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- [00:00]
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Voiceover coffee shop episode 83.
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B
Welcome to the Voiceover Coffee Shop where we give you a glimpse into the world of the biggest voice actors in the industry over a delicious cup of coffee. And now, here's your host, voice actor Andrew Morrison.
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A
Hi there. My name is Andrew Morrison and welcome to the Voiceover Coffee Shop where we start our day with some of the finest names in voiceover. If you'd like to get to know a little bit more about me, you can check out my website@AndrewDMorson.com in this episode we have the amazing Christy Bowen. Christy is a powerhouse both as a voice actor and as a business owner. She is a rock star of a VO and has produced and been a part of some of the biggest campaigns you can imagine. She's also the owner of the Tennessee Voiceover Studio and has both started more VO ventures and won more awards for her performance than other. Honestly, I can count. I mean, one time I was in a room and she was literally referred to as voroyalty. I'm talking to you, Cliff. Not to mention she's one of the kindest people I've ever met. So in this episode, we're going to talk about sustaining energy and long form narrations, the changing landscapes and political voiceover and the Tennessee Voiceover Studio's amazing online classes. Let's get into it. How are you, Christy?
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B
Now is this for like the recording or for us?
- [01:30]
A
Yeah, well, I mean. Yes, well, both.
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B
Both. Okay. Both. Well, in that case, I'm good. How are you doing? I'm good.
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A
How do you take your coffee in the morning?
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B
I don't actually drink coffee.
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A
You don't? You keep pitching me that bourbon coffee that some local place makes.
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B
Yeah, yeah, that's. It was. Yeah, that was something. I got one of the one voice conferences I took as like a one of those, you know, giveaways I was doing. And I mean, because, you know, there's so much really great. I think it was Jack Daniels. It was maybe coffee that had been aged in or, you know, put in some of the old Jack Daniels barrels, so absorb some of that whiskey and everything. But yeah, because Jack Daniels is a Tennessee company. So I try to, I try to keep things Tennessee minded when I can.
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A
Promote the home brand.
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B
Yeah, exactly, exactly. But yeah, I like coffee. It doesn't like me in the sense that I'm already pretty energetic anyway. So adding coffee is not always the best idea I get. If you need me to do a whole bunch of fast tags, bring on.
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A
The coffee, well, then let me just put like, what's your morning ritual? Like, how do you generally start your day?
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B
I love. I can't go without breakfast. I have to have breakfast. And, you know, breakfast would be anything. You know, it's in the house. You know, I love. I love all sorts of things for breakfast, but I, you know, breakfast. Orange juice. It's kind of my version of coffee and how other people are like, I can't get my day started without coffee. I'm not orange juice. I have to have my orange juice. So. All right, okay, I do orange juice, But I also love tea. Big tea fan. Lots of different kinds of particularly Chai's with a little bit of honey and some half and half in it. That's. That's my happy place. That's my version of the hot cup that I'm like, oh, now I feel good.
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A
So, yeah, no, just love that morning hug. And I mean, I know that, like, your origin story story, you, like, started in radio and also video production. Like, what, What. What drew you to the mic initially? I mean, I want to hear, like, your full story, but, like, what, like, initially drew you to, like, wanting to get a high behind the mic?
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B
I think what really did it was working in the production department at the radio station. I really didn't like being a dj. I liked writing and producing and voicing the spots. And there were a couple of spots we did at the station and all the other, you know, students and people that were working at the station. I remember one particular spot for a local surf shop. I went to the University of Florida. So, you know, we were landlocked. We were in, you know, Gainesville is kind of an hour and a half between each coast, so.
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A
Oh, yeah, I love the. The bat sanctuaries.
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B
Yeah. Oh, yeah, they're great.
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A
They're so cool.
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B
They're very cool. But we're not exactly on the coast, so having a surf shop in town was kind of weird. But one of the other girls that worked at the station, who's a friend of mine, she and I got into the booth one day and recorded this spot, and we had a blast. We had to do the surfer girl talk thing, and we had so much fun. And every time people would hear it, they're like, oh, my gosh, who did that? And, you know, Joanne and I got to answer. That's us. And they're like, oh, my gosh, it's so great. And I think that was the high that. That just got me. And the next spot that happened was I did one for Sunny's Barbecue, which Is famous in Florida.
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A
Oh, yeah. I love Sonny's Barbecue.
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B
Yeah, Sonny's Barbecue. It was so good. And I did the spot for Sonny's. Speaking of speaking fast, I had to speed through the first part of it, and then the whole turn of the spot was. And slow down for Sonny's Barbecue, you know, whatever it was. So that was the whole point of the spot. And I did it, and it aired at every football game, every break, during every football game. So it was constantly on, and it was so, so good. And people kept telling me how great it was, and they really loved hearing it, and they didn't get tired of hearing it during football games. And I just. That was it. It hit me, and I was like, I. I really like this. I can do this. So that's what bit me years ago.
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A
So, like, what is, like, the origin story of, like, starting to now? Like, what. What. What is your. Your career story of? Because, I mean, I know you've lived a whole bunch of different places. North Carolina, Texas. Like, what is. What was that path like?
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B
Let's see. So, I mean, I was born in North Carolina. My dad was going to NC State in Raleigh. So go pack. Yay. And we moved with his job once he graduated, we moved down to Miami Springs, Florida. So I lived there for a long time until I was about 7. And then his job moved us to Houston. So I kind of grew up, I guess you'd call it my formative years. I grew up in Spring, Texas, just north of Houston. So grew up there until about high school. And then my mom got a job in Alexandria, Virginia, with Pan Am. She had been working for Pan Am for years in Houston and then transferred up to Virginia. We didn't live there very long, so I lived, you know, right outside DC for just a little while. Loved it. Still love going there. And then just due to some circumstances, well, mainly Pan Am shutting down, we moved to Tennessee, which is where my mom's from. So that's kind of what brought me here, or the beginnings of the Tennessee part of my life, which is now synonymous with me, I guess you'd say. But, yeah, we moved to East Tennessee. Then I moved back to Houston to live with my dad, just because I had. Had lived here for. So lived there for so long. And I was planning on going to University of Texas. I'd always kind of planned on doing that. So I moved back to Texas, Texas to live with my dad so that I could do that. And then he decided to move my senior year of high school. So I went to Four different high schools. Yay.
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A
Oh, I was a military kid. I know that life.
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B
You know that life. Yeah. Everyone's always like, you know, especially the states I've lived in. They're all like, oh, your dad was in the military? I'm like, no. They're like, really? Because, I mean, all those are huge military states. And I'm like, nope, nope, no military. But did that.
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A
Did that make it difficult to, like, find your roots somewhere? Because I know it personally. Like, I had trouble, like, finding, like, groups of people because I couldn't stay in contact. And, you know, it was a little.
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B
Yeah, a little. But, you know, I mean, I. A little. But it's also made me kind of resilient, and I. I make friends pretty easily, and it's kind of made me outgoing versus staying introverted, because it's like, either that or be completely lonely and do nothing, you know? So, yeah, I mean, while it has its, you know, definitely some cons with that, and also, you know, I. I found some positives with it, so. But, yeah, we ended up in Florida for my senior year of high school. And then, of course, you know, as that time starts, where you have to do your SATs and you have to start, you know, applying to colleges, my dad's like, pick an in state school, kid. Any school. But usf, because we were in. Lived in Tampa, and University of South Florida was in Tampa. And he's like, nope, go away to college. Become an adult. Grow up, get a life. And I'm like, okay. So I applied to University of Florida and Florida State and got into both, but I've never been to fsu. I went to Florida for the orientation, checked it out, was like, done, done and doner. And they had a broadcasting school, which is what I knew I wanted to do. Took a tour of the. Of UF's journalism, you know, College of Journalism and Communications, and was like, I. I am home. This is me. And I fell in love with it, and it was the longest I had really ever been anywhere and found my, you know, found my friends, found my footing, found my life, and just that was the, you know, what kind of led me to my life path, which a lot of people. You know, for a lot of people, college can be that. And for me, it really was. Made a ton of friends, many of whom I'm still in contact with today, you know, worked at the radio station. I got really kind of lucky because my roommate, which I didn't know this for a whole year, we lived together for two years, and for one Year, even though I had met her family, I had no idea who her dad was. Her dad ended up. I mean, he worked at the university. I mean, she. You know, she was from Gainesville. She told me her dad worked at the university. Okay, great. Whatever. So my first day of summer classes between my sophomore and junior year, I take one of my summer courses that you have to take, you know, one of the big general courses for the College of Journalism Communications. And I walk in and I go to sit down, and I look up as the professor walks in, and he stops. He looks at me and he went, roommate, how the heck are you? And I turn bright red, and I'm like. I'm like, no, I'm not his roommate. I'm his daughter's roommate. And I had no clue it was him who taught the class. None whatsoever. So he was one of the leading professors in the college, and he helped me get the job at the radio station because he basically called him up and said, hey, yeah, hire her. And they did.
