How has Voices.com helped you with your project needs and how did you select the talent?

There are so many talents listed that it’s often difficult to narrow down who you’d like to contact, so we always send out a general listing and listen to the auditions that we receive. We try to be as specific as we can in the job posting details on what we’re looking for so that the voiceover talent will know whether or not they are matched for the job before they respond.

What challenges did you face using the Voices.com system to find talent?

For this project we wanted that stereotypical deep, male, movie trailer-type voice. The clip was for a 45 second video that would show like a movie preview. We were using the video at an evening cocktail party/networking group event. The event was being held to introduce a new online networking group locally called Synergy Street.

We never have any problems getting plenty of auditions and responses to our postings, and this one was no different. We found the perfect voice, and offered him the job, paid the deposit via SurePay and received our finished files all on the same day. The whole procedure is easy to follow, and speedy!

The Loft Presentation was one of the few videos that we’ve done that actually wasn’t on a very tight deadline. But if it had been, we would have had absolutely no complaints because we got the voiceover file within 45 minutes of ordering it.

How did Voices.com help you achieve your goals in hiring?

Honestly, we use voices.com exclusively for voiceover work for every job. We’ve always had good luck with the talent listed, and every job has been a success.

We got LOTS of audition responses very quickly and most of them were a custom demo for this project so that we would knew exactly how it would turn out and we knew that Dan was the perfect voice for the job. There were absolutely no problems with the transaction; it was perfectly smooth and super speedy as usual.

Click here to see a sample of the finished project

How would you describe your overall experience with the site?

We LOVED the voiceover we got from Dan, he was perfect for the project and he was our first and only choice. Of course, we will use Voices.com again, as we always do. If a project fits Dan’s voice in the future, we will absolutely hire him again. Whenever we meet with customers we tell them where we get our voiceover talents.

About the Client

Episode XI Studios LLC is a full service, turn-key professional video production company. We do projects for web distribution, DVD distribution as well as commercials and special events. Our company website is www.episodexistudios.com.

Project Details

Project ID: 7888
Project Title: Loft Presentation
Category: Business Presentations and Corporate Videos
Language: English (North American)
Project Close Date: February 23, 2008
Selected Talent: Dan Dunlap

Technorati Tags: cartoon voice talent, customer satisfaction, voice over, voice over talent

It’ll only take half an hour of your time…..

How many times do voiceover talent (VO) hear this from prospective clients who assume a 30 minute finished audio file takes only 30 minutes of work to produce?

Let’s take a closer look at what goes into making a finished, polished 30 minute audio file that will serve the purpose you want it to.

The cartoon voice talent receives the script and converts it if it is not presented double spaced with 12 pt type with at least 1″ margins all around.

Why bother?

Well, first and foremost, it is easier to read. The words and lines are not jammed up one against the other. But equally important, it gives the VO space to mark up the script.

This leads us to the next step in the process. The voice talent reads over the script, usually out loud, to get a feel for it.

As the cartoon voice talent reads the script a couple of times, s/he marks it up and checks the pronunciation of difficult words. What message is the script trying to convey? How best can the voice talent get that message across – where should emphasis be placed – where are the best places for pauses, for breath?

This can take up to 30-45 minutes.

Now the voice talent is ready to go into the booth and start recording. Turning on equipment, opening software and creating a new file just takes a minute or two.

Once in the booth, the voice talent records the script. While the markings made before stepping into the booth are a great aid, it still can take up to twice the length of the finished audio to record it. Longer, it if is complex, not written specifically for oral presentation, or if there is a lot of technical jargon or foreign words.

Let’s do a quick summation of time – so far, at minimum, the VO has spent at least 30 minutes preparing the script and at least 45 minutes recording it.

Hmmm – that 30 minute script has already at least took an hour and 15 minutes of the VO’s time and s/he hasn’t even started editing it yet!

Editing generally takes a minimum of twice (often 3x) the length of finished audio file. So, now we have to add another 60 to 90 minutes to the time already invested in this project.

So that “it’ll only take 30 minutes” project will take at least two hours or more to properly produce.

