Animation Voiceover Archives

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. And 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.

I Am NOT A Voiceover Expert!! Here’s Why!

About Voice Over, Uncategorized, Vlogging, voiceover, Voiceover Career

I am not a Voiceover Expert. I am a student. I taught a class yesterday called “Intro to Voiceover” to a group of excited students who knew nothing about voiceover. Most of them were local Atlanta actors who wanted to break into the business or to wet their beak. But the first thing that I told them is that I myself, even after 15 years, am a student of voiceover. The second thing that I told themwas “this is an intro course and after this, you’ll need extensive training and coaching to really get into the business and I will recommend others who specialize in guiding your career.”

See here’s the thing. It’s not that I don’t know what I’m doing, but it’s that I know that every day I am learning and in order to keep learning and grow my voiceover business, I need to keep the humility of a student. The other thing that I know is that many people in the industry with a cell phone camera bill themselves as a voiceover expert. Some of this is driven by the ability to sell courses, classes and advice to new students. Some of it is ego-driven and done for likes among peers. A friend who does a lot of great coaching and demo production once confided in me that there is more money in voiceover coaching and demo producing than there is in voiceover itself. I think that’s telling and a warning as to how students should invest their money in growing their businesses.

My Interviews

I do interviews as a way to learn valuable information from long-established and well-respected voiceover experts. I started it also to meet people in our industry and to watch them first hand conduct their businesses. Joe Loesch taught me to wake up every morning, get dressed and go to work in work clothes as I would for a corporate job. Dave Fennoy taught me to give every character a past, present and future. Anne Ganguzza taught me the value of consistency in marketing. And Joe Cipriano reminded me that relationships in business will help propel you forward faster. These are things that I may have taken longer to learn, but listening to voiceover experts whose opinions I value, helped put these things in perspective.

Why I Vlog

I love motivating people to be their best as I love being motivated by others. It cost money to buy equipment and travel to people’s homes wherever they may be. But I enjoy doing it. It pays when people recognize me and thank them for helping jumpstart their careers, but private lessons are a minuscule part of what I do. And after several lessons with me, I refer students to other coaches. That seems counterintuitive, but my focus is on continuous learning and advancing education. As for actual profit from vlogging, I make none. No ad dollars. No endorsements and no courses to sell. In full disclosure, my content is a form of advertising my business, but I mostly do this because I truly just love content.

Learning then Teaching

One of the biggest themes in my life has been learning and teaching. I am an avid learner. I grew up in a book store in New York that my father owned and learning was the central theme of my life. At a certain age, I realized that I had a passion for teaching people what I had learned. I eventually went on to work in the school system for 5 years. So, I love to impart information. In addition to wanting to share what I have learned in voiceover, I wanted to present that info in a fun way, in a way that you don’t see enough of online in our industry.

Telling Voiceover Stories

I wanted to fill a void that wasn’t being filled. There is plenty of advice in the voiceover industry. There are plenty of experts of varying levels doing podcasts, Youtube, Facebook Live shows and IGTV and I love a lot of that existing content. Some of the shows I enjoy are Ask Dave Fennoy and VO Buzz Weekly. But what I thought that I could do differently was to tell stories. I watch a lot of youtube videos from creators and enjoy the travel stories, the tech stories and the human stories that are told through video and narration. As a voice guy, I have always had a passion for verbally telling those stories. With a Panasonic GH4 in hand, I can tell those stories now cinematically as well as with my voice.

Joe Loesch- 3 Things That Define A Successful Audiobook Narrator

About Voice Over

When I went to visit Joe Loesch in Nashville I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that he was an accomplished Audiobook Narrator but I had no idea to what degree. I also knew that he was a darn good voice over character actor. But when I met him at Middle Tennessee State University, he was imparting some of his VO knowledge to some students in a crash course. When I walked into the class I was greeted by the nicest guy with the most welcoming smile and coolest salt and pepper hair I had ever seen. And as I set up my video equipment to film his session, he was so friendly. Although I was there to shadow him for the day, Joe was just as interested in me as I was in him.

And as his students entered the classroom, Joe shared that same enthusiasm with each student. He greeted each one and seemed to remember everyone’s name throughout the class. This wasn’t an act. He was a genuine guy and consummate professional. As he shared some things he may have considered to be basic voiceover knowledge, I found myself taking mental notes. He so engaging with his lesson, employing a mix of storytelling, animated character voices, charm and love for sharing. And all in all, not only did the students learn a little bit about this field of voiceover, but also connected with a guy who is a shining example of what a successful VO Coach, Character Voice Actor and Audiobook Narrator should be like.
Joe and I spent the entire day together. After his sessions at MTSU, I figured that we would head to his house for the interview. And we did head to his house, but the stay was short. Joe introduced me to beautiful wife Lori who was just as kind and talented as an artist, as he is as a voiceover guy. From there, we headed out to dinner where I learned so much about Joe, his family, his faith and his passion for the Road Crew, his band of buddies who have travelled the Route 66 roadway for many years entertaining crowds.
From there, we headed back to the house, where Joe showed off his major league recording studio, his awards and his record selling audio childrens books series. Over the years, Joe has written, published and narrated his own series of books covering Route 66, Bible stories and American history stories. While Joe produces and narrates the audioboks himself, he also employs other professional voice actors as characters.
To understand what makes Joe the complete package in voiceover, you have to know his history. He started out very young as a ventriloquist where he developed his skills as an unabashed performer. He moved into advertising where he got a few big breaks and was pulled into projects as a character actor. He has become a skilled videographer, audio engineer, voice over coach who has worked with celebrities like Reese Witherspoon on accent reduction. Joe has developed his skills over time by employing several methods which I derived from interviewing him.

