Uncategorized | Atlanta Voiceover Studio

It’s the Little Things

February 18, 2019

In a sea of so many voice talent and actors, we constantly search for ways to set ourselves apart. The crazy thing is that it’s the little things that make the biggest impact. For example, I was sending files in to a producer I worked with. He had very specific instructions for how they were supposed to be labeled.
If I’m totally honest, I was a little frustrated at how particular he was.
However, when I checked in with him to make sure he had received the files and everything sounded good, he responded back saying it sounded great, he really enjoyed working with me and thanked me over and over for following his labeling instructions. He said I was the only person that had followed his instructions EVER.It’s something so small but set me apart (without even knowing it) from other people he had worked with.Just don’t forget how big little things can be!

Mike & Heidi

Animation Voiceover Tip

February 11, 2019

I was able to spend the weekend with Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron) for a voice over retreat and she taught us so much! I wanted to share one of those things with you.
HOW TO FIND A CHARACTER VOICE* AGE – What age range are they?*

VOICE PLACEMENT – Where is the voice coming from – your chest, throat, nose, head?* IMPEDIMENT – Is there an impediment this character has?*

ACCENT – Does the character have an accent & how does that inform the character?*

CHANNELING – Is there someone you know that you can channel?
Such a great starting point for developing your character!

Mike & Heidi

How to Maneuver Technical Direction in a Session

February 4, 2019

I recently had a session where there were 5 people between the client and agency giving me direction. My page was ALL marked up. We went section by section and I constantly heard, “Go up here, take a pause there, emphasize THIS but not too much, make this more heartfelt, then this more light…” What happens when we receive a lot of technical direction is we tend to lose the most critical part of our voiceover job – TO CONNECT! So, how do you take the technical direction, stay connected and make the copy fresh? Here’s what works for me…
1| Mark the technical direction on your script(ie go up on this word, down on that one, make sure we hear “anD” or go faster there but slower here, etc)

2| Take a moment before your next take and look over the section with the technical direction. Read through it like a map.

3| Now go into your read knowing WHO you’re talking to, WHAT you’re saying and WHY.
Going over the script in your mind before you begin allows your brain to register the technical map, but then allows the connection to take front stage.In this past week’s session (when I had multiple directors), I tried this and it worked like a charm! The connection was still there but my brain had logged in the technical direction as well.Remember…the best voice actors are direct able so the more we can learn how to take direction the better we become.

Mike & Heidi

Move over Siri…. New trends good for VO

January 28, 2019

I was reading an article about speech recognition…you know Siri’s main job, and the article shared this statistic that will be GREAT for US!
By 2020 Google expects that 50 % of all internet searches will be done by voice and approximately 30 % of searches will be done without the screen at all.
Guess what that means for us? That means that more companies will need voices for their speech recognition offerings. That’s where WE come in!This is a great reminder that though things change (greater competition, new media that confuses rate awareness, etc) BUT that change can also bring new opportunities!

Mike & Heidi

Tip from a Muppet

January 22, 2019

Last weekend, I had the awesome opportunity to spend a weekend outside of LA with a small group of voice over actors led by Randy Thomas (live announcer for the Oscars, Emmys, Tony Awards and Nightline to name a few). Randy brought some of the best in the business – Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron), David Alden (movie trailer & promo director), J. Michael Collins (voiceover actor & good with voiceover business tips) and Paul Liberti (previous Muppet, Professor Elm in Pokemon, broadway choreographer and voice actor). Paul gave us some great insight and I wanted to share it with you…
VOLUME IS THE WEAKEST THING YOU CAN USE TO EXPRESS YOURSELF
Sometimes we have the tendecy to increase our volume when emphasizing or increasing our energy. Don’t worry…the mic will pick you up. Our goal, as voice talent, is to make people lean in. They’ll lean in if the expression comes from within.

Mike & Heidi

Tips When Submitting to Agents

May 10, 2018

Lately, we’ve received more emails from people thinking we’re an agency and asking for representation, and including their demo.

Whenever I (Mike) get an email like that, I usually want to reply with a sarcastic comment – my attempt at humor. But we all know how that can come across on the other end, when you can’t “read” tone. And if they don’t know my sense of humor, I come out looking like a bonehead.