- [10:46]
A
Heard.
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B
So, yeah. Yeah, it was pretty awesome. So I started working at the radio station, and I hated being a dj. I really didn't like it. I mean, I. It was okay. It was just.
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A
What did you like about it?
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B
Oh, I wasn't good at it. I really wasn't. I mean, you know, I just didn't quite get it. I mean, I grew up listening to the radio and everything, but I just didn't quite. I don't know. I. But I. When I got into the production department, that was like, oh, hey, wait, you want me to write stuff? You want me to voice these things? And I learned how, you know, I mean, this is back in the day. I'm gonna date myself here. We used razor blades and, like, you know, one track tape. It was like, you know, it was not. We didn't. Yeah, we didn't have all the bells and whistles, none of that computer stuff, you know, so it was. Yeah, I learned the hard way, you know, cutting, splicing. And you had to get good at reading it, reading that script all the way through. And, you know, you didn't have all these multiple takes.
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A
So what happens if you cut it wrong?
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B
Then you have to go redo it because you cut it wrong. And you can't always splice it back together very well. You know, sometimes you can, sometimes you can, but not always. So, yeah, it's. Yeah, it was crazy, but it was a lot of fun. You know, you learned a different method of doing things at that point. So. Yeah, it was a different way of thinking about production. But yeah, that's kind of what got me into it. So, yeah. Yeah. After that I moved to Nashville because I had done an internship here where my mom lived. She was living in Nashville at the time. And I got a job at the cable company, which was at the time Viacom Cable, when Viacom actually owned cable stations. And I was working in the production department and kind of did the same thing I was doing at the radio station, just for tv. We would go out and, you know, film the commercials for the local, whatever, you know, mom and pop store or the local auto dealer or whatever. And, you know, I would voice those spots as well. We just added the video component and so did that for a few years, then went freelance and in film and video production and worked on a couple of Hollywood movies, which was really cool.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Worked on Patch Adams with Robin Williams and then went to LA for nine months and worked on Galaxy Quest, which was kind of one of my proudest moments. That was pretty. Pretty darn awesome.
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A
That's so cool.
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B
Yeah, Galaxy Quest was all sorts of awesome. Tons of stories about that. And then afterwards, I moved back to Nashville because I had done some, you know, freelance jobs with a company called Filmhouse. And that's actually where I'm standing right now. The studios is located in the Film House building. But I worked at film house for 12 years on a government contract with the Department of Defense. We produced public service announcements. This is the best way to describe them for. For the military overseas. So you were a military brat. You've heard of afrts?
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A
Yes.
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B
Right?
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A
Yes.
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B
You know, Armed Forces or Armed Forces Network. Afn. So in between all the programming, they don't have commercials. They can't have commercials by law. So they insert the little videos and things that we produced. And that's kind of what led me back into voiceover because I would do some of the voiceovers for those spots. And we also had an audio producer on staff who, you know, he cast and dealt with all the, you know, the big Hollywood name voice, you know, big time voice actors. And I would sit in the sessions because I was producing some of the spots. And so I had to, you know, direct them and, you know, listen to them and pick them, you know, choose which voices I wanted and do the casting and everything else. And we went from there. So. Yeah, and that kind of got me back into voiceover because. Because as that contract was ending, I knew I wanted to do something else, get out of production. And I had been doing enough voiceover for that. That I thought maybe that's where I want to go back into. Here I am.
- [14:42]
A
What did that initial leap look like? Like, when did you know, like, this is what I want to do just by myself full time. I want to run my own business. And like, what. What at that time period, what did that preparation look like?
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B
This was 2010. I decided to take some classes locally just because it had been a while. And I thought, well, you know, let's take some classes just to kind of see what's going on in the world of voiceover now. Because things have changed, obviously. Again, razor blades versus computers, you know, I was like, a lot has changed.
- [15:14]
A
Yeah.
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B
So I found Joe Lesh, who. I love Joe. Joe's, you know, one of the, you know, was one of the only people in Nashville teaching voice acting at the time. And so I took some classes with Joe. Kind of got my feet wet again. I had the audio producer on staff that was working for us at film house. He produced my demos. And I also had the. Luckily, being in a film production company and having all these creative resources around me and having, you know, such good friendships, it really helped me make the leap a lot easier than a lot of people have it. And I know that, you know, our graphic designer helped create my logo. He helped me with the brand coloring. We. He helped me design my website. I mean, I paid everybody for all this stuff.
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A
Yeah.
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B
But, you know, I was able to get my website kind of going again. This is a little bit before, you know, you could really kind of do it yourself those days. You kind of had to have somebody who really knew what they were doing build these things. And so I had a website designer, you know, and my. The graphic designer friend was helping me with all sorts of stuff and marketing, branding, kind of, you know, looks of stuff. And he created my whole, you know, media kit, I guess you'd call it, you know, all the different sizes and colors and all that kind of good stuff. And he helped me with that. And then I got, you know, I got my demos and at the time, you know, the two big pay to play sites, voice123 and voices.com were really, you know, the way to go. And they. They were totally different than they are now. Their algorithms, the way they focused, everything was completely different.
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A
How so?
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B
Well, they, you know, they just didn't have the algorithms they had. They didn't have as many people on them. There were a lot of people. That's where people were going. But they weren't inundated and saturated like they are now, and just the. The manner in which they hosted the projects and how you could interact and what you could do was just a little different. They didn't have the algorithms sorting people out, and it was just, you put your stuff in there and, hey, it was. It, you know, it was a lot easier than it is now. And so the very first time, I decided to do some auditions, once I had gotten my demos, put the website up, could build a profile on those sites. I did three auditions in one day from my office at Film House, because I was still working for Film House at the time. And I booked one of them, and it was for l'. Oreal. It was a internal.
- [17:42]
A
That's cool.
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B
Yeah, it was. It was really kind of cool. And it was for an internal project they were doing. It was. It was a DVD series on teaching. I guess you could call it E learning if you really think about it. It was teaching their stylists how to use a new hair coloring product. And it was pretty long script and everything. Yeah. So it was. That was my very first project. And I was, you know, one of the very first three auditions that I did off voice. 1, 2, 3. And I booked it.
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A
That's awesome.
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B
Yeah. And, you know, I did that on and off for a while. I was only working four days a week at Film House. And so Fridays I was off, and I spent all day, every day Friday auditioning, building my business, reaching out to people, marketing, doing all the things it takes to, you know, build a voiceover business and looking for work and establishing myself. And I ended up, you know, kind of being able to transition a little easier because I did have that one day a week already that I was focusing on the business and auditioning a lot. And so when my boss came in to tell me, I think sometime in September, he came in, shut the door, and I was like, oh, okay, something's up. He doesn't do that normally. And he's like, so. And he's sitting across from me here, and my computer is over on the other side of me, and I can see my computer screen, but I can see him, too. And he comes in, he says, well, you know, as you know, the contract is ending, and, you know, you're wrapping up your project and it'll be done, you know, about November so. So November 30th is going to be your last day with us. We might have some freelance projects every now and then, but at this point, you know, that's what it's looking like. And I thought, well, you know what? Okay, and as he's telling me this, three jobs enter my inbox. I get that you're hired, your proposal's been chosen. So it was kind of like a door closing and a window opening. And I thought, well, okay, December 1, 2011. I am now a business owner. I am now going full time voiceover. And I did it. So, you know, I mean it was about six or eight months of me doing it while doing my, you know, full time job. But I, you know, and I had a lot of contacts being, you know, being a producer and working with people all the time and having lots of other production companies in town that I knew and all these people, I had some contacts and that made it a little easier. At least I didn't start with nothing. And I didn't know, you know, I knew who to contact and what the job titles were and I knew who hired voiceover and everything else. So I had that little bit of an advantage over a lot of people who are just starting at this from, you know, nothing. And I know that, but that's kind of where I started and how it happened.
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A
So, and so what's the majority of what you're booking now?
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B
Oh, telephone systems, tons of on hold messaging and phone systems, commercials, elearning still, that's one a big component. Lots and lots of corporate narration, you know, a little bit of everything. Those are the things that I do.
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A
Mostly now with your, with your medical, with especially medical being so technical. How do you keep the energy for like such a long period of time? I mean, I know you're naturally just go, go, go, go. But like, you know, at some point like you kind of get a little, you get tired. Like, like, do you do like any vocal work? Do you like go and do a bunch of push ups beforehand? Like.
