The VO Meter, Measuring Your Voice Over Progress.
Hello, everybody, and welcome to Episode 12, a full dozen hard to believe of the VO Meter podcast.
Measuring Your Voice Over Progress. We almost got a baker’s dozen there.
Yeah, a baker’s dozen will be the next one, I think.
Yeah, it’s 13.
I’m just flabbergasted that we made it to 12.
I’m flabbergasted that we’ve had over 2,000 downloads.
Yeah, we are at 2,458. Wow. So hopefully this next episode will push us over 2,500.
And that combined with 12 episodes will be a real milestone in my mind.
Maybe we should add more incentives.
Maybe, and I think we have some ideas on a way to do that.
Oh, yeah. You have to listen to the rest of the podcast, though, so don’t leave now.
Please don’t. I know nobody will. So, just so everybody is clear, I am coming to you from Sonny Duck, North Carolina, on the outer banks of the North Carolina coast.
I’ve been on vacation all week, but I have sucked it up to come back for our fans and conduct an interview with our special guest and do episode 12.
Very nice. And who is our guest this time, Paul?
It is the fabulous coach, blogger, voice over talent, none other than the nether voice, Paul Strikwerda.
Yes, awesome. I totally forgot to turn the W into a V in the interview, but it was close and he was very polite. I’m sure he’s used to people messing up his name.
Yeah, I’m sure as well. So we will get to him in just a moment, but before we do that, let’s talk about some current events. What’s going on with you, Sean?
Well, it’s funny that you’re traveling now. I actually just got back from a two-week pseudo vacation in Hawaii because my girlfriend lives and works up there. And so I’ve actually been up there, it’s like my third time this year, but it’s the only way we can see each other with her schedule, because me doing freelance, I definitely have a little bit more flexible, and I just bring a whole bunch of gear with me and try to pay off the trip while I’m there.
Well, that sounds like a great excuse to go to Hawaii.
All right, like anyone needs one.
You want to trade?
Hey, you sound pretty happy out there.
I can see the beach, I’ve got a glass of wine in my hand, things can’t be better.
Sounds wonderful, man. Sounds great.
So let’s talk about your travel setup. We want to talk about that theme for this episode, how we maintain work or at least work in an emergency situation when we’re traveling. What’s your travel rig like?
Well, it’s relatively simple. It does take up a little bit of room though. It’s mainly my laptop, my 416, my Sennheiser 416, and a newer interface, a one channel interface by Audient called the ID4.
And I’ve been following them since back when they only had the ID22 as it was the only entry into the line of digital interfaces. And it honestly sounds just as good. Obviously doesn’t have all of the features, but it sounds fantastic.
And for $200 or less, if you go refurbished or a demo unit, I think it sounds incredible. And it’s incredibly simple to use. And it actually has dual headphone outs.
So you’ve got the typical quarter inch headphone connector for studio headphones, and then an eight inch one for earbuds and the like. Or you could just have two people listening on it at the same time. It’s just so much packed into that little box.
Yeah, that’s fantastic. I know we actually recorded episode three on that very unit.
That’s right.
At the Atlantic Voice Over Conference.
Yeah, at MAVO, and then that’s what I used again at VO Atlanta for my team. So we had that, and we actually had what I’m speaking into now, the Carry On Vocal Booth. And I use it as sort of like additional treatment in my, I call it my blanket booth.
But yeah, as you can see, it sounds great. Or actually, no, we’re using the Yamaha AGO3 today for ease of interview purposes. But also a great sounding travel unit.
Yeah, for sure. So my setup’s a little bit more simple, maybe, depending on your opinion. I’m using the Blue Raspberry USB mic, and I have that running to a Dell Venue Pro, which is one of those hybrid laptop tablet machines where you can remove the tablet or plug it into a keyboard and it becomes a full-fledged laptop.
So I use that, and then I have it inside a homemade Harlan Hogan-ish portable. If you remember, when he first started, his deal was to put out plans on how to create your own version of his portable. So I had this fabric case, I guess that’s what it’s called, from Bed Bath & Beyond, and I lined it with acoustic foam on all five sides.
And those are those little collapsible fabric boxes that you can use for a shelf or just laundry bags or something like that.
Or you can use it to hold toys, that’s what I use it for home actually when I’m not recording. And then I stick the microphone in the back of it, stick my head inside, and you probably hear the birds and the seagulls because I’m literally on the beach right now. But it sounds great inside a regular house room, or for the last week, I’ve been using it inside my car for auditions, and it sounds pretty good.
Yeah, a lot of people have used cars either when they’re traveling, and as long as you’re in a reasonably quiet spot, most cars are already, like they already have quite a bit of sound isolation and absorption just to make it a more comfortable driving experience.
Yeah, and I did a remote session with our good friend Marisha Tepera two days ago. We were doing a dual point of view audition. I was in the back of the car with the Porta Booth, and she said, that sounds great.
And I said, well, maybe I should just use this all the time.
Use what you got. And doesn’t the Raspberry have some kind of like noise canceling technology too?
Yeah, I won’t say I exactly know how it works, but it does do a pretty good job of canceling out some of the ambient sound. I mean, if one of my kids comes out here and starts asking for dinner, I’ll be in trouble.
