VoiceBunny is making its official debut.

Many of you caught wind of this effort many months ago as the developers leaked a little information on Social Media.  Hard answers were scarce, though, and that early PR may have jaded interested parties for a while.

Now VoiceBunny is fully out of the hutch.  I don’t think it’s any secret that this site is a product of Alex Torrenegra, the founder and developer behind Voice123.com.  With this site, Alex brings in his wife: Tania Zapata, and the staff includes Tara Tyler, often seen previously as an employee over at V123.

This is not your daddy’s P2P.  Torrenegra is launching a whole new paradigm that is dependent on an API (Application Programming Interface) that — according to early information — directly connects both sides of the voice-over job transaction. (I know, this is confusing…see below) eliminating the entire auditioning and bidding process.

Registering on the site is simple and takes only a few minutes.  During registration, there is Social Media validation of your identity, and part of the process is choosing the rate you would accept for jobs of the length of 5 words, 50 words, 500 words, and 5,000 words.  In essence you are being asked to declare, in advance, your minimum rate tolerance.  There is no cost to be listed on the site.

A memo has been circulated mostly to essential VO sites and developers.  VoiceOverXtra’s John Florian was one to receive the release.  An excerpt from that release says:  ”.. with VoiceBunny, Alexander and Tania are trying to speed up the process of getting a great voice recording in just minutes by getting rid of the auditioning process through an API. VoiceBunny opens the door to a new land of voiceover opportunity that may be unfamiliar to some, yet is a valuable source of revenue for anyone working online…”.

Florian asked if I wouldn’t do a little further research on this announcement, and subsequently, I had phone conversations with both Torrenegra and Tyler.  As a result, they both promised to return some answers to a list of pointed questions which I have posed to them by email.

John and I both expect to get some more explicit answers (in layman’s terms — especially on how the API works) within the day, and that interview will be posted on VoiceOverXtra (likely Friday).

In the meantime, if you are at all interested, it probably won’t hurt to visit the site, and register.  This site is likely not designed for those with union and/or agency representation…although it wouldn’t be fair to exclude such parties out-of-hand.

Torrenegra is clearly within his area of expertise with this new paradigm.  The challenge may be in convincing clients and voice talent of the workability of his new concept in voice-over.

CourVO

Original Article

Everybody struggles with setting freelance voice over rates.

Well, not everyone.

I know established talent who have set minimums for all sorts of contingencies.  $350 minimum session fee for turning on the microphone, regardless of the length of the copy.  25-cents/finished minute.  $50 per page, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Arial 12-point typeface. $250 for the first hour, then $125 after that.  Quarter hours go for $50 each.

‘Course you could get around it all by joining the union.  Their rates are set in stone for reasons lost in the mists of time (kidding!)  Union rates may be more relevant VERY SOON if the AFTRA/SAG merger goes through.

I’ve tackled the subject of rates several times recently.  Paul Strikwerda and others, too.

See:  CourVO’s Blog:  Setting Rates, October, 2011

See: CourVO’s Blog: 20+ VoicOver Rate Sheets and Resources July, 2011

See: CourVO’s Blog:  VO Rates Rants, Feb. 2011

See: CourVO’s Blog: Setting VO Rates, June 2010

See Paul’s Blog:  Why You’re Leaving Money on the Table

See Paul’s Blog:  AudioBook Fees, What to Bid?

From time to time VOICES.com’s VoxDaily touches on this:  http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2010/04/a_discussion_about_rates.html is an example.  And Edge Studio publishes a highly-regarded rate card.

Doing a search for “rates” on VoiceOverXtra also returns quite a few good resources.

I also administer two LinkedIn groups on this subject, one is private, one is public.

SETTING VOICE OVER RATES

VOICE-OVER RATES (private)

This issue is inevitably tied to honest appraisals of self-worth, time and equipment invested, and market variables.  No matter what others tell you…unyielding, fixed, hard-and-fast one-size-fits-all rates are a rarity.

Ask friends in the biz.  Research the topic.

The last thing you want to do is underprice your value, nor do you want to over-bid yourself out of a job.

One immutable law comes clear, though.  The more you think of yourself and your product, the higher esteem you will gain in the eyes of your client.  ‘Works like a charm.

