Wherescarl - A Choice Voice

Turn that thing off!

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:01:52 GMT

Well, it's January, late January to be sure but hey it's still January and that means resolutions, as in 'I resolve to...'

Now, before we can get to my resolutions, I need to share some background so you know why my resolutions even matters.

The innocent days of my youth just happened to parallel the explosion of 60's television programming. Growing up in middle class suburbia, my family was comfortable. I don't mean that 'dinner is served' kind of comfortable, but the pull out the TV trays and watch Disney or Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom kind of comfortable. Mom was the mom everyone loved. Dad was strong with a quite wit and life was just peachy.

After all, I was a kid without a care in the world and that glowing magic box brought me cartoons, westerns, super heroes and talking horses. Along with burning bras, Viet Nam, one small step for man, hippies and Woodstock. I had fallen in love and I was too young to know what love was. I imagined my parents were the loving June Cleaver and the stoic and patient Sheriff Andy Taylor. The real ones, although truly great parents never stood a chance in hell of measuring up to TV parents. And thanks to companies like General Mills, Amour Hot Dogs and Winston cigarettes I could be G.I. Joe, Perry Mason and Batman all in one glorious day. It was a golden age to be a kid.

I couldn't wait for Saturday mornings. I'd wake before dawn and twitch impatiently in my bed until I heard my mother rattling around in the kitchen. That was my cue. I'd race into the living room and yank on that big chrome knob. With a clunk that beast would slowly come to life. Crackling and hissing at first like the protests of an awakening giant followed by that low steady hum that made you feel all warm inside. Well, I'd plop myself down on a well worn spot of shag carpet two feet from the screen and stare deep into its big black eye and wait breathlessly. Then slowly out of the hazy came Rocky and Bullwinkle or Captain Kangaroo and I was happy, truly happy.

Now my parents weren't as enamored with this modern marvel as I so they secretly devised cruel schemes designed to painfully separate me from my beloved television. The cruelest of them all? Moms voice from the kitchen saying 'It's a nice day, turn that thing off and go outside and play.' Wham! In the blink of an eye my Super Hero costume turned back into ordinary PJ's and the fantasy was gone. And never mind pretending you didn't hear her. Once those words were spoken they could never be taken back no matter how well I made a case against it. The spell was cast and I was banished at least for the day from TV heaven. Man did I pray for rainy days.

And so my youth slipped quietly by on a diet Corn Flakes, Comedy and Tragedy. Slurp, slurp, crunch, laugh, gasp, it's Simon Bar Sinister, slurp, crunch, laugh, crunch, tall buildings, single bounds, crunch, bang, pow. It's the bat signal! That's all, folks.

Ok, that was long and painful but it was necessary. You see, the TV characters I loved and mimicked in my youth have always flowed like as stream through my adult life and I became the accidental actor. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, acting or more correctly the urge to act, was constantly bubbling just under the surface. And so, in that moment when an SUV struck my car from behind and stole my professional life, I knew that it was time. Time to act or die trying.

Voice Acting was something I'd been wanting to do for a great many years. So like many of you, I started with the basic equipment, a corner of a spare room, the internet and a huge learning curve. Its been just over six months now and my expenses far outweigh my income but hey, there's a strange comfort in knowing that some of the greats used to be starving artists. Chin up, Carl, fame chose you remember?

And now, on to my New Years Resolutions.

Stop hoping and start planning.
Stop trying and start doing.
Stop thinking and start acting.
Stop going it alone and get connected.

I'm putting lots of energy into the first three but this Blog is part of that last resolution. Connecting to other voice pros with a blog sounded crazy when I heard it but I'm told it works, so here it is. Having something relevant to write about is the trick I guess. Well, if nothing else, maybe it'll be funny enough to keep ya coming back.

You should know that these resolutions are resolutions because some really amazing voice professionals freely shared their experience, advice and encouragement with me knowing nothing about me except that I was new to voice acting.

First and foremost is Charleston's own Mark Cardnella. He's amazing and never fails to lift my spirits when things are tough, thanks Mark. Another is Diane Merritt of Merritt Media Productions. Diane's angelic voice is matched only by her business savvy. She's making lots of good things happen in the voice community and will for a very long time I'm sure. Then there's Bob Souer. When Bob speaks, people listen and so did I. With the wisdom and grace of a caring father, he showed me my weaknesses and strengths. And more importantly how to take advantage of both and for that I'm am forever grateful.

Well, this end episode one of the blog Wherescarl - A Choice Voice. Thanks for stopping by.

SHAMELESS PLUG - If you or someone you know needs a voice for their advertising, web site, voice mail system, movie trailer or just about anything thing else, let me know!

Published by Carl Hedgepeth / Expresso Productions Charleston, South Carolina
Copy write 2008. Distribution by permission only.

wherescarl@hotmail.com
www.voice123.com/carlhedgepeth

Start from were you are.....

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:27:53 GMT

Ok, I've had a blog for a few days now. It's not much to look at but hey, it's a beginning. Be nice....remember patience is a virtue.

My adoring public.....

I've had lots of requests from my fans asking me to talk about the ins and outs of VO. VO being trade speak for Voice Over. So now is as good a time as any. I talked a bit about what lead me to VO in the blog entry entitled Turn That Thing Off, so give that a look if you have a moment.

Start from where your are....

