So much has been written about Ted Williams in the last few days that this entry certainly appears late to the party. But, hey, this is still a voiceover blog, and the formerly-homeless baritone’s story continues to unfold and gain steam.
Paul Strikwerda has written a piece on Williams sufficiently insightful and thought-provoking (and ultimately about far more than the man himself) to warrant a more dignified label than “blog post”, and I won’t be attempting to top his efforts here. Nevertheless, here are a few thoughts.
After the story broke — even before the subsequent media reports detailing Williams’ less-than-angelic past emerged — VO artists filled up boatloads of bandwidth with reactions ranging from effusive praise to grapes oh-so-sour. To that latter group, I say: debate over the various aspects of his story is fine. However, regardless of how one feels about his talent or whether he deserves the announcing jobs he’s been offered, spending even a moment worrying about any voiceover career other than your own is to get on a speedy treadmill to nowhere.
After Williams was offered an announcing job by the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was supposed by some that he’d taken the place of an existing employee, who was probably cast aside callously so that the franchise could garner a share of the growing publicity. I’m confident that, were this the case, ESPN and other sports media outlets would be all over it like the fatigues sported by Williams in that first viral video. So far, I haven’t seen any such reports.
For any still concerned that Williams may have unjustly taken (or, if you prefer, been granted) any jobs that might have gone to a “more deserving” VO artist — ones equipped with an agent, a home studio, lots of C-notes spent on training and coaching — consider something for a moment. It’s already happening. It’s been happening. It’s going to continue to happen. “It”, of course, is the hiring of voice talents who might just not necessarily be ideal for the job. “It” occurs at all levels of the industry, from small-market radio to multimillion-dollar TV campaigns. These jobs were already being “taken” by others, and not for a moment did it ever mean that there wasn’t still work to be had.
I say, hate neither the game nor the player. Embrace both and see what happens.
The success of the first FaffCon event in Portland has led to FaffCon 2, coming to Atlanta in 2011. Early registration begins November 1st!
FaffCon is a voiceover “unconference”; instead of being locked in to seminar or workshop content dictated by others, you get to choose what aspect of voiceover work gets discussed/worked on/et cetera. Congrats to FaffCon’s organizer, Amy Snively, on the success of the (un)conference!
The concept and execution would be awesome even if it didn’t feature my good friend George Washington III and his at-once-georgeous-and-authoritarian pipes. Luckily for all of us, it does. Read his blog post, then look & listen…
There aren’t many dedicated sites featuring production music that’s both free and royalty-free; JewelBeat.com is one such site, and there’s a nice selection of short SFX as well. Definitely worth a visit if you need production elements for a quick job.
In one fell swoop, international voiceoverist Philip Banks teaches you 1) how not to be a cinematographer AND 2) the elusive, magical secret to getting VO work.
