Voice-Over Therapy
- January 13, 2009
- Comments (6)
Join Voice Over Expert Peter Rofé in his lecture "Voice-Over Therapy". Peter shares tips for interacting with agents and communicating your objectives confidently. It's a hard business... don't second-guess yourself! Also, discover a number of intangible factors that may advance your voice-over career.
Download Podcast Episode 76 »
Tags:
Peter Rofé, Peter Rofe, Voice Overs, Agents, Representation, Voice-over therapy, Voice Acting, PDR Voice Coaching, Voices.com
Transcript of Voice-Over Therapy
Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.
This week Voices.com is pleased to present Peter Rofé.
Peter Rofé: Hey guys, this is Peter Rofé. I'm so proud to be back again to do another podcast for Voices.com and flattered have been asked back again and also the folks over at Voices.com have told me that the podcast are well receive, so I'm happy to know that and I also want to thank those of you who have purchase the book, Voice For Hire which I commercial-authored with Randy Thomas, the full title of the book is Voice For Hire: Launch and Maintain a Lucrative Career in Voice-Overs. I have a lot of clients where in New York that I work with privately as their coach and as their producer of demo reels and I've learn a lot of about people and about their ego and about the business and how difficult it can be a times.
So, we all have to admit to ourselves that being that it's a difficult business, we need to have therapy and let's called this podcast voiceover therapy which is very specific to our industry both the ups and the downs of our industry. For those of us who are lucky enough to have representation whether it be exclusive or free lance, we to understand the complexity of the relationship and interact professionally while looking, out for ourselves at all times. So, many voiceover artist who have representation do experience lows in their audition frequency, this is common as the industry has its highs and lows, like any industry would.
Like for instance the most obvious slowdown are felt during the holiday season as well as summer time, where production slows down and many people are on vacation. When the phone doesn't ring, it doesn't mean that you're not wanted or needed or talented. So, don't second guess yourself and don't always second guess your agency because there are moments that this is just a part of our business and it's purely of out their control. Also don't be afraid to communicate with your agent. Keep in touch with them, send postcards or even drop by their office in person, if that person is obviously in the city in which you live.
E-mail them, making sure that you're always on their radar and again do it in a very professional manner, don't do it so that you'd become a sort of annoyance or too obtrusive. If you do have real displeasure with your representation, call your agency and say, I'd like to come in, sit down and have a meeting about this and then you air it out in person and tell them what your feeling and thinking because ultimately, you want your agent to be happy with you as a client and vice versa. No ones going to make money unless you make money doing this. So, you must stand up for yourself, keep your cool. Don't giveaway your power both as an artist and a business person. Keep in mind this is a business. Yes, it's creative. Yes, its people business but it is a business so the bottom line is the mighty dollar.
Here are some intangible factors that could advance your voiceover career, first of all producers want to work with people who are generally nice to work with. Be open and suggestive to criticism and critic. No one wants to work with someone who becomes defensive and off putting in a session. Don't be desperate. This is easily telegraft and a client will loss confidence in you and your abilities if you come across sort of two needy or insecure. Don't underestimate your value. Don't overestimate your value on the other hand, right? Nobody wants to work with someone with an inflated ego. Don't let personal problems in life or issues that you're having at home into the work place and I know this seems like a commonsense, it is commonsense but it is a people business, so don't let those things affect what you do at work when you're behind the microphone or marketing yourself.
Be open to refining your skills at all times throughout your career, you can never learn enough. So, coach, work with somebody, continue to take classes, you can always get better. You can always revamp your demo reels and make them better overtime. Remember just because you have a real spot in your repitua, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's better than the demo spot that you have on their which showcases you as the artist and not necessarily the product or a service. Don't judge yourself to hard. Make time for you audition and bookings and never take this industry or yourself for granted.
So, those are some bullet point things to think about but it is a difficult industry there are highs, there are lows, there are times that you're going to second guess yourself. Try not to do it. I've seen through trial and error how people have really succeeded tremendously in this industry. For one thing those who use the internet as a marketing tool do very, very well and again Voices.com and some of the other voiceover market places are important tools. You must get your reels out there. You must audition for those jobs. Keep in mind you want to audition for jobs that you think you're right for. Don't audition for everything just because it came to your e-mail address. Try to be selective when it comes to auditioning for things. You'll have a much better chance of booking things and you won't look at your audition versus booking ratio and say, "Oh my god, I go out on this many audition and I only book this many".