Here’s a rundown of the time it takes to produce a fully edited, dry voice (no music or effects) audio file 30 minutes in length:

Preparing the script: Up to twice the length of the final audio (30 minutes)

Recording: Up to twice the length of the final audio (45 minutes)

Editing: At least two to three times the length of the final audio (60 minutes)

Total Time: A minimum of four times the length of the final audio (135 minutes)(2′ 15″)

Please, for both your peace of mind and for the VO’s, keep this in mind when you set the budget for your next voice project.

Rule of thumb is it takes at least four times the length of the finished audio to record and produce.

Technorati Tags: cartoon voice talent, Elaine Singer, voice over, voice over talent

While there are only a few options for the types of animation available, the possibilities for what can be created, concepts explored, the message given and the kind of voices that bring the cartoon characters to life are endless.

What type of businesses use cartoon voices?

Businesses that want to draw in the younger demographic, businesses who are re-branding their image, and visionaries looking to push the envelope to create a heightened sense of reality.

Stop and think about commercials you’ve seen that were animated.

How did they make you feel? What do you remember about the animation, the voices and what was being said?

Many animated commercials include characters that reoccur in advertising campaigns that brand a product, like Kellogg’s Rice Krispies with Snap, Crackle and Pop. Think also about the popularity of Nasonex’s infamous bee with the latino accent or Smokey the Bear in public service announcements reminding people that “Only you can prevent forest fires”.

These animated ambassadors represent brands and also communicate with their audiences on a different, cozier level than a talking head ever could. Cartoon characters are non-threatening and possess a cultivated genuineness that comes across well without appearing contrived, a bonus for companies that want to establish relationships on a more personal level with their customers on a large scale.

How is this process achieved?

You’ll need to work with a good animator or team of animators. Working with a good copywriter is also advised, taking care to work with someone who specializes in writing for commercials and animation. Lastly, you’ll need to find the perfect voice for your characters and choose well, because those are the voices that will connect on a primal level with your viewers.

Want another great reason to make an animated commercial?

They’re cheaper to make than traditional on-camera ads that employ an entire production crew complete with actors on-camera. Once you get yourself rolling with people who can animate, script and give voice to your characters, the sky is the limit and you’ve got nowhere to go but up!

Find the Best

Technorati Tags: animated commercial, cartoon, cartoon voice talent, commercial cartoon voice, voice over talent

Recently Kyle completed a couple of projects at Voices.com and hired Joe Mc Millan. Read more on Kyle’s hiring experience.

How has Voices.com helped you with your project needs?

First off, at AdExpress, we are a quick turn around ad agency. Kind of like a Kinko’s, you can walk in, look at our menu, order it, and we’ll have it back to you in 24 to 48 hours. Since we promise things in such a short time line, it is very important that we get voice talent responses back as soon as possible.

When a client wants a radio spot, we’ll ask them what they are looking for, and then I’ll go to Voices.com and put in all the info, and just do an open casting call.

How did you select the talent?

Once I get the responses back, I’ll go through and listen to them, and pick out 4 to 5 that are top notch, and then I’ll send those to the client so they can pick which voice they want to be on their project. Once they pick the talent, I’ll contact them (the talent) directly and set everything up.

I’ve been using Voices.com for about a year and a half now, and all the talents have been great to work with.

What challenges did you face using the Voices.com system to find talent?

As stated before, we are always on a tight deadline, and that sometimes makes us pick one voice talent from another. Sometimes they (the voice talent) aren’t able to work with our schedule, but more often than not they are ready and willing to work with us.

For this project we needed a male, North American English voice, that had a wise and fatherly tone to it, and we also needed a female voice that was very happy and upbeat. We found many, and so off to the client they went, and we ended up with Joe Mc Millan, who was able to get things back to me in about an hour, and sent right over email and uploaded through the Voices.com SurePay Service. It was all a very smooth process. Same goes with the female talent; we got in touch over email, and just went from there.

How would you describe your overall experience with the site?

The talents listed at Voices.com are always professional. And the amount of responses we get sometimes can be too much! But it is always great to have 30 or 40, sometimes even over 100 talents to choose from. Some of our clients can be rather picky, so it’s great to be able to keep feeding them more talent.

