816-820-0376
heather@heatherfostervoice.com

Are You “Audition Ready”?

2019

https://bit.ly/2Gyo0Ja

Are your auditions ready? 

There is so much to know in voice over. You need to be able to understand what the script is asking of you, then perform it perfectly (usually all alone) in a small enclosure. But that’s not all. You also need to be a marketing genius, be a master at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and lastly: your own audio engineer.  You have to have your own, professional voiceover studio and, at the very least, know how to record, edit and process your own audio files.

What if I told you that the audio side could (and is) be the easiest part? 

Are you a voice over talent struggling to get hired? Are you putting in tons and tons and tons of auditions on websites like Voice 123 and Bodalgo, etc., (aka Pay to Plays or P2Ps) and getting nowhere? Have you reached out to agents and heard nothing but silence?

I feel your pain. I’ve been in exactly this spot! As a brand new voiceover artist, I was struggling. I was putting all these auditions to …crickets.  It was so frustrating! 

I changed this one thing and got my first paying voiceover job within days…

I got Audition Ready. 

I’ve been told by people who cast voiceovers that a huge amount of all auditions sent in from people with home studios have subpar (read: awful) audio.  And by raising your audio game, you could potentially put yourself into the top 10% of auditions heard. I know that in the beginning, I was blissfully ignorant. I was just happy that I had figured out how to plug my mic and interface into my computer and hit record. That was short lived, as I quickly realized that I didn’t sound like the professionals. Something was “off” but I couldn’t figure out what. I didn’t have the same quality, but I had no idea why. At the time, I was recording in an acoustically treated closet using a Rode NT1A mic and a Scarlett 2i2 interface. I used Audacity as my recording and editing software. While my quality wasn’t awful (I’ve heard worse) I knew enough to know that I didn’t sound like the other voiceover actors that I listened to. I wanted to sound like the big guns! Btw, there is nothing wrong with this set up. I just needed to adjust a few things. 

Maybe you already know there is a problem and don’t know how to fix it or maybe you are like me and unaware of the audio issues that you may have. You could hire someone to fix these issues and set things up for you. Lots of voiceover actors do this and have great results- as long as you don’t change your recording space, or your mic, or your interface, etc. Then you have to go through the whole process again. 

Wouldn’t it be great to know how to do this yourself? 

Voiceover is so competitive! When you send in an audition you need to do everything you can to stand out from the rest of the pack.  Of course, you should get great coaching. Check out my resource page for a list of some of the wonderful coaches I have worked with.  Voiceover coaching is paramount.  However, unless you live in LA or NY, you can have the best “read” in the world and be one of the most talented actors they’ve every heard  and if your audio quality isn’t up to snuff they will pass you by.  Clients today expect your home studio to be at professional levels. One of the most important things about performing great voiceovers is confidence!  The stress of feeling “audio insecure” is very real. Know that if you are feeling insecure, your voice will give you away Every Single Time. 

Also, learning about the audio side of things is a huge time saver! One of the very first jobs I was hired for was a 7 hour audio book through the ACX www.acx.com for royalty share. Since it was an adventure novel, there were some loud, battle scenes as well as intimate, romantic scenes. I knew that I needed to make the audio somewhat even, but didn’t know how to do it. I looked for hours and hours all over the internet. I found some wonderful, but very technical advice. It was like some of these audio guys were trying to be confusing. Frustrated, I did what any person would have done in my situation: I hand compressed the entire book! Ha! I took me nearly a month to narrate and produce a book that would take me a few days, at most. Now, I can master giant audio files in matter of seconds. 

I first saw Tim Tippets in one of those YouTube searches a little over 3 years ago. He was speaking to a room of voiceover actors about common audio issues like “boomy rooms” and sibilance. I was struck by how knowledgeable he was and how easy it was to understand what he was talking about. I also immediately respected how he, at no time, talked down to the people asking the questions. He answered the questions in a way that made perfect sense to me.  Right away, I looked him up and contacted him. Tim responded to my email within minutes and I signed up take his “Audition Ready” class.  

During this time, Tim was offering this class one on one via Skype for $500. It consisted of 4 one hour classes. In these sessions, I was able to grasp the concept of audio mastering and how to apply it to my specific voiceprint. I learned how to make my voice “sparkle” while cutting out some of the less than perfect qualities (boxiness and some sibilance) 😉 The point was to understand how to make my auditions standout because of their audio excellence-to rise to the top 10% so that I would be heard by the client! Talk about a huge leg up. 

