School of Acting and Voiceover

09/30/2022

Do fans know their favorite character has been recast because Crunchyroll Sony Pictures refuse to even talk about a union contract? It's .

09/12/2019

Would you scroll down to "Write a Review" on Google and leave us one? Thanks! It's on the right-hand side of the page if you scroll down.

Also, would you "like" your favorites from other folks? Thanks!!

09/12/2019

If you've trained with us, be sure to add us to your LinkedIn resume!

https://www.linkedin.com/company/schoolofvoiceover/

07/16/2019

SAG-AFTRA has (finally) added a VOICEOVER page with rates on their website.

Note: This appears to be what talent receive, NOT what clients/producers pay You'd have to add anywhere from 12% - 20% to the scale amount or more to get an idea of what the producer actually pays.

As noted here some months ago, at the GVAA/WoVo rates roundable, the SAG-AFTRA rep said they would be basing their rates on the GVAA's research. Here is the result we've been waiting for. (Link to the roundtable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72YWvHGkFeM

07/13/2019

The awesome Michael Curran-Dorsano is in town from LA giving on-camera and audio book classes at the School of Acting and Voiceover until he leaves for Ireland in late August!

04/10/2019

How do you find your signature voiceover sound, your brand voice or money voice? Start with your:

✅ Keyword Profile. Most gatekeepers, such as talent agencie and online marketplaces ask you to provide descriptive words for your vocal style (an agent will typically do this for you).

✅ VO personality snippets. These are short descriptions of your personality in voiceover terms, such as "young cool uncle", "sweet but spunky girl next door", or "rugged outdoorsman", etc. These should be on your website, and in your profile in any online marketplace.

✅ A money voice subtitle that can be part of your logo

Start by choosing the genre you're branding in. I'll assume "commercial" for this post. Other options include Promo, Narrative, etc.

WHAT TO DO:

1️⃣ Start by putting 5-10 voiceover keywords in order from the list at bottom that best describe you. Some can conflict with others. You're not the same thing all the time! This is your first KEYWORD PROFILE.

2️⃣ Next, move onto your PERSONAL BRAND. Get some more common keywords by asking yourself: what are my social and business relationships, hobbies and interests? Ask yourself what keywords are related to these. For example, if you play in chess tournaments, smart, intense, competitive might be words to write down.

Finally, if different friends had to write an obituary for you in case you died tomorrow, what keywords would they use to describe you? Here you don't just have to list keywords, but can write out descriptions, e.g. "loving husband".

3️⃣ At this point, try to come up with some short VO PERSONALITY SNIPPETS (descriptions) of yourself.

Where do you or your coach feel you fit on the Performance Type Wheel? Also draw any keywords from there Schoolofvoiceover.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/VO-Acting-Process-Emotions.png This will also help with determining your "money voice" (last step).

Here are some examples taken from actual talent descriptions of themselves:

Soothing best friend • tender motherly tone • your favorite wingman • your wry best friend • rugged outdoorsman • Jeff Bridges meets Tom Hanks • Conversational Smart Guy Next Door • sweet but spunky girl next door • compassionate healthcare professional • that best friend that you've grown up • over-the- top children's show host • Cool Californian • Dad next door • encouraging teacher • young cool uncle • approachable articulate girl

4️⃣ To come up with a "Money Voice" caption for your logo can take longer. And you don't HAVE to have a caption for your logo.

Your money voice is the overlap between what you do well in voiceover, what is in demand, and what work you have done for pay. If you haven't been doing much work for pay, it's tough to settle on a brand.

This shouldn't be what you wish or hope to do, it should be what you actually get work for. It WILL overlap the area you fit into on the Performance Type Wheel.

5️⃣ Lastly, take note of any BRAND CONFLICTS. Consultants will tell you to violate the Terms and Service of most online marketplaces if you want to do more than one kind of work by creating two profiles. I'm not advocating this!

But their point is correct: you should NOT try to seem like you have a lot of variety—pick a narrow range and stick to it a bit.

The algorithm and search feature behind the scenes needs to know what you MAINLY do to help cast the right auditions and clients your way.

airy • arrogant • attitude • believable • big • biting/cutting • breathy • calming • casual • charming • cheerful • classy • clear • comedic • compassionate • cool • corporate • crisp • current • cute • deep • dignified • dynamic • easy-going • educational • elegant • enthusiastic • exciting • expressive • folksy • friendly • fun • generation-x • gravely • happy • hip • informative • innocent • intelligent • inviting • laid back • luxurious • man's man/guy's guy • neighborly • nonchalant • optimistic • perky • personable • playful • powerful • promo-ish • quirky • raspy • raw • relaxing • rough • sarcastic • scratchy • sensual • sexy • silly • smooth • soft • soothing • street • sweet • tough • trustworthy • upbeat • urban • warm • wry

03/14/2019

Get ready for the Twin Cities Actor Expo on March 30!

We will be there giving free coaching all day, as well as presenting a workshop with the branded voice of State Farm, Katie McCollow, a School of Acting and Voiceover graduate.

