The Slack Jaw Voice Over

Hello again!  We actually have a podcast coming out on the day it should be coming out!  (We'll just forget that it should have been out last Monday...so just remember....forget that....)Anyway, it's part two on how I put this thing together.  If you are not interested in podcasting or how I put this one together, then just take this message away:  PROMOTE! PROMOTE!! PROMOTE!!!It doesn't matter if you are doing a podcast, project, cartoon, audiobook, whatever.  Promote the BAJEEBUS out of that thing.  (Do keep in mind any non-disclosure agreements you may be under though.)  But outside of that, scream it from the rooftops that you are working.  Not only is it a way to get people to look at what you are doing, but it also helps to have these things as a part of your resume so when you are ready to get an agent, they can see that you have been working your tail off and have been getting work.  They won't take you on if they don't think you are bankable. If you are interested in how the podcast is put together, then check out the podcast.  But either way, when you get work or you are just doing some project on the side, make sure people know about it!As always, drop me a line at nate@nathanbeattyvo.com.  You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.   To download this episode click here.  If you like what you hear, go ahead and give us a 5 star review on iTunes.  It would really help us out. Our intro and outro music is from Mevio's Music Alley.  That's David Wilcox's Modern World.  He is one of my favorite folk artists and I highly recommend if you like that type of music to check him out.  Also, don't forget to check out our Patreon page.  Just one dollar a month would be a HUGE help.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello!  Sorry for the delay in the episode.  The schedule is going to be a bit wonky for a few weeks while some "changes" are happening but I hope to have everything on a steady schedule in a month or so.  Until then, we are going to be bit off from time to time. Today's episode is the first of a two part series about how I do this very podcast.  I figured, this is one big way I practice every week (among other things) and if podcasting was something you were interested in, then here is one way you can do it. Part I is mostly about the format, why it changed, and why it can be beneficial to do a podcast.  Next week we are going to talk about the nitty gritty details on how it gets on the web and into your ear holes.  (NOTE:  It is not a requirement to do a podcast to get into voice acting.  It's just a fun way to practice.  AND, you aren't fenced into one particular topic or idea.  I just happen to do mine on voice acting.  You may want to do yours on cactuses.  Cacti?  Whatever.)As always, drop me a line at nate@nathanbeattyvo.com.  You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.   To download this episode click here.  If you like what you hear, go ahead and give us a 5 star review on iTunes.  It would really help us out. Our intro and outro music is from Mevio's Music Alley.  That's David Wilcox's Modern World.  He is one of my favorite folk artists and I highly recommend if you like that type of music to check him out.  Also, don't forget to check out our Patreon page.  Just one dollar a month would be a HUGE help.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello all!  I hope you enjoyed your past few weeks.  Things got a little crazy around here as I was out of town, working on an audiobook, among other side projects as well.  But this week we are going to talk about character voices and accents.  It's important to know what you can do, and do it well.  A regular theme in this series is, practice.  And finally DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SHARE WHAT YOU ARE WORKING ON!!!!!  This way, people can help you.  Constructive criticism is extremely important to help you get better. Well that's about the long and the short of it this week.  As always, drop me a linenate@nathanbeattyvo.com.  You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.   To download this episode click here.  If you like what you hear, go ahead and give us a 5 star review on iTunes.  It would really help us out. Our intro and outro music is from Mevio's Music Alley.  That's David Wilcox's Modern World.  He is one of my favorite folk artists and I highly recommend if you like that type of music to check him out.  Also, don't forget to check out our Patreon page.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello!  Sorry for the delay in the episode.  It's been a busy week.  We are going to be talking about some resources I have used in the past.  Basically I just talk about each one briefly but I encourage you to check them out.  And if you have any resources you would like to share, please pass them along.  I would love to share them in future episodes.Voice Over Basics: Edge StudioThe Voice Over GuideVoice123 BlogVox DailyVoices.com PodcastsVoice Over TimesVoice Acting MasteryTalkin' Toons with Rob PaulsenVoice Over Books:Voice Over Voice Actor by Tara Platt and Yuri LowenthalHow to Succeed in Voice Over without Ever Losing by Jack AngelImprovisation for the Theatre by Viola SpolinBusiness and Technical Links:Adobe AuditionSweetwaterSquarespaceZehostingAnd one little add on:IFTTThat's all for today.  