Tim expected me to do my homework (he literally will give you quizzes and homework to do) and to take responsibility for my learning. He is a terrific teacher. I could tell how much he loves what he does. I never felt like he was just going through the motions.

He also encouraged me to play with it- “Sandboxing” is what he called it.  I have since learned how to add and master my VO to music beds and video. A skillset I highly recommend you get. It’s great to be able to offer this service to your clients.

Tim has an amazing ability to take complex information and present it to you in a real world, applicable way. Through use of graphics and animation, he has been able to ‘pull back the curtain’ so that anyone can understand it.  In fact, while I was watching the first module, which is free, my 10 year old daughter was walking by and stopped to watch for a few minutes. She said “oh cool, I get that.”

Tim is now offering the exact same class I took but in a video, e-learning format. You will have lifetime access so you can watch the videos over and over. On top if this, it is less expensive! At the time of this writing, he is offering the course for $197.00. 

The fear has been removed and I am free to focus on my performances, which is why I became a voice over actor in the first place. 

Here is a link to the free, first video: https://bit.ly/2Gyo0Ja

Reevaluating Limits

June 2018

 Click to hear Heather read her story:

      Reevaluating Limits

My son, Kai, has autism.  He attends a 100% contained classroom in a large public school. When he does have to leave the classroom, he always has an adult para with him. Kai can talk but cannot read. He has problems with following directions of more than 2 small tasks at a time without being re-directed.  We are working on teaching him to tie his shoes and have been working on this since he was 6 years old, he is now 12.

Recently, his teacher let me know that Kai had received two academic achievement awards and the ceremony would be in front of the entire 6th and 7th grades. We are very fortunate that we live in an area where academic achievements are truly celebrated by the community. It’s kind of a big deal here.  There were going to be many, many “typical” children there and their families. The gymnasium would be crowded, the ceremony long (over 1 1/2 hours)  and there would be no traditional support system for my son. He would be flying solo.  It would also be the first time the entire student body would see my son on his own. He rocks, moans, and can yell out very inappropriate words-while it can be funny to 12 and 13 year old children, it would be very disrespectful to  them and their families. After all, nearly 70 students of his 6th grade classmates were being honored for getting straight A s, and nearly as many 7th graders were honored for scoring better on the SATs than 50% of American high school students. These kids were not kidding around.

When Kai’s teacher told me about the awards I was so happy for him. Then she told me what the ceremony would be like, I was hesitant to even tell him about it. I said to her, “I don’t think he can do it. He has never, that I have known, sat still and quiet for more than a few minutes at a time. I am worried that he will get up to receive the award and then start walking around, making noises. It would be a huge distraction.” His teacher agreed and assured me that they would have a ceremony for him in his tucked away classroom of 6 boys. 

One of the things about being a mother of a child with special needs is I have learned to trust my gut and my gut was telling me I would be a real jerk if I didn’t tell him.  So, I told him about the awards and the ceremony. He looked at me and said “ I want to try.” I told him in a very serious way that he would have to be quiet and still for a long, long time. If he made noise, he would have to leave. He insisted he could do it. I told his teacher via email and we went back and forth about it. She was kind and told me that she would let the administration know and she would have practice runs in class to prepare him.

Kai woke up the morning of the ceremony and told me he was excited to go that night. My heart sank a little, I was secretly hoping that he would change his mind. My husband confided in me that he too felt the same way. We were both sure he would struggle. 

We went to the ceremony, it was packed, HOT, loud and bright. All the things that can trigger the very craziest of his noises and movements.

The ceremony began on time and Kai sat like a statue. He was quiet and still.  When he received his first award for Best Actor in a Comedy ( a truly funny, short video in which my kid plays a ghost), about 40 minutes in, he stood up, walked to the podium, shook his teacher’s hand and turned around and put his certificate up over his head like Sally Fields did in Norma Rae, you know, Strike!  He look confused as to what to do next, and then the kids around him started to gesture. They created a  silent “path” with their 12 year old hands. He followed it  back to his row and then the guy who had been sitting next to him, gently patted the empty seat. Kai silently moved to the seat and sat down. He did the same thing again about 20 minutes later when honored for the Stellar Participation award in P.E. He never once rocked, swayed, moaned or yelled out. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. I couldn’t believe it. I looked at my husband. There were tears in his eyes. The big softy. 

Kai’s teachers, administrators, my husband and even I, had put limits on this kid. It was a big moment for him, but also for me. I thought my heart would burst from pride. Nearly everything Kai can do today has been through hard work and it has often been a long, slow road, but it is progress. He’s just on a different time table. 