It won’t erase them.
Yeah, or go back on the boogie board. But for now, it sounds pretty good.
Yeah, it does sound nice. All right, so anything else for current events?
Well, as I said, I’ve been on vacation, but when I get back, I’m booked for four audio books until probably the end of October, where I just have my schedule entirely taken up, and that’ll be pretty exciting.
Very nice. Yeah, my schedule… The first half of the vacation was nice, but then I got at least four different gigs or auditions that came my way, or while I was in Hawaii.
And so my girlfriend was very supportive, and she gave me full reign of her room. Yeah, it’s great. So I just moved all the clothes on either side of the mic, and then just shoved every pillow in the house in there as well.
And then she didn’t have too many blankets because it’s really hot in Hawaii, so I used a lot of beach towels behind me, and it sounded pretty well. None of my clients complained. I even checked in with a few of them to make sure it was okay, and they’re like, yeah, it’s totally acceptable.
And it was a lot of fun. I even did a remote session with this German client for this sort of medical assistance app, and that was a lot of fun. It was only one sentence, and those guys were hilarious too, so it was a lot of fun.
One sentence, and then that was the whole job?
That was the whole job.
Fantastic. I should promote the one book I have that was released recently. It’s called The Fat Kid by Mark Roeder.
That’s R-O-E-D-E-R. If you’re looking for a new book to listen on Audible, please check that out. It has one rating so far.
That’s five stars. I’m pretty proud of that. And yeah, I’d love to have some more.
So go on there, download it, and let me know what you think.
Will do, yeah. I’ll do that after the show. And I meant to say, though, that was really smart.
Actually contacting Marisha to have someone to play off of for that dialogue was a really good idea. And you guys are similar age range and voice types. I think it would be totally believable.
Yeah, it worked out pretty well. It’s always nice to have somebody to bounce off of when you’re doing an audition.
You know how Facebook has those ridiculous… Do you want to find out who your soulmate is of your contacts? Like quizzes?
I clicked on it and Marisha was my soulmate. Yeah.
Okay, well I thought you would just come back from your girlfriend’s house.
This was a long time ago. I just thought it was funny. Obviously my girlfriend is my soulmate.
Obviously.
Perfect for each other.
So before we get to Paul, we have to go through our regular segments with the show. Our fans literally clamor for it. So before we go any further, let’s get to this week’s Questionable Gear Purchase.
So this week, like I said, I’m on vacation. And that’s really probably the only reason I wasn’t able to buy anything. But just before I left, I decided to upgrade my headphones in the studio.
And I picked up some Biodynamic DT-770. They’re pretty popular with a lot of our colleagues. And I plugged them in, and they sound really good.
I’m wearing a pair right now.
Oh, really?
Yeah, no, they were my first big headphone purchase, for sure.
Okay, yeah, I got a pretty good deal on them. And I wasn’t sure if they would be a big improvement. But I gotta say, if nothing else, they’re much more silent than what I was using before.
The ones that came with the Scarlett Studio Kit.
Oh, there’s no hissing or electrical noise?
Well, I just mean actual noise canceling.
Oh, yeah, the isolation in these is fantastic.
That’s the word, isolation.
Yeah, yeah. And they’re so freaking comfortable. I think someone described them as kittens on your ears.
Yeah, I will say I don’t find them as comfortable. Oh, is it the Scarlett? Maybe because I have this big giant head.
Well, I do too. I got a big old pumpkin head.
What hat size do you wear?
I don’t wear hats.
What kind of statement is that? I don’t wear hats. They’re not cool enough.
No, but when I wear a baseball cap, like a fitted one, it’s a seven and a quarter. So I know that’s on the big side. So these are a little tight, but they do, like you said, they isolate fantastically, and they’ll work great for the podcast and also for editing.
Yeah, because you won’t have any headphone bleed-through issues. But hold on to those buyers. I’m sure they don’t…
It’s mostly metal. The spine that holds the earcups is completely metal, so it takes a little bit more time to break in.
I’m not planning on getting rid of them. I know they sound great, and they’re definitely an improvement for editing, which is really what I wanted them for.
I actually got a new pair of headphones as well, because I was very lucky. I actually won a pair of really nice headphones when my team won the Team Challenge at VO Atlanta. Those were like the Sennheiser 280 Pros.
And those are about $100 headphones. And I found out after the fact that voice actor Crispin Freeman is also a big fan of those, right at the $100 mark. But they were talking about head size.
They’re just a little bit too uncomfortable, because they’re very springy plastic, so it really wants to stay closed, clamped on your head. And just after long sessions, I’d be getting these pressure headaches, because it’s digging into my temples.
It’s because you got a big head. It’s too big for your body. Seinfeld reference.
You might be a little young for that.
Just barely. So I got another pair that I see recommended a lot, which are actually very affordable ones, the AKG 240s. They’re super comfortable.
They look really nice. They’ve got all these golden trim on the earcups and looks very nice design-wise. Some issues though is that they’re semi-open.
So like the isolation we were talking about with the Biodynamics, you don’t have. So if you turn up too much or your volume too much during a directed session or recording a podcast, you might have some bleed through. But if you’re just editing playback from a recorded session you did earlier, they’re perfect.