As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.   To download this episode click here.  If you like what you hear, go ahead and give us a 5 star review on iTunes.  It would really help us out. Our intro and outro music is from Mevio's Music Alley.  That's David Wilcox's Modern World.  He is one of my favorite folk artists and I highly recommend if you like that type of music to check him out.  Also, don't forget to check out our Patreon page.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello everyone!  Today we are going to be talking about honesty.  It ties in nicely with last weeks episode so I thought it would be good to shoehorn it in here. The main point I try to get across is, be honest with yourself first.  That will help you be honest with others.  (That sounds like it should be on a motivational poster with a cat wearing a top hat.)  This is true when it comes to your abilities, both in what you can do with your voice, and what you can do with your time.  Wow, that about sums up the episode nicely.  So I'll wrap it up here.  As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.   To download this episode click here.  If you like what you hear, go ahead and give us a 5 star review on iTunes.  It would really help us out. You may have noticed a new intro and outro music today.  We got that from Mevio's Music Alley.  That's David Wilcox's Modern World.  He is one of my favorite folk artists and I highly recommend if you like that type of music to check him out.  Also, don't forget to check out our Patreon page.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello everyone!  So today we talk about professionalism and customer service.  Frankly, they are one in the same.  As I mention in the podcast, this is one area where I can say I have a TON of experience.  My entire career, save one or two odd jobs, has rotated around customer service and professionalism. So I have some tips to pass along and reminders of ways to provide good customer service and be a professional.  I hope this helps give you some ideas of things you can try.  Also do not hesitate to reach out with other ideas or situations we can talk about on the podcast. One quick note I want to mention.  I will sometimes mention scenarios with clients that I have come across.  I want to be clear that while those situations may have happened, they may not have happened to me AND details have been changed.  I'm sure you can understand why.  These are just examples that I have run into myself or someone else has told me about.  It's a sticky situation to use client examples because I don't want to alienate a client here.  So I wanted to put this disclaimer in there somewhere.  (It will probably make it on the page in permanent place sometime soon.)  I mention this now so you know if you tell me a situation about a client, I will be sure to keep your name, their name, and any "telling" details out of it so you won't get in trouble with a particular client.  I want this to be a safe place for us to talk and help each other. OK, now with that out of the way I will let you go.  Thanks again and I'll be talking to you soon!As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.   To download this episode click here.  If you like what you hear, go ahead and give us a 5 star review on iTunes.  It would really help us out. Also, don't forget to check out our Patreon page.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello all!  Before I get started I just wanted to let you know there is an announcement below as well as at the end of the podcast so stay tuned!  We have an episode today that covers a lot of topics.  I felt all three of these fit together in their own way so I felt this would be good to discuss each of them.  First up we have "Slowing Down."  Don't rush through your copy, keep it a normal pace.  We also want to make sure we don't rush through the audition process itself.  That would be bad.  Quality is always better than quantity here. I also talk a little bit about script prep.  It's good to take some time with the copy and analyze it.  Figure out how you want to audition.  What direction do you want to take this?  Once you have the figured out then you can go into the booth.Finally I talk a little more about rejection and one thing I do to keep myself from getting down.ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!  Like the renaissance artists before me I find myself in the need of patron.  (I of course speak of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael.)  But unlike those renaissance voice artists Townsend Coleman, Cam Clarke, Barry Gordon, and Rob Paulsen who had Viacom to shepherd them along, I need to get creative.   So, I don't know if you have heard of Patreon yet.  It's basically a way for content creators and artists to get a little financial help to continue to produce what they love.  (See what they did there?  It's a play on the word "patron." Clever huh?)  