For Voice Over Talents

This is Part Two of “Celebs Are Taking Voice Over Jobs Away from the Voice Over Community… Really?!”

Artists can be gifted in many different ways and can grow and develop outside of their beginning niche. We see crossover all the time with actors cutting an album or singing or playing an instrument in a film. We see current pop stars making their feature film debuts – for example, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and The Voice making his debut in Begin Again (which I’ve not seen, so I have no comment on his acting prowess).

And then you have someone like Josh Groban hosting a TV reality music show. Are there actors who focus on and pursue TV hosting gigs that are up in arms about that? Do they feel he is stealing their hosting gig? He’s a singer… What does he think he’s doing hosting a reality show?!

Pro athletes who have retired from playing are often hired as commentators. Does that make other sports announcers angry? If they have the background and name recognition for providing draw an audience, then why shouldn’t they get the gig? If they can’t cut it, it will be apparent very quickly, and the network will let them go.

Michael Strahan has taken a pro football career to new heights in broadcasting as co-host of Live with Kelly and Michael every morning. And we’ve certainly seen a round-robin of commentators on The View, who are not broadcasters by trade, but actors, comediennes, and personalities that drive a conversation show, just giving their opinions.

Maybe Every Voice Over Job is Fair Game For Anyone

Sons and daughters of famous folks (actors, singers, politicians) will occasionally find a springboard with their name and notoriety to help get them in the game, but often they are held to a higher standard and, again, have to prove themselves to maintain their spots. Jenna Bush Hager is a good example. She’s now a regular commentator on the Today show after a ramp-up that wasn’t always stellar. I’m sure other broadcasters would love to have had that spot, but it went to someone who audiences can recognize by her name and connections. Sometimes it’s all about connections and how we use them.

It irks me that some people think there should be some boundary around what any particular person can do. Why do we have to put everyone in a box and hold them there? There are auto mechanics who are also musicians, lawyers who are also voice over professionals, and doctors who are also ballroom dancers. And if they are better than someone else, who calls it their profession, why shouldn’t they get the gig when opportunities arise?

Same for celebrity actors getting voice over jobs in feature animation projects over unknown voice over actors. The article’s title that prompted this discussion suggests “celebrities are silencing career pros.” Silencing? As if a journeyman VO actor somehow expects to be offered the lead in a feature film instead of (the late) Robin Williams, Steve Carell, or Cate Blanchett?

I think it is possible… but not very likely. Leads in any motion picture are not up for grabs for the entire acting community. Casting directors are not throwing out an open call for these roles. And those actors cast for their talent and name value, in my opinion, are not stealing work from other qualified candidates. They are actors who have reached a level of success where they have more clout and, in turn, more choices. They are rewarded by being on the inside track.

In my book, no rule says what is appropriate or acceptable for anyone to do, regardless of their background, training, or position. There is room for everyone. The attitude that somehow voice over jobs are being “stolen” from VO actors (by other, presumably better actors) is something one can dwell on or complain about, but for me personally, it just doesn’t even enter my mind as something useful to think about.

I prefer to focus on gratitude for my work, the voice over clients who continue to hire me, and new work that continues to cross my path. It’s all about perspective. We all have the right to choose how we see it. I’m not blind. But I choose to focus on the good… and then more good follows.

I took a walk this morning with my husband (who also happens to be my VO business partner), and as is usual for these sunny walks around the neighborhood, it provides us with not only a bit of exercise and a healthy dose of vitamin D, (sadly lacking sometimes during our winter months here in Michigan) but also a chance to carry on a little business discussion, outside of the typical office environment.

I find that walking and progressing forward with my body tends to jog my mind and move thoughts and ideas through my brain in a very free way. It’s amazing sometimes what serendipitous ideas come up for us on these walks. Especially as a professional voiceover actress, I do tend to spend the majority of my time indoors, and most of that within a booth with no windows whatsoever.

I sometimes get to the end of my day and realize that I have not ventured outdoors all day long! While this can be great for holding laser focus on projects, it can also stifle physical and creative energy flow. That energy and life experience is so very necessary to continue to breathe life into the copy that clients send me, as well as continuing to inspire me on a marketing level…to say nothing about just maintaining my sanity and quality mental and physical health.

