[jsgilbert]

I was lucky enough to be chosen to write a review on the Voice 2007 program that is currently available on DVD, with workbook, tote bag and assorted specialty imprint items. I promised to have some sort of review to you by Thanksgiving and here, just under the wire is what I have to say. I believe we all know that I am a curmudgeon and in general I am skeptical about many of the people out there who make a living selling anything to voice talent. Be that as it may, there are many things that talent need to know and should know to make any go of it in this business. While I did not listen to all of the over 18 hours of audio content on the DVD, I made it a point to listen to enough so that I could intelligently offer a rational opinion regarding this product, which is currently for sale at voiceacting.com http://www.voiceacting.com/products/index_Page320.htm for the sum of $377.

First, a little of what I did and didn’t like about the product in general. The product consists of a workbook, which has contributions from the various speakers and oddly placed advertisements, and ranges from very useful information to “well, I guess they had to put something in there.”
The DVD mostly consists of MP3 audio files recorded at the Voice 2007 convention. The producers of this product graciously trust talent in that the MP3 files are all downloadable and can be played on IPOD’s and other portable devices and so forth. I expect that they may lose some sales from unscrupulous talent who decide to copy and distribute the files to friends. Personally, I find this type of action deplorable and If any talent reading this plan on doing it, I warn you that it will come back to haunt you and in the next lifetime you will be reincarnated as a dung beetle.
I’m not a very “audio learning” centric individual despite my being both an audio producer and a voice talent and I wish that this had been videotaped rather than audio taped. There were numerous references to video materials, pictures, posture of talent, etc. I also wonder what they did to make the recordings because there is significant distortion throughout many of the presentations and in some cases, it was bad enough to make me have to stop listening at rather short intervals and/or risk severe headaches. The other thing I didn’t care for was the use by many of the presenters of terms such as “lucrative” or “bags of money” and so forth. To the presenters who resisted the temptation to dangle the money carrot in front of the crowd’s eyes, I salute you. In fact, I think all voiceover products should carry a warning much like that on a pack of cigarettes; “warning - While this looks like a fun way to make a living, the truth is that most voice actors are broke and constantly have to borrow money and will never be able to pay it back. Attempts to make it in this business will in 98% of all cases be met with such financial embarrassment that you will be forced to change your name and move.” Or some such words to that effect.

So now that I have that out of the way, let’s get on to the meat and potatoes. The speakers had a difficult task. The audience is made up of a few experienced talent, some who think they’re experienced, some who are completely clueless, a few people left over from the Hawaiian Tropic Bathing Suit Competition and accidentally wandered into Voice 2007, some brand new talent and so forth. The audience was international in composition and considering how few absolute truths there are in this business, it can be difficult to stay relevant to such a diverse audience. Many of the speakers managed to keep most everyone engaged. If you are currently a SAG/AFTRA actor with decent representation, who has done this for a few years, you may find as much of 85 – 90% of this basic information. Of course, if you’ve strictly been performing commercial work for a decade, you will probably find the discussions on the gaming industry very interesting. If you tend toward announcer, then you might like hearing some of the discussions regarding “real person sounding” or character work.
So what’s the conclusion? I probably wouldn’t have gone out and bought this product, but having made a commitment to review it, I’m glad I did and was glad I listened. There were a few tricks this old dog thinks he might have picked up. There’s also some basic things that it’s often easy to forget about and it’s nice to be reminded every now and again. I should also mention that I paid a lot more money than $377 to learn many of the things discussed in this program. If I were entering the industry now, I would probably be well served purchasing this program, but the real gift is in listening to it, taking notes and then seeing what other industry professionals say on any given subject. I didn’t necessarily agree with what all of the presenters had to say on everything; and every now and again I was left scratching my head. But voiceover is a lot like the Chinese proverb of the 6 blind men and the elephant. One reached out and touched the elephant’s tail and declared it was a rope; another touched the elephant’s ear and said it was a fan; yet another leaned against the elephant and stated it was a wall, and so on.
Nobody has or has had the same experience climbing the v.o. ladder. There are so many ways one can approach their craft and a limitless source of information. As with anything, a little caveat emptor will go a long way. Most of the presenters have their own personal doctrine and have books, workshops and other items they sell. There are also lots of people out there who offer services to v.o. talent who were not present at the Voice 2007 program. Keep a frim grasp on the n ow and a fimer grasp on your wallet and realize that this business is a business. It’s ok to have fun, but remember that a business has certain requirements.

The program features talks from Rodney Saulsbury, Connie Terwilliger, Frank Frederick, Chris Wagner, James Auburger, Penny Abshire, Gregory Best, Bettye Zoller, MJ Lallo, DB cooper, Linda Weinrib and a special guest presentation by Don LaFontaine, AFTRA and a very interesting couple of panel discussions which include some talent agents and others.
I don’t know all of the people speaking personally. Some by reputation and some are newer names to me. Here’s a brief rundown on what I thought of some of the individual presentations. MJ Lallo performed voices for me on Mattel’s Mother Gooses Farm (Interactive Educational Program) back in 1996. I was Seniro Audio Producer and it wona ton of awards. I thought she was brilliant back then and she’s only gotten better. Connie Terwilliger ran down a lot of the opportunities and gave a nice overview of the industry. I’ve read James Auberger’s book and had some familiarity with him. He and his partner Penny had some interesting and important things to say that would appeal to a wide variety of voice actors. Don LaFontaine teaches us that even a king must occasionally defend his crown. DB Cooper and Pat Fraley have been speaking at the Game Developers Conferences. Chris Wagner actually offered some pretty interesting information regarding web sites and web marketing. Frank Frederick seems to be a super nice guy and should get some props for just putting up with me chiding him.
I look forward to listening to some of the other presenters and I’m happy to answer some specific questions where it makes sense. I’ll make it a point to drop back in and give some updates as I have them