Voice Over Archives - Dane Reid Media

My Big Voice Got Me Cursed Out (As A Kid)

BIPOC Voiceover Talent, Black Sounding Voiceover, Testimonials, voiceover, Voiceover Career, voices

My voice has been a gift to me throughout my adult life. But in my teenage years, it was a curse. Literally. At least it provoked cursing towards me.

I always had a big, heavy voice, even as a small child. Pre-teen I used it to pretend to be an adult on the phone. But as I came of age I realized that it was a great tool to meet girls. Yes! Go figure. A boy trying to impress girls. So I would lay it on thick. They seemed to like it a lot when I called on the phone but you know who didn’t like it? Their dads.

Throughout my teens I was aggressively confronted about my grown man-sounding voice by very protective, and rightfully so, dads who thought I was at least ten years older than I actually was. I heard some words directed at me that I wouldn’t repeat even in the company of a child, much less at a child.

One incident stands out where having a big voice that sounded grown really played against me. I was interested in a girl named Natalia. She was beautiful and I was introduced to her by my brother. I went up to Natalia’s school and she gave me her number and told me when a good time to call was. So I called that day at the time that she told me to call. Maybe she didn’t realize that her crazy father would be home at that time but I was certainly in for a surprise. When he picked up and heard me speak, thinking that I was in my twenties trying to entice his teenage daughter, he exploded into an expletive-laden rant that would make a sailor blush.

But I can laugh about it today. Today those fathers have probably heard my voice on their TVs and radios. And I don’t blame them for watching over their daughters. As a grown person now who has 7 nieces, I would definitely discourage these runny nose boys from calling any of them and to focus on the books. Maybe if he makes a future for himself as a successful voice actor, then I will approve.

I thought of this and poked fun of it in a recent post on my youtube channel. Check it out if you want a good laugh. Thanks to my good friend Jeff Person for playing the father. We had fun with this video.

11 Top Voiceover Youtube Channels

About Voice Over, BIPOC Voiceover Talent, Blog, Interviews & Insight, Reviews, Technology & Voiceover, Uncategorized, Vlogging, voiceover, Voiceover Career, voices

What are the top voiceover youtube channels? The channels that you turn to for the best sources of information, education and information for voiceover. Well, that’s the controversial murky water that I find myself swimming in right now. Anytime you use the words top or best to describe anything, you are bound to open pandora’s box. The level of nays can be just as loud as the yays. But as a lover of Youtube University, I find myself looking for the best channels to inspire and inform me on what’s happening in the voiceover industry.

Over the years, there have been many channels and talent who have utilized Youtube as a way of getting out their message, producing content and expanding their brand awareness. Sure, there are other outlets to do that, but Youtube is the second largest search platform in the word. So when people search for the top anything voiceover, the top voiceover Youtube channels will appear right there with their google search.

The problem comes with the disagreements. Over the years, I have heard the mumblings of personality conflicts and staunch disagreements with the methodology and teachings of certain VO Youtubers. Some have argued that anyone teaching and encouraging the use of Fiverr to “newbies” don’t have our best interest as an industry at heart. And these kinds of disagreements turn people off to certain Voiceover Youtube channels. I get it. But I also get that change is dolorous and that regardless of disagreements, the popularity and relevance of the VO Youtubers making these videos cannot be ignored.

How I Decided Which Were The Top Voiceover Youtube Channels

I had to create criteria. I decided that the age of a channel, consistency of uploads, value to its viewers, and entertainment value and how well known the channel is, would be how I decided. I also decided to list them in random order as to not seem to express biases toward or against. Still, there is some subjectivity even in the criteria that could still open itself up to criticism (and me). Still, in good faith, I decided to give it a shot with the disclaimer that these are not mostly recommendations but acknowledgments that these channels have all come across my radar.

