Practical, Paying, Part-Time Voice-Over

Kelly Libatique

Description

Practical, Paying, Part-Time Voice-Over is a guide for both beginners as well as those with some background in performing who want to explore the exciting world of voice-acting. There's a lot of confusion out there for those that want to try this. Is it really as easy as some claim to get into this profession? Or, is it really as difficult, as others say? This guide cuts to the chase and explains what you can do right now in today's digital revolution to break into the world of voice-acting. What does it really take? How can one get a competitive voice demo? What's involved with home studios and what do they really cost? How does one acquire talent agents or get into the union? All these questions and many more are answered in this concise but comprehensive guide. Start living your dreams today.

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 10 juin 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781622876266
• Langue: English

Extrait

Practical, Paying, Part-Time Voice-Over
Kelly Libatique


First Edition Design Publishing
Practical, Paying, Part-Time
Voice-Over



First Edition Design Publishing
Practical, Paying, Part-Time Voice-Over
Copyright ©2014 Kelly Libatique

ISBN 978-1622-875-25-9 PRINT
ISBN 978-1622-875-26-6 EBOOK

LCCN 2014940839

May 2014

Published and Distributed by
First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com



ALL R I G H T S R E S E R V E D. No p a r t o f t h i s b oo k pub li ca t i o n m a y b e r e p r o du ce d, s t o r e d i n a r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m , o r t r a n s mit t e d i n a ny f o r m o r by a ny m e a ns ─ e l e c t r o n i c , m e c h a n i c a l , p h o t o - c o p y , r ec o r d i n g, or a ny o t h e r ─ e x ce pt b r i e f qu ot a t i o n i n r e v i e w s , w i t h o ut t h e p r i o r p e r mi ss i on o f t h e a u t h o r or publisher .
For the Dreamers, the Doers and the Dogged

“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
Zig Ziglar
Practical, Paying, Part-Time
Voice-Over

written by
Kelly Libatique

Table of Contents

Another Book About Becoming a Voice-Actor?
Who Am I?
Unions!
The Restaurant Analogy
Voice Demos!
Agents!
Marketing and Getting Work!
Practicing and Auditioning!
Rejection!
Pay to Play Sites!
Audiobooks!
Home Studios!
The Commercial Studio!
Money!
Thank You
Another Book About Becoming a Voice-Actor?