They do add a little bit more bass, but for… they’re $120 less than the buyers, so if your budget is limited, they’re definitely ones to look into.
Awesome. I also forgot to mention, I bought some monitor speakers. Which I’ve never used before.
But I bought them because they have someone else coming in to record an audiobook when I get back on Monday. I wanted them to be able to hear themselves with decent audio.
What did you get?
I got the Behringer MS-16.
I don’t know if it’s Behringer or Behringer. Pretty sure it’s Behringer. It’s from the Germans.
Whatever, I don’t work for them. At least not yet. If you’re listening, we’d be happy to be a sponsor.
Or have you as a sponsor. Yeah, so they sound pretty good. I just have them sitting on top of my bookcase where I have the rest of my studio equipment.
Hopefully they’ll be good enough for my guest on Monday.
Nice, nice. Well, I’m sure. And there are some other affordable options.
I know the Personus Eris E5s are recommended a lot, as well as the KRK5s. So right at the 150 per pair price point.
Yeah, awesome. So any other purchases from you?
Actually, well, a bit of a bet. I got the Yamaha AGO3. I got rid of it because of personal reasons.
It was a gift from an ex. And then I got it back because it made the podcast and playback for some of the Zoom room meetings that I have that much easier. So I was just like, curses, there’s nothing at this price point that does quite what that unit does.
And a lot of our fellow talent rave about it, too. So I’m like, well, it’s all right to have a backup. Still waiting on Mixerface, though.
Lord knows if that’s going to happen at this point.
Oh, boy.
But then other than that, sort of a backup option, I got another SKB case with that, where you can sort of adjust… It’s just a really nice mic case where you can adjust all of the cushioning inside of it to fit whatever mics or mounts or interfaces you want.
I remember you talking about that a couple episodes ago. You love that thing.
Yeah, I know, I know. Well, someone gave me a Neumann TLM 103 wrapped in bubble wrap, so I needed a better case for it.
It rides safely, didn’t it?
It did, I’ll give you that. Sounds good. So good that I don’t use it very often because my space is not quite that isolated.
416 isolated, not 103 isolated. Which brings me back to another point about traveling. With equipment, I really recommend that USB mics can be great because they tend to have a smaller capsule and a smaller pickup pattern than your average large condenser mic.
And actually, there are some like the Yeti and the new MK4, which are pretty much just like digital versions of analog mics. So I wouldn’t recommend taking those. You just have to be aware of how much ambient noise is in whatever space you’re recording in because just like in your home studio, the space is the most important factor.
Yeah, that’s a great point. As you can hear with my USB setup right now, it’s not isolating at all. You’ll hear every seagull, every crow, even probably the fly that’s on my arm right now that I’m swatting away.
So the space, as always, is the most important thing. So with that, before we get to our special guest, let’s move on to this week’s VO MeterStick. We have a demo from one of our fans, Sonny James, who sent this along along with a question about mic placement.
Hey, everybody, it’s time for the VO Meter Strik. What did he say? It’s time for the VO…
Oh, never mind. The VO Meter Strik? Oh, got it.
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So, Sean, what Sonny really wanted to know was how to properly place a shotgun mic within his booth. He’s interested in buying a 416 or an NTG-3, and he asked me what’s the best mic position for him, and how do we normally address that?
You have to experiment and find out yourself.
Yeah, and that’s kind of exactly what I told him. We sound like a broken record, but it really is true. I’ve tried both of those mics, and what I found was neither of them was really good fit for my booth and my voice, and really in any position.
I tried above the nose. I tried below the chest, pointing up. I tried at my right ear, at my left ear, pretty much every possible combination, and it didn’t work for me.
And that doesn’t mean it won’t work for Sonny, but the point is you really have to get it in your space and experiment.
The 416 is definitely one worth trying. It’s probably the most accessible industry microphone out there. It’s still very cost prohibitive for some, but still, if you can afford it, you should definitely try it.
But my 416, it took me almost a year to get a placement where I’m like, oh, that sounds really good. And it wasn’t until I was with a place with better acoustic treatment that I was able to find a better placement for myself. So you really just have to keep experimenting and exhaust all your options before you give up on a mic.
Yeah, and I would say, find a place where you can either borrow the mic or maybe rent the mic and get it in your space before you make a commitment. And then send it out to friends or colleagues that you know that would give it a listen and tell you, hey, that’s not the best placement. Maybe try it in a different space.
Send it to us.
Exactly.
We’d be happy to play the audio and say, or play it on the show and tell you how it sounds.
We are cruel but kind. So with our feedback, so. So like I was saying, we offer cruel, but we like to think instructive feedback.
We want all of our listeners who reach out to us asking to help improve some aspect of their sound or their business to be receptive to our feedback. So speaking of being receptive to feedback, our next guest is actually extremely generous with his time and his experience and in the education that he tries to bring to new talents who are trying to get into the voiceover industry. So without further ado, we’re gonna take you guys into our interview room at Source Connect Now and bring you our guest today, Paul Strikwerda.
All right, so we are using Source Connect Now right now and we have a very special guest today on the VO Meter. He’s a dear friend. I’ve been following his blog and his book for the last several years.
We have today, I hope I get his name right, Paul Strikwerda.
Very good. Woohoo, thank you.
