Tips and Training at Online Voice Over Acting Conference, Sept. 18-20, Can Launch a Second Career
(PRWEB) August 12, 2013 -- (August 12, 2013) “I’m retired now–but not ready to be done with work," said Texas native Ron Minatrea as he closed the door on a 30-year corporate career in 2010. His next step? To take advantage of valuable business training and experience and combine that with a passion for on-air radio performance he had cultivated as a young man. The result? A second career as a voice over actor and business coach to voice over newcomers.
As such, Minatrea will be one of 50 voice over professionals featured at the September 18-20 Internet conference known as Voice Over Virtual (http://www.voiceovervirtual.com). It’s the first-ever online training and networking conference for those making a career switch or launching a new career as a voice over actor, as well as those with established VO careers.
What does it mean to be a voice over actor?
Pay attention to the commercials next time you watch TV or wait for a YouTube video to begin. You’ll quickly get a sense of what a voice over actor does when you hear a “background” voice tell you what car to buy, which pain reliever works best, or why this bank is better than that bank. But voice over actors do much more than hawk the latest products. Think about recordings of audiobooks, movie promos, corporate presentations, documentaries, and podcasts, as well as the voices behind telephone directories, video games, animation and cartoons, and more. Voice actors deliver the message—any message—with elation, or empathy, or enthusiasm, but you’ll never see them. They are entirely behind the scenes.
A who’s who cast
The three-day Voice Over Virtual conference features a who’s-who cast of top-notch professionals who will present voice over training segments about audiobooks, business and marketing, home studios, and voice acting tips. Some of the industry’s leading voices and the topics they’ll discuss include:
• James Alburger: How to improve online auditions
• Marc Cashman: How to sound like you’re not reading
• Terry Daniel: Using social media for promotion
• Pat Fraley: Good acting vs. bad acting (a demonstration)
• David Goldberg: The future of voice over
• Erik Sheppard: How to find and work with agents
• George Whittam: Q and A about home studios
• Ron Minatrea: How to create a business action plan for your career
• Julie Williams: Advanced narration techniques (medical and technical)
“Although the conference is technically online for three days, all training is accessible on-demand,” says John Florian, event producer and founder of VoiceOverXtra.com, the VO industry’s news and training website. “That allows conference attendees to customize their experience and access the event from anywhere in the world as long as there is an Internet connection. They will have access to all of the training sessions for more than two months—until November 30, 2013.”
The Voice Over Virtual conference also features:
• virtual meeting rooms that allow participants to chat about voice over jobs with agents and casting directors; participants may upload a voice over demo when they register;
• interactive exhibit halls for browsing, shopping, and engaging with booth presenters to learn about voice over equipment and services;
• hangout lounges for social media-style networking;
• an unrehearsed Q and A interview about audiobook narration, with 2013 Audie Award-winners Simon Vance and Katherine Kellgren; and
• a treasure-hunt game to benefit the Voice Foundation charity.
Voice Over Virtual’s live online Open House Reception on September 7 will give current and future registrants the chance to explore the virtual environment of the conference. Hosted by Anne Ganguzza, founder of the VO Peeps voice over meet-up group, the event will be entertaining and educational, and provide an opportunity to “meet” many Voice Over Virtual trainers and team members.
The VOV conference is produced by John Florian and VoiceOverXtra LLC, which is the voice over industry’s premier online news, education and resource center.
Join the conversation about VoiceOverVirtual: Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/VoiceOverVirtual) and follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/voiceovervirtua).
Farn Dupre, VoiceOverXtra LLC, http://www.VoiceOverVirtual.com, 310-408-8863, [email protected]
Share this article