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B
Honestly it's, it's, it's a little bit of a mindset. Yeah, I, I do try. You know, I always do lots of vocal warm ups and things. I've been having some issues with my, with my voice and so I've been working with vocal therapists and everything. So yeah, I'm very much on the track of doing my vocal warm ups and everything. But you know, and it's also a mindset thing I think. You know, the longer the script is and the more content there is at a natural breaking point in the content. And most of the time they will have them, especially in E learning or any kind of medical stuff. You know, there's, they move from section to section, thought process to thought process. So in between those areas I tend to reset myself because I'm always trying to, you know, who is my character anyway? It's not just, I'm the narrator for any learning and it's boring and whatever it is, you know, I don't think that way.
- [21:48]
A
Yeah.
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B
I think of myself as the trainer, and I typically picture myself standing in front of a small group of like, four or five learners in a particular room.
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A
I love the TED Talk. The inner TED Talk, Sort of. Yeah. I love doing that.
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B
I took customer service training when I worked at Viacom Cable before I went into the production department. I went to training for, like, eight weeks to be a customer service rep. So that's what I picture in my head. That small training room with the six of us in that room. And I just put myself where Ron was, who was our trainer, and. And so visually, in my mind, I'm seeing that room when I do most of my E learning, because it's small, intimate group, I'm teaching people. So in between modules and stuff when I start and then when I need to reset to keep my energy up, I'm just. I realize, you know, I kind of come at it like, okay, did everyone have a good break? Good. Let's just stretch ourselves. Okay, are we ready for the next module? Great. Here we go. And I do that, and I literally record it most of the time, and I just cut it out when I'm editing. But I do. I get out of the booth, I take a minute, I stretch, move around, and I also say to myself, hey, you know, just like the learners, they need a break. I need a break.
- [23:01]
A
Yeah.
- [23:02]
B
So that's how I keep myself going. Because it does. And you also don't want to get too. To the point where you're just like, reading words, words, words, words, words. What did I just say? I don't even know where I am. What did I just say? I don't know. It's just words, words, words. You have to stay connected to it, because if you're not connected, they're not going to be connected either.
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A
Right?
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B
Yeah.
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A
Do you find that you have to take more breaks during medical? Just, I mean, because I know you probably have to go and, like, research, like, oh, how is this term actually done? But, like, do you find, like, during. Even taking more breaks from, like, the research part, I need to get away from my screen a little bit?
- [23:36]
B
Yeah, sometimes I do. Yeah. Sometimes it's just like, okay, get it. Muscle memory for me, certain words, if I'm just not getting them, and I keep having to go back like, wait, did I say that right? I stop, I listen to it over and over and over again, and I walk around the house or I go up the stairs. It's that muscle memory thing of the. The action. And sometimes I'll. I'll even do like a, you know, a physical. Whatever. I'll come up with it if I have to say something. If it, you know, if it's. If it's me saying, you know, doing it and going boom, boom, boom with my fingers for the amount of syllables it has that physical activity of doing it helps me remember. And then I don't feel like, wait, I didn't say it right. Wait, did I say it right? Wait, No, I got it. It's there. It's okay. So muscle memory helps a lot. Just that building that muscle memory. And to do that, sometimes it's even. It's silly. Like, my dad taught me this for golf swings. Actually saying your name, like when you're saying. You're just, you know, the way you feel, the flow of how you say your name as you're doing a golf swing, you'd be surprised at how it just gets you out of your head of, I have to hit the ball in front of me. It's not about hitting the ball. It's about creating a swing that goes through the ball, and that's what makes the ball go where it's supposed to go. So, you know, he's like, just say your name in a particular pattern. And if you're focusing on that, you're not thinking, I have to hit the ball. Same thing with I have to say that word. Right?
- [25:00]
A
So cool.
- [25:01]
B
Strange little tip, but it works. At least it works for me. May not work for everybody. Your mileage may vary.
- [25:09]
A
Now, I know nothing about. Well, I mean, I know about political. I know what I have learned from you, from taking classes, and I know what I've learned from jmc. But like, with me personally ramping up to start getting into political. How are you seeing the political markets change in. In VO?
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B
Well, in the last several years. Well, technically since 2016, but really heavily in the last several years. It is extremely partisan. You either voice for one side or the other. Nobody knows what you vote for. I mean, unless you want to make that known, you know, you, you, you do what works for you and your business. I mean, I know people who vote one way, but live in a particular area or have a particular accent and decide that that's they. What they need. You know, they need to vote for maybe the other side because it's going to benefit them for their business. But other people who are like, no, I don't believe in that, I can't speak to that. So therefore I'm going to go for the side that I typically lean towards anyway. And other people are like, hey, business is business, I'll do whatever. And that's okay. I think any of those is valid and I think that's the new mindset with it. You have to choose one of those lanes and then be okay with it because you can't really second guess yourself and. Or change.
- [26:23]
A
Yeah, well, I've heard it phrased in a very cool way that like I would rather they're gonna pay somebody anyway, so I'd rather take their money and put it towards beliefs that I actually believe in.
- [26:35]
B
Absolutely. A lot of people are good with that too. The thing I know that people have to be very careful with is conflicts. Making sure that you are not voting, you are not, you know, speaking for someone. That could then be a conflict later in whatever market or whatever way and you know, keeping track of it. Well, you, you can't, you know, obviously if you're gonna do both sides, you have to make sure that they're not gonna cross each other.
- [27:02]
A
Oh, okay, Gotcha. Okay.
- [27:04]
B
And also like you, you wouldn't wanna, you know, do a Republican candidate maybe at a, you know, a state level and then also then do the Democrat for or let's say a Republican state senator and then do a Democrat go for Republican like gubernatorial or a Democratic gubernatorial or senator. You know, because then it's like, are you for the Republicans or are you for the Democrats? You know, it just, it would be very hard and I think, you know, and also the consultants aren't going to like that. It's like, hey, I heard you on a spot for the opposite party. I know that's a state race, but dude, our guy is going to. Is for the state of, you know, whatever. But trying to go to the US level and that, that gets confusing. Who are you for? You know, so you have to kind of be careful with that and know what your markets are. One of the other things I think that's changing a lot is that they really want that authoritative voice which I know, you know, the young sounding voice for commercials and other things has been very popular. But I think the more grounded real. We've got your back, we understand you. A little bit of gravitas is extremely the thing right now in. I think it's always been there in political. But I think they're really leaning Heavy into that. But they're also leaning heavily into. Especially the Democrats are leaning heavily into representative of all the base of everybody, okay, different, you know, different ethnicities, different, you know, female, male, non, binary, everything. Because they're really trying to show these are our voters. They're really trying to speak to the voters instead of speak at them. They're trying to speak in the voter's voice. So that's a really big deal. I've seen a lot of change in that, for sure. You know, especially women of color have been hired a lot for on the Democratic side, and even on the Republican side, they're really trying to broaden their versus just the, you know, white male kind of Persona. They're really reaching out. And they did a good job last cycle of getting a lot of commercials and things, being with every kind of voice you could think of. They're getting better at it. The Democrats have always been better at it, though, you know, when it comes to diversity on voice casting. But, yeah, the Republicans are starting to lean into that. So I've seen that change. So, yeah, it's an interesting business. I think also you have to be available. That's the one big thing. You have to be available all the time, anytime. It's like 24 7, literally. I mean, it happens. It's like, hey, can you hop in the booth? You know, it's midnight here. Yeah, can you hop in the booth? They're still working. Believe me, they're working all the time.
- [30:02]
A
How. How do you approach, like, the emotional complexities of, like, a political script with those extremely tight deadlines? Like, I mean, I know over time you just get better and better and better at it, but, I mean, but like, with it needing to. That's not a lot of time for script analysis, you know?
- [30:18]
B
No, it's not. You know, I think there are just some tips. There are just some kind of accepted ways of reading a political script. The nuances that go into it, they're a little formulaic because, you know, even the people writing them expect them to sound a certain way. They're writing them in their head with that sound. I mean, I've actually had one of my political consultants is like, yeah, we wrote this with your voice in our head. We could hear you as we wrote it. I'm like, okay, that's the ultimate compliment. Thank you.
- [30:49]
A
That's cool.
