Are you Union or non-union?

I am a Union member, and I do Union work but, I’ve opted for “Financial core” status within the Union’s guidelines, which means that I may also negotiate to do non-union work on my own terms.

Do you audition first? How will I know if I’ll like the way you sound.

I will audition first, if you’d like but, let’s face it, you wouldn’t have come this far if you hadn’t liked what you’d heard on the demo page. After we talk about the project and come to an understanding, the first recording you’ll receive from me will be the actual finished job; except that it will be discreetly “watermarked” so that it may not be used as a finished broadcast product. If you love it as is - terrific! You’ll pay me and I’ll send you the un-watermarked broadcast quality version immediately.

You may also request reasonable changes at this point - have me emphasize or de-emphasize portions of the performance, and even do a few minor rewrites at no extra charge. “Reasonable” however, is a relative term, but where my time is concerned, I will try to be as lenient with you as is possible. Much confusion can be avoided by having your script well written, well crafted, and timed out before we start recording. And, if needed, I can do quite a lot to help you here as well. There may be a slightly higher charge, but it will be extraordinarily slight compared to what a major “agency” would charge for creative services and copywriting, especially if we make those changes prior to recording our final product.

What's your turn-around time?

That's the amount of time it takes me to... Oh, you mean...

It all depends upon the size of the job. The other night I turned a project around for a client in twenty minutes. E-books and corporate video narrations will, of course, take just a smidge longer, but most work is completed within 24 hours - maximum - usually much, much faster.

Can you produce complete commercials?

Yes, I have a rather extensive library of music beds and special effects, and I can do production work fairly easily, as well as help with copywriting as I said above however; I am essentially a voice talent, and do not represent myself as a full service agency.

Will you work on retainer?

Generally, the “one job at a time” method is best for us both. Under the retainer system, one of us is almost certainly going to get scre… I mean burnt. But, for some, long term, station branding jobs, it works out very well.

Do you give discounts for multiple jobs?

Sure. Unlike the retainer scenario, a multiple job contract is better defined for both of us – if you have a better idea of what you need, and I can get a better idea of how much time will be required, I will price my work based upon those requirements.

For instance, some of my VO work is in documentary television, and I am paid per episode as opposed to per season. If the show is canceled, or the number of episodes is changed - up, or down - everyone comes out even.

Are you "Green"?

Absolutely! No Bunnies or Dolphins are harmed or injured during the voice over process.

Do I have any more questions?

Who do I look like, Kreskin?

Please, don’t hesitate to mail me with any further or more specific questions you may have – I’ll be very happy to help you in any way I possibly can.

In a nutshell, I was born with these pipes in St. Louis, MO more years ago than I care to admit. Actually the pipes didn't sound like this when I was born, but as soon as my... Well, you get the idea.

In my 20's, and through a complete fluke, I was asked if I'd like to voice a television commercial for $100, and boy did I - I just couldn't afford to put up that kind of cash back then...

                         Ba-da-boom! (Thank you Bob Uecker!)

The read went exceptionally fast & well, they started giving me more and more work and calling me "One take Bill". The Engineers loved it - they got to go home early, or schmooze with the Receptionists or whatever, and the producers loved it because they were getting professional sounding, yet less expensive, talent - quickly.

I did receive some formal training from The Broadcast Center in St. Louis back in the 70's when Bill Gephardt, (the founder), ran the joint. Those were heady and instructive days but, because of my difficulties in covering the full tuition, I had to leave before receiving the sheepskin. Oh well, the experience gained, learning from working pros, was worth it no matter how long it lasted.

So the majority of what I am able to do is self-taught. I have impersonated, copied, and mimicked every announcer or broadcaster who ever inspired me, which has catapulted me to the very pinnacle of mediocrity that I enjoy today.

Equipment.

I have both an AKG Perception 200 condenser mic, and a customized Nady RSM 5 Ribbon mic for variety in timbre and response (thanks Rick!) Both are phantom powered, and both interface with my computer through an M-Audio fast track pro, and a Behringer XENYX 802pre-amp, EQ, and mixer. I use Nady headphones, and for reference speakers I have a pair of Mackie HR824 studio monitors.

I have several computers for e-mail, general surfing, and my own photo processing, etc - (see my other site) - but one, designated for sound recording, editing, and mixing, only. This machine has a 3.00GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, 4 gigs of RAM and somewhere around 900 gigs of hard drive space. I record into Digidesign Pro Tools 8, through an M-Audio Fast Track Pro.

Booth.

Though my dead booth is of the home made variety, remember - (see my other site again) - I am also a professional guitarmaker, so this ain't some fourth grader's attempt at a tree house.

It's actually a 6' diameter, semi-hemispherical, amphitheater type of arrangement, lined with 2" deep cross-hatched Auralex acoustical foam. This results in complete phase cancellation of harmonic interpolation, as well as internal, and external, noise

Delivery

Most of my work is either e-mailed back to the client as an .mp3 file, or can be burned to a CD and delivered, almost anywhere, within 24 hours by FedEx Overnight.

Im able to upload the files to your, or my own, FTP site in just about whatever format does the trick.

I can also participate in studio-to-studio hook-ups via IP with a specialty VOIP Audio codex, or ISDN connection.

How does this work?

Well first, you e-mail your script to me with any direction you might have in mind - emphasis - excitement- pacing, and with written phonetic pronunciations of difficult or peculiar words etc. Include your phone number and I'll call you. I also have an incoming toll free line I'll give you so that you may phone me without any charge to you, but if you think Im going to publish that here, you're nuts.

I like physically talking to my clients when time permits and I hope you do as well. I think a mutual and thorough understanding between us makes it that much more likely that I'll knock one out of the park for you. We'll talk, get our signals straight, and then I'll get to work for you.

Also include what you've budgeted for the specific project. I'm usually extraordinarily, and unashamedly, expensive, but in these economic times, you'd be surprised just what a guy will do for an order of crinkle fries and a ride back to the highway overpass. In other words, I'm union, but also Financial Core, so I'm fairly flexible. We'll either work it out so that we're both very, very happy or... We won't.

I am set up for fast, easy, and secure payments through PayPal. Wire transfers, bank drafts and company checks are always acceptable. Food stamps and gasoline vouchers may also be considered at some point, when the frigid Winter winds blow under my overpass.

I'll accept personal checks when necessary and we've gotten to know each other. Until then, personal checks will have to clear the bank before the finished product is delivered. Not that anyone would stoop so low as to rip-off a struggling voice talent, but some folks don't have that far to stoop.