One more thing:  be willing and able to say “no”.  “YES” can seem desperate sometimes when you know better.

A couple of recent articles on setting freelance (not necessarily VO rates):

Setting Freelance Rates:  Hourly or Per-Project?

Setting Rates: A Field Guide

CourVO

Original Article

Not to beat a dead horse, but this SAG/AFTRA merger keeps banging around in my head, and it seems to me there might be some advantageous moves here if this is something you’re considering.

At the end of the month, members of both unions are voting on this merger thingy, and if it goes through, the new SAGAFTRA is born.  The initial fee to become a member is said to be a lot more substantial than the current fee to join AFTRA.  Ergo, the smart money joins now, and becomes a fully-vested member of the new entity when the vote goes through, no?

This very line of reasoning was in the content of a memo VO Pro Bob Bergen sent out recently:

 “Many of you understandably have had a difficult time qualifying for SAG. Trust me, every SAG member has been there!
If you are AFTRA only, once SAG and AFTRA merge you will be a full member of SAG-AFTRA. If you are a member of neither union right now you might want to consider joining AFTRA ASAP. Initiation to AFTRA is $1600. Here is the AFTRA web page with that info: https://www.aftra.org/membersonly/general/newjoinlocal.aspx

Initiation into the new union SAG-AFTRA will be $3000. Plus, the new union will adopt the current qualifications we have at SAG. AFTRA is an open union whom anyone can join. Now, you are gold only if we merge. So please do all you can to spread the word to merge!

If you have any questions, feel free to pop me a note at Porkysvoice@aol.com
Here’s is the new website for SAG-AFTRA: http://www.sagaftra.org/ Read all the info, from the merger proposal, to the new constitution, the feasibility study done on behalf of our P&H, etc.

So, certainly worth a look. Bob’s been following union merger talks for a long time, and knows of what he speaks.

Here’s another link that provides a lot of material on the actual wording of the merger documents.

CourVO

Original Article

“If only I could remember what he said!”
“I wish I had a record of THAT phone conversation!”
“No, you said $500, not $350 for that job!”

Once you get your head around this particular tool, you’ll start to see how it can help your VoiceOver business in many ways.

CALL TRUNK  “…captures your spoken conversations by automatically recording your phone calls and securely storing them on the web…”  Store that conversation on DropBox, Evernote, and Box.net. Compatible with SKYPE. Once recorded, you can manage, annotate, share, delete, or transcribe as needed.

Call Trunk works with iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and on the web.

Log into your account, dial the number, press “call”, and Call Trunk makes the connection and calls your phone.  After the call, you can go online and listen to it immediately.

Ways to use Call Trunk?

1) As part of your customer service - double check all spoken details
2) Keep a record of phone behavvior
3) Understand resolve disputes
4) Use with landline or mobile phone
5) With confidence, recordings are encrypted
6) To monitor sales calls or training
7) Transaction assurance
8) Interview records

OK, some of this is already available on  Skype and other services, but nowhere does this suite of features fall under one heading or with this kind of service-integration.

You get a free trial when you sign-up.  Call Trunk puts $1 in your account, which gives you 25 mins of free recording. That gives you an idea of how affordable the service is.  Pricing is quite creative, and offers several options, including monthly, yearly, with-or-without Skype, and transcriptions.

Disclaimer:  I’m a user, but I benefit in no way by promoting Call Trunk.  I’m not an affiliate…just passing along a helpful tool.  However, if you mention my name and email address (courvo@courvo.com) when you sign up, I get a 50-cent credit.  (wow!)

CourVO

Original Article

My thanks to VO Pro Joe Cipriano for posting on my Voice-Over Friends FaceBook group about the new Apogee MiC.

At CES, we saw a trio of new USB and iOS-compatible mics.  Then, just a couple of days ago, I ran down a few of the new mic offerings that were exhibited at NAMM.

Now Apogee steps forward with the MiC, that is due for distribution this month.

Apogee has an excellent record for producing peripherals that specifically work well with Apple devices.

Cipriano shows a comparison using his Sennheiser MKH416 and an Avalon pre-amp vs. the Apogee and an iPad.  Follow the links below in the conversation thread, and listen for yourself…pretty amazing!

