Amy Taylor Fernandez

Preparing vs. Doing

March 11, 2022 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

Are you perpetually preparing to be prepared? Preparation is the first step to pretty much any change we’re trying to make in our lives. And it’s energizing, as long as we don’t get stuck there.

For example, I wanted to start a raw vegan diet. So, I got a good blender, got all the produce for a week and I was all in. I was in the preparation phase and I was enthusiastically optimistic. Then a heavenly scent from my neighbor’s grill wafted over to my side of the fence. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like doing the vegan thing anymore.

Or the time I was finally going to get in shape! All I needed was the gym equipment I ordered off late night TV. It would be epic. Life-altering. That one piece of equipment was all I needed. I was convinced I’d look exactly like the model from the infomercial if I bought this machine. I was feeling pretty good about my weight loss goals. But the half-life of my excitement was very short. Not long after the equipment arrived, it sat in the corner collecting dust.

We all do this in one form or another. Not just in terms of diets and weight loss products but with everything.

I’ve met a few people who say they want to do voiceovers. They buy a decent microphone, take a few lessons and some even build a studio. Then I see them years later and they haven’t made a demo, a website, reached out to clients or agents, joined any voiceover auditioning sites or even opened the mic. Let me say this as a disclaimer: I’m NOT putting them down. They are doing the same thing I did with my juice fast and my Zumba DVDs. You can buy tools to help get you where you wanna go, but it is up to you to actually use them.

They, like me, are in a state of preparing to prepare. So how do we break this cycle?

What gets us from A to Z and not just A to F? I think dropping the notion that some tangible object is going to make everything fall into place is a good start.

When I started my business in 2006, there are several tools I thought I needed in my arsenal. Some of those tools worked for a while. Others are now obsolete and still others were never necessary at all. I have a $4,000 paper weight on my equipment rack (a Telos Zephyr Xstream ISDN Codec) which was in its hay day was (for me) an absolute necessity. It paid for itself multiple times over, but now it is selling for peanuts on ebay.

There’s nothing wrong with buying equipment if we use them to reach our goals. The problem lies in believing that the tool alone will get you there. My advice is to map out what you hope to accomplish before making those purchases. Then only get the tools you really need. Make darn good use of them once you have them. Discard or sell them when they are no longer helpful.

Anybody want to buy a used Telos Zephyr? Zumba DVDs? I’m kidding. But I have found that I work out more often now that I’ve decluttered my home of gym equipment. I think not having it here makes me go to the gym more often. I’ve shifted my thoughts surrounding my fitness goals. It’s still not perfect, but I’m no longer in preparation mode. I feel like I’m in doing mode. It takes effort, but we can all release the need to constantly prepare and make those goals happen by doing a little bit every day to get us there.

Work Remotely (aka work on a beach)

March 10, 2022 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

Work from home really means work from anywhere.

People joining the workforce today have new bargaining power when it comes to working remotely. My millennial daughter corrected me when I called it “work from home” as it really means you can work from anywhere that’s not the office. It’s not just from the dining room table anymore! I have nieces and nephews that go to the Caribbean for weeks and even months at a time. They are working remotely. They are living their best life.

In 2022, employers can attract better candidates by offering the option to work remotely 1-2 days a week (or more.) Recent college grads most likely finished their studies remotely, so doing things online is woven into their fabric. Asking prospective employers for remote workdays is as normal as asking for any negotiable benefits.

I used to have a unique experience to be able to work from home or whilst on vacation and my clients rarely knew where in the world I was or what time zone I was in. It’s been great to be able to pack up my remote rig and set up shop at my destination. Here are some things I’ve learned through working remotely.

Microphones always get flagged by TSA.
Always ask if the hotel room has carpet or tile. (Carpet is good for acoustics, tile is bad.)
Don’t book any airport hotels.
Get hardwired internet whenever possible.

Of course, these bullet points only pertain to my industry since I need it to be relatively quiet to record voiceovers. Most people can work in noise. However, Internet is key for anyone working remotely.

I’ve been doing so many Teams/Zoom sessions lately where people are on mute while I’m recording. I’ve heard myriad background things when they unmute themselves to give me direction;

Jackhammer

Sirens

Honking/traffic

Baby crying

Drive thru loudspeaker

Dog barking

Phone ringing

Low battery smoke alarm warning (change the battery already!)

Oven timer

I’m sure I’m not the only one hearing all of these remote work culture noises. And I’ll bet you’ve heard even funnier things on your conference calls. They happen. It’s accepted. It makes for interesting meetings. Am I right?

