voice actor

The line between the voice actor and our business?

February 28, 2022 by Laura Schreiber

The Philosophical Question of VO

Without doubt people love John DiMaggio’s character Bender on “Futurama.” So when DiMaggio’s contract was up, he faced a dilemma. Many voice actors have actually faced this very dilemma. Does he hold out for the rate he deserves? Should does he walk? Or perhaps in this instance, DiMaggio responded like his character Bender would have.

This is a complex situation. If you have not watched the show or have not read about it, there are a few key details. DiMaggio has played Bender since the 90s. He has described Bender as being part of his soul. Hulu decided to revive the series. There are a lot of unanswered questions:

We do not know the entire budget.
What was John DiMaggio’s offer was relative to others in the cast like Billy West?
Was actually only about the rate?

As voice actors, we face a daily struggle. We are working artists. Creatives. How do we align artistic principles with business principles? If something is “part of your soul” how do you attach a rate? When a character becomes part of the fiber of who we are, how do we walk away? At the same time, we spend years training. We invest in pricey gear. We have a huge cost to maintain our business. How can we afford not to maintain our rates? If we do not stand up for our value, who will?

Recently I was on a college tour at Georgetown with my son. They tour guide spoke about religious and philosophical life on campus. He said they want the students to grapple with the questions to which there are no answers. When I read DiMaggio’s story, I thought back to this. As voice actors, we need to find the intersection between our acting goals and our business goals.

Voice Over Bookings Like Library Books

In March of 2019, I was at the World Wide Radio Summit in Burbank. I remember Kelly Doherty saying something brilliant. She likened VO gigs to library books. Kelly said they are ours for a time then they go to someone else. I loved that. As someone who has always believed we get the jobs we are meant to get, that worked for me. My friend used to do the Burlington ads on Spotify, then I did them. Now someone else is. I used to do the IVR for Big Bear Gear. Then they wanted a male voice and I happily passed it on. That’s how it goes.

What makes it different in the scenario is with Bender, is that fans equate actor with the actor. The actor has developed the character. The actor has not only made the character who he is, but the character then becomes a part of the fiber of the actor.

Now, let’s flesh this out. There are times when actors assume roles that have already existed. For example, Bob Bergen took over as Porky Pig. Dora from Dora the Explorer has been voiced by three actors: Isabella Merced, Caitlyn Sanchez, and Fatima Ptacek. “Tom and Jerry” had no fewer than seven voice actors over the many years. There was not feuding when these actors stepped into a role, the role, like a library book, simply changed hands.

What Makes the Bender’s Voice Over Role Different

Some philosophical questions must be asked at this point in analysis:

Does fan attachment come into play?
Do some actors define a role?
Can actors seamlessly take over for each other?
Where is the line between budget and performance?
Is it more important for a talent to earn a living wage? Or, is it more important for the character to go on to exist and be part of a series?

When DiMaggio could not reach an agreement, many industry insiders came to his defense assuring everyone that they would not assume his role either. This leaves us with an open-ended question: imagine of someone had tried to replace Beaver Cleaver or Arther Fonzerelli? If someone tried to replace Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, we would notice that too, so perhaps some characters are just different. Perhaps Bender is one of those characters. That, of course, leads to another great question: does the voice actor develop the role is does the role create the space for great talent?

As a professional voice actor, I can tell you that great scripts are a gift and they do not come your way so often. When they do, they give voice actors a chance to shine. It is hard to give a brilliant performance when the specs in no way match what you are sent script wise. So my thoughts are that when characters become iconic, it’s because an extremely gifted actor is placed in a wonderful cast and has a great script to work with.

Voice Actors Earning a Living Wage

All of that said, I am a voice actor because I have a passion for my craft. I have an advanced degree and while there are many things that I could do, there is only one thing that I want to do: voice over. Of my daily routine, I take joy in the minutiae with one exception: negotiating rates. Despite the prevalence of well-publicized rate cards, I constantly have to negotiate with clients. It is so frustrating. DiMaggio’s recent problems bring all of this to light. If the most famous and talented among us cannot get paid what they feel they need to continue an on-going role that they are known for, how are the rest of us supposed to hold out hope that we will get the rate we need on the next commercial or eLearning gig?