Ask Dave Fennoy Anything

Ask Dave Fennoy Anything Streams on the DaveFennoy Voiceover Training Channel every Wednesday at 8pm Pacific time. Dave is a legend in voiceover gaming who also has his hand in countless areas of voiceover. He is an authority in VO Games and Character Coaching. You can catch him at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpR7jedutYNue9GU84uS-Cg

The Gift Of Gab

Gabrielle Nistico’s Channel post videos with frank voiceover advice with a witty and sometimes dry humor style that appeals to both new voice actors and professionals. Gabby is a voiceover actor, demo producer and career coach in Charlotte. Her channel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-JhbChXLVwTvgSxrtWpajg

Earl Hall- Earl Hall Studio

Earl markets his brand as a coach capable of taking students from step 0 to 100. He has a number of courses online for marketing your own voiceover career. He runs a free training facebook group and teaches students to automate their voiceover success. His channel is https://www.youtube.com/c/EarlHallStudio/featured

A VO’s Journey

Anthony Pica’s brand stretches across platforms from Facebook to Youtube to Instagram. He is spreading the word of what it really takes to earn a living, learn how to voice actor and run a voiceover business from the perspective of someone who is doing it. Check out Anthony at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaSvjdnxdx69qoW9ryuxCjQ

Brizzy Voices

Starting in 2012, Anna Brisbin built a voiceover channel and career from doing impressions from movies, cartoons, and assorted characters. Her channel attracts viewers drawn to see her perform these impersonations. The best part about it is that she did it all from her not-so-fancy, sometimes messy closet with very basic equipment. To date, Brizzy Voices has a whopping 2.1 Million subscribers and has videos that boast 27 Million views. Not bad. Not bad at all. Her channel is https://www.youtube.com/brizzy/featured

Voiceover Masterclass

When you have a name like Voiceover Masterclass, it just sounds so official. Peter Baker’s gentlemanly British style and consistently give his videos a university type of feel to it. You almost feel as if you should enroll into the channel as opposed to subscribe to it. His videos a purposefully produced and feature a professional theme with the thumbnails. His voiceover youtube channel is https://www.youtube.com/c/Voiceovermasterclass/featured

VO Buzz Weekly

Chuck and Stacy are two of the most known figures in the voiceover business. Few people have as many friends and are as well-liked then the two of them. They have been producing the only Voiceover Talk Show since I have been a working actor. No other voiceover channel rivals professional network shows like theirs does. Each week, they bring you a new voiceover superstar. Catch their show at https://www.youtube.com/user/vobuzzweekly

VOBS- Voice Over Body Shop

Dan Leonard and George Whittam are two of the most respected voiceover tech guys in the business. Dan, who is an accomplished voice actor himself, and “George the Tech” have been teaming up for more than a decade to help make voiceover technology more understandable for users. They host a live one to two-hour-long show each week where they explain VO gear and bring on special voiceover guests. Find them at https://www.youtube.com/c/Ewabsshow/featured

Jordan Reynolds

According to his channel, Jordan is a Voiceover Talent, Voice Matcher, Demo Producer, Audio Producer, Audio Engineer, Improv Theater Actor, Music Enthusiast, Tech Geek, Professional Sideburn Grower. It’s that last part that makes you tune in. Not only does Jordan know his stuff, but he’s about making good content that helps people. Recently Jordan has started doing courses to help other voice actors with their sound, an area that so many of us get wrong. His channel is https://www.youtube.com/c/JordanReynolds/featured

Booth Junkie

Mike DelGaudio dedicates his channel to the tech of at-home, professional voice over. He review microphones, studio equipment and help new voice actors set up their studios from hardware to software so they can make the next great recording! The Booth Junkie channel has attracted 123,000 subscribers and has reviewed Reaper, portable isolation booths, kaotica eyeball and compared cheap vs expensive microphones. Booth Junkie is found at https://www.youtube.com/c/BoothJunkieVO/featured

Bill Dewees

Bill Dewees is a professional voice over artist and coach. His channnel helps new and existing voice over artists get found, get heard, and get hired. Everything from picking your first mic to how to land VO jobs and get paid. Bill has some of the most consistent content on youtube for voice actors, posting new videos twice weekly. It’s simple in production and straightforward in approach. The channel, like some others, is a gateway to Bill’s coaching sites that guide viewers to success in voiceover. His channel is https://www.youtube.com/c/BillDeWees/featured

Other Channels?

