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The New Hip Hop Radio Imaging Voice of KZBT

About Voice Over, audio, Demos, Radio Imaging, Testimonials, Vlogging, voiceover, Voiceover Career, voices

B93As a voiceover talent, I do a lot of voices. And I do a lot of voiceover for different genres of voiceover. But as I have expressed before, being a radio imaging voice is one of my favorites. I have nailed a bunch of commercial voiceover auditions and it is really satisfying to book them, but nothing like booking a radio station. Recently I booked KZBT. I’m super excited about this station for several reasons. For One thing, I’ll be their Hip Hop Radio Imaging Voice

Most of the stations that I do radio imaging for are R&B or Gospel stations. I love that work. At 40 plus years of age, I have a grown person’s voice and I actually listen to the music from those stations. But when I entered into voiceover, I was in my twenties and hip hop was everything to me. I did thousands of commercials over the years for hip hop nightclubs. I enjoy that work so much that I go back and listen to my old commercials. So when KZBT called me, I was super excited.

I don’t do as much current Hip Hop anymore. I do a lot of Throwback stations. I enjoy that too but there is a difference from hip hop stations. Hip Hop stations allow me to be wild. I can adlib things in a very unpredictable way on hip hop stations that I can’t on old school or throwback or gospel stations. That’s the difference. That’s what young people like.

The talent who did the voice for the station is one who I respect greatly. He inspired me to get into radio imaging and voiceover in general. But, like myself, he has a huge commanding voice. He makes you pay attention. But there is a new generation of hip hop radio station listeners and they hear things differently. They don’t want to hear a booming voice. They feel that voice may not be talking to them on their level. So many stations are switching to a younger sounding urban voice.Mix Logo Dane Reid

Luckily for me, I can also change to a younger sounding voice as well. If you’d like to book me for your station, leave me a message here on the site and I’ll get back to you.

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Filed Under: About Voice Over, audio, Demos, Radio Imaging, Testimonials, Vlogging, voiceover, Voiceover Career, voices Tagged With: Atlanta Voice Over, Black Voiceover Talent, Breaking Into voiceover, Hip Hop Radio Imaging, Mix Group, Radio Imaging, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Urban AC, Voice Actor, Voice Over, Voice Over Professional, Voice Talent, voiceover career

VoiceoverPete -The Most Searched Name In Voiceover

About Voice Over, Interviews & Insight, voiceover, Voiceover Career

VoiceoverPete is a famous voiceover talent, salesman, comedian, Youtuber, Gamer and Product Spokesman who gained fame through hard work, ingenuity, controversy, and a bit of luck. Pete Accetturo is a name I had never heard before, but became curious about when his alias, VoiceoverPete began popping up in my Google autofill searches. After several weeks of seeing it, I started to wonder who this guy was.

VoiceoverPete has over 1 Million Youtube followers, a feat envied by the fiercest of Youtubers. When I ran across his name at various times of searching the term “voiceover”, I began investigating and following his youtube channel. That lead me to a barrage of funny and sometimes strange videos. I began to realize that VoiceoverPete was also PitchmanPete and CharacterPete who leveraged his background in sales and marketing to solidify a place in the voiceover world. But his story is not the average, as I quickly learned from his videos. His story is that of controversy and a rift with Fiverr.

VoiceoverPete and Fiverr

His initial relationship with Fiverr can be a story of its own. Voiceover talents have longed railed against the site that neither vets it’s talent nor charges fair market rates for voiceover. The ripple effect is believed to be that clients grow accustomed to inferior voiceover in favor of cheap prices. But Pete disagrees. For Pete, as he explained to me, Fiverr was very lucrative for him, earning him 5 figures of income a month. He figured out the algorithm and how to rank at the top of Fiverr search. He worked hard to promote his brand and with the help of his son, who is a video producer, launched his Youtube channel which attracted much attention.

That attention as a Youtuber, pitchman, and voiceover talent, caught the eye of gamers who contracted him to create videos for them to promote their brands and raise money. But a video that Pete did for one particular gamer caught the eye of Fiverr, who believed that Pete was participating in a credit card scheme for his client. That got Pete suddenly banned from the platform. Pete was left with thousands of dollars in orders on Fiverr and no income.