How are you doing today, sir?
I’m doing great. Looking forward to this. I’ve been looking forward to this for a couple of months now.
I’ve been following you guys too. And we met up in Atlanta finally. And I remember you asking me, would you like to be a guest on the podcast?
And I said, can we do it tomorrow? It took us a little while, but finally we’re here in different places on the planet, but we’re together.
Yeah, I just want to make sure you actually said yes under your own free will. But thank you so much.
Because people can be so much more polite in person and then just kind of quietly fade away over email, you know.
Oh, no, I would never do that.
I would, but apparently you’re nicer.
Hey, he’s a real mentions this.
You know I’m almost the nicest guy in voice overs. The nicest guy that must be Bob Sauer, right? That’s how he advertises himself.
And I’m the third, so that makes you the fourth, I guess, at least. So for some people in the voiceover community who might not know who you are, Paul, why wouldn’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to the States and became a voice talent?
Ooh, I could fill the entire podcast with my life story. But it begins in the Netherlands. Because many people know that I am from the Netherlands and a lot of them still believe that I live and work in the Netherlands.
But I came to the United States at the end of the last century, which is so long ago now, 1999, December. I remember it well. I came in the same plane that took the boy band in sync back to the United States.
Are you kidding me?
So I have no idea who these guys were. But imagine this, the door swung open. I came out as one of the first people and all I saw was a whole group of teens yelling, yelling, yelling.
I said, what a warm welcome.
And they all ignored me.
They said, Lance Bass, will you marry me? Oh dear. But anyway, I came to the States because I wanted to start a new life.
I’d been in radio and in television for most of my life in the Netherlands, working for public radio and television and our Dutch World Service. And it’s kind of this, Holland is a very small place. It’s this been there, done that part of thing.
I was coming out of a relationship and I decided to pack my bags and I literally arrived at Philadelphia Airport with two suitcases in my hand. And then I came to a nice place called New Hope in Pennsylvania. And I looked at myself in the mirror and said, okay, I’m here, now what?
And I said, okay, I want to do something with microphone, with my voice, but how, where to start? And I found a note in the paper talking about a talent agent in Philadelphia, Mike Lemon Casting. And Mike Lemon casts all the actors in the M.
Night Shyamalan movies, but he also has a big voiceover roster. And so what I did was I went to one of those cattle calls. There were like 500 people wanting on-camera work.
There were like four people for voiceover work, and they hired me on the spot. And I spoke with a very British accent at this time, and that’s because a lot of Dutch kids grew up being taught English with the Queen’s English. So they thought I was English, and that’s how I got my start, pretending to be an Englishman, doing all kinds of commercials, like for Dorney Park.
I remember that was the first one that I did, and said, boy, this is fun. I could do this for a living. And I’ve never looked back ever since.
That’s fantastic.
Well, Paul, I know you eventually settled down in the borough of Easton, or technically you’re in Wilson, I think. And as we’ve talked about, that is where most of my family is from. My grandfather made a similar trek from Italy and settled in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and eventually moved across the river to Easton.
And my dad grew up in a house. The address was 1621 Northampton Street in Wilson, which is so close to you, it just boggles my mind. My first introduction to you was the interview on East West Audio Body Shop with George and Dan.
And I turned around when you mentioned where you were living and I said, did he just say Easton? So that’s when I immediately looked you up. And tell me a little bit about how you ended up in the Lehigh Valley and how that is for your voiceover business.
Oh yeah, that’s a great story. It’s a fantastic neighborhood. It’s only 19 blocks from New Jersey and probably a two minute walk from your family.
And I absolutely love it here. People in the Netherlands and Europe who know me just don’t believe this when I tell them that yesterday, we had a bear in our neighborhood. They had to sedate the bear who was up in a tree and he fell down eventually and they caught him and now he’s in a better place.
Doesn’t mean they killed him, but…
It’s like humane treatment, right?
Yeah, we have roaming bears and deer and sometimes a wild coyote too. So those things do not happen in the Netherlands. So I really feel that I’m in the United States right now.
And the reason I’m here is really love. I married the love of my life and she had a home here and she wanted me to move in and said, hey, do you have a soundproof basement?
And she said, of course.
This is Pennsylvania. Yeah, we have basements with nice thick walls. And I thought, hey, voiceover studio said, honey, I’ll be here tomorrow.
Well, it is a great town. I’m actually headed there right from the beach on Saturday to visit with my family who still lives there. And unfortunately, we’ll just miss each other, but I’ll have fun in your place.
Yes, but this is one of those places where you really are part of a community if you choose to be part of a community. And that’s what I love most about the borough of Wilson and Easton as well. One of the things that I do here is that I’m one of the announcers of the local farmer’s market.
And many people say, ah, farmer’s markets, that’s no big deal. And it, well, maybe it’s not. But on a Saturday, we get about 4,000 to 5,000 people and they don’t have a billboard, all these vendors, so they need somebody with a mic who really announces the specials on a Saturday.
But we also have live music and we play music, some kind of a DJ. I’m the lost and found department. So sometimes I get cell phones.
Sometimes I get lost husbands. It’s really fun to be there in the middle of my community doing some volunteer work. And I became part of a band of actors called the Bachman House.