However, I am a little embarrassed that I misjudged him.  I know this kid better than anyone  on the planet and I was wrong. Even though it was coming from a place of love and protection, I had imposed limits that were not valid anymore. It was time to start trying new things. This event had a profound effect on me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

So, I’ve decided I want to embrace Kai’s attitude of “I want to try”. I believe this is something that should be cultivated, treasured even. I don’t have to be perfect, I don’t have to even be very good at first. I can even fail. I need to stop comparing myself to others in my life, personal or business, and realize that, I too, am on a different time table. 

I am a voice over actor that has started to have some small successes. I truly love what I do and I believe I am good at it, but from time to time there is that voice in my head that creeps in and limits me. A voice that says things like  “You can’t do that, you’re not ready.” or “You aren’t enough.” or  “You won’t be able to do that. It will be too hard”. I believe this voice wants to protect me and doesn’t want to see me struggle. However, like my son, it is time to expect more from myself. 

So, if you are thinking about reevaluating your own limits, here are the Cliff’s Notes to Kai’s success:   1. Practice (training) so when you get there you will have some idea of what to expect. 2. Surround yourself with people who can help if you get lost 3. Try with all your might.

Photo by Alex Pudov on Unsplash

That’s Voiceover Promo Competition – That’s Voiceover 

Voiceover Promos

That’s Voiceover is an annual Expo brought to us by VO’s philanthropic, power couple Rudy Gaskins and Joan Baker.  These two have been a guiding force in the voice over community, reminding us to be inclusive and giving in all aspects of our lives. For this Expo, they put together some of the biggest names, both in front and behind the mic. Voiceover actors, talent agents, producers, branding experts, etc.,  all on stage to share their knowledge with us. Each year, they have what is called the Audition Spotlight. 2017’s contest the winner was to receive representation with TGMD Talent agency, a Sennheiser MK8 mic, two tickets to next year’s Voice Arts awards show, a promo spot for PIX 11 News in NYC and a chance to be SEEN by these industry giants.

When I saw the facebook post about the That’s Voiceover Audition Spotlight,  I thought, “ its time to get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there to be judged”. I had been working with my wonderful promo coach Joyce Castellanos for a few months and was eager to put her great direction and knowledge to work. So, I read the instructions carefully, including the part about auditioning in front of a panel of judges AND a live audience in NYC. Yikes!…. Deep breath, ok, I’ll do it.

After submitting my audition, I never expected to hear anything back except the standard “thank you for submitting” form email. You can imagine my surprise when I received an email from Rudy letting me know that out of 515 applicants, I had made it to the next round of 30! It looks like I was going to NYC’s Times Square!

Once again, as in LA, it was a blast seeing friends in the business and meeting new people.  The day was so exciting, and informative. There were panels on Radio Imaging, What Producers Want, Microphone Technique, Branding and much more!

After lunch, we were told for this next round we were going to audition privately and we would be notified when and where to go.  There were so many extremely talented people waiting to audition that I was just happy to be in their company. When it was my turn to go, a production assistant led me behind a curtain to the first panel of judges. They were: the last two years winners’ Tim Friedlander and Stephanie Thomas, renowned vocal coach Dave Walsh and …..Nancy Cartwright!!! (a/k/a Bart Simpson!!) I had to get it together and fast!  I read my heart out, was given direction, I read a second time, they thanked me and I left.  I thought “Well, I’m done! Stick a fork in me”-my inner fan girl was doing cartwheels for Cartwright. Wow, what an experience.

I went back to my seat to watch the next panel “Million Dollar Voices”.

I was so engrossed with the experts on the stage that when they were finished and Joan said “now was the moment we were all waiting for”, my stomach hit the floor. I had completely forgotten that this competition was not over. As she began to read off 6 names, my dear friend, Jean Francois Donaldson was seated next to me and all I wanted at that point was for his name to be called. He is such a good person and an incredibly talented VO artist. When Joan called his name I squeezed his arm and had to put my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming (we had been told to hold our applause until all finalists were called) Then she read the 6th and last name…”Heather Foster!” What ?????? No way!!! I had made it to the final 6 and was going to read live in front of my heroes!!!

We were ushered behind stage and each of us were given a mentor from the million dollar voice panel. I was assigned the beautiful and ridiculously talented Sylvia Villagran.  She was so supportive and gave me excellent direction. In what seems like seconds, we were being ushered on stage to begin the live audition in front of a new panel of judges and an audience of hundreds of people.

I wish I could give you an accurate account of what happened after that. I can’t.  I do remember every single one of the other contestants were fantastic. I remember thinking each one of them would have worked perfectly in that spot.  I vaguely remember managing to walk to the mic, saying my name and performing. Then, judge and VO legend Pat Fraley gave me direction. I read again. Take 2. That’s pretty much all I remember.