When his son broke the news to him, he was working in the studio and it was caught on live video. It came as a shock to Pete, who was forced to figure out how to gain his livelihood back. As a result, Pete dipped into his background of sales and marketing once again, and with the help of his son, used their Youtube channel and Patreon to rise above the controversy.

The issue with Fiverr caused gamers like PewDiePie and Ninja to rally behind the voice, which caught the attention of their millions of followers, many of which now follow VoiceoverPete. Pete has managed to amass a huge number of paid followers on Patreon who he charges up to $150 a month to get two videos of him. VoiceoverPete has taken off as an internet sensation and is the subject of countless memes online.

Why I Wanted To Meet VoiceoverPete

The average voiceover person knows nothing about VoiceoverPete. I certainly didn’t. But if I told them there was this guy who made 10k+ a month on subscriptions and never auditions, it would perk up some ears. At least it did for me. So I wanted to meet Pete and talk to him Voiceover Pete Dababout it. At first it was hard to track him down but I did and eventually, I had a chance to meet him at his home studio in Tampa and found him to be very fascinating.

Navigating the difference between the online subject of memes and gamer trash-talking VoiceoverPete vs the Christian, calm, cool, Spin instructor who is Pete Accetturo was interesting. Pete Acceturo is a serious business person who discussed marketing with different platforms with me and offered to teach me how he does it. VoiceoverPete is the fun guy who laughed and joked with me at various times of the day.

Our conversation was a mix between the two worlds of VoiceoverPete and Pete Accetturo. And Pete expressed to me how his world and way of earning a living have clashed with the traditional voiceover world, and how that has been hurtful to him. He told me the stories of his appearance at Voiceover Atlanta several years ago and how other talent were hostile towards him because he was earning money on the Fiverr platform.

The Lesson I Learned From Pete- Be Creative and Think Outside The Box

All in all, I found Pete to be one of the most fascinating people I have interviewed. His marketing strategy and his ability to pivot and thinkVoiceoverPete and Dane Reid differently than other talent was interesting enough for me to drive to Tampa to interview him. And it was worth the trip. My hope in this interview to show the traditional talent that there is more than one way to skin a cat. And even if you don’t like the VoiceoverPete way, you should still be inspired to think differently and do it YOUR WAY!

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Interviews & Insight, voiceover, Voiceover Career Tagged With: Breaking Into voiceover, fiverr, Fiverr for voiceover, fortnite, Ninja, Pewdiepie, Voice Actor, Voice Over, Voice Over Professional, voiceover, voiceoverpete

Political Voice Over Commercials And The Effect Of Being Neutral

Demos, Political Voice Over Talent, voiceover, Voiceover Career

Political Voice Over matters. Because we, as voiceover talent speak for the people.  Turn on the TV. Take a look outside. Depending on where you are you may see calm or you may see mayhem. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that what federal and local leaders decide for us has a substantial impact on our daily lives. This is a time where being neutral is impossible. Covid 19 and the effects that it has had on our economy will affect everyone. And the racial tensions in the United States are boiling over AGAIN! We all have a voice in this. So what do you do if you are a voice-over talent asked to do voiceover that hurts or hinders the causes that you stand for?

I’ve never understood how people could vote against their own interests. Yet tens of millions of Americans do it all the time. I guess I don’t understand them because I completely comprehend cause and effect. Candidate A says that beer is banned and you are a beer drinker. Yet you voice a commercial for that candidate? He is also against microphones that cost below $2500 because lobbyists and his donors are expensive mic manufacturers. So now you can’t crack open a brew when you want to and he has demanded that you get these super expensive mics. How do you stay neutral enough to do political voice over ads for Candidate A? I can’t.

Candidate A is hurting me and my business. And even if I attend AA meetings (I don’t actually consume alcohol) and earn enough money from doing political voice over for his ads to buy that Neuman U87, I know that he is simultaneously hurting my industry and all the best parties that I attend. This changes life as I know it. And even if I benefit in the short term, I lose overall.

Voicing Commercials for Politicians that Align with my Values

I recently completed my Political Voice Over demo. I decided to do one because I am passionate about the effects that all politics and policies have on our daily lives. I was born to take the side of the less powerful. My family came to the United States as immigrants in the 1960’s. Most of my grandmother’s sons served in the armed forces before they returned to buy homes and had families. It was important for them to educate their children well and be part of what happens in the neighborhood to its people.