CourVO

Original Article

Not very often do I drop blatant promos into my blog… but I’m putting a lot of time and energy into the Social Media presentation at VOICE2012, and there’s a point-of-pride involved.  It’s the same sentiment I get from my partners in the venture:  Terry Daniel and Trish Basanyi.

Together, we’ll be presenting on Secrets of Social Media especially designed for Voice Actors in a VOICE2012 break-out session.  There’s a tremendous amount of preparation going into this, and we know you’ll learn a lot.

For a better look at the announcement tomorrow, click on THE SOCIAL NETWORKING EVENT OF THE YEAR!

And just a reminder that valuable Early Bird registration for VOICE ends February 15th…so check it out now!

CourVO

Original Article

…said to be the #1 thing people fear most.  (It’s actually looking like a fool they fear, but Public Speaking tends to make you look foolish).

It never ceases to amaze me that people think I’d be a good public speaker because I’m a TV news anchor.  If they thought about it, they’d realize I spend 99.99% of my time in a mostly empty studio, looking at a camera, and there’s maybe 3-4 other people around.

DJ’s are subject to this same misconception, and so are voice-actors.  If you’re good at speaking, you must be good at public speaking. Right?

Ha!  I might be good at speaking, but I’m not at all used to seeing my audience stare back at me…only a camera lens or a microphone.

I’m not a joiner, so Toast Masters never appealed to me. They just seem too gung-ho to me.

Over time, I’ve learned to be good at public speaking, and since my audience usually knows and likes me, I have an advantage.  Confidence is key, but that’s a chicken-or-the-egg thing.  What I’ve come ‘round to is that any audience is really expecting a show….and YOU are the entertainment.  So you have to come out of yourself and be a showman.

That’s the goal.  GETTING there takes attention to the details, preparation…maybe a slide show.

Or does it?

Take the time to read this delightful article by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jason Freedman that I found on LifeHacker.

Without giving it away, two of his main points that I love:

— Don’t Memorize

— Embrace your Ums

OK, now go out and get ‘em Tiger!

CourVO

VO Pro Peter O’Connell actually wrote eloquently about this back in 2008. Worth checking out!

Original Article

Voice Acting is apparently not big enough to prompt equipment makers to hold their own convention just for us (YET)…but NAMM comes close.

NAMM originally stood for North American Music Merchants, but now it’s an international show for manufacturers, affiliates, resellers, and other vendors in the world of audio.

On the heels of CES in Las Vegas, NAMM was held this year in Anaheim, CA, and broke previous records for attendance.

If you saw my quick review of the new Blue Microphones at CES, well, NAMM is that…on steroids… times ten.

Apparently USB mics continue to be the darling of any recording set — vocals, voice-overs, or musical instruments.  Most audio engineers agree it’s not possible to get the same high quality fidelity from a USB microphone as you can with a XLR input, but that isn’t keeping manufacturers from trying.  That’s mostly driven by the insane pace of iPhone and iPad sales, and the realization that these devices can actually serve as excellent portable/mobile recorders.

At CES and NAMM, many of the name mic vendors bring their prototypes to show off, and then make vague promises that they’ll be on shelves “mid spring”, or “sometime in March or April”, or “just before Summer”…as was the case with the 3 new “Blue” mics I reviewed.

The mic pictured above, though — the MXL Tempo — is available now.  You can even get it in red and black, and it’s being priced all over the place at $59.   MXL also touts it’s iPad-compatible TRIO USB mic.

There are others, of course.

The iRig MIC Cast Mobile Microphone is a nice unit, but plugs into the earphone jack of your iOS device…not the 30-pin connector.

Finally, the Editors Keys SL150 USB mic comes with a kit that lets you plug right into your iPad for recording.

So many choices!  So little budget!  It almost makes you wanna hope for a road trip just to justify the expense of a USB/iPad mic to your better half!

CourVO

Original Article

If I’ve been asked once, I’ve been asked a thousand times:  “How do you keep up with all the Social Media channels, Dave?”

I’ve never actually worried about that myself.  I. just. do.