Networking- By delivering high quality work to big names like Loretta Lynn, Garth Brooks and Dave Ramsey, Joes name and reputation have grown amongst influential circles . With those kind of credits behind you, shopping your work to other clients is a bit easier. He has also voiced commercials for big brands.
Joe makes work for himself. He has established a niche as an audiobook narrator where he has his own product to sell. With something tangible in hand, he can market to customers and not just to clients. He also offers his expert services to others who want to learn what he knows about the voiceover industry and produces VO demos.
And most importantly, while we joked about the pajama bit, Joe never rolls out of bed and goes straight to the studio. Why is that important? Because Joe treats his voiceover job the same way he would treat any other job.

Joe and his wife both work from home but they are both highly disciplined workers. Joe keeps a focused schedule on how he runs his day. He and his wife start their day off with prayer and coffee every morning and then they separate and go to the respective offices; one upstairs and the other downstairs. Joe does research everyday to find voiceover work as well as auditions, contacts clients and students he coaches, and develops new ideas for his books and other projects. He also keeps an active yet non-controversial social media profile. Most of his post are about voiceover.
Joe Loesch has been an example to me in my voiceover career with his professionalism and positive attitude. I have developed the habit of waking up early in every morning, going to the gym, coming home, showering, dressing up for work and getting to my voiceover office space everyday at the same time. I develop a to do list every week which I execute a portion of every day. I’m hoping to be like Joe Loesch one day, but something tells me he’s not going to slow down so I can catch up.

To Learn More About Joe Visit http://www.joeloesch.com/

If You Are Interested In Being Coached By Joe Visit http://boothcamp.net/

Mara Junot – How A Radio Background Can Help You In Voiceover

About Voice Over

To understand why you should take advice from Mara Junot you only need to do a quick Google search of her name to know that hers is a voiceover career to be envied. Her website MaraJunot.com gives but a snippet of the projects of one of the most diverse talents in our field. But humbly Mara has been the voice of so many things that we hear on a daily basis.

Check out some of her credits.

1. Voice of Christa and Anna Corea in The Walking Dead video game by Telltale Games, winner of over 90 Game of the Year Awards worldwide.

2. Primary internal voice of AT&T, the largest telephony company in the United States. Voice of Nationwide Directory Assistance, U-Verse applications, AT&T retail outlets and extended text-to-speech (TTS) applications.

3. North American voice for Sygic GPS Navigation, named as the most downloaded offline navigation app in the world.

4. Branding voice of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.

5. Voice of Sierra Club, the largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States.

6. Voice of Anki Drive, the first artificial intelligence-driven video game.

7. Voice of Commander Tiaru Jarok, T’Vrell, Capt. Tren Renalla, and various others for Star Trek Online by Cryptic Studios.

8. Voice of Merrisara Winterwhite, Marigold Tarmikos and others in NeverWinter: Fury of the Feywild

9. The White Warrior, Lady Wei , and Female Player in Kung-Fu Live (by Virtual Air Guitar Company).

10. Explainer videos for Microsoft Surface.

11. Voice of Oreck for 4 years.

12. National Jenny Craig commercial.

13. National Public Storage commercials.

Still Mara is pretty humble, down to earth and lots of fun. I’ve studied Mara’s career for a few years now and I’ve observed a few things that make her so dynamic in voiceover. Mara Junot got to where she is with a very precise formula. And while during the course of our interview, she never divulged all of her secrets, she did give me a little taste of her formula and how she got to the “Carnegie Hall” of voiceover. (Hint)
1) Mara started with a background in radio. In voiceover, this is traditionally thought to be the great NO NO as people in radio tend to go against the VO trend of being natural and sounding announcery. Often radio people struggle to break free from the announcer voice that follows them even in regular conversation. But Mara gives good reason in the interview why this doesn’t have to be true and how she used her background in radio to help her.
2)Mara is like an athlete in voiceover. (Watch to learn why)
3) Something she didn’t mention in the interview was the fact that Mara stays on top of trends and goes where the work is. She networks in high level places which helps her climb even higher.

