 Hey, it's time for voiceover body shop and this week we have a fabulous guest Laurie Ellen is joining us. Say hello. Well, Laurie Hi, hi guys. Thank you so much for having me. All right. This is gonna be great We're gonna talk about all sorts of cool stuff and her and her dogs and whatever else we can come up with And you got cool stuff to George, right? Of course lots of tech gadgetry and I know more about Laurie's studio than Laurie does So that'll be fun. All right All this stuff coming up right now on voiceover body shop From the outer reaches they came Bearing the knowledge of what it takes to properly record your voice over audio and Together from the center of the VO universe. They bring it to you now George Wittem the engineer to the VO stars of Virginia Tech grad with the skills to build set up and maintain The professional VO studios of the biggest names in VO today and you Dan Leonard the voiceover home studio master a professional voice down with the knowledge and experience to help you create a professional sounding home VO studio and Each week they allow you into their world Bringing you talks with the biggest names in the voice of our world today Letting you ask your questions and giving you the latest information to make the most of your voice over business Welcome to voice over body shop Voice over body shop is brought to you by voiceover essentials comm home of Harlan Hogan signature products source elements remote studio connections for everyone voice actor websites comm where your VO website isn't a pain in the butt The heroes comm become a hero to your clients with a word winning voice over training JMC demos when quality matters and voiceover extra your daily resource for VO success and now Live to drive from their super secret clubhouse and studio in Sherman Oaks, California Here are the guys Greetings, I am Dan Leonard and I'm George Wittem and this is voice over body shop or VO Is that our new theme music for coming in or whatever that would be hitting the wrong button Oh, I hope you go for the right button And what made it even more fun is I couldn't hear it that I hit the wrong button So I couldn't even do anything about it, but I hope you enjoyed that Whatever That's that's exactly. Can we take that again? No, I'm sorry anyhow Well, yeah, we're all fully vaccinated. So we're Out into the world and do field work. Would you George? I have horrendously missed Because we're just field work ever today. Would you I had the field work come to me? Yes, that's right Eliza Jane Snyder pull up in a Sprinter van and to my front curb Like wow if all studios were mobile, that would be so cool. It's just coming to me In exactly no, it is it is very nice to be able to to be over to commingle and do it safely And it's uh, I'm doing the I'm doing the the mask awareness thing is that's the new thing you wear it on one wrist You just keep your mask here It says I'm woke or whatever you want to call it people hate that term and I'm aware and I have my mask But I am vaccinated, but if you needed me to put on my mask, it's right here So all you have to do is put it on your wrist. Yeah, I've been I've been wearing mine as a yarmulke Just sort of putting it back Why didn't it wasn't should have been some two-for-ones yarmulke masks did anybody figure that one out? No, I'm and no But uh, anyway, I thought you guys had a sense of humor. Come on We try no anyway Uh, we have got a great show tonight because we have a fabulous guest who we she's our favorite guest because We like it when she comes into our studio, which of course we can't do quite big energy and big hugs Big hugs, which is the thing. I think I miss the most out of this pandemic is getting hugs for sure And uh, because she gives good hugs, but she's also a fabulous talent Uh, lorry allen has played a long-running role in as pearl crabs in the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants she also voiced Diane Simmons on the family guy the invisible woman on fantastic for The boss in metal gear video game series and a whole lot more Welcome back to voice over body shop the one and only lorry allen Yay Thank you for having me and my new rescue fan who needs a bath. Luckily you can't smell them. Hi guys Wow, it looks like he's part corgi part chihuahua. What is he's he's part Loud Pearl crabs they think he's like a We had a first training session a shipper key. Oh, yeah Yeah, shipper cam not saying it right part shipper key and chihuahua. Oh his breath He's very cute and very sweet and he he licks your tears when I was crying Except he barks so loud that it makes my it goes up my spine like oh I have to sing I have to do something to counteract the shrillness Of the barking About what you're crying about at least I mean there's got to be some fringe benefit to that Yeah, there are I mean he's he really is he likes to get rowdy my other dog bumble Which george knows very well from coming over and the bumble fixing stuff Um, uh bumble is so cuddly and fin is teaching him how to be a little bit of a dog instead of just a foofy little Figure. Oh, I see. Yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Bring bringing in another dog when you already have a dog is always an interesting experience because you get to see Who the alpha dog is you you know, we've you know, we we brought a a pound pup in and and suddenly You know, it's like she has to wait until arie eats Oh, yeah, and then arie is like i'm not hungry and she'll just sit there and Gotta eat Yeah, he's a little um, he's a little bossy boots, but he's not food protective protective He's not emotionally eating like I've been doing for a year. He's staying very thin