But I realize not everyone is as afflicted as me…they just want to get the most they can out of their social networks…not LIVE on them.

Thanks to Tokyo-based voice-actor Mark Weitzman, I got a tip about an online service just out of “beta” that may be what you’re looking for.

Alternion.com lets you aggregate 220 social media channels into one interface.  You can even get your email there…read, write, post, answer, Tweet, Blog, retweet, FaceBook, YouTube, Tumblr…seemingly everything you’d need to stay in touch…all at one stop.

This program is simple enough to understand, but I’ve just spent the last couple of hours configuring all my channels, and I’m still not done.  You may not have the same challenge, but the POP email account was specifically difficult to get going.  The jury’s still out for me on this aggregation site.  I can see the allure in using a site like this, but I think I’d always worry I’m missing something in the fully-featured native app.

Let me know what you think.  I admire the Alternion developers for a well-designed and technically intuitive interface.  Maybe like all the other sites (faceBook?) it just takes a little getting used to.

For a great explainer article on Alternion and two other similar sites, see the review on SocialMediaExaminer.com.

Thanks, Mark!

CourVO

Original Article

Germany.  Home of the Fraunhofer mp3 algorithm, Steinberg audio, and Neumann microphones.

Now add MixWerk Studios, Berlin to your Deutsche dictionary.

MixWerk showed up on my radar, when the founder — Uwe Engel — posted a complimentary comment to an article on my blog.  Not having heard of MixWerk, I began a brief email correspondence with Uwe, which resulted in the Question & Answer session you will see below.

Engel’s replies to my queries constitute a fascinating peek into a branch of opportunity not enough North American voice talent are taking full advantage of:  foreign markets.

Take a moment to read through Engel’s insightful answers as you plan your European marketing strategy.  Pay special attention to his answer to question #5 (I also appreciate the sentiment in his answer for question #8)

Uwe Engel’s brief bio: 20 years voice recording, mainly vocal and speech recording in Germany.  Founder of Mixwerk in 2004.  Since then, over 200 clients in 20 countries. Mixwerk offers voice recordings in 2 ISDN studios in Berlin/Germany with  voices from 40 countries

Thanks Uwe!

CourVO

Below, our Q & A:

1)  Would you please give a brief history of Mixwerk…how did it start?  Who are the principle founders?  What are the goals of your business?

Mixwerk was founded in 2004 in Berlin. We started as a voice over producer for Native Instruments, which develops well known Software Instruments. Our first challenge was to record their tutorial DVD for “Traktor”, a DJ Tool, in english and Japanese. Since then we worked for over 200 clients all over the world in 40 languages. Mixwerk was founded by Uwe Engel, who had 20 years experience in music recording. Now we are 4 people working to produce high quality voice recordings for our clients.

2)  What’s your business model?  Who are your clients?  What does Mixwerk principally do?

Clients are big brands and advertisement agencies from Europe and the US.  Our clients get full service, which means we offer them voices from our database, record them and finalize the recordings in the post production. Our core competence is to work very reliable with state of art audio equipment and do this within a very short timeframe. We do a lot of ISDN recordings and ADR even with picture.

3.) Do you keep a “stable” of preferred male and female talent for your clients?  If so, what languages?

We do not have preferred voices although we mostly do know which voice talents fits which clients needs. We have in our database voice talents in 40 languages.

4.) Do you see the opportunities for voice over talent in ALL countries and languages to be greater in the years ahead?

Principally we all are globalisation “winners”. Furthermore the production costs for voice over are going down. So more and more clients want to localize their content. So yes, all countries we have a benefit of that.

5.)  Is Mixwerk actively seeking talent of all languages for global clients?

We are always seeking very good voice talents from all over the world.

6)  What are the main challenges for North American voice talent in entering the global marketplace?

Our main challenge with North American voice talents is that for our German clients they need to speak some German words, like cities, names like Germans do. Our American voices that are living here in Germany know how to speak german words in English. So for our big clients like the automobile industry, they tend to use people who know the German culture or country. On the other hand many clients wants to attend the recording session and see everything in real. So it is always a bit difficult just to do it via ISDN or Skype.

7.)  Would you recommend ISDN for North American talent who are serious about growing their international client base?