Undoubtedly there are other channels I forgot to mention. And for some that I did mention, I may be facing cancel culture. If there are any that I should have put on the list, go to youtube and leave a comment under the video in the comments section. Please try to be respectful.

Every Voiceover Is a Big Deal Voiceover. It’s Also Not

Uncategorized

Am I The Big Deal Voiceover Guy or am I hardly working? Here’s the answer. Every shot that Lebron James takes has the potential to be game-changing, and yet, it’s just another day at the office. Every surgery a surgeon does is one of the many surgeries he may do in a day and one of the thousands he may do in his career. Each one is life-changing and still, it’s just another surgery that he has performed. Likewise, every voiceover that I as a voice actor does, is another job that boosts a brand’s exposure but is one of the close to 10,000 that I have done and soon forget. Not every VO job is a big deal.

People often ask me the question “What are you working on nowadays?” Since I have entered the professional realm of VO, it’s always stood out to me as an awkward question. I don’t quite know how to answer. I often answer with “What do you mean?” They usually respond by saying “You know, Are you working on a project right now?”

My response always ends up being an education for the person in how voiceover works. “I work every day and there is no particular project that I can remember. I do my work, send it back to the client and forget it.” I often use the analogy of the surgeon or the basketball player to explain.

Perception vs Reality About Voiceover

I have figured out that there are two kinds of people when it comes to voiceover. The people who think that every day I am doing Disney movie voiceovers that take months to complete and the type who think that I barely work and only make a few dollars to eat scraps for lunch. In reality, the truth is somewhere in between.

The Blue-Collar Voiceover Talent

I consider myself a blue-collar voiceover talent with a voiceover business. I am not the big studio, SAG Aftra Union voice that is on all the stuff you hear everywhere. But I also don’t consider myself a freelancer. Mine is a business that services clients. I remember auditioning in person for the Harlem Globetrotters who were impressed with my talent and long list of big clients on my resume. After the audition, the interviewer excitedly asked, “I see you’ve worked for a lot of big companies?” I said “yes. I have provided them with voiceover for commercials and narrations from my home studio.” At that point he seemed less impressed and said “Oh, you’re a freelancer.”

I should’ve considered this a warning sign. He seemed not to respect my profession, which eventually showed in the way they treated me, but that’s another story. At that moment I corrected him “No! I have a voiceover business. I can take this job as long as it doesn’t interfere with me servicing my clients. I have radio stations who I image for and a list of other independent clients who depend on me.” But his response was again condescending “We have other guys who have side gigs also who get some time to work when they are out on the road.” And that should’ve been my sign to run.

The Voiceover Business Entrepreneur

He is not alone in his misunderstanding of my voiceover business. While he downgraded my profession, others look way up at me as if I am the voiceover version of Tom Cruise. They think I am doing Mission Impossible trailers every day and Pixar films. Frequently I have conversations with these types who, when I let the air out of their balloons that I don’t have these major roles, they actually ask me “Why NOT?”

They generally go on to explain that my 17-year-old career should be taking a path that it hasn’t taken. “Man this is Atlanta. You should be calling Cartoon Network or go up to Tyler Perry Studios and tell them to give you a job. Why haven’t you reached out to CNN?”They basically then think that I have failed myself to which I have to explain that “That’s NOT how things work”

CNN, nor Cartoon Network, nor Tyler (as if I’m on a first-named basis with Mr. Perry) don’t take to anyone walking up to their studios for jobs. Trust me, I’ve tried. I have to explain to people that I instead do steady, everyday work that most people never hear in the general public or don’t pay attention to. Things like narrations and explainer videos along with radio imaging and a lifetimes worth of nightclub and hip hop concert commercials. I assure them though, someone is listening to my voice 24/7 and there is no time of day that I am not being heard. With that explanation, they return to me back the cool factor.