Now the Bachman House is one of the historic public houses from 1753. And as actors, we are kind of reenacting history that is part of the roots of Easton. So you might find me on a good day dressed up in like 1750 clothes, pretending to be one of the founding fathers.
Isn’t that fun?
That’s great. I’m familiar with that farmers market. My cousin is a chief of police in your town and often has to be there to help with crowd control.
And my aunt is a big fan of the farmers market itself.
Well, it’s the oldest continuously ongoing outdoor farmers market of the entire United States. And I hope you can tell from my voice that I’m really, really proud of that. And we were, last year, we were voted the number one market in the United States.
And, of course, I didn’t know all these things when I came to Easton. But I’m really, really happy in this community. And if you were to walk down Main Street with me, you wouldn’t go far because every minute or two I see people I know and love, and it couldn’t be better.
Well, that’s great. So just to wrap up on the towns we are in at the moment, just so everybody knows, I’m at the beach. I don’t want to rub it in too much, but if you hear some stray seagulls or people yelling on their surfboards, I apologize, but that’s where I am, and I’m having fun.
So with that, let’s move on to talk about your business… Sorry, I muted myself for a second. Let’s move on to talk about your business and some of your publications.
Sean, can you ask the first question about that?
Yes, actually, one of the first resources that I found when I started researching voiceover about five years ago now was actually your blog, The Nether Voice Blog. So why don’t you tell us a little bit how you got started with that?
You know, when I started my voiceover business, I wanted to find a way to advertise myself without really advertising myself. Because nobody knew me, I knew nobody in the whole voiceover community, and I knew that I loved one thing, I’ve always loved to write. So I just out of the blue one day said, hey, why not write about my experience in Europe and my take on the voiceover business here in the United States?
That’s kind of an angle that not too many people cover who are blogging. And I love telling stories, you know, that’s part of our profession. We are storytellers.
So it started very simple with just one blog post, and three people read it. Second blog post, four people read it. And now I have over 38,000 subscribers.
And that’s in about seven years. So I find it a very efficient way to advertise my business, as well as becoming kind of someone who loves to stir the pot and push the envelope every once in a while. Because there’s lots of things that I like in my business, and there’s lots of things that I think could be improved.
And I write about that. And thirdly, I have this whole thing of giving back to the community who has given so much to me. So I don’t think that people need to reinvent the wheel who are part of the community, who are new to the community.
So as a service to them, I want to pass on my experience, and I do that in my blog.
And it’s a very generous experience. I just got to say, you can definitely tell that you love to write because it’s just filled with poetic devices, and there’s such a sense of wordplay and actual play. It’s really a joy to read.
And you mentioned how you do like to stir the pot, though. Could you talk about some of your less popular posts or less popular ideas that you talk about in your blog?
Oh, that is risky, isn’t it? But okay. I mean, I started it…
How about the ones that generate the most buzz?
I might as well dig in. Some people know me. At least that’s the impression I got when I was at VO Atlanta.
Some people know me for my criticism of pay-to-plays, in particular one Canadian one, voices.com. A couple of years ago, I wrote a number of blogs, and I wasn’t too flattering, and they got thousands and thousands of hits. Some people still tell me that if you type in the word voices.com in like a Google search engine, the things that come up, number two and number three, are my blogs.
And it really started the discussion, I think, or continued the discussion about this whole pay-to-play model. And I described how I first started off as being a fan. I even won a prize at one point from voices.com because I was so complimentary of what they did and how they had started my business.
But once I started doing better as a voice over and learned more about what their model was about and how their way of doing business was gradually changing, my opinion of pay-to-plays and particularly voices.com started changing. So people who have been following my blog probably have been following in my footsteps and noticed that shift in my perception. So, oddly enough, when I walked the halls of the hotel in Atlanta, some people looked at me and said, oh, he’s the guy who brought down voices.com.
Well, not too fast, my friends, because they’re still in business. And they attracted a big investor recently, as you probably have heard, and they are looking to expand. So they’re not going anywhere, just staying put and they’re expanding.
But I will continue to scrutinize whatever it is that they’re doing and hopefully write about it. Because I need to say a big thank you to voices.com, because every time I write about them, my blog goes through the roof. So I hope that they stay in business and keep on doing what they’re doing in the way they’re doing it, because it’s good for me.
Another thing that I write about is really the people who think it’s just so easy to break into this business. You don’t need to know anything. We’ve talked about this before many times on your podcast as well.
They think it’s easy money and you don’t need any education. And I hold up the mirror and say, is that really true? Do you really think that you can make a fortune in voice overs?
You know, I know a lot of people who are in voice overs, and they’re no millionaires. Have you ever heard of someone who’s doing voice overs as a millionaire? I don’t.
And I’m not in for the money, but it’s not a get rich quick scheme. So I write about that too. So one of the blogs that I wrote was about five reasons not to get into voice overs.
A lot of people hated me for that.
I remember that one.
Oh gosh, yes. But what they forgot is to read the very last line. So I give these five reasons why you shouldn’t get into voice over.
And at the end they say, well, I can’t really imagine doing anything else because I love it so much.
