Dane Reid Media

Profound. Resonant. Real | Voiceovers

  • HOME
  • DEMOS
    • Commercial
    • Narration
    • Political
      • African American Political
    • Nightclubs & Events
    • Radio Imaging
    • Dj Drops
    • Live Announcing & Hosting
    • African American Male VO
  • ABOUT
  • CLIENTS
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
  • CONTACT

Everett Oliver – What The Hell Is A Booth Director and Why Do I Need One?

About Voice Over, Interviews & Insight, Uncategorized, voiceover, Voiceover Auditions, Voiceover Career, Voiceover Events, voices

Everett Oliver is a shy, introverted booth director who got his start 25 years ago in the animation world….. And if you know Everett you know that there is absolutely nothing shy nor introverted about him. Everett is a no holds barred, unfiltered, instinctive voiceover coach and booth director who fights hard for the success of his clients.

As a booth director, Everett directs clients auditions to help them book jobs. Voiceover actors often have auditions that they REALLY WANT to book. Some of these auditions are the BIG ONE that can make our careers. Whether it’s a network promo job or an animation project, we know this can mean the difference between success and failure. We sometimes spend hours recording the audition and then second-guessing ourselves on the read, the sound, the tone etc. Ultimately this can result in paralysis of analysis. In those moments, what we really need is a second ear.

That Second Ear

Everett is that Ear. Working with a voiceover audition coach like Everett accomplishes several things. It cuts down the time you spend on auditioning and allows talent to submit auditions faster. Sometimes agents submit the first good auditions as they come in and those are the ones that are most highly considered. Working with Everett also gives you insight into what the client is most likely thinking when he wrote the copy. Everett knows that world and he has an incredible instinct for predicting what books.

Taking His Show On The Road

Everett Oliver has been touring North America, taking his brass brand of coaching to various cities. What is a booth directorAnd talent are better off for it. In my time speaking to Everett, he explained to me about an entire world that goes beyond what most talent could even imagine. It’s a fast-paced, backroom world where the end result is what matters. Everett knows that world, having been in Hollywood for many years and being a part of it. It’s a world where talent is replaceable and feelings can be a liability.

He’s a Tough Mutha Shut Yo Mouth

Everett’s style is all in preparation for acting in front of those people who run that world. He’s hardcore, but when you speak to him one-on-one, you realize that it’s all in love. He’s like the mother hen who looks out for you until you are ready to fly before he himself pushes you out of the nest. And believe me, Everett Oliver pushes. His personality throughout his session was both tough and hilarious.

Conclusion

There have been so many voiceover jobs that I crossed my fingers and threw up 7 hail Mary’s that I didn’t get. Somethings are just perfect for you and you’d love to call up someone special and say “Listen to me on this”. And those are the voiceover auditions that I would call a booth director for. Those are the jobs that I prep for with a voiceover coach months in advance for. Those are the jobs that I now keep Everett on speed dial for. Now, my booth director is Everett Oliver.

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Interviews & Insight, Uncategorized, voiceover, Voiceover Auditions, Voiceover Career, Voiceover Events, voices Tagged With: Animation Voiceover, booth director, Breaking Into voiceover, everett oliver, recording booth, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Voice Actor, Voice Over Agencies, Voice Over Professional, Voice Talent, Voiceover Coach, Voiceover Training, Voiceover Workshop

Milledgeville Film Festival Voiceover Panel w/ Jeffrey Umberger, Widdi Turner, September Day & Tony Messano

About Voice Over, Interviews & Insight, Voiceover Events

Milledgeville Film Festival 2019

When I got the email from my agent Jeffrey Umberger to be on a panel, I had to check to make sure that he had sent it out to the right person. Lol. I have seen Jeffrey moderate and participate in panels many time from SCAD to VO Atlanta to That’s Voiceover and each time he has asked me “Why weren’t you on that panel?” I have been on panels before although not many. I have taught a few voiceover classes and have a few voiceover students but I mostly focus my attention on being a voiceover talent myself and finding and maintaining voiceover work. But when your agent ask you to be part of his panel, you say “Yes!”

And then you type the address into your GPS and you realize that the panel is at 11 am on a Saturday at a location that is 2.5 hours away. The Milledgeville Film Festival was only in it’s thrid year and this panel would be the first representing voiceover. It included myself, Tony Messano, Widdi Turner and September Day Carter. September and I had never actually met but felt like we had. We’re connected through facebook so it feels like we had.

Jeffrey moderated the hour long panel in which we discussed our different career paths, rates, projects and what it is like finding work and maintaining a voiceover business. When the session wrapped up, the fun continues at a local eatery where we further discussed finding opportunities and life around being a voice talent. September is a mom and also a wife to a fellow working voice actor and Tony is a blessed grandfather who enjoys his grandchildren when he’s not in the studio. It was just an all around great time getting to know them and well worth the 5 hours in the car traveling back and forth to Milledgeville.

