[NEohioPAL] What you should know before studying VO!

Thu Jan 16 16:38:44 PST 2014

*What You Should Know Before Studying VO!*
I am very excited to be in the midst of my 8th year teaching Voice Acting
Classes under the *Find Your Voice-Voice Acting
Institute*<http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com/>shingle
in Cleveland and at *Donna
Belajac Casting* <http://www.donnabelajaccasting.com/> in Pittsburgh.  In
all, I've been teaching this work for over 25 years. In all these years
there are a few "constants" that I felt were worth sharing if you are
thinking of taking a voice acting class or producing a demo with me, or
someone else for that matter.

*Browse http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com
<http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com> or
www.jeanzarzour.com <http://www.jeanzarzour.com/>** for more information
about me.    *In my experience, people who are new to voice acting/voice
over work have many misconceptions about the work, and therefore, can be
prey to scam artists with empty promises. The most common misconception is
that if you have a great voice, can read and speak English, then you can
make a living in voice overs! How hard can it be for crying out loud?!
Harder than you think.

*Here is just some of What You Should Know Before You Study V.O.*
*WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT TO LEARN IN A VOICE ACTING CLASS?*
Proper breathing techniques, vocal warm-ups, elocution exercises, body
placement, copy interpretation skills, how to train you "ear", voice
maintenance, home work exercises, studio/business etiquette, other
resources for learning and everything in-between toward expanding your
voice acting repertoire for a wide variety of "reads". Where marketing is
concerned, you should learn the *best marketing practices for your
region. *There
are subtle differences in the way that artists in large markets like New
York, Los Angeles & Chicago do things from the way artists in smaller
markets like Ohio, PA & Michigan do things when it comes to agency
representation, self marketing, home studios, websites and demo production.
That's just the tip of the iceberg. If you are new to this work, a group
class will offer much more than private coaching and it is much more
affordable.

*WHAT SHOULD I BE WARY OF?*
1. Any voice over training that is offered by phone! I don't mean telecasts
or other media classes that only disseminate information. I mean sessions
where *you* are reading copy and getting feedback from an instructor. They
are out there. There are a dozen reasons why this is a bad idea, but mostly
because a good instructor needs to see and correct how you breathe, use
your body and facial muscles, while you work. Tension is the death of voice
work. If I can't see it, I can't correct it.

2. Any Voice Over school *visiting* your town for 1 day, telling you that
you have a great voice and can earn a living with only a few weeks of
training. After that 1 day introductory class, you will have to get the
rest of your training out of town and/or over the phone! They charge*
thousands of dollars *which includes a full length demo that can't possibly
compete in the real world with so little training. Not to mention that
these demos entirely too long and contain little to no production
sweetening (sound affects and music). I've heard these demos from students
who come to my class after an agent told them that their demo won't cut it.
This is no way for the novice voice actor to train.

*Note:Your demo is your calling card to the world.* It tells producers that
this is the very best you can do. You should *never *produce a demo until
you have learned and practiced what the pros know about being a voice over
artist. How long do you suppose they spent training? I can assure you, it
was not just a few weeks and they didn't spend thousands of dollars to
produce their demo.

A full length demo is a 1 minute mp3 and/or CD, consisting of 8-13 cuts
that you carefully select and rehearsed with an experienced Demo
Producer/Director, and recorded at a professional recording studio AFTER
you have trained for a bare minimum of 8 weeks if you already have some
acting training and much more, if you don't.

*A demo produced by any reputable producer in Cleveland or Pittsburgh
should cost you no more than $700-$900. * With *Find Your
Voice*<http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com/>
, that fee includes between 6-8 hours of preparation, rehearsal, recording
session, sweetening (sound effects and music) and post production
revisions. If you take the time to do it right, no one will ever know that
you are a newbie and you won't have to revise your demo for a few years.

3. Beware of an instructor who has only ever been a director, producer,
engineer or ad agency exec, but has never been a voice over artist -
especially if you are new to this sort of acting. Voice over work
*is*acting work, no matter what you are voicing. You'll gain much more
knowledge from someone who has been successful behind the mic *and* behind
the desk.

*DON'T SOME PEOPLE JUST HAVE NATURAL ABILITY?*
Even if you are an experienced stage or film actor, there are specific
techniques that you will only learn in a class or on the job. (but trust
me, no one wants to pay you to learn!) Even if you were born with a warm,
rich voice, it doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to interpret copy with
the proper 'point of view' and acting skills needed. Some of the most
unusual voices work behind a mic because, in part, they have learned to
interpret 1 piece of copy in a variety of ways and how to market themselves
like a business owner.

*WHAT SHOULD I DO TO PREPARE BEFORE CHOOSING A VOICE ACTING CLASS? *
1. Get a few books on the subject at the Library:

- There’s Money Where Your Mouth Is: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in
Voice-Overs - by Elaine A. Clark

- Secrets of Voice-Over Success: Top Voice-Over Actors Reveal How They Did
It - by Joan Baker

- The Art of Voice Acting - by James Alburger

*A book won't teach you how to do voice over work*, but it will reinforce
what I'm telling you about training and give you a good idea about the
business end. You'll also read great war stories from the most successful
voices in the business.
2. Listen to professional voice over demos so you can compare any
instructor's demos with the ones from the top artists who are making a
living doing voice overs. *http://talentdemos.com/female_voice_talent.htm
<http://talentdemos.com/female_voice_talent.htm>*is a good place to start
for Cleveland talent demos.
3. If you are interested in *Find Your Voice-Voice Acting
Institute*<http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com%20/>classes,
visit *http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com
<http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com/>*for class
description, demos that I've produced at area recording studios, class info
and more.

*Now, more than ever, your investment should produce measurable results,
whether you pursue a voice acting career, or not.*  *My 8 week course
includes a recording session at Commercial Sound & Image
<http://www.commercialsi.com>and a 4 hour marketing seminar.*

*The Next 8 week Voice Acting Class in Lakewood, Ohio runs **Monday's
2/3-3/24 2014 6-9pm. htp://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com
<http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com> for more.*

*The Next 8 week Voice Acting Class at Donna Belajac Casting in Pittsburgh
runs Tuesday's 2/4-3/25 6-9pm. Visit www.donnabelajaccasting.com
<http://www.donnabelajaccasting.com/> for details and registration.*

*Jean Zarzour*

*216-832-6557*

*www.jeanzarzour.com <http://www.jeanzarzour.com>*

*SAG-AFTRA/AEA  *

IMDb <http://www.imdb.me/jeanzarzour>*Blogger*<http://www.findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com/>
*Youtube * <http://www.youtube.com/user/LipschtickProduction>*Linkedin*<http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=3867607&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro>
*Facebook*<http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#%21/profile.php?id=682781419>

*Lipschtick* <http://www.lipschtick.com/>*- Putting the Show in Business
Since 1989!* <http://www.lipschtick.com/>

Find Your Voice-Voice Acting
Institute<http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com/>
*2014 Classes* Cleveland *8/wks on Mon's Feb 3-March 24, 2014*
*Pittsburgh at Donna <Pittsburgh at Donna> Belajac Casting 8/wks on Tues's Feb
4-March 25, 2014*

*~*Jean was recently featured in Cleveland Business Connects Magazine!
Click me to read! <http://findyourvoice-voiceactinginstitute.blogspot.com/>
*~*
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