Keep in mind that if you got on a hundred audition and you book one, you book the job and from that point on the confidence builds and you could promote yourself strongly. If you're booking jobs through internet without representation, you don't have an agent and then you market agencies, you solicit them for representation. Make sure that you bolster your resume that you tell them that you've booked were online. The online bookings are actually very important for you as it means to get an agent today and you can have an agent outside your local city just because you live in Omaha, Nebraska it doesn't mean you can't have an agent in Los Angeles representing you.
The internet has created so many opportunities for you, so there are definitely ways that you can use the internet to your advantage and again don't think of it as, "I haven't book anything in two month, I must not be a very good voiceover artist." You must continually go after those jobs. The people that I've seen who are persistent, who don't give up, who up mailing and marketing and sending those MP3's out seem to do much better in this business.
So, keep in mind there is more to pursuing voiceover than just the work itself. It's about your mind set. It's about your emotional take on things. It's about keeping your composure. Not letting the business as lows get your when it slows down. Don't second guess your abilities and strive to be the best that you can possibly be and I grantee you this will definitely work for you in the New Year. Thank you so much. Talk to you guys soon.
Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast visit the voiceover expects show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExpects. Remember to stay subscribed.
If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.
Links from today's show:
PDR Voice Coaching
Voice For Hire
Your Instructor this week:
When Peter Rofé began his career -- like many actors -- he searched long and hard for a decent way to support himself. He discovered that voice-overs could be an extension of one's acting career and a respectable way to earn a decent living without compromising artistic integrity.
Peter believes from experience that voice-over artists benefit greatly from studying with a coach who has a good ear, a wealth of knowledge, and plenty of industry experience. That's why former clients will tell you that Peter's hands on approach and work experience make him one of New York's City's top voice over coaches.
Peter offers a wide range of services, from teaching clients privately to conducting group workshops, producing high-end demo reels and offering introductory classes and marketing seminars. He has also taught voice over courses at The Barrow Group and Stonestreet Film & Television Studios (Tisch School of the Arts, New York University). In addition, Peter has coached veteran television broadcasters and business executives for speeches and corporate functions.
Coaching sessions focus mainly on technique and copy interpretation with a strong emphasis placed on commercial, straight announcer, and animation reads. Special attention is also given to non-announcer (conversational) reads, which have become so fundamental in today's industry.
Demo reels are produced in his state of the art recording studio with an experienced engineering staff. It is strongly advised that all of his students produce demo reels when they have reached a competitive level." I try to produce tapes that agents and casting directors want to hear, so copy is carefully chosen and tailored to exhibit each actor's style, versatility, and sense of humor." Many of Peter's clients have signed with top commercial agents and have landed work in commercials, promos, cartoons, and industrials.
Peter also co-authored a book with Randy Thomas, called Voice For Hire: How to Launch and Maintain a Lucrative Career in Voice Over, published by Backstage Books in September of 2008.
Enjoyed Peter's episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!
What to Look For in a Voice Over Coach
- February 26, 2008
- Comments (5)
Join Voice Over Expert Peter Rofé in his lecture "What to Look For in a Voice Over Coach" as he discusses how to choose a qualified teacher for private and group voice over training. Peter gives you the tools to discern best practices, illuminates items to be wary of, and prepares you for studying voice over as well as some tips on how to go about planning for a voice over demo reel.
Download Podcast Episode 37 »
Tags:
Peter Rofé, Peter Rofe, Voice Over Instruction, How to pick a voice over coach, Voice Over Training, Voice Over Coaches, Voice Acting, PDR Voice Coaching
Transcript of What to Look For in a Voice Over Coach
[Opening Music]
Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.
This week Voices.com is pleased to present Peter Rofè.
Peter Rofè: Hey, guys. This is Peter Rofè, voiceover artist, coach and producer in New York City from PDR Voiceover Coaching. Just before I start this podcast, I just wanted thank the staff at Voices.com for asking me back to record another podcast. I hope that the previous podcast I did on how to breakdown and analyze commercial copy shed some light on the audition experience and the technique that's needed.
