Dan Hurst is a bilingual voice talent who is in demand for both English and Spanish voice overs. He’s been heard voicing for such brands as WalMart, Ford, Caterpillar and Sprint. We took a few minutes to get Dan’s perspective on the voice over industry…

1. How long have you been in the voice over business and what got you started?

About 25 years. I’d gotten laid off from my job and was having trouble finding work. One day my wife asked, “Who does all those voices for those TV and Radio ads?” It had never occurred to me that someone was actually making a living doing that. I started checking around, and eventually found a talent agent in Kansas City that would talk to me. He must have felt sorry for me, because he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. I had my first job within a week. Pretty soon I was as busy doing Spanish work as I was English.

2. How would you characterize your style, sound, or signature read?

Evolving, even after 25 years. My base, go to style and sound is the mid-deep friendly, comfortable and conversational read in English or Spanish. That being said, I have developed (and continue to develop) a range that includes the movie trailer, to hard sell, to authoritative-informative, all the way to casual-laid back.

3. Have you had any interesting, unique, funny or scary experiences while voicing that you can recall?

There have been so many! Some time ago, I was asked to do a Christmas commercial in which I was to interact with Santa. It was an ISDN hook-up. Everything was set up, except that Santa showed up drunk. It was quite obvious. Santa was snockered. And we kept having to repeat line after line after line.
Now, I have just enough of an ornery streak in me that I couldn’t leave well enough alone. One of my lines was to ask Santa why he was so jolly. So as we were reading through what must have been the 10th take of the line, I tossed my line at him…in Spanish.

It didn’t phase him a bit. He continued on with some semblance of his line. I’m pretty sure I heard the engineer snort coffee everywhere.

The producer was not happy with Santa’s delivery, as if that were any surprise. So he tried to offer some insight to the style of delivery he was looking for.

And then it happened.

Santa got into a heated argument with the producer about whether Santa would say something that was in the script!

I got to laughing so hard the engineer had to mute me!

4. Do you have any heroes, mentors or others in the business that you look up to or have influenced you?

Interestingly, the people in the business that I’ve learned the most from are my clients. I’m all for voice coaching and training, but I’ve developed most of my skills by really listening to my clients and engineers/producers, discovering what they want. But as far as voice talents that I look up to and respect, I have a deep admiration for every full-time voice talent in the business. And I have certainly been influenced by such class-acts as Drew Dimmel and Roberta Solomon from my hometown of Kansas City.

5. What is the best advice you can offer people who are just getting started?

It’s a tough business. Let your passion motivate you, but make sure you temper that with a healthy business strategy.

6. What would you be doing if you were not a voiceover talent?

Looking for work…or bail.

7. What is the most important thing you’ve learned since you started in this industry?

That my clients are in business to succeed. If I can help make them successful, we both win. My job is to make them look good.

8. Is there anything you would like to add?

A couple more jobs a day? Is that asking too much?

Thanks for asking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY3iPBfcVC4

Here’s a sample of Dan’s Spanish voice over work, in an orientation video for Trident.

With the 2012 presidential race officially underway, we thought we’d get a perspective from the front lines.

ProComm voice talent Bob Jump has carved out a niche in national political advertising. We asked him to share his perspective and experiences from past campaigns.

Q:  How has this presidential election season been different so far?

A:  Well, let’s see. You’ve got one candidate who called another candidate a liar. Next you’ve got a presidential candidate being endorsed by an ’08 candidate who lost the election. We’ve seen video moments where two out of the seven in the primary couldn’t contain their tears. And …  there’s money. Huntsman spent about a nickel and Perry spent $480 per vote in Iowa. So, yeah … everything’s pretty much on par. Different personalities but the feeling is like, this may already be a done deal.

Q:  With the record early number of caucuses and primaries, what do you think will be the “peak” time for political advertising this year?

A:   I don’t know. But I do know that if you live in South Carolina it might be time to take that vacation you’ve been dreaming about.  If you think Iowa was crazy with TV ads, wait till you  see what happens in that “make it or break it” state of South Carolina. And you can bet most all of the ads will be negative / attack, too. This is going to be harsh… and they haven’t even started skewering President Obama!

