The Creative Mouthpiece

Voiceover Insider for August

stugray — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:10:34 +0000

Recently I was selected to review Julie Williams’ new version of “How to Make Money in Voiceover, Even If You Dont’ Live in N.Y. or L.A.”

I enjoyed the opportunity to review these 5 cds, and WOW! I was blown away by all the information.

Here is my review for “H2MMIVO”:

“How to make money if Voiceovers”…is 5 cds PACKED with valuable information for the Voiceover Pro - at whatever level you might be.

I remember being told that if you invest in a product to improve yourself, and you get One good idea that you can implement, you have made a great decision on your purchase.

I have two plus pages of ideas to implement for my VO business after listening to “How to Make Money in VO…”.

This Audio Presentation/Course is terrific!!

I could not believe how up to date all the information is in these CDs. As I listened, I heard that there were at least two earlier versions of “How to make Money in VO…” previous to this one.

Well, Julie has lined up an all star cast to really give Voice Talent a genuine look at the industry ,plus, the most benefit for their money.

Who is in this program? Stephanie Ciccarelli, Jason Sikes, Frank Maranzino, Larry Maizlish, Krisitine Oller, Gabrielle Nistico and Robert Sciglimpaglia (say that one 5 times fast!). These interviews are filled with marketing tools and information that are so helpful to up and coming talent. I thought about who I believed was the most “useful” interview for me, yet looking thru my notes and ‘potential tools’ to implement, I learned something from every interview.

Julie’s experience in VO shows as well; she brings together so many marketing ideas from the ‘30,000 foot view’: SEO, Websites, an honest short take on Unions, legal aspects of the business, setting up your studio…I could go on and on, but I need to go back and listen again to hear what I missed the first time!

You can see more reviews in the August 08 Voiceover Insider from Julie Willams.

I Love Technology…But Not as Much as You, You See

stugray — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:23:22 +0000

Thoughts from the road…

* Very Cool that I can be between Jackson and Memphis Tennessee, connected to a blackberry (using as a modem) and can post to my blog

* Thankful that I could be part of a couple days worth of fundraising with my friends at Way-Fm in Nashville earlier this week

* Excited to be headed to Wichita Kansas, to be part of an event at the Wichita Children’s Theatre - the Theatre company where I first began performing and training in theatre as a kid

* Happy that this trip includes seeing family - my grandparents (great grandparents to my son)(grandma’s 82 b-day!!) and my mom who will be in town as well

* Could Kid Rock not come up with an original song - he had to swipe ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ for his new tune ‘All Summer Long’?? ( I have heard that song on CHR stations, Country and Rock Stations so far on this trip. - Good for him - what do I know?

* Yes, even with Crazy gas prices, we are driving across country, Go figure

* More thoughts later…

Change: Voiceover Lessons from Sam Walton

stugray — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:56:01 +0000

To succeed in this world, you have to change all the time. - Sam Walton P. 324

Constant change is a vital part of the Wal-Mart culture itself. I’ve forced change – sometimes for change’s sake alone – at every turn in our company’s development. In fact, I think one of the greatest strengths of Wal-mart’s ingrained culture is its ability to drop everything and turn on a dime. - Sam Walton P. 216

In the past couple weeks, there has been some discussion on “change” in a couple Voice over blogs.

It seems to me, that the only constant IS change. We should get used to it.

I read a great book by terrific artist Danny Gregory, called The Creative License. He says it this way:

“Birds Sing, wolves howl, crickets chirp. But why? Money? Fame? Record Contracts? Endorsements? What’s it all for? THEY DO IT BECAUSE THEY ARE ALIVE! They do it because life is about making things. Making babies, nests, new cells, dinner, dandruff, excrement…our bodies are always turning one thing into another.”

I believe that if things aren’t in motion, and change isn’t happening, we are dying.

I’ve never been a big fan of “we’ve always done it this way”. I even had buttons that had that particular phrase on them with a big red circle and slash thru it. (I wore one when I was programming a radio station in Savannah, Georgia. It seemed to be everyone’s favorite phrase when I got to town. The station was near the bottom of the pack. HMM. Go figure.)

Back to the VoiceOver business. No, its not the same as it once was. And it never will be exactly how it once was.

(I really wasn’t a part of it “as it once was” but have heard several stories about the golden days)(this too also reminds me of radio)

We have to change and adapt to how the industry works now. If we don’t, we’re out of the game.

At Walmart, Sam Walton would go into competing retail stores and come back to his company with a yellow pad of new ideas that he had “borrowed” to implement for HIS company. To make them a better company, to be more competitive.

That also is a good point. Perhaps change for “change sake” isn’t the best deal. But if you are changing to stay competitive and better yourself, we should be all for it. Not resistant to it.

How do you deal with change when it happens?

Quotes are from Sam Walton Made in America by Sam Walton and John Huey, Bantam Books 1993

and The Creative License by Danny Gregory
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Do you have a book that I might like to read? If it pertains to the world of Voice Over, Creativity, Leadership or Marketing, I would gladly read and discuss it on the Creative Mouthpiece blog! Email me at stu (at) stugray (dot) com

Blogging May Be Better Than The Shrink

stugray — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:22:27 +0000

I ran across a quick article on Newsweek suggesting that Blogging is Great Therapy!!