- [30:50]
B
Yeah, that was great. And it was an attack ad. I'm like, really? I'm a nice person, I promise, you know, but, you know, it just. I think once you get used to the. The cadence and the rhythm. It helps you kind of understand the nuances of where the turns are and what words they're going to want you to emphasize and how, you know. And it's also what. You can pretty quickly analyze it and go, oh, okay, this is a spot that has the turn here. It's. It's, you know, good cop, bad cop, or we're gonna be completely good the whole way through because this is our guy, this is our person, you know. And then once you learn the styles, it's pretty easy to quickly slot in and go, okay, yep, I know what they're going for here. It still does take some, you know, script analysis. And most of the sessions, most of the time, at least on the Democratic side, I've heard not as much on the Republican side. For certain people that I know that do. A lot of the Republican side, they don't have as many directed sessions, but that's because they've been doing it for a while and they're, you know, their clientele just says, yep, do it and send it to me. Democratic side, I know they tend to have a lot more directed sessions. So you're getting that direction, which helps you. So if your first take isn't quite what they're wanting, they're going to direct you anyway. So, yeah, you, you. You kind of. They help you with a script analysis in a way, because a lot of times they like to tell you, hey, so the guy we're talking about in this is a real horrible human, and here's what he's done. And we really want that to come through. And you're re. Okay, you know, so you're like, okay, so you're getting the direction from them. They just, like, shoot you the script. And sometimes it's not even a script. It's just they copy and paste it into an email. And you're like, oh, okay. Because they are in such a hurry, they're like, slap it in the email and go. They're like, can you read that? Sure. You know, it depends, but I think, you know, when you're directed, that makes it a little easier. The burden isn't completely on you because they will be giving you some feedback as to what they're hearing, as to what they want to hear. And I think that helps a lot.
- [32:50]
A
Have you. Have you found that the way that political work is found has changed within, like, the past three years?
- [32:59]
B
Yeah, I would say so. There is a lot of. There's, you know, there's a certain amount on sites like voices.com and voice123. I know that for sure. Yeah, there are collectives out there of people that are, you know, helping and doing a lot of marketing and that helps people be found and you know, work, you know, be able to deliver work that way. It's a lot of self marketing, you know, to the political consultants and kind of being connected with them. So yeah, I think so. You know, there are some sites you can list yourself on, maybe even doing, you know, applying for some of the awards and stuff and trying to, you know, put yourself out there as an award winning voice in political. Whatever. Agencies are starting to pick up a lot of, you know, like I know there's, you know, Celia Siegel management or the VO Chateau has a political roster. I know Lisa Ristow, impressive talent, has a big political roster and they do a lot of work. I think it's Pastorini Bosni. I don't know if I'm saying that right out of Houston they have a big political roster. ACM has a political roster. So there are certain either agencies or managers that are really leaning heavily into the, into that. And so they provide a lot of opportunities. You know, there are collectives like blue wave voiceover and I think there are a couple of other voice talent who have started rosters for, you know, conservative voices and things. I think it's actually conservative vo, you know, have gotten together and done things. So, you know, there are ways out there to find the work. There's, you know, American association of Political Consultants and Campaigns and Elections are two of the bigger organizations that have, you know, a voice component to it as far as, you know, voice actors wanting to connect with the producers of the content. So those are available. That's really. And then of course, like I said, the pay to play sites, they have a lot of work that come up. So especially for the local and regional and even there are, what is it? Production companies. Especially local production companies. You'd be surprised. You might get the random, you know, audition from a local production company because they had the guy who wants to run for mayor of some small town and you know, whatever. Yeah, that's a political but. And they're like, you know, shooting the spot for them and they're like, oh yeah, who do we get to voice this? Let's go to our roster. You know, so, you know, local level, smaller level, those tend to come from production companies because they're the ones being approached by a candidate locally to do their spot. So therefore they need the voiceover for that. That's a, you Know, a way to definitely reach out and, you know, let people know that you do political as well if they ever get one of those jobs, you know, that comes their way. So. Yeah, okay.
- [35:51]
A
And you said marketing. What I've never heard somebody talk about, how do you stay top of mind during the off seasons in the political space.
- [35:59]
B
Yeah, that's harder. A lot of times those people are taking breaks. But, you know, I think just your direct marketing is always, you know, just keeping up with your direct marketing. Maybe when in the process of the off time, which I had an email yesterday that said, hey, what's your availability? Well, it was sent to several people. What's your availability for the day? We've got a hot one for a Democratic candidate. What's your availability if you're chosen? Okay, okay. Yesterday. You know, I mean, there are things going on all the time. You know, political doesn't stop anymore because there are always issue ads. There's always something going on. There's always some bill being put through. There's always some, you know, local school board thing happening. There's always some, you know, hey, maybe there's a special election because if somebody passes away, because that happens anytime. Anytime. Every time, you know, they have to appoint a special person or maybe a judge, you know, maybe, you know, somebody high up in a judgeship or something passed away or resigned or retired or whatever, and they have to replace them. So now they're going to, you know, two or three people are up for that position and they're doing their thing in special elections. So it never stops. It may not get as fast and furious as a presidential election year or midterms, but it is definitely still stuff, still happens. But when you're in the middle of that, if you're updating your demo, that's the perfect time to reach out. Hey, I know the midterms are coming soon, you know, and random spots come your way. I just, you know, I updated my demo. Here it is. Or hey, I saw this article the other day, I thought this was really great. Or, hey, what do you think about this latest thing? Do you think it's going to affect the midterms? Providing content, providing value, starting a con, you know, starting a dialogue, it's no different. Political marketing is no different than any other kind of marketing for any other genre. It really isn't. It's just a matter of having content that resonates with that audience. You know, same thing with every audience. You got to find the right content, you know, for them to be interested in. But, yeah, Staying top of mind is not a bad thing. Every six months, I guess maybe, you know, sending something out in the off time, you know, it's not a bad idea.
- [38:08]
A
Outside of presidential and like, other, like, large national elections, when do you see, like, the biggest spike in political work?
- [38:16]
B
Oh, boy.
- [38:17]
A
What did those seasons look like? Cause they're not as, like, widely. Because they're not as national, you know.
- [38:21]
B
Yeah, exactly. And. Or in the case of something that happened in Wisconsin, it becomes national news because, you know, who would have known anything about these two people running for, you know, the, you know, judges of whatever statewide in Wisconsin if it hadn't been for all the hullabaloo that surrounded it and the media, you know, knew. So. Yeah, the thing is, you never know. You have to stay in if you want to do something local, you have to keep up what's happening or you have to join or at least be on, you know, the email chain for aapc, the American association of Political Consultants, or Campaigns and Elections, because they send out a newsletter daily or, you know, at least a couple times a week. And, you know, keeping up with what's happening in there, if you're noticing stuff, you know, being in charge, being in contact with your local, you know, either Democratic or Republican, you know, entities, and then, you know, just kind of finding out what's going on and when people are starting to race and when people are starting to, you know, okay, so. And so is going to be retiring. Great. I want to get in with whoever's going to be, you know, going for that seat next. It's just, it's, it's a lot of research and keeping up with that. There's Ballotpedia, which you can look at and find out who's running for what races and, you know, kind of find out what's happening in the political world and then reaching out to the people and saying, hey, I know you've got some big races coming up and this state, this state and this state. And I'd love to be considered if you do any, you know, advertising that needs voiceover, you know, I mean, it's just, it's hard to keep up with it. There's a lot going on. But, you know, that's a way to do it just depends on how much time you have to invest in it.
- [40:01]
A
So. Okay. I appreciate the insight. Thanks.
- [40:04]
B
Yeah, you're welcome.
- [40:05]
A
Now I want to talk about your baby. The Tennessee Voiceover Studio.
- [40:09]
B
Ah, yes.
- [40:09]
A
What.
- [40:10]
B
Yeah.
- [40:10]
A
What made you want to open up a studio? Like, what made you want to, like, open up A studio in Tennessee.
- [40:18]
B
Yeah, this has been an interesting one. So, yeah, I. We. Well, I've been running. I co founded the Meetup group in Nashville back in 2012.
- [40:30]
A
Yeah.
- [40:30]
B
And I've been running that ever since. And, you know, we met once a month every month, and it was mostly in person. We used to have 20, 30 people at our meetings and everything else. That's before much was really, you know, before Zoom really took off and you could meet like this and everything else, and you had to meet in person. And the whole point was to get together and see each other and get out of our booths and develop relationships. And it went really well for a long time. And then Covid, like, everything begins. Covid.
- [40:58]
A
Right.
