Field Notes

-If you hate it, don’t buy it. Your attention and time are your currency online. That algorithm sees every little micro-stop you make and feeds you more and more. If you don’t want to see any posts about AI, just scroll every time you see the letters. This goes for anything. We pay with our time, so just stop buying. -You’ll always find what you seek. If you look for the bad everywhere, you’re sure to find it. Same goes for the good. We can find the good without turning a bli

-Everyone has a different capacity and expectation for themselves. This often gets projected onto the entire industry. Do you believe the way to success is 100 cold calls a week? Maybe you think the only way to the top is a 2 decade-long slow burn. Point being, confirmation bias will always play a role in the information you see online. -Acting is not a sport. You don’t need to hyper-analyze every decision you make to be “the best.” At a certain point, you have to learn to tr

-Niche branding is a great way to corner a nice little market for yourself. Don't let it keep you from branching out from time to time. You never know what your next “hot niche” might be! -Don't come up to me at a funeral, ask what I do for work, then proceed to tell me how you think my industry is dying. This one's a little niche but just in case anyone needs to hear it.

-Need the perfect cold email subject line? Here it is! “Hewooo Pwease Hire me pwetty pweaseee o.o.” Can you see through my elaborate lie today? There really is NO perfect subject line. Be human, be honest, and be concise. That’s as perfect as it gets. You’re not trying to scam someone into opening your email. If they don’t want to open it, they don’t want to. Your goal is just honest outreach and engagement. -never forget this is a job. You work to live, not the other way aro

-Learn to trust your first take. Your gut instinct is usually right on a read. Give it a bit more confidence and you’ll feel better going into live sessions as well. -If you were hired then YOU were hired. Someone booked you because they liked you so don’t feel the need to switch up all of a sudden. Trust that you have the talent and go into your session a confident pro.

-It only takes 30 seconds to do anything. A rule I learned as a kid that has helped me many times. Feelings are not facts. THOUGHTS CAUSE FEELINGS. If you are scared, nervous, or unsure, you only need to be brave for 30 seconds. Walking out on stage, starting the big meeting, joining the live session. Just be brave for 30 seconds, long enough to start and soon new thoughts will overflow the others. You’ll enter muscle memory and from there you just do what you’ve prepared for

-No one likes to hold hands in this industry. We move fast and rely on people who know their worth and can deliver on it. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help or being new, but when the time comes to work, you need to be the pro you claim to be. -Sometimes you’re not the only one who’s green. Be prepared to have sessions with directors and audio engineers just as nervous as you are. Here’s the difference YOU’RE A TRAINED ACTOR WOOHOO! If you don’t feel like a pro, then

-Saw a post from voice actress Sarah Bowers  a bit ago on LinkedIn about “clicking” during live sessions to indicate a flub. (great insight and actress so go check out her page and video) It got me thinking… Where should you draw the line when “Frankensteining” your self-directed sessions? You may think it doesn’t matter, but I beg to differ. -For the unaware “Frankensteining” a clip is just merging a bunch of various takes together when you can’t land a solid single take. It

-Silence sells. Don’t be afraid of… the pause. A good flow utilizes the empty space just as much as the filled. -New to VO? Plan to have ZERO jobs for your first 6 months of marketing and operation. Is this a definite fact? Nope. But it’s meant to change your mindset about outreach. If you go into it planning for the “long game”, armed with a solid outreach and follow-up strategy, as opposed to “Hey I’m DC… HIRE ME NOW PLEASE!!!” then your outreach will feel more genuine and

-Want more work? Be mindful of your presence! Does that mean giving up your morals and values for a gig? NO. Does it mean that if you constantly complain online about french fries that Big French Fry INC is going to be offering you work anytime soon? Probably not. Just be aware that your public stances and opinions will have an effect on your career whether you think that’s fair or not. How much you allow that to dictate your behavior is up to you. -LinkedIn is for connection

-How you prospect your leads is just as important as your outreach strategy. Look for active people where you want to be working. Make sure they are actively landing work and make sure they can actually use you. -This isn’t a hit it and forget it type of industry, yall. You want the work, then you need to set yourself apart and chase it. Good news is that in theory, it’s all pretty simple. It just takes time and consistency. You’d be surprised how few are willing to understan

-nervous about cold outreach? You're an actor so play the part. Treat it as an acting exercise and “play” the confident marketing pro you want to be -Don’t take a gig without being ready for the entire process. Invoice, payment method, maybe a W9, your quote, file delivery, recording software, session software. We’re here to make the process as smooth for the client as possible. People are kind but your interruptions to the flow of business will still be remembered and may im

-You can only win if you play. Luck is a big part of this industry, but don't get it mistaken. No one at the top truly "lucked" their way up there. To get lucky you need to put in the work. Be in the right circles and put yourself in situations to receive good luck. -I have a good relationship with lady luck and I have ever since I was young. Want to know our secret to a long relationship? (Doctors HATE reason number 13) Alright alright, enough jokes. Here's the thing... I'm

-Treating your recording space on a budget? Practice visualization. Imagine the audio moving from your mouth to your mic and bouncing across the room to see where your bigger trouble areas may be. It’s rumored that those of us who played Brick Breaker have an unfair advantage at this. -You’ll only hear me talk of this MAYBE once. But I feel it needs to be said. AI, and all the conversations surrounding it, only have as much power as you give them. Don’t focus on all the AI ba

-Lead prospecting -> Cold outreach -> positive response -> cultivation -> right place right time. I’ll give a long edition today and do a full breakdown of my 5-step method! # 1) Lead Prospecting = finding the right client FOR YOU. Are they active online? Could I be an asset to them? # 2) Cold outreach = I talk about it a lot. To be brief today, let’s just say this is the part where you aim to be seen. I have plenty of field notes already and more to come on what constitutes

-Want to voice more realistic monsters or animals? CONTORT. Your face needs to meld, melt, and mush into some peculiar looking arrangements to achieve certain sounds. Remember, it's a mic not a camera. No one cares how you look so get wild and experiment! -When it comes to animal mimicry, I find it best to break down the sound piece by piece. Is it breathy? Start with mimicking that. Start making sounds, move them around in your mouth, throat, and up in your head. Where do yo

-Lead prospecting -> Cold outreach -> positive response -> cultivation -> right place right time.  That’s my step-by-step plan for landing work. Let’s talk about the “positive response” stage real quick. ⬇️ -For cold outreach a “positive response” is not a job opportunity (although that’d be great, it’s not what to expect). It can be a lot of things but what you’re aiming for is just someone to acknowledge your presence with positivity. “Sure, send me a demo.” “Thanks for rea

-Open back vs closed? I prefer two sets of cans. Closed for recording and open back for editing. -Studio speakers? Make sure your space is properly treated for them and ensure you set them up properly as well. Do that wrong and what you hear back may not be what clients hear.

-Reach out to one agent per major city at a time. Wait for their response before submitting to another in that city. You don’t want to get two yeses and have to tell one no. -Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually need to “feel” your performance for it to be believable. Does it help? Absolutely. But your job as an actor is to act. Classes and training can help you access those feelings but sometimes you just can’t get there. As long as you make the audience feel it th

-Audition within your means. If you can’t recreate it during the live session, then don’t do it in the audition -Kindness is lighter than negativity. One is much harder to shake off of your image