My father and uncle were always a part of some action committee, political office, or school position. Both of my parents served as PTA president at my school at some time. When I faced repeated harassment and bullying and physical assault, which included being choked once, by the NYPD, my father knew what Captain to go see at the precinct.

Because my father was a vocal member of the community board and worked with the police in some cases, he spoke with the person in charge after an officer put his hands on his teenage son (who was just walking home.) Still, the policies on a citywide level prevented any action from being taken against the assailants. Effectively, my voice was silenced. So when I think about the voice over work I do, I think about having a voice first, and what I am representing.

Who Am I Voicing This Ad For? Know Your Candidate

I consider that the candidate that I am endorsing might actually win and take an anti-immigrant stance, or encourage the use of the police as a militant arm of indiscriminate racism. I consider that that candidate may win and take a public health or environmental stance that can harm communities that lack the resources to fight back. I consider that when Candidate A pays me for that political voice over, I’m gonna have to pay it back in the form higher taxes on the middle class and poor, to the benefit of his rich donors. There is no benign effect. It will come back on me.

Dane Reid African American Political VoiceoversRecently I was asked to do political voice over work for a national figure that seemingly supports the same police tactics that terrorized me as a child. I was honored that my talent was considered good enough for the national stage, but I had to decline. I asked a fellow African American if he would be interested in the referral because he voices ads for both sides of the aisle. I have also been asked to do political voice over for pro second amendment rights in a state that borders the one I grew up in. Understanding how guns get into the hands of criminals and the harm that is caused with those guns, I had to also decline. Cause and effect matter to me. I help them win and they make me lose.

What I Stand For

There are causes that represent other groups that have little to no immediate effect on me. But I stand for them because it is the right thing to do. I have a unique opportunity to be in a position where I may be called on to be a voice for the voiceless, to be the strident messenger for the silenced, and to communicate the narrative of the muted. Sometimes those people look like me and speak like me, but can’t speak up like me.

Check Out My Political Voice Over Demo Here

      Political

 

Dedicated to the memory of my brother Julian who died suddenly in late May. Born and raised in the UK, he was passionate about British and global politics. We never missed a chance to trade political barbs with one another. Brexit was his Achilles heel.

 

Filed Under: Demos, Political Voice Over Talent, voiceover, Voiceover Career Tagged With: Atlanta Voice Over, Breaking Into voiceover, Home voice over studio, Political Voice Over, Politics & Voiceover, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Voice Actor, Voice Over, Voice Over Career, Voice Over Professional, Voice Talent, voiceover, voiceover career, Youtube.com

What Makes A Great Voiceover Website? w/ VoiceActorWebsites.com Team

About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Technology & Voiceover, Testimonials, Vlogging, voiceover, Voiceover Career, voices

VoiceActorWebsites.com is a team of web developers and marketers who started more than 10 years ago with Joe Davis and has rapidly grown into being the go-to team for voiceover website success. Boasting some of the industries top talent as clients, the business got started when Dan Leonard simply asked Joe Davis for help with his marketing. From there other voiceover talents quickly recognized the talent Joe possessed and his knowledge of the voiceover industry and began using his services.

The New Year is often the time when businesses begin new marketing initiatives. Voiceover actors are no different. When I started thinking about a new website for my new branding, I looked towards other successful voiceover talents for who they used. I worked well with my old web developer but wanted someone who had a fresh vision for my website. I wanted someone who also had a deep understanding for my particular business. I notice that many talent had branding by VoiceActorWebsites.com including Issa Lopez, who I am friends with. Issa connected me with Joe Davis’s number.
Joe actually knew who I was. We had met before at VO Atlanta and after seeing his face online, I vaguely remembered. But the fact that he did remember meeting me was a testament to the fact that Joe knows the voiceover industry. We talked for a while on the phone and I explained to him what I was looking to do with my site. While on the phone he did a quick audit of my site and immediately identified some things that would benefit the site and my branding. It was impressive to say the least and I was pretty convinced of his ability to deliver.  We spoke a few days later where he gave me a more complete rundown of his recommendations. Voice Actor Websites
Joe connected me with two of his project managers, Alex Sanchez and Karin Barth. I only corresponded with Alex briefly but Karin mostly handled my case. Karin immediately understood my vision as well. She had taken a look at my then website and saw the diversity in my work and how my new branding would reflect that. Karin showed me a number of possibilities, from custom made sites to various templates. I had an opportunity to pick several and review with her how they would work best for me. The process all in all took a few weeks.
When I caught up with the team in Orlando, they were working at Alex’s house. I sat down with Joe, Karin, Alex and one of their newest teammates, Lo-An Schoeman. We discussed what it was that made this team so popular. JOE Davis VOBS Voiceover

Transcript

It’s a new year and you’ve been thinking about all new branding, new demos, new marketing, new business cards. Wait! Does anyone actually still use business cards? New website! And who are you gonna call for that new website anyway? No! Not ghostbusters. Voiceactorwebsites.com.

