Decisions

Ok. Now that I've decided to really launch my interest, I have to decide about where and how I want to study the art of voice overs. After taking the introductory workshop with John Burr, I ordered a book from Amazon called There's Money Where Your Mouth Is: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Voice-Overs by Elaine A. Clark. One of the things she stresses is finding a teacher who will help develop one's acting skills as well as one's ability to produce a finished sound. She talks about using one's body in voice work. I'm interested in that--the body-voice connection. I will have to work to lose my self-consciousness about moving while reading--seems like an unnatural thing, but there is the acting part of voice acting.

Back to deciding who I want to study with...
I liked Burr. He had an edginess--a willingness to honestly say what people were lacking in their reads. His feedback to students about emotionality and hitting the right words were right on. In every case, when students implemented his suggestions, the next read was markedly better. It was cool to see an actor's read become stronger after just three reads and specific steering from Burr. I also loved how much he spoke about language. Direct objects need a punch. Strings of prep phrases affect where the "hit" in a sentence lies. Pronouns that begin a sentence are hit only if it's their first mention. I wished my English students could hear grammar in action this way. I wondered how many in the room remembered what infinitives and colloquial phrasings were .

Last weekend, my husband and I stumbled across an online voice over instruction company. On their website, the owner of the company offered a 34 minute video about voice over work. It was a shortened version of Burr's workshop in which he demonstrated what teaching is involved in learning the craft. He had two students in his studio who he invited to read some copy. He then gave them feedback as a teacher or producer might do. The feedback was good. He was honest with them. I found my ear tuned in to the areas in need of development for both voices. Easy to be critical when it's not you!

At the end of the video, the teacher invites the viewer to submit a sound sample to his website. He offers five scripts. You choose one, make a call, and record your sample. Within five days, someone from the organization phones back to give you your evaluation and invite you, or supposedly NOT invite you if you lack talent, to sign up for one of their packages. The prices for the packages are comparable to prices quoted by John Burr--actually a bit less expensive. Each package includes voice training (done over the phone with an experienced voice talent), production of demo (created in person), and some webinar support in marketing techniques. It also includes the creation of a webpage on their site that links your demos for download and lifetime support (access to paying for more lessons or webinars?).

So now I have to decide what to do. Do I stick with the instructor I've had some exposure to and like--one who I can work with in person locally. Or do I go for the telephone instruction with the 22-year old company that offers some other web resources?