SaVoa will launch soon, is it right for you?

[EdGambill]

This may be of interest to those who are not represented by an agent

For some time I have been working on an accreditation service for Voice Over Artists. The name of this new service is SaVoa. Society of Accredited Voice Over Artists.

The goal is to provide seekers and others with a means to determine who among the many voice artists on the internet are superior in several way that are meaningful to the seeker. It is difficult to set any arbitrary scale for voice quality because the person doing the hiring is the final judge of what voice quality is acceptable to them for the job they have at hand

SaVoa will delineate voice talent in this manner;

1)The talent will have practical experience in the voice over industry. This prior experience mean that the seeker does not have a raw recruit to work with, but a seasoned professional
2) The talent will have a space at their ready disposal in which to record audio. The space will be conditioned to reduce unwanted artifacts and to have minimal background noise bleed.
3) The talent will have the minimum equipment and software to record audio that meets the standards of broadest radio and/or television. Likewise the software will be able to convert sound files in to a form suitable for delivery to the seeker
4) The talent will have sufficient understanding of the equipment they are using to provide audio recording services in a timely manner.

To establish this accreditation service will require that VO artist submit information about their VO background as follows;
1) A resume of past experience
2) A list of equipment uses and most likely a photo or two of the space
3) A demo read of material furnished to the VO artist. This read will be evaluated by an acoustical lab to determine the quality of the audio
4) The Demo read will help establish the proficiency of the VO artist with their equipment.

There will be a modest fee for initial accreditation and a yearly renewal fee. From time to time samples of the work for member VO artist will be evaluated to insure that the audio quality remains acceptable.

I have been actively working on finding goods and services that SaVoa can offer to members at discounted prices as and added value to this service. I will tell you that I asked one software manufacture for a discount to membership and was told that if and when we had 15 or more to buy at one time there could be a discount. To preserve the MSRP of any potential vendor, I will not be able to say who or what SaVoa is working on in a public forum, but will gladly divulge info to member of SaVoa

Another desire is to develop a code of business practices for members to subscribe to and likewise a code of business conduct for seekers to live by. One issue that non union VO artist has is with non-payment of fees. I have already had conversations with an attorney that practices collections and he is willing to help SaVoa with meaningful advice to help members.

It is time for this kind of accreditation and I think that SaVoa can be the vehicle that affords professional voice talent a higher degreed of stature in the vast voice over community.

I have had some conversation with forum members on this topic and some item are still in development. But know that a lot of thought has gone into SaVoa to this point. Some on the forum may know a bit about my background but for those of you that don’t this is it in short form;
I attended Naval Electronic school, this give me my technical background
I worked as a studio engineer in Broadcast TV
I worked as a on-air announcer in Radio and sold, wrote and produced radio advertising
I owned a cable advertising company and managed the production of local TV spot for our systems
I worked for many years for AT&T in quality assurance and document auditing
I taught production sound for film and TV at a local college
I have freelances as Film and TV camera man, and locaton sound mixer
I am Free Mason, a certified Toastmaster,
I have preformed on stage in severial plays.
I am married to my best friend Katherine
And most of all I am a proud father of two beautiful girls and one supper grandson
My favorite quote by Anton Chekhov comes from “The Boor” a play I did many times “ If there be equity at all let there be equity in all things” Its a motto I try to live by.

SaVoa will not be like Equity, or Sag or Aftra, it will be more akin to a guild. I want to launch it next Thursday. Our web site is reserves www.savoa.org and if any one is interested send me an e-mail to info@savoa.org

[Scoot]

This may be of interest to those who are not represented by an agent

For some time I have been working on an accreditation service for Voice Over Artists. The name of this new service is SaVoa. Society of Accredited Voice Over Artists.

I like this concept right from the get go. Do keep us posted...

[ScottLarson]

Keep me posted please on cost for this inclusion. I don't have a lot of money, in fact I have none. But I would like representation of some sort if it will get some gigs in my email box.
:lol:

Thanks for the info

Scott

[Julie Williams]

This is food for thought.
But is it really needed? I thought that we were pretty much judged on our auditions. I've never been asked if I was accredited in any way.

I will look at your web site, but I'm swamped trying to leave town tomorrow so it probalby wont' be till next week. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

[JBarrett]

I'm also not sure that accreditation is needed in this industry. I actually see it being somewhat similar to the industry I'm currently in, which is animation.