Nowadays, I say let ‘em work from anywhere. If you’re lucky enough to get paid to do your job elsewhere, good on you. You’re probably a more productive worker because you’re grateful that you can work on a beach somewhere.

The acting roller coaster

March 7, 2022 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

With the ghost of mic tape still on their face, a sadness comes over an actor once a show has ended. So much preparation; auditioning, waiting for the cast list, painting the set, making the costumes, building the characters. Friendships are made. Choreography is perfected. There’s the nervousness of opening night. The rhythm of doing the show better each night. The applause. Finally, the closing performance. The set strike. The goodbyes. The empty theatre.

It’s been a while since I’ve acted on stage, but I observe that rollercoaster every time my youngest finishes a show. Suddenly there is free time. They’re looking for another musical to fill that void. I can relate to them because it’s an exaggeration of my daily life.

Voice acting is a different beast, however. Sometimes I audition with a casting director, but most days I audition alone. I’m alone to make character choices, to self-direct and to re-record until I’m happy with my mp3. Then I hit send and I’m onto the next audition. Rinse and repeat.

So, the nervousness of an in-person audition is deadened by the fact that I can erase it and do over as much as I want. Almost nothing is live in my audition process. BUT, I audition 12-20 jobs a day. So, how much time must I spend on each audition? I have to think like a stage actor in order to make a concise choice – read the script a few times and go with whatever voice I’ve committed to. I edit and send without overthinking it. Often times I’m way off the mark (as in I don’t hear any feedback.) Other times I know I’ve given them something they want to explore (I get a call back) and other times I nail it. (I book the gig.)

These are mini-rollercoasters. If I land the gig, the entire ride happens in one day. Often in one hour or less. I am directed, re-directed, played back, script-changed, and my personal favorite, “line-read.” This is basically when I’m told to read it like the person directing and then told to “forget that last direction” when they realize they don’t want me to read it exactly like they did.

There are several people on the line listening to my performance. Some stay quiet and others add their direction. The client wants me to hit this word harder. The engineer asks me to pause between bullet points to make editing easier. The casting director wants me to read lines 1-2 concerned, 3-10 friendly and professional and 11-12 as a rallying cry. Layers, people. It’s all about layers. I read the copy with their baklava of directions in mind. And usually at the end of the session they thank me and say that they got exactly what they wanted. This makes me happy. This is when the roller coaster is at its peak.

There are those days, or even weeks that I land nothing new. This is the bane of every entrepreneur’s existence. Where is my next gig coming from? When will I hear about that audition I did? Will I ever hear about this audition? Most of the time I will not hear from anyone unless they want to hear me read it slightly differently or if they are ready to hire me. I get an occasional, “You’re one of three people we’re putting in front of the client.” Actually, I get that a lot. But I don’t pay a ton of attention to it or I will get my hopes up and then not hear anything from them. While it feels good to know I’m on the “short list” in terms of casting directors liking my script interpretation, it does little for my booking ratio or my bank account.

I always tell my kids – who are also voice actors – “Submit it and forget it.” We can’t sit and wonder if we’re going to land every gig we’ve auditioned for. That would take way too much mental energy and it would make us feel pretty bad about the jobs we don’t get. If I’m realistic about it, I don’t get 99% of the jobs I try for. Yes, I said 99%. Feels strange to even type those words. I can’t worry about that. I embrace the ones that I do get. I try not to ride the highs too high or the lows too low. I do the best I can in the booth and hope that those clients will be so happy with the recording that they’ll think of me for the next job.

Shifting Gears

January 22, 2022 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

Many of us have made life-altering shifts since the start of the pandemic, whether consciously or unconsciously. Working and schooling from home have become the norm. Our routines have been interrupted. Paychecks stifled. Plans altered or cancelled.

The ability to roll with these changes is key.

I am lucky that my voiceover work has been home-based since 2006. Not much changed for me when the shutdown started. What did change? Everything else. My almost empty nest was suddenly full again. I went from working alone at home to having a college kid and a high school kid attending on-line classes and my husband working from home all in one week. We all claimed a nook of the house in which to work or study. My husband and I shared what had been my office. We made it work because we had to.

Our ability to pivot and live harmoniously was key. We cooked together, ate every meal together and had great conversations. No one was running off to practice or rehearsals. As sad as that was, it was peaceful at the same time. Our family connection grew stronger.

The quarantine really boiled our daily life down to its essence. We weren’t traveling or eating inside restaurants. Our gym was closed. We left the house for provisions only. We shopped for our elderly friends. We got to know our neighbors.

