ej's voice cast Black to School coaching session recap

[Podcast Title]

EJ no Voice Cast [TK episode 21 / Updated my gear ]

**Main Content:**

[Segment 1: BTS class recap]

I had a great time at the class. We got lots of helpful feedback on our reads as well as information on how to proceed forward in our chosen profession. We covered topics like using a lead in to reading a script. A lead in is where you start the read by addressing a friend or other person as if you are explaining. So if you are reading a commercial for shaving cream you can say something like “Hey Bob I found this great shaving cream… It's called “insert product name here”. And then just carry on reading as if it’s a conversation between a couple of friends. This helps you get the read to sound like a conversation rather than a sales pitch and removes that announcer like sound.

[Segment 2: Class make up ]

There were about 20 people in the class, some couldn’t make it but we had plenty. Everyone got a chance to read a script they either supplied or had one supplied to them. Everyone learned something from their reading with the feedback coming from our coaches. It’s amazing to see a person improve on the spot after the initial read and some direction on how to make it smoother and authentic. You would be amazed to see how just getting someone to add a couple of hand gestures, or tilt of the head or other body movements can bring out the sound you're looking for and even make their reading smooth out and flow. The people in the class were from the UK and Faro islands all the way to here, Japan. We covered some time zones but unfortunately I had to drop off as I needed to get some sleep before work. I did accomplish my goal of being on for the coaching sessions but I did miss the panel discussion and the other sections covering branding and marketing. I can still catch those later since it was recorded. I shall be looking forward to that so I can start working on marketing.

[Segment 3: Working on improvements]

One of the coaches brought up the pay to play sites and mentioned that we should google the ones we use or plan to use to find out about their reputation pertaining to ethical standards. I did and found out that voices.com has been accused of not being fair to VO talents in the past.

 A couple of videos I found on youtube brought up some dark past. I later found another post, by the same person, that mentioned the CEO & Founder had been replaced by the board after a merger of equity investors that has/had a large stake in the company. 

I shall be looking at a couple of other Pay to Play sites, voice123, Bodalgo and others. My initial investigation shows there  are small differences between each resource but those can add up to make a difference if you’re just starting out, on a budget or just want to dip your toe in and see where things go.

[Segment 4: Coaching and training]

I signed up for a coaching package of 4 meetups with my first coach. I’m ready to start pushing forward and spending more time on this and create my brand, do some marketing and get some gigs. I still haven’t landed one yet but I also haven’t been giving it my full attention.

I’m sure there is some way to get experience outside of the pay to play selection system. I just need to start working.

[ Segment 5 AI ]

Well the elephant in the room, AI, was of course brought up. One of our coaches works in the industry as a VO agent. She’s aware of the AI issue and said there are discussions going on with some production companies to address this so it doesn’t interfere with VO talent's ability to control their Intellectual Property, the IP here being their voices. No one wants to put in the effort to audition win a contract and find out that you’re not getting call backs because your voice or likeness was grabbed and digitized so the production companies could cut you out of the process and not pay you.

AI is a worry but I don’t know how this all plays out. It could be that AI fails to become the future. Chatgpt, which I use to help build my scripts in Japanese, works well but I don’t trust it 100% because it may not capture the meaning and context of my podcast. It can translate the words but not necessarily the feeling I’m trying to provide you.

A friend of mine made the comment that maybe AI is the way to go with movies because of the current crop of say Marvel movies is terrible. Remember that’s subjective, I watched Dune back in the 80’s and refused to ever watch it again. I didn’t care about the story and the damn thing wouldn’t end. Do I think AI could help it, no not to me, but that’s my opinion/feeling. I won’t be watching the re-release either but it made $711.8 million world wide so someone likes it. 

Summary of Key Points

[Brief synopsis of what I said]

Transition to Conclusion:

[pre-recorded outro]

[Closing Words]

Pre-recorded

**Outro music**

[Closing Credits]

Music  by NEFFEX

Links:

https://linktr.ee/ericrjones

podmatch.com 

https://podpros.com/adam-curry-inventor-of-podcasting-shares-why-we-need-more-independent-podcasters/

Focusrite

https://us.focusrite.com/vocaster

Voice on Demand:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/657102251585872/

ericjones@ejsvoicecast.art