Like most projects I start, I hit the ground running. Remember that guy you see on ESPN out in front of the pack of angry bulls in Pamplona Spain, that's me. Hell bent for leather and the throttle wide open when I set me mind to a project. So when I decided to become a VO it was with the same energy. CHARGE! I went down to my local Guitar Center and filled my trunk all the appropriate paraphernalia from an Mac computer and software to microphones and cables. Then I hit OfficeMax for pens, Scotch tape, a big desk calendar, Sticky Notes and one of those coffee cup stay warmy things. I sprung for a functional albeit pricey "workstation" and a fine leather chair too. Some assembly required would be a gross misrepresentation of the truth but it's not germane so I'll spare you the details. In a flash I had my very own home studio and I was as proud as a new Papa. It looked professional, I felt professional so I was off an running. Screech..... everything came to a grinding halt. It seems you need customers and I didn't have a single one. Silly Rabbit!

Now, those that know me well will happily tell you I'm not that smart. But I pick up new things pretty quickly so I figured I was in good shape considering all I knew about VO work was that you talked into a microphone and the cash register would start ringing like a carnival midway. Determination was the key and I had plenty of that.

Finding Your Voice....

I'd often been told I had a "radio voice" which I quickly discovered was not nearly as good a thing as I'd hoped. You'd think it would be but the "Industry" here after referred to as "They" do not want announcers any more. Or at least not routinely and feeding myself as a one trick pony wasn't going to cut it. I knew right away I'd have to diversify. Hey, my portfolio is diversified so what harm could it do?

They want every day guys and gals with a natural sound that can do professional work, on demand at a reasonable price. Ok, I'll learn to do that. I'll learn how to stop announcing and start taking in a natural but professional manner. Humm, just what does that sound like I wondered. So, thanks to the rockets scientists over at Google, I found a great site called Radio Daddy. RD is just chock full of advice, how-to's and more importantly, people looking for people like me. I signed up for a free membership and started nosing the around boards and listening to countless MP3's. Some were amazing, some were no so amazing but it slowly became easier and easier to pick out the really good, natural reads. It turned out to be a great proving ground because the folks on that site know what they want and they don't pull their punches.

You learn something new every day.....

After I got the studio figured out I started recording and uploading my "reads" to RadioDaddy. In case you don't know, reads are a customers script (aka ad copy or just copy) you turn into an audio recording. Ones interpretation of the material if you will. Unfortunately you usually have to figure out for yourself just what they want you to sound like. Quality requests come with simple directions but not all so be prepared to think, hard. By example, one of my all time favorites is when they put ACS at the beginning of the copy. ACS? What the heck does that mean? ACS it turns out stands for Adult Contemporary Station. Not exactly the best road map in the world but you learn the language as you go. In this case, this read would be for a radio station that plays, you guessed it, adult contemporary music. I'll translate: This station requests a middle-aged to youthful soft sell style with warmth and feeling but not sappy, no sound effects or music. Sorry, I got a bit off topic, what was I saying? Oh......

Hows the Humble Pie?

I was on my way, I could feel it. I just knew that the folks at RadioDaddy would hear my voice and offers would start pouring in. Well, to quote the valley girls in L.A. "As if...."

All the MP3's I uploaded received a rather cool reception and a casual thanks. Not exactly the response I was hoping for but I was still in the ring at the end of round three. My gloves were up and I wasn't cut over the eye. All in all I was feeling pretty good. When the bell rang, I came out swinging. Persevere and fame and fortune will come I just knew it. One day I read for an internet radio station called Freedom Jazz Radio. They're currently off the air but check out their MySpace Page at Freedom Jazz Radio. It was a unique request that needed an old time radio feel and I put my best efforts into making it really, really good. I've found that the internet is an amazing resource when faced with these odd reads. In particular is Archive.org. I went there looking for WWII radio shows so I could hear and thus copy the style and tempo. Worked like a champ. Once I got the actual talking done, I needed some fancy post production effects over what was essentially a dead pan read to get is that unique fuzzy sound of the golden days of radio. It sounded great and I still consider it to be one fine piece of work. I sent it in and the next day I got that all important first "Wow" and I was hooked for life.

Round 11....Ding!

Ok, the gloves get a bit heavy from time to time and I can almost breath out of my crooked swollen nose, but I'm still in there fighting. I wasn't a K.O. in the first round but I haven't been on the canvas and while some of their right hooks have landed pretty hard. I'd be happy with a draw at this point. Wow, that's a lot of boxing analogies. Sorry about that.

Well, this end episode two of the blog Wherescarl - A Choice Voice. Thanks for stopping by.

SHAMELESS PLUG - If you or someone you know needs a voice for their advertising, web site, voice mail system, movie trailer or just about anything thing else, let me know!

Published by Carl Hedgepeth / Expresso Productions Charleston, South Carolina
Copy write 2008. Distribution by permission only.

wherescarl@hotmail.com
www.voice123.com/carlhedgepeth

Talking about Carolina Association of Voice Artists Call for Committee Members

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:55:47 GMT

Well, after months of talking about it, I've officially kicked off CAVA; the organization dedicated to advancing the art of Voice Over in the Carolinas. There are some really talented people working across these two great states and CAVA aims to harness that talent and energy to become a driving force in the Voice Industry.
I wasn't doing voice work when talents actually went to casting calls. In those days it was pretty easy to network and keep your finger on the pulse of the business. But, since Al Gore invented the internet, Voice Talents work remotely, network suffers and so does business. Hopefully CAVA will grow

Now close your eyes and imagine a champagne bottle smashing into the bow of the big beautiful SS CAVA!

Quote

Carolina Association of Voice Artists Call for Committee Members
Hosted by: Carolina AVA
Date and time: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 7:00 AM
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Blog list: Voices Galore!

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:25:34 GMT

Voices Galore!

Custom List: Organizations

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:16:53 GMT

Organizations

Carolina Association of Voice Artists