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Monique Danielle

Voice Over Actor

Mo@MoniqueDanielleVO.com

(647) 385-6454

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professional voice over

3 Reasons You Should Keep a Roster and How to Get Started

Left brain, Voice Over

You If you’ve worked with voiceover talent before you may know that there are many ways to hire us. You may have even used some voice casting sites like VO Planet. Perhaps you have a relationship with a voiceover talent agent like mine, the fabulous Tanya Buchanan at Ta-Da! Voiceworks. But did you know that you can keep your own roster of talent? In reality, it’s not that difficult to get started when you use the right tools. But you’re way too busy, you might think. It turns out that may just be one of the best reasons to do it!

Add Credibility to Your Client Services

professional person

Just like you have employees and other contractors handy whose work you can guarantee, having your own, vetted roster of talent allows you to assure your clients that you provide superior service. Your clients can rest assured that you’ve taken the time to find professional talent (see below) that you have a personal relationship with and know will deliver excellent results, on time, every time.

Having your own roster allows you to search out the talent who align with your company mission, vision and values. They add an increased level of compatibility, better communication and greater connection to the client’s message. Great minds think alike and feed into creativity for amazing results!

Sometimes it’s good to have hundreds of voices to choose from. But most of the time it’s better to have existing relationships so you can guarantee the best results right from the first meeting.

Save Time by Taking Out the Middleperson

Time

I know you’ve been there when you’re facing a near-impossible deadline for your client. You have tons of tasks left on your checklist and not enough time to do them all. One of those tasks is putting together an audition notice. But this also includes waiting for the auditions, listening to the auditions, and potentially getting approval from the client. Then you have to set up the recording session or wait for the talent to get you the files. What if you could cross a bunch of those tasks off the list in advance by starting your own roster?

If you have a small roster of voice over actors you can trust, you already have a shortlist when your client comes in with a tight deadline. That way you cut straight through the posting and listening right to the list you provide the client so they can pick the voice they like best. Even if you keep a very small roster but you have a good relationship with the professional folks on it, they likely have lots of resources and connections to help connect you to other reputable talent they trust that will meet the clients’ needs quick.

Have Confidence You’re Working with a Professional

It doesn’t get said enough that not all voice talent are created equal. In today’s side-hustle culture, the voiceover world has seen a recent influx of voices. This includes every Joe Blow with a USB mic and their dog. Not to mention with the rising popularity of artificial intelligence there are more voices on the market than ever! It’s difficult to be sure you’re going to receive quality audio, on time, by an individual who knows how to properly self-direct to communicate the clients’ message well. And when you vet the talent for every project, that’s a lot of time spent that can be saved with the time you don’t think you have to set up a roster!

When setting up a roster you’ll want to make sure the talent are working voiceover professionals. This means they should have a properly treated recording space (think broadcast quality home studio). This way, the audio will sound as good as your video looks. They should have appropriate coaching with a reputable coach, or ideally multiple coaches. In fact, a professional voice actor should constantly be coaching, learning, and building their craft. They should have good quality recording hardware, software and of course a vocal style that fits with your clientele! You’ll also want to know that their rates are in line with industry standards, their turnaround time, and while we’re at it, make your job even easier and make sure they’re easy to work with and get a hold of. If you’ve done this work ahead of time and have a well vetted talent roster, you’ll save yourself hours on each and every project.

Getting Started

Tip

So maybe you’re still not convinced you have the time and resources to start your own roster. Here’s a time-saving tip to consider: Google Forms. You probably get a lot of emails from voice over talent eager to work with you. Sometimes it’s difficult to listen to them all and sort them appropriately. So why not make them do that work for you?

In looking for new clients, I always love coming across a well-organized Google Form. It allows me to submit my information and showcase my professional standards to a client in a way that a cold email never could. With these forms you can ask for turnaround time, studio equipment, direct session options, vocal styles and more! You can then easily add the results of these forms to a list that you can sort and pick through much easier. A few minutes creating a Google Form saves tons of time reading through and responding to cold emails.