unlike myself You know, I think we all have our coping mechanisms. You're doing just fine. Yeah, it's fine. Don't be sorry on yourself Yeah, fortunately food is one of those really good things to cope with Uh, anyway, so so you you're a busy lady. I know that but how did the pandemic affect you and and and your career? You know, it's really interesting everything is Everything just of course came to a screeching halt like it was just we were all in so much fear I mean, it's so interesting how the just the ptsd of all of our lives personal forget professional, right? For a moment, but that was certainly just sort of shocking the whole You know your whole life just sort of goes what and changes and I I really feel like everything just shut down And then all of a sudden it exploded absolutely exploded because As also as a coach like I was like let's let's work on your cove would read right because commercials as everybody knows are changing We're changing like every week with the read of like now. It's really serious We had a surge now It's warm and friendly because it's a summer and everybody you can be outside safely doing a barbecue or whatever, right? So everything was literally it still is changing one week at a time And you look at commercials and you're like, why are they in masks? Oh, that's right because that's what's actually going on in Our real life and then a lot of animated series it's a lot of the auditions that I've been doing And a handful of bookings have been really cool new shows about hope and about acceptance and you know With all of us been going on on in the world, you know between civil unrest and and you know who being out of office so things are just about positivity and You know giving hope inspiring hope the read is very different So I've been working on that with myself big time and then with clients, of course, and it's very interesting So it actually it's actually busier than ever After like sort of just a you know, paralyzation of like what? What the hell is going on? Yeah, pretty pretty much. Yeah, there's a lot of we're going to do it together Oh, yeah, that's that seemed to be the the dominant theme for a while there. It's like a part Yes, and now we can be together together and that yes, of course the cdc I was like at least you could buy me dinner first, you know what I mean like Could you've gotten some of that clear? So now we're free like and we're back and it was like wait a second I was you know, it's on the toilet like you know what I mean like you have to give us a little bit of notice before like end We're all back doing the honor system Um got invited to a cool concert and I was like, I don't know if I'm ready yet Like I'm just I'm not sure I'm ready yet. Like I'm not sure I'm willing to Still have that slight chance like bill mar Who's completely fine the only reason I bet you a million bucks he would have ever known is that he was testing for his show You know, but the transmission rate the the viral load the shedding and all that stuff I think is so unlikely that we're probably ready, but um It just was a little shocking, you know, but the the to the to the reads they really are There everything is together. Everything is warm and everything is very real real real Except for stuff like mcdonald, you know in terms of commercial like mcdonald's like that stuff is always very bright And there's certain things that are always going to be done. I don't want you to forget there's a pandemic That's right. I just want to raise your cholesterol. But um Yeah, so I think that the the reads are definitely brighter. They're I mean not brighter Some things will always like I said be bright but a warmer and they're all about like getting away So, you know car sales like redoing your house, right? Like stuff like that is definitely What I'm seeing Do you ever ask the director like is this commercial acknowledging the existence of the pandemic? Or is it denying it and wanting to just feel a little good right now? Do you ever ask is that question never come up like do you have to ask? No, you know what it's people really It's become such a political issue You know what I mean like I don't dare get into that conversation with anyone that's in a position to hire me We have discussions about it. Won't you sort of put a feeler out and you're like so I like what you were talking about. I'm wearing my mask as a bracelet. Um You know, it's it's it's a it's a really like a personal choice. It's become something that's not based in science unfortunately for a lot of folks and I don't mean to offend anyone in that regard I've just lost a lot of people my mom and stepdad who are you know Folks that order in only and even stopped doing social distance golf my stepdad. They got it terribly I mean, thank god is a lung cancer survivor and now a covet survivor She's like back to well, we had cocktails or so and so like they're doing great. You know what I mean? But it's um tough as nails. Oh, yeah, she sure is and I think you know her so it's just it's like You just want to say I want to say to some people like have you lost anybody? Have all of your best friends in new york gotten it? Have you lost your aunt? Have you a lot? Did you almost lose your parents like I just want to shake somebody my niece got it like thank god. She's fine You know again from she's got a little pod of people And uh from a really cool music school. They're all living together and one girl got it from work She doesn't know how she was masked and careful. You know what I mean? So I I vote for still being wildly careful because this isn't going to go away We're going to get it probably another little mini surge