We would recommend to have a software for ISDN like Source Connect.

8.)  Are you familiar with Bodalgo’s business model?…and if so, would you consider them an ally or a competitor?

They are not our “ally”. They have clients which do not pay the prices that we demand for our service. Of course, they have an official price list, but nobody knows the final price that a voice talent agreed on with the client. Secondly it is not a good relationship to the customers when the payment is based on a “myhammer” model. We now some voice artists that get some clients from this online platform and others, like all the “good earning voice talents” that we know are not working with them. But the market for the online voice over business is growing faster than the “premium” market. This is why one could have the impression this online market will be the big thing in the future. We believe that all business models will grow in the future, so there will be place for all business models.

9.)    What suggestions would you give talent in Canada or the USA if they were interested in finding more voice work in Europe?

Make an online research and simply apply to the relevant companies. Or better - if you know some professional voice here in Europe asked them to introduce you to the main important agencies.

Original Article

“Pay-it-Forward” became a cliché the day after the movie of the same name was released.

But no one’s come up with a better way to briefly phrase the ethic that extending value IN ADVANCE of reward, holds great promise as a lifestyle, a marketing plan, and a business plan.  I try to live by that creed in this blog, and I can’t tell you how many times it’s payed dividends.

One of the gents I greatly admire in the voice over business is Bill DeWees.  He’s left behind a number of successful endeavours during his life, and is now making the voice-acting business look easy.  Note, I say “business”.  That’s how Bill treats it, and therein lies his success. That’s a familiar theme among the more seasoned pros.

Even though he’s a voice actor, Bill is maybe just as well-known for his pay-it-forward brand of how-to videos.  See the Bill DeWees channel on YouTube.

Yesterday on my Voice-Over Friends  FaceBook Group, Bill posted a link to an instructional video he produced as a live seminar recently.  You can view it for free, and in my estimation, there’s a gold-mine of VO business strategies in just the first hour, and then the show continues with valuable Q & A.  Please make an effort to watch as much of this as you can afford.

Among the gems in his presentation are reminders to treat all your past customers as future prospects through consistent follow-up.  Along with newsletters, postcards, emails, and phone calls, Bill shared that he uses the SmartContactTool to help automate some of this duty. When you click on that link, you end up on a site called Happy Grasshopper.

And then it hit me!  That’s how I met Bill! He had seen my blog about Happy Grasshopper from March of last year, and later contacted me to say thanks.

See!  Pay-it-forward brings its own rewards in due time, or to paraphrase:  What Goes Around Comes Around.

CourVO

Original Article

“The YouTube site for Sound”…that’s what some are calling SoundCloud these days.

The Berlin-based company launched in 2008, and now has 10-million users…and has just raised 50-million in venture capital funding.

From an article on TechCrunch:  Soundcloud “…has had over five million official SoundCloud iphone/android apps downloaded and over 10,000 third party apps have been developed on SoundCloud’s open platform (recent additions include integrations with professional music creation software Pro Tools and Cakewalk).”

The site is certainly a good fit for voice actors. You can store your demos there, then share, embed, post, link, email, and get social.  Follow other SoundClouders and get followers.  Join groups, and converse in forums.

Embedding any voice file anywhere is easy (or link).  You can even customize your embedded player to the color and size you want.  (See my embedded demo on the home page of this blog)

Not content to rest on their laurels, the developers at SoundCloud Labs are now coming out with what anyone would expect might be a next-gen step:  STORYWHEEL.  Using pics from Instagram (voted most popular iPhone app of 2011) to provide the pics, and SoundCloud to match with the audio, StoryWheel shows promise.

SoundCloud offers modest functionality for a free membership, but you’ll probably want to choose one of their other 4 premium plans ranging from ~$37.50/year (~$11.66/mo) to ~$610/yr ( ~$76.50/mo).

CourVO

Original Article

Not many cultural developments have been as ground-breaking as sliced bread.  Still, some of  some of you say you like to visit here ‘cause I’m always throwing out new “stuff” that I find.  It could be reviews of new equipment, but often it’s Web Tools I discover that I think might be helpful to your VO business…or even new developments within the realm of  Social Media.

