[VoiceHaven]

Review of The Voiceover Survival Guide (Kim Snyder)

Here are my thoughts, praises, and constructive criticism’s of Kim Snyder's CD audiobook The Voiceover Survival Guide. It is a 2 CD set with approximately 80 minutes of Kim's instruction, experience, and stories of the VO industry.

Kim has filled this package with a lot of good basic Voiceover information. And the stories she tells are worthy of a listen. So don't let the simplicity of the physical packaging deter you from spinning the disc's. As of this writing The Voiceover Survival Guide (VOSG) came to me packaged with a transparent slim jewel case that holds two CD's. So there is no cover booklet or tray labeling. The VOSG uses the labels on the discs, seen through the transparent jewel case, for its packaging information. The CD labels look very professional with their graphics and text laid out nicely. It's easy on the eyes. The label information is minimal at best; the title, disc 1 of 2 & 2 of 2, and by Kim Snyder. That's it. There is a picture of a microphone which is descriptive of the content, but way over done in the VO industry. More information on the label such as a website and a couple lines describing the VOSG might entice people to crave its content. A little more creativity with the graphics would be nice too.

I have decided to write this review in different segments; matching how the VOSG is produced. A summary will be provided at the end.

Voiceover Survival Guide segment review:

Kim's opening segment tells of her story getting started in the VO business. She also makes some useful comments that will help inspire you to consider VO as a part-time or full-time career.

The VOSG Introduction to VO section explains, at a generalized level, all of the common talents, perceptions, misperceptions, stereotypes, etc. of the VO artist. Kim also mentions the common misunderstandings of VO artist and the VO industry by people outside the industry. She makes some informative general comments about how much money some union VO artists make vs non union.

Developing voice styles is covered next. VOSG goes through the different styles - announcer, narrator, character. Kim mainly talks about character voice development. She explains a few examples of how to do this; however it would have been even better to hear the actual character voice after the instruction. I guess I was hoping for more specific instruction with examples to follow.

Kim places importance on discovering your voice style. She acknowledges that you may be talented with several voice styles, but you always have one style that rises above the rest. She gives some great advice regarding your demo to market yourself better with your signature voice style.

On the business side of VO, Kim has some good advice as far as treating VO like a business or a hobby. She talks about doing research, understanding trends, taking care of finances, and taking the time to create a quality demo. She doesn't go into detail of any of these things in this segment.

Next the VOSG goes into contacting other VO talent to get the information you need to be successful. Kim talks about the dynamics of developing communication with successful and established VO talent. She stresses how to develop a list of questions and how to properly go about getting them answered. Really good information in this segment. Unfortunately the audio chops off mid sentence at the end.

Kim has some really good information and stories in this segment on how to take care of your voice. She opens up this segment with a quick story about a discussion between her and a producer in a studio before a session begins. It's a wonderful "real life" example that I wish the VOSG had a lot more of in its content. A nicely detailed description of the vocal chords follows. I love that she recommends Speech Level Singing. This segment is by far the most detailed instruction and Kim does not disappoint with the information regarding voice health.

Getting the best read is next. Kim speaks about diction, weight/emphasis, tone/pitch, pacing/rhythm, telling the story (acting). Although there is very good basic information given here, I will admit to being very disappointed with the content of this section. There are no detailed voiceover samples in this segment. It needed to be at least 20 minutes long instead of only 4 minutes. If this is supposed to be a "Survival Guide" for VO, then the guide has a fundamental part of VO diminished. General concepts are only taught here.

The VOSG goes into the importance, production, and reasons for creation of a quality demo. Kim goes into nice detail here. She emphasizes excellent production and direction for your demo. She discusses the importance of different types of demo's based on your talents. She stresses having a great coach and producer to help in the demo process. Some little tips and tricks to help you get ready for the demo are mentioned here too. Kim suggests listening to other demos that are well produced and tells where to hear some of those. The only thing lacking in this segment is I would have liked to hear some good demos and bad demos and then hear Kim's comments on them. It would help reinforce her information and teaching.

Packaging of your demo is the next discussion. Kim talks about using mp3's, CD's, labeling, etc. She goes into Branding a little bit. Talks about graphics and suggestions on your approach. Very good information here. I wish that there was more information about Branding though.

Marketing and how to determine your approach is discussed. The right people to contact to help you with marketing is mentioned. Researching your target market. Some good suggestions are made here. But a VO newbie may still walk away not knowing how to market their career. A few more details are needed.

VOSG talks about Online Talent Pools next. Kim stresses the importance of these websites, their advantages and disadvantages. She has some really great information on how to use these websites. Kim's experience shines through in this segment, demonstrating she knows this area well!

Your own website is the next discussion in VOSG. Kim emphasizes this important part of the VO business. Although there are many different approaches to a website, Kim's information, stories, and suggestions are first class! This is the longest segment of VOSG and virtually all of it is useful. This segment, with all of its information is worth listening to more than once to soak it all in.

Kim now brings up the role of Agents and their talent agencies. The pros and cons of agencies are discussed. How to shop around for agencies, what to expect from an agency, the process of agencies, etc... Kim expresses the importance doing what agents expect from you, and what some of those expectations are. It appears Kim has nailed this topic down well. She provides a lot of information in a way that is understandable and complete.

The two categories of talent, union and non-union are discussed next. In an area that can be confusing for people who've never been part of a union, with nice detail, Kim explains different aspects of union / non-union membership & work within the whole VO industry. I learned a lot from this segment.

As an Audio Engineer who has worked in many different recording, post production, and live performance environments, I have to say... Kim understands the studio environment and the dynamics of the various people involved tremendously. I was extremely pleased with her comments, stories, and instruction with this segment of the VOSG. She "gets" it! And if you apply the things she says when you go to work in a professional studio, 95 percent of the time you will leave that job knowing you've done all you can to make the project a success and had a pleasant experience while performing. Pardon my Engineering bias, but this segment is golden!

Next Kim talks about billing & pay. Pros and cons about payment via union and online jobs are discussed. She talks about the expectations in various billing and payment scenarios. She gives some good real life examples. She provides some nice information regarding setting rates and creating your rate card. I think this was a very informative segment.

IN SUMMARY...

Kim Snyder's The Voiceover Survival Guide is a nice and accurate collection of information, instruction, stories and commentaries about the Voiceover industry and VO artists. This 2 CD set with approximately 80 minutes of content will positively pique your interest in VO, definitely get you kick started in the VO industry, and possibly help you survive along the way. There is not enough detailed content in a few segments for this to truly be called a survival guide. I want my survival guides to have complete answers in every section. However I am very confident that Kim's effort here is very worthy to consider for new talent or those who want to learn more about the VO industry. Established talent, I am confident, can pick up some new tips here as well. A little better packaging (as I mentioned above) is in order to give it a more appealing and professional look. The two segments I was most impressed with are the voice health & the studio commentaries. Both of them are delightfully filled with extremely useful information. And my least favorite segment, although containing accurate and useful information, was the getting the best read section. This is a fundamental part of voiceover. For a survival guide, there was not near enough content here.

All in all this is a fine product that Kim Snyder has produced. It is worth looking into. Its price point is a little high but may still be worthy of a purchase for those who are interested in or desire to get started in the Voiceover industry.