VOICE2008 Creative Experience Review

Todd Schick · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 63

Hey Maxine...

Nothing wrong with what you say here......it's all good. Indeed, I look forward to anything social being somewhat the social animal myself. There's nothing I like more than the energy and enthusiasm of like-minded people all together at one time; it's really quite empowering....not to mention entertaining.... Wink

!

It's not all doom and gloom from The Great White North here and I'm sorry if I sometimes come across that way - I just always endeavor to see the whole picture. Truthfully, the thought of being there in LA for a weekend and listening to even a single salespitch from a VO coach....well, you might as well stick a couple of knitting needles in my eyeballs! Face it, the presented stuff is mostly geared to the newbie and I don't think most will argue that point with me here.

In other words....I'm not going to be checking my watch every 5 minutes in breathless anticipation of the next speech....(if ya know what I mean). I'd favor the tour from folks who live there and know people....and dropping in on some old friends in the area as well. Tons and tons of Canucks down in LA, for sure...... Smile

Just chatting with a few like-minded professionals like yourself is far more appealing to me on the whole - thus, the Whole Picture. Bob Bergen said something relevant in a recent post; a philosophy of thinking if you will, which is in essence:

"You can't grow unless you take risks..."

Actors in particular understand the meaning of this statement. Without risk in performance, the actor gives up the opportunity to be truly great. While I'm loathe to align this same philosophy to something as banal as a conference in a hotel, I have to admit that attending the conference is indeed, a risk somewhat worth taking for those who understand what truly taking a risk means.

I like the idea of taking the risk to meet others - that's the attraction for me.......even if I've roundly pissed off almost 80% of the speaking roster before the plane landed...LOL! Thank god for my Grandfather's good advice.......Gustav always loved the slapstick humor; taking the risk to make others laugh and talk. I still recall how he would always fake tripping and spilling the two drinks he had in his hands......on the laps of the very ladies he was serving.....! Hilarious. He caught Martha a thousand times using that trick..... Laughing

C'est la vie......I decided to take a risk and write an article that would foster an environment of communication amongst our tiny (but growing) little group here on Planet Earth. In doing so, I've been rewarded with both praise.....and rumblings of litigation designed to sway and manipulate my desire to seek the truth.......

Hang on a second.

What the hell am I writing about here? (wondering)....it's.......like........someone's Grandpappy used to say:

"You can only buff a turd to so high a gloss"

.....and LA is about as glossy as it gets, from what I hear.

OH! Zing! A slapshot from the blueline......!"

Wait......did I just say that this conference could be a glossy turd?

BRILLIANT! I'm absolutley BRILLIANT!

(ok....you do know that last line was supposed to be funny...right? Like....you didn't get the idea that I was being "negative" or anything.....we're all.......good.......here, Right? ok. Good....)

ok. so. we're good.

alright.....kewl.

Greg Houser · **Voice Talent** Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 174

Claire Dodin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 400

Todd, I understand your points and it is a good thing to use our critical self, but to me Voice 2008 is a fabulous event because I'll get to meet some of the people I've been chatting to on Savvy and I can't wait for that! And also, I'm simply a fan of Bob Bergen, Pat Fraley or Julie Williams. The fact that they'll be there and that I'll get to meet them and learn from them, makes the trip so worth it! As for the speakers I don't know, well, I am quite exited to discover them, and I'll make up my mind about them when I'm there. I'm sure some of them will be amazing too.
The event will also allow me to meet with the LA voice over community, and I will hopefully have moved to LA at that point. I think it can only be a good thing to get to know people I'll probably end up working with at some point.
I am looking forward to it!

Very Happy

Peter Ganim · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jul 2005 Posts: 115

Everyone here has made salient observations from a number of perspectives. VOICE 2008, as has been written before, will be a matter of personal assessment as to the professional
value of the cost involved.

To many, the cost is immaterial to the potential gain.

To others, the cost is prohibitive (particularly when the motives of the organizers are specious.)

As I wrote in another thread...if the networking is most appealing, (I, too, would love to meet many of the folks on this and other boards) then , why pay the inflated cost of the whole conference?
Why not just hang out at the hotel..?