The result of the project was great. The client was happy, and we are moving forward with more radio spots through this summer. I will always come back to Voices.com for our voice talent needs, and I always tell people where I find out talent. It’s a great way for us to find voice talents at reasonable prices, and being able to set a price is great as well. As for hiring talent again, we have many voice talents on record here that are my “go to people” when I know I need something done quickly and in a professional manner.

About the Client

AdExpress is a quick turn around ad agency. “We make ads, and other stuff”. If you need a radio spot, TV spot, website, web banner ad, magazine ad, newspaper ad, anything that deals with advertising and promotions, we are who you need to talk to.

Our website is www.adexpress.ws, and we have offices located in Columbia, MO and Lake Ozark, MO, with more stores on the way.

If you think that you need an AdExpress in your town, check out our site at www.adexpress.ws and find out how to get one near you.

Project Details

Project ID: 8908
Project Title: Columbia Parks and Recreation
Category: Radio Commercials
Language: English (North American)
Project Close Date: April 23, 2008
Selected Talent: Joe Mc Millan

Technorati Tags: cartoon voices, cartoons, voice over, voice talent

How has Voices.com helped you with your project needs?

I discovered Voices.com and posted a job. I received more than 20 responses, all of which had auditions I could listen to instantly online.

I had been unable to hire good talent through other means, but voices.com provided an easy and fast way to select excellent professional talent. And my hired talent, September Day Leach, has been extremely professional, has a tier one performance, and had my satisfaction as her ultimate goal- and she achieved it with ease. I had received plenty responses and having so many to choose from helped because while some were very good, others were plainly not what I was looking for.

How did you select the talent?

I needed a young, attractive and beautiful voice for spoken statements in the music, and I found September at Voices.com, the need was filled and still is!

Some had recorded some of my script for the audition. I listened to the auditions and selected September Day Leach, who had the perfect voice and performance. It’s easy because once the job is posted; all that is left is waiting for responses and reviewing them. No searching is necessary. The responses were very quick too, I had several in less than 24 hours.

What challenges did you face using the Voices.com system to find talent?

The deadline was a month out, but I wanted to get the work done quickly and voices.com along with my hired talent made that possible. I had no trouble using the system, reviewing responses, making the deposit, or receiving the finished work through the Voices.com SurePay System.

How would you describe your overall experience with the site?

I still work with my talent (September) on a regular basis, and I plan to continue working on future projects with her for the long term. If I was seeking a different voice, I would return to Voices.com and I would recommend it to others.

About the Client

I’m a musician, and I write electronic music. I had tried to find ideal local talent, but with no success.

I write music which I hope speaks to the unfortunate, sad, conditions and frames of mind in which we sometimes unwittingly or deniably live, but I also write music that’s about the things we dream about. It’s also headphone candy; I use a lot of panning effects. In the end I hope its music someone can enjoy and relate to.

Project Details

Project ID: 8651
Project Title: Dark Dance Music
Category: Music Composition and Music Production
Language: English
Project Close Date: May 1, 2008
Selected Talent: September Day Leach

Technorati Tags: cartoon, cartoon voice talent, Dark Dance Music, positive voice talent experience, voice over, voice talent

Recently Tami completed a project at Voices.com and hired Janice Downes. Read more on Tami’s hiring experience.

How has Voices.com helped you with your project needs?

Our Company needed a voice over done for our answering system. We tried several attempts at doing this ourselves but the sound was not up to par. While surfing the net the owner of the company found Voices.com. I set up a profile and posted the job and within minutes our company had several audition tapes to listen to.

How did you select the talent?

Our team sat down and listened to several of the audition submissions. But one voice stood out from the rest it was Janice (JP) Downes her voice had just the right tone and pitch we were looking for. We made the offer via Voices.com to Janice and she accepted. Janice sent us the MP3 files from our scripts we paid her using SurePay (which is very safe and secure) and she sent the files to us for our system.

What challenges did you face using the Voices.com system to find talent?

We were on a very tight deadline in finding the talent.

We were looking for:

• Professionalism
• Quick Turnaround
• English
• MP3 format

Using Voices.com it made this project simple and easy. We were able to post a job, find the right talent, submit payment via SurePay which was safe and secure, and received our MP3’s all in a matter of two days!

