Hi. I'm Dave. I'm a VO addict.

[David Love]

"Hey David,

Thanks for jumping in the water with your demo.

Would you mind posting in the "Welcome/Intro" area and letting us know a bit about your experience, background and goals?

It's much easier to critique a demo if we know a bit more about you ;-)

Cheers,
Joe J Thomas"

Alrighty then…

Hi! I’m Dave from Toronto!

I am acting on developing the burgeoning VO talent I have had since grade school. I am a professional musician with over 30 years’ experience in live performance, lyric interpretation, improvisation, following direction, television, and recording. (Where does that skill set come in handy?)

I have had my VO ability critiqued by Todd Schick, a great Canadian VO pro who is currently the national imaging voice for the Global Television Network (who told me to get a demo done immediately!), have had private coaching from Mike Kirby, a 12-time Clio award winner who is currently the national imaging voice for HGTV, and have attended a workshop given by Deb Munro, another great Canadian VO pro.

I have assembled a home studio with a –65 db noise floor and I have done over 150 auditions to date on the two big VO sites.

I’m a beginner but a quick study and I am eager to learn from the VO pros out there.

And I know Jodi Krangle.

How’s that?

[Michael Murphy]

Welcome! I am new to the business as well. Good luck hope all goes well for you. Now comes the hard part I've been told) Promoting yourself and keep learning the biz.








Mike

[JoeActor]

Hi David!

Thanks for posting that... and Welcome!

Sounds like you've got a lot of good skills for VO (music, stage, engineering... nice).
The coaching and classes are a great way to get feedback.
Acting and Improv are great for honing in on characters and conversational reads - just wondering if you've got some of that hidden in your background?
And I'm definitely jealous of your -65Db noise floor (mine's around -55).

Glad you're on the forum, and hope to hear lots more - cheers,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com

[alexrain]

Hey David! Welcome to the fun house!!

Alex Rain

[Diane Havens]

Hello, David --

I LOVE your name. And gotta love a guy with that kind of sound floor -- man!! Welcome!

[Jodi Krangle]

Hey there, Dave! Glad to see your introduction. I actually rate a mention. I'm honored.

How did you find your session with Mike Kirby, by the way? That was something I'd been thinking about doing ... but I'd been told there wasn't much actual mic time involved. Of course, that was probably one of the group sessions rather than a private session. And did you get Todd to assess your ability before or after the workshop? Just curious. I definitely think you have the pipes - and he's right. You need a demo asap!

[David Love]

Originally Posted by Jodi Krangle

Hey there, Dave! Glad to see your introduction. I actually rate a mention. I'm honored.

How did you find your session with Mike Kirby, by the way? That was something I'd been thinking about doing ... but I'd been told there wasn't much actual mic time involved. Of course, that was probably one of the group sessions rather than a private session. And did you get Todd to assess your ability before or after the workshop? Just curious. I definitely think you have the pipes - and he's right. You need a demo asap!

I had a number of private coaching sessions with Mike at CS Studios on Queen St. in Toronto. It was ALL on mic. He made me read and read and read. I had my critique with Todd in March of this year. I'm probably going to get another demo done and edit some of the good stuff in from the current demo. In comparison to what's out there, my demo sounds a little sleepy I'm afraid.

[Jodi Krangle]

That sounds fantastic, David. Did you like the studio? (You've probably been in quite a few of them, so I thought it was worth asking.) How was Mike's instruction different from Debbie's, do you think?

[David Love]

I've been fortunate to record in some nice studios over the years: Sounds Interchange, Phase One, Candy Sound, and Metalworks in Toronto, The Armoury in Vancouver, and Blue Moon in Agoura Hills, California.

I meant MCS Studios (MCS Recording Studios - Toronto Voice Over Studio) It is the premiere commercial VO studio in the city. Very nice facilities. They had the ubiquitous Neumann U-87 but I found their vocal booth very live and reverberant for some reason.

Mike's instruction was more technical (breathing, elision, enunciation etc.) while Debbie tended to focus more on acting chops and interpretation. Both were money very well spent.

[Jodi Krangle]

I'm glad it worked out for you, Dave. And of course, the chance to try out other recording facilities is always a plus.