Basically you can support me by clicking on the below link and pledging a $1 a month.  (You can pledge more if you like.  It's entirely up to you.)  This will help me keep this podcast going as well as start up a few others that I'm currently working on.  If you want to help, great, if not that is perfectly fine.  I just wanted to give you the option.  Also, don't worry that I'm going to rub this in your face each episode.  Just a link in the blog entry and mention at the end of the show.  That's all.  Thank you so much for your support!CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MY PATREON PAGE!As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.   To download this episode click here.  If you like what you hear, go ahead and give us a 5 star review on iTunes.  It would really help us out. Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello everyone!  Thanks for stopping by.  Today we talk about patience.  This may seems like an obvious topic but that doesn't mean it's not important to remind yourself every now and again.  Frankly, I thought of the topic simple to be a reminder for myself to be patient. In the podcast I talk a little about Mel Blanc.  I couldn't find a direct link to the interview where he tells the story I recount, but I found a link to another Mel Blanc interview that is just awesome.  I remember, it was an interview like this that I watched with Mel as a young child when I became fascinated with the voices behind the characters I loved so much.  This was before the internet so it was rare to see him do those voices on camera and I love it. As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.   To download this episode click here.  If you like what you hear, go ahead and give us a 5 star review on iTunes.  It would really help us out. Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello again!  This week we are going to talk more about my voice over booth.  It's pretty basic stuff but it's important to have a starting point with this.  As I say in the episode, this is not inexpensive.  The VO booth is the barrier to entry into this field,  It doesn't matter if you have Mel Blanc's voice, if you plan on getting into VO at home, then you need a good booth.  (NOTE:  Your other option is to move to LA, New York, Houston or Dallas and get an agent.  This is the route I'm ultimately working toward but in the mean time I want to make money doing this NOW and this is one way to do that.)I talk about how I got mine together and what I have.  You can check out this entry here where I had talked a little about it and linked to some of the stuff I talked about.  As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.  To download this episode click here.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Today we are talking about practice and how important it is.  This seems like an obvious thing but I still wanted to spend some time on it.  While it may same like an obvious thing it isn't the easiest thing to do on a regular basis. I go over some ideas on the best ways to practice, at least for me, and some other ideas you may not have thought about.I also talk about a side benefit of practice that can be overlooked by the beginner.  When you practice you have COMPLETE freedom to try anything.  There is no pressure to make a voice match what some external entity is requesting.  You get to do what you want.  Any, it helps you create new and different voices that you may not have come up with prior to this.So instead of reciting one of the MANY worn out sayings about practice.  I'm just going to say, PRACTICE!  It will only do good things for you. As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.  To download this episode click here.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello all.  Here is a short one for today.  I just wanted to do a quick backtrack over the marketplaces I spoke about in earlier episodes since I had learned some things since we last spoke about them.I'm really excited about the New Year as I have a lot of things planned and I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy putting them out there for you. As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.  To download this episode click here.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

In todays episode I talk about Fiverr and Elance.  These are two "general" online marketplaces for all kinds of stuff.  Like the other episodes I go into how they work, the general nuts a bolts, and then talk about what I like and don't like.  Pretty standard.You may notice there is a bit of a shift in production value here.  Mainly that I omitted, mostly, the words "um" and "uh" from my vocabulary.  I have made some changes because what I was doing before, while it "got the job done" I wasn't very happy with the finished product.  So I'm trying new things here.  In a couple of episodes I plan on doing a "how I do this podcast" episode.  It will be fun! As always, drop me a line.  You can subscribe to podcast by clicking the RSS feed button over to the right there, or you can look us up on iTunes.  To download this episode click here.  Thanks again and I look forward to talking to you soon!  Take Care!