or two And then our voiceover reads and stuff will be different have not gone back into a studio yet myself personally Um work plus your voice after like if you got sick enough This could ruin not only your health, but your it could affect your career Exactly and because I do do on camera I've worked on camera three times on so I can't I can say it I'm not supposed to say it But I worked on curvy or enthusiasm. So that was really exciting. I couldn't curb my enthusiasm. It was amazing I could I rarely get star struck, but I was like It was just too cool But I thought holy crap if I tested positive to shut that production down. I don't want that reputation You know, I heard a casting director and I really believe it goes the same for once we are back in the studio If you end up still having to get tested or not I do not want that slight chance of knowing that I could have Unknowingly given it to somebody. I mean the chances are so slim. I was reading some statistics today But then bill mar fits into that tiny statistic You know if he hadn't been tested he would have never known and then somebody asymptomatic I mean somebody who had immune compromised issues or Who decided not to get vaccinated? Um could have easily gotten it and then spread it to somebody else So we just still have to be really really really careful, especially as the summer goes on Um and people are you know wanting to party and all that stuff outside. Luckily, you know, we're doing okay But the winter months we still have to be absolutely vigilant and for the rest of our lives Like this isn't going away, but It's got park and brought up a good point He's like it'll just be more like the common cold or sore throat So hopefully and what we're finding out is that the vaccines are much better than we thought at the transmission situation So that's actually great news You know, it's not even just about being being the one who spread it But it's also if you did get sick it you may not be able to work for a week two weeks a month Oh my gosh Yeah A coughing fit could alter your voice permanently. Yeah Oh gosh, yeah, it makes my voice so tired and we have fires and fire season coming up So it's like this is I have no problems being like I'm not comfortable with that yet or Uh, I have um, I I talk for a living. So I just need to be extra careful I think you're when people get into like having to apologize for the choices you're making I'm just not comfortable yet, but thank you so much for the invite You know things like that it's perfectly okay to be like I have my thumb up my button That's why I'm not able to make it. It doesn't matter. You're just not comfortable yet. That's okay That's right. It makes sense. That's right. If you're just joining us. We are talking with lori allen Star of all sorts of stuff You're probably familiar with all the work that she's done If you have a question for her if you personally have a question for I mean not too personal, but Uh, you can throw it in the chat room on facebook You can throw it in the chat room in youtube You can throw it If you happen to be listening live on clubhouse, we can get you on you can personally ask your question As danie bernside is is hosting our our clubhouse broadcast at the moment as well So we'll be getting to that in a little bit, but put it in the chat rooms and we will get those questions on Uh, let me ask you this. You've done so many interesting things. You've had a fabulous career and And I you're having a fabulous career. Let's put it that way. Thanks You know because you're you're you're you're going to continue doing these things. Uh, but What's been the favorite project you've worked on? I have to say it's not just because it's still happening But pearl crabs on spongebob square pants is just absolutely the the most joyful Gig I've ever had. I mean, I can't even believe that I booked family guy and spongebob in the same year I don't even know if I could have appreciated it. Plus. I was in a state of shock Family guy was absolutely amazing. I mean, I haven't been on the show for I got my character got killed off a couple Well, I probably like 10 or 12 years at this point But spongebob square pants and the way that the show just keeps like reinventing itself And now we have camp coral Which is so fun because I get to be a baby because it's about us and we were little so I get to be like So that's really fun and then there's the Patrick star show. So there's two little spin-offs So that has just been joyful is Forget that the grad the the immense gratitude to our amazing creator who passed away several years ago Stephen Hillenberg, but the the joy that is, you know, and now and of course tom kinney's been directing who plays spongebob He's an amazing director And he's just phenomenal. So he's directing all three So it's really cool to I mean, you know to to to be with those people I miss being in the studio so hard because like you'll just laugh and ruin an entire take Like I'll have to leave the room and I have my asthma inhaler because I'm I don't get asthma attacks from anything other than crying and laughing And I'm it's just I miss that so much, but I really think that's my most My most joyful favorite game of all time. How much of the crew is common from show to show I mean not on the technical very common back in but all the way through mostly Yeah, in fact, I know there are different illustrators the drawers the people that do the drawing On because it's very it's very different. It's like cg and all that stuff So there are there is a change of hands, but in terms of the executive side It's the same which is really interesting because they're all so wildly