Today I want to talk about voiceover training whether that be private coaching or group classes and we'll also touch upon the production of quality voiceover reels. Now, this is something that I know a lot about since I am a producer and I am a coach but it's also something that I know about because I've gone through the process as an aspiring voiceover artist.
Voiceover skill takes time. It takes an open mind and a good coach to help you learn and sometimes just going online and search of classes being offered in your area can result in finding the perfect teacher but sometimes, it's not as easy as that and there are some caveats that I just wanted to discuss.
In any performing art, voiceover requires an audience, an objective set of ears that can listen, interpret and offer constructive criticism. You want to find a coach that works well with you. That's extremely important. Your coach should always encourage you and allow you the freedom to fail without harm. Remember the best way to learn anything in life is through trial and error. So, making mistakes is an essential part of the growing process and your shortcomings can reveal weaknesses that can only help your coach pinpoint the bad habits that you've attained.
Bad habits along with misguided preconceive notions can also easily be replaced with voiceover technique and proper etiquette which in return becomes one's strengths. That could be the difference between launching a successful voiceover career and being an amateur with a good voice. Your coach ought to be patient with you as well, allowing you to work at your own level and I know this from experience that it's exciting and it's rewarding for a teacher or a coach to also find the right student.
I always find that in order to get the best performance from my students, I will find something positive to say to them before offering them a note or a constructive criticism that will alter their performance. You know my students never feel like they don't belong in the booth. In this fashion, I have also witness how the human psyche learns new tricks quickly without resulting in a bruised ego and this is a universal truth which really transcends coaching in all its forms, whether it's on a baseball diamond or on stage or in a voiceover booth.
And let me talk just a little bit about group classes. I am in favor of group classes but I also believe that private coaching on some level is a requirement. You see, a voiceover class works on the assumption that everyone is learning at the same pace but of course we know that's rarely the case. Many schools offer a predetermined number of classes as part of a package deal that includes a demo tape. You've got to be aware of those classes because sometimes they can be a recipe for disaster. Remember, classes are seldom and expensive and some of them kind of revolve like a revolving door, you know, their motto is get him in and get him out as quickly as possible, charge as much as possible. Because we're offering a produced demo reel as part of these class curricula, we can charge you X amount of dollars for this class.
But again beware, those classes sort of assume that students are ready to compete with the big boys in the industry and that's not necessarily the case and also in our business as competitive as it is, you don't really have a second chance at first impression. So if you're reel isn't (up to snuff), your career unfortunately could end before it begins and this is not necessarily a reflection on you as a student but really a reflection on the class and how it's designed to maximize its earning potential. So just make sure that you're aware of those things when you're researching a class.
A 68-week voiceover class by itself certainly lacks the essential person one-on-one attention that a student needs to completely grasp voiceover skills. I'm all for classes that assess people's talent and innate ability before embarking on a group class. I think that if you work with somebody prior to a class, you'll have a better class and sometimes there are people in these classes that frankly don't belong there and that can poison a class environment. So, you want to have a group of people that are willing, able to work in the booth on somewhat of a professional level even though we're working toward a professional level.
And also I'm in favor of like these 68-week classes that allow people to sort of gather and get in the booth and work on copy and you know, sort of flex their voiceover muscles. I think that's also an essential part of competing in our industry is making sure that you're always learning. You can always learn more regardless of what level you're at, you make a $100,000 a year as a voiceover announcer, you make $500,000 a year, you make a million dollars a year. You always need a coach and you always could learn more and benefit from a coach.
Now, let's talk a little bit about the reel for a second here. Make sure that your reel that's being produced is part of a separate process that has nothing to do with class, okay? Now, the person that's teaching that class could be the producer and the coach of your reel but it has to be a separate entity because whoever it is producing your reel, they need to take the necessary time and effort to understand what your best abilities are and then to showcase them properly. So, picking copy for your reel should never be a random process, make sure you pick copy that exhibits your sense of style, your voice quality, your sense of humor, the ability to be taken seriously as an announcer and as a real person. You definitely need that to be part of your reel and that's what agents and casting directors are yearning to hear.