Note: If you go to the Milledgeville Film Festival website, pay no attention to the picture of me. Lol That’s Tony

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Interviews & Insight, Voiceover Events Tagged With: Jeffrey Umberger, millegeville film festival, september day carter, tony messano, widdi turner

Uncle Roy Yokelsons 10th Annual VO BBQ

About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Voiceover Events

Every year for the past 10 year, Roy Yokelson’s opened up his home to host the unofficial-official VO-BBQ. It started 10 years ago with a small gathering of Roy’s voiceover friends. And if you know Roy Yokelson, he makes friends quite easily.

Roy YokelsonRoy had no idea I was coming to the New York Metro. Quite honestly neither did I, but the wind blew in and blew me with it and I’m so glad it did. It was my first VO BBQ. I had seen the pictures and videos from previous years and knew it was bound to full of fun and some of my favorite people. The annual gathering brought out some of the best in voiceover like Cliff Zellman, Peter Bishop, Jenn Ifer Platt, Mara Junot, Bob Souer, Scott Chambers, Jordan Reynolds, Andy Danish, Paul Strikwerda, George Whittam, Anne Ganguzza and that’s not even scratching the surface. Additionally Roy sells T-Shirts which he donates the proceeds from to children’s charities.

Roy Yokelson and Dane ReidIf you’ve enjoyed this videoand interview of Roy Yokelsons VO BBQ, please subscribe to this page for more. Also check out my blog and video with Rudy Gaskins entitled “Rudy Gaskins- The Right Guy For The Voice Arts Awards” as the 2nd Annual Voice Arts Awards are nearing in L.A. Click Here To Watch & Read
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

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Voiceover Events Tagged With: Atlanta Voice Over, Networking, Roy Yokelson, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Travel for Work, VO BBQ, Voice Actor, Voice Over, Voice Over Agencies, Voice Over Professional, Voice Talent, voiceover, voiceover career

Rudy Gaskins- The Right Guy For The Voice Arts Awards

About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Voiceover Events

Movie Stars have them. Broadway actors have one too. SAG has theirs and countless performing arts hold theirs. But voiceover talent have never broken ground to have their own awards program. In spite of the many contributions the voice actor has made to movies and advertising, audiobooks and video games, and other niche areas of voice acting, few are celebrated for their work. Yes, the Academy Awards and other have a few awards that are handed out for animation and best selling audiobooks but what about the rest of us who aren’t in Shrek or who aren’t the President of the United States (President Obama has a Best Spoken Word Album Grammy for narrating his own book.) In steps in Rudy Gaskins with the Voice Arts Awards.

Rudy Gaskins has spent the past twenty plus years in advertising and television imaging, re-imagining and developing his own and the ideas of others. Having worked with big names like the late great Peter Jennings, and veteran news anchors like Diane Sawyer, as well as years with Court TV, the Food Network, The Olympics and others, Rudy is no stranger to proposing and executing big ideas. But he is not a voice actor. So what fuels his passion to step in and create an awards show for voice actors? I sat down with him to find out.
Voice-Arts-Award-Show-James Earl JonesI of course knew who Rudy was dating back many years. In establishing and growing my voiceover career I stumbled on his ad agency “Push Creative” many years back. His wife Joan Baker’s book “Secrets of Voiceover Success” came out in early 2005 just months after I recorded my first voiceover demo. And continued googling of voiceover information and updates in later years lead me to their organization of SOVAS. So I was no stranger to their work or reputation. SOVAS when I looked it up, seemed to want to establish standards in voiceover. At least that’s how I looked at it. They also brought programs like “That’s Voiceover” which made it’s debut in 2007. But it was the event last year that really caught my eye that combined the new “Voice Arts Awards” with “That’s Voiceover” which offered the opportunity for voice talent and actors to audition with The Travel Channel for a web series. As an avid globetrotter, I couldn’t pass up that opportunity.

Dane Reid Voice Arts Awards
Dane Reid Enjoying Thats Voiceover- Making The Crowd Laugh

