Has anyone ever told you you've got a great voice? That's what happened to me in 1974 as I worked as a mechanic in a large automotive super center in the St. Louis area. Little did I know that in less than 10 years I would begin working as an audio engineer at Clayton Studios, “St. Louis’ Fastest Track Team”. I’m Keith Filges and since 1983 I have been working…no PLAYING with the buttons, knobs and my talented counterparts at Clayton Studios.
My story began in 1974 when none of the other guys wanted to do the in-store announcements over the company’s PA system…you know the ones that start with "Attention Shoppers." They were embarrassed of how they sounded. So I went into a little office, wrote out a little script; picked up the phone and with a bit of a shaky voice, let it rip. It wasn't a week later when a guy walked up to the service desk, made an appointment and as he left said 'Hey was that you on the PA system? You've got a great voice". A day later another guy said the same thing! I thought to myself... maybe I'm on to something.
It wasn't long before I got my first radio station job. Pulling an air-shift, reading the news, sports, obits, farm reports, and my favorite; voicing RADIO COMMERCIALS!!! I loved the commercial work because I knew I could always make them sound perfect with the magic of editing and re-doing the voice track. I soon found out I really did have an EAR for audio.
Looking back, I think my interest all started with watching the Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends cartoon show. Listening to the character voices. Listening to the great over-the-top announcer. Listening. Listening. Listening. If you're in the voiceover business that's what you have to do. LISTEN! Listen to direction. Listen to the way the writer interprets his copy. When you're at home, DON'T watch the commercials on TV... LISTEN to them.
It's also very important to learn how to parrot. Not sound like a parrot, but to echo another person’s words. The late John Smith, one of the best writers and producers I've ever met, was the inspiration of this method and was kind enough to share it with me, and others in the St. Louis advertising community.
You know this may be one of only a few professions where there is no right way or wrong way of doing things. I mean you could actually read a spot BACKWARDS! It certainly would draw a lot of attention, wouldn't it? Then you could TAG out the spot by saying something like.... "Life really CAN be confusing... why not let the ABC company smooth out the rough spots in your life." Like I said, there really is no right way or wrong way of doing things.
Hey, if someone has said to you "you've got a great voice", be proactive and do something about it. Start LISTENING! Or better yet, let people know you’ve got the voice that “sells”.
If you have done voiceover work and have other tips you would like to share let us know. If you are interested in finding out if you have a voice that “sells” we want to hear from you too. For more information on voiceover training or to listen to some of the talented voices in the area visit www.voiceoverstlouis.com.
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Same thing for me, Keith. I was in college, working on a degree in Computer Science when the guy next door, an announcer for a local commercial radio station said I had a decent voice, they were looking for someone part time at the station, I should talk to the program director. He gave me her name, I interviewed and was hired. There I watched and worked with people who had trained and received BA's in journalism. Nothing like learning to swim in the deep end. I had always been facinated with tape recorders since I was a kid...the transistion to production came right out of that childhood interest. Suddenly I was in an environment with professional gear, free to experiment. I used to love making the concert spots!
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