When we last left our intrepid broadcaster, she had purchased a home in Wallaceburg and put her London house up for sale. Her husband and cat have been clearing out and packing. (Husband more than cat.) We learned that the new home isn’t commuting distance to the current job. And now, with apologies to Paul Harvey, here’s…the rest…of the story.
…
We’re expecting. It’s true! Any time now we will be a two sound-booth household. …
A newish London news source called The London Beat talked to Derek about his career, and it bubbled over a bit into mine. …
Happy short work-week! I think that should become more of a thing. Long weekend. Short work-week. I’ll get in touch with Hallmark and see if we can’t get some cards made up. But I digress. …
After more than a year away, I signed up once again to Voices.com. (I wrote about it HERE.) I was annoyed with them. My booking rates had fallen and they had doubled their escrow rates without notice. It went from 10% to 20% overnight. That’s the amount they charge a client based on the rate paid to the talent. The amount comes out of the total budget, ostensibly reducing how much the talent, like me, can charge for the job. …
It’s been three years since Derek left his last radio job. Or, more accurately, since he was fired. (A rite of passage in our industry.) He decided then and there that he was done with radio and worked for one year in trailer sales before launching his own business: Derek Botten Media. …
Mistakes happen in voice-over like they happen anywhere else. Sometimes the lips don’t follow through with their task, and you need to redo a line. Or two. Or seven. That’s why most voice-overs are pre-recorded and not done live. …
Part of my deal with the agency that represents me for voice work is that I’ll no longer travel for an in-studio session. If someone wants to hire me, they can do what’s called a Directed Session over Skype while I stay in my home studio. It’s how I remain sane while doing VO on the side while starting my day around 3 am to cohost the CJBK morning show. It’s a hard and fast rule. So, why did I break it last week? …
Update April 2022: This post still brings me regular email! And I think it’s only fair to point out that it’s SIX years old, and things have changed at Voices.com. They’re transparent about their fees, and there are other things that have improved. My experience is historical now and out of date.
As I write this, I’ve been a full-time voice actor for nearly 4 years. I still maintain that carefully selected Pay-2-Play voice-over casting websites can be a worthwhile supplement to a full-time voice-over career, but they shouldn’t be relied on. Thanks, Lisa
Since joining Voices.com a few years ago, I’ve been its champion. I have the greatest respect for homegrown founders, Stephanie and David Ciccarelli and the company has grown dramatically. But I’m not going to renew with them as a voice actor when my membership expires in January. Since I’ve been so public about my support for them in the past, I feel I should be just as open about why I’ve changed my mind. I’m directly responsible for no fewer than a half-dozen people joining the site. I need to update my stance. …
Today, details about a relatively new opportunity to give back, via voice-over. …
Today, another little peek behind the scenes of a voice-over business. Mine, of course. E-learning continues to be my top genre, followed by corporate videos, characters and then good old-fashioned commercial reads. …
When you run your own small business, you’re sometimes asked to work for free. Musicians say it happens to them all the time. I’m not sure if it’s as much of a problem if you’re in the trades. I don’t see how someone can possibly think you’ll replace a toilet or wiring or put up drywall for free. But maybe they try. …
As I’ve mentioned before, I audition like a maniac for all sorts of voice gigs. And I only win a fraction of them but I consistently get a fraction and I’m told that makes me successful! Â …
One of my goals for this year was to triple my freelance income from voice-work.  Who knows if I’ll make it but it guides my efforts and keeps me focused on doing the best at all of the auditions I submit.  From crazy old southern ladies for cartoons to straight-laced corporate spokeswomen, I’ve been getting a shot at it all. …
It was time to find out what all of the fuss was about. As a professional voice-over artist, I balked at joining Voices.com. Why should I, I asked, pay a subscription fee to join? Now I get it. …
Often times people wonder what Lisa Brandt Creative Services does. Â I made the name deliberately vague so it could encompass a variety of things.
…
Voice work is one of the things that keep me busy during my off hours. Â …
If it’s done well, commercial reading should sound easy. But there is much more to it than just reading , and learning to control and manipulate your voice takes experience. And sometimes you work with a producer who doesn’t know how to articulate what it is they expect from their talent and it takes you to the brink of your patience. …