different wildly different But yeah, a lot of the the folks are the same and The a lot of the heads up at the at nicolodeon are different But the same vibe and that same just sweet innocent character and all the craziness that ensues Is the is the same So but but so different. I mean artistically to look at it It's kind of magnificent the other thing to be a part of that That was so ridiculously Just to be a part of the pixar family to do like toy story three and four like that still is like pinch me Just the premiere alone again. I don't get star struck very easily, but I was like hi keanu Reeves You're really cute But so that that was that's that's just ridiculous and then I started off my career With like fantastic four, you know in meeting stan lee. I look back at it I feel a thousand years old and like I'm 20 years old all at the same time, you know Yeah, I mean you've been doing I mean spongebob star what 1998 was it? 99 99. Yeah. Yeah, my kids grew up with it. So, you know, it's like I know we're on our fourth generation You know, like I'll get those cameo shout outs or when we could be in person because I really miss being in person It's so hard to to be able to go to conventions and say hi to people And they're like my grandkids. We all watch it together and stuff like that, you know The crazy thing is oh and also metal gear solid that game to play that character the boss is just It's oh, look at I have her on my desk somebody sent She's on my desk because I needed her to be a badass. Yeah, he's amazing Wow She's amazing. So she is the mother of all mothers a couple of people tweeted to me No fin you cannot have this. It's not a toy But a couple folks tweeted at me on mother's day And I like happy mother's day and I just was sort of joking. Rebecca. I am your mother and people were like, oh my god You know, she is a badass character. I wish she could be president. That's what I wish I wish she could Um be a real person the thing about games like we don't I mean if you're not a gamer You don't know how big the games are but the games can have a bigger fan base than the shows Absolutely Yeah, and yeah, it's fun watching people on your show like yourself our show When you see the comments like who's coming on They say, oh, it's the boss, you know, they they know you for different reasons So they get really excited for different reasons. They yeah, it's fun. Yeah. Yeah. She's pretty awesome Yeah, we're talking with lori alam once again, I began a question through it and all those places I mentioned wherever it is You're watching Here's the thing that I really wanted to get into with you. Um Now you were professionally trained to do what you do you I mean you've been acting your entire life You know, it's I have my my I'm lucky. I'm so grateful. I come from A good stock and a lot of encouragement George no drinking on the job. I'm kidding. It looks like you're having you are having a nice coffee that looks delicious Um, my parents are voiceover actor people advertising people musicians singers So again, I always say that like if I had come home and said mom dad I want to be a lawyer doctor. They would have been like that's insane. You need tap dancing and juggling as a backup But um, yes, so I I remember singing around the piano my grandmother may she rest in peace was so She's like you have to better have good breath control, you know So I knew I knew I knew what I knew there wasn't even another option Like I just knew from I think doing three blind mice is the lady that would boss people around on that three Blind mice and like fourth grade that that's what I was going to do so um Yeah, so I can't I can't underscore the importance of Training like everyone now is like hey, you just have to have a cool voice and yeah, some of this thoughts bother me because it sounds like You know, like a young person just woke up and needs a suit of fed and has never had any training So yes that vibe is that that is still sort of trending. That's what I hear on the air But you have to still be able to be directable You have to understand to make different choices. You have to know who you're talking to and why Even if it's just like, you know a mascara commercial or for toyota like a priest You're going to book the jobs because you have some acting backgrounds some improv backgrounds So that when they say like what's your point of view like I just signed with a great new commercial agent She was like tell me your interest like what what cell carrier do you have what car do you drive? Like you have to be able to relate to what you're talking about. It's not just you know Voiceovers it's voice acting you have to be a good voice actor and I think so many people forget that and a lot of times And also the reason to train is we're at home We are at home And so you have to be like, oh my god, you know, I have five minutes to do this audition I forgot or I um, I don't want to do this audition or I don't relate to it. It's poorly written It's overly written, right? So your acting skills have to come in like there was a guy I was coaching and It was for some like cool Dyson Vacuum and it sounded very much like a tesla commercial like just very cool and ergonomic this and you know Just sounded kind of new agey and awesome and I and I said pretend as a tesla and then his read was amazing, right? So it's like how can we Find a hook how can we find our way in to hook into that spot to where it's meaningful to you in some way Again, there's going to be copy that you don't like and the spec is going to go on for a half a page And you're like what just just tell me what you want here So I think that's um, the reason my