IAMA Voice over Actor who makes his living doing commercials you've heard, and you've never heard of me (again)

Have you ever did anything on the discovery channel and if you haven't, would you like to?

Have you ever tried singing?

Also, could we maybe hear one of your voice overs? Or is that too personal?

Here's me doing a friendly read of your post

Example of an Irish guide I did about 2 hours ago

And never done anything for Discovery, although plenty of my ads have aired on the channel, and ha, no singing....yet.

I dont mean to be rude. Im from Ireland and the accent in the clip is awful.

A search on youtube will find you a real Irish accent and not an american interpretation/perception of it.

Well, I'm sorry you're not a fan, I know it has served me well as I'm still the voice for Guinness and Aer Lingus in the states.

Firstly, thank you for doing this. Secondly, I have some experience with music, radio, and film but nothing terribly professional yet. I recently landed my first voice acting gig for an independent film and had a blast playing with voices and recording my dialog in the studio. This is something I've always been interested in doing and many friends and fellow filmmakers have told me I have a great voice for it. Any tips on crafting a demo/reel from scratch? Should I create different types of voices (character, commercial, cartoon, etc.) based on existing copy or create my own? Thanks again.

I would recommend listening to radio/tv ads, writing down the copy, see what ones you think you can do well. I would call in to any recording studios and see their rates for putting together a VO demo. This is a must have. You will never get with any agency or do any large scale work without a demo, it is your lifeblood.

I have several demos, if you look at my website, you'll see I have a character, commercial, video game, narration and imaging demos. If you have existing copy, definitely incorporate it for sure, although you might not have enough variety to fill up a demo reel that shows off everything you can do, in which case, stealing others people copy is perfectly acceptable.

Thanks for the tips. I have a recording studio that I go to for music regularly so I'm sure they wouldn't mind me coming in to record some VO. Time to get some copy and go to work!

Good luck!

I am also interested in voice work. What is the address for your website?

www.voiceforanychoice.com

Did Outback pay you in bloomin onions?

Discarded Koala Yummy boxes.

You can do Ernie but not Bert? Step up your game

I agree, given all the places he's been, I dont want to be put on a no-fly list for doing Bert.

What do you do for your voice to keep it sounding good?

Lots of tea, but SLEEP is the most important thing.

Listened to your demos, did not realize how much acting ability was required. One of the reasons I didn't pursue this profession. (am often told I have a radio voice, usually compared to John Goodman) Oh, Industrial narration is awful! Not you, the format.

What, or how did you get into this line of work, and is LA and NYC the best places to live to do so? How's the SFBA, understand it's pretty good for video game work.

TIA

Ha, industrials pay a lot of bills...really lower margin work, but sometimes ENORMOUS volume. Commercials are much more fun and lucrative, very high margin...but, lots more competition.

I just always did voices, I was doing standup one day and an agent was there and told me I should do voice work, he wanted to represent me and help get me in the business.

LA is definitely king, even more than NYC. NYC is great, but LA is where its at. SF is indeed very good for video games, I am in the Austin area for the same reason, lots of gaming studios. But really, anywhere in CA is better than anywhere else. I did it for awhile, but hated living out there, and since I can do so much from home, I was willing to do a little less work and not hate myself for living in LA anymore.

Thanks for your response. Why does your aussie accent sound better over the radio than the demo online? Wierd.

No idea, demos get processed a ton to really stand out, and not necessarily jive with the music as much as showcase the voice, so things can sound a little wonky when you compare them to how it sounds coming through your radio.

What company paid you the most for a commercial? How much was it?

Taylor Made Golf, around 17k

Pretty interesting . The man behind the voice.

Do you ever do those obnoxious radio adds for car sales events?

What is the pay rate in your field? Per contract? Per word? Ect.

I do some car sales stuff, but there are certain guys where that is their total niche, I am not one of them, but I've done stuff.

And pay rate is entirely dependant on the usage of the project. Radio? TV? Youtube? In-house? National? Regional? Local? Non-broadcast? Spec recording (just to see how audio sounds on a certain project, not to actually use it), it just all depends on about 100 factors.

Huh interesting. I guess its very similar to all media in that respect. so would you say you make decent money?

Usually just north of 100k, had huge years near 400k and crap years on the high 50s, so it fluctuates pretty wildly sometimes.

I have been told that I would be perfect for a job like this. how do I start working toward it?

Call a recording studio, say you want to make some VO demos, make them, send to local talent agencies.

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Haha, it is BY FAR the most common response when people find out what I do. The truth is, the jobs that require a radio announcer voice are dwindling to complete obscurity these days. Next time you listen to the radio or TV, it's all about natural conversational sound.

I can't tell you how many scripts I get that will put in bold underlined and italicized "DO NOT USE A RADIO ANNOUNCER VOICE, WE WANT NATURAL CONVERSATIONAL FRIENDLY".