Q:    Do you pick the candidate and/or party, or do they pick you? How does it affect your work with other candidates?

A:    As a voiceover, I’ve always said you pick your party, not your candidate. Years ago, I had a choice to make and I went with the Republicans. Some voiceovers work both sides. But certain political consultants view them as “guns for hire” and it can become an issue of party loyalty which may concern them. They also worry whether that voice may be on a competitor’s ad and that, of course, is a big no-no. By not working both parties you’re giving up two sources of income. But, you’re also known as the “go-to” guy of the GOP. They know I’m strictly in their corner when they need me; it’s an added value.

Q:   Is that how you came to do work for Rick Perry?

A:   I’d like to think so. When they do call you, two things immediately come to mind: Will they have you continue with the entire campaign or is this a one-shot?  The other is, are you going to get along with that political consultant and that team? I’ve had as many as  eight people that are all a part of the session. They might pull you in eight different directions. I try and decide just who it is I want to please the most.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTZUV6pz_CM

Here’s one of the spots Bob recently recorded for the Perry Campaign.

Q:   When you talk about 24/7 availability for political work, is that to be taken literally?

A:    Yes, literally. During the peak of the political season, a voiceover is like a doctor on-call. It can be 10 or 11 at night and that phone will ring. You drop what you’re doing and hit the mic. Weekends are no different than weekdays. One Sunday I had eight sessions! Did I complain? I don’t think so.

Q:    Are you asked to adopt regional styles, or do they just want your “signature” voice?

A:   Good question. Yes. For example, if it’s something airing way down south, I’ve been asked to dump the “ing” off some words. In Texas, I’ve been asked to give it a bit of a “drawl.” In North Dakota, they’ve asked for a “rural” sound as in: “talk to me like a cattle rancher, Bob.”  So, yes … you learn to adapt to the group you’re targeting. And you adapt quickly or you don’t get asked back.

Q:   Have you seen an increase in messages that are exclusively for the web, as opposed to TV spots with shared web exposure?

A:    Yes, and every year it continues to climb. One reason is you can get an ad up on the internet so quickly these days. Richard Blumenthal was in a tight race with WWE’s Linda McMahon in Connecticut. He was going to speak at a noon fundraiser. Timed to create some mischief, as well as throw him off just before the fundraiser, the McMahon team created a web/ TV ad (below) about his record serving in Vietnam. They called at 7 that morning and the ad was up by 10. Super fast. It went viral, it worked and it was embarrassing. All the new media choices give us an amazing ability in terms of speed, but they won’t replace traditional media any time soon – if ever.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWqC3K9lBBg

Q:   Do you meet any of your candidates face to face?

A:   The closest I’ve come to a political “one on one” was a special White House party for Marvin Bush. I wasn’t there but my voice was. It was a roast and I was the guy with the humorous jabs starting from his childhood. The fella that had me voice it was sitting right next to Barbara Bush that night. When my narration was over, Mrs. Bush turned to him and asked,  “Was that Walter Cronkite?”  My highest praise ever!

A quick note to all our wonderful clients… ProComm Voices will be open for business through the holidays this year. If you need to book a voice over session, we’ll be available during our regular business hours each weekday, 9 AM – 6 PM Eastern.

One of the best in the industry and a top voice on the ProComm Voices roster, Lindsay Ayliffe has been winning clients over with his voice for years. He took a few moments to share his experiences in the voice over biz for our latest feature…

1. How long have you been in the voice over business and what got you started?

I’ve been doing VO’s full time since 1994. Ten years prior to that, I worked as a copywriter for various ad agencies and did a lot of in-house VO’s (I hate those in-house guys now, right?). In my last job working for an ad agency, I was the Senior Copywriter/Associate Creative Director on a large restaurant account. Once I realized the voice actors I hired were having way more fun (and making more money) than I was, that was the end of being an employee. My first professional gig was through ProComm. Annie Lalley and I were booked to play Rhett and Scarlett for a pizza chain in Athens, Georgia. I was so excited that I rented Gone With The Wind to make sure I nailed the accent, and found out — to mah evahlastin’ suhprahz — that NOT ONCE did Clark Gable speak in a Southern accent in the entire film.

