For Voice Over Talents

As a mother, wife, homeowner, engaged theater community member, and, oh yes, a busy professional female voice actor, I find myself nodding in agreement at Paul Strikwerda’s November post on “overdoing.”

Each day, it seems we’re confronted with an increasing number of things to do, processes to manage, opportunities to pursue. At this point in my career, I feel blessed to be in a position to choose work that fuels me, both creatively and financially. But staying balanced amidst the demands of my personal and professional life as a female voice actor is both a challenge and choice, one I face anew each day when I sit down to work.

The “Buffet Impulse”

I can remember all too well the feeling of walking into a reception and seeing a generous spread of complimentary bites. I know I’ll be in good company if I confess to taking full advantage of those free little cheese cubes during my lean years as a struggling actor. After all, who knew when I’d get my next shot at free food, let alone a gig that would pay me enough to buy my very own brick of cheese.

That impulse to take as much as you can when it’s offered seems a fair comparison for any working actor in their first few years seeking paid acting work. You build a portfolio and book as many acting gigs as possible while the getting is good. Obviously, to turn down work means turning down a paid electric bill, a decent meal, or a chance at another professional contact in your database.

Now, with decades of experience and a solid base of repeat clients, I find myself in a position to balance quantity and quality, and, ideally, achieve professional sanity. This means occasionally turning down voiceover gigs, often because there are simply too few hours in the day to take on every project that comes my way. As Paul so clearly articulated, a tireless schedule can quickly reach a point of diminishing returns.

Know What Fuels You as a Voice Actor

In choosing the work I take on, I’m grateful to have a loyal clientele I can rely on who keeps the “faucet open” so to speak, with a strong flow of projects. I still have to make the time to grow and brand my business, that work is never done. This means being present in social media spaces to make new connections and spending time each day to respond to emails from both new and established clients.

Selecting work that matches my skill set and appropriately compensates my time is important, but I also like to make time for projects that fuel my creativity and remind me why I do this work in the first place.

I’ve written before about collaborating on student film projects. The time spent on these creative, narrative driven projects is meaningful not only because it lets me tap my experience as a stage actor, but also because it feels like I’m giving back to an artistic community.

In today’s world, it can feel like we have an unending to-do list of things to take care of for our family, our home, and our business. In the midst of meeting deadlines, recording scripts, editing and polishing my material and staying in contact with my female voice talent clients, I still always strive to find balance and ultimately do what I love without the workload overwhelming me.

And, I like to remind myself that the success I’ve achieved as a voice actor was helped along by the many acting industry professionals who gave me their time, talent and valuable advice when I was just starting out, hovering around the buffet table and discreetly stuffing my pockets with cheese cubes.

Debbie Grattan has been a working female voice actor for more than 20 years. She has recorded over 10,000 projects while partnering with hundreds of production companies, marketing and advertising firms, commercial voice-over recording studios and corporate/business clients around the United States and abroad. Check out her Female Voice Actor Demos and request a Complimentary Custom Audition for an upcoming project.

I get a lot of emails and an occasional telephone call from men and women who think they want to get into voice over acting.  Usually it’s because someone (friend, family member, co-worker) has told them that they have a great voice and that they should look into voice over acting. Or, they read somewhere online that voice over acting is a super easy way to make loads of money, just for speaking words into a microphone.

So, they eventually arrive at the question of how to start “doing” voice over acting as a new part time job or full time career. And after some googling on the subject, a few of them land on my website and recognize me as someone who might be able to answer a few of their voice over acting queries.

Voice Over Acting Isn’t Rocket Science – How Hard Could it Be?

It’s funny how when it comes to most other potentially high-paying professions, people realize they can’t just rush into it and start making gobs of money in a few short months. But, for some reason, people think voice over acting is different. That it’s much easier than “real” professions. I suspect there are folks on the web who make it sound just that easy and are selling services to help people make it happen!

I recently shared some of my personal reflections on how my career as a professional voice over talent got started and has developed over the years into a successful business.

Over the weekend, I came across this article about guaranteeing financial success in your business and it really resonated with me. I think it is spot on in it’s assertion that to “love the journey” of entrepreneurship is the key to guaranteed success. This applies in any entrepreneurial endeavor, not just voice over acting, of course. It’s the journey and not the destination that you’ll be living for the duration.

