The VO Pro Blog

Thom Pinto is one of the most accomplished voice actors of the last 30 years. In a rare interview, Thom sits down with me and discusses his experience and success in various genres, including commercials, promos, in-show narration, and movie trailers.

He talks about the importance of versatility and the ability to adapt to different genres and shares insights into the challenges and strategies for each genre, such as storytelling in promos, tailoring the voice to the network in in-show narration, and capturing the essence of the drama in movie trailers.

He also discusses the joy he finds in teaching and helping others succeed in the industry.

This is our interview with the great and kind Thom Pinto.

Let’s face it, the vast majority of the marketing you do to grow your business is online. We live in an age where it’s completely normal, NAY natural, to start and grow relationships digitally through social media, LinkedIn, and so on.

That’s exactly why networking, yes, live and in real life, is especially relevant in today’s digital age.

There is no better way to start and grow real, human relationships than in-person networking. There is no better way to leave a lasting impression.

I'm so happy today to chat with my friend, Mark RIder, as he shares his journey from radio to voiceover and his experiences in the industry.

Rider stresses the importance of having a diverse skill set and not limiting oneself to one genre and discusses the need for passion, talent, action, associations, and faith in order to achieve success.

He also highlights the significance of evaluating and communicating with agents to ensure a fruitful partnership.

The conversation concludes with a funny story about a plastic duck.

Bet you didn't see that comin'.

Here are 8 Brutally honest, No B.S. truths about voice over that all new beginners need to know. It you had a room of 10 pro voice actors, I’d venture to say that 9 out of 10 would agree on these truths.

Are there are exceptions to all of these? Yes. But they are very rare. They are edge cases and by far not the norm.

Knowing these truths up front will save you years of sifting through hot garbage that is coated in snake oil, coated in sugar, and fried to a deep, dark brown.

So put your big girl panties on and listen up.

Today we welcome voice actor, head of UVT Coaching, and my one-time coach, Terry Daniel. Terry discusses his journey in the voiceover industry and his experience as a coach. He shares how he got into coaching and the importance of training with coaches who are still booking voiceover work.

Terry also talks about the obstacles people face when starting in voiceover, including fear and impatience. He emphasizes the need for patience and hard work in building a successful voiceover career.

We also touch on the challenges of navigating the abundance of information and misinformation in the industry and Terry shares his experience with amusement park work and his goals for the future, including directing commercial sessions.

There are metric tons of bad mistakes you can make in voice over. You can have no training or be undertrained. You can have a bad recording space or bad equipment. You can do your own demos. You can have a bad website.

All of those are fixable. No training? Start training. Bad recording space, bad equipment, bad audio? Totally fixable. Call Uncle Roy, George The Tech, Jordan Reynolds, or Tim Tippets. Bad demos? Work with a reputable demo producer. Bad website, work with a pro designer.

But there’s one mistake that is not nearly as fixable. Make this mistake and it will derail your voice over career for years.

What is it?

There was a surprise, stealthy, mystery guest this year at VO Atlanta, and fireworks ensued! 

There I was, on stage in the main ballroom at VO Atlanta, getting ready to take my seat on The Famous Online Casting Panel. J. Michael Collins, the moderator, walks by and announces to the panel, “65 seconds!”

I turn and a man in a blue plaid sportcoat holds out his hand and says, “Hi, Paul. I’m Jay O’Connor, Voices CEO.”

And my first thought was, is this guy gonna curse me out? Stare me down? Take a swing?

Not all voice actors know how to set proper rates. Fewer still know what proper rates are. Even fewer quote them consistently.

Very few voice actors not only know and quote proper rates consistently, but they also know their worth.

Today, we’re going to delve into knowing your voice over rates, knowing and getting grounded in your worth, and the relationship between the two.