2. How would you characterize your style, sound, or signature read?

“Warm. Positive. Life is good and I’m just happy to be here.”

3. Have you had any interesting, unique, funny or scary experiences while voicing that you can recall?

Once, I played a tough, blue-collar termite for a pest-control company. I literally had to chew through an entire bag of pretzels while I talked.
Once, I was a vest on a radio spot for a men’s clothing store. Pin-striped.
Once, I was asked to sound “taller”. Seriously.
Once, I auditioned for the part of George Jetson in a radio spot and ad-libbed a dog bark just for fun. I didn’t get George, but I got an SFX fee for Astro. And a renewal a year later…
I’ve been the voice of water at a water park.
I’ve screeched like a velociraptor for an insurance spot.
I’ve been an “interior designer” for a mall spot. (That coded description got a big laugh from my gay brother.)
Scary experiences? Any session that consisted of multiple, unnecessary takes on a “screamer” script. I love what I do, but I don’t have a spare set of vocal cords.

4. Do you have any heroes, mentors or others in the business that you look up to or have influenced you?

When I worked as a copywriter on the Winn-Dixie account in Jacksonville Florida, we often hired a local voice actor named Cochrane Keating. He had the smoothest, most natural baritone voice I’d ever heard and his attitude made every session a pleasure. I don’t have those pipes but I do my best to emulate his good nature & professionalism.

5. What is the best advice you can offer people who are just getting started?

Talent and availability are the two most important assets — not necessarily in that order. Go on ProComm’s website and listen to the talent. If you can do better or have a completely unique voice, make a demo and send it in. If you’re lucky enough to get signed, make sure you’re available all day long, every week, year ‘round. Oh, and say “YES” to every scheduling request. (You can go on vacation once you’re established.)

6. What would you be doing if you were not a voiceover talent?

You mean a real job? Hmm. Copywriting was always a pleasure, so I’d write more. If money’s no object, I’d immerse myself into learning how to compose electronic/techno music. I’m a big fan of Moby, Zero 7, et al.

7. What is the most important thing you’ve learned since you started in this industry?

I’ll make it plural…the most important things:
Take care of your voice – and ears – like a violinist takes care of his fingers. It’s all you’ve got.
Be available.
Return emails, texts, and voicemails as quickly as possible.
Be easy to work with.
Be professional.
There are no guarantees.

8. Is there anything you would like to add?

Yes. I was a client before I was a talent, so I know what I’m talking about here:
My main job as a voice actor is to make each session the easiest part of my client’s day. That’s what relieves her stress and makes her happy. Which means she calls ProComm again. Which means ProComm calls me again. Which means I get to keep doing the thing I love.

]]> http://www.procommvoices.com/wordpress/voice-talent-feature-lindsay-ayliffe/feed 4 http://www.procommvoices.com/wordpress/more-stories-about-bill-thomas http://www.procommvoices.com/wordpress/more-stories-about-bill-thomas#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:13:40 +0000 John Brooks http://www.procommvoices.com/wordpress/?p=1238

When directing Bill in sessions, I always felt that he and I were on the same wavelength. After a take, I could start to make a suggestion, and Bill would frequently complete my sentence, somehow knowing exactly what I was looking for. We would hear things the same way. Subtle things like points of emphasis that could change the meaning of a sentence. I could ask Bill to “shave a half second,” and he could literally shave a half second. Or I could say, “Go faster but don’t sound like it.” While clients would chuckle at that direction, Bill could really do it. Directing him was like steering an expensive sports car. He responded so well to whatever was asked of him.

Clients almost always raved about Bill’s talent. But I loved one of Bill’s comebacks when a client would give him a less than stellar comment following a read. The client might say, “That’s pretty good, Bill. At least we’re getting there.” To which Bill would reply, “Damned again by faint praise.”

We discovered Bill in 1989. In those pre-Internet, pre-ISDN days, we often added new voices to the roster by phoning studios in the region and swapping names of recently discovered talent. Our office manager at the time was Barbara Gray. She had been talking to Grace Cantrell who worked for Sundown Sound in Greenville, SC, about an hour from ProComm. Barbara gave Grace a couple of names, and Grace did likewise. Then, as an afterthought, Grace added, “Oh, there is another guy you MIGHT be able to use. His name is Bill Thomas. But he doesn’t have a demo. Here’s his number.”