Hello everyone and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  We had a bit of an unscheduled break there due a myriad of reasons, many of which I get into in the podcast. Not least of which was some technical issues that lost me a couple of podcast episodes.  (That's why I didn't post when I said I was going to go.  My computer decided to eat them.) Anyway, we're back and I hope to get another episode out in a few days.  Playing catch up.As always, drop me a line or follow me on Twitter @theslackjaw.  You can access the episode via iTunes, any podcast catcher app like Pocket Casts OR you can download it directly by clicking here.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hello again.  We continue our series of reviews of online voice over marketplaces.  Today we discuss Voicebunny.com.  Voicebunny is the little brother of Voice123.com.  It is definitely very different from other systems I've used. I'll let the podcast speak for itself on that one. One thing I did want to mention that is an "update" to a previous review.  (I'll post this on that review as well.)  In the Voices.com review I spoke a lot about the "like" feature on that system.  I had made the assumption, due to the pattern I saw, that clients would use the like function to shortlist the talents and then select the one they wanted.  I went further and assumed all clients did this.  This is not true.  Apparently only about half to a third of Voices.com clients use the like function in that way.  I had just had all the clients who gave me jobs to fall into that group.  So I assumed they all did.  Since that time I have spoken with other voice over talents in addition to being awarded some jobs without being "liked" first.  I just wanted you to be aware so you didn't get worried if you weren't being liked.  (Like I was.) As always, drop me a line or follow me on Twitter @theslackjaw.  You can access the episode via iTunes, any podcast catcher app like Pocket Casts OR you can download it directly by clicking here.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hello everyone.  Thanks for coming back to hear the second installment of our list of reviews of voice over marketplaces. Today we are going to talk about Voice123.com.  I go over the pros and cons and then explain why I'm not a paying member.  (Hint: more cons than pros)  That being said, do your own research on this.  Look into it and if you think it's worth the cost of entry then by all means go ahead. One place to start is the Voice123 Blog.As always, drop me a line or follow me on Twitter @theslackjaw.  You can access the episode via iTunes, any podcast catcher app like Pocket Casts OR you can download it directly by clicking here.  Thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE BELOWHello all!Sorry for the late upload.  It's been a crazy week and a half.  I talk a little about it in the episode but the long and the short of it is I have started to work (mostly) full time on my voice over work.  This basically means I'm auditioning as much as I can.  And with the transition from a basic "9-5" job to one that is from home has taken some more adjusting than I thought. Anyway, in todays episode we start to talk about the various different voice over marketplaces that exist out there.  These reviews obviously aren't exhaustive, and I do recommend you do your own research, but it's a place to start.Today we talk about Voices.com.  This is the service that I am most familiar with as I am a paying member.  The episode has more details as to the "ins and outs" of the program.As always, drop me a line or follow me on Twitter @theslackjaw.  You can access the episode via iTunes, any podcast catcher app like Pocket Casts OR you can download it directly by clicking here.  Thanks for stopping by! Take Care!UPDATE 11/5/13: In this review I spoke a lot about the "like" feature on that system.  I had made the assumption, due to the pattern I saw, that clients would use the like function to shortlist the talents and then select the one they wanted.  I went further and assumed all clients did this.  This is not true.  Apparently only about half to a third of Voices.com clients use the like function in that way.  I had just had all the clients who gave me jobs to fall into that group.  So I assumed they all did.  Since that time I have spoken with other voice over talents in addition to being awarded some jobs without being "liked" first.  I just wanted you to be aware so you didn't get worried if you weren't being liked.  (Like I was.)

