JCD's Choice Voice-Over Tips

Stop by and check out the latest helper tips for voice-over artists of any experience level. J. Christopher Dunn is a freelance voice-over artist with amazing talent. His client list includes a number of high-profile companies and businesses.

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I’m not alone during early morning walks.

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Recognized as One of Seattle's Best Voice Actors AGAIN!

Recognized as One of Seattle’s Best Voice Actors AGAIN!

For the second year in a row, I’m honored to be named by Expertise.com as one of the Best Voice Actors in Seattle. Let that sink in. Take your time. My clients challenged me in ways that demanded the delivery of the best product possible. I thank all who booked me, requested an audition or asked for information. Without you, this recognition wouldn’t be possible! According to Expertise.com, out…

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How to Win the Game of VO Aggravation

Aggravation was one of my all-time favorite board games when I was a kid. If you’ve never played, the object is to move your four marbles from “Base” to “Home” before anybody else does the same. And you don’t want to get aggravated in the process, which means another player landed on one of your four marbles during their turn and sent the marble back to your Base to start again. Voice acting has…

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5 Tips To Build Solid VO Client Relationships

5 Tips To Build Solid VO Client Relationships

Forgetting is more of an excuse than a reason for failing to be remembered. As a voice actor, or any freelancer for that matter, what is one of the leading things that make your business grow? Clients who come back for more. But, if you’re not at the top of your client’s mind, you’ll be left wondering what happened when they don’t come back. Here are 5 tips from business professionals that will…

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How to Track Voiceover Projects That's Quick and Easy

How to Track Voiceover Projects That’s Quick and Easy

Have you ever searched your computer for a script, sound file, note, invoice or anything else specific to a project and frustratedly came up empty handed? I used to but I found an easy way I keep track of the pieces. Here’s how. Tried and Tested Before accepting gigs and working with clients, I knew I wanted an easy way to track everything for a given project. My first thought was using system…

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It’s Booth Gear, Baby!

It’s Booth Gear, Baby!

When you stand or sit in your recording area (whatever your booth may be), are the tools you need at arm’s-length away? I’m almost positive your copy or music stand has at least one item you use every time you record. Maybe a pencil? A stopwatch? A good luck Beanie Baby? Almost everybody has something. At the very least a script. The accumulation of booth gear doesn’t necessarily reveal the type…

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Your Voice Could Be the Next Great Thing in Computing

A headline to a post written by Backchannel Editor, Jessi Hempel, reads, “Voice is the Next Big Platform, and Alexa Will Own It.” Hempel writes about the maturing of Amazon’s Echo in the coming years. How we’ll access information using our voice and not the keyboard, touch screen or other input devices we rely on now. Speak it, and it will come. Think Star Trek’s Computer on the Next Generation…

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EZ YouTube Setup Guide for Voice Actors

Early 2016, I began developing a business specific to videos for voice actors. I noticed many fellow actors used video to showcase their work. Most were links to full TV commercials, explainer videos, and corporate videos. I imagined a better way to visually demonstrate talent would be to use multiple short clips in a single demo video and make it available on a voice actor’s YouTube channel and…

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Movember - Remembering Granddad

Movember – Remembering Granddad

The handsome teenager pictured above is Ed Enders, born October 31, 1911, in the Gallatin Valley, close to Bozeman, Montana. Ed was raised on the ranch his grandparents owned. He married Ruby McCampbell and they raised two children on the same ranch, affectionately called Sis and Butch. To his wife, Ruby, he was called Edward. His kids called him Daddy. Friends called him Ed. I called him…

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3 Tricks to Turn No into Yes

3 Tricks to Turn No into Yes

Have you ever been asked to do something but you either couldn’t or wouldn’t but didn’t have the courage to say, “No”? Most people don’t like to be turned down or hear ‘no’ as the response to their request. And I’m going to guess that most people like to come across as positive and flexible. Research shows saying no is hard and builds up all kinds of emotional bleakness. Forbes Contributor,…

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Freelance VO Survival: Pt 5 - Push Yourself

Freelance VO Survival: Pt 5 – Push Yourself

Making yourself more marketable and improving your chances for success was covered in my previous post, Freelance VO Survival: Pt 4 – Continuing Education. Review You are your best investment. To be ahead of everybody else, learn what that means. Learn as much as you want. The opportunities for learning more can be as long as a structured class or as short as a YouTube video. To Group or not to…

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Freelance VO Survival: Pt 4 - Continuing Education

Freelance VO Survival: Pt 4 - Continuing Education You know as much as you did yesterday and the same as you will tomorrow. Huh?

Rejection and what to do about it when it happens to voice talent and freelancers was covered in my previous post, Freelance VO Survival: Pt 3 – Rejection. Review: Rejection is not about you. Many things will influence a person’s decision not to book you for the job. These are out of your control. You don’t have an exclusive membership to Club Rejection. Almost everyone who freelances has heard…

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Freelance VO Survival: Pt 3 - Rejection

Freelance VO Survival: Pt 3 – Rejection

  In Freelance VO Survival: Pt 2 – Motivation, I offered some great tips on how to stay motivated on your way to a successful voice-over career. Review: Know your motivator.  It’s that one thing that drives you to do the thing you do. Being self-motivated is liberating. You decide how to become motivated and develop disciplined to stay on track. Motivation helpers make it easy. Find activities…

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Freelance VO Survival: Pt 2 - Motivation

Freelance VO Survival: Pt 2 – Motivation

In Freelance VO Survival: Pt 1 – Find Work, I told you how to get your new freelance business noticed, which leads to getting work. You are now a hunter! Work used to come to you unavoidably. Now you need to find work so your freelance business thrives. Tell everybody you’re a freelancer. One of the best methods of getting booked is to tell people you’re available and looking for work. Use…

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Freelance Survival: Pt 1 - Find Work

Freelance Survival: Pt 1 – Find Work

“I love doing it!” “It’s easy to do.” “It lets me be creative.” “It’s a perfect work-at-home job.” “It gives me a chance to do my own thing” “It” is freelance work and there are many reasons why people decide to move from corporate comforts to a career in (insert any freelance title here). They all sound so positive, filled with dreams of rainbows and unicorns. Why work the 9 to 5 grind when it’s…

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Don't Blame the Bird

Don’t Blame the Bird

However you celebrate, surround yourself with the people you love to be with. Be thankful. Have fun. Stay safe. And, don’t blame the bird. Scientists say that extra glass of wine, the high-calorie meal or relaxing after a busy work schedule is what makes you drowsy. Turkey isn’t responsible for “food coma.”  So eat until it’s gone. You have no excuse other than not wearing stretchy pants. Enjoy…

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Increase Your Voice-over Income Potential: One Simple Action

Increase Your Voice-over Income Potential: One Simple Action

“Whatever good things we build end up building us.” ― Jim Rohn,  Entrepreneur, Author and Motivational Speaker

How can you continue to build client relationships and increase your chances of more positive outcomes?

One word: Followup.

A followup e-mail or phone call will tell people you want to work with that you’re still interested and available. Your message or conversation should be short and…

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