Hey Everyone! I’m back!
Well, now that I’ve had some time to spend on a lot of the tech side of VO, I really feel I need to focux more on the performance side of things. I’d be an idiot to go into this thing thinking that I know all there is to know about the intricacies of VO, and the art of delivering a perfect read. I’ve always been a quick study, so I don’t feel I’ll necessarily have any issues adjusting and adapting to what I learn, but I must first LEARN.
I have been getting some great tips and pointers from watching the YouTube videos of Bill Dewees, Mike DelGaudio, and others. These 2 guys are really giving me a ‘Master Class’ level education with their posts and video contributions. I’m beyond grateful that they are doing this for newbies like me! These guys are like my University Professors, and I’m soaking it all up, but now it’s time to actually dive in. Bill offers some packages, training on various things. There is also a place here locally, the Atlanta Voiceover Studio, run by a married couple, Mike Stoudt and Heidi Rew. They are another great source of information, and I’ve signed up for their regular newsletters and podcasts that are all things VO-related! They also offer workshops and intensives to really help local folks in the VO space. I like that they have a physical studio, where one can do things like mic shootouts (comparisons), etc. This may be a handy thing to take advantage of before I spend a ton of money later on down the road on one mic, only to find out that another mic better suits my voice. It’s great to have these resources handy. I imagine all of this would’ve been much tougher just 10 or 20 years ago for someone starting out in this business!
VO really has come a long way. Once upon a time, the cost of entry was so high. I mean, if you didn’t live in a major metro with access to a studio, like New York, L.A., Chicago, etc., then you had to have a home studio setup avaialbe to you. Back in the day, all the equipment was ACTUAL physical equipment…EQ’s, noise gates, interfaces…just all types of equipment that would fill up and entire rack, and it was EXPENSIVE. The only people who had the means were the industry bigs who were already established and earning nicely. They could afford to build that stuff out. Fast forward to present day, and all that hardware/equipment has been replaced by software plugins! You can literally pull off just about any sound editing/engineering you’ll ever need with software on your little computer, instead of those big, space-consuming, expensive pieces of hardware/equipment!
But, as in most cases, you take the good with the bad. As the cost of entry into the VO space has come way down, the level of competition/saturation in this space has gone WAY UP! So many people can now just kick off a VO carerr for a few hundred bucks, and a walk-in closet to record out of…and they’re doing well! The ‘establishment’ may not be too happy about it, but I’m all for it! Everyone has an opporunity to give it a shot. It does make competition stiff, as you REALLY need to stand out to win those auditions and earn a living, but I have never been one to worry about competition. I usually just focus on me, and I trust that doing this will take me to where I want to go. It’s time to start looking into formal coaching/training to rally hone my craft. I’ll probably start with whatever free resources can find, for a while, before looking to go into paid trainings, but eventually, I’ll need to invest in myself.
I’ll post again when I have more to share!
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