Rebecca Forstadt - Female Voice Over Actor -Young Sounding

Questions asked by a fan who will remain nameless about my Voice Acting Career

rebeccaforstadt@gmail.com — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:35:54 +0000

Below is a letter from a voice acting fan. I have removed his name to protect his privacy. He asked some great questions about my voice over career so I thought I would share my answers. Enjoy!

Hello, my name is (unnamed). I have been a fan of all things animated cartoons and video games since the age of 2. I never understood why I enjoyed them at first. But then, as I got older, I began to notice the voices of the characters and how they managed to grab my attention whenever I sat down to watch them.

I was always curious about who did what voice of which character. I never knew that there were so many gifted people (like you) behind the character’s voices and the amazing amount of talent it took to bring them to life.

This was just one of the many reasons why I fell in love with it all.

In any case, I do have some questions:

Was being a voice actor something that you’ve wanted to do?

When I was in high school and college I studied acting and wanted to be a movie star. I always had this kid voice which was good and bad depending on what I was auditioning for. I always appeared to be much younger than I was. However, my voice was rather special and proved to be great for cartoon work. I accidentally got involved with dubbing anime films and found I was good at it. It takes a certain type of rhythm to be able to sync the words and mouth movements.

The fun thing about voice acting is that it doesn’t matter how you look or how old you are. You can still do it if your voice is what producers want. Plus, you don’t have to stand around and work 15 hours a day. The average time at the mic for a job is 2-4 hours. An ADR job may be all day, but usually you aren’t at the mic the entire time. For some jobs, such as a TV commercial, you get paid the same rate as those who may have spent the entire day on the set.

Where do you see your career going in the next 10-20 years?

I’m not really sure. I’ve been a voice actor for over 30 years already. The business has changed drastically since I first started. With the Internet, almost everyone can be a voice actor if they want to be. There is more and more non union work. That means a ton of competition. You also need to be a recording engineer which was not true when I started. You would go in to a studio or agent’s office to audition. It is very intimidating for many people.

More importantly, what is your hope for Voice-over talent?

I hope we don’t all get replaced by electronic robots.

Do you see such talent becoming more accepted in the American mainstream as time goes on (much like how your seiyuu counterparts in Japan are)?

Voice acting for the most part is respected. Look at all the celebrities who are suddenly doing it. Anime (or dubbing) is not as respected as original animation but is much harder in many ways.

How did you get your start as a Voice Actress?

I saw an ad in an actor’s magazine and started working on dubbing projects. I also got an agent.

and finally, What would you say is the best and/or most favorite part of being a voice actress?

It’s mostly a lot of fun. The people in it are great and very funny as well. They don’t seem to be as competitive, as far as trying to get a part, as on camera actors.

Before I end this letter, I would just like to say that I do enjoy the work that you have done(even if my only exposure to it was through Tenchi Muyo).

Thanks so much and thanks for writing.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope to meet you in person, someday,

Very truly yours,

Unnamed

How to Create an Interactive Website for Your VoiceOver Business

rebeccaforstadt@gmail.com — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:48:05 +0000

If you are starry eyed and are thinking,

“Wow! I want to be a voiceover actor”

realize you need to create a business to sustain your career over the long run.

The glamorized version of Hollywood is simply that. It’s glamorized. It isn’t until you start counting how much you are actually making when you realize,

“Hey, this is not all it is cracked up to be.”

As a voiceover actor, you go from gig to gig. If you are lucky, in the union, and able to qualify for your health insurance and pension, that is awesome. However, the majority of voiceover actors do not. Many have never been able to crack into the union. Or, maybe you had some good years and then all of a sudden someone cuter than you starts to get all your work.

When you start a voiceover business, or any business that is freelance, you have to treat it as a business.

That means you need to market yourself. You will need an agent, demo reels, equipment, business cards, etc.

One way you can add to your income is to have a dynamic and interactive website. I recommend WordPress, which is a blogging platform. In fact, as a way to increase my income, I became a blogger and then a Blog Consultant. I make money from my websites. Use WordPress.org rather than WordPress.com.

Think about it. You don’t want to work in an office if you are a voiceover actor. You want to be able to be flexible and available whenever auditions come up. You don’t want another JOB because voice acting and freelance work is working appointment to appointment. In other words, a slightly more flexible JOB. (just over broke)

Residual checks certainly help if you are able to get them, but a 2 cent check (yes, I have actually received some) doesn’t go far at the grocery store.

Starting a blogsite will allow you not only to market your voiceover business online (which means all over the world) but will also give you opportunities to make extra passive income that will sustain you if times get tough out there in radio and tv land.

That means you can actually have a family, send your kids to college and go on vacations whenever you like. You are not tied down to waiting for the phone to ring when you BOOK a gig. Auditions are not jobs. They are important, but unless you are booking consistently, they do not pay the rent.

WordPress blog sites are easy to use and can be integrated with audio and video players, image galleries, mailing list opt ins and just about anything else you can think of. Oh yes, and PAYPAL buttons. That’s a fun way to get paid.

