With a new year comes lots of new and exciting things for the Michigan Movie Makers and its website. We will play host to many new posts and writers from the community.
“What Am I Doing” is a monthly column highlighting a member of our group and diving in to see, well,…what they have been up to lately. We welcome you to read the column’s debut post:
A New Voice In Town
by Robin Pearson
After 25 years in a career completely unrelated to the entertainment industry, I was ready to start my next chapter in life. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my job with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). I actually loved my job and looked forward to going to work every day. I was simply eager to wake up without an alarm, stay up late if I wanted and take on new challenges and adventures while I was still relatively young.
I was so giddy about having control over my days that I quickly overwhelmed myself with the number of college classes, new hobbies and activities I signed up for. Luckily I recognized this method was not the best approach and decided to concentrate my time and energy on only two categories– art and health. If something came across my path that did not fall under one of these two categories, I would say no. It’s amazing how quickly different clubs and interest groups learn of your retirement status and try to lure you in to officer positions and chairmanships. I was never good at saying no so my new game plan of sticking to just these two categories really helped.
I joined a fitness club the day after my retirement, signed up for Belly Dancing and began working on all those art projects that were rolling around in my head. I now also had time to build the beautiful perennial garden I had always dreamed of. Since retirement income is meager compared to your working years, I started gardening for seniors who could no longer do it themselves. This gave me a little extra cash so I could dabble in art and other classes at Northwestern Community College (NMC). One of the first classes I took at NMC was “Introduction to Voice Over”. The class description stated that if you had ever been told you had a nice voice or if you were ever curious about the Voice Over industry, this would be the class for you. My job at DNR had given me plenty of experience in public speaking,TV and radio interviews as well as hours spent on the phone with the public. Over the years I’d been told my voice was soothing and friendly which really helped when I had to gently notify an applicant that their permit had been denied. I was also told I was a natural when I did a radio commercial for Junior Achievement at age 15 and later as an adult when I did a TV commercial for a local physical therapy clinic. So I called the college registration office and enrolled in the class. I figured what have I got to lose. I can learn more about this industry and determine if I want to pursue it any further–all for the economical fee of around $49.00!
After completing the introductory class I really wanted to continue to the next level, but the next level course was expensive and time consuming. It was 4 years from that introductory class that I made the monetary and time commitment necessary to enroll in the Master Class to start my new career. I’m now only a couple of months away from completing my technical voice training and will have recorded my demo track to send to perspective clients about the time this article is published.
When I tell folks I’ve started a Voiceover career, I’m often met with puzzled looks. Heck, even I didn’t really know all it entailed until I was a couple of weeks into the Master Class. A simple way to describe what a Voice Over is or what a Voiceover Actor does is by having someone watch a TV commercial and listen for the voice that is not associated with the actor or actors you see on the screen. That voice you hear in the background is the Voice Over Talent. There are many categories of Voice Actors, but they generally fall under two categories: either “Commercial” (selling you something) or “Narration” (telling you something). The industry can be further broken down in to areas, such as, radio and TV promos, trailers for upcoming
movies, narration of documentaries, audiobooks, video games, cartoons, motion pictures, industrial training films, e-learning and navigation systems to name just a few. Work may be local, regional, national or international. With current computer software, internet and equipment capabilities a Voiceover Artist can work right from her own home studio sending her voice recordings via the internet all over the world without ever leaving her home or changing out of her PJ’s.
About half-way through my Master Class it dawned on me that learning the varied voice techniques would be harder then I first thought. When you think of it a Voice Actor must be able to project the emotion the client wants the audience to experience solely through their voice. This is much harder then an actor on the stage or screen who has the advantage of the audience seeing their facial expressions and body language to portray an emotion or characteristic. Voice Actors must have great range, control and flexibility which is achieved through specific exercises similar to those practiced by singers. It is said that “When a script is read by a professionally trained reader 83% of the information will be retained by the listener. If the same script is delivered by an untrained person, retention can drop to 41%, or even lower!” – La Fondation de la Recherché Psychologique.
The Introduction to Voice Over Class is taught at NMC by employees of the company Voices For All (VFA) whose main headquarters is in Albany, New York. They offer several classes including the Master Class I’m enrolled in now. You can learn more about their class offerings and prices by going to their website voicesforall.com Before starting the Master Class I took advantage of another of their classes called “Finding Your Niche”. It seemed very important to take this class prior to enrolling in the Master Class because it evaluates your abilities and identifies areas you may be best suited for in the Industry. I believe it only cost $29.00 at the time and it was worth every penny. You are sent a variety of scripts you read to an instructor over Skype. You are given pointers for improvement then you read the scripts again. In a couple of weeks you are then sent a written evaluation of your strengths, things you need to work on and areas of the industry they believe you would do well. My favorite part of this class is that if you enroll in the Master Class, they will match you with an instructor from their agency that currently works in the field they have identified as your niche. I love my instructor. I believe the company really works hard to match you with someone you will relate well to and will benefit the most from.
You use to have to travel to their headquarters in New York or other large cities like LA or Chicago to complete their classes, but now they can be completed on line through Skype which has worked well for me. The Master Class includes sixteen one-hour, one on one sessions with an instructor. There are on line workbooks and homework assignments, but the schedule is very flexible and arranged between you and your instructor. I had to postpone one of my classes this past summer when it was impossible to communicate while the Blue Angels were flying over our house during the Cherry Festival.
I researched the company, read student testimonials and studied what the company offered and never regretted my decision to enroll in their class. My instructor is fun but professional and the staff are very attentive to any questions or concerns I have. Once you enroll in one of their classes you are a student of theirs for life. This provides you with technical and professional support, entry on to their company website for perspective clients and a monthly Voice Club call in Q & A with well know Voice Actor graduates. I also liked the fact that not only do they train you in voice technique, but they include instruction in the business end of
the industry providing templates for invoices, web development and auditioning tips. If I was to pass along any other tips I’ve learned from this class, it would be to network, network, network. I joined M3 because I believed if I met with film industry individuals from the Traverse City area that it could lead to potential Voice Over jobs and I was right. I have had one audition that is a direct result of joining M3 and I believe more opportunities will come as I continue to meet with the group.
I never really planned to start a new career in Voice Over at age 57, but once I enrolled in the course I was hooked and felt there was a place for me and my voice in this industry. So look out because “There’s A New Voice in Town.”
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