It used to be, back in the old days (like 5 years ago), that all voiceover work was done in a professional recording studio. The client, producer, engineer and voice talent would all drive to a local recording studio and produce audio.

Nowadays a very high percentage of voiceover work is produced in home studios. In my case a good 80% of all the voice work I do is done in my home studio. Clients love voiceover talents that have home studios as it as it saves them money and time. And with today's advanced audio editting software a professional sound is easy to achieve. Not only that, but it creates opportunities for you as a voiceover talent to do work for not only local clients, but for clients spanning the globe.

While putting together a home recording studio sounds like an expensive proposition, in reality it is surprisingly affordable. In most cases, a quality-sounding studio can be put together for less than $300.00. Really!

This is a "must-take" workshop for anyone serious about building a career in voiceovers! Our next session of building your Home Recording Studio will be will be scheduled in May. This is also a great opportunity to "try it before you buy it"including a variety of microphones, mixing boards, etc.

Make your reservation by calling our office at 916-446-2004. Cost of the workshop is $75.00 and includes all materials.

Lately we've been getting calls at the office from aspiring voiceover artists asking us:

"Am I ready to get my voice demo produced?"

And though we know many of you very well and have been working with you in workshops and individual coaching for a while now, we cannot tell you when you are ready to take the big step of getting your first professional voice demo produced. Sorry.

What we do know is that you do need to feel ready. The confidence in yourself must be there. You'll know when you are ready. And you won't need someone to tell you.

Keep in mind that you must be ready to compete with other voiceover artists who have been doing this type of work for a long time. But, don't let that discourage you....fresh new, skilled talent is always in demand.

With that in mind, our new advanced skills workshop, "Tightening the Nuts and Bolts in Your Delivery I and II" prepares you to compete in the real working world of voiceovers and is an excellent way to fine tune your voiceover skills in:

energy

phrasing

pitch

dynamics

articulation

breath control

storytelling skills opposed to reading

your ability to understand and relate to various target audiences

developing your discernable ear and

your developing your critical technical ear!

Yes, a LOT goes into a GOOD VOICEOVER and the pros make it look EASY!

Our job is to teach you how to go from being someone with a good voice that can read well to being a great storyteller...no matter what the script may be. When you can do that you will be a voiceover artist.

 Nuts and Bolts I & II will be offered in the last half of April in April.

2009 is the year to go from being a good voiceover talent to a great voiceover artist!

Call our office at 916 446-2004 to reserve your seat today. $75.00, includes all materials. Bring a pencil with an ERASER! A couple seats are still available!

All workshops are held in the beautiful Sacramento Art Complex, of course!

2110 K Street, Suite 17 in Midtown.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their busy holiday schedules to stop by our studio last Saturday for our Holiday Open House. We had an impressive turnout of more than 80 people! We even had a couple people drive up from Oakland to join in the festivities. It was a fun group!

Jim and I were happy to take the time to spend a few hours of the holiday season with all the great people we've met and worked with this past year including students, clients and fellow voiceover artists.

We also gave away prizes including 3 workshops in a drawing and the lucky winners are:

Mike McDade

Monika Lopez

Sandy Klagge

Congratulations to our winners!

The food was a big hit and a big thank you goes out to
Dana B.'s Delectables of Livermore for providing a lavish spread of unbelievably delicious food. It was a huge hit! One of the favorites was a savory cheesecake that you cut in wedges and spread on crackers. Dana has graciously shared the recipe:

Artichoke Cheesecake________________________________________

Ingredients

2 ½ cups chopped bagels (about 2 bagels)

2 Tbls. olive oil

3 tsp. dried or fresh chives

2-8 oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1-15 oz tub ricotta cheese

1 can condensed broccoli cheese soup

2 eggs

1 Tbls. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. garlic salt

1-8.5 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1-15 oz jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped

1 cup fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine bagels, oil and 1 tsp. chives in a medium sized mixing bowl and mix well. Spray 9 X 2 ½ inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Press bagel mixture firmly into bottom of pan and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool.

With an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, ricotta, soup, eggs, herbs, garlic salt and remaining 2 tsp. chives. Mix until well blended. Spread half of the cheese mixture over the bagel crust. Top with artichokes, ½ of the red peppers and ½ of the basil. Top with remaining cheese filling and smooth flat. Place remaining red peppers evenly over top layer. Bake for 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes; until completely set. Cool completely, then refrigerate 6 hours to overnight. Run knife around edge of torte and release from spring form pan. (It is easiest to serve with pan bottom in place.) Top torte with remaining half of fresh basil just prior to serving. Serve with crackers.

Enjoy and Have a Wonderful Holiday Season!

The year was 1991 and I had just started dating a very nice guy about six weeks before Christmas. I knew that this relationship had real potential but neither one of us had articulated that fact OUTLOUD just yet.

I had been married for seven years prior and was a bit gun shy about getting into another relationship. Dating after my divorce wasn't much fun. One man who asked me out had been married six times. Another man admitted that he had a foot fetish and consequently requested that I wear open-toe sandles to dinner......in January.

It was easy to turn down these dates and I quickly decided that I was going to stay single forever. That lasted for 3 years and then I met Jeff. I knew from day one that he was "the one".

On our first Christmas Eve Jeff came over with two live lobsters, a bottle of champagne and a beautifully wrapped rake. Yes, a rake. A rake that rakes leaves.

I was even more suprised at my response......I LOVED it!

That rake told me so much about who Jeff really was. It said he was comfortable in his own skin and didn't feel that he had to impress me with lavish gifts. It told me that he listened to me when I'd complain about all my yard work. And, then he took my new rake and actually did all the work for me.

Shortly after what I like to call " The Rake Christmas" we broke down and confessed our feelings and like they say "the rest is history".

The rake lived for 12 years until one day the handle snapped in two. I wanted to put what remained in a shadow box and hang it in my office but Jeff thought that was a silly idea.

In the years since I have receieved lots of practical gifts from Jeff (last year I got a battery-operated lint remover) and also some very lavish ones (you should see my new diamond ring!) but the best gift ever will always be that rake.

Thank you, Jeff, for being who you are....the best husband ever.