Some, however, find the "workshops" worthwhile...again - that is an individual, case-by-case cost assessment (which, by the way, is all I believe Mr. Schick was ever promoting - "check it all out for yourself...")-

I, on the other hand, living in New York, have paid top dollar for far too many "workshops" with top professionals (some of whom will be at VOICE 2008, or are "comparable" pros with books and tapes to sell) AND I have paid other top dollars for similar conferences including APAC (for the audiobook world)-

In each instance, to my mind, it was rarely "worth" it.
One VO pro in particular had the gall to title his workshop similarly to his current "book", charge a healthy sum for said workshop and then spend the entire afternoon trying to "sell" us the book, constantly referring to the "low, low, special discount price" for an item that ought to have been included in the initial cost of the workshop.

One instance, I know.

BUT -
To address a point of Bob Bergen's from a previous post - that, all in all, the hefty registration fee for VOICE 2008 is a relative bargain. True. Given the current market value of VO workshops, seminars, classes and coaching...there is a lot of bang for the buck.

Only, that is, if you have drunk the Kool-Aid in the first place-
That is, you must "buy in" to the notion that $400.00 for an afternoon with a "legend of experience and expertise" - a "working pro"- is a fair rate.

For what it's worth-
I have had many, many casting directors and agents here in New York, on the commercial as well as the legit sides of the business, talk about how MUCH the business has changed since 2001 ( for many reasons, 9/11 being a factor for financial and market impacts that can be discussed in another thread)-

Point being - it used to be that one could get an appointment with an agent or casting director through diligence, perseverance. No more. The entire business now is set up on the "pay-to-play" model and there are a good 8-10 organizations in New York where one pays for the "opportunity", one pays for 5-8 minutes (at the most) in the room with these industry pros, with never a guarantee of work, representation, or even a considerate phone call after the obligatory demo, email, postcard followup.

It used to be that if you were desirous of a career in entertainment/commercials you would, absolutely,risk some cash - on headshots, a demo, an acting class. You would invest time, years even, on a slim shot at success.

There were many who made money off of the "dream" phase - but mostly the headshot photographers and the demo producers. Now the industry has figured out how to make even more money off of the "dream" phase by charging for EVERY EVENT IMAGINABLE.

Of course, with the cult of celebrity booming and the advent of the internet, there is a HUGE market of "wannabes" and there are now all kinds of ways to make a buck off of these "dreamers".

Is VOICE 2008 this voracious and inhuman?
Probably not.

But, to get back to Bob's "bargain" point:

I don't believe in the first place that ANY workshop should be $400.00 (even for an entire weekend) so...no, I don't find the same "value" in the registration fee for the conference.

I do give Bob kudos for conducting as many of the "pro bono" events as he does...there should be more of those! AND - if the professionals are giving of their time in a healthy spirit of industry camaraderie and generosity...why is there a charge at all for the newcomers??

Even for the use of meeting space...doesn't AFTRA or SAG have space that could be donated?

Aaaahhhh...to wrap it up-

I'm going to be in LA around the time of the conference anyway...who knows, I may try to arrange some event with some of my colleagues - OFF SITE perhaps...OR, I may even knuckle under and attend the conference...but, that will be my personal assessment of the value...and I will be entirely cognizant that I am lining somebody's pocket.

Check out the other thread "A VOICE 2008 COROLLARY" if you're interested in knowing more about why I don't believe for a moment that this conference ought to cost anywhere NEAR what they are charging, no matter what sunny spin is brought to bear by anyone...

With the healthiest respect for all of my esteemed colleagues in this industry...as well as a skeptical eye towards anyone who wants my cash...

I remain-
PG

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008, 16:28 (GMT) Post subject: An alternative

Hey,
If you want to come to San Francisco and hang out, I have a hot tub about 6 feet from the studio and there's an embassy Suites about a mile away that I can get you into for $89 a night. If you ply me with Chinese Food and diet Snapple, I can probably get some of my acting buddies to come by to talk to you and sell you stuff. It wouldn't be books or CD's, but probably more like household items and clothing. We could all talk about the good old days and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Then you cold go on microphone and we can be supportive until all the presenters got together in secret and got drunk and ripped on you.

The highlight would be me selling you a pop-up book, complete with cassette tape recording of me teaching you how to make farting and belching noises.

Greg Houser · **Voice Talent** Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 174

So pretty much a more upscale version of Friday night at the Gilbert household, eh?

Louis Tristan · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jul 2005 Posts: 266

Like your website…Reminds me a bit like Connie what’s her face.. Very neat organized and technical.