So, when you're researching your class options make sure that you're going to be working in a fully equipped recording studio. It's vital to train with the proper equipment. Your class should also provide you with the recordings of all your sessions in the booth along with your coach's comments and feedback because this gives you the opportunity to continue to learn in the comfort of your home and do your research. Don't make any quick decisions on choosing the coach or the class that you will be learning in. Remember you have to be comfortable in the environment you're working with and you have to be comfortable with the person that you're working with. So, if you don't feel completely comfortable with this particular coach that's probably not the coach for you.
You should have an assessment session with that coach or a consultation with that coach because the coach should also be looking at you as the right student and you should be looking at the coach as the right coach, so it's a two-way street. You have to sort of agree together to work together. And some of the great ways of finding a good coach is certainly here in the online community, you know, where you could visit blogs and see what people are saying about coaches and certainly listen to what people have to say because word of mouth is the strongest form of advertising and remember, just because a voiceover school or coach places a full page ad and a well-respected trade publication doesn't necessarily mean that they have the ability to launch your career. I mean there are a lot of - well, there are few self-proclaimed voiceover coach who make a nice living at luring an experienced talent. So, just make sure you're not one of those people. Be weary of the coaches who take you on as a client without assessing your talent level first.
A coach should always ask questions of his potential client. Have you ever work in voiceovers before? What kind of voiceovers do you want to do? Where do you want to take your career? How much money do you want to make with this? What's your schedule like? All of those questions, those logistical questions as just as important and that initial dialog can help a coach determine if you're a student who's ready and eager to learn, not just another client with a lofty dream and a checkbook.
And always ask the prospective coach to play their client's various demo reels because your own instincts can tell you if their reels sound professional. So, if someone already has a reel or is looking to update a reel you may want to heed this advice. The more you take your career seriously the more the industry will take you seriously. Well, this is Peter Rofè. I'll be signing off for now but I wanted to thank you for listening and I hope that some of the advice that I've offered here today can make a positive impact on your career.
Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.
If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.
[Closing Music]
Links from today's show:
Your Instructor this week:
When Peter Rofé began his career -- like many actors -- he searched long and hard for a decent way to support himself. He discovered that voice-overs could be an extension of one's acting career and a respectable way to earn a decent living without compromising artistic integrity.
Peter believes from experience that voice-over artists benefit greatly from studying with a coach who has a good ear, a wealth of knowledge, and plenty of industry experience. That's why former clients will tell you that Peter's hands on approach and work experience make him one of New York's City's top voice over coaches.
Peter offers a wide range of services, from teaching clients privately to conducting group workshops, producing high-end demo reels and offering introductory classes and marketing seminars. He has also taught voice over courses at The Barrow Group and Stonestreet Film & Television Studios (Tisch School of the Arts, New York University). In addition, Peter has coached veteran television broadcasters and business executives for speeches and corporate functions.
Coaching sessions focus mainly on technique and copy interpretation with a strong emphasis placed on commercial, straight announcer, and animation reads. Special attention is also given to non-announcer (conversational) reads, which have become so fundamental in today's industry.
Demo reels are produced in his state of the art recording studio with an experienced engineering staff. It is strongly advised that all of his students produce demo reels when they have reached a competitive level." I try to produce tapes that agents and casting directors want to hear, so copy is carefully chosen and tailored to exhibit each actor's style, versatility, and sense of humor." Many of Peter's clients have signed with top commercial agents and have landed work in commercials, promos, cartoons, and industrials.
Peter also co-authored a book with Randy Thomas, called Voice For Hire: How to Launch and Maintain a Lucrative Career in Voice Over. It will be published by Backstage Books and will be available in bookstores Spring 2008.
Enjoyed Peter's episode? Leave a comment with your thoughts!
How to Analyze and Break Down Commercial Copy
- November 15, 2007
- Comments (4)
Join Voice Over Expert Peter Rofé as he teaches you "How to Analyze and Break Down Commercial Copy". Learn a proven formula that will teach you how to fully understand and interpret scripts written for television and radio commercials.
