Yesterday, I drove to Tampa for a recording session for the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry.  They're creating an exhibit for kids about puberty. 

The session was wonderful. The people I worked with were absolutely fantastic, and it was a really fun session. 

Getting TO the session... well, that was an adventure. Here is the abridged version, with just the facts. It's long, but there is a moral to the story.

- Me at the toll booth to get on the expressway - about 20 miles from my destination. 1 pm (session at 2:30). I ask the toll attendant, "Ummm... is there smoke coming from the bottom of my car?" She replies, "Why YES, there is!" Me, "Oh NO!", and I pull over into the parking lot by the toll booth.

- Me on phone with hubby - had me check various things. Hubby: "Get to a service station asap. Don't drive the car too far - get off on the first exit." Me: "OK, I'm in the middle of nowhere on an expressway, don't know when the first exit is, but ok." Thoughts running thru my head: do I call and cancel the session? How long is it going to take me to find a service station? Where am I?

- Now driving. I pass a couple of exits b/c the areas look shady and I can't see any service-type stations. I'm getting close to downtown Tampa and decided, ok, I need to get off at the next exit... I've probably driven the car too long as it is. I did, and just as I went down the ramp, what do I see? A Firestone Service Station!!!!!!!!! I tell you, I thought I couldn't have gotten any luckier!!!!!!!!! But I do.... just wait.

- Manager at the station says, "No Problem, sure we can check it out. Got the key?" I go out to the car, grab the key and my stuff, including the box of cookies. Me: "Should I call a cab (It's about 1:20 now) to get to my appt?" Him: "Yeah if you have some place to be, you should, that way we can work on the car. Hmmm... meet me out front."

- Out front, Manager pulls up in his truck opens the back door, says "Put your bag in here." Me: "You're going to take me?" Him: "Yup!!!!"

I was in absolute disbelief at the generousity and kindness of this man. He drove me to my appt. I was early, and hungry. Found a McDonalds at the hospital around the corner (why is there a McDonald's in a hospital? Only added to the humor of the day).

Made it to my session, where they handed me a check prior to the session even starting. Again, disbelief!!!

A friend picked me up after the session and dropped me off at the service station. Although, I know my new friends from the session were quite willing to give me a ride, but I had already made the arrangements with my friend. Again, what generousity!!!

Car was still on the lift when I arrived. They checked everything they could and found nothing wrong with the car, nor could they replicate the problem. Manager told me it was safe to drive home. Could be any number of things. Hands me the bill. $26!!!!! Unbelievable.

That manager made what could have been a very stressful experience THE most pleasant experience possible. I can't believe my good fortune in finding that service station and meeting this man. Talk about good karma and paying it forward. Lesson to all of us.

Called the corporate HQ of Firestone and raved about this man. They're going to notify his District Manager and their higher ups. Hubby's going to write a note to the Manager thanking him for taking care of his wife, and the manager is going to receive a very nice gift certificate of some sort.  Far as I'm concerned, the manager deserves a huge raise!!!

I'm still utterly amazed. And, I'm going to play the lottery today.

        

Yesterday, I had a private session with my voice over coach.  I told her about the new gigs I've landed lately (ok, shameless self promotion, but hey, it is my blog, right?  Check out my web site www.CarynClark.net to watch the tv commercials of my latest gigs). 

The conversation morphed into rates and unions. I can't wait for the day I can join SAG and AFTRA.  Well, I could join AFTRA now, but I'm not going to yet.  Anyway, my perception is that the unions offer so many value-added benefits, including a standard rate scale, they manage your payments (so you're not chasing down the people who don't pay you), pension and health insurance, that who wouldn't want to join the union?

Then there's Fi-Core.  Interesting thing I learned about Fi-Core. It was created for the coal miners' union, way back when.  Why? Because when union mines dried up, that meant that those miners would have to move, sometimes far far away, to work in another union mine. Not always easy to just pick up and move back in the day, Fi-Core was created to allow them to work in non-union mines but still be paid a fair union wage.  So, Fi-Core was created because of proximity to work.  In this digital age, that's not really the issue though. 

Now in the world of freelance, coupled with the digital age, it's a whole different ball o' wax.  So many people are taking a stab at voice over and work for much less than union scale, and many producers are willing (or my guess is, in some cases, they have to) to use such talent b/c of budgetary constraints, as well as the fact that perhaps the piece they're producing simply doesn't require a high caliber talent as the union provides.