- [40:59]
B
We went on, you know, online and we did our meetings that way for a while. But, you know, just in the course of people, you know, constantly, always expressing interest in more, wanting more. They wanted more, they wanted more, they wanted more. Sometimes people will reach out to me and say, hey, I went to X conference and I met all these people and hey, could we ever have them at TiVo? Could we have them at, you know, whatever? Or hey, what do you think about so and so as a coach? And, you know, just constant questions all the time. I was constantly being bombarded with a lot of questions from people because, you know, when you run the meetup group, people tend to think of you as one of the people who knows what's going on. And I also attended a lot of, you know, different conferences, and so I had a lot of contacts and, you know, that just kind of, you know, people just kept coming to me for that information. And then also I would have a lot of friends who came into town, or people would call me or randomly email me, say, hey, my name's so and so. I got your name from so and so. And I'm in town and I have a session. I need source connect. And I hear you're, you know, you've got that, you know, and people kept wanting to borrow my studio. And at that time, it was in my house, and I was way outside of Nashville, and I didn't really feel comfortable having people in my home. And, you know, unless I really knew them, you know, unless they were really good friends of mine. And it just kind of became, you know, seems to me there's a need here. Let me see what I can do. And also, in the last five years, Nashville has exploded. I mean, the amount of people that have moved here is just insanity. So that's awesome. Yeah, it's crazy.
- [42:34]
A
Except for Traffic, but except for traffic, traffic sucks.
- [42:36]
B
Yeah, traffic is terrible. But, you know, it's one of those things that I'm like, you know, let me see if I build it, will they come? And for the first year, I was like, I'm every, you know, couple of weeks, I'm scrapping it. It's horrible. It's awful. What am I thinking? You know, just like every new business, you're like, no one's coming. Nobody know. You know, it was hard. It's sucked. I was wasting all this money. I was in debt. I'm like, what am I thinking? You know? But slowly it builds and gets a name and we, you know, we rejigger things and offer new stuff and do new things and do new marketing and build and expand and grow and people, you know, word of mouth and SEO and Google, yay. You know, all those things and, you know, it just slowly built. But what that was what made me want to do it is to offer a place for people to record just voiceover. Because for those of you who have never been to Nashville and don't know much about Nashville, can I just say, there is a. Everybody and their brother and their uncle and their dog all have studios in their home or have a studio on Music Row or somewhere near downtown.
- [43:38]
A
Yeah, I was about to say a.
- [43:39]
B
Lot of them music studios, but they're all music studios. They are not designed for voiceover. They're big, huge rooms with, you know, you walk in, you're like, yeah, yeah, it's acoustically treated, but it's also made for big, huge, booming voices to sing or music or whatever. We do have a couple that are dedicated to, you know, voice acting and stuff. But I mean, they do other things as well. But they're really big operations and they cost a fortune, you know, 350 an hour and up. A lot of talents couldn't afford that, you know, or people coming into town, you know, they were already booked because they had constant production going on. And so they didn't have the opportunity to have a booth just dedicated to voiceover. Getting in, get out, do some auditions, quick and dirty. I need a source connect session and get out. Yeah, that's what I built.
- [44:31]
A
Did that make it. Did that still make it difficult, though, building a studio surrounded by other studios?
- [44:37]
B
Yes. Yeah, it does. And there's one upstairs. Yeah. So I'm in a three story building and on the third floor is in Palladio. And that I love Inpel audio because I worked with them for 12 years, you know, when I was at Film house. They were the audio post production house to do all the work for our, you know, the spots we created. And, you know, it's still there. They don't. They work from home mostly, but they have sessions every now and then. And it's mostly voiceover. It's not singing or music or anything like that.
- [45:10]
A
I was just about to ask if that music bleeds through your ceiling.
- [45:14]
B
Yeah, it's not, it's all, it's just voiceover when they have people come in. But it's just, you know, they, they have a different model and they do a lot of, you know, post tracking and stuff for, you know, for ADR and, you know, for television shows and everything else. And that's not what we do. We just record you and send you home. You know, we don't do all that. And I think our model is a little different and it's a little easier for people who just want to come in, have it recorded and leave, you know, and not have to do all the big bells and whistles. And we're not paying somebody to do all that extra stuff. It's just, here's your file. It's raw file. Goodbye. You know.
- [45:52]
A
Yeah.
- [45:53]
B
So, yeah, and that's different. And that's not what most people do. And not, that's your, you know, those studios have enormous amounts of equipment and highly trained audio engineers who have been, you know, doing it for years and years and years. And therefore that commands a price, as it should. They are pros doing what they do and they have the skills and knowledge here. We don't charge that much because we don't have that. That's not what we're trying to do. We're not trying to do all the huge post production that goes with that. It's just come in, record what you need to record. We send off the files either to you or your final end client and we're done. And that, you know, doesn't quite demand the same price and therefore, you know, we're more affordable for that. So. Yeah, but it's good. We, we really, you know, we're trying to ramp up the production business, you know, the, the studio rental business. It's been a while since we've. Well, we actually had a couple of different people come in and, you know, some big names that have come in and sometimes I didn't know who was coming in. It was just like, oh, yeah, we'll send the talent to you. Okay, great. And then they walk in the door. Like the other day I got this lady who Came in. She's like, hi, I'm Katie. She looked kind of familiar. She gets in the booth. Katie Tunstall heard. It's like, well, okay then, welcome to the studio. You know, I've had Will Hogan here, who's a, you know, musician and everything, and he had a friend who was producing a corporate narration Y kind of thing for their website or whatever. And so he came and did a narration. You know, I mean, I have people who. I had a guy who found us who spoke Farsi, actually, and he had a. Wanted to do some of his spoken word poems and things, and he wanted to rent the studio for an hour. And I was like, absolutely, Come on in. And he was so sweet and so nice. He did a couple of things and then he's like, can I do one more? And I'm like, you've paid for an hour. You do as many as you want. And he recorded everything. He was so excited. You never know what you're gonna get, you know? And that's why I like this. It's fun. I mean, I've had all sorts of projects come in. I've had people, you know, call me and say, hey, I need. Actually, I had someone call me last Friday, you know, before the holiday weekend. And I was already booked, but she's like, oh, last minute audition. I really want to make it in a good space instead of in my hotel room. Are you open? Please tell me you're open. I'm like, yeah, but we're already booked. Sorry. She's like, oh, no problem. So, you know, I mean, that happens. I get people last minute. They're like, hey. Cause I'm not far from downtown. I'm not in downtown. We're in a nice building, tons of free parking, easy to get to, you know, so that makes people go, oh, yay, they're easy. I can get there, you know, so, yeah, I mean, it's. It's. I like the rental part of the business because it's easy for me. I get to meet some great people, they record their stuff, I say goodbye. I don't have to worry about it. I just done so. Yeah, but the classes, the class part of it, it was also to help people learn and understand more about voiceover because there were so many people asking about classes and wanting to know more and wanting to specialize in certain things. And, you know, what about elearning? Teach me elearning or teach me, you know, animation or whatever. I don't teach animation. Just clarifying that. Just clarifying that. I do not Teach animation. But, you know, there were lots of people, and we bring in people like, you know, we've had Everett Oliver and Sarah Jane Sherman, and, you know, we've had people come into town to teach different aspects of stuff that we don't normally teach here. Or, you know, a lot of people want to come to town. And I'm like, well, hey, while you're here, do you want to teach a class? You know, we'll vacation in the area. And I'm like, well, do you want to write your trip off and come over and teach a class? You know, so, yeah, it's fun. I really enjoy it.
- [49:49]
A
What was your process of actually, like, building a brick and mortar studio? I mean, I know you're renting a building and stuff like that, but what did that, like, initial when you first built it look like? I'm just so curious.
- [49:59]
B
It was hard. I didn't sleep a lot. I kept. I would lay down and my head would not stop. My brain would not stop. And I'm like, I can connect this to here, and I can make that wire go here. And then if I get this and I have that, I already have that. And that's. It was just. It was insanity. I had run into a friend of mine. He still works here at Film House. He was. He's responsible for the studio because we have a, you know, a full production studio here in the. In the building. And he was responsible for, you know, leasing that out or renting that out. And we were at a party for a mutual friend of ours, and I started talking about it. He goes, you know, you should come over to the building. We've got a couple of spaces that might work for what you're thinking about doing. It's like, okay. And I came over and I looked at the building and I just. It just started, you know, my mind just started going. I was like, well, I could. I could get this and I could do that, and I could put this over here, and I could make it this. And I could have room for the classes here. And, you know, just kind of. That. Just kind of envisioning it. And I was in a different location within the building when I first started. Beautiful room with lots of all these.
- [51:00]
A
Windows, windows, windows, windows.
- [51:05]
B
Not the best, you know, and the way the building is designed, that particular office was the over. The overhang where you drive into the building. You know, underneath, you know, there's like an overhang for the front doors. So there was nothing underneath it. Sound wise? But, you know, except for the. The drive through Part and trucks would come. UPS would come to deliver things right underneath the studio. And I'd hear that, and there's nothing you could do to get rid of that. And I was like, yeah, this. This room isn't working for me. I need a larger one. And finally one opened up in the. In the building. And I needed the space because we were growing for, you know, for class sizes, but also I needed it a little more quiet in an interior, so I no longer have any windows, which stinks because, you know, but I have much quieter space, and it's larger. But I got a Whisper room. Whisper Room is a Tennessee company. So I thought, okay, good partnership.