Download Podcast Episode 22 »
Tags:
Peter Rofe, Commercials, Commercial Copy, Analysis, Recording, Audio, Voice Acting, Interpreting Copy, PDR Voice Coaching
Transcript of How to Analyze and Break Down Commercial Copy
[Opening Music]
Julie-Ann Dean: Welcome to Voiceover Experts brought to you by Voices.com, the number one voiceover marketplace. Voiceover Experts brings you tips, pearls of wisdom and techniques from top instructors, authors and performers in the field of voiceover. Join us each week to discover tricks of the trade that will help you to develop your craft and prosper as a career voiceover talent. It's never been easier to learn, perform, and succeed from the privacy of your own home and your own pace. This is truly an education you won't find anywhere else.
This week, Voices.com is please to present Peter Rofé.
Peter Rofé.: Hey guys, this is Peter Rofé. I am a voiceover coach, I'm a voiceover artist and I produce voiceovers including demo reels and reel spots that broadcast. I have a company called PDR Voiceover Coaching that's located in Greenwich Village.
Today, I'd like to talk a little bit about analysis, commercial breakdown and analyzation of commercial copy. Before I start talking about the specifics in copy breakdown, I just wanted to talk a little bit about commercials as a whole. They're really a big part of our life, our everyday lives and most people listening to commercials happen to be in their car transporting themselves from point A to point B, commuting back and forth to work and typically, people are certainly not listening to the radio to hear commercials. What they're trying to do is to get traffic updates, weather reports, news, sports, music of course and these commercials are there as basic interruptions to what they're trying to do.
So the commercial announcer and the commercial itself already has a strike against it so what we have to do as voiceover artists and voiceover announcers is try to engage the audience in a personal conversation so that the audience will actually listen to us rather than just hear us. You can hear a noise but you don't have to concentrate and focus on noise. You can block it out whereas in commercials, you can also hear it in the background but it's certainly not going to speak to you and of course, get you to do something that's beneficial for you which will generate revenue for a specific product or service which is what commercials intend to do.
So as commercial announcers, we really have to try to speak directly to our audience and one of the things that we need to do when we pick up a piece of copy and that's any copy in commercials is figure out who the audience is. It's very important that we understand the complexities of the audience. Not every spot is written for every person so what I kind of came up with was five simple questions to ask yourself when you look at a piece of a copy for the first time.
First of all, you should read your copy for comprehension sake first without acting it out loud or performing it. So you really need to understand the text and what the text is saying. It's very much like reading a newspaper article or a novel. Then you want to start listening to that little voice inside your head that's reading it along with you. That's your instinct. Everybody's instinct is different from everybody else's instinct and that's what makes us individuals which is why voiceover is so amazing is that we can really bring a part of ourselves to every read that we do and that is really an essential part of the process and the casting process as well. Casting directors are looking for people who bring themselves to the scripts.
Today, what's really popular is conversational. The reason being is the conversational read is so vital to our society is because pop culture is really excited by reality. I mean, if you watch television, what's on TV 90 percent of the time? Reality-based shows. And so advertising agencies obviously follow pop culture and trends and it seems to me that reality TV is something that's here to stay. It's part of our culture now and spots are written in a very conversational style.
Even when spots are written in an announcer style like introducing and things like that, things that you wouldn't normally say in everyday life. You still approach the copy as a real person. For those of you out there who have really gifted voices both men and women, you still want to try to find a more real tone to your conversation and try to use the copy as a means to really colloquialize things so that it does sound like you're having a conversation with another person even though you might - it might not be a two-person read, it should still sound like you're responding to somebody and there's some give and there's some take.
Getting back to the actual commercials themselves, like I said I came up with five simple questions to ask yourself when you look at a piece of copy. One is you need to know the gender of the person that you're talking to within that audience. Hey, that's a 50-50 right there.
The second thing that you want to ask yourself is age range. Ad agencies like to categorize us all with these ten year blocks of age range so the audience could be 35 to 45 or 55 to 65 or 25 to 35. Those age ranges are very, very specific.
The third question you want to ask yourself is, "What is the economic status of this person that I'm talking to?" Everybody has different economic situations. Some people are affluent, some people are poverty-stricken. Some people are comfortable, some people are middle-class or lower middle-class. There are a lot of different things that you can be economically speaking and those products and services absolutely correlate to economics.
