Dealing with that Picky Client

Occasionally, you'll get a picky client. As a non-union vo actor, it kind of annoys me a little. We are already kind of working for dirt cheap so instead of going from redo to redo, here are a few ways to make it easier on yourself.

* If it's a person who wants it said a certain way, they'll say things like, "Could you go up at the end of this sentence," or "Say it like it's more conversations" or "Hit this word.", here's a good strat. Sometimes, it will be easy to understand what they want, sometimes not. You can always ask them to say the words themselves into a phone and send it to you. You can just have a headphones on with an earbud and just redo the inflections they want. Quick Note, they are not VO artists so you may have to spin it a little to make it sound conversational. In the end, they'll think they got what they wanted and since you added your spice to it, they'll think you made it better. All good.

*If you get a script that is TIMED out. Oh boy, that's a doozy. Sometimes they just don't know how conversational sounds. You may have to speed through lines and slow down through lines as well. The key is to make it known to the client. Record 2 takes, one that's conversational for you and one to their specs. That oughta be enough to get them to cut a line or move a graphic.

* Naming schemes. Sometimes people will specify what names for what files. That should be easy but if you're talking lots of files, it can be tough. With the time it will take, I would say not give 2 takes unless the payment it worth it. They want one file, give them the one file. If they need a redo, you'll give it to them.

*Heading and what not. Sometimes there are headings. You don't know which is suppose to be said or not. I came around this corner with a client which was a real source of aggravation for me. The thing is, you need to get those questions answered in an email. If later they need headers or edits or you to edit into files, if it's a long enough job, you should be able to add more money.

The key thing is to KNOW YOUR WORTH. They are getting us DIRT CHEAP. Don't be taken advantage of. Also, KNOW WHAT THEY WANT, get it in a written email. Especially for longer jobs.

You're going to get frustrated. This will happen, but think about it this way. You're at home eating Cheetos and watching Walking Dead all day, how frustrated could you be!

Get them jobs!

What to do when asked to Re-audition in either voices.com or v123?

Sometimes in Voices or V123 you're going to be directly contacted to re-audition, sometimes it's to do the entire audition, sometimes it's to audition for different parts.

Voices and V123 has a rule, (or unless they changed it without me knowing) where you can only audition once, which makes sense. We all get one shot, not as many as we can. But, occasionally people reach out for that extra.

I use dropbox for all these reauditions. Here's the rub, I'm not saying you will always get screwed but there is a possibility. The great thing about v123 and voices is that they have a way of getting the audition to the client without them having a hard copy. Dropbox, you lose that. However, with voices, they already paid so I figure the chances are slim. With V123, there is no way to tell. I'm a little leary about re-auditioning.

On the other hand, if you think of it as a necessary loss and that the gain is much more of a reward, then I would say DO IT. Today, I got a request to do another character in the job, you can do two things. Contact voices for an actual reaudition, usually voices is spot on about this and can do it quick. I'm more of a get it done kind of guy so I send the dropbox link. 10 minutes later, got the job. 

Think of it this way, a client who contacts you LIKES you, so make it a priority if you are new to VO to get them what they need. 

The only bad clients I've had were through voice123, it was just because the guy had never done the stuff before and couldn't pay until he got paid, which is a flaw of 123. I had kind of a weird client through voices where they had a system of how they did things and they reached out to voices and then they just had horribly marked script and they didn't clarify which was which as far as what I would read. It was just a WHOLE mess. But, I digress. The fact is, 99.9 percent of clients want to get the job done right, If someone reaches out to you even to thank you for auditioning, take it as a notice that you are a good VO actor.

Go get em all!!!

The Voices.com and Voice123 rating system WHA?

Hey everyone,

this is a little section about the voices.com and voice123 rating system.

First off, take this with a grain of salt. A HUGE grain of salt.

Voices.com has a system where either you get an EAR icon or a THUMBS UP icon or NO icon at all. Ear  only represents that they heard the audition. Thumbs up is that they liked the audition and no icon means that they didn't even listen to the audition.

As you can see, that's the thing about speed. If you're slow on auditions, and you're getting the no icon feel. That's bad. You're kind of hurting yourself and you may not have the time to be a voices.com worker. Those top 20 are extremely important.

If you are getting a lot of EAR icons then you are on the right track, there could be a million reasons they don't thumbs up you. I have gotten PLENTY of jobs with just the ear. So there's no guarantee that you WON'T get the job but you can kind of think of it at a not likely feel.  Think of the EARs as a victory and maybe just kind of get that next step in auditioning better. Vary your tone or rhythm, relax.

THUMBS up is great, I usually look at a thumbs up that is closed as a real possibility of a job in the future. If it's working, I literally go "Awww". Because I had a chance at it. If you're getting thumbs up then keep at it, clients like you. Celebrate.

Voice123 is a weird and sometimes insulting. Ick, from the makers of Voicebunny and the makers of the site that costs more than voices.com yet gets me less money. ENOUGH COMPLAINING!!! My apologies to the reader, I have issues with v123 but it has gotten me amazing jobs, I just really don't like this up in yearly fees, they don't really deserve it.

Anywho, you can tell whether it was opened or not in a YES Or NO answer. GREAT awesome.

You can tell how many auditions they have put out AND how many they have listened to. This can be of GREAT use, especially since you know if they have 80 and have listened to 0 then they may not be the best clients. If they listened to 15 out of 20, then it's great go for it. It definitely helps.

THE STAR SYSTEM!!! Lovely, a rating oriented system for people to rate your audition. The only problem is you don't know what they are judging on. It used to be Finalist, unlikely, or Maybe. Which was kind of hopeful. Now it's like, 1 star. Do you hate my voice? Was I not what you're looking for? It feels like an F. The fact is, I bet you can get a 1 star and still get a job on this site. It's ALL RELATIVE.

What can you gauge from V123? Not much. You can tell if they listened and whether or not they are good clients. The tough thing about V123 is that they don't pay V123, they don't act as an escrow service so there is a possibility that this job may not even exist.

Anywho, that's a quick explanation of the rating system. I like Voices, it doesn't have that much stake. V123, is a little too much info combined with a bad system, just audition for as much as you can.

Much Love!!

justin

How to Reinvigorate your Drive

Recently, I did an audition where the casting director took me out and said, "I think you have a really natural voice, I just think you need to know how to analyze a script to get that ups and downs feel. Peaks and valley's. (don't know if that's how it's spelled)", then he offered to coach me.

Initially, my brain got a little peeved. I kind of felt like I was being sold something. But, then I thought about it. VO has been a grind for me. I've been doing the same thing over and over again. I need to be thankful of where you are and where you are at in life.

With VO, I've found that if you're having a bad day or exhausted or just judgy in general it always comes across. Sometimes you have to differentiate the sound, go up here, down there. But never commit but just have fun with the copy.

Here's what I started doing before every copy to just spruce it up:

1) Remember what you are doing. This is VO, if it's a home audition, YOU ARE WORKING from home, this is freaking awesome. Get a little excited. You may no longer have a 9-5 soon. Congratulations. You're doing it.

2) Smile. Nod. Pat yourself on the back. You are the master of your domain, take stock of how you got the job. If it's voices, look at you investing in yourself. Awesome. If it's through a casting director, they heard you and they LIKE YOU!!

3) Relax, relax, Relax. This is not a job where you conform to their specs. I don't care who tells you that. You are not impersonators you are vo actors. Speak how you normally speak to a friend or family member but get excited about it.

4) Be thankful and inspired. Entitlement shows. Fear shows. Laziness shows. You only can do the best you can. Be okay with that.

Get out there and audition.