Hello and welcome back!  Thanks for checking us out.In today's podcast I talk about finding your path.  As I've said many times there is no one right way to do this.  My path may be different that yours.  Then again we could have very similar paths.  There are many ways to become a voice actor.  That's the whole reason why I'm doing this.  Showing people how I have done it. And here we come to the part about choosing your path.  You have a lot of options ahead of you.  Just like I do.  What I'm going to be doing in the next few weeks is talking about the various "options" that are out there now.  I can say right now that choosing only one will make for a slower progression.  So it will all depend on how fast you want to go.  In any case it's probably going to take longer than you would like, or even be comfortable with, but stick with it.  That is the most important thing.  I have listed below the various path(s) you can take and a brief description of what they are.  These include various online vocal marketplaces (NOTE:  Some of these options are not exclusively voice over.) and other options you may have.  And please, don't take my word for it.  Research, Google, talk to any voice over folks you know or work with.  Just because it works for me, it may not work for you.  And conversely if it doesn't work for me, it might just be your thing.  I plan on spending one episode on each of these "paths." Please come back and check them out. Drop me a line at nate@nathanbeattyvo.com or follow me on Twitter @theslackjaw.  You can access the podcast via iTunes, any podcast catcher app like Pocket Casts, OR you can download it directly by clicking on the title of this entry OR click right here.  Thanks for stopping by!  (List of upcoming episodes are below.)   What we'll be talking about in the coming weeks.  I've included links if you want to check them out before you listen to their respective podcast.Voices.com - This is a dedicated voice over marketplace.  They connect talent with clients who are looking for VO talent.  There is a monthly or yearly fee to get access to these jobs.  (Clients list for free and pay a fee upon selection of talent.)  As a talent you can set up a profile for free and even post demos and such.  But to get access to the leads you need to pay.  Voice123 - Another dedicated voice over marketplace.  Again, they connect talent with clients.  Here there is only a yearly fee option here for access to clients.  Can still set up a profile for free though.  Here the client lists for free and there doesn't seem to be any fee for them.  Everything is handled directly between the talent and the client.  Voice123 will moderate issues though when they arise.  (Full disclosure: I do not have a membership to Voice123.  I'll explain why in the episode.) Voicebunny - This is a dedicated voice over marketplace with a twist.  It's run by the same folks as Voice123 but has a vastly different set up.  It's free to post a profile, list a job, whatever.  Voicebunny takes a cut from the money that is paid from the client to the talent.  This one has a difficult to explain set up that I'll save for detailed explanation for the podcast itself.  It is free, but one thing to remember, they review auditions and submissions.  They reject those that aren't "perfect."  If you get too many rejections you may be asked to leave the Voicebunny community.  Bodalgo - Another pay to play voice over marketplace.  This one has high standards for entry they only accept "professional voice over talent."  There is a monthly or yearly charge but from what I can tell it's much lower than other places.  I'm still waiting for my account to be activated so I'll have more details later.    Fiverr.com - Here we come our first "general" marketplace all based around $5 "gigs."  Fiverr is actually pretty interesting as you can find a lot of different products and services.  There seems to be a large voice over base here.  One nice thing about Fiverr is there no auditioning.  You put up your "gig" and then people come to you.  There is more to it but I'll get to that in this episode.   Elance - Another "general" marketplace.  While Fiverr is more for the hobbyist looking to make some money on the side with some serious moneymakers in the bunch, Elance is the opposite.  Mostly for serious folks looking to make money.  There is even jobs listed that are for plumbers and such.  Again there is a base of voice actors on here.  Again I'll get more into my thoughts in the episode for Elance. The "Real" World - Here is the one that probably is the most nerve racking.  This is where you go out, and find any local casting agencies, agents, etc to help you find jobs.  While I have very little "real world" knowledge in this regard I do have some.  And by the time we get to this episode I will hopefully have more. Thanks again for sticking around and I look forward to talking more about these options!

...no not the clothing store.  I haven't been able to fit in those clothes since ever.Today I talk about how it's important to create content.  No matter what.  It's why I'm doing this podcast.  I also talk about a quote from Ira Glass that has been floating around the web that speaks to this very idea. I look forward to your comments and questions.  I want this to be as much of a dialogue as possible.In that spirit, drop me a line at nate@nathanbeattyvo.com or follow me on Twitter @theslackjaw.  You can access the podcast via iTunes, any podcast catcher app like Pocket Casts, OR you can download it directly by clicking on the title of this entry OR click right here.  Thanks for stopping by!