Check out this interesting article on the topic: “Take a Brisk Walk — It’s Good for the Brain” As our bodies age, it’s almost counter-intuitive to realize that simply taking regular brisk walks can have such a profound positive effect on so many levels of the mind, body, and spirit.

As a Professional Voiceover Actress, I Make Getting Outside a Top Priority

I ran across this quote recently from one of my favorite sources for inspirational and outside-the-box thinking, which seemed to be a great fit with this subject:

“Get out into the sunlight where everything has a vibration that is so dominant, so pure, so clean, that those who annoy you, disagree with you or make you feel uncomfortable don’t come into your experience. And the world that revolves around you just feels like that great feeling vibration.” – Abraham-Hicks

The “vibration” of nature, especially on a warm sunny day, can have a powerful effect on our state of being, mood, attitude, and ways of thinking. Being out in nature helps to “reset our vibe” to a more healthy state.  A change of scenery and the moving of one’s body can often un-stick some stale thinking, solve a nagging challenge, and just plain make you feel better.

I was recently dealing with a little technological glitch with my new computer, and I noticed how much more resourceful I felt talking about it while walking versus talking about the problem while sitting in my office. It was a striking difference!

Because my physical health (and wealth) as a professional voiceover actress depends on my overall wellness, it seems a pretty good practice to spend 20 – 30 minutes a day just exercising my body and mind outside in this terrific summer weather. I know, as a transplant from So Cal to the Midwest, that not all days or seasons allow this easily, and it’s not as inviting to be walking on icy streets and in freezing temperatures.

But now, in the middle of summer, I am inspired by just breathing in the fresh air, hearing the happy birds, and witnessing the green and multi-color landscape. I don’t even mind the drone of the occasional lawnmower!

Balance in all things, outside and inside, seems to be my mantra for this season. I do hope as a fellow voiceover professional. You can make the time for some outside enjoyment as well, amidst all that necessary indoor time.

Please share your comments on your practice for balancing your daily routine. How do you maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit working as a professional voiceover actress or actor?

Debbie Grattan has worked as a professional voiceover actress since the late 90′s. She has collaborated on thousands of projects and teamed up with scores of production companies, marketing, and advertising firms, commercial voice-over recording studios, and corporate/business clients around the United States and throughout the world. Listen to her professional voiceover actress demos and request a Custom Voiceover Audition for your upcoming project on her website.

When your income totally depends on your voice staying healthy and sounding good, some voice over actor health tips are useful to keep in mind.  I try to practice these as much as possible and I rarely have vocal health issues, so something must be working.

My Top 10 Voice Over Actor Health Tips

1.  Drink plenty of good quality water

Drinking quality water is perhaps the most important – and easiest – thing we can do to maintain good vocal health. When we stay hydrated, our bodies produce a thin, beneficial mucus that keeps our vocal cords properly lubricated.

2. Don’t smoke (unless a raspy voice is your niche – and even then, I would never recommend smoking)

Smoke is a huge irritant for the airways and vocal cords, and even secondhand smoke can have an impact. Ongoing smoking can gradually decrease the pitch of the voice by changing the structure of the vocal fold, a change that is typically permanent.

3. Avoid alcohol (except maybe a little bit on the weekends, but never during a workday)

Alcohol decreases our hydration levels, drying out our larynx and vocal folds. It’s also known for irritating the membranes in our throats. Even mouthwash with alcohol can have an effect. If you do drink a bit on the weekends, make sure you match each alcoholic drink with an equal amount of water.

4. Humidify your home and office

A humidifier can help keep us hydrated, especially during the winter when indoor heating systems dry out the air. Try to keep your indoor humidity levels at around 30% for optimum comfort.

5. Take vocal breaks when you feel the need

If your voice starts to feel tired or strained, it may be a good time for a break. While you’re taking that break, try not to talk or even whisper. Regularly resting your vocal cords can prevent against overuse.