When someone wants to become an animator, they train in any number of ways, and then produce a demo reel. That reel shows what they're actually capable of producing, and is used in the initial submission to a studio when seeking employment. If the reel is suitably impressive, the candidate is invited in for an interview. On rare occasions a candidate will be asked to "audition" by animating a test piece, but generally the reel is the main judging factor. It makes no difference where (or if) the candidate went to school, or if they're accredited with any outside organization. The reel is king. If the candidate isn't capable of doing the work, it will quickly become known. Because the animation industry is fairly small, the word will spread like wildfire, and it will become very difficult for that person to find work.

From what I've seen so far, the voiceover industry operates along very similar lines. People train, produce a reel, and use that reel (along with auditions, as Julie stated) to seek work. Because the voiceover industry is similarly small, the word will spread if someone can't actually perform sufficiently to match the quality on the reel, or if they have a slow turnaround, or poor sound quality, or whatever.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see how accreditation will impact a person's potential for getting a job. When someone submits an audition or reel for consideration on a project, the director/producer is already checking for audio quality. If they like the voice, and the delivery is spot-on, but the audio quality is sub-par, chances are they won't hire them. I would venture to say that agents are making similar audio quality checks as a part of asking the typical "Do I think this person will bring money to the agency" question.

The list of factors to establish accreditation also mentions "a resume of past experience." Again, this is something already being taken into account by directors/producers when they go seeking voices for their project...maybe. Yes, prior experience is often desired, but if a greenie has a quality reel/audition and the right voice for a project, my gut tells me that there are plenty of folks who would give them a shot. As an animator, I was given my first job based strictly on my reel and a couple audition/test pieces. They didn't care that I had no prior experience as an animator. Come to think of it, my first voice job came when the lady who I was talking with regarding a 3D modeler position stumbled upon a cheap voice demo I'd thrown up on my web site, and invited me to audition. She didn't seem to care that I had no prior experience, or if my homemade demo wasn't super-high quality. They held auditions in one of the conference rooms in their office, I got a part, and they arranged the recording session at a local studio.

I guess the ultimate question is this: What would accreditation do for a voiceover artist (or voice seeker) that isn't already being done? If nothing new is being done, would the proposed accreditation offer a sufficiently significant improvement over the current system to warrant a) the added expense on the part of the voiceover artist to obtain the accreditation, and b) the added effort on the part of the voice seeker to establish whether or not an artist has such accreditation? And if the whole idea behind it is to simply provide a mark of who's a "pro" and who isn't, then is it really fair to the newbie who just might have the sound and the skill that someone wants, but who can't be accredited without prior experience?

Both animators and voice artists have been getting by just fine with demo reels and auditions for many, many years. If a proposal has been made to accredit animators, it has yet to be implemented, and I personally don't see any need to have it for voiceover artists, either.

[EdGambill]

JB let me put this in a succinct way.

SaVoa is definitely not for you! I can’t see from your web site that you are a VO artist if you are. Sorry you spent so much time on it.

Julie you most likely don't need it either. :D

But that is the beauty of it, for some there will be benefit for others none. Each person will make that determination.

[JBarrett]

Thanks for the reply, Ed. As for my site, the one linked from here is for my current animation career. I haven't yet assembled a VO site, but it's coming. I do consider myself a voiceover artist, though, and while I haven't done a ton of VO jobs, there have been some. It's all been focused in character voices so far, and there's just not enough material to assemble a demo yet or build a site to showcase the work. I'm currently taking some coaching to prepare a commercial demo, and hope to expand into other areas as well.

I hope my message didn't come off too aggressive or negative. If so, I apologize. I just can't quite see how SaVoa will bring something significantly new or different to the way voiceover artists are cast for jobs. When it's boiled down, the only things spelled out by your initial post on the subject are:
that the goal is to provide a way for people to identify superior voice talent
the criteria used to identify superior talent
the process by which an artist becomes accredited
What it doesn't indicate are the specific benefits of being accredited, or how accreditation is an improvement over current methods used to identify superior talent. In other words, it tells a lot about what SaVoa is intended to be, but not much about who exactly would benefit most from joining, why people should join, why the current system isn't sufficient, etc.