I’ll be focusing on that Social Media option a lot early this year, as I prepare for the VOICE2012 presentation I’m working on with Terry Daniel and Trish Basanyi.

We’re gearing up to USE Social Media in our TALK about Social Media.

To that end, we’ve launched a new LinkedIn group called SOCIAL MEDIA FOR VOICE ACTORS.  In just a couple of days, we’ve already seen some healthy growth in membership.

I’m steadily adding Social Media news channels on the group site, and I’ve also launched an early survey for members:  WHAT BEST DESCRIBES YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCEPTANCE LEVEL AS IT RELATES TO YOUR VO BUSINESS?

Would you mind joining up and voting on this survey?  Here’s the link:  http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4262069.

Thanks!  Oh, and please consider “liking” our new FaceBook page called “Voice Over Super Socials”.  Also, please follow our Twitter for VOSuperSocials

CourVO

Original Article

The neat freak inside me wants the proposed SAG/AFTRA merger to succeed.  I dislike wasteful duplication, gratuitous redundancy, and top-heavy bureaucracies.

I’ve been told talk of a merger has been around about as long as the proposal for a high-speed train between Las Vegas and LA — decades.

On the surface, the latest proposed merger makes sense — but I’m not privy to any of the internal struggles, the personalities involved, nor the certain logistical challenges.  I don’t know the history, and I don’t particularly want to.

Endless union v. non-union debates on public forums solve nothing, but bring to light some interesting sentiments, not the least of which is that a common stand on setting rates in the market (certainly a union function) is desperately needed now in this realm.

My interest lies in a union that works, that is lean, agile and responsive to its members and the market.  I’d love to see a union that isn’t LA or NYC-centric.  What I’d really like is for someone to explain what a paymaster is, and how that model fits into a voice-acting world that operates more and more on independent freelancers directly interacting with their clients.  I’d respect a union whose policies don’t drive members into hypocritical aliases on the P2P sites.

It’d be great to see a union that actually holds it’s VO members to a standard of technical and performance benchmarks (like SaVoa), instead of allowing in anyone who has enough money to pay the dues.

I’m told SAG and AFTRA detests being made to accept Fi-Core.  Tough. I’d love to see all 50 states be right-to-work states.

Well, that turned into kind of a rant.

Bettye Zoller, don’t call to scold me.  :)  Bob Bergen, where am I wrong?

Both Zoller and Bergen are highly-respected master talents in this business who hold high opinions of the potential of a union for all VO’s…and both have voluminous knowledge of this issue that I don’t possess.  Still, I’m allowed my opinion on my blog, and this is what I know from what I see and hear:  SAG and AFTRA as they exist now, do not seem answer the new challenges of the VO market brought on largely by the internet.  Because of that, they seem to me to be irrelevant, behind-the-times, S-L-O-W, and disdainful of the rabble.

I’d welcome your thoughts on this issue.  Are you Union now?  Why?  Are you Fi-Core?  Why?  If you are not Union, would you consider signing up following a SAG/AFTRA merger?

Below are some media articles I’ve searched that reflect the latest that’s known about the merger.

SAG-AFTRA merger means some union dues will rise as others fall

SAG Merger Skeptics Retain Law Firm 

SAG/AFTRA Merger: What’s Next

New SAG-AFTRA to Feature an Array of Officers and Delegates

SAGWATCH – Observing the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA

SAG/AFTRA Merger FaceBook page

SAG-AFTRA Merger Team Readies for 9 Days of Talks

CourVO

Original Article

The SAG Foundation Don LaFontaine Voice Over Lab is seeking an administrator.

Here’s what Lab Co-Founder and LA-based VO Pro Joe Cipriano writes on VU:

That listing is on CareerBuilder.com

I dunno…think I oughta apply?

CourVO

Original Article

They keep getting bigger, those files.  Docs.  .Wav files…even a bunch of mp3’s can take up space.

I’ve blogged about this before…in fact my “22+ Ways to Send Large Files” is one of my all-time most popular articles.

But…you know…things change and new stuff comes up…so let me tell you about a new one I found, and in the process, I want to underscore something about your Chrome browser you may not have paid attention to.