6. Don’t clear your throat very often

Consistently clearing your throat is a surefire way to irritate the vocal cords. It can even lead to chronic inflammation. If your throat needs clearing, it’s better to take a few sips of water or try a very gentle cough to clear the vocal folds.

7. Avoid yelling (can be especially challenging if you have children or are a sports fanatic)

Yelling and screaming stresses your voice and can damage your vocal cords, as can the other extreme of whispering or speaking too softly. Even though vocal cords damaged from overuse can usually repair themselves, they requires vocal rest in the meantime.

8. Consciously relax your throat and neck muscles (a five-minute mini meditation session can do wonders)

Keeping your throat and neck muscles relaxed can help prevent strain of your vocal muscles. Regularly check for and release any tension or stress in the neck and throat area. In addition to a mini meditation session, you can gently roll your head from side to side, starting with your chin on your chest. Yawning also relaxes the throat and vocal areas.

9. Use a natural ingredient throat spray (my favorite is Seagate Olive Leaf )

Whether you feel a sore throat approaching or just want to keep your voice in tip-top shape, a throat spray can help. Make sure you steer clear of any that contain alcohol or other irritants. Instead, choose one that has natural ingredients known for their healing properties, such as the olive leaf contained in my favorite pick.

10. When sick, take it easy and get well before trying to get back to work.

Instead of trying to push through an illness, give yourself, and your vocal cords, a break. Voice rest is particularly essential if you’re coughing or suffering from upper respiratory tract issues. Minimizing your speaking, staying hydrated and avoiding vocal irritants can all contribute to a speedier recovery.

Other general health practices I like to do:

Keep my neck warm in cold weather with a scarf or muffler. Sometimes, I’ll even tie a sock around my neck to sleep, if I feel a sore throat coming on.

Avoid late night hours on a work night. Getting plenty of rest is essential to good vocal health.

Eat healthy foods – plenty of fresh fruits and veggies (preferably organic) to keep healthy nutrients supplying my body with what it needs to stay healthy.

And if I do feel my body dragging, or the signs of a cold or sickness coming on, I keep my mental state positive. I don’t surrender to being sick. On the contrary, I will tell myself that I’m fine, and minister to symptoms without pulling my focus there. I prefer to tell my body that I’m fine, and it usually listens!

Debbie Grattan has been interested in voice over actor health tips for over twenty years. She’s been working on stage, screen and behind the microphone for her entire adult life. Check out her voice over actor bio and request a voice over quote for an upcoming project.

I began writing this post while sitting in the Cancun airport waiting to board my flight back to Chicago, en route home to Michigan. My husband and I were (sadly) coming to the end of our six day getaway, having enjoyed tons of sun, delicious cuisine, and the chance to have pretty much zero responsibilities.

While we were away, we did have our laptop so we could keep up with emails. I found it curious that there were a couple of blog posts and group comments during that time about voice talent taking working voiceover vacations, and exploring questions like:

– Do you to take your recording equipment with you on vacation?
– Do you ever take a real vacation away from your voiceover work?
– Can you really call it a vacation if you’re WORKING??

Since we’re heading into summer and typical vacation time, it stirred my mind on what was good and not so good about working while on vacation.

This time, like the last time we went on a vacation, I didn’t plan on doing any voiceover work while on my trip. And I must confess that I loved the freedom to just delete all the P2P audition notices without any hint of guilt or remorse.

On previous trips, I never brought my recording equipment along, but I did have a couple of regular clients for whom I could record outbound phone messaging jobs. Typically I could record the messages right from the phone in my room without much trouble.

When you’re the sole proprietor of your own voiceover business, it can feel like a double whammy in cost when vacationing since you’re spending extra money on your trip, in addition to not making anything while you’re gone. That extra vacation work was always kind of nice since I could pocket several hundred dollars while away. It helped pay for some of the costs and obviously also kept my clients happy.

Also, My husband used to be fairly active in stock market trading, and he liked to check in on how the market was doing every day and make trading decisions, which would pull him away from the beach/pool for an hour or more every afternoon. Not fun.