I didn’t win the That’s Voiceover Audition Spotlight. and neither did my friend Jean Francois.  A very talented lady named Jessica Rothertdeservedly won.

My takeaway from this experience: I believed in myself and put myself out there to be seen. When I was nervous, I kept going. I listened and took the direction that was given. I refused to buckle under the pressure and was authentic under one of the most inauthentic circumstances. Grace under pressure? Well, I don’t know about that. The goal was to get out of my comfort zone -mission accomplished and I was pleasantly surprised.

And yes, that IS the Ameritrade Dude,  Jim Conroy, sitting behind me.

VO Mastery

Voice Over Workshops

Voiceover can be such an isolating profession. Today, most of us have home studios and can spend long hours alone in a very small space…. Sometimes, I get a little stir crazy and need human contact!

I am also a believer in continuing education, in any profession. I’m like a shark, I need to keep movin’.  So when the chance came to meet some of my VO friends in person and hob nob with VO legends in the industry, I jumped at the chance!

So, this Fall, I went to LA for Randy Thomas’ VO Mastery conference! Randy Thomas, is a groundbreaking voiceover artist and currently the voice of the Oscars.  Each year, she puts on an amazing event where you can meet industry legends, mingle with casting directors, agents, the best voice over coaches in the business, get practical information on how to improve your craft, products that contribute not only to vocal health, but bank account health as well!

Well, right before I got off the plane, I wondered if it would be weird, I mean, after all, I barely knew these people. Many of my “friends” I had only seen pictures of on Facebook and others I had previously met via Skype or Zoom sessions. I’m happy to report that as soon as we saw each other, the bonds that had formed were real. It was so wonderful to meet these people face to face.

During the whirlwind weekend, there were panel discussions with agents, animation actors, vocal coaches, representatives from demo players companies, website builders, business advisers, vocal health experts..whew! They were all very informative-I didn’t leave a single one of these sessions without a serious “Ah Ha” moment! My only complaint is that they were too short.

However, the thrill of the weekend were the 2 small group Promo workshops I attended.  I was able to get in the recording booth and read in front of Joe Cipriano and David Kaye. At first, I admit, I was super intimidated  -I mean come on, these are two of the biggest names in VO.  They make it look and sound effortless! As we began to work, I forgot to be nervous and realized that this was where my heart and soul belongs. Their instruction changed how I view and approach voiceover, and I am grateful for opportunity to have been in the same room with them.

While some folks may bemoan the advent of social media, I have found it to be a lifesaver-not only have I been able to make business contacts that have propelled my business but I have made real, true friends.

However, my biggest takeaway from the VO Mastery experience is that all of these folks, some with decades of experience, love this business as much as I do. Yes, there is oodles of talent involved, but it’s also about passion and lots and lots and lots of hard work.

For more information about this fantastic conference visit http://randythomaspresents.com

Welcome to my new voice over website! 

Voice Over Workshops

New Year, New Website. Ok, I know, I know, it’s already March but I will still write checks (who writes checks???) with 2017 as the year until about June. So….

I like to communicate. I like to read, write, sing, dance and TALK. I find how humans communicate endlessly fascinating. The more effective we are with how we communicate the more successful we can be-no matter the endeavor. Many times when people want to hire a voice over for a website video or for an outgoing message, etc., they might think they want someone that sounds like Morgan Freeman or Meryl Streep when what they really mean,  most of the time, is someone who is a wonderful communicator . Someone who has the ability to get to the heart of the matter. Now, I’m not comparing myself to Freeman or Streep (Yikes!)  but I do consider myself an actor. My goal with each and every voiceover job I record is to make a CONNECTION, and to find the nuisance of the story-No matter if I am playing a character for a video game or recording an explainer video about new tires (yup, I’ve done that) AUTHENTICALLY connecting is the name of the game.

Perhaps you need an outgoing message that is friendly and attractive, but still knowledgeable. Maybe you need someone who sounds professional and mature for an explainer video. Whatever the essence of your message is, you need someone who will take the time to listen to you and then convey that message to your clients.

I realize that most of you are waaay too busy to actually read blogs. You are probably just looking to purchase a voiceover and want to know if I am right for the job. You have probably already gone to my demos and listened. Feel free to look around, listen to my demos, check out some of my recent videos and come back often!

Please contact me if you have any questions about how to hire a voiceover (even if I am not right for your current project). I can help! -or if you just want to say hello, I’d love to hear from you!