Dane: I’m Dane Reid, The Voiceover Guy. I am here with the team from voice actor websites. Guys! (Team Introduces Themselves) (Dane) And I don’t have any labs that fit five people.

So my own website was starting to look, well, old. So I wanted a new one. So I started searching online and saw my homie Issa Lopez’s website and decided to call her and ask her where she got hers made. She told me “voiceActorWebsites.com. So I went to their website and found a contact and call Joe Davis on the phone. Joe connected me with Alex. Alex connected me with Karen and “BAM!!” I had a new website.  Recently I sat down with the team to find out how they’ve won the hearts of so many voice actors.
Dane: So this is a very unique interview because this is the first time that I’ve ever interviewed 4 people. This is the most number of friends that I have in life by the way.
Alex: 4 at a time
Dane: (laughs) 4 at a time. That sounds like a different kind of video Alex. (Laughs) As you can tell this team has a whole lot of fun. And if you’ve looked at any of the websites that voice actors have, this team is responsible for a lot of those websites. And so aside from all the fun that they have, they have a lot of talent, and so I want to thank all of you guys. Usually what I do is one single
handshake but if we can get maybe a “Goooo Team”
[Laughter]
Dane: On the count of 3
Joe: Who’s on top?
[Laughter]
Dane: I’m in the building with the Voice Actor Website Team. Obviously you guys have great chemistry. I can tell already.  How did this whole voice actor website team and thing come together? Who wants to answer? Just raise your hand like we’re in school or something because I have to pass this mic.
[Laughter]
Joe: It started out with just me and actually it was thanks to Dan Leonard. He, 10 years ago maybe, asked me to help him with some of his marketing.  I did and then I wound up getting invited on Voiceover Body Shop which was back then east/west audio body shop. EWABS and I thought it was gonna be something fun and interesting. And didn’t really know where I was gonna go and voice actors started calling. So I said “alright so there’s something here.” and I spent about a year year and a half learning about the voice-over industry.  I got to a point where I felt I knew close to as much about voice-over as I did about marketing and web development and at that point started a new company. Karin came on board and then Alex and then Lo-An. We actually have an even larger team then this today.
Dane: and they couldn’t fit in this shot. This my maximum and we’re not doing this again.
[Laughter]
I worked closely with Karen to get my website done. Karen is a fellow insomniac who worked diligently throughout the night and who was probably really surprised the first time she sent me a message at 3 a.m. and I answered so quickly.
Karin: I’ve been on for about 4 or 5 years now. And Joe is one of my closest friends. And he wanted to scale the business. So I went to onferences with him and for about a year I learned about the industry and saw what it was all about. I met people and networked, fell in love with it. The community is amazing.
Dane: What’s your story Alex?  Talk to me Alex.
Alex: okay we’re getting serious here.  Well I’m a project manager and I’m doing sales as well.  I’ve been able to grow in that position and learn a lot about voiceover but also about the business. It’s been a great learning experience to me.
Dane: What’s your role?
Lo-An: My role is and  alsoa project manager  and I’m the newest member to the team. I’ve been for six months now. I also met Joe through a mutual friend. I’m in college for  my marketing degree so Joe was gracious enough to give me a job.
Dane: Who are some of the people that jumped on board early on in adopting voice actor websites?
Joe: Dan Leonard was actually the first voice actor I ever met. Melissa Exelberth, Paul Strikweda from Nethervoice, Debbie Irwin.
And later the list goes on to include people like Jay Michael Collins, Christi Bowen, Sophia Cruz, Dave Clarke and Me. Did I shamelessly mention my own website yet?
Dane: What are the distinguishing aspects of what you guys do versus doing it yourself or getting someone who does websites but maybe doesn’t necessarily specialize in voice actor websites?
Karin: We’ve worked with a lot of different people in industry. Casting agents, producers.. We’ve gotten a lot of points of view from other people. You know what they think is important and obviously just going to conferences and hearing about the different needs of the industry.  Knowing all about it gives us a unique view into what is needed.
Joe: At its core every voiceover site should give talent seekers the ability to hear you and hire you. Those are the two most important things. But then there’s all kinds of subtleties for example making your demos downloadable. So a lot of time you don’t think of doing that but  producers and casting directors a lot of them don’t make a decision the first time they listen to something. Or they think “oh that person would be good for this other project that I’m working on” so they want to save your mp3. It might seem silly to not think of making your demo downloadable but it’s something that I’d say more than the half of people that we see their site,  don’t have that.