The next question, the fourth question is locale. Where is this person coming from? Is this person an urbanite? Is this person a suburbanite or does this person live out on the farm in rural America? So you basically have three choices, urban, suburban and rural. Each of those people is very different.
The last question which is actually the most important question of all which is why it's last is predicament. What is the predicament of the person that you are talking to within the context of the spot? There are usually predicaments and issues within the commercial context. For instance, you have a problem you needed solved. The specific product or service will solve your problem. That will get people to pick up the phone, go online, buy a product in the store all because they need to solve problems, everyday problems, mundane problems, big problems. So that's typically how psychologically commercials work.
So you've got those five questions, gender, age range, economics, locale and predicaments. One you've asked yourself of those questions, try to be as specific as you can. Now your answers may vary and your answers may actually be a little bit different from what the copywriter intended your answers to be but your read will always be more specific when you know the audience at large that you're talking to.
Now we go one step further. We know who the audience is. Let's just say the audience is a 25 to 35-year-old male, urban, economically strapped individual who needs a vacation and I'm just throwing that out right now. Let's just imagine that that's our audience for this particular commercial that we're talking about. Well, what you would do as the voice announcer is try to find the person that exists in your own life that parallels this larger audience so that now, you're talking to your friend Steve. Who is that guy? And so you bring Steve into the booth with you and you imagine that you're saying this to Steve that you're actually engaged in a conversation with Steve.
What happens is that you bring yourself to the read because you're talking to Steve. You bring Steve into the read. Steve represents the audience therefore you bring the audience to you. You don't alienate the audience, you actually engage the audience. That's a very important thing when you analyze your copy ahead of time and when you actually deliver your copy and each read that you do should always be considered the firs time you're saying these words. It's not take 12. It shouldn't take - sound like take 36. It should sound like I've never said this to you before and I'm in an organic real time conversation with you right now.
So that's what you do when you get a piece of copy. You break it down, you ask those questions, you figure out your target audience. You then pick a person that exists in your life that represents this audience and you deliver your spot and I can guarantee you, it's going to be a lot easier. Thanks for having me today. I appreciate it and I look forward to hearing from you all.
Julie-Ann Dean: Thank you for joining us. To learn more about the special guest featured in this Voices.com podcast, visit the Voiceover Experts show notes at Podcasts.Voices.com/VoiceoverExperts. Remember to stay subscribed.
If you're a first time listener, you can subscribe for free to this podcast in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory or by visiting Podcasts.Voices.com. To start your voiceover career online, go to Voices.com and register for a voice talent membership today.
[Closing Music]
Links from today's show:
Your Instructor this week:
When Peter Rofé began his career -- like many actors -- he searched long and hard for a decent way to support himself. He discovered that voice-overs could be an extension of one's acting career and a respectable way to earn a decent living without compromising artistic integrity.
Peter believes from experience that voice-over artists benefit greatly from studying with a coach who has a good ear, a wealth of knowledge, and plenty of industry experience. That's why former clients will tell you that Peter's hands on approach and work experience make him one of New York's City's top voice over coaches.
Peter offers a wide range of services, from teaching clients privately to conducting group workshops, producing high-end demo reels and offering introductory classes and marketing seminars. He has also taught voice over courses at The Barrow Group and Stonestreet Film & Television Studios (Tisch School of the Arts, New York University). In addition, Peter has coached veteran television broadcasters and business executives for speeches and corporate functions.
Coaching sessions focus mainly on technique and copy interpretation with a strong emphasis placed on commercial, straight announcer, and animation reads. Special attention is also given to non-announcer (conversational) reads, which have become so fundamental in today's industry.
Demo reels are produced in his state of the art recording studio with an experienced engineering staff. It is strongly advised that all of his students produce demo reels when they have reached a competitive level." I try to produce tapes that agents and casting directors want to hear, so copy is carefully chosen and tailored to exhibit each actor's style, versatility, and sense of humor." Many of Peter's clients have signed with top commercial agents and have landed work in commercials, promos, cartoons, and industrials.
Peter also co-authored a book with Randy Thomas, called Voice For Hire: How to Launch and Maintain a Lucrative Career in Voice Over. It will be published by Backstage Books and will be available in bookstores Spring 2008.
