This is not a be-all-end-all reference on commissions, but should serve a good guideline, perhaps illuminating lots of questions I’ve been receiving lately from my voice over colleagues.
“Is this commission structure unusual? Is it even legal?”
I was talking with a very talented VO artist the other day, and she had something stuck in her craw. She had just been at an audition for a project she already auditioned for. Not a callback scenario, but an actual audition where the producers directly called her in to read, even though she knew she had read on the same role a week earlier through her agency. Instead of taking it personally and wondering why they didn’t respond to her first audition, this wonderful VO talent went in and knocked ‘em dead with her read. Continue reading
I love auditions where my agent calls me last-minute to go into casting. Usually, a last-minute call means they haven’t found the right talent yet, or they’ve had so many cancellations, they’re trying to fill slots with actors who are available to show up. In the voice over world, it’s a great thing to be called into a casting director or producer’s office to audition because your shot at the job is much greater than auditioning virtually against 2000 other MP3s. Instead, you’re up against 15-50 other actors.
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In the interest of truly “checking out” and taking a well-earned vacation, I booked out with my voice over agents. I warned the agents and any client I did a job for within 3 weeks of my departure that I would not be bringing my travel mic with me. Since I was traveling overseas, I didn’t want to bring the travel mic, even though it only adds a couple of extra pounds to the travel weight. I was determined to get away from it all! Continue reading
If you have a sub-par (or non-existent) home studio, please go to a professional studio to record your auditions. With all of the online casting sites, you’ll need to know where to go to record if you book a job anyway, so start to get to know your local studios by recording some auditions there. Continue reading
When launching a business, there is a concept called, “Cost of Entry.” Cost of Entry is the cash spent to start your business. When you decide to become a voice over actor, there are definitely Costs of Entry: your education, demo, website, and home studio, to name a few. Continue reading
Back in the day, it was an agent’s job to develop new talent. If the agent was really excited about a new talent, they would agree to take them on and develop them. The talent would be auditioning, going on generals, meeting new people, all while making their demo and booking jobs. The talent didn’t need to have a strong demo to get in the door. Sometimes a referral would do the trick, sometimes the talent would be scouted at the grocery store, i.e., “Excuse me, you have an amazing voice…here’s my card. Call me and we’ll get you started in an amazing career in voice over.” Continue reading
Time for a little Q and A…this one coming from a childhood friend with a music background preparing for a course of study with Nancy Wolfson:
“What are some things I can be doing leading up to my first lesson? Being totally new to this, if I can educate myself with anything ahead of time to give me any sort of edge , I will.”
Here are some quickie Do’s and Don’ts of submitting to voice over agents for you guys. And yes, I’m starting with a very big DON’T because I always like to get the bad news out of the way first.
DON’T under any circumstance pick up the phone and call an agent you don’t know without a solid referral. Agents are extremely busy taking calls and making pitches, submitting clients and closing deals. There is no extra time on an agents schedule, even at the very end of the day, which actors like to think is the best time to call. You will annoy the agent, assistant, or receptionist. This is NOT the tactic to use in the age of electronic submissions. Continue reading
If you are a working VO professional, you will know the right time to consider having ISDN installed in your studio. If you are turned down for jobs because you don’t have access to your own ISDN, it’s time to get ISDN. Continue reading
