My daughter is two. I learned the hard way that I need to build in transition time for her. A toddler can’t be rushed; it’s a recipe for disaster. I find that giving her warnings (“Five minutes and then we take a bath”, “Two minutes til bathtime!”) really help. And once the moment to shift…
In LA, rainy days are like Snow Days. We don’t get them very often, and when we do it feels like a special treat. It makes me want to stay inside and bake cookies in my pajamas. Somehow time seems to stop and frivolity feels justified. BUT, on a workday, cookie-baking can be a bit of…
This week I received a delightful and unexpected gift. I got paid for a job I thought I’d gotten burned on. Let me backtrack. My business is divided into two parts. There’s the agented side of things: I audition for jobs with my agent (s) either at home, in their office or at casting places…
Recording an audiobook at home is quite a project. The scope is much bigger than anything else you will do as a voice actor. I remember when I first started, I would become a slave to my internal anxiety. I didn’t even realize how secretly freaked out I was under the surface; it was this low-grade anxiety that would follow me around and be under my skin for days. Recording an entire book by myself felt like such a huge responsibility: I want it to be great and there’s no director or anyone giving feedback and it’s taking so long and I have to juggle all my other work and…it’s TAKING SO LONG and…ai yai yai…a recipe for a not so fun time. I would end up working every waking hour, pulling all-nighters, eating junk food and getting no sleep or exercise. My mindset was kind of like: Let’s just hunker down and get through this!
Thankfully, after two years I’ve figured out some coping strategies to quell that anxiety and make the entire experience more sane and enjoyable! There’s lots of great articles on how to actually prep an audiobook for record, but lately I’ve been thinking about how I’ve learned to prep myself for the task at hand. Here are five things I do to set the stage for success.
Summer can be a little slow for voiceover. Particularly the month of July! Like all good over-achievers, I start to feel a bit lost if I’m not generally accomplishing things or doing something constructive. To that end, I offer up a list of 10 things you can do while it’s “dead”: 1. Organize your computer….
Ahhh, the slate. It’s a part of every VO’s daily world. For most auditions, they’re required. For those unfamiliar with the term, a slate is when you say your name at the beginning of the audition to identify yourself.
People slate in different ways. Some just say their name: “Rachel Fuginiti”. This is what I do, as I’ve heard from most casting directors and producers that it’s their preference. Some will say “Hi, my name is…” or “This is…” If I’m in a group audition situation, I usually take my cue from the other actor, if they slate first. I match the format of however they did it, which I think gives a unified introduction.
There’s nothing wrong with a short introduction as long as it doesn’t go overboard. “Hi there, this is Rachel Fulginiti, reading for the part of x and I’m very happy to be doing this audition… My dog’s name is…”
For weeks, I’ve been thinking about something I read. It was actually an excerpt from my horoscope last month. Not exactly the NY Times, I know, but this one part has been working on me, repeatedly. “ …so you may not actually know that you have massive support across the board, from peers and higher…
Happy New Year! I hope it’s gotten off to a great start so far. Since January is all about new beginnings and fresh energy, I’m dedicating my blog this month to the newcomer. I get so many questions from people wanting to “get into voiceovers”. So, in the spirit of a freshness and resolutions, I…
I am working from home today, as I do many days, and I am musing on how to be nicer to myself through this. It can be difficult. Lonely and freaky sometimes, especially for “people” people. I have been trying to figure out a way to enjoy myself more, worry less and actually be…
Last week I had a pretty big vo session. I was psyched. The session began and the first thing the director said was “So, Rachel are you familiar with the campaign we have running right now?” My, was I happy to be able to say yes… and actually be telling the truth! Years ago I…