The online voice over marketplaces have definitely played a huge role in taking freelance voice over to a different level. They've made it possible for anyone with some computer knowledge to take a stab at this career. And I think that's great! Why shouldn't someone be able to dabble, and see if this is the career for them? Hey, that's what I did.... ok, well, not exactly... I did have coaching years prior to my actually working in vo, and had coaching prior to deciding to "dabble" in vo... but the online voice over marketplaces were where I was able to get myself out there and gain some experience.  I will say though, that I took it all seriously and did research, etc. before jumping in the pool.  I had a demo... a one minute demo.  I must admit, I do get terribly frustrated by the folks who join the online vo marketplaces, and then post questions about the most basic things they really should already know.  But I digress...

So, that all said, it appears that the freelance world is getting bigger and stronger by the minute.  And, what's the problem with this?

As freelance voice artists, we are not only the actor, but the CEO, Marketing VP, and CFO of our own company.  We have to chase down the people who don't pay us, we need to be disciplined enough to set aside money for health insurance and retirement on our own.  I suppose we can do that.

So, that leaves the question of a rate scale, and being paid fairly for our work.  There is no standard or scale for freelance artists.  There are folks who are willing to do a :60 radio commercial for $25.  And hey, I've done similar work myself, for friends who are producers who needed a voice b/c they were in a bind. But those that make a habit of it are banking on quantity of jobs.  I have to say, I don't believe it works that way.

I have a rate sheet that I use as my guideline when quoting jobs.  Have I lost jobs because of it? Yup. Just did this morning, as a matter of fact. But that's ok. I'd say 90% of the time, the producers are ok with the rate I quote, even if it is above their stated budget, and pay it without even trying to negotiate with me.

So, I guess the moral of the story here is... have a rate sheet for yourself that's based on type of spot (radio; television; narration, etc.) the locale in which it will air (local; regional; national; non-broadcast; web) and the length of spot (:15;  :30; :60; and for me, I have by the page). Don't sell yourself short, be confident in your talent in order to stand by your rates.  While I think you should also be flexible (let's face it, we all have bills to pay), don't completely undercut the market. Focus your energy on working to gain the talent you need to be a first rate voice over artist, and you'll be paid accordingly.

        

This weekend, I attended the Randy Thomas and Peter Rofe' Voice Over Workshop. It was fantastic!! 

I've taken a workshop with them before... about two years ago. But you know, it's always great and you always learn something new, regardless that the teachers were the same. 

I really enjoyed meeting all of the attendees as well. You know, when you work in the corporate world, you have "co-workers." But in voice over, you don't really have those relationships since we all work from home. So, when you get together for things like workshops, it's like meeting your co-workers (live and in person) and sharing stories about your boss(es) around the water cooler. Everyone there was so very talented, and we all learned from each other.

I was honored to finally meet Sonny Warner, whom I've been paired with in a couple of commercials, Brian Hart from the VO-BB message board that has become my family, and Doug Turkel, also from the VO-BB and we've done a commercial together. 

        

I do love technology. If it weren't for technology, many of us wouldn't have the careers we have, or the ability to work from home from places like Fort Myers, FL!

However, I don't really like when I have technology snags. Last week I had a snag.

Had a popping/crackling sound... not constant... it would come and go, in my audio. All of the sudden, out of the blue.

I recently had my Symetrix overhauled, so it likely wasn't that. With the help of some other vo friends and their troubleshooting, we thought maybe it was my board. So I bought a new Mackie 802-VLZ3.  Turns out it wasn't that... still had the problem.

So then I deduced that it must be the mic.  I called Sennheiser, and I have to tell you, they are the NICEST, MOST PROFESSIONAL folks you'll ever deal with. I received personal service from a gentleman nameed David. I sent my mic back to Sennheiser, where they tried to replicate the problem. Unfortunately, they could not.  However, to me the proof was that I borrowed another Sennheiser MKH416 (just like the mic I sent back) from Randy Thomas to use in the meantime, and I've not had a single issue.  So it must be the mic!!!  Right??!!  We're mystified they couldn't replicate the issue.

However, they were so cool about it... that they are sending me a brand new mic to replace mine.  How great is that? 

Keeping fingers and toes crossed that all tech issues have been solved.

        

Once again, Voices.com has done a smashing job in gathering a list of valuable resources for voice talent. 

Somehow, my very own blog made that list!! 

Here's a link to their blog post:
http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2008/03/100_industry_resources_for_voice_over_talent.html

I'm certain you will find useful information in their blog!

        

Stephanie from Voices.com very kindly posted my blog on her Vox Daily blog a couple of days ago.  Since then, there have been several comments added that I thought were really great observations, so I wanted to post a link here:

Click here to go to Why YOU NEED ME as Your Voice blog on Vox Daily.