Pickups and Revisions: What’s Your Policy?

January 31, 2022 by Laura Schreiber

Why Voice Actors Need a Policy for Pickups and Revisions

As a full-time, professional voice actor, I love working with repeat clients. I love delivering finished audio I can be proud of, and over the years I’ve come up with a few strategies to reduce the number of pickups I have to do. It is important to understand the difference between pickups and revisions, and how live sessions come into play.

Just What is a Pickup

A pickup implies that you, the voice over talent, have made an error, and typically any and all performance errors are covered by the actor regardless of the size of the job’s budget. This could mean that you misread the script, it could mean that there is an odd noise in the recording and it is obscuring your work, or it could be a performance error. Perhaps you were meant to sound calm and relaxed and the client feels you give off an agitated vibe. Any of this constitutes a pickup. When I book a job, I do ask clients to give me the courtesy of asking for pickups and deliveries within 48 hours of when I give them the finished audio. Most do. Some don’t. How flexible you want to be is up to you, and makes a difference in how you feel about your relationship with the client.

What is a Revision

A revision is different than a pickup. A revision implies that the client has changed the script. Typically this means that they got your VoiceOver audio back, reviewed it, and then decided to make tweaks. For me, for jobs over $250, I include one round of minor revisions which I define as less than 20% of the script within 48 hours of delivery. If it is after 48 hours or more than 20% I charge $75 per 30-minute revision session. If the revisions are more than 40 percent of the script I adjust the rate. If the script starts to look more than 3/4 different and it is a long narration, then it becomes a new job, and negotiations begin. This is not common. In all my years as a VO talent and coach, the two times this has happened, the clients were upfront about the revisions and offered me a new rate before I even had to start worrying. If you are noticing, they are noticing. In terms of the turnaround with revisions, again, you have to decide what you can live with. For example, I work with some eLearning companies that take quite a while to review their work. For me, this is not a problem and I am happy to wait.

Throwing a Live Session into the Mix

So you have a session for Source Connect, Zoom, or Skype. Wonderful. What should your pickup policy be? Audio from a live session is always final delivery. Period. The session should not end until the clients have what they need. This is the industry standard. If the client comes back after a life session and wants a re-record, you are entitled to a fee for an entirely new booking. Basically, you have made yourself available to however many people from their team are on the call, from the producer, to the creative director, to the folks from the brand. They have plenty of time to give direction, chat, and get all that they need from you. You are not in any hurry. If, after the spot is produced, they decide to take the work in a different direction, that’s fine. They can pay you for another session.

Tips to Avoid Pickups and Revisions

In the end, here are some tips I have come up with that leave me having to do very little pickups.

On jobs under three and a half or four minutes, I deliver at least two takes. If a client has options, they are less likely to come back to you wanting more.
I deliver wilds of the end. If there is a talk line, give them lots of options of the end as you would in a live session.
If there is something that may have an unusual or unexpected pronunciation, either try to call the company and hear how they say it, or fine it on YouTube and avoid having to do the retake for that. If you can’t find it, give them wilds of the word or sentence with different pronunciations.
Try to review your audio several times before you submit it. If you are new to VoiceOver, this is a reminder that you need to do your editing for correctness to script before adding EQ/Compression/Effect stack.
If you have a long narration, I actually edit page by page. I go through each page twice before moving on to the next one. I catch my errors and it gives my voice a break.

Ultimately Why Pickups and Revision Policies Matter

In the end, we want our clients to have a great experience working with us. We want them to come back to us over and over again. If we lay out our policies clearly, and there is no room for ambiguities, communication should be seamless. Expectations should be clear. Relationships are built on trust, and when policies are consistent, because there is, in fact, an actual policy, it is much easier for a client to understand what they are being charged for and why.

