those darn backless gowns.....

[misschessplayer]

hi all: newbie misschessplayer here...can a person specialize in medical voice-overs? any suggestions how to pursue?

thanks
mcp

[Mike Sommer]

Certainly, many people specialize, but the most diversified have a better chance of making a living in VO.

What is your background? Tells us about yourself.

[misschessplayer]

well, i almost got cold feet after reading scott pollak's thread 'random thoughts for newbies' but i am determined to forge ahead in VO.....just got first microphone and headphones and seem to be able to say dacryocystorhinostomy with a bit of flair....also am in process of figuring out 'audacity' download...many years in medical field as analyst

[Mike Sommer]

Well you need to be able to deliver that kind of copy with confidence, and with assurance in your confidence.

Kind of like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtuqjFf7-N4

[Paul Plack]

...can a person specialize in medical voice-overs?

Well, sure...you can be a specialist, but that means your clients will need to be referred by their primary care VO provider, or costs may not be covered by their VOMO.

Being uncharacteristically serious for a moment, even if you feel uniquely qualified in that area, you might want to branch out to at least embrace other technical fields. Being too concentrated on a niche can get boring, to the point you may fight the tendency to actually sound bored.

I spent a year once doing nothing but VO for chemical industry safety training films. I'll avoid getting that specialized again. It stopped being fun pretty quickly.

[Scott Pollak]

A v/o can specialize in pretty much whatever they want, but my question would be "why?". Okay, it's a given that maybe you enjoy a certain profession, such as medical, or your voice style fits it well, and certainly pursue where your voice is the best fit. But to focus on one profession to the extent that you're missing potential jobs elsewhere seems suicidal, ESPECIALLY in today's economy.

I've done w LOT of e-learning narration over the years. I'd guess quite literally over a thousand hours of it. For a number of years it was quite steady and paid well. Now it's dried up. Thank goodness I didn't focus on it to the extent of not pursuing other v/o work or else I'd have been screwed. Remember the adage about putting all your eggs in one basket.

In 1990 I moved to Atlanta and took a huge career risk by taking a 50% pay cut (after quitting my corporate job with BellSouth) to join forces with an audio-visual producer here who seemed to be doing well. Problem was, he had really only one really BIG client, BASF. He had some others, but BASF provided about 80% or more of our income. When the recession of '91 hit, it took their business and ours with it. I was out the door and job-hunting.

A slight digression, but you get my point.

[misschessplayer]

holy *@$! i want my own retro encabulator now.....wonderful, thanks for that....can you comment on the 'Such A Voice' training program for beginners? i passed their first evaluation and they said i had potential, but they may have also told that to the pirate who was smoking a cigar with a parrot on his shoulder who was sitting next to me in the class....

[shenecke]

I have first hand experience and would not recommend them. I would instead check into two local schools in the SF area that come highly recommended.


See this old post: http://www.voice-overs.com/forum/general-voice-over-chit-chat/2707-circus-town-again.html?highlight=circus+town




holy *@$! i want my own retro encabulator now.....wonderful, thanks for that....can you comment on the 'Such A Voice' training program for beginners? i passed their first evaluation and they said i had potential, but they may have also told that to the pirate who was smoking a cigar with a parrot on his shoulder who was sitting next to me in the class....

[misschessplayer]

that sounds just like the circus who came through our town.....i am glad to know that their price for a demo may be a bit...ur..high, but now i don't know if anything they said was true....will persevere

[Pat Sweeney]

Welcome Misschessplayer to the forum. I have worked in the pharmaceutical/medical supply industry for 20+ years and am trying to establish myself in this industry as well. I concur with what everyone states above, they're bang on. You need to diversify to make yourself as marketable as possible to prepare for the unknown future. My recommendation would be to get the proper training first and then to get your start in VO maybe start with medical narration as a springboard, leverage any and all relationships that you may have in this field, but at the same time diversify so that you can penetrate other sectors of the VO industry.

[kiwiborn]

Welcome Misschessplayer to the forum. I have worked in the pharmaceutical/medical supply industry for 20+ years and am trying to establish myself in this industry as well. I concur with what everyone states above, they're bang on. You need to diversify to make yourself as marketable as possible to prepare for the unknown future. My recommendation would be to get the proper training first and then to get your start in VO maybe start with medical narration as a springboard, leverage any and all relationships that you may have in this field, but at the same time diversify so that you can penetrate other sectors of the VO industry.
Yes, I agree with you. I was a nurse for 30 years, doing vo on the side, so I am well qualified for medical voicework, however, it would get very boring and stale doing the same sort of thing over and over again. Much better as you say, to diversify.

[Michael Murphy]

There were some big words in your clip Mike, did it take a few takes?

[Mike Sommer]

That's no me in the video but I have performed that script. I'll need to dig it out.

But it is a mouth full, and one needs to fully understand the script in order to deliver the copy with a knowledgeable
authoritative air.

Most of the stumbling was from trying not to laugh at the ridiculous things being said. I had fits of laughter when I said
florescent skor-motion, and draw reciprocating dingle arm.