MORE AT: lauranarrates.com

©2025 Laura Schreiber Voice. All rights reserved. PRIVACY POLICY.

Voice Over Site by Voice Actor Websites  // Site design by notobelladesigns.com.