Well, Paul, I can say from being at VO Atlanta as well, I know that look you were getting from people because I kind of had a similar impression. Even though we had talked socially over social media and emails, I kind of did see you as the pot stir and antagonist. But I want to tell our fans that a nicer person both in VO and the whole world, you will not find.
I think within five seconds of seeing each other, we were embracing a big hug. So Paul is just so friendly. And really, I think what it comes down to is journalistic and professional integrity.
And that’s what you have above reproach. And I really admire you for that.
I can only say it takes one to know one, really, because I had the same thing. And there are, you know, so many people have a wrong impression because I tend to be very critical. But I also am admiring people who have reached the pinnacle of their careers in voice overs.
And I talk about those people too. It’s not just that I’m blogging to take people down. But as in blogging, as it is in the news, people tend to focus on things that are not positive.
That’s what they tend to remember. So they look at me and say, oh, that’s that guy that likes to push the envelope and be kind of a crumudgeonous type of writer. And I use some snarkasm too.
So I have to take credit for that. And I love stirring the pot because there’s so many people who are blogging these days, and they’re all fighting for your attention. They all want to be read.
So in order to attract an audience, you need to be controversial. So it’s also a tool that I use to attract new readers, and it seems to be working.
Well, let’s talk about so-called anybody blogging. You mentioned in your book, Making Money in Your PJs, which everybody should go out and get, by the way, that you really want to focus on advertising yourself without being a blowhard about it and tooting your own horn. So is it your opinion that everybody can and maybe should be blogging as a means to advertise their business?
Or is it really a specialized skill that only the people who are good at it should do?
I’d say that it’s not for everybody. Because first of all, it takes a lot of time. I think my average blog takes maybe five minutes to read, but I spend the morning or afternoon writing it and maybe even longer researching it.
And that’s a big chunk of your week. And not everybody enjoys writing either. It’s not everybody’s strength.
I’ve always loved writing. I’ve been a journalist in the Netherlands and I’m used to cranking out some copy and coming up with headlines and things like that. But there’s other people who are much more into vlogging or into podcasting.
I know people who are really good amateur photographers and their blog is filled with photos. So I’d say if you don’t feel that inner urge to share your ideas with the world, if you’re not ready for people to comment on those ideas, often in a negative way, then you really should not start vlogging. It takes a long time, in my case, six to seven years to really get an audience that gives you some clout as well.
So it’s not an immediate payoff. And we live in this time of instant gratification. So people, if they don’t immediately see results of their efforts, they’re ready to give up.
And you have to have, I think, a unique point of view. So you need to, I think, talk about topics that a huge group of people is interested in, but you need to give your spin. And if you have to think about what that is, maybe then you’re not ready to blog either.
Well, good. I’m glad you clarified that, because, yeah, frankly, there are people who shouldn’t be blogging and people who shouldn’t be hosting a podcast. Maybe some that are talking right now.
Maybe, maybe. So another thing we wanted to ask you, one of the chapters in your book focuses on equipment. And how maybe the most expensive mic isn’t good for you.
Maybe the most inexpensive mic isn’t good for you. I know you, at least last I checked, were using the Gafel M930. Talk to us about how a newbie, because frankly that’s a lot of our audience, should go about looking for their first VO equipment.
You know, I am very lucky, because the mic that I’m using right now, the Gafel that you just mentioned, was a mic that I won. In a raffle, they literally took my name out of a hat.
That’s great.
There is this website called Recording Hacks. I don’t know how active they are, but it’s basically a review of all kinds of microphones. So if you want to find out what new model Blue came out with, what the difference is between one shotgun microphone and another shotgun microphone, go to recordinghacks.com.
And they used to have this giveaway, so I entered and out came my name and they gave me this very expensive German microphone. It’s $1,750. Well, you don’t…
It’s a wonderful thing. I love it to pieces, but you do not need a $1,700 microphone to get started. I would advise against it.
What I would do is just not get the cheapest of the cheap, but one microphone that I particularly like is the CAD-E100S microphone. Every now and then, you can buy it new for about $300, and it’s type of a shotgun microphone because it has… It focuses on your voice like a laser beam almost.
It has very low self-noise. It’s very well made. It’s built in America, and it looks fun too.
And it just has this great sound that sounds really good on most voices.
I actually use that at home.
See?
There’s a really funny story about how I acquired it in our last episode. I’m sure we won’t bore our fans again with that.
Exactly. Well, you know, then you know all about the CAD E100S, and I’m not getting paid by CAD to advertise them, but I mentioned that microphone in my blog about five years ago or so, and I called it the best microphone for voiceovers you’ve never heard of. And after that, I think it really took off, and I still see lots of people talking about the microphone.
They’ve had some quality control issues, but there’s a good warranty, so if you get one that’s not to your liking, they’ll fix whatever the problem is. But most people seem to be really happy. So I’d say get something that’s not too cheap, not too expensive, but something that at least will give you a good shot at producing quality audio.
I’m also a big fan of the British company Audient. I have a preamplifier. It’s an ID22 from Audient.
But you can get an ID4 for about $300 as well. And once again, it’s very well built, built like a tank, so you can take it on the road with you. It has very quiet preamps, and it’s just solid.
It will never ever let you down. And I use Twisted Wave as my digital audio workstation. And really, apart from getting some monitors, and my monitors are not more than $100 a pop, then you should be in business.