Dane: So if someone, for example, wants a new voice actor websites, what is the process?
Alex: Typically what we do is we send a Google form to gather ideas on the design and colors they want to use. And then that becomes kind of like the starting point for the conversation where the project manager comes in. And the project manager will work to assign the designer that fits best for the project and then the whole process unfolds that way. It’s a very collaborative process.
Dane: So about how long does the process take? Let’s say if I wanted a three-page website. I mean, what would be the standard?
Lo-An: I think that’s like dependent on the voice actor. Because sometimes they have all the content that they want to put on their site and ready to go, and you know, have a site launch in 2 to 3 weeks.  So it just depends on what they’re willing to get us.
Alex: so it’s basically self-paced in that way and then the client provides the content and we turn that into a website. So it’s dependent on that open line of communication.
Joe: It also depends partially on where some of these in their career. Are they just starting out? Have they been doing this for 20 years or somewhere in between. Because they’re gonna have a different body of work and probably we’ve been goal for the site. Also, the two basic types of sites that voice actors have are either an extension of the business card, meaning they’ve had some sort of prior interaction with the person that they’re sending the site to and you’re sending them there to hear you. And the other is more of an SEO driven site, where you haven’t interacted with the person before and you’re trying to get them there based on the search that they did and have them listen to you and hire you. So the the first type of site, the extension of the business card, it could be one page, two page, five page site. I wouldn’t do, you know 500 pages, but probably betweeen one and five pages will be average.  An SEO site, the bigger the better. Google is, at its core, kind of a
relevancy engine and a popularity contest. And so the relevancy engine portion of it is, the more relevant your result is to a searchers intent, the more likely you’ll come up. Meaning, if someone is searching for pharmaceutical commercial voiceover and you have a website about voiceover, is it relevant? Yeah, that’s good. Could it be more relevant? Absolutely! So then let’s say you have it broken up into the different genres. If you do a page for commercial, a page for corporate narration, a page for ivr, a page for e-learning, Google looks at that and says “the site’s about voiceover and it’s about commercial, is it relevant? Yes! But could it be even more relevant? Yeah. So then now let’s say you have a tertiary level of navigation where commercial’s broken up into kids commercials, and automotive commercials, and pharmaceutical commercials. And each one of those pages has audio content and text content and supports that narrative that you are voice actor that does commercial work and whatever that subgenres is, in this case pharmaceutical voiceover. So, Google looks at that and says “Wow!” It’s about
voiceover, it’s about commercial and it’s about pharmaceutical. It becomes perhaps the most relevant result on the internet.
Hanging out with the team from voice actor websites, I learned so much about how Google serves up information about your website. It’s so important to your business. It’s certainly important to mine.
Dane: What do you guys think it is that makes this whole thing work?
Alex: At least for me my experience, working for the company, sets it apart as an experience. Because the personal connections that we built
with our clients or with each other is what really makes us a success. Because people see us as people and we’re a small business as well. So we understand that when clients are investing in the websites, they’re also small businesses.  So we come with that experience and we  make friendships.
Karin: And we make awesome friends.
Alex: Yeah. We make awesome friends. And we see them conference and it’s like a reunion. It’s really special and I think it speaks to the VO community. There’s something unique about it. Very special!
Dane: I teared up. Guys you have incredible energy and just seeing the team together…. Because I’m used to talking to Karin on the phone at 2:00 in the morning. She like “what are you doing up?” But yeah I mean just to seeing you guys here together and working together…. When I came you were on your laptop’s. It looked like you’re watching YouTube, not working. [Laughter] So one last question. Obviously, here’s the answer. It’s quite easy. Where do we find you guys if you want a voice actor website?
Everyone at once: Voice Actor Websites dot com
Dane: I’m Dan Reid the voice of a guy with the voice actor website guys and girls. I’m gone
[Music]