I happened to find out that I had talent setting up blogs for people, but if you are not very technical, you can have someone (like me) set one up for you at a reasonable cost. Then you can always go in and make changes, write blog posts, and PROMOTE yourself. Blogs will help you create CELEBRITY that will bring more attention to you. It’s important to write articles.

Each time you write, Google will bite.

Below are several ways you can increase your income streams without having to spend any money. Most actors don’t have a lot of that to spread around especially if they have spent $1,000+ to get that demo reel made that their agent wants them to redo.

Teach voice acting or podcasting.

Believe me, there are some horrible podcasters out there making tons of money online. Do it by holding webinars rather than meeting in person so that you can serve more people and not take as much time out of your busy day to drive around. You can also teach using video, live stream or podcast. Believe it or not, there are tons of people who do not live in large markets like LA or NY that would love to know how to be a voice actor.

Sell affiliate products

Discuss products you know and love. An example would be how to set up a voice over home studio. What microphone are you using? What computer programs? They are almost all on Amazon and they have a wonderful affiliate program. Of course, there are other programs that pay much more than Amazon, and guess what? It doesn’t cost you a dime to join them. Write a blog post linking that product to your affiliate link. If someone purchases that product, you make a commission. A check or Paypal payment gets sent to you. It’s just as exciting and getting a residual check.

Sell your own products.

Have you created some cool MP3’s? Do you have special equipment you have created such as the Port a Booth or even DVD’s that you have appeared in? Feature them on your website.

Write an Ebook, or even better create an audiobook you can sell online.
Or hell! Sell those cute little nose rings you’ve been cranking out and trying to sell on Venice Beach.

Ready to get started? Here what you need to do:

Map out your business plan. I know, that sounds so corporate and you are an artiste but DO IT!

Once you have decided what your plan is, you may want to pick out a cool domain name. TIP: Pick a .com. Forget .net,.biz,.info, .biz. DOT COM is easier to find. An exception: Some crack pot who has the same name as you, is holding your name hostage and doesn’t even have a site up. Then, maybe you can go for the .net. When they let their domain expire or disappear off the face of the earth, grab the.com.

As an actor, you will probably want to get your own name if it is available because you are promoting YOU. However, you might want to try a keyword rich name that will attract people to your topic such as www.youwannabeavoiceactor.com (That’s a little long, but get my drift) Google is a goofy sounding domain name but they are making billions so you never know.

You need a hosting account because you want CONTROL over your files. Plus, as a voice over actor, you will be uploading audio files. I recommend BLUEHOST. They have excellent customer service and are very reliable. (And yes, this is an affiliate link – I will get paid if you click on the link to Bluehost) I use them myself and have been extremely happy. I have multiple sites and not just this one. Bluehost even gives you a free domain for the first year.

Bluehost has a one click installation for WordPress. If your domain is on Bluehost just go to the icon in the C Panel that says WordPress and follow the directions. Remember your password. OR CONTACT ME and I will HELP you.

WordPress has thousands of free themes to choose from. They are easy to install. All you do is log in to your WordPress dashboard. Got to http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin. Enter your username and password. Go to Appearance and then Themes. (When you find a theme you like, you download the zip file of it) Upload the zip file and look at your theme. I personally prefer to use a Premium Theme because there is better support, the themes are updated, are coded well, and have more bells and whistles. Do not customize the “out of the box” WordPress theme. My theme company of choice is Genesis StudioPress. They simply rock. To install a Genesis theme you upload the Genesis Framework first. (do not activate it) Then upload a child theme. Activate that. The Framework is very powerful and runs underneath the child theme. If you make customizations on the child theme, they will not be lost in upgrades. This site is using the Lexicon child theme.

There are certain settings you will want to use when you first upload WordPress. I can definitely help you with that but my blog post is long enough already.

WordPress has some amazing plugins that you will want to use.

For instance, I use the free Audio Player plugin for demo reels. It creates the audio player. You can also use something like Audio Acrobat which will host your audio files for you. It is $19.95 per month and can be used for feeding your podcasts into places such as ITunes.

There are plugins for various video players, galleries, etc.

Create a mailing list opt in box to communicate with your readers. I love aweber and use it on most of my sites. You can have multiple lists and it’s easy to design a cool looking webform. It costs $19 per month. However, on this site I used MailChimp which is also awesome and is free for up to 2,000 names.

If you need help setting up a WordPress site, check out my website at www.sharpbizimage.com

So, quit waiting for the phone to ring and start creating a voice over business now. (emphasis on business)

[audio] How to Be a Voice Actor if you Have no Money

rebeccaforstadt@gmail.com — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:54:57 +0000

I get voice acting questions all the time from fans. One particular fan wanted to know how it would be possible to become a voice over actor without spending any money. There are a few important things to know before you ditch your day job and venture into the field of entertainment. I answered the question in an audio file with the text below minus a few adlibs. I hope you enjoy it.