The two events brought out voiceover stars from all over the country and also brought out the criticism. Questions regarding Rudy’s authority and authenticity swirled and divided voice actors who chimed in. Many feelings of the events supporters were hurt in the VO community,  mostly by others who neither witnessed nor contributed to the event or by those who may have felt shut out. The Voice Arts Awards were described as an “awards for and by voiceover’s self crowned elite” and denounced as a pay to play event because of the cost to enter the awards, and to submit your name for consideration to win. This criticism seemed to ignore the tremendous cost of the venue (which was impressively grand), the designing and manufacturing of the award (which was finely and thoughtfully crafted by a renowned company) and the overall cost of putting on such an evening. Getting James Earl Jones there along with other big name celebrities may have had some cost associated with it, if for nothing else than hotel and transportation. Still the detractors studied carefully each word on the SOVAS websites to carefully tune their critiques.
But from my observation in being at the events, I witnessed the start of something that had great potential. In watching it Voice Arts Awards Allstarsunfold, I saw a Rudy Gaskins who was more so proud of the people who attended and were awarded then he was of himself for pulling off such a feat. In interviewing him, I found a confidence in him that not only could he repeatedly pull off the Voice Arts Awards simultaneously with That’s Voiceover, but he could continuously make the events bigger with each year. I grew to trust in his word that the Voice Arts Awards was born out his passion and appreciation for the Voice Over Artist. No, the VAA are not perfect. Certainly I’d like to see categories added for Radio Imaging and e-learning and other niches that go un-celebrated. But it’s a darn good start. And Rudy and SOVAS is thoughtful in incorporating the fine details to make it all feel right…. for those who want to feel right to begin with.

If you’ve enjoyed this video, please subscribe to this page for more. Also check out my guest blog and video (as I blogged from the tallest building in Hong Kong) on Voice Over Herald this month entitled “The World Needs Voiceover & So Do I.” Its a personal look at what I’ve learned about voice over in my last few years of traveling the world. Click Here For That Blog.
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

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Voiceover Events Tagged With: Atlanta Voice Over, Rudy Gaskins, SOVAS, Thats Voioceover, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Voice Arts Awards, voiceover

6 Tips To Get The Most Out Of The VOICE Convention

About Voice Over, Interviews & Insight, Voiceover Events

The Voice Over International Creative Experience (aka The Voice Convention 2014) happens every two years and brings out some of voiceovers biggest stars. With a convention that only happens bi-annually, its important that not a moment of your time is wasted. Its exciting to see all of your voiceover friends, colleagues and idols all in one place. The VOICE is a place where you can exchange ideas, build relationships, buy products and expand your business potential. But you have to have a strategy for before, during and after the convention.


Before The VOICE

Determine why you decided to go to begin with. Everything that you do from this point should be focused on your reasons to attend. You wanted to get something out of it when you paid your registration fee. From that point on every conversation you have, every laugh, every question should be focused on your objective. Of course you should always be your genuine self, but remember that you could have also been your genuine self and saved 600 bucks by staying home

Bring Business Cards. But also plan to collect business cards.  Download an app to your phone like Card To Connect on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

Plan out your moves. With so many presentations and panels in one place, its hard to keep track. But with a little research online, you can figure out who is important for you to see. The VOICE provides a schedule online that you can print. Print it and mark it up. Hand Out Your Cards. Make sure people remember the card and the face associated with. Mark all of the cards that you receive with notes indicating the level of importance it is to stay in contact with that person. Then Stay in contact.

During The VOICE

Use your listening skills. Every conversation made in public is meant for you to hear and gain information from. Every question and every answer is relevant. There are tons of resources that even the most seasoned voiceover veteran is not aware of. Take notes. Stick around till the end of every panel discussion and ask more questions and listen to the questions that other attendees have for presenters.

Attend all of the events. The VOICE has a lot of events that happen during the convention but I find that some of the best times to network is after everyone is just hanging out. Go hang out. Be social. Take a moment to find out more about people than just their last voiceover booking. You’ll find yourself among some of the nicest professionals anywhere. Have a good time. Take pictures and tweet them out to the world.

After The VOICE

Follow Up. Have a system in place before the VOICE so that when you get back home you can email people and keep in touch. Consider Constant Contact, Mail Chip or Fanbridge as way to send updates. Follow everyone you’ve met on social media. Share the pics you’ve taken with them. Remember the VOICE as a fun yet productive time. Revisit your objective and stay in tune with it throughout the days, weeks and month following the convention.

I’ve been involved in conventions with my dad most of my life and have seen how these techniques can be used at any convention. I have yet another (non voiceover) convention to attend in a few weeks where I will following my own advice. Good Luck at the VOICE and I will see many of you in Atlanta in 2015.

To Find More Of My Networking Techniques Check Out My Blog And Video On “Networking For Voiceover”

Voiceover Talent available at DaneReidMedia.com
Subscribe http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=youtube.com%2Fdanereidmedia
Social Networks
Twitter.com/danereid
Facebook.com/DaneReidMedia
Google.com/+DaneReidVoiceOver
DaneReidMedia.com

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Interviews & Insight, Voiceover Events Tagged With: Atlanta Voice Over, Dave Fennoy, James Alberger, Penny Abshire, The VOICE, Voice 2014

Play
Stop
Next»
«Prev
HIDE PLAYLIST
X

Categories

Archives

SUBSCRIBE

  • Receive news and updates.

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

© 2020 Dane Reid Media LLC | Site Terms and Conditions | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Site by Voice Actor websites

Profound. Resonant. Real.