Along that line, look again at Julie's response. She didn't say, "I don't think it's for me." She said, "Is it really needed?" In other words, she's not just questioning the effectiveness of the system for herself. She's thinking about its effectiveness for the VO community as a whole, and I feel it's very valid question to answer. Does the voiceover industry need something like SaVoa? And if so, why? I totally understand if you choose not to put much weight in what I'm saying considering how little VO experience I have. However, Julie was the first to voice this concern, and coming from a VO professional like her, that question is something to seriously consider.

Please understand that I'm not trying to blindly tear down what you've developed. If there is potential for SaVoa to truly benefit the voiceover community in a big way, I would be thrilled to support/promote it in any way I can. However, if there are possible holes in the plan, I want to help you find them so they can be addressed. Right now the "why" of the plan feels to me like a rather big hole, and I would hate to see you invest a lot of time, effort, and money in something like this only to have it not blossom as fully as you hope it will because possible holes like this weren't sufficiently addressed.

[David Oxford]

JB let me put this in a succinct way.

SaVoa is definitely not for you! I can’t see from your web site that you are a VO artist if you are. Sorry you spent so much time on it.

Julie you most likely don't need it either. :D

But that is the beauty of it, for some there will be benefit for others none. Each person will make that determination.


Ed:

Greetings! (My first post at this forum!) I do think this is a marvelous idea...and to further bring some illumination in response to JBarrett's reply, I would simply say this:

if I've read it once, I've read it a thousand times about how voice seekers, upon posting a lead on one of the online casting sites (pick your poison) get flooded with almost NO auditions they can even consider and that MOST of them are crap. It seems that every other Tom, Dick & Harry out there is saying to himself/herself: "Wow, a job where I can just stay home and not have to 'work?' Just buy some cheap stuff at Radio Shack and I'm poised to be a millionaire, right?!?!?!?

If no other example does it, this one alone should be enough to consider the need for some kind of REAL accreditation program - one that carries some weight in the industry. For that reason, I feel it would be important that as many of the industry pros as you can recruit as members, the more credibility it will have, not only with voice seekers (who might wish to weed out those who are truly less qualified) but with new people looking to join the VO community.....in that it will raise the bar of expectation and professionalism to a height to which they must aspire, if they are to join the ranks of the other pros who are seeking and landing work for credible companies/agencies/production houses, etc.

Would you say this points in the right direction, Ed?

Best regards,
David

[EdGambill]

David you are on target. With the simplest of evaluation it will be possible to ascertain who among us has taken the time and effort to build a system capable of Broadcast Quality work and can deliver it correctly. The technical aspect of audio quality and delivery are fairly easy to put in place.

I believe that a professional producer would be pleased to know that when they cast a talent that is a SaVoa member that they, the producer, is more assured of getting what was repsented on the audition. Also by seeking out SaVoa members a producer can have the assurance that when they open an audition that it will be at Broadcast Quality and representative of the talents work.

JB give it time and you may see the value. It will take time to get it working and working correctly. As for Julie she and several voice over artist will not have any need for SaVoa, because there body of work is so large already. Now you on the other hand, could use SaVoa as a means of setting your self apart from others who are not as serious about the craft and who haven’t taken to time to invest in the proper equipment and space. I have about 15K invested in microphones alone. I have to build a quite box for my computer to bring my space into compliance with the standards that SaVoa will expect for a member.

The goal for SaVoa is to have in place a panel of well qualified voice over artist to help with those things that need attending to that are important to VO artist. Then the panel will bring important issue to the membership for a vote to accept or reject those things that may be of value to you and others. One way that SaVoa will attempt to help members is recovery of unpaid fees when possible. SaVoa will attempt to set standards for business between members and producers. SaVoa will seek out vendors of good and services that are useful to VO artist that can be discounted to members. In truth the potential for discounts will be proportional to the number of members. With large membership comes large respect from the business community at large.

Because SaVoa is not a union, it will not set rates of pay; each member will remain independent and determine the compensation they need for work.

But again no one should seek accreditation if they don't see the value to themselves. SaVoa will not appeal to egos or promote smoke and mirrors.

I hope this helps clarify thing better. JB let us hear a demo soon.
Ed

[David Oxford]

David you are on target. With the simplest of evaluation it will be possible to ascertain who among us has taken the time and effort to build a system capable of Broadcast Quality work and can deliver it correctly. The technical aspect of audio quality and delivery are fairly easy to put in place.