- [52:05]
A
I didn't know that.
- [52:05]
B
Yeah, they're built in East Tennessee. So I thought, well, let's see if we can do a partnership. And we do. And I tag them in all my posts and things, you know, for a lot of things when it comes to, you know, if anytime I'm like, I'm in it now, so I'll. I'll tag them. And then, you know, I got a little discount, and we. We have a mutual partnership with that. And so I got a Whisper Room, one I could afford. Now. I really wish I had a bigger one, but we'll get there, we'll expand. And, you know, I kind of. I worked with GC Pro, which is the professional arm of Guitar center, and we have a very big, you know, area here, because, again, it's Music City. GC Pro here is a pretty big deal. So I worked with them and, you know, on discount packages for. And got some of my equipment from there and everything else. And I just kind of, you know, figured, what do I need? What is it that I need to make the studio happen? And I just kind of pulled together a budget, went shopping online as far as, you know, what are my prices? I got the money I needed by doing a loan and, you know, built it, bought the things I needed to do, and I built the darn thing. And then I sat. Some people came, and just a few people came. Then no one came. And I kept canceling classes. And then it was like, okay, what do I do? And I reached out to certain people to help me teach classes. And then I was like, okay, if you can come teach this class, maybe that would help. And, you know, a lot of trial and error, a lot of failure, large amounts of failure, you know, canceling classes right and left because nobody would sign up or one person would sign up. And it's like, yeah, yeah, that's costing me more, you know, what do you.
- [53:44]
A
Think the biggest unexpected business mistake with opening the studio where it was just something that you just didn't foresee happening? What do you think that was?
- [53:51]
B
Hmm. Probably not building enough of an audience first.
- [54:02]
A
Okay.
- [54:03]
B
Before really. And maybe not designing the classes as well. And maybe what the class schedules and things would look like to be able to offer enough to people, you know, to kind of keep them coming back. I mean, I thought I had a good enough base because I've got 800 people in the, you know, in the Facebook group for the meetup group, and then, you know, a lot of, you know, a pretty decent size, couple hundred people on an email list. So I thought, well, okay, it's not like I'm starting from zero.
- [54:32]
A
Yeah.
- [54:32]
B
You know, there are people out there that I know want classes. They keep telling me they want them. Why aren't they coming? You know, like you said, you do it. Where are you? You know, and maybe it was, you know, maybe some of that. But, you know, I've learned and I've changed prices and I've changed strategies and I've changed class styles. I've added different people in to, you know, coach. I've offered, you know, hybrid versions instead of just in person. I've tried to expand outside of and also listen to what people want and just observing a lot of things either online, you know, a lot of it in Facebook groups and other things, and just hearing what people say, and I'm like, okay, people are talking about they want this. All right, let's see if we can offer that and how it'll work. Yeah, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. You know.
- [55:23]
A
What was the first thing that you had to delegate when you first opened the studio?
- [55:27]
B
The social media. Posting her social media content and creation. Because I just. I had an intern that came to me. So there's a university here south of Nashville called Middle Tennessee State University. And my very first intern came through there. And when, you know, she had a great experience, you know her. Lacy Deleigne. Love Lacy.
- [55:53]
A
Oh, gotcha.
- [55:54]
B
She was my very first intern. She was wonderful. And, you know, she helped me a lot. And that was before the studios, but because of her, I ended up getting more interns through mtsu. And one of them was in. She. She wanted to do social media management and, you know, content creation. She also shot video. She knew all that kind of stuff. And so she helped me a lot. She helped me build much of the, you know, what. The foundation for our social media presence. And that really, it made me feel so good not to have to do it. Yeah. You know, to come up with the ideas and the content. And I'm like, hey, I want to talk about this. Hey, I want to talk about that. And then she would just run with it and she would shoot video and do all sorts of fun things. Yeah. For a lot of people it is. And so that really helped me. And then I finally. Once she was gone, and then I had another intern who didn't. That was not their specialty at all. They had a. They were much better at research. And so I had them build a ton of lists and things for me. So I was like, okay, let me lean into the, you know, the, the strengths of my interns, because having them do something they're not strong at, I'm gonna have to redo it anyway, so what's the point?
- [57:07]
A
Yeah.
- [57:07]
B
You know, so I basically leaned into that interns, you know, list building and research capabilities. And so I was like, okay, wait a minute. I can't stop my. I have to keep doing my social media. But it's stressing me out like crazy. So I went to VA for VO and I found my, you know, current, you know, my, My voice is my. Yeah. Virtual assistant. And she's been helping me with. Do my stuff ever since. And thank goodness, that's. That's like amazeballs. Yeah, exactly. Amazeballs as our keyword is for us.
- [57:44]
A
Right. So, I mean, so are the two biggest classes that are like your, like, foundation classes, the 101 and then the five week course?
- [57:54]
B
Yeah, those are the two biggest right now. And the five week course is getting ready to change a little bit. I've got. Oh, my gosh, I have so many fun things coming. So we, I have, you know, the voiceover 101 because we get so many people who are, hey, I want to get into voiceover. What do I need to do? Like, take this class? You know, because most people want to just understand what it's about.
- [58:14]
A
Yeah.
- [58:14]
B
They want to investigate it. Maybe even if they've done a little bit before, they want a refresher or they want to know more. So Voiceover 101 is definitely. It's kind of the, you know, the loss leader in a way. That's what gets them in the door to the environment.
- [58:27]
A
Right.
- [58:27]
B
And what it's about. They can get in the booth for the first time ever and read in front of a microphone. And if they are like, terrified or they're like, I can't do that. I don't like hearing my own voice. It's like, find another job. You don't like hearing yourself, why are you doing this? Just asking. But you know, and just. And I also, I also let them know that this takes time and money and that if you don't have those two things or you're not willing to commit those two things and that this is work. It's not just get on a site, put yourself up there. It's a lot of work. And if you're not up for that and if you don't understand that, it's wonderful to meet you. I wish you luck in your endeavors. And I'm frank and honest about that because. And I've had a lot of people who I've never heard from again, and that's okay, but I'd rather them know that and, you know, be real about the industry so that we don't keep getting people who think that they have to go to these, you know, the less than reputable people who are like, yeah, just give me your money. And you do these two things. Go out and buy a USB microphone and you're gonna make $6,000, you know, you know, in a month. I'm like, no. So, yeah, I try to dissuade people, you know, who are just thinking that that's all you have to do because that's not what this industry is about. And the more people that we get that do that, it brings the industry down as a whole. So, yeah, that's the first class. And right now the weekly workouts are the other thing, which is a five week course, but I had a 12 week course I created called Career Path.
- [59:57]
A
Okay.
- [59:58]
B
And it was live in person. It was a hybrid class.
- [60:01]
A
I've heard great things about it.
- [60:03]
B
Oh, good. Well, you. Thank. Thank you.
- [60:04]
A
My friend Amy Martin took it.
- [60:06]
B
Yes, Amy took it. I love Amy.
- [60:07]
A
Love Amy.
- [60:08]
B
Wonderful.
- [60:08]
A
Yeah, no, Amy's great.
- [60:09]
B
Yeah, Amy took the class. So Career Path is, you know, is an in depth. It was a 12 week course. We met every week and it was hybrid where we had some people in person, some people online. And, you know, if weather was bad or whatever, we had the option of, or if I was sick or whatever, I'm like, okay, class, you know, class online tonight. No, in person because it wasn't performance based. It's all, you know, just, you know, information about the business of voiceover that it wasn't. We didn't need a booth for that. So. But, you know, people came in person. Well, it got to the point where I realized I was saying the same things over and over and over and over again. And I decided, let's turn that into an online course so that people can take launches. Tuesday, June 3rd.
- [60:57]
A
Fantastic.
- [60:58]
B
I'm so excited.
- [60:59]
A
We are in the so cool midst.
- [61:01]
B
Of launch world right now. I am so in and. But I'm so excited because. And we've got two course, two options within it. The first one's called Atlas and that's just the. It's the career path online course. You get all the extra stuff that goes with it, all the course material, and you get the community, which is the thing I'm really excited about. It's like think Facebook group, but it's within the platform and it's a community of all of our alumni.
- [61:26]
A
Like school.