Barbara called and told Bill we’d like to hear what he could do. So he agreed to drive up to ProComm and do a live audition for us. He arrived the next day, a bit scruffy looking, in an old Crown Vic. We handed him three or four scripts to read on mic. Our jaws dropped as Barbara and I turned to each other in disbelief. Grace had said that we MIGHT want to use this guy. Really? He was incredible!

I used those reads to create Bill’s first ProComm demo which got him a tremendous amount of work. We started booking him that very day. Bill drove up from Greenville daily for the next five days. Then he called me aside and asked, “Is this volume of work normal? Can I expect this to continue?” Bill Thomas rapidly became one of our most popular voices, a distinction he maintained for 22 years.

Bill loved cars. Especially Ford Crown Victoria’s and VWs. Unfortunately, he didn’t always have one in good working order in the early days. He repeatedly explained that he was “building a car” in his front yard. I occasionally suggested he might want to just buy a good used car instead so he could have reliable transportation. Somehow that would set him off, and he’d respond, “John, don’t be ridiculous!!”

Once, when Bill’s car was on the blink, he called a cab to drive him from Greenville to Asheville. When I arrived at the studio that morning, I spotted a yellow taxi sitting in the grass of the park across the street. The driver was squatting by the cab having a smoke while Bill was inside voicing commercials. Turns out that Bill had asked the driver to wait there for four hours as he completed his sessions. Hey, you had to appreciate Bill’s determination to come through for us. No matter how quirky he was, I believe he was on time for almost every session.

In those days, we had a studio cat. One that had wandered up to the back door and never left. For a couple years, we just called him, “Kitty”. One day, I got the idea to name Kitty, and gave him the rather formal name, “Mike Burke” (inspired by one of our corporate clients). We wrote the name Mike Burke on Kitty’s food dish. Bill had become quite close to the cat by then and was furious that we had changed its name. And he let me know it. Seeing the new name on the dish only made Bill madder. One of the engineers said, “Bill, you can take the letters off the dish, but you can’t take the name off the cat.” Bill slowly accepted Kitty’s new name, and his relationship with Mike Burke became legendary at ProComm.

When I first met Bill, ProComm had several pieces of studio gear that had been modified by Lee Furr, a renowned engineer in Tucson. But as Bill learned our ambitions for growing the company, he told me something that was crucial to accomplishing our vision. “John, if you want to have  several studios and crank out lots of jobs, you need to standardize your equipment. Everything must be ‘off the shelf’ with redundancy from room to room.” I think he had learned this when working at TM Productions in Dallas, the revered jingle and music company known for their assembly line productions for hundreds of radio station clients. Bill introduced us to David Rochester and Alan Brooks, two outstanding technical guys, who totally transformed the wiring and acoustics of our early operation. (Alan is now our full time technical director, and David continues to keep in touch with ProComm from his base in Nashville.) I’ll always be grateful to Bill for connecting us with those guys.

If you ever worked with Bill in a session, you’ll remember how, in between takes, he’d switch into his spot-on impersonation of Harry Morgan as Colonel Potter on MASH. Not sure why, but it was a Bill Thomas trademark. Sometimes I thought I heard a faint trace of Colonel Potter on subsequent reads, and I’d ask him to quit impersonating Harry for the rest of the session. Strangely, I don’t think he was ever asked by a client to do that particular voice on a spot. But it would have been perfect if he had.

A first-time female client once told Bill after her session, “You just sound so ‘huggable’.” And he did. Although a bit of a curmudgeon outside of sessions, he was also gracious and kind. He ended every job with honest, sincere appreciation to all involved. Bill was a freelance voice talent, but he came across as a member of the ProComm family telling clients things like, “That’s how we do it here at ProComm.” And I like to think that “how we do it here” is to aspire to the professionalism and grace of Bill Thomas for every client. Actually, Bill once said to me that “our clients know that ProComm’s worst job will at least be acceptable.” Uh, ok. I know what he meant.

