Dave mentions all the heavyweights in the cloud storage business, but points out some serious alternatives if you want to make your own cloud storage setup for access to files on your own network from outside.
See it on Scoop.it, via voiceover and voice acting
For years, voice actors and broadcasters have been concerned with the stability/availability/ultimate demise of ISDN, the core technology for transmitting high quality video and audio between studios..
You have the ability to overcome great fear. – Hal Jordan’s power ring, “Green Lantern: Secret Origin,” DC Comics
Back in March, I received an email from one of my agents, simply entitled “audition.” Briefly, the email said “Can you get this back to me by tomorrow a.m.? VERY Confidential.” Scanning down the email I saw the attachment – JohnStewart.doc. Before I even opened it, I was giddy.
You see, I am a comic book geek. I have been reading them since I was a child; some of my fondest memories include my father asking me “George, did you get the new X-Men comic yet? No? Let’s go get it,” and promptly heading out the door to the local comic book store, a thing that was so much rarer in those days than they are even now. My allegiances have shifted around from publisher to publisher over the years, but there has always remained a special place in my heart for the DC Universe. In DC, you can have your Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman; they are fantastic long running characters. But my favorites are the Martian Manhunter (much more low key than the previously mentioned Man of Steel, Dark Knight, and Amazon Princess, but just as powerful), and Green Lantern.
For those not familiar with the mythos, Green Lanterns are universal policemen, entrusted by the Guardians of the Universe to protect their little slice of space from all sorts of evil, large and small. To do so, each Lantern is given a green power ring. These rings are often called “the most powerful weapons in the universe,” because their abilities are only limited to the willpower of the wearer. Indeed, those who are chosen to be Green Lanterns are selected not because they are always brave, but because of their ability to overcome great fear with willpower. Earth is lucky (as it is in most comic books) in that it has three lanterns assigned to it and its sector; Hal Jordan (the subject of last summer’s kind of regrettable film, Guy Gardner….and John Stewart.
Stewart was created at a time when there was a dearth of African-American comic book heroes, and over time has become a steady member of the DC Universe. Many children found out about him during the run of the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons on Cartoon Network, where he has been presented a s a strong, honorable, and powerful character.
As I mentioned before, the source of a Green Lantern’s power is willpower. The ability to overcome fear, or virtually anything else, by force of will. Green Lanterns are capable of building enormous machines, contain stars going supernova, and more by sheer force of will. And if you think about it, that is what the pursuit of any career, especially as one as fraught with pitfalls and perceived rejection as voiceover, depends on will. The will to power through the slow times and keep plugging; the will to keep auditioning when it seems you just can’t turn one over; the will to keep trying.
So I deny the need for talent? Of course not. All the willpower in the world can’t get you past an inability to interpret copy. How about money? No, unless you have a ring that can will you into some cash to handle the expense of getting started. No, I do not deny that there is more needed aside from just wanting it.
But one must want it and must keep driving forward, and show the will to push through the inevitable disappointment of auditions not won and agents not impressed enough with your abilities and the lack of time and all of those things if the career is to come. Willpower isn’t all you need, but it is a lot of what you need.
And the audition? As of June 2012, I am John Stewart in a non-player character role in the massively multiplayer online role playing game DC Universe Online. I join a list of actors who have portrayed John Stewart that includes Phil LaMarr, Kevin Michael Richardson, Michael Jai White and Ken Thomas. There are some stories in which the power ring is referred to as a “wishing ring.” Well apparently, some wishes do come true.
Over the last 9 months, my household has been enduring an incredible amount of change. We have to hustle to cover everything that needs to be done through the course of each day, each week as we make sure this child gets here, that child gets there, and so on. Nothing any other family doesn’t have to deal with, though the sudden switch to managing those schedules for 6 children is a contributing factor.
A few weeks ago, a very good client of mine brought a new e-learning project to me. They asked for a quote, I provided it, and they sent me the script. In the mean time, we continued with the family transportation and scheduling madness. And when I had time to sit down in the studio, fire up the computer and get the job done, I ripped off the lines that were highlighted, edited them up, and uploaded them so the client in India was able to get the parts integrated into the project.
Ah, but there’s the problem. The highlighted lines?
They were not for me.
I received a slightly panicked email from the contact in India saying that they received the lines, but they were the wrong ones, and could I send the correct ones as soon as possible? After looking at the email in a bit of a stupor, realizing what I had done wrong, I went back to the studio and re-recorded the project again, this time doing the correct lines, with no small amount of embarrassment for what had occurred.
