Do I need an agent to get established as a v/o?

It all depends on yourself, for instance if you’re the sort of person that hates paperwork, dealing with accounts, and ringing an advertising agency every month to enquire about the whereabouts of your long overdue money, then yes… you probably need an agent.

If, on the other hand you are organized enough to find out what stations/media your voice is going to be used on, get a PO (Purchase Order) number from the contact in the advertising agency, write up an invoice, send a statement and pester their accounts department, then no… you don’t need an agent.

We spoke to quite a few clients about this, and a lot of them prefer to deal directly with the talent, especially if they are on a tight budget.

The one essential piece of advise is, you need to be on a site where you are going to be heard, whether you wish to give away a percentage of your earnings or not….only you can answer that one.

By | 2018-03-14T10:43:29+00:00 April 8th, 2015|Blog, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Becoming a voice-over

We get a lot of people who think they might like to give voice-overs a try, they had a friend who told them they had a nice voice, or they were good at accents/ impressions while in school.

Most people who get into voice-overs come from an acting or broadcasting background, so they have done the speech & drama courses, where they learn about voice control, delivery, accents, etc, but most importantly they learn how to take direction.

So what advice to people who are thinking about it?

If you one of the few who have a serious talent, well it’s easy, you book a studio, record a short demo and send it around a few voice-over agents, a good agent will spot that serious talent in the first five to eight seconds on your demo. Sorted.

If you are a person with average talent, you need to work on your craft, research other demos, play to your strengths, if you’re from Dublin do something Dublin related, the same rules apply if you’re from Donegal, Cork or Galway. The market is flooded with people with neutral accents.

Find out about studios, get quotes and remember a good engineer will bring out the best in you, where you will learn about microphone technique, popping, projection etc during the recording process, also he or she is also the person who might be able to drop your name to a producer or copywriter.

Warning: there are companies out there that will exploit you, they run workshops where you pay hard earned money to listen to what’s in this blog. I recently came across a voice-over workshop “on line” for the bargain price of 30 Euro, our advice don’t waste your money.

Being a voice-over is not a hobby, it requires hard work, dedication etc, the good ones make it look easy, the bad ones get found out very quickly. You’re only as good as your last gig.

By | 2018-03-14T10:43:29+00:00 August 12th, 2014|Blog, Uncategorized|0 Comments

A nation of talkers.

I was listening to an old interview with Eamonn Andrews, and I’d forgotten what an amazing broadcasting voice he had.

This got me thinking about the other great broadcasters we have produced in this country…Terry Wogan, Gay Byrne, Larry Gogan and Graham Norton to name but a few.

Eamonn Andrews was probably the grandfather of Irish broadcasters, in 1946 he started out as a freelance sports commentator, and made his way on to television where he presented many shows, but is probably best remembered for “This is your life”.His voice had great timbre, it had a lovely warm friendly tone, and surprise surprise he never lost his Dublin accent. He even made a record called “The shifting whispering sands”, it’s a little twee but you will get an idea of how good his voice was.

Eamonn Andrews 1922-1987.RIP.

EamonnAndrews1-233x300

By | 2018-03-14T10:43:29+00:00 June 25th, 2012|Blog, Voice Over Stories|0 Comments

Helping out a worthy charity

We got a call from Beacon Studios, as they were approached by Focus Ireland to record a radio commercial to promote a charity run in the Dublin Port Tunnel in August.

Beacon were offering their services for free, so we put the feelers out through Facebook to our voice-over talent to see who was prepared to offer their services for this worthy charity.

The response was phenomenal, the commercial has been recorded, voiced by Richie O Shea, and it will be aired on Today FM from Monday 25th June. So thank you to all who offered to help out, and let’s hope the run is a great success.

http://www.focusireland.ie/index.php/get-involved/take-part-in-an-event/upcoming-events/dublin-city-tunnel-run-2012

By | 2016-01-27T23:06:46+00:00 June 22nd, 2012|Blog, Uncategorized|0 Comments

A Clear voice over.

I came across a product that is marketed towards people who make a living from their voices , it claims to relieve hoarseness, in fact it is “designed to moisturize, humidify & lubricate the mucous membranes of the throat and larynx” . A picture from the old west comes to mind with some old timer selling a magic potion from the back of his wagon to cure sore throats or indeed something much worse.

Anyway, there are a couple of very simple rules when doing a voice over, try to avoid chocolate, milky tea, cappuccino and latte before going in to the booth. If you feel like a beverage drink black coffee, herbal tea or just a glass of warm water, and always bring water with you into the booth, and if your throat feels a little sore, honey certainly helps.

The big no no, is to turn up at a session with a very sore throat, where you can barely speak, in that situation it’s best to call your client(preferably the day before the session) and inform them that your voice is not up to its usual standard, and get plenty of good old fashioned rest.

By | 2018-03-14T10:43:29+00:00 June 12th, 2012|Blog, Voice Over Stories|0 Comments

The voice over boy or girl next door

Around the mid 1990′s the advertising industry started casting lighter voices and regional accents. Out went the traditional RP and mid Atlantic accents, and in came the boy or girl next door.This opened up the door for comedians, actors and personalities with Dublin and rural accents to break into voice over land.Was it a good thing?

Yes, if the script requires a deep resonant voice, make sure you get your casting right, if your script requires the boy or girl next door with a light regional accent, the same rules apply.

By | 2018-03-14T10:43:30+00:00 May 22nd, 2012|Blog, Voice Over Stories|0 Comments
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