Bill, we’ll miss you and think of you often. Thanks for being a part of our lives.

We lost a great one this past weekend with the passing of voice talent Bill Thomas.

Bill was a throwback, a character, a curmudgeon, as well as a true professional, and if you ever had the chance to get to know him you probably have a story or two to tell. To honor Bill, I’d like to share some of those stories, along with some of the incredible work that Bill did behind the mic.

Bill will always be remembered for his big voice. As fellow voice talent Joe Van Riper said the other day, ‘God must have needed a better voice’. And that’s saying something, coming from a guy like Joe.

He was such a staple at the ProComm studios that it’s hard to imagine him not being around. Before the days when everyone had a home studio you could usually find Bill in the ProComm talent lounge talking politics (As Bill would say, he was ‘somewhere right of Atilla the Hun’ in his political views), sharing stories and arcane trivia, or just dozing on the couch between sessions, with Mike Burke, the studio cat napping on top of him.

I remember one session years ago working with Bill and Lindsay Ayliffe on a spot for Chili’s. Given a short piece of country music and a few lyrics Bill and Lindsay brought to life this classic scenario of overbearing boss and quirky employee, sitting around the campfire… in the office. It was Bill’s idea to have the boss join in the sing along.

Bill Thomas and Lindsay Ayliffe for Chilis

btw, that’s Bob Morgan, another great talent from the old days as the announcer. I imagine Bob and Bill are up there in heaven right now riffing on Bugs Bunny characters.

Another favorite of mine comes from the ‘Welcome to Procomm’ skits that we sent to clients as promotional material. George Olsen was the writer on this piece. It still makes me laugh today. James K Flynn is our spokesperson, Harry Resonance, and Bill is the memorable Herb Glottle.

Welcome to ProComm – Herb Glottle

Here’s how ProComm producer and voice talent Dan Friedman remembers Bill…

From a whisper to a scream Bill Thomas could do it all. There are few voices that are as big and booming and yet still as versatile as was the voice of Bill Thomas. There are even fewer people left in this industry who have the knowledge, perspective and technical skill that Bill possessed.

While Bill was often cantankerous and opinionated outside of the booth, he was also supportive and caring of those around him. He could drive people crazy and even make a person angry when he expressed his personal views and thoughts about the world. However, he never said a bad word about anyone personally. In fact, whether you agreed with him or not, he would still treat you with genuine respect, care and concern.

He was always at his best when he was in front of the microphone. I will remember him most fondly for being incredibly diverse, remarkably charming and exceptionally talented. His comedic timing, microphone technique and copy interpretation were all pure perfection. He was generous with compliments to the talent around him, including the writers, directors and engineers. He had a great ear and never complained about doing more takes if needed. He generously offered to work “until the point of diminishing returns” as we would frequently say. It was as though he never wanted to leave the mic.

I will miss working with you Bill. I will end with the same words with which you often ended your recording sessions, “It was an honor and a pleasure.”

Dan Friedman

Dan put together some of Bill’s best material in this audio collage. It reminds me just how versatile he was.

Bill Thomas – voice collection

A lot will be said about Bill the voice talent. Here’s a note from fellow voice talent Anne Lalley about Bill the man.

I always told Bill that I loved him in every session. Bill was not only a great talent with an amazing voice, but more importantly, a true blue friend. I loved working with him. He was always so supportive in and out of the studio. Once when my car had broken down and I was worried about the expense, Bill stepped outside on the old ProComm front porch, opened his wallet and said, “Take what you need.” And he meant it, no strings attached. I’ll never forget his kindness.

Anne Lalley

That was Bill Thomas. A great talent, and a great guy.

So what do you remember most about Bill?

***updated***

Fellow producer and voice talent Zak Miller passed along this note:

I was going through my archives and found a Disney Tower of Terror tool kit from ’03 (hence the ‘wxyz’ ref) and thought I would let you guys hear some magic from Bill that you may have never heard.

He had such a range and a gift for this craft.   I always told him that when I grow up I want to be your voice!

