“That’s Not How It Works In London”
This is what a producer from a London-based agency told me when I informed her that in order to book our studio for a recording session, her company would have to make full payment in advance. It may well be …
No to Smartphone Auditions
We don’t arrange free, undirected demos of scripts recorded by a voice talent on a smartphone anymore. Why? Aside from noticing that none of these auditions convert to paid recordings, the voices are wary because they fear a recording of …
Why We Insist on Seeing a Script
Years ago, we received a request to quote for a 145-word script, which the production company estimated had a run time of around 1 minute. The word count made sense for a 60s spot. We did our sums for the …
Same Day Turnaround
Twice this week I’ve had a prospective customer call up in a panic, telling me they need a voice recorded the same day. The first one called at 9 pm Singapore time (UK-based client) so I told them that the …
Where in the World is? Geolock Explained
If you’re an English voice talent, then you’ve definitely come across this before – how do you make sure your client, who wants to do a digital ad, pays you fairly for your voice in the territories agreed when quoting, if …
The Art of the Deal – What it’s Really Worth
I had a production house contact me for a series of 5-6 minute sponsored programs with associated trailers that needed a narrator & wanted full broadcast & online rights in perpetuity, worldwide. They’d shortlisted six male & six female voices. …
Words Per Minute
Producer – “So how long was the read?” Studio – “2 minutes 41 seconds” Producer – “Woah! This read needs to no more than 90 seconds!” Studio – “But your script is 375 words! For 90 seconds, you have a …
Dance with Them that Brung Ya!
Human psychology is fascinating – watching how people react in a group where ranking is involved makes for great soap opera. The scenario I’m most interested in is who hires the voice talent and how that affects the session. There …
Odd Pronunciations
Weird words are the bane of any script for a voice talent if they don’t know how to pronounce them correctly. Having to do an unpaid re-record as a result of a mispronounced word sucks. If you’re producing a script and your …