Recording VoiceOver In The Big Voice Over Studio

About Voice Over, Blog, Technology & Voiceover, The Studio

Your agent gives you a call and says that you booked a job that you auditioned for weeks ago. If you are anything like me, you auditioned for it and totally forgot about it, so the call is a welcome surprise. But then you are told that the recording is scheduled to take place at an outside studio. “Ok” This is different but as a pro, I’m ready to record wherever I need to.

But this still takes me for somewhat of a loop. Back in the day recording voiceover almost always took place in big time studios. Some talents were even flown in from whatever city they lived in to record in NY or LA. Some of that still exist but far less than ever before. Technology has eliminated the need for talent to come into “THE BIG STUDIO” as often. Things like ISDN, Source Connect and now new technologies like IpDTL have made giving talent direction in the comforts of their homes a lot more convenient.

And convenience is the name of the game in my voiceover business. I’ve spent a lot of money and time building a home voice over studio with great sound so that I can turn work around quickly to clients. But sometimes clients want VO talent to focus on voicing work and not engineering. That’s when the “In Person Studio Sessions” comes into play.

What To Expect?

When you get into the studio there are several people who may be there. There is the sound engineer, producer, client, copywriter and sometimes other talent. This may vary but you should understand the role of each one of these people in the process. There me be a lot of chatter around you as each person discusses the script, the sound and the voiceover read. Try to pay attention so you can get it just right for everyone in the room, although only one person will give you actual directions. It’s also good to know who everyone is because there may be an opportunity to network here.

Also there will be a script laid out for you, most likely in the booth. You should have received this script before the session but be aware that sometimes there are last minute changes that happened before you got there. Sometimes these changes occur while the client, producer and engineer confer about your read. You won’t always hear what they are saying and this can be nerve wrecking, but be careful not to let this unnerve you. A tense body is never good for your reads.

You Should Be Prepared

Preparation starts before you get to the session. You may get instructions from your agent. Be sure to follow them carefully. Know your lines if they have been given to you. Go back and listen to what you submitted for the audition. You may have recorded several takes and don’t know which one booked so get familiar with all of them and consider new reads just in case. Google the directions to the studio. Know where it is and how long it will take to get there in heavy traffic. Just like with a job interview, you want to get there 15 to 30 minutes early. And just like with a job, be familiar with the product before the interview. You won’t be asked questions about it but it will help you with the read. In the video I recorded related to this blog, I recorded for bump patrol, a product that I actually use.

Lastly remember that you are not recording voiceovers in your own studio. You are in someone else’s territory. Don’t touch anything!! Even if you are familiar with the kind of equipment in the studio, it is not yours. And also remember to dress appropriately. You want to be comfortable but not bummy. I wrote an entire blog on image that you may want to check out. This may be your chance to network for future work. When doing so, be cool about it. People do business with people they like. If they ask you for a card, have one ready, but also remind them that you work through your agent.

Have Fun

With everything to remember you keep in mind that this process should be fun and relaxed. If you spend most of your time in your own studio recording yourself, here is an opportunity for you to record and not have to do any editing. Use your body when needed to get the job out. Ask for feedback. You never get that at home alone. And remember that you booked the job above all other talent who auditioned so there was something they saw in you that got you in the door. Don’t Worry. Be Happy!!

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Dave Fennoy From The Walking Dead (The Hulu Guy)

About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight

In a world of voice over for animation, Dave Fennoy is a King. I caught up with Dave while he was in town for the DragonConn convention where he was represented as one of the voices of the video game “The Walking Dead”.

You may know Dave Fennoy as the voice of Hulu. But over his 20 plus year career as a voice actor Dave has been the voice for Promos and commercials for Fox, the WB, Starz, TV One, Disney Channel, McDonalds, Corona, Lexus, AT&T, Chrysler, Starcraft 2, Thats So Raven, Spiderman and many, many more brands. But although this A list VO talent keeps a busy schedule voicing projects and traveling internationally with Comicconn conventions, I found him to be down to earth and easily accessible.

I found out that Dave would be in Atlanta by following him on Facebook. I remembered that a friend and fellow talent Kozmo Miller was a personal friend of Daves and had received coaching and mentoring from him early in Kozmos career. So I called Kozmo who reached out to Dave who was connecting flights to Atlanta in Phoenix. Dave was receptive to the idea and not only granted me the interview, but also allowed me access to his live panel discussion at DragonConn.

In the two days I spent with Dave Fennoy and I found him to be outgoing, funny and super knowledgable, all of which add value to his voicing abilities. It was easy to understand how he had booked with so many high end companies. We talked about a wide range of things, from his career, to how the average person could transition from their careers into being a voice talent. He provided valuable information on animation voice over, auditioning and the work that’s involved after booking a job.

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Dane Reid Media

My Interviews

Why I Vlog

Learning then Teaching

Telling Voiceover Stories

Check out some of her credits.