We received so many responses and I would have loved to thank every individual that submitted an audition. Janice (JP) Downes was the professional voice we were looking for.

How would you describe your overall experience with the site?

We recommend Voices.com to anyone that needs a voice talent. Janice was so professional and so wonderful to deal with that we decided when we had another voice project to hire her again.

Now with Voices.com there is a feature that allows you to add a certain talent to your favorites and gives you the ability to post a job only to that person. I was able to post and send a job only to Janice and she responded the same day. This was perfect. Voices.com has been an overall great experience for us and we will use them when we are searching for voice talent.

About the Client

Ideal Applications is a software development company producing industry specific web based applications for today’s technology needs. Recent projects include http://TakingApps.com and http://OnSitePropertyManager.com

OnSite Property Manager

Rental property management software for landlords and property managers. Uses a Rent Roll format making it easier to learn and fun to use. Auto posts rents and late fees on the designated dates and times for each rental unit. Tracks tenant interactions and maintenance tasks to easily organize your rental properties.

Taking Apps

Taking Apps provides an inexpensive method for individuals and businesses to collect online responses and change their online Apps on the fly without the need for expensive web design or database modification. The software supports multiple users so that your staff can collectively review the responses and make online notes. Apps can even be branded with your company logo and directly linked from your corporate website

Project Details

Project ID: 8707
Project Title: Ideal Applications
Category: Telephone System Recordings, Voicemail and On-Hold
Language: English (North American)
Project Close Date: April 11, 2008
Selected Talent: Janice (JP) Downes

Technorati Tags: cartoon voice talent, positive voice talent experience, voice over talent

What details are required in your job posting?

Check out a few samples here on Casting Voices.

These job posting samples are fictional, but serve as a great example to people who want to hire voice talents.

These are also good examples as to the type of projects often posted at Voices.com!

Cartoon Voice Talent

Cartoon voice over talents really have to be acrobatic with their voices to be able to showcase their versatility. A cartoon voice talents job is to create and energize characters. A good cartoon voice talent will be able to energize the characters voice whether they are stereotypical archetypes or newly minted character voices. Voice talents will be able to skillfully present the character in your designed storyboards and be able to keep your needs in mind while lending a voice to your cartoon character.

RADIO COMMERCIAL

Simply Storage provides efficient self-storage solutions for anyone whose belongings have outgrown their living space! From ski equipment, to furniture, to your summer clothes, you can store it with us…Simply.

We are seeking a young, exciting, upbeat female voice with a ‘real person’ sound to voice a 30 second ( :30 ) radio commercial to be aired in the Peoria, IL market. The commercial will air locally for 13 weeks.

We look forward to receiving your demos!
Thanks,
John

TELEPHONE SYSTEM

Just Widgets Inc. is a widget distribution company based in Winnipeg, Canada. We ship widgets to manufacturers worldwide.

We are looking for a professional, mature male voice for our telephone system. The system has 20 prompts that will need to be recorded as separate files (MP3s). The total word count for the prompts is 618 and includes recordings for our IVR and various voicemail boxes. We would like to establish a relationship with a voice talent so that changes can easily be made in the future using the same voice.
Please submit a generic demo of your IVR work.

Thank you,
Jane

AUDIOBOOK

I am looking for a voice to record an audiobook. It is a fictional book with inspirational and spiritual themes. The target market is women ages 35 and up.

You can find the book listed on Amazon.com at this URL:

The ideal voice is female, with a mature voice (within the target market age range). I would be happy to hear demos from both British and North American accented voices.

The book is 150 pages in total, with a word count of 27,000. I have included a sample excerpt and would appreciate your custom demos. I will require the final copy on CD.

Thank you in advance,

Stephanie

Technorati Tags: AUDIOBOOK, RADIO COMMERCIAL, telephone system

Ever wondered how our service works?

Watch this video to find out!

Cartoon Voice Talent is a place where cartoon and character voice talent showcase their versatility and vocal acrobatics for hire on the web.

Voice talent found at Cartoon Voice Talent have a burning passion to create and energize characters ranging from stereotypical archetypes to newly minted character voices skillfully designed with your storyboard and needs in mind.