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Technology & Voiceover, Testimonials, Vlogging, voiceover, Voiceover Career, voices Tagged With: Breaking Into voiceover, Computer, Issavoice.com, Joe Davis, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Voice Over, Voice Over Career, Voice Over Channel, Voice Over Professional, Voice Talent, voiceover career, voiceover websites

I Used To Steal Software and Plugins For Voiceover

audio, Studio, Technology & Voiceover, The Studio, voiceover, Voiceover Career

I used to steal software and plugins for voiceover. I started my career with Cubase LE which came as free software with my Emu 1616 audio interface. As I realized the limitations of that software, I wanted to grow but I didn’t have the money to grow. But having friends in audio engineering, I found out that there were ways to get what was called cracked software.

My first cracked software was a Cubase SX. There was a company that was famous for cracking audio software called      and I used to find their software either online or through a friend who had it. Cubase 2.1 was how I really learned to produce commercials. But a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is only as good as the plugins. So for that, I had to find more cracked software.

Free Plugins? Or Digital Piracy?

The hot plugins of the day were waves plugins. Waves were really good and really expensive. Of everyone that I knew who did audio, maybe only one of them actually bought any of the waves plugins legally. Waves plugins could run 10k for a bundle. Being who I am I had to have the best bundles. I had the waves platinum, mercury and gold bundles at some time in history.

As my career grew, I never really considered buying the actual plugins. They were still out of my reach in price. Plus, what was the point? I was getting them for free. Free beats cheap any day. So I perfected my skills with free software and even upgraded as more cracked software replaced the older versions. I went from Cubase SX to Cubase 2.1. Then I moved on to several Nuendo versions for a few years. Meanwhile, voiceover and commercial orders piled on. I had a nice workflow.Free Plugins and Software

I never shorted on hardware though. I bought my first Neuman for $1500. UA LA 610 for $1400. I owned several computers. A Mac and a PC and a PC laptop. I had travel gear and swapped out several audio interfaces at that time.

The Day It All Went Bad!

So what happened? Well, one morning I got up to do my work. I had several commercials in the pipeline for the day. I fired up my computer and my trusty Emu and then started Nuendo and BAM. Nothing. It wouldn’t start. I tried it again and still nothing. So I restarted the computer hoping that would help. Nothing again. I tried a few times and no result. I was in a bad position.

I called a friend and fellow talent to ask if I could come to his house and record this work and he asked me what had happened. I told him. And his response was something I didn’t expect. He said to me “Why don’t you just buy the software?” I had never thought to actually buy the software. So I did. I bought my first version of Cubase, which was Cubase 5. It cost me $300 at Guitar Center. I came home that morning with my dongle and installed the software and BAM…. Nothing!!

At this point, I’m even more panicked. Installing and getting up and running was much easier with cracked software. So I called Steinberg to help me. I went over several things troubleshooting with the tech before I finally had to admit to the tech that I previously installed unauthorized software. He went silent for a second, and in a judgemental tone said “Well then you have to wipe your entire computer clean and reinstall windows to install Cubase properly.

You can imagine my horror. But I had work to do and the day was coming to a close by now. I got off the phone, backed up as many of my files as I could, and wiped my hard drive. I realized that I had to change at this moment. I did put the plugins back on the computer because I needed them at that moment but over time I began to buy them. I didn’t buy all of them but I bought some.

Pay The Money. It Will Pay You Back!

Over the years I replaced Cubase 5 with Cubase 7 Artist. I also bought Cubase 8 Elements for my mobile rig and then upgraded to Cubase LE AI Elements 9.5. I also bought Cubase Artists 9 for my desktop home studio. That version made all of my 32-bit plugins obsolete so now I had to buy all new plugins. That’s when I bought the Apollo Twin and then the Apollo Arrow with all the plugins for those machines. Now, I can’t steal plugins. I buy them. I also fell in love and buy the Izotope plugins. I have several of those bundles for mixing and mastering. I continue to buy software and plugins for voiceover. For Christmas, I bought UAD’s Manley VoxBox and Valley People Dyna-Mite.