- [61:27]
B
Yeah, it's a school. And the great thing about it. So I've got Atlas, which is just the course with all the other stuff in the community. Then I've got what we call ATLAS and Compass. And Compass is to guide you a little bit more. And that comes with three half hour sessions with me personally to, you know, talk about and guide you. And you can ask your questions about your situation and your journey. And then we also have accountability groups that will go with that. So the people that join the Atlas, I mean, the Compass part, we will pair up and put into accountability groups and give them some accountability so that they can have other people along the journey with them to say, yeah, well, why didn't you do that? Or oh, you found that. That's really cool. Hey, I found this. Let's try it together. You know, that kind of. But yeah, the community is the part I'm the most excited about. I'm really excited people will take the course and get the information and hopefully build their businesses. I'm not going to say the right way in a way that is going.
- [62:20]
A
To best serve them as a stronger foundation.
- [62:23]
B
Stronger foundation, absolutely. But I think the community part's the thing I'm the most excited about because this is a lonely business. And as you and I know, we met at One Voice. When you go to these conferences and things, you build relationships with people in person. And, you know, sometimes those relationships are strengthened in person because you've met online in groups. And it just builds that foundation for people to connect and to do this, you know, take these road trips with each other and not just by yourself all the time. You know, sometimes we need that road trip. We're like, I need to get out and be by myself and listen to my music. You know, and other times you're like, nope, hop in the car. We're going, you know, we're going to take this trip together and that's why we're doing it that way. So I'm really, really excited about it. But you know, I think the community part is the thing I'm really excited about the most. And we're gonna have, you know, every couple of weeks we're gonna have a live check in. You know, it's like maybe every two weeks. I'm still developing it because it is new and once I get people into it. Yeah, but yeah, we're gonna see what their needs are and what they want. But yeah, we're gonna have weekly check ins where, you know, you do the homework. How are you doing on your homework? What have you found? What resonated with you? What are you having trouble with? You know, and the other thing too is the course is going to be dripped out over time. It's not going to be given all at once. So when you sign up, over the course of 25 days you will finally get. And it's dependent on when you sign up. So it's not, it's not dependent on everybody else. But over the course of 25 days you'll get all 12 modules. You get like two or three at a time. Because I want you to be able to have time to digest, do the homework, absorb what's there. Because if you get it all at once, it's been proven nobody ever finishes a course. It just doesn't happen, you know, so it gets dripped out that way.
- [64:18]
A
That's smart.
- [64:20]
B
Yeah. I just don't want everyone to get inundated and be like, oh my God, 12 modules. You know, I want it to be you build. Because if you were taking it in person or online, it's 12 weeks.
- [64:30]
A
It's almost like you have experience in elearning or something like that.
- [64:35]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, something like that. Yeah. So yeah, it's a way of giving it giving everybody the chance to really use the information and then you know, that will also help in the community because it's like, okay, what class are you on? Hey. Yeah, in module three you talked about X, Y and Z. Has anybody else gotten there yet? What is your experience? And blah blah, blah. Just, you know, it just helps build the momentum and keep people accountable. You know, it's another way for them to be accountable to themselves too. They'll get the email that hey, the next module is dropped and they're like oh yeah, I gotta go back to that. So it's like going to school. It really is More. I want to design it more like you're going to school.
- [65:16]
A
That's awesome.
- [65:17]
B
Yeah. Kind of like a community course. If you're going to do this, you know, you're going to do it at your pace and however it works for you. But we're kind of helping you set the pace by only dripping it out every now and then. So I'm really excited. I'm really, really excited about that. Yeah.
- [65:36]
A
With your classes, like, what are you doing to teach veteran voiceover artists how to be more competitive?
- [65:45]
B
That is something we're working on right now because we've had more people who are in the beginning to intermediate phases.
- [65:53]
A
Right. And I see a lot of your classes are geared toward that. That's why I wanted to ask.
- [65:56]
B
Yeah, yeah. I'm trying to develop the, you know, the more pro classes. And sometimes we do that with, you know, we have the director series and the agent nights that are aimed more kind of at the pros in a way, because, you know, if you're not really a working pro, unless you want to audit doing a class with someone like Vince Labica or Melinda Eisenagle or we've got other people, you know, other agents and people coming up. You know, we had Jason Sasportes from Stuart Tal. You know, if you're more pro, that's more appropriate because those, you know, representation at that level is going to be more, you know, the thing to do and also our directors nights. So if you want to, you know, Andy Arndt is coming up this month in June for audiobook while she'll deal with people at, you know, kind of a more, you know, junior level. If you are more of a pro to get into a class with her, you know, with a very small number of people, that's going to help move you forward even more as a pro. So the director's nights and the agent nights are the things that are more geared towards that. But yeah, we need to have some. Some more pro level courses. It's just a matter of me polling my fellow pros and finding out, what do you want? What do you need? What is it that works for you?
- [67:13]
A
What do you think the worst mistake that current veterans are making?
- [67:20]
B
Not having enough accountability and maybe relying too much on casting sites and not trying to figure out how to develop their own business for themselves. And yeah, a lot of that comes back to marketing, but also maybe not creating opportunities for yourself or looking at what skills you already have and figuring out what you can do to create opportunities for yourself and maybe helping your fellow voice Actors in the process. Maybe you have video editing skills. Okay. Can you create video demos for people? Hey, it's another source of revenue. You're still doing voiceover. In a way, it's voiceover adjacent, but it's, you know, it's. It's something else. If you're, you know, not happy with, you know, the level of auditions you're getting and you don't, you know, maybe you don't have the money to join a. Pay to play or whatever, it's like, what else. What skill set do you have? What can you do? Maybe you're a. You've been a copywriter for 30 years. Okay. Maybe you could write copy for people, you know? Yeah, I think they. They. I think the mistake is they don't use the skill set they already have to then figure out maybe you've been a salesperson forever, whatever job you were in. Teach sales skills.
- [68:40]
A
Yeah.
- [68:40]
B
And anybody listening, if you have any of those things, please hit me up, let me know. Love to talk to you. You can teach a class. You know, I think it's also realizing that they don't. That maybe being just a voice actor and it's like, all I want to do is get behind a mic is maybe hemming them in a little bit because they're not broadening their horizons and thinking, what else can I do? How can I serve my community and my industry and it with other skills that I already have that I am comfortable with. And then what does that look like? How do I lean into that?
- [69:15]
A
So, okay, yeah, man, I can. I can imagine that you learn a lot from, like, all of the teachers and directors and stuff that come through, but, like, what have you learned from, like, a student that's come through your doors?
- [69:28]
B
Oh, boy. Let me think. Planning is a good thing. No, I mean, just planning out your path, really wanting to have a good, solid foundation. I had a recent student in career path, in fact, that he is four years out from retiring from his current job working for a government entity. So therefore, he'll have a pension at that point. And he's already laying the foundation for what he wants to do next. And he has a path. He's like, I know this is what I want to do. This is how I'm going to move forward. I'm working with my spouse, who's also helping me with this because they have kind of a little bit of an adjacent thing going on and just that planning. And when he was telling me this, I just was like, wow, that is so great to listen to you Talking about you're four years out, but you are still laying the groundwork and how great it is that the investment is already there. They're planning it over time, still getting the training they need, the information they need, building it slowly and really focusing and developing that plan. I think that's what I learned. It was like, yeah, probably should have done that for some things for myself too. But, yeah, I just. I think that's what I learned, that. That there are some people who are doing that. That not all these students are coming in with this stars in their eyes. I want to be on a video game. I want to be in an animation, you know, and that's it. That's all they know. They just. They have to do it to be on a video game or an animation. And that's it. That's the full stop plan they have. You know, it's like, well, okay, there's more to it than that, you know, And I think I've learned that confidence is a real problem for people when they come in because they hate their own voice. Or am I gonna be good at this? Because, look, listen to what my voice is, and it's awful. And why would anyone ever hire me? And seeing them bloom in confidence after they know that there is a market for whatever, and that with hard work, dedication, finding what's right for you can give you that boost of confidence. I like seeing that. That's one of the things I've learned from my students over time is just to watch that. That confidence boost and that confidence build in who they are. So that's a big one.
- [72:02]
A
Well, speaking of planning, is there a genre notch that you don't have in the belt yet that you're kind of planning to start approaching? Is there a thing in your voice, like, outside of the studio, is there a thing in your voiceover career that you are currently planning to attack?
- [72:20]
B
Well, I would say live announce more. I've done some live announce. I was nominated last year and I'm nominated this year for a One Voice award and live announce. And I've done a handful of. Thank you. I've done a handful of jobs. Oh, and congratulations on your nomination.
- [72:35]
A
Oh, thanks. Yeah, you did the. I've heard. You did the National Entrepreneur Center. Yes, as well.
- [72:42]
B
The National Entrepreneur Center. Yeah, they had their Nashville.