By listening to the voice samples, you’ll discover possibilities for your characters that you’ve only dreamed of, and the great news is that these experienced cartoon voice talent are ready to put decades of vocal innovation to work for you.

Looking forward to serving you,

Stephanie

Technorati Tags: cartoon voice, characters, voice samples

That most likely was the voice of a live announcer or professional actor, hired to speak on behalf of a company and lead a product demo, engaging audiences in an intimate and friendly manner with the goal of bringing in sales for their vendor.

I think a strong cartoon voice talent is an excellent tool to steer the emotions of the viewing audience. People expect a cartoon to be significantly more animated than a real life character. This expectation carries over to the animation of the voice itself. A voice actor is allowed to put more emotion and feeling into a particular line then a live person and as such can put extra emphasis on the humor or drama of a given scene.

Often in movies, the voice talent behind a cartoon character is permitted to explore a wider emotional range because the strong emotions can be blended with the artificial reality of the cartoon better than same scene done with real life actors. Another feature of a good voice talent is that one actor can portray several characters. The versatility of the actors can save money or time in the production of a movie or television episode.

Further, since the actor is portraying more than one character, when emphasis is put into one line said to the second character, the subtleties of the meaning transfers to the response of the second character. For those voice talents who are well known it also is fun for the audience to try and figure out how many characters or which characters a particular talent is portraying. Take, for example, well known programs such as “The Simpsons” or “South Park”.

Many of the voice talents do multiple voices and it is interesting to learn that the characters you picture to be distinct are really being be created by one individual. Another feature of a voice talent is their movements are necessarily ported to the animated character. In some instances the movements of the actors can be put into the characters themselves in order to add an aspect of real human non-verbal communication.

However, in other instances, the actor may deliver the line in any way that helps them emphasis their voice in the right way but the producer or director may animate the physical movements in a substantially different way. This means the actor and move the way that helps him/her best, and the producer or director can move the character in the way they feel best without restraining their actor.

If you want to try something different, that is, contrary to using a pre-recorded voice-over at your booth, consider hiring a voice actor to announce and perform live presentations on the hour or even more frequently than that, depending on the length of the script and product demonstration.

What are the benefits of hiring a live announcer to promote your product at trade shows?

* Your booth will attract visitors immediately, increasing the brainshare that you have access to because of the live announcer.
* Your exhibit will touch people on several levels: a live, interactive performance does more to move your product than any powerpoint could.
* Word of mouth will spread rapidly amongst the attendees, sending people your way to see the demonstrations first hand and your popular currency as a vendor will increase.
* The human voice is one of the most persuasive marketing tools, period.
* Of the five senses, hearing is most prized in marketing circles because of our distinct ability to retain audio messages long after they are originally heard. Jingles, slogans, songs, prose… marketing pitches!

There are many on-camera talent who have excellent voices and make their careers in broadcast television or live speaking engagements as corporate spokespersons. There is an announcer for every script, and a talent for every company.

Need more information about how to find live announcers in your area? Just ask us!

Best regards,

Stephanie

Technorati Tags: animation, cartoon, persuasive marketing tools, The Simpson's

In an effort to help build community and awareness on a large scale, we thought we’d seek out your help and ask that you consider placing an “I Recommend Voices.com” badge on your personal website or blog!

Looking for an interesting way to separate your company from the rest?

Ever watch television ads and wonder how the most brilliant ads make us remember them?

Consider this, most consumers are like children. We are attracted the flash and attraction of quick fix advertising. Many of the strongest ads are ones that have a memorable character, whether it’s an animal or a cartoon character, humor can be easily manipulated in this manner.

Consider a cartoon voice for your advertising and marketing needs. A cartoon voice over can be used in many different ways, from jingles to quirky voices. They are not only visually eye catching but audibly catchy as well.

Want to show your appreciation for Voices.com?

Want to show your appreciation Cartoon Voice Talent Network?

Then simply place a badge on your website or blog by doing a copy and paste of a snippet of code.

There are three badges below, for you to choose from. We hope you like them

Thank you for helping to spread the word.

Have a great day!

Stephanie and The Voices.com Team

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Technorati Tags: cartoon character, cartoon voice, Voices.com