And I want to say, Paul, your gear reviews and that mindset really helped me along my journey, because I got an Audient as soon as I could afford it, and I’ve had a long loving relationship with them since. I’ve tried their ID14 and ID4, it’s still my favorite portable unit yet. And what’s really funny is my 416, I also wanted a raffle last year.
Yeah, it was at VO Atlanta, actually. Oh, right! You should talk to our mutual friend David Rosenthal about that one.
Which reminds me, because I found out, like, I do a lot of… I’m what’s called our membership liaison for the Global Voice Acting Academy, which David Rosenthal is our president of. And I know that you did a lot of sort of educational materials with him through the Internet Voice Coach.
So I’d love to know a little bit about sort of the mentoring role and the coaching role that you play with voiceover students.
Right. Well, David, he is just an all-around great, phenomenal, wonderful guy. Super talented and a nice person.
And we immediately clicked. And he had this idea way before, well, this was a couple of years ago, Internet Voice Coach. And he had read my blogs and he said, hey, could you start writing, from the international perspective, some blog posts specifically for my site?
And that’s what I started doing. I did one every week. And I did a blog for my website as well.
So at some point it became a little bit too much and I stopped writing for him. But I think that I produced about maybe 20 different blogs for Internet Voice Coach. And what I do with my company is that I also coach people.
It’s not easy to become one of my students because I want people to go through several hoops and different layers before they are accepted by me. Because I want to make sure that they are so motivated and totally committed to the whole process. Because I notice that people who just want to try things out and experiment are just not in it for the right reasons.
I want really people who want to become a professional voice over and not explore options. So I think it’s so important. And it’s so much fun to teach people.
And I learn so much from my students every time that I coach them that when I start listening back to myself, I learn a lot too simply by listening to other people. And I did that the other day in a kind of a different context, because one of my clients said, I’ve recorded something with a different Dutch voice talent. I have no idea what he is saying.
And if he’s reading the script, could you review it for me? So I was actually proof listening, and I got paid for it. And my goodness, I couldn’t believe my ears what I was hearing, and it wasn’t good at all.
There was so much noise from the mouth, from the environment. He wasn’t reading the script. He was putting emphasis on the wrong words.
It was really rubbish. I couldn’t believe that this guy got hired. So I did a very comprehensive review, and it was like four pages for five minutes of audio.
And the next thing I hear from the client was, thank you very much for the review. I just fired your Dutch colleague. Can I hire you?
That wasn’t intended, but that’s certainly an interesting way to get clients.
Yeah, kind of an ideal turnout for that situation. Yes!
It was not one of those things where I was begging for a job, but I thought, hey, maybe this is a new model, because there’s so many people who hire us that also need proof listeners. So even if you’re not suitable for the job, we can all check whether someone is listening to the script, reading the script or interpreting in the right way. So who knows?
I’m going to try this again.
Exactly. And I’ve done some proofreading and transcription work because I do work for a lot of international clients and Asian and European clients. And sometimes the scripts are just riddled with spelling errors or just don’t sound natural in American English at all.
Absolutely. And that’s one of those, I call it, hidden powers that we have. You know, I think the ideal voiceover should be like a superhero for their clients.
But people don’t realize it. If you’re working, especially with clients abroad who have to translate scripts, and you’re right, a lot of clients have to not spend too much money, and so they hire somebody who’s not really good at translating.
Or they use software.
It shows. So one of the things that I offer my clients as well is I’d be happy to go over this script. Of course, I’ll charge you for it, but then you know that you don’t embarrass yourself by having somebody read a script that simply is unprofessional.
Wonderful. And that’s something that I encourage a lot of people too. I know that costs can be prohibitive, but if there are certain things, and I learned this from a lot of your blogs, if there are certain things that you’re not good at, or not as good at as, say, just acting into a microphone, try and outsource it.
Work with a team, because you’ll eventually come up with a much better product than you would by yourself.
I think that’s so important. And I started to realize that as I got busier and busier and busier, you have to play your strengths. So I’m really okay with words, but I stink with numbers.
But I happen to be married to somebody who is really good with numbers, and who even seems to enjoy balancing the books.
That’s my secret weapon, too. My wife’s a CPA.
Yeah, exactly. Aren’t we lucky, right? And that allows me to focus on what I think I’m good at.
The same thing with editing. You can make much more money narrating an audiobook than editing it. So why do that stuff yourself?
I mean, Richard Branschland didn’t get to be one of the richest people on earth by doing everything himself. When you look at people who have so-called made it in life, they made it in part because they found people who were brilliant at the things that they were not. So I use the same model for my voice over business.
Wonderful. And one thing that I’ve always liked about you, Paul, is that you’re so generous with your experience and you offer so many educational materials. I mean, you’re a coach.
And I know, again, coaching, like many other aspects, people have to prioritize what they can invest in. But if they can’t afford coaching, one of the first places I send them to is your blog. And if they can afford a little bit, then I send them to your book.
So why don’t you tell us about your eponymous Making Monies in Your PJs book?
Well, it’s just one of the ways I make money in my PJs.
Because at some point, I’ve written so many, many blogs. And the thing about a blog and a little bit about podcasts as well is just it comes and it goes. It doesn’t have a lot of staying power.