In the report coming out in the journal of CyberPsychology and Behavior…it claims because I am a blogger, I could be happier than a non-blogger!

Sweet! I knew there was a reason I blog about Voiceover!

Creative Mouthpiece Quote:

stugray — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:51:30 +0000

To be creative you must be brave and allow yourself to take risks . You also have to be a little crazy.

- Danny Gregory

The Softer Gentler Walmart

stugray — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:10:46 +0000

I just finished reading Sam Walton: Made in America, and I have been running thru some of my favorite quotes from the book in the past couple posts.

Today, I read this article from creativity-online.com.

Wal-Mart is ditching the old logo, which they switched to in 1992, for the new logo on top.

The new logo rolls out in the fall on Walmarts across the US.

My first reaction to the logo was…”Walmart..Ah ha!” Thats kind of what the little yellow star at the end reminded me of. Perhaps that is what they are going for.

I know this isn’t a blog where we take apart logos, yet it still would be fun to hear what you think.

Thoughts?

Batman: The Dark Knight

stugray — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:33:43 +0000

I have always been a Batman fan, and I am really excited about The Dark Knight which opens on July 18.

Being a VoiceOver performer, I have continued to wonder how, or if, overdubs were required after the filming was complete. With Heath Ledger’s tragic death, the need to find someone else to do overdubbing for the Joker, I assumed, would be needed.

As I was reading this article in Entertainment Weekly online, Director Christopher Nolan says that most overdubs and reshoots weren’t neccesary.

Perhaps that is just hype (many times VO’s aren’t given “credit”), but perhaps not.

Either way, I can’t wait to see this movie!!

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Other Posts you might enjoy:

How to Get to Wow!
Who is Stu Gray?
33 Things, 33 Years
Learning Customer Service from a Fast Food Visit

Eat What You Cook: Voiceover Lessons from Sam Walton

stugray — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:38:42 +0000

My favorite buyer program is one called Eat What You Cook. Once a quarter, every buyer has to go out to a different store and act as a manager for a couple days in the department he or she buys merchandise for. I guarantee you that after they have eaten what they have cooked enough times, these buyers don’t load up too many Moon Pies to send to Wisconsin, or beach towels for Hiawatha, Kansas. - Sam Walton p. 288,289

Is it outlandish to think that every VO should have an experience on the “other side” of the Mic?

Being a VO with a history in radio, I have written copy, produced commercials, worked with voice talent, and been a voice talent.

I think that experience on the ‘producing’ side is really beneficial to me as a performer. I can relate to the whole process a bit better, not just my “copy”. I may not have written the commercial, but I know what went in to writing it, also what went in to auditions and the hiring process.

Sam required his buyers to go out and manage the department they bought for.

What if as a VO, at least once in your life, you had to produce One project. I think it might change you.

You might appreiciate the whole process a bit more.

You might understand what directors and writers and producers have to deal with.

You might love it and want to do more of it, and learn all about it as well. You never know.

Mabye that’s just the ‘Radio guy’ in me, but I think it might be beneficial.

All quotes are from Sam Walton Made in America by Sam Walton and John Huey, Bantam Books 1993

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Constant Improvement: Voice Over Lessons From Sam Walton

stugray — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:05:41 +0000

He gets up every morning bound and determined to improve something…he is less afraid of being wrong than anyone I’ve ever known. - David Glass, Former CEO, Wal-Mart, about Sam Walton (p.50)

*What have you improved today?

*What decisions have you made about your business?

*What are you procrastinating on?

*What HAVEN’T you made a decision on that you really need to?

*Have you read something outloud (EVERYDAY!)?

*Have you worked on your marketing?

*Have you called old contacts that you made 5 years ago?

*Have you sent emails to friends in other cities?

*Does everyone in your family, on your street, in your church, know what you do?

Check everyone out who is our competition. And don’t look for the bad. Look for the Good. If you get one idea, that’s one more than you went in the store with, and we must try to incorporate it into our company. We’re really not concerned with what they are doing wrong, we’re concerned with what they are doing right, and everyone is doing something right. - Sam Walton (p.81)

*Have you listened to every demo on Voicebank.net?

*Are you listening to radio commercials, Television commercials, listening to audiobooks?

*Are you learning from people and their techniques?

*Are you listening to podcasts, reading blogs and making contact with other Voice talent?

I always carry my little tape recorder on trips, to record ideas that come up in my conversations with the associates. I usually have my yellow legal pad with me, with a list of ten to fifteen things we need to be working on as a company. My list drives the executives around here crazy, but its probably one of my more important contributions. - Sam Walton (p. 149)

*Do you write down ideas that you have when you hear something you enjoy?

*Do you have a list of potential clients you are interested in pursuing?

*If you had five minutes with your ideal “VO” person (the one who you look up to most…) What would you ask them? (are those questions written down somewhere?)

Read the first post in this series here

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All quotes are from “Sam Walton Made in America“ by Sam Walton and John Huey, Bantam Books 1993

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Did you know that we had 7 Presidents before Washington?

stugray — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:38:14 +0000

Happy 4^th of July!

As I was stumbling around the internet, I ran across this interesting article about the beginnings of our country:

http://www.marshallhall.org/hanson.html

I knew that we had 1 president before George Washington – But there were 6 more! I had no idea. Don’t let it interrupt your holiday – but check it out when you get a second.

Have a GREAT July 4th weekend with your friends and family!