 Do we ever really reach the destination?  And when we do, isn’t there just another destination waiting in the wings?  It’s the journey – the day to day – the planning, the execution of the tasks, etc. that is where you spend the vast majority of your time. The destination can change during the course of the journey, so best to be open and joyful in what you’re doing day to day.

I know this is not a new idea, but always bears repeating because it’s so easy to forget and get caught up in thinking “I’ll be happy when I reach what’s at the end of my journey and I’m making lots of money” rather than focusing on finding happiness and contentment all along the way.

Published by Debbie Grattan on 12/04/13.

Debbie Grattan has been “doing” Voice Over Acting for more than 20 years, completing over 10,000 voiceover projects along her journey while partnering with hundreds of production companies, marketing and advertising firms, commercial voice-over recording studios and corporate/business clients around the United States and abroad. Check out Debbie’s Voice Over Acting Demos and request a Voice Over Services quote for an upcoming project.

The glory of fall in the Midwest still feels fairly new to me, which makes it particularly awesome. Since I’m originally from Southern California, where leaves pretty much stay the same color all year round and generally refrain from disembarking their respective limbs, I never really got the full gist of what autumn was all about until I moved to our cozy home in the Southwest corner of Michigan.  We really lucked out with a house nestled neatly on 1.5 acres of beautiful wooded terrain.

In a word: Wow.

In three words: It’s absolutely fabulous.

My mouth is still agape, at least figuratively, over the brilliant kaleidoscope of changing colors. Blazing reds mingle with burnished golds and yellows, contrasting keenly with the pert green still peeking from the lawns and evergreens.

It’s the perfect mix of beauty, peace and tranquility… And an excellent environment from which to work as a voice-over actor.

 

What? There’s a Downside?

And then I discovered the downside. Two downsides, actually. All those deliciously colored leaves don’t stay neatly tucked in their places. They instead flail not-so-neatly across the lawn, roof and gutters.

Thankfully, this voice-over actor doesn’t have to deal with the first downside, which is cleaning up all those leaves. My hard-working husband does that — although every year he swears that next fall he’s going to hire someone else to handle the chore (or move back to California)! No matter how brilliant the colors, collecting and disposing of all those leaves is enough to send a person to the chiropractor, or massage therapist as my husband prefers lately.

But I did have to deal with the second downside. The curse of the constantly droning leaf blowers. While leaf blowers are loud and invasive enough to make anyone a little buggy, they can be the death knell for voice-over actors trying to create pristine recordings in their home studios.

The Sworn Arch Enemy of the Voice-Over Actor

Since many of our neighbors also work at home or are retired, it’s not as if they confine their leaf blowing or other noisy landscaping activities to weekend hours only. Any day, any time is fair game to be accosted by the insidious low rumble of small-engine lawn equipment.

I blogged about this issue three years ago in my article “Voice Acting and the Battle of the Blowers” when avoiding the noise was contingent on being smiled upon by the Leaf Blower Gods, and an occasional personal request of one of my neighbors — “Um, I hate to ask this but could you pretty please hold off on doing this until I finish my ISDN session with my LA voice over client?” I got a lot of blank stares with that approach, but it worked for awhile. What was needed, however, was a much more permanent fix.

This year I’m armed with a fool-proof solution… It’s called Studio B.

This ingenious inspiration began a couple years ago when a little voice inside my head suggested I actually move my recording sessions to a new location in my home during the heavy noise pollution seasons.

Fortunately, I have a fairly spacious house so there were several options to consider. One room in particular was the logical choice. While I still enjoy the same high-tech goodies as Studio A, such as the must-have ISDN phone patch capabilities and excellent acoustical accoutrements, Studio B comes with an additional advantage.

It’s outfitted like Fort Knox (if Fort Knox was meant to protect silence instead of gold). To get to the heart of Studio B, I walk through not one, not two, but FIVE doors, deep into the bowels of a wholly soundproofed haven where not even the rumble of a low-flying small aircraft can penetrate. I know this may date me a little, but I actually feel a bit like Agent 86 on his way to speak with the Chief every time I head in to my own recording booth (watch the clip to see what I mean).