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:

I 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

A 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.

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!

Talking VO Websites with Karin Barth from Voice Actor Websites

September 12, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

In Good Company…

Sometimes you are blessed with knowing the right people, and knowing Joe Davis and Karin Barth is a blessing indeed! While I am fortunate to have worked with them for years on my website and SEO, I am doubly blessed to call them dear friends and amongst my favorite people in the world. When I have important decisions to make about my business, I trust them not just because of their superior expertise, but because they are truly mensch (someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character) in every sense of the word. I have shared holidays and dinners out with them, they have been to my home and know my family, I share personal details of my private life with them, so when I tell you that I trust their guidance for websites… I mean that I fully and completely trust what they have to offer.

So this past Friday, even with just returning from Dallas and the Jewish holidays to boot, Karin Barth made time to speak with me and Diana Birdsall on our weekly Clubhouse “Ask the VO Coaches” about all that we could jam in related to websites and SEO. We had some great participation and all were dazzled by Karin’s brilliant insights. In case you missed it, here is a brief recap of some highlights.

Why Websites Are So Important

Karin put it simply: You want to get your voice heard, your demos heard, and people to hire you. I always tell me coaching students your website is your virtual storefront. She did not use those words but that is how I think of it, and your business really does not exist if your website is not up and no one can find you. A regular to our Clubhouse room, Vijayan, offered that people know that you value yourself and your work once you have a website. He also said that prior to his website, he had an issue with transparency in his country. There was always a middle man. Once he had a website, he was able to interact with clients directly and could negotiate on his own. It was so refreshing to hear his reflections, as I had my own website before my business launched, and I had never considered this issue.

What Voice Actors Need to Start

Karin said in order to begin you need to have had some coaching and completed a professional demo. As a voice over coach and video demo producer, I cannot tell you how happy this made me to hear. She shared an anecdote about a woman who wanted to do a website and had no demos. This lady thought she could just record some stuff on her phone. Karin said in this scenario they advise folks new to voiceover to instead invest in coaching and then revisit a website down the road.

We then asked Karin if voice actors come to them with a Wix or Square space page if they can work that. The answer is yes, but there is an advantage to having a Word Press page. Since June, Google has changed its core web vitals. Word press makes it easier to comply.

Diana then asked Karin if we should be regularly changing our videos for our SEO. I was fascinated because while I typically add new videos, I tend not to delete old ones as I am really proud of the work I have done and get attached to my content. It never occurred to me to swap it out. I also like the idea, personally, of amassing a large body of work. Anyway, Karin explained that the idea is to train the google bots to come to the site. You want to continually add more relevant content so that your site continues to rank.

Features All Voice Actors Should Have

I of course found this interesting:

Demos: They should be downloadable, not just playable. Karin also mentioned you should be mindful of how you name them. For instance, don’t just label it “commercial demo” because a casting agent could be very confused if they download it and it does not have your name.
Bio: There are a few important details that Karin mentioned. First, be sure to have unique, original content and not to use the same bio on Linked In, your website, and other places! Next, while folks are often excited to share their backstory, Karin suggests starting with where you are now. What service do you provide? What are your selling points?
Contact Form: I will tell you I have changed mine over the years but they do an awesome job setting this up for you and Karin also sets up “recaptcha” so you don’t get spam.
Testimonials: This is so important to help build your trust factor
Client List or Client Logos: Again, this helps with your street cred.
Videos: We chatted about how people like to take in information in different ways, and offering video to people who do video production just makes a lot of sense!

Insights From Google Analytics

We also spent a little bit of time talking about Google Analytics and what you can learn from them. Your bounce rate is how long someone stays on your site, and Karin explains you can actually look to see the behavior flow and try to see if there are trends in where they drop off. This can give you an idea if you need to add a different call to action. Basically, the longer they are on the site the better. I found this fascinating.

