upbeat

Why do Headshots Matter in VO

September 14, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Recent Epic Mistake

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.

I loved the photos so much that when I did my website refresh and rebrand this January they were featured in the banner. Do you sense the train wreck coming. Well, middle-aged me does not have perfect vision. I failed to notice that in my main photo I am sticking my tongue out. I tend to be both silly and flirty, and apparently I stick my tongue out. Often. Worse, I could not see that my tongue is sticking out and this photo is everywhere.

Fast forward to this summer. I was accepted as a presenter for the OneVoice conference in Dallas. They asked for a headshot. I send them this photo. I was so elated when I was listed on the page of speakers. I clicked on my photo to make it bigger, and for the first time realized in horror that my tongue was out. Clearly the photo had to be replaced.

Brand Awareness

It’s amazing that even in the NY metropolitan area it is really hard to find a photographer to do corporate branding work. Further, it is amazing how much range there is in their rates. Beyond that, it amazes me how few were even willing to respond. There are so many things that i think about when interacting with clients: rates, making it about them, speed of response, and yet finding someone who got what I needed AND responded AND charged a sane rate seemed like the Red Sea parting. I was delighted when I actually got in touch with a photographer who had an entire corporate branding page and took the time to look at my website. She was kind and flexible and her work is beautiful. She was not easy to find and I’m so thankful that I did!

For me, I wanted these pictures to help instill brand awareness, so clients really know what it’s like to work with me. This meant:

letting my personality come through
choosing colors like pink and avoiding other colors
including my kids and my dogs
showing details of my home and office life

This is all a part of what I have built my brand on…

Chance for Clients to Get to Know You

For these headshots, I put together three looks: formal, fun, and business casual. As I work in different genres of voice over, and deal with people with differing job titles, different looks work for different people. A head shot that is ideal for radio imaging is very different than one that is ideal for corporate narration. But, I wanted my happy, upbeat, fun vibe to come through in all of these looks. I wanted my youthful, millennial personality to shine.

Face of Small Business

While I am a solopreneur, I do run my VO business like a business, and I had very specific thoughts about these photos and their usage. Having been in the voiceover industry for so many years, I knew just how I’d use these pictures and could already envision their placement as soon as I got the proofs.

Opportunity for Social media

I also wanted to have much better images for instagram posts. This was really important to me. I was really excited to see what Erica came back with, because I immediately felt inspired and had tons of ideas. From posts about social media, to life as a working mom, to booth life, these headshots will be in the mix!

How often should you update them?

Basically, you should look like your pictures. Your hair should be relatively similar and no one should have to guess who it is. Likely every 5-7 years will make sense. It it’s more than that you have to question if you are doing yourself a dis-service. In this world where we zoom so often, people expect you to look like your photo. Using an old, out of date, or air brushed photo is almost worse than not having a picture because it undermines the foundation of your brand: you. So keep your headshots up-to-date, and have fun with them!

Welcome to My VO Store: Voice Over Buying Made Easy

January 3, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

It’s 2021 Now…

You don’t need a middle man if you need a voiceover for your next project. Instead, with a revolutionary online store front, you can shop for you voice over needs just like online food marketing or buying shoes. This client-centered approach is about making it easy and clear for you, the buyer. Let me explain how it works. Here’s the online store:

Voice Over Buying Made Easy

So let’s say it’s 2 am and you have just finished editing your explainer video. You have a super fast turn-around and you need a professional female voice talent who does not need a lot of direction, you tell her what you want, and voila, pristine audio will arrive fully-edited and according to your specs.

Or you have a commercial. You are looking for that quintessential millennial voice. You know, the authentic girl-next-door that sounds like a real person. You want it for a regional broadcast, and you need a live session via source connect. It’s 10 am, and you need the audio in the next day. Easy, you just click, and set up your session.

https://youtu.be/p31p69CD_sM

First Security Bank TV Commercial (https://youtu.be/p31p69CD_sM)

Here’s another potential scenario in which client’s love this online store. You’re looking to change your office voice mail recording. A holiday is coming up, so you want it to be seasonally appropriate, your hours are changing, and you need Laura to work with a professional engineer to add music to match your branding. Here are two recent samples where Laura was hired directly by the client to redo their IVR, and she customized the sound for them with a talented engineer.

https://youtu.be/9VHT-SawW5E

Laura Schreiber IVR Phone Greeting Sample – Law Firm (https://youtu.be/9VHT-SawW5E)

https://youtu.be/5Y1Ojjw4BVU

Voice Over Phone Greeting by Laura Schreiber for Hatboro Pediatrics (https://youtu.be/5Y1Ojjw4BVU)

All of this is possible without even a single phone call, all with online purchasing through Laura’s voice over store.

The Process is Simple

First, the client would go to the “Services” page in the menu.
Then, select your category from the “menu” of service items.

Note that many of the categories differentiate the length of usage. It is important not to simply choose the cheapest option. Instead, you must actually select the real usage for your project.
When you are in the correct category, select the “Buy Now” button.
Choose the option that is appropriate and select “add to cart.”
To check out, click “view cart”

Then click “Proceed to Check Out”

When you are in the check out screen, there is a notes section for any special notes about the booking. This is where you can make any directional requests about tone or pace.

All that’s left to do is to pay! That’s it, it’s that easy.