So, there you have it. Without spending a ton of extra time, you can start your own voice over roster and up the ante over your competition. Have questions? Let’s chat! Reach out to me at Mo@MoniqueDanielleVO.com and let’s get started together setting up a roster for your company that’ll blow your clients’ minds!

 

Filed Under: Left brain, Voice Over Tagged With: professional voice over, Voice over, voice over actor, voiceover talent

Hire a Voice Over Who is Professional and Creative

Voice Over

What is a left brained / right brained voiceover?

Our brains are incredible. They really are the greatest supercomputer ever created. And most of the things our brains do are automatic, which makes them even MORE incredible! If you’ve ever seen a picture of a brain, you know that your brain has two halves, or hemispheres. (If you’ve never seen one, don’t worry! Have a look below!) There’s a theory that people are either left-brained or right-brained which was based on the research of Roger W. Sperry.

Sperry won the Nobel Prize in 1981 for this theory “for his discoveries concerning the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres.”  Fun fact: Sperry actually won a half share of the prize, which seems kind of fitting given his research. The theory says that left-brained people are more analytical, logical and may be more detail-oriented. Think the math genius from your high school. Alternatively, right-brained people are the free thinkers, creative types who live more in the subjective. Think the art student in high school who was always covered in paint.

Scientists have since debunked the left-brain versus right-brain dominant theory, but you probably still know about it because it became very well known in popular culture. Though each half of our brain is responsible for different things and there are as many personality traits as there are people, it turns out these personality traits and those attributed to Sperry’s research aren’t controlled by a more dominant hemisphere on its own.

What this means to me

So why call myself the left-brained / right-brained voiceover? Well as I said above, I’m taking advantage of a popular figure-of-speech from pop culture that people recognize almost immediately.

In addition to being a full-time voice over actor, I’m also trained as an accountant and received my designation (Chartered Professional Accountant/Chartered Accountant or CPA/CA) which in the past would be considered a very left-brained thing to do.  And because I have always been very logical, detail-oriented and quite good at math I used to think that I wasn’t a creative person and I was DEFINITELY left-brain dominant.

But then again, I have been dancing before I could walk and singing before I could talk (as ABBA would say!) I was a ballerina when I was 5, art used to be my favorite subject in school, I danced again in high school (even going on a class trip where I learned at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance) before becoming “one of those drama kids,” acting in any role I could get. Before getting my degree in accounting I was enrolled in theatre and education to become a drama teacher. So CLEARLY I was right-brain dominant.

You can see the issue with the theory here. How could I definitely be left-brained AND clearly be right-brained? The truth was the whole time I was that one-of-a-kind mix of left and right brained! Logical and objective while also creative and subjective. A mystery wrapped in an enigma!

What this means for you

So what? After all that theorizing and debunking, accountant versus actor, why does it matter to hire a left brain / right brain voiceover talent?

It matters because I bring the best of both sides to the table, or rather to the booth! I’m a consummate professional, or a professional’s professional if you will. That means I always deliver on-time or earlier, I ask the right questions, I’m easy to direct and I’m always client focused. The biggest ‘why’ I do what I do is because of you, the client, the listener, the audience. Without someone listening there’s really no point in talking (I’m looking at you, Twitter.)

At the same time, when I’m behind the mic I can be endlessly creative. I bring in multiple voices, styles and interpretations. I’m an actor studied in improv so I can make you laugh or roll with the punches when something changes last minute. You’re trying to find the best way to tell your story and with my creativity I will surprise you, delight you and satisfy your audience.

So there you have it, Monique Danielle the left-brained / right-brained voiceover. A voice talent who works with professionalism and creativity. A voiceover actor who works fast, friendly and fun! Now that you know why this is important for you I’d love to make your job a whole lot easier. Contact me and let’s chat about your story and how we can bring it to life!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Voice Over Tagged With: creative voice over, professional voice over, Voice over, voice over actor, voiceover talent

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mo@moniquedaniellevo.com

(647) 385-6454