Average Voiceover Guy in a Changing World

Getting people to understand that my job is just a job or that its a job at all has always been difficult. It’s not the traditional pathway that a college-educated dude from Brooklyn takes. It was a path that chose me. As the economy changes, more people are looking for multiple streams of income. And they first look towards their talents for remedy. Many are seeking a greater understanding of what they too can do with their voices. And with that, more people are open to listen and learn what an average voiceover talent does with their day.

The New Hip Hop Radio Imaging Voice of KZBT

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

As 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.

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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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 about 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 think 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!

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.

Recently 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.

African American Political Voice Overs

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. As an African American Voice Actor, I have a unique position where I not only witness, but I experience. I speak the words of others and cry cry my own tears. I represent us all in my life and my work.

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.

Radio Imaging- Setting Up A New Radio Station

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Radio Imaging IS the reason I started doing voiceover. I absolutely love it. Especially Hip Hop and Urban AC Radio Imaging. I admired the big voice guys I would hear on Atlanta radio who would break out of character and say funny and outrageous stuff. As a recent college graduate at the time, I knew I could do what they did. I had the big voice. I had the humor. I could tell great stories. Years later, I’m a talent, accumulating more and more stations. 2019 was a very successful year for me in Imaging with the help of being signed to the Mix Group. But I’m always humbled by new stations regardless of where they are in the world or how large or small they are.

Transcript

I’m working on a brand new radio station. I am setting up a radio station and so I want to talk a little bit about getting started with a brand new radio station I’m Dane Reid the voice-over guy check me out.

So my agent hit me up and said okay Dane we got this new radio station for you I’m always excited about a new station I love radio imaging so this is a really great opportunity for me once all the paperwork was signed they take care of all that stuff on the back end I immediately got in contact with the program director I wanted to know a couple of things I wanted to know.

What their old sound was like? I wanted to know the format of the station. I wanted to know what the morning show and evening drive was like, because all of those things are gonna play into the way that I image the station. I am the official voice and I’m the branding voice for that station and so it was very important that I get what they want right and so I asked a bunch of questions. I asked what they liked most about my demo and what the program director told me was that he really liked the energy that I put in. I had smile, things like that, right.

So I listened back to my own demo and I try to mimic what I’m copying myself to make sure that I captured the true essence of what they wanted what they saw on what they expect for the imaging so they send you a packet and the packet has like 15 pages attached to it and so I’ve been working on that all weekend because I’m about to go out of town and I want to make sure that I get it right to make sure that you get it right you want to make sure that you read the lines multiple times in multiple ways unless it’s a line that I just know that I absolutely nailed it. So I may say “let’s keep it moving” right? “let’s keep it moving” or “let’s keep it moving” (all said differently), right? So they have different vibes to them. And I also look to see what section so they may be you know talking to consumers some of it requires voice acting some of it just requires the big voice.

Some of it just all depends. I’m not gonna give the same kind of energy to “here’s a slow jam” and to “here’s the quiet storm” as I’m gonna give to “the Saturday night party” you know saying so you just have to be very thoughtful about those kinds of things when you are setting up or a station additionally I listen to the station because that’s also very important again it’s all about a vibe about capturing that vibe and recreating it and sending it back to the station because for a year two years three years and hopefully many more years to come I’ll be the voice of this station so I just wanted to give a quick video about radio imaging and I’m Dane Reid the voice-over guy. Subscribe to my blog subscribe to my youtube and I’ll check you guys out later. I’m Dane Reid. I’m gone peace

[Music]

Wanna Hear Some of What I Do?

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If you’re interested in booking me, hit up Omar at the Mix Group (786) 286-4003 or omar@themixgroup.com or hit me up and I’ll introduce you to him.

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

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

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.

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.

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]

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.

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

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

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.