Step Up To The Mic

The first step to sharing your positive attitude is to be professional: arrive on time, know what’s expected of you, listen to direction, make every take a great take, and don’t complain or make excuses.

The second step is to be a team player. Treat the participants in a session like a baseball team, with each individual having a specific responsibility. The actor, engineer, and director have an area that they are in charge of. Problems occur when an individual steps outside of his or her area. Let’s explore a common situation where voice-over artists get frustrated—even though they shouldn’t.

Back

That Wasn’t My Best Take!

How do you deal with hearing the final product of a voice-over session and realizing that—in your opinion—the client didn’t use your best work? The answer is simple.

Yes, you have power. You are important. You are the talent. You have a lot of knowledge. You are creative. You are unique because no one does it quite like you. But remember, you were hired for a job. You work for hire. The client thought the take he chose was the best one—so you have to let it go. That was the best take.

Your opinion doesn’t matter or count—unless the client asks for it.

Actually, I’m happiest when they don’t ask for my opinion—because it means the clients know what they want. My job is to give them what they want, and let them give the final answer as to whether or not it’s good. So, it all goes back to “if they like it, leave.” When the client decides you’re done, you’re done.

Back

Contributing Ideas

Sometimes a director or client will indicate that he or she wants you to contribute your ideas and comments. It feels like a loose and collaborative project. However, if the session is tense, if there is a tight dead-line, or if the director is telling you exactly what to do on every take, chances are you should save your input for another day.

Loose and collaborative clients like creative people. That’s why they have you there. They like improvisation. They expect you to be improvisational, they expect you to be creative, and they expect you to be knowledgeable about what you’ve been hired for.

Working within the framework of team concept makes the collaborative process much easier. You don’t have to step out of your area unless you are asked to.

Back

Giving One Hundred and Ten Percent

Some voice-over actors worry about being exploited if they offer to do extra work, like suggesting new copy or giving ideas for different ways to play characters. It’s true, some people in the business will take every thing you offer without so much as a thank you.

I don’t offer anything I don’t want to provide. If I have an idea and I’m willing to do the work that goes with it, I’ll offer the idea. The other aspect of my positive approach is that I keep in mind the final product is me. In other words, the better the session goes, the better I sound in the final product.

When you’re in a situation where extra work is called for, remember that it’s you who is shining, it’s you who is putting good karma in the universe, and it’s you who is going to get another job from the employer because they know your work ethic. They know the extent of your contributions and how much you enhanced the final product. Or, perhaps, some other employer will hear your voice on that spot, and hire you because they thought it was great.

Make the extra work okay by remembering the final product is you.

Your positive attitude is : “They’ve asked me to do a little more than I’m being paid for, but I’m interested in the overall outcome of the project. I will make this contribution. I can do this out of the goodness of my heart and because of a positive attitude I have. In the end, I’m going to benefit from these gifts that I’ve laid on them. People are going to give gifts to me.”

When you give, it comes back.

If you shine in a session by going above and beyond what’s expected of you, you make yourself more desirable in the future. The word’s out—you’re a team player!