So let the leaf blowers rumble, the snow blowers growl and the Midwest be tidied unto the highest. I shall rest comfortably knowing I now have my serene workspace in the solitude of Studio B.

In a word: Wow! In three words: It’s absolutely fabulous.

Published by Debbie Grattan on 11/22/13.

Debbie Grattan is a Professional Female Voice-Over Actor who has been in the business  for more than 20 years, racking up well over 10,000 completed voiceover projects while partnering with hundreds of production companies, marketing and advertising firms, commercial voice-over recording studios and corporate/business clients around the United States and abroad. Check out Debbie’s Voice-Over Actor Demos and request a voice over services quote for an upcoming project.

Working for myself as a female voice over talent and independent contractor, I enjoy the luxury of having some degree of control over key aspects of my business such as my rates, my time, my schedule, and my terms of working with my voice-over clients.

I really love the work I do. I suspect it could be a bit of a shock for newbie voice over talents to know that I spend more than half of my day sitting in my business office engaged in email and phone conversations with current and prospective voice-over clients, quoting voice over services, firming up details, coordinating recording sessions on my calendar, editing and delivering finished audio files, following up on projects, and generally making sure my voice-over clients have exactly what they need.

That’s all work that is NOT actually accomplished in a recording booth! Of course, all of that activity is ultimately necessary for a successful business and is directed toward two primary goals:

1. Serving my voice-over clients the best way I know how 

2. Getting paid

I’ve talked a lot in previous voice over articles and blogs about serving my voice-over clients, so I thought it would be appropriate here to discuss Goal #2.

Voice-Over Clients and the Art of Getting Paid

I know from my own personal experience and from reading stories shared by other seasoned voice talent, that getting paid can sometimes be a tricky thing.

There are several challenges that voiceover talents will encounter which relate to this topic. Things like:

1.  Feeling worthy and deserving of receiving hundreds or thousands of dollars for something that doesn’t seem very difficult to the average person (but in reality can be extremely difficult).

2.  Knowing how much to charge for your voice over services. Rates can vary drastically depending on a variety of factors including market size, usage, union involvement and budget of the client.

3.  Creating an accounts payable / accounts receivable system and staying on top of invoicing. Basic accounting skills and ability to track payment status are critical.

4.  Knowing what to do when a voice-over client is late on their payment.

Getting paid can sometimes enter a “gray” area and not knowing how to handle what matters most can become a big obstacle for voice over talent who are new to the business.

Over the coming weeks I will be exploring various aspects of how to get paid by voice-over clients. Look for the next chapter in this series of articles in about a week.

Published by Debbie Grattan on 11/08/13

Debbie Grattan has been delivering Voice Over Services for more than 20 years. She has worked on over 10,000 projects while partnering with hundreds of production companies, marketing and advertising firms, commercial voice-over recording studios and corporate/business clients around the United States and abroad. Check out her Demos and request a Complimentary Custom Audition for an upcoming project.

Published by Debbie Grattan on 10/02/13

One of the best things about being a professional female voice talent is having the chance to meet and work with some truly exceptional people. I was fortunate enough, in the beginning of my career, to connect with voice over artist Scottie Rummell.

As we were both living in Orange County, CA, and shared mutual professional voice over clients, we would sometimes find ourselves sitting across from each other in the booth at Audio Images in Irvine, playing some husband/wife couple searching for a new car, or other familiar scenario.

Professional Voice Talent Scottie Rummell Pays it Forward

At that stage in both of our careers, we were driving the LA route regularly for voice over acting workshops, VO auditions, meetings with agents, and recording sessions. Scottie was nice enough to recommend me to his big time Hollywood agent, where I was signed as a female voice talent for a few years.

I recall him telling me how, in honor of one of his first mentor relationships with the legendary Daws Butler, (famous Hanna-Barbera cartoon voice) he vowed to “pay it forward” by helping others in the professional voice over business, as much as he could. Even in the big leagues of professional voiceovers, Scott’s heart has always been in the right place.

 

 

Fast forward to around 2001, when Scott chose to really focus on the movie trailer “big voice” sound… and the rest is history. Now, in the professional voice over business, he’s the voice you know from literally hundreds of films, TV shows and network promos.