- [72:44]
A
Not national.
- [72:45]
B
Yeah, yeah, Their next awards is what they call it. And I was there. I did the announcements for that. So, yeah, it was really kind of. And I got to even say my, you know, I got to say Tennessee Voiceover Studios. Because we were nominated. So it was kind of weird, I think, like, announcing yourself. That was pretty cool. Yeah. But, yeah, I think doing more of that work.
- [73:04]
A
Okay.
- [73:05]
B
Really putting myself out there and doing the marketing of that, that's really where I want to lean in. Mainly because AI is not going to be part of that. You know, they're not going to have AI announcements most of the time for live, you know, live events or even voice of God recordings, You know, they're not going to have AI for that most of the time. So that's what I really. One of the areas that I'm really leaning hard into, that's my big area of focus. I just got a new demo with that, so, you know, really trying to. Actually, I got my first demo in that it's new. It's my new first demo in life.
- [73:37]
A
Yeah.
- [73:37]
B
Yeah.
- [73:37]
A
So it's a new demo.
- [73:39]
B
Yeah. So I'm. I'm. That's where I'm leaning next. That's really where I want to expand into. So cool.
- [73:45]
A
That's awesome.
- [73:46]
B
That's my next thing to tackle. That's so cool because I have nothing else going on.
- [73:51]
A
Yeah, you're right. How do you balance it all? How? Like, because you are a coach and you are a voice actor and a studio owner and you are a mom and you are a pet mom. Like how. Like, how do you organize your businesses? Separately, I guess. Like, how do you and your life separately?
- [74:11]
B
Not very well. With a lot of help. I do have an assistant now at the studios. She works about 10 hours a week, and without her, I couldn't do it. This is separate from my virtual assistant who does, you know, the social media stuff. Honestly, I couldn't do a lot of it without her because she's, you know, picking up the slack on all the things that need to be done that I don't have time to do. But it's hard. I fail miserably every day at all the things that I should be doing and I need to be doing, and balls slip all the time. And, you know, luckily I do have, you know, help from other people. I'm actually raising my grandson, who is, you know, a toddler. So I have help from. His grandfather is helping as well. Without that, I wouldn't be able to do anything because I would never be able to be at the studio at night because, you know, you can't leave a toddler at home by itself. Just saying.
- [74:59]
A
Right.
- [74:59]
B
So, you know, in case you didn't.
- [75:02]
A
Know.
- [75:05]
B
I'm pretty sure there's laws against that. So I'm not gonna do that. But yeah. So getting help in other ways. But yeah, I think it's, it's delegating and having other people help me is really the only way to do it. I'm not as good at time management as I want to be, but I do have to carve out. I'm like, okay, these are my priorities. This is what has to get done today. And then I just plow through them as much as I can. You know, some days I fail miserably, other days I'm like, check out all the stuff I got done. I am rock.
- [75:36]
A
Oh man, I love a checklist.
- [75:38]
B
Oh yeah, Well, I kind of, I used to do checklists and then I kind of got so busy I didn't do checklists anymore or I forget to go back to my checklist and it's like I've got to find a better system for checklists. I've got like three or four things all over.
- [75:52]
A
I need a checklist for my checklist.
- [75:53]
B
Exactly. Yeah, exactly. That's kind of what I need, checklists for my list. Yeah, right. I've started to lean into. I don't like using phones very much, but I have started doing a lot of digital, you know, things on my calendar, more reminders, you know, leaning into that a little bit more because I do feel that I need to have more pop ups and be like, oh yeah, crud, I gotta go do that in five minutes. You know, it is, it is helping me a lot and focus more. Yeah, I'm just. And I'm also trying to work smarter, not harder, and leaning into some tools and things that I hadn't previously considered, some of which, yes, do cost a little bit of money to invest in. But I'm finding that investment is helping me stay on track and stay on target and you know. Yeah, trying to make it happen, you know, so it's not easy, I will tell you.
- [76:44]
A
It's not.
- [76:44]
B
And there are days I'm like, how do I get all this done? Or oh yeah, it's midnight, I'm still up and I have to get up in the morning when the kid gets up. You know, luckily he sleeps till about 7, 7:30 sometimes. Yay. Luckily he's not a 5:30 riser, but you know. Yeah, I just, I keep working all the time, unfortunately. I mean I do take plenty of breaks. I have a lot of me time, probably more than people think, because I have to, otherwise I'm gonna burn out. And then I get grouchy and the grouchy Christie is not the nicest.
- [77:14]
A
I've never seen you grouchy, nor do I want to.
- [77:17]
B
Yeah, that's the thing. Most people haven't seen me that way, and you really don't want to. You'd be like, wow, you had that in you. Like, yeah.
- [77:25]
A
Yeah.
- [77:27]
B
Which is maybe why the attack ads are good. It's like, I can. I can.
- [77:30]
A
Oh, that's your outlet. Like, you just imagine the person you're mad at.
- [77:37]
B
Exactly. It's like, all right. Yeah, it's fun. I can get angry and be okay with it. They're paying me to be angry. Yay.
- [77:45]
A
It's fun with you being so. Like you said, you're right outside of Nashville, but you're just close enough to Nashville.
- [77:52]
B
Yeah. I live in Franklin, which is 14 miles south of Nashville. It takes about 30 minutes to get into the studio.
- [77:59]
A
What's your favorite local lunch spot? I just love food. I love food. I've had little bits of Nashville. I've had Nashville barbecue and the chicken and all that. But I'm just curious. Yeah.
- [78:16]
B
For me in Nashville, my favorite lunch spot is San Antonio Taco Company. Satco is what we call it. There's one on 21st Avenue, and they've got this big outdoor porch. Cheap, easy, yummy food. They've got the best cheese dip ever. Love it. It's over by Vanderbilt. It's easy for me to get to from the studios. I crave Satco all the time. I've been going there since, like, 1992. And it's just sometimes you're like, I need Satco right now. It's just. It's a thing in Franklin where I live. So if I'm working from home or on weekends and stuff. My favorite lunch spot down there is a place called Meredith's Bread Basket. It's in downtown Franklin. It's just a local, local place. You know, good sandwiches, soups, salads, great bakery, and, you know, baked goods. And it's just kind of a. It's in a really old building in downtown Franklin, and I just. I just love their food. It's really kind of warm and comforting, and it's just kind of a neat old building to sit in and have your lunch. So, yeah, those are my two favorite spots for lunch.
- [79:16]
A
Cool.
- [79:16]
B
Yeah. Come to town and we'll have to go.
- [79:19]
A
Oh, I know that. Absolutely. So if. If you could write a letter back to yourself before you made your initial leap into doing voiceover full time, what would you tell yourself?
- [79:35]
B
I always knew it was going to be work. So I don't think that would shock me, but I'd probably say congratulations on deciding to do this and researching it, taking your time and putting the right steps in order. But maybe you should have done a little more research and, you know, do your research, make sure you're, you know, really knowing who you are in your market and everything else. Also, you know, go take advantage of all the opportunities you can to get in front of the people who, you know, the buyers. Make sure you go to those conferences, make those connections and explore, have fun, lean into the fun of it and just enjoy what you're doing. Yes, it's a business. Yes, it's hard, but enjoy it. That's probably what I'd say.
- [80:42]
A
Awesome. And where can people find you and your classes and all of those amazing things?
- [80:48]
B
Well, for the Studios, it's at tn voiceoverstudios.com you can find the classes there. There's a little yellow button that says class schedule. And you know, we're has our phone number and email and everything else on there. For my personal business, it's Christy Bowen. C H R I S T I B O W E N dot com.
- [81:10]
A
Thank you so much for coming on. This was a blast.
- [81:12]
B
You're welcome. It was great to see you and great chatting with you. Great questions. Thanks. It's wonderful to catch up again. Yeah.
- [81:20]
A
Man. I really hope you enjoyed this amazing chat with Christy. She's a very good friend of mine, but I mean, every new conversation, I learn something new and it absolutely astounds me. She's just a wealth of knowledge. Now, I also must add that after the recording of this episode, the Tennessee Voiceover Studio no longer has a brick and mortar location, but their amazing online VO training programs are still in full swing. So if you'd like to hear Christy's work, you can Visit her@christybohen.com and if you'd like to check out the Tennessee Voiceover Studio and all the wonderful classes and resources they offer, you can visit tnvoiceoverstudios.com thanks for stopping by and I'll catch you in the next one.
- [82:03]
B
Thank you for listening to the Voiceover Coffee Shop. For more information on guests, new episodes and more, be sure to visit veocoffeeshop.com and our YouTube channel or your favorite podcast streaming platform. You know you want to.