A lot of notes to take
[Week 4 CVAP Experience]
The number of papers needed for notes kept increasing. One paper for week 1, one paper for week 2, two papers for week 3, and FOUR PAPERS FOR WEEK 4.
As to be expected, this week 4 session is all about the legalities, resumés, and how-to-not-kill-your-voice-acting-career-before-it-even-starts. Moreover, Trainer Lyn Gonzales AKA Kween of The Voice was there to guide us about how to navigate the voice acting industry so we were in good hands.
The first thing I learned was how to create demo reels, basically a short video or audio showing the kinds of voices we can offer the client. It seems simple but there's certain things you shouldn't do to ensure you have a good chance of being picked. This means no impressions of characters, not including the current year, and avoiding using music in your reel.
The second thing I learned about was how to create a proper resumé. I thought this sort of stuff wasn't that hard until Ms. Gonzales mentioned that it was hard to find a proper voice acting resumé. I locked in and noted almost everything down from vocal attributes to areas of expertise to training experience and so much more.
It was not done there yet. There were services agreements, price quotes, rate cards, NDAs, buy-outs. My brain nor my hands could keep up. To be fully honest, it was hard to keep on listening sometimes because I wondered if I would ever need these types of things so early in my career or if I could just pay a lawyer in the future to do this for me. I still paid attention, nevertheless.
It was also taught what red flags or yellow flags to notice in a client, such as super restrictive NDAs, holding the voice actor personally liable for issues with the project, no payment unless work is used. These seemed really clear red flags to me but there were also some restrictions that I never considered of being red/yellow flags, like using Western Union or Moneygram as payment methods, the voice actor being required to promote the project on their social media, and agreeing to reprise a role in the future at the same rate.
In the end, my hands were dead by lunchtime. However, this means I've learned a lot of important information and even if it was tiring to even intake all of that advice, I knew it was necessary because such mistakes could cost me money, time, or my whole dream as a voice actor. If anything, this blog post is a sign to always be attentive and always clarify if you're unsure. Stay safe and stay alert!