A book, though, you buy it and you can put on the shelf and you can pick it up and then read a chapter and put it away again. So I thought I need to find some way to give my blogs some staying power. So I selected, I think, the best 40 or 50 blogs and I put them in a certain order, different chapters, and all of a sudden I realized, my goodness, I have a book!
And it’s over 400 pages. And it’s so easy these days to self-publish. I was a little bit impatient.
I didn’t want to go from publisher to publisher and say, can you please do this? You can just go to Amazon and they have a machine that spits them out on demand. And not only that, you have the version in paper, of course, the paperback, but also the digital one for the Kindles, the iPads.
And so a number of years ago, I decided to take the plunge and produce this book. And it’s been doing really, really well. Like I said, it’s making money for me and my PJs.
And it’s one way for me to monetize my blog. But again, not just for the money, because I don’t feel very motivated by money. If I were, I probably would be driving a different car.
But it’s also because I know that the book is making the rounds. A couple of months ago, one of the guys I saw on that TV series, Mad Men, he contacted me out of the blue and said, Hey, my name is so-and-so, and you may have seen me on Mad Men. And I said, Yeah, yeah, I just watched your episode on Netflix the other day.
He said, Well, what many people don’t know is that I’m teaching voice overs in New York. And I’ve just read your book. And is it okay if I use it in my class?
So I know it’s making the rounds. And I thought, my gosh, that’s the best compliment someone ever paid me.
And what I love is that… Whatever happened in the audiobook version? Oh, you know…
I know a guy. I started it. I started it.
And then I got so busy with stuff that would make me more money that I kind of put it on the back burner.
Gotcha.
And now I’m at the stage where I said, I need to work on a second edition. I need to update the information in the book. So that’s one of my projects for the next couple of weeks after my vacation.
I’m going to update this Making Money in Your PJ’s Book. And then if I have time, I will record it.
Well, if you need an editor, I’m pretty familiar with the content. So I’d be happy to take a look at it for you.
Yes.
Hey, practice what you preach. Very nice.
I was thinking of outsourcing it.
Well, Paul, that pretty much wraps it all that we had planned to ask you today. I just wanted to say thank you so much. It’s a little surreal, actually, to have followed your work for so long and then to actually become a bit of a friend and mentee to you.
So thanks again for everything that you offer the voiceover community, just your unique voice and just your generosity of spirit. And thank you so much.
Oh, it was an absolute pleasure getting to know you in person and now being your guest. And I think the next time we got to get together, you’re welcome here in Easton. I’ll show you the town, and I’m sure that Paul knows a couple of other places that I might not know.
And we’ll have a pint here and a pint there, and we’ll talk voiceover, we’ll talk life, and I’m looking forward to that day.
Sounds wonderful. Thanks so much again, Paul. Enjoy your vacation.
Maybe I’ll pass you on the turnpike on my way there while you’re leaving.
Be sure to wave. As we say in the Netherlands, hartelijk bedankt, ik heb het met heel veel plezier gedaan.
I have no idea what that means, but it was eloquent.
Thank you so much, it was a great pleasure to do this interview.
Wonderful.
Fabulous.
And how can people get a hold of you or find out about your blog?
Good question. nethervoice.com. That’s all you need.
nethervoice.com. It’s one word. Nether is in Netherlands.
Voice is in voice.
And that’s some brilliant marketing right there.
And that’s where I find my blog, my demos, and how you can get in touch with the Dutch guy.
Awesome. Well, thanks again, Paul. It’s been a real pleasure.
All right. So we are back. And wow.
And that, like, talk about generosity of spirit. It was so great to have Paul on again. How are you feeling after that, Paul?
Yeah, he’s just a breath of fresh air. Like I mentioned, meeting him personally in VO Atlanta, when you talk to him in person, you just want to give him a big hug.
Exactly. He always has, like, a big smile on his face. He’s so genuine.
And he’s just a very charming guy.
Yeah, indeed.
So, and speaking of which, he has generously offered the first 15 people to comment to this podcast.
A free copy of his book, Making Money in Your PJs by Paul Strikwerda. I’ve read this book at least five times already. I read it almost annually just to make sure that my voice over business is as good as it could be.
And it’s one of the first books I recommend to new talent who are interested in the kind of mindset that you need to have in order to have a successful voice over business. So, once again, if you’re one of the first 15 people to respond to this podcast in our Facebook comments section, we will contact you and we will get you a copy of Paul’s excellent book, Making Money in Your PJs.
So if you haven’t found us yet on Facebook, please go to our page. It’s The VO Meter, in case you didn’t know that. On Facebook, make a comment.
If you’re one of the first 15, we will send you that book.
Awesome. Thanks again, Paul, for that incredibly generous offer. And then once again, if you want to contact Paul or if you want to read his blog, that’s the nethervoice.com.
So nether, as in the Netherlands, where he’s from, and voice, as in voiceover.com. And then you can thank him as well for being on the podcast. So that wraps up this episode of The VO Meter.
Measuring Your Voice Over Progress.
Thanks again for listening, everybody. Have a great summer. Thanks for listening to The VO Meter.
Measuring Your Voice Over Progress. To follow along, please visit www.vometer.com.