I voiced 3 Animated Characters for this video. Can you guess which ones? (Hint: I first show up at 2:05 into the video)

Enjoy!

John

Last week I sent out an email to my newsletter subscribers and asked them to share some of their weirdest experiences, while recording or performing.

The winner of the voted best story will win a $50 Starbucks gift card, or something of equal value if you're not a coffee drinker.

I'm happy to say the stories I've received so far are great, so if you have a great recording session story, send me an email to: John@JohnMelley.com and share it with us. I'll post them and the story that receives the most votes will win the $50 Starbucks gift card, or something of equal value if you're not a coffee drinker.

Read On!

Hi John, good to hear from you

I specialize in audiobook narration, and a big part of my enjoyment in doing this comes from volunteering at RFB&D.  I get to read/record all sorts of books for them, from technical instruction manuals, to medical textbooks, to fiction.  Recently I had a children's book by author Jon Seizka (sp?) called "Spaceheadz".  I was having great fun with it until I got to a chapter 4 pages long of the hamster speaking.  4 WHOLE PAGES of "eeek weeeeek eeeeek eeeeeee, weee eeek"! This one got me both laughing and out of breath.  I can now add a 3rd language to my capabilities..... hamster!

Kind regards,

Ann

Hey John,

My nightmare has reoccurred a few times, recording my interviews over the phone and nothing on playback.

Flipped the wrong switch.

We’ve been caught saying some things with the mics open at the Meadowlands.

Once I called an entire race with the mic off, or they didn’t record the race, so I had to improvise over the replay.

Watched the replay show with bad edits inadvertently left in.

I’ve done spots with the wrong dates or inserted words that weren’t in the script (Freudian slip)

Ken Warkentin

Dear John,

The funniest and most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me was at a recording session in Berlin, Germany.  I was assigned to the American Forces Network and scheduled to do an interview with the incomparable Count Basie.   First of all, I was so doggone nervous meeting such a giant of a talent, and would you believe - the Count was in his
underwear in his hotel room eating peanuts from a planters bag?

He greeted me and asked me to take a seat.  In hooking up my Nagra Reel-to-Reel and plugging it into the wall socket as a safety precaution in case the battery failed I began my interview.  Half way through it, I happened to look down and notice that the mic cord was dangling.  The darn thing wasn't even connected to the recorder.  You talk about a red face. Whew!  By then Mr. Basie noticed it too and he began to laugh and laugh - then I began to laugh and laugh as tears rolled down my face.  Being the kind gentleman he was, he said don't worry sonny, we can start all over again whenever you're ready.

Ed Tooma

 

Hi John,

About 25 years ago, I had a client who sounded like a sloth on downers, but insisted that he do his own tag line.  This was many years before digital manipulation would have allowed me to time compress him, so I used an old trick I learned years before.  Several wraps of tape around the capstan increased the speed of the tape slightly, speeding up the delivery but not so much that it distorted his voice.  Judicious splicing of the resulting tape made him sound a lot less like he was on Quaaludes.  What they say about multimedia these days was always true: it's all about the workarounds.

Calvin B. Littlefield

Dear John,

Does singing the Ave Maria in church and swallowing a bug interest you?  I was singing a solo and straight out...... mouth open....bug in and gag, cough, gag! 

It was difficult to explain to the congregation what had happened, so I continued and re-grouped. Maybe that's how you all got your show-biz genes.

Elinor Melley A.K.A. “Mah!”

So send YOUR  great recording session story to: John@JohnMelley.com and share it with us. I'll post them and the story that receives the most votes will win the $50 Starbucks gift card, or something of equal value if you're not a coffee drinker.

Voice over is a fun business, but keep in mind YOU are an important part of making your clients' dreams come true! Honor them by giving them your best every time.

Some thoughts.

How can one sound affect another sound? Watch this quick video and hear what happens! Post your comments and feedback below!

This is the video I promised that would go into more detail about adding the reverb effect to a voice over track. Enjoy. Please feel free to add your comments and feedback below!

Here's a quick update on the status of the next voice over and production video lesson.

Hi Folks-

A lot of you have requested copies of the MP3's from the animation Voice Over Tracks I did with Nancy Cartwright. They're from the workshop I had with Pat Fraley last December. I wrote about it in the January issue of the printed newsletter.

There were so many requests, I thought it would be best to post the audio here on my blog rather than clog up your inboxes with lengthy mp3's.

Just click on the play button below to take a listen

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• The Land of Totally Different

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• The Whacknard School

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Thanks for taking the time to listen and for your continued interest!

I'd love your feedback and comments, so feel free to post below!

So around this time every year we're presented with the challenge of getting the advertiser's desire to capitalize on the Super Bowl hype in their marketing. It's smart because entering the "Conversation in the consumer's mind" is a tried and true marketing tactic.

The problem is the NFL is very protective of their trademarked terms, "Super Bowl" being one of them. Others include "Super Sunday" the names of the teams and many others. Use of these terms in advertising is limited to those companies and organizations that have ponied up a substantial sum of cash to be an "Official Sponsor" of the event which grants them the exclusive rights to use the trademarked terms. That means if a non official sponsor uses the trademarked terms they can not only get into hot water with the NFL, but also from the other Official Sponsors for using things they paid for the exclusive rights to use.