After uploading the files, I began to think about how to handle this instance. My mistake cost the client time, and perhaps even caused them to miss commitments of their own. I have worked on enough projects, both as a voice artist and an IT systems consultant, to know that slipped dates on projects are not good things. They cost time and money. And they often end up with the person who slipped the date in a bit of hot water.
So I took a deep breath, and wrote the following:
The files are uploading now, two takes of everything with MP3s and WAV files.
Once again I would like to apologize for this mix up. Because I value your business, I would like to offer you this project for free. Your delays have been my fault, and I don’t want to impact your business in this way. Please let me know if this is acceptable.
Make no mistake, it hurt to write this. I left money on the table (maybe even too much), and spent more than double the amount of time necessary to do it. But I felt it was absolutely necessary to own up to my mistake, and make it as right for the customer as I could. You always remember the people who go out of their way to help you, and especially those who try to make up for their errors. Once the problem was found, I felt this kind of damage control was not just a good idea, but necessary.
My client responded favorably, thanked me for the work, and told me more would be coming soon. Hopefully I repaired the damage quickly enough to retain them. Of course, you never want to be in this position in the first place. But when you do, be ready to make it right.
From an unlikely source comes this story: “10 Voice Actors Who Shaped Your Childhood and You Didn’t Even Know It.” Some of them are names easily recognized in the industry, including the legendary Daws Butler and Mel Blanc, but includes some that you may not truly may not know.
My personal favorite on the list is Bill Melendez the voice of both Snoopy and Woodstock, if only because over this Thanksgiving weekend, we watched “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” and “Snoopy Come Home.” By the way, if you have a need to hear a sad song, check out “Do You Remember Me (Lila’s Theme)” from “Snoopy Come Home.” Never fails to draw a tear for me.
Another one of special note here is Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo. He recently was the subject of a film titled “Being Elmo,” and from all accounts is definitely something to check out. Even though Elmo’s voice tends to grate on us as adults, we cannot deny the impact that Clash has had on a generation of children through Elmo and Sesame Street.
Are there any voice artists from your childhood that had an impact on you?
Gabrielle Nistco at Voicehunter/VOCareer has been running voiceover Meetups here in Charlotte for a couple of years. They give students of hers and people interested in the field a chance to hear from a veteran voice artist about technique and basics, discuss the business with like-minded individuals, and frankly figure out if this is the direction they want to go. I have mentioned her previously in the “How Do I Get Into This” post.
Last week, she hosted a meetup entitled “Meet the Clients!” This well attended Meetup features some great information as given my a dynamite panel, including my friends Dan Friedman (of ProComm Voices and Sound4VO fame and author of “Sound Advice: Voiceover from an Audio Engineer’s Perspective”) and Beverly Penninger of Naka Productions here in Charlotte, as well as network television producer Linda Midgett and Voicehunter casting director Eric Simendinger. They shared a great deal about their experience with voice artists in the commercial and narration areas, and told some wonderful stories about their careers.
The question that Gabby asked them that elicited the most interesting response for me was about pet peeves. In essence, the panel was asked if there was a particular thing that caused them to cringe when working with a talent on a project. The item that elicited the most response?
A bad attitude.
The voice artist that is good, and knows it, and wants YOU to know it. The aspiring talent who expects that whatever their previous experience was, it clearly makes them PERFECT for voiceover with no further training or work. The voice actor that virtually refuses to be directed, for their interpretation is clearly superior. The guy that comes into the session prepared to direct not only his own delivery, but the delivery of anyone else in the session as well.
Confidence is a wonderful thing. You cannot be successful in this business, or any other, without it. In a business in which you “fail,” or do not win the audition much more often than not, you have to find ways to keep your confidence high and retain a belief in your abilities, your skills and potential. But confidence can also be a killer. When you are so sure that you cannot be replaced, that this job is yours no matter what, you have let confidence take too deep a hold of you.
In the past, I have noted that this is a selection business. Because being selected for a job has a very rewarding feeling that comes with it, there is a deep-seated belief of one’s own superiority, and irreplacability (yes, I just made up a word), that can set in once you win a few top-level jobs. But in order to keep getting that work, you must keep in mind these things:
Performance requires confidence. I wholeheartedly believe that. But I also believe that success requires humility in the long run. And that humility comes from remembering the joy of doing what you love to do, that not everyone gets to do that. And remembering that the gift you have is not just your voice, but the opportunity you have to use it.
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