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If you want to get pointed in the right direction to break into voice acting listen to this episode.
Matt Fogarty is a name you may not be familiar with, but if you listen to the radio in western Canada you have probably heard his voice
Fogarty is currently the creative director for Island Radio a group of 6 stations located on Vancouver Island. Fogarty says he loves going to work and the creative interaction that happens at his day job in radio.
Beyond radio Fogarty says he spends what feels like every other waking moment doing voice over work.
Matt Fogarty made the jump from radio voice work a few years ago. In this episode of Sound Off he discusses what it takes to make it in the voiceover industry. Shares a list of tips for those aspiring to break into voice acting and talks about the importance of developing a close network.
“It starts with an idea, then you’ve gotta execute on that idea by having an awesome script, Then you’ve gotta have the talent interpret and understand that script, deliver and perform that script. And then you need an amazing producer to put it all together,” says Fogarty.
Fogarty markets heavily to radio stations and much of his work comes from imaging where he works closely with Hoss Management. ( https://hossmgmt.com/) “He’s a brilliant marketer himself,” says Fogarty. He also shows love for Eric Romanowski for demos, and some of his favorite voice coaches Nancy Wolfson, Mary Lynn Wisner and Dave Walsh.
Fogarty has worked for big name national brands including Subway and Kleenex. In this episode he also explains that clients are looking for talent that comes off as “real” and “natural”.
“You’re an actor there’s no doubt about it. You’re not a radio DJ coming down to voice a mattress blowout sales spot black Friday in between breaks. You are conveying a brand message and that brand has probably spent a whole lot of money figuring out their targeting and their demographics and they want to make sure when they hire somebody they’re gonna be able to deliver on all those brand pillars.”
He says this can be as simple as adlibbing once in a while or altering the pace of your speech to avoid sounding sing-songy.
At this point in the episode Matt Cundill tries to sell Fogarty a mattress.
Fogarty’s 10 tips for making it in the voice acting industry:
1. Good voice acting starts with good writing.
2. Be a salesperson as well as a writer.
3. In the beginning take lots of work for the practice.
4. Surround yourself with the right people.
5. If you can, delegate things like web design.
6. Use a CRM -Customer relationship management software Fogarty uses Close.
(side note from Cundill: Have a look at Brad Newman’s Upper Level CRM. http://www.upperlevelcrm.com)
7. Fogarty’s microphone of choice: Sennheiser 416. (The backup is a Neumann TLM 103)
8. Find your niche. Content is king and there is enough work out there for everyone.
9. Get a good voice coach (Do your research).
10. The first 6 seconds of your demo better be fire!