Comments appreciated!!

        

I'm glad the Writers' Strike has been resolved. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Seriously, the reality shows were getting a little out of hand.  It's good for everyone that this strike is settled, and that the writers' are recognized for they're worth.

That said, I'm also glad the strike is over because that means The 80th Annual Academy Awards are a GO!!!  Things were hanging in the balance because of the strike. My mentor and friend, Randy Thomas, will, for a SEVENTH time, be the live voiceover announcer for the Academy Awards, along with veteran voiceover artist and past Oscar announcer Tom Kane.
 
Randy remains the first and only person, male or female, to have announced the Oscars, Tonys and Emmys all in a row.

She's an incredible voiceover talent.

More about the Academy Awards:
The 80th Annual Academy Awards will be held live at the Kodak Theatre on Sunday, February 24th, 2008 on ABC, live at 5pm PST/8pm EST. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

More about Randy:

In addition to her network assignments, Randy provides the imaging voice for numerous television and radio stations across the country. She can be heard daily across the nation and around the world, including on Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, the most watched entertainment news programs in the world, produced by CBS/Paramount Television. 

        

I attended a local business networking event this evening. My first one ever. It was much different than I expected.

In introducing myself to local business owners and telling them my profession, many of them responded with, "Oh, I've always wanted to do that... how can I?" or "Oh, I do the narration for my company's videos... why would I need your services?"

I can understand these responses.  It APPEARS that what I do is as easy as reading a story to a child, or reading a local newspaper article aloud to your spouse.

It's not though.

Not at all.

So, why do these folks need a professional voice over for their commercial or corporate narration? Why can't they just do it themselves?

These are questions to which voice over artists need to have answers, and these answers are the basis of your marketing.

Here are some of the answers:
1.  I've had years of training - voice over classes, acting classes, workshops, private coaching with some of the best voice coaches in the country.  Truly.  And, I've had lots of "on the job" training, performing hundreds of commercials and narrations.

I've invested in my education so that I can produce a top notch product for my clients, take their direction and make it happen, and ultimately, deliver not only the sound they want, but the sound they NEED in order for their commercial or narration to sound BELIEVABLE... and not like someone's reading off the page.

And why is this important?

2.  Believability = Credibility = Comprehension of what you're selling

Whether you realize it or not, using yourself (business owner) for your business's commercial is likely not the best idea.  We've all heard those folks on TV and the radio... and they sound like they're reading.  Do you really comprehend something when someone's reading to you?  No. 

People comprehend real life.  Voice over talents are trained to bring your commercial or narration to life... real life. 

3.  While you just might sound fabulous reading a commercial for, let's say, high end furniture, you might NOT make a commercial about the benefits of a community college, or one about why folks should visit Walt Disney World, sound believable. But I have and I do.  Yet, I wouldn't necessarily be the right voice choice for a high end furniture commercial.

Point is, everyone's voice is different, and one voice is NOT suited for all types of commercials or narration.

4.  I've invested thousands of dollars in my studio and equipment in order to provide the best sound possible for your audio.


So, if you're a talent reading this, step back and think of some more reasons people should hire you... I'd love to hear them. 

And, if you're a business owner considering my services, the points made above should convince you that YOU NEED ME for your voice over project. 

        

So, I've started playing with Google AdWords and pay per click (PPC) advertising. It is, indeed, a pretty nifty concept.  I especially love the reporting function.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article about the 10 things to watch out for in PPC advertising.  And, as I've found out, they're true. At the onset, I've found that it IS important to be as specific as possible when creating ad "phrases." 

What I've found is that I've come up with LOTS of words and phrases that I think customers use to search with. Too many, in fact.  But, at the moment, I'm sticking with one ad, and monitoring the popularity of each word and phrase, and as I find those that aren't working, I will delete them.

I know people for whom this type of marketing has worked splendidly. For me, it's too soon to tell.  But, I'd love to hear other people's experience with this type of advertising, and how it worked/didn't work for them. 

        

Randy Thomas and Peter Rofe are going to do a one-day (all day from 9 am to 7 pm) workshop here in Fort Myers on Saturday, April 12.  Here are the details:

WHO: Randy Thomas and Peter Rofe
WHAT: Workshop for pro vo actors
WHEN: Saturday, April 12 from 9 am to 7 pm
WHERE: Unity Gain Studios in Fort Myers, FL
WHY: To learn lots of cool stuff and kick your vo career into high gear!

You can email me at caryn@carynclark.net for booking info and details.