POLL - Our Membership Audition Usage

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

oooppps. well, I didn't see this til it was too late. I let the child of a friend of mine audition and she got the little girl part. I really didn't think anything of it though. They had only gotten 3 responses in 24 hours!

Lee Gordon · **Voice Talent** Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1549

What about those situations when Colin & Cira would hook up to audition for one of those husband & wife spots? I suppose that's OK because they are both paid-up members of Voice123, but what if one of us wanted to recruit a friend or colleague to provide the second voice for an demo? Do they have to get their hand stamped at the door?

I can understand that Voice123 does not want to see us acting as mini casting agents and "sub-letting" our auditions to friends and non-member colleagues (not that there's enough time to contact someone, get them to record a demo, and send it to you so you can submit it before the lead closes), but to suggest that we're not even supposed to involve other members of our own households just seems a bit petty.

J.S. Gilbert

Once again I will take the other side.

Go to Disneyland with your family and you pay for each individual to go in.

Go to most restaurants and, while there may be kids meals, they do have a price.

You paiud a fee for you to have access to a service. It was not offered as a family plan, nor should it give anyone the impression that your membership would present rights and priveledges for anyone else.

If some of the auditions got through, then that should probably be looked upon the same as most people who speed on freeways don't get caught and yet when someone does get caught speeding, it's the officers fault somehow. Why didn't he (or she) stop the car in front of me, they were going even faster than I was.

John Bigl · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 905

J.S., cute analogy.. however, it doesn't explain the Producers or Production Houses w/ talent profiles on V123...
Should Producers such as this one, who undoubtedly have a roster of in-house talents, get a pass, get a slap from customer management as Anthony did, or pay an additional membership fee?

I w/held the name, but have it bookmarked for those who would like to see the profile...

*Voice Description

I am producer of Foreign Languages Voice over, I carry most languages and gender actors, I have my own post production facility

*Voice Genders and "Ages" I Can Perform

• Child
• Teenage Boy
• Young Adult Male
• Middle Age Male
• Senior Male

Be Well

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

One Disneyland ticket gets you one admittance. One lead gets you one audition. But one subscription? A different matter.

If there were truly some kind of screening done on V123 subscribers as to their professional abilitites and qualifications before they could answer leads, then I could see their problem with letting others audition on someone else's dime. Have I missed something since I joined? All I remember doing was filling out a form, and uploading a few demos -- oh and paying my fee.

Were we informed of this policy when we signed up? It was a couple of years ago now -- I can't recall.

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008, 03:03 (GMT) Post subject:

That is a good point. It might seem a little strange that a single subscriber to Voice 123 or any voice talent be able to personally perform male and female voices, including children and seniors. Although there are some women who can play grandmothers and little boys, which might make the categories valid.

I have also noticed the occasional production company or "conglomerate" represented on V123. Did they make special arrangements? Are they just skating by? Did somehow the V123 police manage to miss them or did a few people, including Mr. Reece do something to piss off the gatekeepers at V123?

This is information I don't know, but I will once again direct you to the person who gets caught speeding and points to the other cars that were going over the speed limit.

I am reminded to a situation that took place many years ago where I walked into a boss' office and said "This isn't fair" to which I was met with the statement "Nothing is fair. It's only how you perceive things. And since nothing is fair, don't ask me to be the exception."

I think my response at the time was to tell him where he could stick his job. These days I believe I actually can understand what he was trying to say.

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

For Anthony to get a reprimand in this situation is as absurd as ticketing a stripper for indecent exposure at the Policemen's Ball.
I mean, you invited her, for goodness sake!

Since a seeker gets precious few profiles when keying in their search for 'Eight year-old male', it behooves V123 to decline the posting.
If they post it, the response is obviously their fault; not Anthony's.

Now, if a Seeker is in need of a `gay male Slavic ring announcer type; preferrably a Morgan Freeman soundalike`,
you don`t run out and get the pool guy to record. You Delete. Or call me. Or Joe J or Rajiv, or JS. That`s different.

But if a diner calls ahead for a steak at a vegetarian restaurant, the chef shouldn`t be reprimanded for offering the take-out menu from The Keg.

Voice On!

Lance Blair · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008, 05:53 (GMT) Post subject:

I would never for a moment consider using my subscription for family members or friends. I would only submit a joint dialogue audition with someone else who has a subscription. I'm 100% in support the reprimand.

There are child talents with subscriptions on voice123. How fair is it to them that some parents with gear and subscriptions let their kids play for free? Not fair at all.

Lee Gordon · **Voice Talent** Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1549

To carry the "kids menu" analogy a bit further, I imagine the number of requests for childrens' voices is considerably smaller than those for adults -- possibly ten percent at most. So, should children be required to have a full-fledged subscription when most of the leads will not be appropriate for them? I think a fair compromise would be for Voice123 to offer a "Family Plan" whereby children of the fully paid account holder could be added for an annual fee of $30 each.

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

I will repeat my question -- I am sincerely asking. How many eight year olds, or even under 12 year olds, have their own subscriptions here? I would think that most child talents would work through an agent -- and often that agent is the parent. (It's not like having a My Space page -- or is it?)

When I do a search on a CHILD voice I get 568 (NA English) talents -- none of which (from a brief browse) looked to BE actual children, but might very likely HAVE actual children.

Seekers should specify whether they want an adult impersonating a child -- or an actual child.

Oh, are there more orange boxes in our future? Or helpful e-mails?

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

hmmm....well, I never considered some of the sides of the argument that some of you presented. Mostly, I saw the lead come, knew I couldn't do it, kinda forgot about it. Saw it in my audition box 2 days later, noticed he only had 3 submissions and figured giving the seeker another option wouldn't hurt. I poked around the database and I'm not terribly sure that there are any REAL kids on V123. Yes, there are female who can do kids voices, but there's still a difference in those and real kids' voices. I know I've come across a few talent profiles who list family members' voices on demos as well. I knida like the idea of a "kid subscription". There really aren't enough jobs for real child voices on V123 to offset the subscription cost. I mean, this one spot paid $75. There has to be a happy medium somewhere. Like the kid's price at Disney, or letting a child under 2 fly for free if they sit on Mom's lap.

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

Oh, sure, if they had a kid subscription price, might you see the opposite happening? Adults pretending to be kids doing kid voices for cheap subscription rates?! Ha! No end to the unscrupulous behavior around here!!!!

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

LOL!! Diane you are positively diabolical!! Very Happy

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008, 15:06 (GMT) Post subject:

John Bigl · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 905

saddly, this whole episode deepens my thinking that V123's customer management is arbitrary and capricious; with rules made up as they go along w/out any consultation w/, or consent from the talents that these rules may apply to or harm. and all of them explained away as either being good for the voiceover industry, or cloaked in whatever 'free market' euphemism is convenient for the moment.

perhaps its time for some direct action, raising the black flag, and bringing out the big guns