In your Chrome browser, hit Ctrl+T to open a new tab.  Unless you’ve been adding stuff to the blank page that  results, you’ll see space…space to add apps.  Yup.  Google Chrome is getting into apps big-time.  This is the Browser-based version of apps for  Chrome-book, which is an all-network based “laptop” device with no hard drive or storage…just a screen, keyboard, and network connection device.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

You can add TONS of apps to this blank tab, and every time you call up a  new tab, the apps pop up there.  There should be an icon to click for adding Google Chrome apps, but if not, just go to the Google Chrome Webstore.  From there, you can browse the available apps by category, or search them by topic or name.  They get quickly and brainlessly installed on your “new tab” page, and are quick to call up when you need.   Thousands of apps.  Free.

Searching around the Google WebStore, I found LARGE DOCUMENT.  You can install the app, but it’s also a stand-alone website…that is a dirt-simple way to send….well, large docs and other files.

While you’re in the Google Webstore, also look up GE.TT.  I’ve mentioned this one before, but it bears repeating.  Next to DropBox, GE.TT has got to be one of the most simple ways to quickly and efficiently send a big file I’ve ever seen.

Happy browsing!

CourVO

Original Article

…in support of a protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

See my blog explaining this.

Now, visit this site to lend your support.

Now, visit this site to pressure your elected representatives in Washington, D.C.

CourVO

Original Article

10-hour long AudioBooks?  40-module E-Learning projects?  100-slide PowerPoint Presentation?

Oh, and did I mention, the client wants all the finished production in .wav files?    You know…the best quality, and the BIGGEST size?

Today’s Voice talent has to be a whiz at sending big audio files with dependability, ease, and speed.  You may have already seen some of the solutions in the list below, or maybe you can comment to this blog with a suggestion that others could benefit from.  {Ed. note:  be sure to read all the way to the bottom, as several readers have made subsequent suggestions after seeing a gap I’d left on the list}

THE OBVIOUS

One of the oldest and most rock-solid solutions is to “FTP” (File Transfer Protocol) your file.  Your client may already have this set-up from their end, in which case they’ll send you their sign-on information, and all you have to do is log-on and upload.  You may have your own FTP site, in which case you can upload the files, then send your client the log-on information, or just send the URL from your domain name. (eg:  http://courvo.com/audiofiles/Toyota/JulyPromo.wav)

FTP on a Windows OS system takes place from the Windows explorer screen, not the browser (exceptions, see below).  FTP can be dead simple (98% of the time), or it can get complex if you want to use different parameters.  #1 site for FTP tutorial.  #2 site for FTP Tutorial.

If your comfortable with accessing the control panel of the entity that hosts your domain name (GoDaddy, HostGator, etc.) they almost always have a way to transfer, upload, and download files from within their user interface.

Finally, if you want to FTP using a browser-based solution, here are a few:

FileZilla
Egnyte
CoreFTP
SmartFTP
FTPX
FlashPeak

EASY, POPULAR AND FREE (to a point)

DropBox and Box.net are near-identical services that  have devised ways to make file transfer easy, for people as untech as oatmeal.  Both have plans that are free up to 2 Gigs… then it starts getting into monthly or yearly plans that add-on features and more storage.

DropBox is probably the more popular and easy…but honestly, Box.net now has an agreement with Google Docs that certainly makes it a real consideration, and you can post your demo’s on your LinkedIn profile with Box.net.

Both can be run from your local computer, or “in the cloud” (web-based).  Even if you aren’t sending large audio files all the time, you really should just get a free DropBox account.  You’ll start finding ways that make it real handy.

Securing a paid account with either of these services means you get more storage and more features.

Honorable mention in this category:  Microsoft’s SKYDRIVE, and SugarSync.

The advantages to SkyDrive are many.  You can access from a web browser anywhere…the free account includes 25 Gigs of storage (not a misprint)…and it’s integrated into Microsoft LIVE, and Microsoft Office.  I used it to send a bunch of project files to a client in a folder where I store a ton of audio files, but with security protection, he could only see and download the file I designated from that online folder…no other files.