Vimeo.com/317984286 ► Twincitiesfilmfest.org/twin-cities-actor-expo

Come attend a variety of seminars with local agents, directors, casting directors and other industry professionals — with topics for novice actors and experienced professionals. As in the past, there will also be many vendors with information on every aspect of the acting business.

02/13/2019

ALL VO talent need to keep their articulation skills in top form. Tongue twisters are a great way to do that! Twisterking.com has lots of them.

Two that are hard to say repeatedly:
• Dame Judi Dench
• Red Leather, Yellow Leather

Most people can say these once or twice, but keep repeating to see how tough it can be!

02/13/2019

Schwa is the most common vowel sound in English; it's the very short neutral vowel sound. But why is the sound and cadence of a "schwa" so important in voiceover?

Listen to schwa examples at youtu.be/1MrftJ1bGlA.

When fixing your accent (or pronunciation), you have to focus on keeping schwa sounds SHORT and QUIET! The cadence/rhythm has to be right, like baDUM. The schwa sounds like a grace note (piano grace note sound: youtu.be/M2dS96Fblxk?t=36) in music. It's *barely* there (unstressed), and the syllable FOLLOWING the schwa feels like it is the "on the beat", or stressed sound.

Sometimes a Minnesota accent will turn a schwa into a long vowel sound, like the first 'e' in receive, receipt, etc. — it's not REEceive, it's rəceive (sounds like ruhSEEVE). We've noticed many Minnesotans have never heard of the concept of schwa, which makes it more challenging to fix words like these.

In voiceover we *sometimes* speak a kind of altered schwa so that the rhythm feels casual, but the pronunciation is accurate. Saying the words "to downtown" like tuhDOWNtown, makes the "o" in "to" into a schwa. It gives the feeling of a casual relaxed conversation, but technically is a mispronunciation of "to", as the "oo"-type of "o" sound went away.

You have to be able to keep the rhythm and cadence of the schwa in "tuh" but use the "oo"-sounding "o". It isn't *always* said this way (schwa-type cadence with correct pronunciation), but you have to be able to do it, and so should practice it.

Also, some alternate pronunciations include or EXCLUDE the syllable that has the schwa, and you have to be able to do either pronunciation depending on what the client wants. A few examples:

• Chocolate: chaw-kuh-lit, chawk-lit
• Camera: kam-er-uh, kam-ruh
• Several: sev-er-uh l, sev-ruh l
• Interest: in-ter-ist, in-trist

Again, sometimes it sounds more accurate while remaining casual to split the difference and *almost* but not completely drop the schwa sound in words like the four above.

From Wikipedia:

"[Schwa] is a reduced vowel in many unstressed syllables especially if syllabic consonants are not used. Schwa is a very short neutral vowel sound, and like all other vowels, its precise quality varies depending on the adjacent consonants. In most varieties of English, schwa occurs almost exclusively in unstressed syllables."

– Wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa

Learn more at https://www.schoolofvoiceover.com/talent-resources/why-short-vowel-sounds-are-so-important-in-voiceover-the-schwa/

12/15/2018

Voiceover training from the School of Acting and Voiceover and the Voice Acting Expo has been approved for training funding in Minnesota by several organizations.

Several students on Minnesota Unemployment benefits have successfully gotten funding for training through Workforce. Overall, students who have received reimbursement have started their search at one of these websites:

✔ MN.gov/deed/job-seekers
✔ CareerForceMN.com
✔ Hired.org
✔ Avivomn.org/services/employment-services
✔ Minneapolismn.gov/cped/metp/cped_metp
✔ JFCSMpls.org/our-services/financial-assistance/scholarships

Some examples of funding:

► Voiceactingexpo.com/vo-expo-images-folder/hired-org-funding.pdf
►Voiceactingexpo.com/vo-expo-images-folder/MN-State-Authorization-of-Funding-Voice-Over-example.pdf
►Voiceactingexpo.com/vo-expo-images-folder/Authorization-of-Funding-VoiceOver-Example.pdf

Please realize: We do not update this information unless we hear that it is out of date. We can NOT contact organizations on your behalf. We do NOT know what organizations require. We do not know anything about organizations or their requirements other than what hear from students or what we learn when the organizations contact us.

We do hear that there can be bureaucracy to navigate, and there is no guarantee you will be funded, but why not check it out?

We DO help students receive funding by being responsive to organizations that contact us. But you have to find, contact and make arrangements with different organizations yourself, and then give them our contact information if they ask for it.

For example, when a MN Workforce counselor contacts us we provide whatever info they ask for. We are not an accredited school, but every kind of training we provide has been funded at some point. (This is acting training. No one is guaranteed work as an actor.) Sometimes the process has been that student pays upfront and when we receive the check, the student receives reimbursement.

Looking for a job? You've come to the right place. View job listings, apply for unemployment, find a WorkForce Center near you, get job search advice and more.

09/18/2018