Rates…

As a full-time working professional with years of experience and top brands as my clients, maintaining industry standard rates is essential to my business ethics. What are you paying for when you hire an established voice talent? You might think you are paying for the actual voice over for a given project and the usage of that voice over, but the rates stand for even more. The rates are based on the years of coaching and the on-going training that a professional has to understand what is current and booking in the industry. The rates are in a certain zone because professional talents maintain broad-cast ready studios with expensive equipment so that the audio quality is pristine every single time. The studios typically offer costly methods for live sessions, including Source Connect. Lastly, when you book a job in a certain range, you have are getting the guarantee of revisions and availability of that talent. The rate being in a certain range, then, should come as a quality assurance. Conversely, rates that are surprisingly low should serve as a red flag and alert you that either a talent is inexperienced or lacking in one of the areas and you should run for the hills.

Other Perks of Easy Shopping

Again, the purpose of the online store is to make the shopping experience as easy as possible for the client. When shopping in this online store, transparency is a given. You know what you are getting upfront. If you need pickups or revisions with your booking, they always come with jobs $250 and higher. Live sessions are always final delivery. Laura always delivers her bookings in 24 hours and typically much faster. If you need RUSH work delivered in less time, whether it is for a commercial, an explainer, IVR, eLearning narration, or another project, simply let Laura know and with an additional $50 fee (as is industry standard) Laura is happy to accommodate.

It’s 2021. We’re still in a pandemic. We need what we need quickly. Laura gets it and she wants you to have perfect audio without a fuss at the click of your mouse. Let Laura know how she can help you!

Preparing for VO Commercial Auditions

October 13, 2019 by Laura Schreiber

The Audition is the Job

As a full-time, professional voice over actor, we all know that the audition is the job. Whether auditioning for an agent, for a pay to play, or directly for a client, booking is based entirely on how good our audition read is. Sure, people who have connections can get doors to open but, ultimately, voiceover is a tough industry with a lot of really talented actors and your auditions have to be really good to stand out against the crowd. Often, hundreds of people will even submit for jobs with minimal pay, so when you are going after the coveted commercial gigs, you really need to wow your clients. It’s nice if you ask for feedback; but, ultimately, if the listener does not hear what they want in the first four seconds, you will not book that job. That’s it. As someone who has done more commercials than I can count, you need to nail your audition reads. You have to stand out in the beginning. If there is nothing unique about your read, yoo will not book. So here are some things that I think about for commercial reads:

Who is the Client?

Both the person casting and the end client matter. If the client is a well known luxury brand asking for a sophisticated voice and the person casting is an established ad agency with an abundance of options who has asked for a young adult voice, do not go in with your most sultry Kathleen Turner sound hoping to stand out. They want what they want. And when they want sophisticated luxury, don’t give them bubbly and upbeat. I also DO read the specs. I have had people tell me not to read them. Why on earth would you not read something that the person casting the job has spent time writing? I actually stopped working with a well-respected Los Angeles coach again after that person advised me no to do this. I thought it was not a good idea. In this scenario, they are the boss and we are the potential hire. Sometimes the clients ask for two reads and want very different takes in each read. If you don’t read the specs, you won’t know. Now, we all know that sometimes there is a great disparity between what books a job and the end result, so give them the read that books and do not worry about the end result until after you have booked.

Microphone Technique Matters SO MUCH!

In this pic you can really see the back side of my Neumann TLM 103, but the position in my booth matters so much! I cannot move it from that side to the other or the sound and audio quality completely changes. In my reads, proximity to the mic also matters a lot!

There are so many good microphones, and most good microphones are very sensitive. I have a Neumann TLM 103, and the placement of my mic in my booth matters a lot. My proximity to the mic matters. I have learned that my proximity can be used to evoke very different moods and create a sense of closeness and intimacy. I also have learned that I have to be careful not to fidget during a read, because shifting from side to side will cause irregularities in sound and my mic with pic it all up! A good coach teaches this technique. A good talent listens to their work before they submit. Make sure you listen to your recording and you can hear these subtleties. It would be such a shame to nail the read but lose out because your audio quality is less than pristine. Audio quality is everything, and you are only as good as you sound in this business. If you want your commercial auditions to book, they must sound excellent.

Sometimes the client Just Wants Good Samples- SO GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT!

Four times this week I was emailed for jobs that either wanted very specific demos or samples of work I had done in a specific genre. All were new clients. This is awesome! Either you paid to produce a demo that showcases your best abilities, or you booked a spot because you killed it! Either way it’s a win, so respond immediately before someone else does and show this new client exactly why you are the right one for the job! I keep a lot of such samples accessible via drop box, so that even if I am out and about, I can get them right to a client and they do not have to wait. More importantly, their end person does not have to wait!

Lastly, I want to broaden your thinking of what an audition is. Anytime you put yourself and your voice or samples in front of a client that is an audition opportunity! A phone call, and of course a cold call, gives a client a chance to hear you. A direct email to someone you have met with your demo likewise gives a client a chance to hear you. Meeting someone at a conference or a networking event and talking about why your service is different from that of other voice actors is an in-person audition: you have their undivided attention, they hear your voice, and you are speaking! An audition is not just a read with a script or a demo submitted. Always be prepared with you 30 second elevator shpiel and be proud of who you are and what you do. Sparkle!

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Preparing for VO Commercial Auditions

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