Beep, Beep, Beep - I'm Backing Up

Beep... Beep... Beep. You know the sound. When you hear a big truck "beeping", you know it's backing up. Oh how I wish I would have heard that sound last week - from my computer!! For a long time now my good friend and IT-wizard, Bill McBeth, owner of EliteTeks, has preached the importance of 'backing up' my important files. Why didn't I listen?

Last week, my external hard drive, where I keep all of my voiceover files, recordings, sound effects, music, etc....just quit working. That wouldn't have been a problem, if I had listened to Bill and backed it up!!!

Thanks to his genius, Bill was able to pull the files off the old drive and save me. And now that I've learned my lesson, you can hear my computer going beep...beep...beep, because it's Backing Up!!!

Derek Chappell
-The Voice of Your Business-

100th Episode of Voice Over Experts Podcast from Voices.com

Stephanie and David Ciccarelli, founders of Voices.com, have provided invaluable information by allowing other voice actors and coaches to share their expertise through their Voice Over Experts Podcasts, on Voices.com. Today marks the 100th Episode. If you're a voice actor, signing up to receive these weekly podcasts is a MUST. Enjoy the listen.

Derek Chappell

-The Voice of Your Business

The Social Medial Revolution - Interesting & Scary

If you're reading this right now, you are a part of the Social Media Revolution, whether you realize it, or not. I found this clip about the phenomenon of the Social Media Revolution to be very interesting, very thought-provoking and a little scary. Thanks to Bob Souer for posting it for others to find. What are your thoughts?

Derek Chappell
-The Voice of Your Business

Access + Process = Success by Dave Courvoisier

Las Vegas News Anchor and Voice Actor, Dave Courvoisier has developed his own formula to deal with mental roadblocks we all suffer from at times. I have found Dave to be one of the sharpest minds in the VO business. He will also be the master of ceremonies again in June at VOICE 2010 in LA.

Derek Chappell
-The Voice of Your Business

Voices - Ever Wonder What They LOOK Like?

Who doesn't love magic? The slight of hand, the illusion, thinking to yourself, "How do they do that?" The fun is trying to figure it out. The frustration is never being able to. With magic, we all want to SEE how it's done, to get that visual satisfaction that our minds can't comprehend. If we are ever lucky enough to be shown how a trick was done, we're amazed at how simple it actually was, as opposed to how complex it may have looked before our very eyes. We get that, "Wow, that's how they do that", look on our face.

What does magic have to do with voiceacting?

When I was a kid (and, in fact, still to this day) I was always intrigued to find out just what the person looked like who's voice I was hearing, whether it be a cartoon character or a movie trailer. To me, hearing the voice is like watching the magic trick. I'm amazed and in awe of how/what the voice actor is doing. Then, to actually get to SEE the face of the voice actor creating this magic, to me, is like being let in on the secret of how this 'voice' magic is done.

You know what I mean. Be honest, how many of you actually pictured James Earl Jones when you heard Darth Vader tell Luke he was his father! The Voice created the Magic. Or take the legendary Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and hundreds of others. Once you eventually saw his face, didn't you actually picture Elmer Fudd?

Ok, here's the payoff for reading this far...Recently, LIFE Magazine ran a series of photos of some Epic Voice Actors. These are just a few of some great actors who's voices have given life to some of the most memorable characters of all time. I was especially excited to see the face of SpongeBob Squarepants, Tom Kenny. I was a hero when I showed the picture to my kids and I got the satisfaction of seeing that look on their face that said, "Wow, that's how they do that."

Derek Chappell
-The Voice of Your Business

(Thanks to Bob Souer and Stephanie Ciccarelli for posting this link on their blogs for me to find.)