training is just of utmost importance Yeah, I mean yeah, like you were saying there's so many people who are getting into the business and they like you're saying it's like well, I just read well, it's not that at all and the reason you're successful is because a life a lifelong learning of of your craft and people forget that it's a craft that it is professional acting and They they need to know what you know what it takes to to succeed in it. I mean, what do you think it really takes to succeed? I mean if somebody wants to get into it I would imagine first you have to really want it for starters You have to want it more than anything else And you have to also have a ridiculous amount of patience and your expectations have to i'm just going to be really frank, right? Your expectations have to be wildly low at the same time that you're like, this is my thing Um, and not that you can't man. I'm a big woo woo hippie Dippy person on live attraction and manifesting things and making sure you stay positive But you know out of every 400 things you may get a callback. I mean it just practice makes perfect and the at bats Are just an opportunity. I feel like, you know, if you can look at voiceover as my job is to stay in good vocal shape Mental spiritually good shape so that you know, you get we get hired and fired every day I think people think that we're just on series and we don't have to audition anymore I just was right. I had to go do a couple things before we Did our setup here to check make sure we're all connected and I was using the correct You know air pods and all that stuff which I should know and I'm not tech savvy at all, which is embarrassing but um I think that you know tenacity and really believing in yourself and for non-union folks Like I really am still such a strong union supporter. I can't I can't stress it enough Cutting your teeth on the non-union sites is really important. You got you learned some ball busting marketing techniques, but it's also Being able to say to your agents like, you know, can you listen to the read? Like I asked my agents a couple This was like maybe last year and I asked Trisha dpn who I'm I just who I adore and she said, you know It's really knowing your voice too and she said, you know what? You've got a warm deeper voice and so you don't need to add on let's just say it was for like something healthcare related She's like you don't need to add on any more warmth. Your voice sounds like that Anyway, right? so, um, I have a good friend of mine austin who's just she says cool millenials. She's got a cool scratchy voice and um and she Always sounds mad and the irony is that she's the happiest person, right? So I said you just always have to keep a smile on your cheekbones just in the apple of your cheeks So it's really important to also know your voice and be able to express to your agent. Hey, do you have any feedback for me? It's been a minute and she was like, I'm so glad you asked actually it sounds a little too precious So don't add any other yummy on so you really have to know your voice and you have to ask for feedback But don't bug your agents all at the same time. You know what I mean? So I think that's a big part of it And staying there. Yeah. Yeah, and as your voice and knowing where your voice is like I don't have super strong vocal cords. Like I'm not a great screamer So I have to warm up every day. I warm up before and afterwards and if I forget I'm like, oh So it's really knowing your voice and the limitations and as we get older our voices change You know, so I'm a big person about vocal hygiene. I can't stress enough. Where do I have it? It's on my desk and fin will not leave my site but the singing straw If you go on instagram or facebook these straws help you phonate properly fin Do you want to show the example and we all need to phonate as well as we can That's exactly right. That's what she said But just going like And I'm like rusty today So it's a matter of like just doing some simple glides and the singing straw. I cannot recommend it highly enough What's special about it just looks like a normal stainless steel drinking straw. It's it's a very fine Oh, it's an even smaller hole. It's a very small and so basically you're phonating and just You're just literally Phonating and the vocal cords come together in a healthy way. So it's great to do after a job It's great to wake up and do that for singer speaker for any professional speaker because you know, how tired you get I mean Like at conventions or talking over somebody to bar, which I'm sure I'll be ready to do maybe next year Um, that's what does it for me. That's what fatigues my voice, right? So I think it's um The if you look at up, you know phonating through a straw has been around for forever And it helps your voice recover quicker. It helps relax your chords. It helps them be more efficient And so it's learning like what works like for me like I can't have more than one cup of coffee before session There's no way dries me out so much, right? So I have all the fun things like entertainer secret I know not to have a lot of ricola or hulls cough drop or tic-tacs or gum All that stuff dries my vocal cords out. So I think vocal hygiene is really really important Because and I think really having your craft down in a way and also staying in community like forming and getting into workout groups Because we're we're we're alone. No, we're at home alone So you have to be able to like be your own director and be your biggest cheerleader and step out of the booth Take breaks like I'm not good at taking breaks. So Did I take a break to did I take a break today? I took like a three minute