I believe that a professional producer would be pleased to know that when they cast a talent that is a SaVoa member that they, the producer, is more assured of getting what was repsented on the audition. Also by seeking out SaVoa members a producer can have the assurance that when they open an audition that it will be at Broadcast Quality and representative of the talents work.

JB give it time and you may see the value. It will take time to get it working and working correctly. As for Julie she and several voice over artist will not have any need for SaVoa, because there body of work is so large already. Now you on the other hand, could use SaVoa as a means of setting your self apart from others who are not as serious about the craft and who haven’t taken to time to invest in the proper equipment and space. I have about 15K invested in microphones alone. I have to build a quite box for my computer to bring my space into compliance with the standards that SaVoa will expect for a member.

The goal for SaVoa is to have in place a panel of well qualified voice over artist to help with those things that need attending to that are important to VO artist. Then the panel will bring important issue to the membership for a vote to accept or reject those things that may be of value to you and others. One way that SaVoa will attempt to help members is recovery of unpaid fees when possible. SaVoa will attempt to set standards for business between members and producers. SaVoa will seek out vendors of good and services that are useful to VO artist that can be discounted to members. In truth the potential for discounts will be proportional to the number of members. With large membership comes large respect from the business community at large.

Because SaVoa is not a union, it will not set rates of pay; each member will remain independent and determine the compensation they need for work.

But again no one should seek accreditation if they don't see the value to themselves. SaVoa will not appeal to egos or promote smoke and mirrors.

I hope this helps clarify thing better. JB let us hear a demo soon.
Ed


Very interesting, Ed. It's apparent you've invested exceptional amounts of time and grey matter on this idea!

Would you not agree, however, that the TECHNICAL aspect is only one of the criteria that such a community should uphold? I would also think that the MOST important factor is a VO's ability to provide a reasonable-quality read/interpretation of various kinds of copy - or maybe even ONE "genre" (for lack of a better term) of copy, i.e. if their expertise/interest lies more within the commercial aspect, then they would be 'qualified' to do various commercial scripts; if they feel they are more suited for/interested in narration, then they should be able to provide a voice seeker with a reasonable representation of a narrative demo.

Or maybe, my examples are too specific - or this area of criteria too subjective. My point is: even a person who could TECHNICALLY meet a certain standard (i.e. has the money to afford nice equipment and has a quiet room, etc.) might not be able to actually READ very well (a very broad definition here.) I'm just thinking that a VO's membership in this type of organization would confirm to all potential voice seekers that they meet some sort of professional standard in ALL areas that would assure the potential employer that this group of talents are truly "up" for the task.

Another .03 from me. What's that? A nickel today already?
David
:)

[Jon Morss]

Out of curiosity, since SAOVA has been around for a few months now, are there any stats that show or depict an actual booking benefit for those who are SAVOA certified? The little shield on a signature looks snazzy and all and there are some very talented folks in the VO business that are members now, but from a client's perspective, not from a talent perspective, are VO Actors that have SAVOA given any special consideration when someone is looking for a VO talent? Do the majority of clients even know what this shield signifies? Or, could it be something that discourages them since it could give the impression that a VO talent that is SAVOA certified will ask for more money? The certification looks interesting and I commend the folks involved with SAVOA, but I would be more interested in knowing what clients think of the whole deal.

Again, just a curiosity.


One thing that I would like to point out, to me the response from Ed to JB seems a bit harsh.

Ed wrote:
"JB let me put this in a succinct way.

SaVoa is definitely not for you! I can’t see from your web site that you are a VO artist if you are. Sorry you spent so much time on it."

To me I would think that SAVOA would be in the business to encourage folks to become SAVOA certified and not discourage them. If someone is not up to snuff, at least in the eyes of SAVOA, then made it would be best to provide some sort of suggestion on what they could work on to get to an acceptable state. Well, at least that is how I see it.


Jon

[Julie Williams]

Hi Everyone,
Let me add my four cents worth!

At the moment, SaVoa is so new that I doubt it means much to anyone... clients may not be impressed by it yet... but it is still a baby. It has the potential to grow into something that means something to industry professionals. An organization is only as good as its members. As SaVoa continues to recruit quality VO talent it's very likely that the SaVoa seal will be more meaningful. I joined because I believe the concept has merit. In time, this could grow into an incredible quality accredidation that will mean something to others in the industry. It may not be well known now... but in time, who knows? They're definitely on the right track! They've got Larry Wayne...Bobbin Beam...and many other great talent in their organization!