Where To Find Free Software

Mixpad
Mixpad Interface

You don’t even have to steal software and plugins. For plugins, there are literally thousands of free ones online. All you have to do is google free audio plugins. For a DAW everyone knows about Audacity which is free but you can also download a free version of Mixpad which seems better than Audacity.

In my opinion, I get the fact that starting a business or learning a new craft is very expensive, but with free software and plugins for voiceover available now, don’t steal. Don’t steal anything actually. People work hard designing this software and they deserve to make a profit for their efforts. I left some links in the description for Mixpad and Audacity.

If you liked this video blog, please subscribe to either my youtube or this page. Leave comments.

And if you need software and plugins for voiceover or music production, my Rep at Sweetwater is Jason Koons 260-432-8176 ext 1389. Give him a call

 

Filed Under: audio, Studio, Technology & Voiceover, The Studio, voiceover, Voiceover Career Tagged With: African American male voiceover, African American Voiceover Talent, Atlanta Voice Over, Breaking Into voiceover, Computter Crash, Free software, Home voice over studio, Neuman, plugins, recording studio, Sennheiser, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Voice Actor, Voice Over, Voice Over Career, Voice Over Channel, Voice Over Professional, Voice Talent, voiceover, voiceover career, Voiceover Coach, Work From Home

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

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.

 

 

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Uncategorized, Vlogging, voiceover, Voiceover Career Tagged With: Animation Voiceover, Atlanta Voice Over, Breaking Into voiceover, Dave Fennoy, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Voice Actor, Voice Over, Voice Over Professional, Voice Talent, voiceover career, voiceover expert, Youtube.com

How Do I Become Joe Cipriano

About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Studio, Testimonials, voiceover, Voiceover Auditions, voices

At the cross section of one of the most successful voiceover careers and the embodiment of talent, is one of the nicest people in VO, Joe Cipriano. I had a chance to meet Joe Cip (as he is affectionately referred to) a few years at VO Atlanta. He was signing copies of his book “Living on Air” which was co-written by his wife Ann. As soon as he spoke, I recognized that iconic voice. I was intimidated to speak to him. But after purchasing his book, myself and fellow VO friend Scott Chambers sat around talking to him and even sat at his table for the lunch session. He was so COOL. It made me want to know even more about “How Do I Become Like Joe Cipriano?”

Joe’s career is the admiration of most voiceover talent. It spans decades and thousands of very well known promo and radio imaging projects. You’ve heard him as the voice for promos for the Simpsons on Fox and he’s been the voice of comedies on CBS forever. But inspite of his success, Joe is incredibly humble. When I decided that I wanted a chance to interview him, I doubted that he remembered me. But I knew that Scott had kept in touch with him. So I called Scott. And Scott called Joe. And Joe gave the “ok”. This, I knew, was gonna be exciting.

Not every voice actor, podcaster or youtuber visits “The Clubhouse” where Joe cooks up nationally recognized voiceover.  Joe has been the voice of the Emmy’s, Network TV and Game Shows and keeps a busy schedule. So, I was excited to get some of his time for this interview. Much of the prep time at the Clubhouse I spent shooting B Roll of Joe just simply working. His schedule is of back to back jobs. He goes from Game Show, to promos to Radio Imaging with the precision of a surgeon, never missing a beat.

Reading Voiceover With Joe Cipriano

But Joe is still one of the most talented guys in the industry. I had a chance to do a promo read with Joe which blew my mind and inspired the direction of my voiceover career for 2020. Check it out in the video at 9:28. Joe showed me how to break down promo copy. We talked about timing and the nuances of the script which indicate different inflections and points at which the VO talent should change moods, voices etc.  The scripts are complete with info for everyone involved in the project from audio mixers, to the SOT and the video producers. Joe showed me all of that.

Watching Joe Work

Joe changed the way I do business. I watched Joe work for hours and what I was impressed with most was his level of organization.  He was like a machine. Every job he did, he documented in his system and emailed his agent about. Joe explained to me that it was not only Joe Cipriano Voiceoverimportant in keeping track of getting paid, but also making sure you were doing the work you’re being paid for. I know from radio imaging that you are contracted each month to a certain number of pages. Joe keeps track of even the length of scripts and how much he had done that month. After watching him handle the administration part of the job, I went home and became more precise.