break and I think it's so powerful to take a break and just go outside Do 10 deep breaths come back inside you have to take a break because right now I think we're all We're all our nerves are still a little raw and I know for me. I'm like, I'm just going to push through I'm going to push through but then I'm not effective in my own auditions. I'm not paying attention to what I'm saying I'm not acting. I'm not thinking about anything except like I need to get this done Because my brain tells me that during this crazy time if I can control something I'll feel good I'll feel safe. I'll feel better. It's not true. You got to take your time with your stuff and also The importance of staying in class and staying sharp is that you trust your instincts to where you're like, hold on Let me listen. Yep. Take two the lady that I produce demos with and work with a lot Susan Palio at voice tracks west choice says send take two You know, if you're in the booth and you've gone past take four, you're done You're done send take two and be done unless it's just some industrial thing and you're like, oh my god I cannot get my mouth around this technical jargon or some medical You know something like that that's hard to say or pronounce Other than that sometimes my best work is under pressure Because I automatically do what I know to do as a voice actor scan the copy for what's it about, you know with commercials It's going to be a new feature. You know a new A new ingredient for promos. It's going to be a new time or just telling us it's a new this guest is on You know an animation the stakes are high because I want to banish the queen I want to banish the princess from the the kingdom the kingdom So there's always like what is a copy about whether it's promo commercial animation An e-learning thing a book an explainer video And then who am I talking to and why can I make it very relatable? Sometimes I'll put my hand up right here to keep it intimate So I'm like the new Toyota Prius not the new Toyota Prius. That's not that's talking to like no one right so That's really helped a lot with like a sort of self-direction vibe of being At home and really just knowing that like I'm bringing an imaginary someone Into the booth with me in fact George Since we both love animals and we're veg vegan people I had to do something about the great white shark and catching them and I was like george You're never going to get this you I mean you won't even believe it So talking myself in right I learned that from the wonderful maryland wissner and I graciously plagiarize her Frauntens and purposes and then I will edit that out and I have to listen back to make sure I wasn't like George guess what for some like show, you know um But I always try to talk myself in and then that really helps keep me focusing on one person that I'm talking to explain that Explain that talking you just demonstrated but explain the jargon of it talking yourself in yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, so um So let's say it's especially for commercials Well for both commercials and animation I find so talking yourself in let's say the new Toyota Prius anything In a commercial retail like how do I make that normal sounding with? Introducing the all-new for a limited time only only at mcdonald's those things are so commercial retaily, right? So if I can get a point of view if I can be like oh my gosh, and I've always had a Prius That's at least the one thing I can do you know what I want that new color Oh, and it has a four-wheel drive and I want the sunroof back the new Toyota Prius Then I'm already having a point of view about the product place or thing that I'm talking about or to um An animation if my first line is like I said get out over in my dead body Will you reach my daughter try crossing this moat? I can't do that without sort of going oh really well I slept with your with your father the king and there's no way you're going to get to my daughter because I've Just braided her hair and tied it to the bed post over my dead body. Well, you make it You have to have something that's off. That's awful what I just said, but But it's never going to be a herd on the actual No, I and that's the other thing you always cut it out or do you sometimes always always But with with animation, I definitely leave some improv. We want to hear vocalization. We want to have that first line if the first line is Um, you know Prince Lancelot over my dead body. Will you get to my daughter? It can't start that way. It has to be like, ah She has to see him have a feeling have a vocalization because we don't just do that we go. Oh Over my dead body, there has to be a life happening especially because a that's what real people do But in imaginary circumstances and be you're not trying to be funny or add on a bunch of shtick or improv if it's not called for But when the casting director executives are hitting play That has to be like, whoa, that's wow. I'm I'm in it. I'm in the the scene right now Especially for animation and with with this promo thing that I just did about like the great sharks It had to that's why it had to be like very now it was like very now urgent Um, thank god they wanted a nice, you know older lower sounding voice That was intense and dramatic But I had to make sure it wasn't just like the the white shark is that it is I was like George You're never gonna believe this the white shark has it so it was inviting from the get-go I cannot stress talking yourself in and editing it out And there's like your there's like your director You can be your own director and you can be your own scene partner so that the microphone can just simply