A familiar voice that many Canadians have come to know and trust will sign off at the end of the broadcast day at CTV on September 1st, 2011. Lloyd Robertson will say farewell and end a 35 year career with CTV. Below is a letter written by Lloyd and posted on CTV.CA
Here’s a snippet from an article from Ann Utterback:
“I think we all have a vocal warm-up we love. For me it’s yawning. Why do I like yawning? Yawning has been used for centuries as a technique to relax the throat and improve the voice. Go ahead. Try it. Yawn like you do when you’re so tired you can’t keep your eyes open. ”
Recently, I’ve received e-mail from a number of folks who are checking out the prospect of becoming a voice-over talent. They ask me questions about how I got started; what I did to become successful; and what a typical day looks like for me. I openly let them know that it’s hard work and encourage them to give the idea some careful consideration before taking the plunge. My 1000-foot level response looks something like this: Self Examination The … Read More
You’ve heard his voice on scores of movie trailers, commercials and tv shows. Withover 25 years of professional voiceover experience, his most recent credits include: new on air promo announcer for the NBA, Narrator for History Channel’s UFO Files. He’s also done several characters on the video game, “Grand Theft Auto” (San Andreas), new character on the animated series, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” National Network T.V. spots for Zocor( … Read More
What’s the big deal about “warming up” your voice and body before you are about to do some voiceover work? When I worked as a producer in Radio I never really gave it much thought, nor did any of the announcers I worked with. Just turn on that mic, get that copy read so I can move on to the next commercial. Now that I am long out of the radio biz and strictly doing voice over, the warm up has become very important. Now I am no “GURU” on the topic … Read More
I ran across this today on Terry Daniel’s Facebook group, Voice-Over Camp, and thought it had some good points about dealing with the naysayers (even the one sometimes in your own head). Terry does provide coaching and demo production services. I have not used Terry’s services nor am I affiliated with him other than being a part of his FB group. His video does, however, get right to it: Work hard and stay at it.
For me, the pursuit of the work is the just as much fun as depositing the check. Here is terry’s video:
One of the great things about being a VO talent/artist (whichever way you want to describe yourself) is that you always have to learn. Whether its about technology, utilizing resources, marketing or even about yourself and exploring and understanding your strengths in front of and behind the mic. Here is an article submitted to Voices.com by a very good artist who is willing to share what he knows.
Can’t help but feel old when I type “Retro” and “70’s”. Found this clip over on Google+ shared by Cameron Archer. There is also lots more of these under the Youtube account that hosts them: Retrontario
I’m a big believer in keeping on top of the latest that’s going on, be it current events or the Voice Over biz. Sometimes you pop a search term into Google and – Voila – up comes something the really sticks with you. The link below has some great info if you are an active or budding VO. And provides a little perspective from the VO’s point of view if you are looking to hire one.
Its natural to wonder about or question what you are doing when things aren’t happening fast enough or happening at all. I can’t sit hear and type that I am a raving success in VOs and know all the ins and outs of the biz. I can tell you about what I have experienced and some of the successes I feel I have had. I can also tell you that I wanted, from time to time, just to say “Oh well, I tried”. Then an email comes in, a call from a previous customer or a Facebook IM from an old friend that wants someone to help him with some DJ drops. And then it all gets fun again. Its all about being Johnny on the Spot. If your not on the spot, another Johnny/Janey will be and they will be raking in the fun (and the $$).
Lets be honest. Most of us who do this won’t be millionaires overnight or ever. And these days, it seems the millionaires are the ones that are getting the cherry jobs doing VO.
But for me, just yesterday, when that old friend said that the simple one liner I did for him was “awesome” and how excited he was to use it in one of his mixes sparked that little ember a little brighter. Just enough to get this website buzzing a little more with posts from me and putting my foot that much further out there.
I saw a video today where Steve Jobs was giving the Commencement speech at Stanford back in ’05. Its a video thats full of wisdom. I especially liked his comments on Connecting the Dots. It reminds me of something else I heard about VO work – “Work begets work”.
This is about as iconic as it gets. You may see the Man’s face and hear him speak but without the narrators voice – Will Lyman – the whole package just wouldn’t be the same.
A great Canadian passed today after his second battle with cancer. Even though he had his own battle to contend with, he still fought for what he thought was how Canada should be. For this, he shall be missed, treasured and referenced when we ask ourselves what it means to be Canadian. Thank You, Jack.
Rick Arseneault Voice Overs 