For Voice Over Talents

I’ve seen this video by Dove about “Real Beauty” a couple of times now. It seems to be making the rounds of social media. Good for Dove. So now, I’m examining the whole thing a little more closely, without the initial impact of the first viewing, and coming up with some additional thoughts and conclusions.

The first time viewer is hit with a very emotional impact of how women tend to see themselves as “less beautiful” than other people who see them. Watching it the second time, just now, I realized that we are taught as children to not brag about ourselves…to be humble. That to think of ourselves as “beautiful” is arrogant, or stuck up, or shallow. And because we are such visual beings, we do take first impressions off what someone looks like, before we have an opportunity (if we do) to talk to them, or learn who they are as a person, and not just a physical body. Remember your elders telling you: “Never judge a book by it’s cover.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is so evident in this exercise. But it can be hard to see or realize our own personal beauty. And I think that’s in large part due to our culture.

And I think about any famous beauty…pick whoever you want – Audrey Hepburn (didn’t we just read in her son’s book that she didn’t think she was beautiful), Elizabeth Taylor, Cindy Crawford, Iman, Halle Berry, and on and on, and I’ll bet you in each case, this exercise would turn out the same differences in 2 drawings- maybe even more pronounced with these women – considering they are bombarded with agents, photographers, directors, casting agents, etc. who are constantly making judgement calls on what is “beautiful,” what the public will buy, what will sell a particular product, or movie or TV show….and in essence… picking them apart, inch by inch.

Haven’t we all felt that way in an audition at some point, especially as females, whether for on-camera or voiceover? In this business of image, we are certainly judged very quickly for what we immediately bring to the table, and often don’t get an opportunity to be seen for more than what’s just on the surface.

As women, especially in this age and culture, it’s difficult to understand how to keep a positive self image, and not step over some line that is repulsive in the other direction. If asked, wouldn’t we all downplay much of what others might perceive as a beautiful characteristic, and point out the things that we think (or have been told) make us less beautiful? Aren’t there thousands of plastic surgeons out there that will examine any face, and tell you how they can “fix” you to make you MORE beautiful?

I’m rambling here, as I’m pondering this whole concept. But I do think that although this exercise makes a great statement about how we see ourselves differently, and perhaps through a more critical lens that others looking in, it doesn’t really surprise me.

Could you even describe your features to someone like that without a mirror in front of you? I think that would be hard to do. Just my own, personal Debbie Thought.

Debbie Grattan is a Voiceover Artist with over 20 years of professional voiceover recording experience. She has partnered with hundreds of production companies, marketing and advertising firms, commercial voiceover recording studios and corporate/business clients around the United States and abroad. Check out her Voiceover Demos Page and request a complimentary voiceover services audition for an upcoming project.

Part 3 of an Interview with Marketing Expert, Cindy Malouin of Malouin Marketing

Commercial Voiceover Services Talent Debbie Grattan wraps up her chat with Marketing Expert Cindy Malouin on the power of using video to market a commercial voiceover services business.

Commercial Voiceover Services Talent, Debbie Grattan: If you’re using a video on your voiceover services website, then obviously you have your contact information on your site. Now what if the video is being hosted elsewhere, on YouTube for example. Should it convey phone numbers and website information?

Marketing Expert, Cindy Malouin: Yes, the videos should definitely include whatever information you want to viewer to see.

You bring up a good point: it’s not just about having video on your site, but you want to make sure you create a channel on YouTube or a similar site. You can house all of your commercial voiceover services videos there; you can share all your videos socially; you can embed them in blogs. So there are a lot of applications for video use. It doesn’t just need to be on the voiceover talent website. One of my clients uses a video brochure, for example—video and video marketing is another way to get people’s attention. Some people might not have time to sit down and read a brochure but they’ll certainly watch a sixty second video.

Debbie Grattan: Do you have any tips on how we should be optimizing these commercial voiceover services videos on YouTube, Vimeo and other video sites?

Cindy Malouin: I’m not an expert on optimization, but I do suggest making sure you have your keywords identified.

Debbie Grattan: So would that be similar to SEO on your website? Knowing what your keywords are, knowing what words people search for who come to your site and being able to interject that in there?

Cindy Malouin: Yes, but there is a whole science to it and professionals who specialize in this area. But yes, it’s similar to SEO for one’s website: identifying keywords for your site so you come up high on google and other search engines for video content.

Debbie Grattan: Are your marketing clients embracing video? What have you come across in your work with clients when it comes to video?

Cindy Malouin: Right now I have a dialogue going on with almost all of my clients, but not all of them are ready to invest the time, or they’re not yet ready to take that step. But almost everyone is talking about doing it and realizing the opportunities that come with video content. I’d say about twenty-five percent of my clients are utilizing video content on their sites.

Debbie Grattan: Would you advise someone to go ahead and do something even if it’s not a polished and perfect video just to have some video, or would you advise them to wait until they have the time to craft something that’s going to be the best possible showcase?

Cindy Malouin: I guess it depends on what their objectives are. If your objectives are to further your brand identity or to present yourself in a professional way then I’d wait until you can get a polished video. It’s a very public way of communicating so I’d probably advise my clients to wait until they can have a professional-looking video.

When it comes to commercial voice over talents, it’s about presenting themselves personally and so I’d advise them not to go out and just shoot a video just to have a voiceover services video on their site. In the professional voiceover industry especially, you want to present yourself to the highest standards. Since you’re presenting to ad agencies and production companies, you really want to come across as top notch.

