Lend an Ear to Bob
My friend and fellow voice actor Bob Souer is the narrator of a new series coming out on DVD called Ancient Ways, Future Paths: A History of Christian Worship. Very nice work, Bob.
April 28, 2010
Posted in: General 
No Comments
Moving To Windows 7
Last month I was fortunate enough to be cast as the voice for a web video promoting Dell Computer as a partner for companies making the migration to Windows 7. The producers wanted a tongue-in-cheek retro feel to the narration. Oh my!
Edited to add embed code.
April 28, 2010
Posted in: General, Marketing, Self Promotion No Comments
Grab a Slice Tonight
Friend and fellow Dallas area voice actor John McCalmont goes on camera tonight in the premier of “Sliced” 9pm Central on History Channel. The premise is simple but yields interesting results: take an object and slice it open to see how it works. Golf ball, sure. Armored truck, no problem. Just need a bigger saw.
Read more about it here. See more trailers here. Good for you John! The DVR is set.
April 22, 2010
Posted in: General, Video No Comments
Marketing Your Voice Over Business
Jay Levinson, father of Guerrilla Marketing, emails with some good points the voice actor should always be mindful of:
Marketing is the art of getting people to change their minds – or maintain their mindset if they’re inclined to do business with you already. They either must switch brands or purchase a type of product or service that has never existed before.   That’s asking a lot of them.  Every little thing you do and show and say – not just your advertising or your website – is going to affect people’s perceptions of you.
In other words, in addition to your performance, how you behave and what you say at a session says a lot about you. And remember, you are the product and the brand of your business.
April 19, 2010
Posted in: Branding, Marketing, Self Promotion No Comments
A Voice Over Class to Consider
From yesterday’s email:
We did it once in 2009 and now once again in 2010 — an exciting new voiceover teleseminar series with Harlan Hogan:
STARTING YOUR VOICEOVER BUSINESS: Everything You Need To Know To Turn Your Dream Or Your Sideline Into A Business.
All the details are here:
(If you’re already making a fortune doing fulltime voiceovers, please feel free to pass this along to a deserving friend.)
Thanks,
Harlan & Dan
April 6, 2010
Posted in: Getting Started, Techniques, Training, Workshops No Comments
Big Bowl of Superbowl Ads
Advertising trade publication Ad Age has a big list of this year’s Superbowl spots.
February 8, 2010
Posted in: Advertising, Marketing 2 Comments
In Search of The Next Billy Mays
Tangentially related to voice over, the call has gone out to find a replacement for hyper-pitchman Billy Mays who unexpectedly passed away in 2009. The joke around our house was that when one of Mr. Mays’ TV spots came on, you could hit “mute” on the remote and still hear him.
Trade publication Advertising Age was invited to cover one of the auditions and columnist Larry Dobrow took a crack at the gig as you’ll see in the video.
January 25, 2010
Posted in: Advertising, Auditions, General No Comments
Faux Audition Finalists Fronted
Voice over actor and fun guy Peter O’Connell has announced the finalists for the “just for fun” auditions for the voice of the ABC Evening News with Dianne Sawyer. Visit Peter’s blog and vote for your favorite finalists.
Remember, it’s all just for grins and aside from a little notoriety and maybe some link love, both you and the winner will receive bupkes.
January 22, 2010
Posted in: Auditions, Awards, General One Comment
Goodbye Mr. “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!”
It was (is) a read stitched into the fabric of America’s culture by Jan C. Gabriel of Chicago. Few of us knew his name, but most of us know the sound, the quintessential hard sell, in this case for drag strip racing that happened when? On “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!”
You’ll find a video story of his life here told by Chicago’s Bob Sirott. At the end of the video Jan has a bit of useful advice. No matter what job you have on the stage of life, always do it like “you’re on.”
Don’t miss the irony that Mr. Gabriel died last… Sunday.
January 14, 2010
Posted in: General, Marketing No Comments
Info Session for North Texas Actors
If you are an aspiring voice, stage or on-camera actor in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area there is an informational meeting coming up next Monday that you should consider taking. SAG’s Sheila Cooper emails with the details:
UNION PANEL ROUND Â TABLE
Have  you ever asked what is SAG, AEA, AFTRA or IATSE?  Have you ever thought what does the union do for me?  Have you ever wondered if you should join a union?  Do you have questions that can’t seem to be answered?  If you said yes to any of these questions then you need to attend the UNION PANEL ROUND TABLE event!
WHEN: MONDAY, JANUARY 18TH, 2010
TIME: 7-9 PM (DOORS OPEN AT 6:30PM.)
WHERE: CONTEMPORARY THEATRE OF DALLAS
5601 Sears  Street
Dallas, Texas 75206
www.contemporarytheatreofdallas.comWHO CAN ATTEND: Â Open to the public.
COST: $10 PER PERSON
$5 off to any S.T.A.G.E. Member or current union member.
Equity Membership Candidates get in free. (Please be prepared to provide proof of your EMC status.)There  will also be snack food, door prizes, and a cash bar and discounted S.T.A.G.E. memberships at $30 (regularly $80/year)!
RSVP to stage-online@sbcglobal.net or call 214-630-7722.
January 12, 2010
Posted in: General, Training, Workshops No Comments