Bill Thomas – Tower of Terror

Sad news with the passing of Tom Keith, sound effects master on public radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” Here’s hoping his career inspired others to keep the magic of live radio going.

Rob Hatfield, Creative Director at Walker360, came up with a terrific concept for Guardian Credit Union, capitalizing (intentional use of  that word) on the reactions to new fees imposed by big banks.

With a nod to the famous scene from the 1976 film “Network,” ProComm’s Kyle Holman evokes memories of newsman Howard Beale and the great actor, Peter Finch.  Kyle does double duty, giving the announcer a Sam Elliott touch.   And the outraged mob?   ProComm’s own account managers Anitta Conlon, Joe Bruno and Shelby Perkins, who seem to attack their roles with surprising gusto.

So I want you to get up now.  I want you to get out of your chairs and —  on second thought,  just sit back and enjoy!

Guardian “Get Mad” Radio

A benefit to having the Detroit Tigers playing in Major League Baseball’s Postseason was the opportunity to hear their network broadcasts on XM-Sirius radio.   In addition to their great broadcasting team of Dan Dickerson and Jim Price, you may have heard spots for the University of Toledo, a Tigers network sponsor.   The spots were produced by the very excellent Level 2 Audio in Perrysburg, Ohio and featured the voice of ProComm’s Emilie Brown.  Here’s one of the spots:

UT Change Your Career

Emilie Brown.  Co-ed, girl-next-door, soccer mom…  in the voice-acting realm, of course!

This blog post is for everyone who uses voiceover talent in their productions. A voice talent’s job is to communicate the message of your script. But what else should you expect from the talent you choose? How do you prefer that the talent go about assisting you with achieving your goals? Other than being great communicators, what can the talent bring to your production that adds value and makes your recording session great?

What is most important to you:

Delivery?

Versatility?

Efficiency?

Tonal Quality?

Assistance?

Q: Do you like to allow the voice talent to give their interpretation of a script, or do you prefer to direct them first?

Professional voice talent are trained to interpret a script and use the words as a road map. The words usually determine the tone and delivery. Unless… they don’t. You can allow the voiceover talent to follow the map, or ask the talent to explore other paths.

Q: Do you prefer to hear several different deliveries?

Going into a recording session, you may not have a good idea of what the exact tone of your script should be. It could be very effective delivered in several ways. Asking your voice talent to offer a variety of options may allow you to discover a bit of magic you hadn’t thought of or help you make a final decision as to what delivery works best.

Q: Do you prefer the talent you are working with to deliver the script completely or do you prefer to massage each line and piece together the “perfect” read?

Reading a script straight through, or at least large sections in a single pass, allows the voice talent to maintain tone and pace. This will usually result in a more consistent and cohesive read. When necessary, the talent can pick up lines afterward to get the nuance you may be listening for if they didn’t get it on the first pass. With the assistance of your session’s audio engineer, you can have the best lines edited together quickly to see how they work together as a whole.

Q: Do you choose a talent based on voice quality alone?

Every voice talent has different strengths. Some are best suited for announcer reads, while others shine in more conversational or character roles. If you cast based on voice quality alone you may have mixed results when you get into the studio. This is where it helps to rely on a casting director who knows the abilities of the voice talent and can help you choose the best voice for the job.

Q: Do you find it helpful if a voice talent has the ability to actively assist you with your script, whether it be grammatically or with overall tone and flow?

Professional voice talent learn to become good copy editors. Whether the problem is length of copy, grammar, or a scripts tone and flow, the voice talent you hire may have suggestions that can improve the final product. If your voice over script isn’t sounding right and you can’t put your finger on it, ask the talent for help.

You may find it helpful to ask yourself these questions as you begin each project. There is no doubt that your level of experience with voiceover production may determine some, or all of the answers. Furthermore, everyone chooses a voice based on different needs and what is appropriate for each project. But the answers to these questions could help you decide which voice talent is best for your current or future projects.

There are many voices available and often voice quality is not the number one factor in your choice. If you have narrowed your choices down to two talent and you know that no matter who you choose, the delivery would be great; would the answers to these other questions make a difference in who gets the job? Only you can decide. So, what else do you want from your voiceover talent?