Having now vacationed both ways (with and without work involved), I have been pondering the pros and cons of doing voiceover work while on vacation:

Pros of Being a Vacationing Voiceover Talent

– Primarily, I get to make a little extra money on my trip and help offset some of the costs. It makes it feel like I’m getting a big discount on the travel bill.

– I can keep some of my regular voiceover clients, who are used to having immediate access and service, happy. The caveat is that there are limitations to what I can provide since I don’t typically travel with sound equipment.

– It feels good not to be missing out on new work. I can check my email and still be in touch with any new job inquiries or offers if only to tell them I’ll be available again in a few days.

Cons of the Working Voiceover Vacation

– My mind never fully disengages from my business. Having a “working mindset” while on vacation takes up mental space, time and energy. It is counter-productive to getting away and relaxing, which is the primary purpose of the vacation.

– I have to factor the work time into my daily schedule, which can limit some of my plans for fun excursions or just uninterrupted relaxation time.

– If I was bringing equipment down with me, there is the added stress of safely transporting everything, protecting it at my destination, figuring out a good recording setup that will work, and troubleshooting things to ensure the quality is up to snuff.

Why Letting Go Completely is So Important

During the last couple of vacations (both to Cancun), we’ve gravitated away from doing any work while on vacation, except for checking email at least once per day. The phone recording work client changed their system a while back, requiring wav files instead of direct phone recording, so that was no longer something I could do remotely unless I brought equipment. And my husband also changed his investment strategy and no longer did any stock trading regularly.

We both have noticed a huge difference in the quality of our time while on vacation since we stopped trying to be so gosh darn productive. Even though on paper, the time we used to spend handling the work chores was not more than an hour or so per day, the mental “pull” of always having to be aware of those things really detracted from our chance to fully relax and let go.

Perhaps, not coincidentally, before leaving on my trip, I was looking for a good book to take along and a close friend handed me “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. (I only got through “Eat” and “Pray” on the trip, and am finishing the “Love” part now at home.)

In the early part of the book, (“EAT”) the heroine is living in Italy, and observes how the Italian people are very good at “doing nothing” for part of the day, or even a few days at a time, or more. She contrasts that way of being with how it is in America, where “being busy” is the normal, even expected way to be.

It seems that we Americans are not very comfortable “doing nothing” or even “thinking about doing nothing.” And even when we are not working, we have invented many ways to entertain ourselves and occupy our minds with other distractions, never fully allowing ourselves to just detach and relax. Is this something you observe as well?

But, I find that if my mind is always occupied, especially with things that are comfortable and familiar to me (like work stuff), then I never get a chance to move “outside the box” of my own thinking. That is where the freedom, new ideas and inspirations come from, as well as just the chance to let my brain completely uncoil itself from all of the typical thoughts and responsibilities.

My conclusion is that I find it necessary for the health of the mind and the soul to actually mandate some sort of real break from work (both career work and family/child-related work)…even if only for a short time. And if I’m not on an actual vacation, then maybe it’s just a walk around the neighborhood, or an impromtu shopping excursion. Getting away for a few minutes/hours/days is enough to gain a new perspective on things, hit the re-set button, and start fresh. All work and no play not only makes for a very dull VO talent, but also ceases the creative energy and life flow we need, as artists, to sustain us in our work.

So, we arrived home safely late Tuesday night, and hit the ground running on Wednesday. It’s always a little jarring to go from vacation mode right into catch-up work mode. It almost seems like the vacation never even happened (sigh). However, my mind does feel more refreshed, like a comfortable spring breeze has just cleared out the mental clutter. My vacation is just a memory, but its effects will linger for many weeks to come.

What has been your experience with work and vacations? Can they be successfully mixed? Please share your thoughts!

Debbie Grattan has been a working voiceover talent for 20+ years, collaborating on thousands of projects and partnering with hundreds of production companies, marketing and advertising firms, commercial voice-over recording studios and corporate/business clients around the United States and throughout the world. Check out her Voiceover Talent Demos and request a Custom Voice Audition for your upcoming project.