There Is No Competition In The Voice Over Industry – The GKN Weekly Update 1/21/14

I truly believe there is no competition in the voiceover industry. Hear me out…

Last week I was invited to an audio book speed-networking event in New York City. There were 45 narrators and fifteen “moderators” aka producers, engineers, publishers, and executives. I felt pretty comfortable & confident going in since I knew about half the moderators and I had a great time chatting with them.

What I found fascinating was watching the other narrators and how they interacted with the moderators and each other. Most of the narrators seemed excited to be there and some were visibly nervous. I spoke to a few of them and some felt like they couldn’t compete with the other narrators because they had so little experience. I told them not to worry about that, just be themselves and try to make a connection and it doesn’t have to be about audio books. It can be about sports, dogs, music, whatever. Just don’t try to make it a contest to impress them more than the other narrators. Trust me, all of the moderators put fresh batteries in their BS detectors!

TIP OF THE WEEK

There is no competition in the voice over industry. I really believe it! I didn’t always, though.

I thought you had to battle with everyone and fight your way to the top (whatever the hell “the top” is).
I thought you had to have the coolest, deepest, sexiest voice around.
I thought you had to know rich, famous, connected people.
I thought you had to have a big honkin’ agent.
I thought you had to be in the union.

Well, guess what? It’s not true. Well, not entirely true.

Location is no longer a factor. Anyone can takes classes, build a studio, get a demo produced, and start auditioning immediately. Does that mean there is more competition than ever? Nope. It only means you need to take it upon yourself to get past the white noise of the hordes of people who are trying to be voice talents and realize that they are not your competition. You are.

The only person that you’re competing with is yourself. To audition better, to listen better, to understand the industry better. You can be the best voice talent at the audition and give the best read and you STILL may not get the part! For all you know, you may remind the casting director of their ex or some other ridiculous factor that you have absolutely no control over.

If you are good at what you do, have a strong work ethic, and an effective system, you will succeed. It will take time. There are no short cuts. If you find yourself spinning your wheels after years of trying to make it, my guess is that you’re competing with yourself and losing. Get out of your own way!

NEWS AND NOTES

A huge thank you to everyone who watched the premiere of “We Move Animals”! Episodes Two and Three will air at 10:00 PM EST on Saturday January 25th and Saturday February 1st. If you missed Episode One, it will re-air Wednesday January 2nd at 9 PM EST, and Thursday January 23rd at 12 AM EST. For those of you who don’t have a TV; the episode has been posted online, but I think you still have to have a cable provider to watch it. I think. Honestly, I don’t watch TV. By that I mean I don’t watch any television serials, just sports and movies so I don’t have a DVR. If anyone knows more about this, please chime in. Oh, and the show popped up in my IMDB profile so that’s pretty wicked awesome, too. Thank you for your support!
VoiceOver Xtra posted my last blog entry as an article on their website. Click here to check it out!

HAPPY HAPPYS

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

I know this is terrible, but this holiday always reminds me of that British comedy where an aspiring actor goes to an audition dressed up like the German monk Martin Luther when it’s actually for the role of Martin Luther King and he’s surrounded by a bunch of Martin Luther King lookalikes just staring at him. Freaking hilarious! Does anyone remember the name of that show?

STUFF!

I saw the new Hobbit movie last week. It was good! Not great, but neither was the first one. They’re enjoyable and obviously visually breathtaking, but there seems to be something missing in this trilogy. Not sure what it is…