So when I see/hear people say "everyone at the office says I have a great radio voice", it'd be like I was in the NBA and everyone told me they could do the best underhanded free throws.

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Ha, well thank you! I would love to do more television shows and movies. In all honesty, it REQUIRES a move to LA. It's where all the action is. I hated it out there, I missed Texas and Austin is a great market, particularly with game studios. So, my family pull and my distaste for LA does limit me professionally. But I get to fish everyday and eat the best BBQ whenever I want :)

And Tara is super nice, I promise I'll put in a good word for you next time I bump into her.

Could you beat up Don LaFontaine?

(For people who don't know him by name)

Current Don LaFontaine? As in, he has ceased-to-be Don LaFontaine?

...still no.

What are your views on the work of people such as Billy West and Tom Kenny?

I am a huge Billy West fan, since I was just a kid, him and Rob Paulsen.

About a year ago I went on a VO kick where I just researched the shit out of the more famous personalities. I considered looking into a career in it, seeing as I grew up hearing Billy West and Tom Kenny every day, and I still hear them every day. However, I know I just don't have a voice for that kind of thing. So congrats on your cool ass voice and I'm glad you get to do something so cool.

Username a Conehead reference?

And thanks man! Definitely a blessing to love what you do for a living, to be sure.

Would you prefer to be on camera doing these commercials?

Not particularly, on camera pays better and you get residuals (rare in VO), but its a lot more work, you have to be location specific, and you pay a higher commission to your agent (20-25%, whereas VO pays out around 10% and I can do 85% of it from my house).

Is that commission just "industry standard" or because you make more?

For any agent, there is a lot more work that goes into getting on-camera people their gigs and managing them, for VO, we are like the little auto-pilot for most talent agencies, low maintenance, easy to submit for gigs, no casting calls, etc.

How much work do you do just to get work?

Depends, if I have an agent who is rockin' and doing it for me, not much, if its a dry spell (usually the summer), then its audition audition audition, email email email, audition audition audition, pop in to studios with cookies and say hello, audition audition audition.

Thank you for doing this AMA. I love your voice.

I did this during my last AMA - http://snd.sc/PdRtlO

Please marry me. I have the biggest thing for voices. edit: and even your "normal" voice is beautiful!

What's your favorite voice/accent for a guy to have?

It depends on their personality, but usually a deep baritone voice and confidence is what's the most attractive. Along with any form of accent that's intriguing to listen to. My current boyfriend fits all of that, and has a really hilarious jersey accent. Which is adorable, i always make him repeat himself when he says cawfee. But your normal voice is super great!

I know that with the training you must have put yourself through, you can do a lot of dialects/accents, but where were you raised? (that usually dictates your original dialect) ((If you're comfortable answering, that is.))

I was born in Colorado, lived there most of my life, and now live in Austin, TX. All of my family is from Chicago, however, and I'd spent 2-3 months a year there since birth, so oftentimes I get these horrible mid-west twangs that pop up in my speech. Not necessarily when I'm recording, but in everyday speech. I've actually had sessions where I'd be in Chicago seeing family, come home and be unable to ditch the accent for a couple days, its kind of bizarre.

Has this voice thing ever gotten you laid? Or a girl, or something for free?

Pretended to be Australian allllllllll the time in HS and college. Fish in a barrel.

Awesome voice, but now I am curious as to how you look...

http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/ynswi/i_do_voiceovers_professionally_heres_me_doing_a/

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I'd avoid going up and the end of every sentence, you dont necessarily need to be monotone, but some variety in delivery would help your cause.

Here ya go, I was bored: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3984195/vocie.mp3

How do you practice your accents/voice?

I always do a different voice on the phone, whenever I go into a store, drive-through, you name it. Practice practice practice.

I have recorded a few promos for my employers, and been informed I have "a good radio voice" by coworkers who should know...

How easy is it to get into this field?

To get in on a small supplemental side job experience....not terribly difficult.

Full time career? Much harder

Where would one look for such a supplemental side job? I happen to have access to a professional production studio...

You can always get on the pay-to-plays, voice123.com, voices.com, then there is Voicebunny.com, thevoicerealm.com, elance.com, Fiverr, the list goes on and on.

You've got some awesome character voices! What kind of work is your favorite to do? (IE: video games, commercials, etc.)

Thanks! Funny quirky characters are my fave, because its what I think I do best and most likely to impress clients.

Any tips on how to set up a home studio? Mic recommendation? How to sound proof a closet?

I've always wondered how people can get such a clean full sound.

Well, all depends on your budget. Personally, I think the best bang for your buck mic is the Shure SM7b. Love it. Very broadcasty. Can be found for around 270 on eBay. 350 new.