Final Thoughts…

Those of us who work with Karin and Joe know we are lucky. They know their stuff and there is a reason so many of us turn to them.

Chatting with Voice Actor Katie Flamman

August 15, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

A Lovely Talk

For 10 weeks now, fellow voice over coach and professional voice over actor Diana Birdsall and I have been hosting a weekly Clubhouse. It fascinates me how the energy of every panel is so different. It’s great that every week the guests in our room comment and asks questions, but depending on who are special guest is, the tone and the vibe is so different.

Katie Flamman and Diana Birdsall at the SOVAS awards in Hollywood — Katie Flamman and our very own Diana Birdsall at the SOVAS awards in Hollywood, from Katie’s instagram feed!

This week we were lucky to have the amazing British voice over actor Katie Flamman. Katie lives in a village south of London and like me was a stay at home mom for years and came into voiceover at the moment when it made sense for herself and for her kids. Katie has an academic background in English Literature from Cambridge University and a professional background in broadcast journalism, all things that serve her well as a voice talent. What made this week’s panel so unique, I think, is that even though Diana and I had a planned set if questions that primarily revolved around marketing and business, the genuine conversation kept shifting back to acting technique and the actual craft of being a working actor. I felt like chatting with Katie and the other guests we had fed me soul and it wad great fun.

Katie’s Take on Marketing

When speaking with Katie, what struck me was how genuine and authentic she is. I’ve been spending a lot of time this week working on keywords on my pay to plays, and these words seem to accurately describe Katie. While so many of us strategize and plan, Katie really is all about making genuine connections with people,

Katie's Clever Posts — Katie’s posts are clever and authentic, and always make me feel inspired.

both industry friends and clients alike. And the timing could not be more perfect, as she actually has an article out this week in Buzz Magazine put out by the Voice Over Network. Katie shared with us that when she first got started in VO, she was in a group called media parents. One of the other women in the group looked at her resume, and helped her find a common thread, and that was storytelling. Katie has worked story telling into all of her branding.

Beyond that, Katie says that when she has something that she things is funny or interesting, she shares it. Beyond that, she does not have a grand plan or strategy. Katie has had the opportunity to travel to the United States for the SOVAS awards and has been able to meet and connect with many people who she finds to be inspiring, and knowing her audience helps shapes her marketing and outreach. She always tries to share information about herself that is authentic and clever, and she uses hashtags as a vehicle to drive her audience connections.

The Work Katie Does

Since Katie had acting experience as a student, and then went into journalism, when she first went into voice over years go she was only doing corporate and commercial work. While for some that may be hard to book, with Katie’s skill set and talent she settled into those genres with ease. For Katie, while she was glad to book that, she still wanted to do character work. She studies with Dave Fennoy and even won a SOVAS for her video game demo. When she won, she thought the job opportunities would pour in, but they did not. She got feedback that she needed to put more physicality into her roles, and she needed to “become the character.” She began to study Alexander technique and started doing a physical warmup before each recording session. She even had her coach come to her studio to evaluate how she stood in front of her mic. I was particularly fascinated by this and now when my twins start back to school may give it a go. Katie has also gotten training in MoCap and PCap. She is really excited about how all of her efforts are helping her pursue work in the genres she is quite passionate about.

What She Wishes She had Known

One of our guests asked Katie what she wish she had known. I always LOVE this question because I think there are so few barriers to entry in our field, that sometimes folks jump into voiceover and are not always realistic about their expectations. Katie said she wished she knew about how to run a business and more about accounting. I loved this answer because anyone getting int VO needs to understand that as a working creative, while our art is part of it, we are running a business. In order to succeed it has to be treated like a business from day one. You need a CRM, you need to track outreach, invoices, expenses, and bookings. You need to pay quarterly taxes (at least in the US). And most importantly, you need to carry yourself like a professional. At the end of the day, being a voice talent is about many things, and our voice is just a small bit. Having Katie on was such a joy, and the chat could have gone on much longer. We are so thankful for her time, especially across time zones!