In March of 2020, I kept busy recording a lot of health-based PSAs, physician and hospital announcements regarding Covid 19 protocols which were constantly changing. There was also a stream of voiceover work regarding telehealth visit instructions. The next wave of voice work came when the vaccines rolled out. Information about where to get the vaccine, who was eligible, and which one was being offered all needed recorded announcements. Things were calm for a long while until the booster shots became available. Most of the voiceover work was steady but did not have the urgency that the initial vaccine announcements did. Then Omicron hit. A flurry of airports and government entities joined the healthcare industry in adding new Omicron-related rules. At the time of this blog, my daily recordings are about where to get PCR tests, where asymptomatic people can get rapid tests and the shortage of at-home tests. Telehealth visits are also ramping up again.

This pandemic has taught me a little about what is important in life. As things lean into the realm of normalcy and we get back to our old ways (for better or for worse) I’m trying to hold onto some of the good habits that have sprouted from this two year period.

“Should” – Harmless monosyllabic or escape pod?

January 19, 2022 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

Should. It seems like a harmless little monosyllabic.

I “should” go to the gym…

(wait for it)

*but* I will stay home and binge Netflix instead.

“Should” leaves too much wiggle room to get out of what we need to be doing.

“I will go to the gym.” That’s much better. Even if you say “I will not go to the gym” it is better than using “should” because now you have made a definitive statement. If you decide you’re not going to the gym, you can fill your time with some other constructive activity without beating yourself up for not doing what you “should” do. “I ought to” is a pesky utterance as well. My husband and I have tried to remove should from our vocabulary for a few years now. It doesn’t always work, but I find my days are more productive if I take the “should” out of my plans.

I’m also a big list-maker. I start my morning with an espresso and a pen and paper. Why? I can write things down on paper without distraction. If I use my device, a text or email can interrupt my train of thought. Distractions happen too easily. Somehow staring at a blank white page helps me focus on details. It sounds silly but writing with a pen solidifies the task more than if I type it. It gives it more importance. It can’t simply be deleted. It needs to be effectively crossed out. There is something gratifying about crossing items off my list manually. It’s just not the same as hitting delete.

Today I “will” tackle my to-do list. What will you do?

Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

December 13, 2021 by Amy Taylor Fernandez

Aretha Franklin had no idea Zoom would later become the world’s gateway of communication when she sang those words in her 1985 album “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?” Nor could she have imagined the countless memes about Grandma being on mute or kids photobombing their parents’ meetings. The advertising industry is having a field day with the addition of Zoom to our daily lives.

The pandemic shifted the way we work, go to class and communicate with others. The Zoom app is a big player in that shift and it is a great tool for communication.

However, voice talents like me have spent thousands of dollars making the best sound possible from our professional studios. Whether we offer connections via internet like Source Connect or ipDTL, or traditional copper wire connections like ISDN, we’ve taken great pride in ensuring we are providing the best sound possible to our clients. The connection must sound like we are in the same recording studio with the client. We have treated our booths with Auralex foam. We have purchased very sensitive condenser microphones that pick up every nuance of our performance; the words, the pauses, the sighs. It’s part of our craft and it sounds magical when heard through high-end technology.

Since it’s assumed everyone has Zoom now, clients expect to see me. My booth was not set up with a camera. At first, I was reluctant to agree to Zoom sessions believing the sound quality would be sub-par. In the beginning when asked to use Zoom, I clipped an iPad to my mic boom and fired up zoom on it. The camera angle and lighting were not great, but they could see me.

I did a Zoom session this week with another voice actor and I’ve got to say, it was nice to record some dialogue with no lag. We both recorded in our repective studios and sent the files to the editor to sort out, but the banter was more natural using Zoom. ISDN was a great service, but there was usually a huge silence between the 2 actors’ lines which interrupted the flow. With Zoom, I liked being able to see my friend, the director and the engineer. It made it feel like old times when I used to go into New York City for a recording. So now I’ve changed my tune. Zoom gives me the best of both worlds. I get to see my co-workers and not have to travel several hours to get to a session. My only requirement is the client request Zoom at the time of booking so I’m prepared for it! I don’t want to be caught off guard in my bathrobe. (Yes, sometimes I do sessions in my pajamas!)

The systems we voice actors had in place pre-pandemic work great, the sound is perfect and the end product is top notch. The majority of my sessions are still recorded via the tried and true; Source Connect, phone patch, ipDTL and ISDN. But Zoom has earned its place in the voiceover realm. This week, I’m installing hardware in my booth so that the camera angle is better. I may even get one of those ring lights. I believe Zoom is here to stay.

Voice Over Actor