SugarSync is more DropBox-esque, and offers a feature that resides on your desktop called “Magic Briefcase” that works much like DropBox.  It’s also operated from a browser  “in the cloud”, but any files you change on one machine immediately changes on the other machines where you have SugarSync installed.

BTW for you Tablet-enabled VO’s:  DropBox, Box.net, and SugarSync all have apps for the iPad and Android.  SkyDrive files are accessible through the QuickOffice apps.

BRAINLESSLY EASY, POPULAR AND FREE (to a point)

YouSendIt.com is just about every voice actor’s default favorite.  A parallel, equally-easy site is DropSend.com.

With both services, you can be on the site, add your file (up to 2 Gigs), put in an email address, send within a minute or two, and not even have to sign-up or subscribe.  Dead simple.

YouSendIt lets you try any of their 3 plans free, full-featured for two weeks.  DropSend lets you send up to five files free every month and never join or pay (but you have to put up with some slowing ads).

{Here’s what I do…I double up on these free sites using different email addresses.  So with SkyDrive, I have two accounts = 50 Gigs!!!, and with DropSend — again two free accounts — up to 10 free file transfers every month.}

WORTHY ALTERNATIVES:

(I’m less familiar with these, but each has it’s own niche that may be right for you.  All are web-based and work with Mac or Windows).

ADOBE SENDNOW  (only up to 100Mg, and only first transfer is free…but they DO handle multi-media files)

TRANSFER BIG FILES  (claims to be the worlds fastest.  Also used https and encryption if you want)

SENDSPACE

SENDTHISFILE

LARGEFILESASAP

WETRANSFER

MEDIASEND

FILESDIRECT

SIZEABLESEND

Author’s note (8-3-11):  Eldorec.com owner, and everybody’s favorite hi-tech audio expert — George Whittam —  reminds me in the comments below of Ge.tt a site that not only transfers big files for free, but the client can begin downloading the file before you’re even done UPloading it.  Too cool!

ALSO glealned from comments:;  Manish M Shah recommends FileApartment.com, and Dave Fennoy reminds us all that Skype handles large file transfers.  From Skype’s FAQ files:  “…there is no limit to the size or number of files you can send using Skype, and if you lose internet connectivity while a file is being sent, sending the file will automatically continue after the connection is re-established, even if one or both of you go offline for a while…”  Spiffy!

Beau Weaver (8-4-11) writes to say he uses MediaFire with great dependability.  I hadn’t heard of that one, either, so let’s add it to the list.

“Shannon” (2-2-12) writes to suggest Binfer works great.  http://www.binfer.com

Which ones did I miss?  ‘Got a favorite?  Let me know by commenting below, and I’ll add it to the list.

CourVO

Original Article

Posted via web from CourVO’s posterous

Original Article

Sooner or later as a voice-actor, you’re going to have to count words…if you want to get paid what you’re worth.

Sure, there are other methods, formulas, algorithms and rules that help you quote prices for your work, but some of the best metrics come back to a word count.

I’ve seen all sorts of formulas for charging by word count, and I may blog about that on a future post, but my bottom line is first, you have to be able to count the words.

Sounds simple enough…open the document in Word and click the ‘Word Count’ option under ‘Tools’.  Bingo!

OK, that works a good bit of the time, but what about a .pdf file or .rtf, or .txt, or .csv, or .htm, or .pps, or .ppt or .xls etc.?  Then what?

Some new office suites that look a lot like Microsoft’s set of Office programs now open and convert .pdf files to .doc files. Sun Microsystem’s Open Office comes to mind…and it’s free.  HERE’s the link.  One of my favorite softtware programs: Serif’s PagePlus translates .pdf as well, and will do a word count.

But I ran across some fairly inexpensive shareware the other day that will do a word count on just about any file type you could imagine.

It’s called AnyMini W, and you can find it on the web HERE.  When you visit that site, you’ll also see it offers line count software, and combinations of line and word count software, as well as character count, cut ‘n’ paste word count, and more.

This is not an endorsement, and I have not personally tried AnyMini W… so I can’t speak to it’s reliability.  If you’ve tried it, let us know what you think.

And if you have a sure-fire formula for charging by the word, or a word count forumla that you’ve found your clients really like…I’m all ears.

CourVO

Original Article