It was never supposed to be me. I was never supposed to be the subject of the interview. I was always supposed to just ask the questions. But when fellow voice talent and fiend of ten plus years Charlie Sill asked me for an interview, I took a deep breath and said “Yes.” He got me. The Voiceover Interviewer got interviewed.
I’m Not The Authority On Voiceover
I never considered myself an authority on voiceover. I’m more of a beneficiary of good timing, opportunity and ingenuity. I rarely like to tout my mediocre successes in this industry where the big guys are on every major brand possible. Although I have represented a major brands also many times, I don’t keep track. Voiceover is a love of mine and so I never keep score.
All of that combined with a popular blog attract a lot of questions for me. I usually deflect by sending people to the blog itself where I have had the wonderful pleasure in interviewing some of voiceovers finest players. When I set out to do a blog where I interviewed experts, it was to have fun while learning more about the passion that I shared with them. But the bi-product has been the perception that I myself am the expert, or that I do coaching or demo production. And while I do produce commercials, it’s only on a for client basis.
The Interview
As the Voiceover Interviewer Guy, I’m no stranger to either the microphone or the camera but I am a stranger to answering questions. But Charlie, knowing me, took it easy. He finessed it, offered me a sandwich and asked me a ton of non-voiceover related questions while sitting in the chair under the lights. He kept me relaxed and allowed a free form of conversation to develop organically. Charlie knows what I enjoy. If you’ve followed my blog, you recognize certain themes. I love laughing and smiling and engaging people in a way thats fun, yet still topical. I love people. I love to talk. And I love, I mean Ab-So-Lute-Ly love travel.
My Loves, My Experiences, My Dream
A few years ago I realized the cross sections of my career and my dream of travelling when I began moving about the country for the purpose of meeting potential clients where they were. My plan was to not just cold call people but to befriend them and allow them to match a name with a face and a personality. They were usually people who I had researched, most of them were big time local advertisers. Sometimes I went the route of befriending radio account executives in an effort to identify who those local advertisers were. My efforts proved successful but rewarded me in a way that distinctly lit up my brain differently from having just landed an account through cold calling. I recognized, that it was the added component of travel. Charlie recognized that too.
In this interview Charlie and I briefly talked about my experiences travelling with my Sennheiser 415 and a bunch of other things that only saw the edit room floor. In the editing process I like to believe that it was kept short and sweet as not to bore people with my life (LOL). It lasted maybe an hour in which we talked about my many experiences in what turned into “Vacations & Voiceover.” My territory of exploration has expanded globally as my curiosity and career have grown. Sometimes I’m just blogging on location. Sometimes I’m searching for work. All the time I am having fun.
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Dane Reid is a Voice Over Talent, Radio Commercial Producer and Imager, Voice Over Youtube Channel Producer at http://Youtube.com/DaneReidMedia , Children’s Book Author, Entrepenuer & And Avid Global Traveler