It's XLR, so you'll need a pre-amp, and there are tons to choose from. I use an Apogee Duet 2 as it works as both a preamp and interface (converts my XLR to USB). Only works for Mac however. Got that on ebay for around 480. In my opinion, USB mics just aren't there yet to use professionally for VO. Maybe singing vocals where it can blur with music, but not dry VO reads.

Now, when it comes to soundproofing, this is surprisingly the most important part. You can kind of get away with a "meh" mic, but if you have echo and room noise, you immediately look like an amateur idiot. So, closets with lots of clothes in them and quilts on the walls are your best bet until you can spend some cash on acoustic foam. I prefer Auralex, and it used to be dirt cheap on Amazon. No longer. But in a pinch, a very very full closet will be a life saver.

Also, a 15 dollar wind screen/pop filter is a must as well. If you explode those plosives (think of the breath power when you say the letter "P") into a good condenser mic without a screen, your read is worthless. Plus, good editing software is a plus, but I know a lot of VOs use Audacity (free) and it works for them fine.

So....

Good condenser (or the right dynamic) mic Pre-amp Interface Full closet Mic stand Wind screen Computer Editing software Talent

You get those items, and you are well on your way.

I'm a bit late to the game but what the heck. I'm pretty good with accents(I can nail about 5-6 spot on, with a hand full more I'm iffy with) and good with changing my voice.

I also happen to be a smoker(which is a voice I can do well(The 2 pack a day old woman voice you hear in a lot of cartoons) ) Is there still a chance I would be able to get a gig if i really applied myself to getting out there in the vocal world? Or is SMOKER a big red flag??

What 5-6 do you do?

Indian, Irish, Japanese-English(Think Sonny Chiba in Kill Bill), Southern(Georgia/South Carolina area), and English(UK)

How clear and pleasant is your regular speaking voice? I only ask because there are a ton of people who do southern, British, Indian, Irish etc etc, myself included. But 98% of VO work is regular voice done in a clear and professional tone. Accents make up maybe 3 jobs a month out of maybe 50 total.

What software do you use to record? Do you do the editing yourself? Which file format is typically used to send the final version out? WAV?

I was a big time Pro Tools guy for a long time, but I mostly use Adobe Audition CS6, and I love it. Lots of good filters and effects for VO production, I don't think I'd use anything but Pro Tools for music, but for VO and what I do, I love Audition.

As for format, 99% of auditions are done with mp3, and lots of smaller clients dont know the difference honestly between loss/lossless, but for any major projects, its almost always WAV. It doesn't matter to me really, one is obviously way bigger than the other and I store everything on my own 1TB server, so saving it either way from my DAW (Audition) is just a click of a button, I have no preference, but WAV is much more the industry standard to be sure.

As for editing, I do the editing half the time. I dont mind it, unless its longform narration, then that is a bore because if I am doing 20 hours, I have to a) record 20 hours b) relisten to 20 hours and c) edit 20 hours. Its a chore. But half the time I do work for a production house that does all their own editing, and half the time I deliver a fully finished product (I charge more, especially for music/sound usage as well).

For things like the Cingular error message, is that a one-time payment for the recording session, or do you keep making money as long as new phones are made with that message?

They will do a one time buyout for a certain amount of time, say 3 years, if they decide to continue using it, they purchase another block of time. Sometimes they will do a full buyout, meaning forever usage. That was a 3 year buyout with an additional 3 year purchase. It only got used 1 year of that 3 however due to the AT&T merger.

Does it drive you up the wall when well-known celebrities do voice acting for animated films and you know the only reason why they got the spot is because they are abnormally attractive people who were headline actors in some other dumb movies?

As opposed to the "unseen" voice actors that do fantastic work and could nail the parts better but since nobody's heard of their name, they won't ever get the job.

Great question. That is actually a monstrous bone of contention among the voice over community. I mean, on the one hand, I understand the draw of a celeb, and as a marketing gimmick...it makes sense. But from a quality standpoint, its infuriating. But, the bottom line ($) is more important than the quality of the product for 99% of studios out there. But yes, drives me up the wall like you can't believe.

So you're the voice on Outback Steakhouse commercials?

I was, I am not the current guy. I was the voice during the "No Rules, Just Right" campaign that ran for 6-7 years.

That's cool!! What other commercials have you done?

Oh jeez, keystone light, Guinness, Budweiser black crown, outback, Toyota Rav-4, Anytime Fitness, it's a long list

So if you sell Outback and Guiness, what's your "normal" accent? What part of where did you grow up?

My regular voice sounds a lot like Brian from Family Guy, and I grew up in Colorado, but now live in Texas.

Crikey, mate. I can't wait till the next time the commercial comes up and I can tell my girlfriend "Yeeaaahhh I talked to that dude on Reddit nobigdeal."

Good luck on your television show project!

Thanks so much!