Even after moving from Southern California to Michigan, I would be comforted to have the TV on, and hear that familiar voice for Oprah, or ABC, or the latest movie blockbuster, and I could say “there’s Scottie” with a huge smile on my face!

I hope you enjoy meeting him in this short video. You’ll get a sense of his sweet nature and the joy he feels from getting to do what he loves to do, and be the BEST in his field.

Debbie Grattan is a Professional Female Voice Talent who has been in the business  for 20+ years. To date she has been a part of more than 10,000 voiceover projects and has partnered with hundreds of production companies, marketing and advertising firms, commercial voice-over recording studios and corporate/business clients around the United States and abroad. Check out her Professional Female Voice demos and request a voice over services quote for an upcoming project.

Published by Debbie Grattan on 09/13/13

So, what happens when you’re known in a local, regional or national market, as “the voice” for a particular product, store, or brand, AND a competing vendor wants to use your voice for their product too?

Here we get into another form of the question of “exclusivity” and how a voice can have an association with a product, or a segment of products. The branding of a product or service, which is so critical in today’s business world, is a reason we must always be aware of in our everyday work as professional voice over artists.

I’ve had this instance come up in a couple of ways recently. One in a local market, and another in a national context.  Each one was handled slightly differently.

Preventing Conflict of Interest between Clients with Local TV and Radio Commercial Voice Overs 

In my local market, where I can hear my voice regularly on TV and radio advertising for several varied products and services, I have done work for a chain of mattress stores (we’ll call them Client A). I worked with an advertising agency and local production company to create an entire year’s worth of these ads for use on a monthly basis, basically targeting sales of certain products with certain times of the year.

Another local appliance chain (Client B), with whom I’ve worked as an on-camera talent in the past, reached out to have me help them with their female voice over needs for a particular commercial, when they felt the voice provided by the local TV station airing their spot didn’t meet their expectations. Client B also happens to sell mattresses, and this particular spot was advertising primarily bedding and mattresses.

I could have just done the commercial voice overs job, taken the money, and waited to see if anyone would notice that the same female voice was advertising two competing stores, selling the same product. But, that didn’t feel right for obvious reasons. I am very aware of the importance voice over plays in brand recognition, even in small to mid-sized markets.

There is a psychology behind creating a brand, and how the consistency of the graphics, colors, logo, music, and voice over (along with other things) support what an advertising agency is developing over time, to make their client stand out in the market.

Wanting to do what was right and in full integrity, I made a phone call to the advertising agency producer (of Client A), to tell them of my situation, and ask what their stance was. I had not signed any kind of “non-compete” clause with them, so legally, I suppose, I would’ve been free to do whatever I wanted and collect a check. However, the moral stance on this bothered me, and even though I wanted to come to the rescue of Client B to aid them with their current request, I also felt an obligation to Client A, and didn’t want to jeopardize their advertising strategy or my working relationship with them.

As it worked out, indeed, I was correct in assuming that this was a conflict of interest. The advertising agency producer was extremely grateful that I had not crossed this line, and caused harm to his relationship with Client A and the brand strategy that had already been put into play. My Client B understood my position, and respected that I felt it was inappropriate to voice the same type of spot for competing stores within a small market.

In order to help Client B get what they needed, I recommended a couple of female voice over talent options that I felt would be a good fit for their current spot. They ended up picking one of those options and were very happy with the result!

As anyone who’s been in business for awhile knows, it pays to use “long-term thinking” in situations like this and avoid the temptation to be short-sighted or just plain greedy. I feel very fortunate that I have enough of a flow of work coming to me all the time that I can do the right thing and still be able to pay the bills.

I think it is important to be aware of the fact that there will be times when you will have to use your own integrity and common sense to say “No” to professional voice over jobs even though the people hiring you aren’t aware of the conflict of interest . It can be a fine line, but it’s best to err on the side of not crossing the line. Reputation counts!

Debbie Grattan is a Female Narration Specialist and Voiceover Actor who has recorded commercial voice overs for more than 20 years. To date she has worked on more than 10,000 projects and has partnered with hundreds of production companies, marketing and advertising firms, commercial voice overs recording studios and corporate/business clients around the United States and abroad. Check out her Professional Voice-over Talent Demos and request a complimentary custom professional voice-over talent services audition for an upcoming project.