Meantime, if the $75 (I think) membership fee is a deterrent, then you shouldn't apply... Organizations do have expenses, so a dues is reasonable. But if you're not already working in the industry to the point where you can afford that... then I would recommend that you wait... spend your money on training...and spend your time on practice.

For newbies... you CAN do VO... but you should focus more on technique and marketing yourself, rather than getting accredidation... You can always do that later. When it comes to working in VO... at the end of the day, it's your skill/talent that determines your success... not what organization accredits you.

A SaVoa seal doesn't say you're right for any specific job. It does say you've been investigated... and you are a VO professional who is able to deliver on your promises to clients.

But once you're working regularly in the biz, then why not support an organization that is trying to better our industry as a whole?

[DWallace]

Having worked in other industries, non related to VO, each of them have associations that tells the consumer that "this company or person" is a cut above because of following the standards set by the association.

I worked in plywood for many years. The American Plywood Association was the organization that set the standards for the industry . If a company would lose the APA stamp it would be devastating to the company.

SAVOA, if I understand it, is much like an APA or another industry association that sets standards. Having the SAVOA stamp on your name or company would tell a voice seeker that the voice actor or production company meets his/her standards automatically.

JB brings up a good point though. Is SAVOA set standards for technical? Or is there going to be standards for creativity as well? One can have an amazing recording facility but can't deliver copy. One can have a gorgeous voice but can't get away from being an announcer. Is there going to be sets of standards for this most important part of Voice-Over... Acting?

I think that the idea of SAVOA is great. I would aspire to those standards. I don't have tens of thousands of $ invested in gear but, can put some nice tracks together with my Studio Projects Mic, and mic pre. Presonus Firebox, Mac. Mini and Garage Band Software. Where to record is my challenge.

Thank you for allowing my 2ç

[EdGambill]

Julie

I like you explanation, can I borrow it.

There are two things I know about one is Plywood and the other is SaVoa. I tell folks that as the son of a carpenter, that although I do VO, Audio, Video and Web Sites, I am still a Carpenter.

To Jon, SaVoa wants members that see the potential. My reply was to someone who asked a pointed question about the value of SaVoa. I looked at his website to learn more about what VO actives he was concerned with. I didn’t see anything that made me thing he was active in VO. That is why I told him I didn’t see any need for him to apply.

What you read next will sound harsh on the first read but there is a reason for it. SaVoa will never ask any person to join SaVoa. SaVoa as an organization will from time to time have to reject folks that apply. SaVoa does not really want to do that. Each person making application should consider their abilities as a VO talent and after sober thought make an application. SaVoa willing accepts all applications made to it and subject them to a peer review panel comprised of SaVoa members. Additionally know that as the Chair of SaVoa, I asked and the board agreed that I never will sit on any peer review panel. Also know that my accreditation demo was sent out anonymously, as is every demo, and I passed peer review by a panel who did not know it was me. The remainder of the board will also be going thought the same process shortly.

DW you are so right, regarding the comfort factor that comes from the APA stamp on a sheet of plywood. In time, the comfort that come from hiring a SaVoa member will be an important factor for many good producers.

Just like plywood the strength that SaVoa wants to work toward, comes from the ply structure. The best analogy I can come up with is that the VO artist/members are the ply and SaVoa will be the glue to bind us together. Also like plywood the quality of the inter ply and how its orientated is crucial to SaVoa’s strength.

Because ever VO artist is different from one and other and because the audition process is and will remain the final selection process, our peer review has to take into consideration, and acknowledge that there are different voice styles. We do believe that there are certain abilities and attributes that must be demonstrated for any applicant to be accepted for accreditation.

On the technical issue, we are and will be working with extremely qualified audio engineers to help define normal practices and make them know to our members. Whether they implement them or not is their call to make. Also as we do develop these technical practices we will make them openly know to other so as to share information with the VO community.

Lastly, when I started this thread, I was a committee of one with an idea. It came to me in a moment of clarity that I could not begin to see SaVoa become a reality with out help and advice. I called upon a group of VO professionals that I had come to know by their writing. We may fail at our goal, but it will not be because of the Board of Directors for SaVoa. I truly believe that divine intervention lead me to call on these caring folks who have worked diligently to get SaVoa up and running.


Ed Gambill SaVoa 07000

[Julie Williams]

Ed, You may borrow anything that I wrote about SaVoa.Consider it public domaun.