“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.”
John Irving

The title of this first chapter is a question I asked myself before setting out on this venture. I’ve read a dozen books on voice-acting, full of great advice from people who’ve achieved much in the industry. I’ve also read some very interesting books by people who started their careers long before the digital age we’re in now and when being a voice-pro was the best kept secret around.
But, I wanted to do something different here. You see, this isn’t really about aspiring to become some big, famous, nationally-syndicated voice, although the steps outlined in this book could very well get you started in that direction. This is more about the simple joys of doing voice work at a sane and easy to manage level, at your own pace. It’s also about how to go about getting there now, with today’s technology, opportunities and shifting economy.
I also wanted to encourage those with the dream and who have the bug that just keeps biting. Because in this digital age of Internet advertising, more sophisticated phone systems, podcasts, video games, smartphone apps and a dozen other media conduits, there’s more demand for voices now than ever before. If you’ve got the talent, drive and persistence, there are markets all over the globe that can use your unique voice and personality.
It’s been confusing out there for those wanting to try this. On one hand, you’ve got established talent laughing at newbies and wannabes, saying, ‘you need years of training, experience, $3,000 microphones and all the right connections to do professional voice work.’ On the other hand, you’ve got individuals and companies telling you to just fork over some of your money and they’ll show you a quick’n easy path to hearing your voice on TV and the radio tomorrow. Some of all that is true, some of it is not. I’d like to help you sort it out.
Also, every book out there on voice-acting, that I’ve read so far anyway, comes at a person with the presumption that the reader wants to make voice work a full-time career. It’s the premises of: “I’d love to quit what I’m doing, sooner than later, and do only voice-over. How can I do that?” And not just any voice-over career, mind you, a huge cash-cow of one that includes regularly being heard coast-to-coast or even internationally on radio and television broadcasts. Oh, and also get paid big money to do what at least every guy wants to do--movie trailers! One can, of course, go that route, with a lot of hard work, and let’s face it, a whole-lotta luck.
Now, I’m a very practical kind of person, not a pipe-dream chaser. When I was younger, I took a lot more chances, including going skydiving! But that’s another story for another time. As I got older, established a career and started a family, the idea of chasing dreams became less sensible. And yet, after finding out what’s possible, I went for voice-over anyway and have found amazing success with consistent, paying gigs.
It’s not that I don’t want to see my voice-acting become full-time someday. Perhaps it will. If the right doors began to open, if circumstances permitted and I found myself careening down that path, I certainly would not try to stop it. And really, the way things going, I may have to make that decision soon.
But here’s where I’m coming from as of this writing. I’m having the time of my life being a part-time, professional voice-over actor. The “professional” part means it’s more than just a hobby. I’m getting paid real money. I do this at my own leisure on top of a career I also enjoy. So really, I’ve got the best of both worlds and it’s only getting better. I’m not only doing something that’s both fun and exciting, I’m living out dreams that all actors have.
I’m also a bit cynical on the whole move-to-the-big-city thing, which, by the way, you don’t need to do with voice-over, if you go about it the way I am. But if you’ve got those stars in your eyes and want to become the next Don LaFontaine or Nancy Cartwright, here’s what you need to do . . .
Specifically for those living in the US, you first need to pick yourself up from wherever you are and whatever you’re doing and physically move to one of the three major markets--Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York. If you want to get into voicing for the big animated movies, looping, or movie trailers, you’ll need to go to LA. There’s little choice in this matter. 99% of the time, they don’t let you do that stuff remotely. Some established talent who can utilize ISDN or one of the newer technologies get away with it, but as a newbie, you will not. They’ll need to meet you and you’ll need to prove yourself which means getting into the studios with a team of producers and directors. So get your moving boxes, blankets and tape gun together.
But how does one get into those studios in the first place? Well, once you’re in LA, you’ll need to try to get into one of the big talent agencies for representation. And when I say big, I mean one of the top, well-established agencies like Abrams Artists or Coast to Coast, for example. There’s a handful of top agencies in each city, and a boatload of little guys, and many that represent talent around the country.
Hundreds of wannabe actors a week vie for the attention of these agencies, harassing them relentlessly with their pleas of, “I’ll do anything to get represented by you!” And many of these people will, in fact, do anything--some of the stories are quite demoralizing. Whatever creative sales pitch you think you got, trust me, they’ve heard it a thousand times. So get in line and the best of luck to you.
Why does one have to join one of the big agencies? Simple--if you’re a big television network, film producer, or some giant conglomerate, you’ve got big marketing money. As such, when it’s time to get a voice to represent your product, you’re going to go to the major agencies that have the know-how and reputation and say to them, “Give me your crème de la crème of talent.” The agencies will then hand pick from their roster of the finest and most experienced and established talent, people they’ve worked with and have a proven track record. Wouldn’t you want what you thought was the best talent if you were investing millions in a movie or some product?
Needless to say, these jobs don’t show up on the pay-to-play voice-over sites (like Voices.com) and they certainly will never get posted on the mainstream public listings like Craigslist. They go through reputable agents they trust and have worked with. The agents then go to the talent they know and trust--union talent, by the way. The rest of us never even hear about these opportunities.
I’ll go more into the pay-to-play sites later.
But, it gets worse . . . Most big agencies won’t even look at a non-union talent with no track record, unless you do something to really impress them, or get endorsed by a celebrity or established bigwig in the biz. Then they might try to help you.
I’ll go more into unions later, but here’s a quickie--there used to be two unions, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). SAG is what every major Hollywood movie star you’ve ever seen or heard of belongs to. But they’re now one big, happy union called SAG-AFTRA.
Performer’s unions have been around a long time and they ensure professional entertainers get paid good money and receive benefits and all that kind of stuff. So joining the union is a great thing, if that’s the path your career is going down.
But there’s a catch--isn’t there always? In order to qualify to join SAG-AFTRA, you must first be offered a “principal” role in a SAG-AFTRA production. A principal role is a lead role, or a part with lots of lines, depending. So as a non-union performer, you need to excite someone a lot to get that kind of offer. If you accept the role, you don’t need to join the union right away. However, if you continue doing principal roles, you will soon enough.
The cost to join SAG-AFTRA, if you qualify? As of this writing, $3,000 initially, and then $200 a year after that. If you don’t have the cash, they’ll give you a loan which includes interest and a 24-month installment plan. And as far as work goes, you’re lucky to get gigs that last any longer than three to six months at a