For voice actors, talk isn’t cheap

For voice actors, talk isn’t cheap
After training, some use gifts
for advertising work

By SARAH B. WOLFGANG
Gazette Contributing Writer

Voice actors can’t sell a car ny showing it.
They can’t entice a customer to buy a soda by
offering a sip. Standing in a sound booth the
size of a closet, they have only a few pages of
unrehearsed copy and their unique set of pipes
to get the job done. “Do a strawberry and a
lemon taste the same?”
That was the question John Gallogly asked
Susan April and Lisa Caron after hearing them
read copy for a commercial about a new kind
of juice during a workshop last month at
Holyoke Community College. “They don’t, so
each one has to sound different. I want to
believe this is the best fruit drink you’ve ever
had. And smile,” he added. “I want a big
smile. It comes through in your voice when
you’re smiling.”
Gallogly is senior creative director for Voice
Coaches, a professional voice-acting company
based in Upstate New York, which offers
classes in the Pioneer Valley on a regular
basis. The next sessions are at Springfield
Tech on June 12 and Holyoke Community
College, June 16, both at 6:30 p.m.
In a March 4 class at HCC called “Getting Pais
to Talk,” Gallogly immediately put the group
of eight to work. Over the course of a few
hours that evening, he gave an inspiring
primer about voice acting – providing insider
industry tips, discussing pay rates and offering
caveats. “You need passion, belief in yourself
and action. If you want to be a voice talent, be
one,” Gallogly said. “Your biggest
competition is you. Only you will keep you
out of this industry.”

Getting it going
Nearly 15 years ago, Heather Frenz, a 37-yearold
voice actor from Albany, N.Y., started her
career reading on-hold messages. She was
working in an office as a human resources
department secretary when one day she
checked an applicant’s references and a man
she’d called commented that she had a
distinctive voice. Inspired, she looked for ans
found a job. Then she signed up for an
introductory voice-acting class taught by
Voice Coaches.
She was hooked. Frenz said she liked the
realistic, balanced approach to the industry
presented by David Bourgeois, the president
and creative director of Voice Coaches. In
fact, shortly after taking the class she went on
to train with his team at the main studio in
Schenectady, N.Y. “They are very
professional,” she said. “They train you in not
only how to use your voice more effectively,
but how to create a demo and market
yourself.”
Since then, Frenz has lent her vocals to a
variety of narrative and commercial projects.
In one recent week, she recorded radio and TV
commercials for a car dealership and a clip on
a Web site for a laundry detergent company.
“I still keep a part-time job,” she said. “And it
varies how much I make doing voice-overs,
depending on how saturated my voice gets out
there. But I make good money, and I’ve had
work consistently for the past eight years.”
A training group regularly holds
workshops in the Valley for people
who want to turn their vocal
talents into income. A program
will be held April 17 at Springfield
Technical Community College.
For more than 25 years, Bourgeois, 42, has
worked in professional music and audio
production. He started out as a musician
during his teen years, playing his own material
and recording on other musicians’ albums, and
eventually transitioned to the production end.
Since 1990, he has promoted conversationalreading
training methods. Gone are yhe days
where only guys with announcer-like deep
voices can get jobs, he said. Now the industry
has changed. The definition of an appealing
voice has become both male and female, and
one that’s intimate, authentic and natural.
He created Voice Coaches based on his
experience with voice talent that didn’t quite
know how to operate in the vocal booth. He
saw a need for one-on-one training to improve
professionalism and marketing. “There’s a
flawed mentality – gotta make a demo first,”
Bourgeois said. “But the first step is
education, not a demo. I know if I look across
a half million dollars worth of equipment
whenever I have a professional or not. I’ve
seen people who have made a great demo and
then can’t deliver.”
While Gallogly and Bourgeois recommend
education before making a demo, Gallogly
said they listen to all of the material they
receive, whatever the quality. “The maximum
length is a minute and 30 seconds,” Gallogly
said. “You’ve lost a listener after that. The
tracks can be diverse only if you are, but not if
your not. Do what you do best and that’s it.”
To create a demo, Gallogly stressed the
importance of using license-free copy and
recording on equipment that produces a
network-quality product. Two tracks – about
one minute to a minute and a half for several
commercial clips and the same for narration –
are all that are needed on a CD. Narrative
clips need to be longer and fewer. “There are
two types of voice work: commercial and
narration. Ten percent of the field in
commercial,” Gallogly said. “My advice is
don’t put 100 percent into commercial, or
you’ll fail.”
One problem. Anybody who can read aloud
wants to do voice-overs, especially when
money is discussed. For a 30-60 second spot,
a beginner may make between $150 and $350,
Gallogly said. A seasoned pro makes
approximately $300 for 15 minutes.
After completing training and putting together
a demo, the next step is getting hired.
Gallogly said one way to start is to call a
company and ask to talk to their audio visual,
or AV, department. If a company has one,
chances are they do their commercials and
training materials on site. Frenz advised
newcomers simply to type in “production
companies” or “voice-overs” into Google or
read reputable trade magazines for job
postings. “And for me what’s also worked
well is talking to people locally – networking,”
she said.
Another way to get clients to notice you,
Bourgeois said, is to create an online profile at
www.voices.com. That way, people can
showcase their skills and clients can review
them – without going through an agent. David
Ciccarelli, 29, hatched the idea for the Web
sire in 2003 with his wife, Stephanie, and
launched it in 2004. It now posts 50,000
online profiles. In 2006, the Business
Development Bank of Canada nominated the
Ciccarelli’s for the Young Entrepreneur
Award.
The next “Getting Paid to Talk: session will be
held April 17 at Springfield Technical
Community College. People can sign up
through Mary Breeding in the Continuing
Education department at STCC by calling
(413) 755-4501.