capture Your acting you don't have to do anything extra. You don't have to do anything else Especially because this real read Is not going away anytime soon, you know Yeah, we're talking with laury ellen here on voiceover body shop You've got a question again throw it in the chat room if you're on clubhouse throw it in there And uh, we're going to take a quick break so she can feed her dog And uh, we can sell some stuff and keep the show going so stay till we'll be right back here on voiceover body shop I think I heard the voiceover body shop. I did. I did hear the voiceover body shop little body shop Well, hello there I bet you weren't expecting to hear some big voiced announcer guy on your new orientation training for snapchat. Were you stick around? You don't want to miss this Power 1039 at target. We want you to come as you are be comfortable. Okay. Maybe not bathrobe comfortable Pants for the customer on aisle four, please New mexico necesita un cambio la representante michelle lujan grisham ha luchado por nuestro estado en la cámara de representantes Watch anywhere anytime on an unlimited number of devices sign in with your netflix account to watch instantly at netflix.com The ice cream maker is a big risk that can have huge reward Until you forget to turn it on Well, that's it guys time is up. Hey, it's jmc. Thanks for watching the voiceover body shop If you're demo ready or looking to get there check out jmc demos.com and see a sample of our work Now let's get back to dan and george and this week's tech wisdom We've been sequestered for over a year Forced to watch undubed turkish soap operas And face it. We're all zoomed out But now it's time to get back on the road again And if you have to record your voiceover tracks on the road There's no better way than to use a harlan hogan port-a-booth plus with one zipper assembly in seconds and lined an orlex studio foam The port-a-booth plus is your answer to professional recordings on the road And because summer travel and remote recording are finally back Here's voiceover essentials gift to you buy a port-a-booth plus and the first 50 buyers will get their fabulous port-a-booth plus travel bag Absolutely free There is however a limit of four booths with the free travel bag per customer So go on over to voiceover essentials.com and just click on the port-a-booth plus carry-on travel bag buy now button No promo code needed Hey there hero, it's david h. Lawrence the 17th and for the last eight years Wow Dan O'Day and I have been teaching the acx masterclass our students are responsible for over 4,000 books that are available on audible.com via acx And if you know that you want to be an audiobook narrator if you know you want to add that to your voiceover quiver We'd love to have you in the course. This course is amazing And dan came up with an idea that made me question what he had done with the real dan O'Day He said hey look for this week Let's offer a two payment plan at the lowest price anyone will pay for the course They make one payment now and another payment just before class starts and they're in and i'm like great Let's do this before you change your mind So go to acx masterclass.com slash 2 p m t That's the link you see below if you know you want to build a successful audiobook narration career We would love to have you acx masterclass.com slash 2 p m t and we will see you in the acx masterclass home study edition this june This is the latin lover narrator from jane the virgin anthony mendez and you're enjoying dan and george on the voiceover buddy I like that. We're enjoying Titan Titan. That's the way this show is going great. You guys. We're enjoying. Yes, I get to do like name that Vio talent. I got a lot got a lot right. That's right. Well, it helps when the name is actually on there, but We're talking with lori alan. We got we got a bunch of questions from From our vast worldwide audience First who is the who is the vocal coach we were talking about? Oh, I think is the one. Yes. Oh, I'm so glad you asked. Yes. Amy Chapman I was going to try to bring it up on my phone. Amy Chapman is awesome. So I saw her when I had some vocal trouble and She's phenomenal because she talks a lot about laryngeal Massage and I can even show people it looks kind of kinky and weird or that it's not actually going to do anything But when you've had a stressful session, even if it's just audiobooks and you've been talking for forever or animation Were you done a character where you take up like this or pearl something like that? That area has to be relaxed so you can pull your larynx down And actually look up at the ceiling And and lick the ceiling again. It looks very strange and inappropriate, but And you come back down and you go one two three four five and your voice feels very different And actually just rubbing in here and rubbing the muscles and really just even just during a session When you go outside to take your break just relaxing that neck area because this can't help but get involved a bit So I really love Amy Chapman and that's where I learned about the singing straw And you can find out her information there. She's on instagram and facebook, but She helped me get my voice back and she worked with a lot of people. It really helps extend your range So if you've got a low voice like me all of a sudden with speaking and singing I was like i'm not as high as soprano, but I have a much better range now And my voice is more efficient and healthier and she talks a lot about like listen if you've had covid and Or you have allergies or you know Just go back into singing and speaking gently and easily and don't be hard on yourself And she answers a lot