Getting the advertiser's marketing objectives accomplished can be tricky, although not impossible. In fact, using the fact that we can't say "Super Bowl" can lead to some creative ways to get the message across loud and clear... without having to worry about getting a cease and desist letter or worse.

I had a client today that wants to get people into their club to watch the Big Game. I put together something that does this in a fun way. It doesn't necessarily break new ground, but it's a different twist on things, fun and hopefully effective.

You can listen to it by clicking the play button below.

The Big Game
Be sure to leave your feedback below, as well. I'd love to hear from you.

JM

I was recently at a Marketing Conference and during one of the sessions the presenter asked an interesting question.

The question was: “Are you a commodity?”

Now, nobody likes to think about themselves as a commodity, but then to rub it in further he asked 2 more questions that determined whether you/your business is a commodity or not. What were the two questions?

What are the Top 5 services you provide to your clients? And… Does your competition provide those same services? If the answer is yes, alas you are a commodity. (You should have heard the groans.)

Does that mean we are doomed to be equated with bushels of wheat, or barrels of oil? H-E Double Hockey Sticks NO!

Let’s first look at “Commodity”. Simply put, it means something commonly found, or readily available. So, to avoid being a commodity, we have to differentiate ourselves from our competition.

Everyone’s voice is different. Aside from that, how do we make what we DO different from other voice over talent? We’ve got to become scarce. We’ve got to do something no other voice talent is doing, or at least make ourselves scarce in our customers’ eyes (and ears). You must be able to answer the question: “Why should I use YOU instead of any of your competitors?”

Being able to answer this question is the key to unlocking the power of your business. In marketing parlance this is what is called your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. It’s a tough question to answer and to be truthful your USP can, and probably should evolve over time. Mine is still a work in progress.

Once you define your USP, or you become “Unique” in the eyes of your customer, all kinds of marvelous things start to happen in your business.

Your clients see you as the expert in your field—the “go to” person for voice over projects. They start to refer you to others who may need your services.

Since you are Unique, there is less resistance to your pricing. You can charge more. Last month’s issue of this newsletter focused a lot on the need to charge more for your services. This month we delve a little more into the positioning that allows you to do this.

Let’s talk about positioning. One of the speakers at the conference was a gentleman by the name of Nido Qubein. Nido was born in Lebanon and came to the United States as a young boy. He is now, among other things, the President of High Point University and Chairman of the Great Harvest Bread Company®.

Nido powerfully demonstrated the concept and importance of increasing “Perceived Value” with a simple 1 lb. bag of Hershey Kisses® and a 1 lb. box of Godiva® Chocolates.

He asked why two items with essentially the same ingredients and taste were so markedly different in price. A 1 lb. bag of Hershey Kisses® sells for about $3.99. A 1 lb. box of Godiva® Chocolates for $40.00. About 10 times as much.

He went on to say that you buy Hershey Kisses® to eat. You buy Godiva® to give as a gift.

You put Hershey Kisses® in a bowl and give them away. Godiva® Chocolates are prized, hidden away in a cabinet and only shared with someone special. Why is this? Perceived value.

Don’t get me wrong. Hershey Kisses® are delicious. If they’re out, you can count on me grabbing about a half dozen and eating them. (That says something right there, doesn’t it? Would you “Grab a handful of Godiva® Chocolates?” You’d probably eat just 2… maybe 3 and think you were really splurging. You want to make them last.)

Look at the packaging. Hershey Kisses® come in a clear plastic bag and are stacked in piles on store shelves, or piled in a large bin in the candy aisle and you just pick it up and toss it in your basket, or shopping cart.

Godiva® Chocolates are packaged with each piece having their own little section molded in the tray, neatly layered within a gold foil box; a satin ribbon and bow on top with the Godiva® logo embossed on the lid.

They are “displayed” in fancy cases with elegant lighting. You are probably waited on by someone who may help you select the chocolates you’re buying. You feel special just going to buy them.

One chocolate’s “presentation” and buying “experience” is totally different from the other. You can create your own “Godiva Zone” in which you live and operate.

You do it with the words you use, the way you treat your clients, how you look after them, how you dress, speak on the phone, how you write your emails, your letterhead, demo packaging, the experience they have with you in the studio. Your “Presentation.”

Another example Nido gave were the differences between theme parks like Disney® vs. Six Flags® or Universal Studios®. Disney® beats its competitors hands-down and charges more! How? Attention to detail and creating a WOW! Experience for the guests of their park.

Did you know the lamp posts along Main Street USA at Disney® are painted every single day? They are painted at a specific time so they dry just in time for the park to open so they have the highest shine for people to see as they first enter the park.

They take into account the humidity level every single day to determine the exact time they should start to paint them so they dry in time. That’s attention to detail.

Most nights of the year Disney® is open to Midnight and people stay there all day, cryin’ kids and all. They don’t want to miss a thing and they don’t want to leave.

Nido told us to ask ourselves: “Would someone buy a ticket to ‘my park’? If they did buy a ticket, How long would they stay?”

Other questions you need to ask yourself are: “How can I be the kind of person people want to give? How can I be a box of Godiva® Chocolates?" How can I get them to say ‘That’s the person I want to do all my voice over work’”?

How can you create a “WOW!” experience for your clients so that you don’t just have clients, but raving fans? How can you “Make yourself scarce?”

John Melley
John Melley can be reached at John@JohnMelley.com