Remember reading James Book and a lots of famous pro verbs : age old adage. See you read it too…Sounds like they wanted to keep you out of sight out of mind.

Quote:
The people we invite to teach at VOICE are generally (honored) to be a part of this event and are more than willing to do what it takes to get there." So not having you speak would be “conducting affairs associated with the conference accordingly.”

Me talking: Because great honor can not be followed by the bitter sweet

James’ words not mine……..Probably a good thing

When I read this I think it means perhaps they don’t want self-serving individuals or who knows!

Hard to say there are two sides to every story. Am sure James watches the forum perhaps he can share on his next post…
What if they had invited you to speak, what would we be reading then?
If you remember reading the Art of Voice Acting there was not a single flaw in that book…Man, no matter how many times you read it, it is perfect,,Now put that mind set behind the thought process in making the decision as to whether to invite certain individuals…

Who knows if someone doesn’t show they may ask you to fill in…Don’t blow all your bridges you don’t know when you may need to cross them again..

Hummmmm…Here is a free Star Trek Ring Tone...

Interesting read! Thanks for sharing details on the latest pyrmad gimmick...

It's all a conspiracy Shocked

Connie Terwilliger · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 409

Connie what's her face?

Louis Tristan · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jul 2005 Posts: 266

Oh yeah! Terwilliger, that right...My mind was blank...I knew it started with T and remembered the first name was connie...Thanks for filling in the blanks..

Love your site...

Connie Terwilliger · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Jul 2003 Posts: 409

Thanks for letting me know! I have been seriously thinking about having it redone - to include some CSS so that updating it isn't such a PITA. It was originally created in 1996 using Hot Dog or something like that - now it on Front Page - simply no time to learn Dreamweaver.

(Sorry for the threadjack Todd.)

Todd Schick · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 63

Hey no worries Connie....

I'd jump in if somebody said whats-his-face too.....LOL!

Yeah, mine was created a long time ago too.....I just haven't had the time to work on it at all, other than update links and write a whack more stuff for it. It's about 180 pages right now and is in serious need of an overhaul.....

Hey, I'm sure once I finish the renovations on the house, take the dog to the vet, upgrade all the computers, make dinner and get all the spring planting done - I'm sure I'll have time to work on my website...

It never ends.....

Mark Jeffries · **Voice Talent** Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 5

Todd,
Thanks for taking the time to research the conference (in spite of what anyone else might say regarding actually visiting each presenter's website). This is honestly one of the most useful threads on this forum. I'd been back and forth fro my own reasons about attending, chief among them them, trying to establish a value to the presentations. I still may attend, the trip from BC to SoCal is pretty easy and sometimes a bargain. I don't contribute to this board much but appreciate it for what it is, a communication tool for those working full or part time in VO. A regular viewer of Global BC your voice and style are immediately recognizable and I'm thankful you have the time to contribute. And....some very funny stuff to boot. Thanks again eh.

Todd Schick · **Voice Talent** Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 63

No problem....eh?

New doot aboot it. Say....do you know anything about Deb Munro? I heard she's out in White Rock or something (not exactly the hot bed of the VO industry in Vancouver....unless you're looking for Grandpa to voice an insurance commercial...LOL).

She's a quiet one.....doesn't respond to e-mails, hasn't posted anything here (but then again, most of the other coaches haven't either...).

Yah...Global BC - I voice a lot of content for them on top of the National stuff. A good chunk of my family is in Vancouver; whenever Global does a radio blitz (like right now) they keep hearing me everywhere.....freaks my brother out....LOL!

I make it down there usually once or twice a year...we'll have to hook up for a beer sometime, eh?

Diane Havens · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 1281

Todd --

I know Deb Munro has her own thread (ASK DEB MUNRO) at voice-overs dot com, but hasn't posted anything there either recently. Maybe Julie Williams knows something about getting in touch with her.

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008, 17:16 (GMT) Post subject: peeping Tom spotted

Good News everybody,
We finally caught the peeping Tom who had been hanging out at my house Friday nights watching all of my guests and me party. His name is Greg Houser.

Actually he is still at large, but we do have a restraining order out on him. Apparently he has a pattern of dressing up like a giant microphone and then crashes parties, whips off the costume and says "Hey, you like my microphone?... anybody want some voiceover, if you know what I mean."

"you'll need to scroll back quite a few posts for this to really make sense"