Joe credits his success to 4 things: Relationships, Talent, Luck and his wife Ann. Back in 1997 Joe was a radio guy in LA when he was heard on air by a television executive who was searching for the right voice for their new network Fox. He made a few phone calls and a connection of Joes made the introduction. That sparked a relationship with Fox that has lasted more than 2 decades. And similarly, a relationship that he had with a CBS executive that landed him the promo jobs at that network.

But it’s the relationship that he found long before he was nationally admired, with his wife Ann that he seems most proud of. Joe and I talked about his family as much of being a part of his success as he did his talent. Ann helped write his book Living on Air, which they released in 2013. The book explores Joe’s career as well as helps VO talent build their own careers. It takes you through the wild adventures of broadcasting life.

I walked away from the Clubhouse that day thinking about luck. When speaking to most people, they credit hard work exclusively to their success. But during my time with Joe, he was humbled by the fact that there were many key moments when he just got lucky. Obviously, Joe has more talent than most voice actors could hope for. But he very plainly expressed that if it weren’t for simply being given certain opportunities, that he might not be the Joe that we all know. For me, that was humbling.

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Studio, Testimonials, voiceover, Voiceover Auditions, voices Tagged With: Breaking Into voiceover, cbs, fox, joe cipriano, living on air, promo voiceover, promos, the simpsons, vo, Voice Actor, voiceover

The Gift Of Gabby- Interview With Voiceover Coach Gabrielle Nistico

About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight

When Gabrielle Nistico talks voiceover, be prepared to take notes. This VO Talent, Voiceover Coach, Casting Director, Expert Marketer, Author and Meet Up Group leader wrote the book on starting and growing your voice over career. Actually she’s written more than one book. I visited The Voice Over Vixen at her office and studio in Charlotte, North Carolina and had an in depth conversation with her on taking those key first steps in a voice over career.

Watch The Two Part Interview With Gabrielle Nistico Below

My first question to Gabby came from an email that I personally received asking for advice on how to break into voice over. As a voice over talent I get these questions all the time and often I fumble around to answer, because to me there is no sure fire way into the industry. But Gabby fielded the question like a short stop who had been served a routine ground ball. First she offered some great advice on knowing whether you are even right for voiceover work.

“Hi Dane. I am one of “Blanks” friends from college. She gave me your name because of a status I posted. Many people tell me that I have a voice that should be in radio, doing voiceovers or broadcasting. She mentioned that you do voiceovers & that maybe we could connect & you could give me some guidance with that. What do you think?”

 We’ve all heard it before. You have an awesome voice. And the natural thought is that a person should make money from it. Maybe you should quit your job as an accountant and buy a bunch of recording equipment and start a voiceover career. But is that really what you should do. Not according to Gabrielle.

She points out that there are tons of people with great voices. And she likens the voiceover industry to the modelling industry where there too are tons of great looking people available for runway and print work. But simply being beautiful does not qualify you to be a model. So likewise, being a voiceover talent is more than just having a great speaking voice.

So what else is there? Nistico points out some very basic things that you should consider first; your acting abilities, your reading skills, your ability to sight read a script, your ability to interpret a script and what you do once put in the position of being behind the mic. All of these variables are things that your mother, best friend, baker or even total stranger had no idea were part of forging a voice over career.

So who should you listen to? If you can’t trust your friends and family, then who can you trust? Trust a professional like a voiceover coach or established voice actor. Your friends and family are probably not qualified to tell you what it takes to be a Voiceover Talent. Best bet to hear it from someone who has experience in the field of voice over. Casting directors, coaches, Voice Over Talent themselves and producers are all great people to ask. These are people who know what it takes and can differentiate between a great voice and a potential great voice talent.

And finally Gabrielle warns not to ignore great advice. The road to developing a sustainable Voice Over career can be far less painful if you heed her words. Gabby offers up a ton of tools on her website GabrielleNistico.com to help anyone who is interested in forging a VO career determine if they are have the passion and are right to go forward in voiceover.

I spoke with Gabrielle Nistico in this two part series where we talked about her journey to the top of the voice world, voice over marketing, VoiceHunter, the Voice Over Vixen and Radio Imaging. Be sure to watch both parts where she even allows us to watch her record liners for a station she contracts.

Filed Under: About Voice Over, Blog, Interviews & Insight Tagged With: Breaking Into voiceover, Gabrielle Nistico, Top Rated African American Voice Talent, Voice Actor, Voice Over Professional, Voice Talent, voiceover career, Voiceover vixen

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