But this is why God gave me Heidi. She graciously reminds me to start thinking, “how can we help turn this into a teachable moment for our students?”. And then I don’t look like a bonehead. 🙂

So that said, here are some tips for when you’re looking for representation:

1) DON’T just send an email to an agency, or some place you THINK is an agency but is NOT (like the Atlanta Voiceover S T U D I O). Due your due diligence and check out the website. Surf the site and see what they actually do.

If you surfed the Atlanta Voiceover Studio website, you’d clearly see that we’re a teaching studio that offers demo production, workshops and times you can schedule to record your own auditions. Any emails we receive, get deleted. Time is valuable. While we’d love to answer every email we receive like that and help them out, our first priority is to our students – that’s where our energy is directed.

2) When you do the background research, (which, normally should only take you 5 minutes!), look for something on the agency site that says SUBMISSIONS. It’ll save you a world of time and answer ALL your questions about what to do to submit AND what to include.

Again, time is valuable. Their priority is to the actors and voiceover actors they already represent. Agents don’t have time to listen to everything that comes in their inbox from who knows where. So they have a process that streamlines it for them. The good news for you, is that it’ll be a dedicated place where you KNOW they’ll get it. And THEY’LL know you can follow directions. This leads me to…

3) Why is showing them that you can follow directions important? Because they want to know you’re a professional!

If you can’t follow a basic submission process, then how can they know you’ll be professional enough to a) get your auditions sent in in time; b) follow labeling instructions precisely (so that they don’t have to spend time doing it themselves when it’s your job)?

4) Make the submission email short and sweet….AND PROFESSIONAL. If they have what they want you to include in the email submission and include it. If not, less is more.

Recently, we received an email like this:

Hello,

My name is _____. I am a voice over talent. I am currently looking for representation. I am confident that I can be a great addition to your agency. Below is my Voice Over Demo. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a good day!

Okay, sure. Outside of the fact that they didn’t do their homework to see we’re not an agency and don’t have a roster, it’s a short and sweet email.

But tell me, would you want to answer someone who didn’t spend a even a minute searching to find out what your name is, to include it in the email? The funny thing is, he has my email. The name…is…right…there!

Secondly, I’d want to know WHY you were confident you’d be a great addition to my agency. Again, homework comes into play here. Go to the agency site. LISTEN to as many demos as you can to see if you WOULD be a good addition. You MAY be. You MAY NOT be. Does the agency have someone or some people who already sound like you?

What’s your background? What training have you had? Are you continuing your training? (That’s where we come in.) Show you’re a person, and give them a brief summary of you and what you have to offer.

5) And finally, after you make it that far and you’ve submitted. Wait. Then follow up. Not after a day. Not after a week. A month is the perfect amount of time to wait. They’re busy repping. Don’t worry – they have your submission. And if you don’t hear from them, you’ll know you need to follow-up!

And while you wait to hear back from them, continue your training. Like professional athletes train to stay competitive, it’s no different in the voiceover world. The Atlanta Voiceover Studio is here to help. For classes and workshops, check out www.atlantavoiceoverstudio.com.

Mike & Heidi

Atlanta Voiceover Studio Tour

March 29, 2017

Atlanta Voiceover Studio has moved!

Last weekend, we had to move all our stuff…all the way ACROSS THE HALL! Rough, right?! Actually, it was a little challenging deconstructing the studio then putting it back together. Thankfully, we have some awesome friends – Terrence & Matt. They really came through with some muscle and engineering insight, cus I’m no help in those departments. 🙂

Our previous space was great, but it was pretty small. We needed a space we could use for workshops, so we just moved to an office across the hall from us.

It’s still not huge, but we want to keep our workshops and group classes small, so it will work.

Without further adieu, here’s a little tour of our new digs…

We’re really excited to have this new space to host more learning opportunities for you!

Stay tuned for more news and tips.

Heidi Rew

Category: Uncategorized

It’s the Little Things

Animation Voiceover Tip

How to Maneuver Technical Direction in a Session

Move over Siri…. New trends good for VO

Tip from a Muppet

Tips When Submitting to Agents

Atlanta Voiceover Studio Tour