Read the first two parts of this interview at:

Part 1: “Professional Voice Over Videos & Female Narration”

Part 2: “Voice Over Services Marketing With Video“

I now live in Niles, Michigan, which is about 15 minutes away from the University of Notre Dame. Since moving my voiceover talent business from So Cal to Michigan back in 2004, I’ve become quite a big fan of the Notre Dame football team. There have been many highs, and unfortunately, many more lows over the recent years, but this year has been different!

As you probably are aware (unless you have zero interest in college football or have been living under a rock for several weeks), Notre Dame has had a pretty magical 2012 season and is now positioned at the very top of the rankings for college football. They were ranked #3 a couple weeks ago, and we watched in amazement as both the #1 and #2 teams were knocked off in the same week, leaving a wide open path for ND to be #1 if they could just get past USC (which they did).

Back in August of 2011, I was booked by Pathfinders Advertising and Marketing, Inc., to do a local tv commercial shoot for Legends Restaurant, located on the campus of Notre Dame, right behind the football stadium. Along for the ride came my two children, who got to work their facial acting chops while reacting to our rather boisterous guest at the dinner table.

This was a lot of fun to film and we even got some behind-the-scenes footage of the process, so the kids would remember the experience. The young man who played the leprechaun was a charming pre-med student and, at the time a “mascot in training” since he was an underclassman. He shared about how excited he was to get to go to Ireland for his first football game experience as the team mascot (that was the first game of this season).

So, we’ve all enjoyed seeing our “personal leprechaun” at the games this season and still catch the commercial on local tv stations once in awhile. Living in this community, it’s fun to have a personal connection to the University, and there have been other projects that I’ve worked on that were produced by or on behalf of Notre Dame.

Oh, and as luck would have it, that’s also me providing the voiceover talent services as announcer at the end of the commercial. Go Irish! Can’t wait to see what happens in the BCS Championship Game in Florida on January 7, 2013.

Published by Debbie Grattan on 11/27/12.

Debbie Grattan is a Voiceover Talent who has been in the business for 20+ years, racking up well over 10,000 completed voiceover services 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 Voiceover Talent Demos and request a voiceover talent services quote for an upcoming project.

Part 2 of an Interview with Marketing Expert, Cindy Malouin of Malouin Marketing

Voice Actress Debbie Grattan chats with Marketing Expert Cindy Malouin on the power of using video for voice over services marketing.

Female Voice Actress, Debbie Grattan: If a voice over service wants to create videos on their own without hiring someone, can you recommend any video-related tools or software?

Marketing Expert, Cindy Malouin: There are many DIY tools out there and while I’m not recommending any in particular, there are some things I’d advise if someone does want to create more professional looking videos on their own. There are some basic video tips I can recommend:

Consider the aspects of video including composition. When you’re recording a video you want to make sure that your subject is not in the center of the screen. You also want to think about the sound quality and be very aware of keeping your hand steady, to avoid unwanted shakiness in the final video.

Those sorts of things can make your video seem amateurish. Invest in some of the tools, like a tripod, that you need to have it come across as professional. Lighting, which can be a challenge, is also very important. If you can’t shoot outdoors or in the morning when there’s a lot of light make sure to avoid fluorescent lighting and try to shoot near a window so you get natural light. These are just some of the things an amateur videographer can do to make their videos look more professional.

Debbie Grattan: You mentioned shooting outside, but does that really relate to a voice over services business? Do you have a suggestion for where a voiceover artist should shoot a video?

Cindy Malouin: I think for a voice over service business one of the things you could do is shoot in your voice over studio, which gives you the opportunity to show you at work doing what you do. Shooting in studio can also show the facilities, which is helpful if you’re trying to communicate and convey your capabilities. The other way it can be done is to use a green screen, which is used so you can add in graphics later during post-production or change the background. But I don’t know if the average person has the capabilities to do that—it might require hiring a professional to help with that.

Debbie Grattan: Are there some things you tell people to avoid when they’re shooting their videos?

Cindy Malouin: Yes, some of things I mentioned earlier, including avoiding using a handheld camera, avoiding fluorescent lighting. But also, avoid having a video that’s too long because people have a limited attention span, especially in this age of social media. You want to engage people in the first few seconds of watching your video, and if you can’t do that in the first few seconds, then they’re going to go elsewhere. You really want to keep their attention by keeping the content very concise and to the point so that they get the meaning of your message and don’t float away to something else. I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to communicate too much information in one video, so keep it short, 30 to 60 seconds.

Debbie Grattan: I think content is key and that’s where many people get stuck because they wonder, “What should I say?” “Who am I talking to?” “What’s the most important part of the message that I’m trying to get across?” So can you condense the who, what, why… What is it we really need to consider when we’re developing the content?

Cindy Malouin: Start with what do you want the people to do. Start with your call to action and then drive your content towards that. If you can make it conversational and engaging so that you’re personality shines through then that really helps as well. You want to approach it the way you approach any of your marketing and communication endeavors—you want to think through strategically what your messaging is. Think about what you want them to come away with and what you want them to do. If you can add in graphics at the end where you can have your name and phone number, as well as the next thing that you’d like them to do, it’s a great way to end the video.

Read Part 3 this interview, “Commercial Voiceover Services Video Marketing Ideas” now online. And, be sure to check out Part 1 of this interview “Professional Voice Over Videos & Female Narration.“