I get a lot of questions from fans on how to become a voice over actor. I’m thinking that the focus of this blog should shift to give all of you out there a perspective on what it takes to make it in this profession. If you have specific questions make sure to contact me on my ASK ME QUESTIONS page.

I recently had someone ask how they could get into voice acting without spending any money. This is a good question because if you want to start your own business, or work freelance, which is what is required to be an actor, you have to market yourself. Unfortunately, there are expenses involved. Most people have an employee mentality and are used to someone just handing them a paycheck. Although we, as actors, get paid W2 income by companies, especially if it is under a union contract, often times we’re 1099’d. That means we work independently.

If you want to be an actor, and be successful, you have to get over the starry eyed part and be more educated on what it takes to run a business.

The problem with being an actor is that you have to go from gig to gig. You may make a large amount of money doing a video game, for example, but if you don’t work for a while, and average how much you are making per year, it may come to just pennies per hour. That’s way below minimum wage. In order to sustain yourself, waiting for that million dollar break, you’ll have to build a business around yourself that’s not just dependent on how many sessions you work.

As a union actor, you get residuals. I’m very happy that SAG and AFTRA merged into SAG-AFTRA. It makes us much stronger as a union and perhaps will have an effect on some of the unscrupulous practices that are happening in the voice over industry. One practice that’s emerged in recent years is having to pay to audition on online sites.

When I joined SAG and AFTRA many years ago, I was adamantly told that if you had to pay to audition, or if someone was getting a kickback from referring you to a photographer to run away like the wind. If you have an agent, they don’t get paid until you do, and then they get 10% of what you make on top of what your union scale would be.

The big bummer is that many people do not work under the auspices of the union. Everyone has to survive, right? You have to do what you have to do to eat sometimes. As more and more people are competing for voice over gigs by auditioning online, the rates are lowered and many times actors get taken advantage of by jerky producers because there isn’t an entity, like a union protecting you.

For aspiring actors who live outside markets such as LA, NY or even Texas, auditioning online may be the way to go to get connections and some practice. I don’t believe most professional voice over actors get the majority of their gigs that way. They get their work from networking with other industry professionals directly.

The other thing aspiring actors need to be aware of if they want to be voice over actors is that you have to have a home studio in order to compete. That requires having equipment that delivers decent sound and it can be quite expensive. This has been a challenge for some of us old fogeys, because we’re used to going to our agent’s office to audition and never learned how to become sound engineers.

The most important thing if you want to be a voice actor is to get acting training. It seems that everyone and their brother wants to be a voice over actor, but very few have even taken an acting class. If you want to play at being an actor then start doing something like podcasts. You may even make some money doing it, if you market yourself correctly. Otherwise get in some plays and take classes from professionals in the field. Sorry, but a good class is not usually free either.

Do you need a great demo reel and do you need to spend $1,000 on it? Probably not these days. If you’re tech savvy, download Audacity or use Garage Band on a Mac and you can put together a decent reel. You’ll be on your own as far as coaching is concerned, but you can always give it a try.

It’s interesting. When I started in voice overs, we took jobs because we were actors and wanted to pursue our passion. Now, we have voice over actors who have gone into the profession because they were fans of such things as anime and video games. That’s fine if you are an excellent actor, but if you’re not truly interested in developing your acting chops it’s probably just a pipe dream. I don’t mean to be negative, just realistic.

In the beginning I spoke about creating a business around your career. That requires some business and marketing training. You can get quite a bit of information about that online or in business classes. Don’t overlook this or you will probably starve to death.

There are other aspects of being a professional voice over actor to take into consideration. You need to be reliable, on time, and smell good. There is nothing as obnoxious as going into a sound booth after someone has been in there who’s stinky. You know what I mean? You probably won’t get hired again. Just saying.

Good luck out there and remember, if you have an questions go to my ASK ME QUESTIONS page. I’d be happy to answer you.

Going to Ryu-Kon in July as a Special Guest

rebeccaforstadt@gmail.com — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:29:48 +0000

I’m excited. I’ve been asked to be a special guest at a new convention in New York called Ryu-Kon. It will take place on July 22nd in Canandaigua, NY at the Inn by the Lake. Doesn’t that sound like an amazing place? Check out this pic of the location.

I’m really looking forward to it. I love to travel and have never been to Canandaigua, NY. I’ve been to NY City, of course, but being able to go a little out of the way will be cool.

The convention is only on Sunday, so it will be a short trip but that’s OK. Apparently, the nearest airport is in Rochester.

I’m glad they considered asking me because sometimes I feel people think I’m retired from voice acting. I’M NOT!

I’ll be holding a panel and autograph session. Let me know if you can make it.

Rebecca

Minmei meet Marlene Dietrich and Davy – Oh My!

rebeccaforstadt@gmail.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:33:37 +0000

I had to share two videos that were sent to me by a fan. They were just so well done I couldn’t resist. In one, Minmei, Lisa Hayes and Rick have my school time crush Davy singing in the background. The other is a photo montage of Minmei and Marlene. How totally cool!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks Jaeson!