of questions like Is it okay to do cbd? You know, is it okay? What does stress do to your voice? What does certain food do to your voice? Are you actually hydrating too much or not enough? So she's a plethora of resources and it's a voice lab la So I love Amy and um She's wonderful and then um, I'm having a total brain fart But i'm gonna look it up to find the gal who does the singing straw because that's been a huge game changer As well. I found the website. It's just literally singing straw.com. Yeah, and I'm having a brain fart at her name, which is horrible It's Mindy Mindy. Whitney Nicole Mindy pack And I think it's Whitney Nicole Whitney Nicole. Okay And she'll just send out just just great just great great great great things and she also Talks about sort of how to to rehab your voice with the singing straw and has great examples So what's nice is that they're actually both just very generous with their time and their TikTok videos and You know all the stuff that and I know a lot of vo talent that goes to see Amy and now that she can see people safely I mean you lay down on the table and get your this whole area worked out So when I had a vocal episode several like three or four years ago It took like two sessions with her and I was fine and I was like, oh my god Thank you so much better than any vocal rest because vocal rest is just not possible Yeah, like that's that actually is not good for your voice if you've had surgery I had surgery in high school. You got to be quiet. You got to be on vocal rest You have to watch your voice like I love hearing um I think Kelly Clark sent a John legend. We're talking on the voice about how they both Really do vocal rest. So there's a time where you should absolutely rest your voice and steam is your best friend and um You know steam and making sure that you're not having stuff that's going to dry your cords out and using that singing straw I was a big huge uh game changer. All right. We got questions here, uh, george Want to tackle mr. Hungry boy's question? I want to tackle mine first Okay, and mine was about um what it was like recording or what is it like? Oh if it's still going Recording spongebob camp coral from home What is that like? Are you doing it um somble? Are there others on the session with you? How are they doing it? Yeah, great question. So um, thanks to my new booth setup from you because nicolodian requested a better sound, which was great. Um, so thank you for that always and um So no, no, no, don't jump out of my lap and because you're going to go bark at something. So um, um The nicolodian sent me a nice setup and I don't think I'll have to give it back so thank you nicolodian and um, what we do is what's so great is the the um We actually using an apogee mic, which you wouldn't think that they'd be using but that way everybody sounds the same It's the hype mic. It's the newest one that they came out with and it's actually quite good and they picked it I'll tell you why in a second. Oh, tell me keep going. Okay. Okay. So basically what we do is we get a link Um, we get a link the night before to look or a couple days before to look at the story boards And your voice script and I always read the voice script first not because i'm lazy But because I just want to get a gist of it and then it still is so fun There's nothing more fun than looking through probably about 200 pages But you get to now it's easier to scroll and but I still have the good old hard copies of These big sheets that they messenger to you the night before But anyway, you click on the link and then somebody does like what you do george for clients They'll take over team viewer and launch garage band Make sure I have to switch from my sennheiser to the hype mic and um And then you're on a zoom and most likely they they will upload everything They kind of do it for you which is great But I make sure that I've switched everything over from one interface to the other In all the preferences and whatnot and I have to move the mic and I have to adjust me and the mic and myself And then you got to kind of jiggle things around if you don't have I don't have the space for a big screen So I make sure that I move it around and then half the time I have to turn the zoom um off the the The camera the visual. Thank you camera. Yeah, um because it takes up a lot of energy and then the computer inevitably I don't care what computer as it just gets hot and the engineers. I can just see them moving it up and down It's like having a phantom, you know, but it's great and then you upload it and it takes a while and then you're done So it's really cool. I know we don't get to be there together, which really sucks But tom has energy for 17 people So there's usually the executives on the phone and the engineers and tom and the writer of the episode So it's not it's not done ensemble life. You are no recorded independently of each other. Correct Yeah, and then we get to clap together in slate. That's always fun. Yeah So the reason yeah, the reason why that hype mic is this is one of the few microphones That sounds really good is simple to hook up and is also remote controllable. So What we're saying was they can control the mic gain from their studio And that makes it very easy for them because they no longer have to worry about you worrying about the gain They can do it And so yeah, and I think it's a good mic in terms of travel setup too because it's really if I can figure it out As george can attest to for over 10 years of friendship and working together If I can figure it out anybody can figure it out. So I I was like what and and then you're right It's and I was listening to the sound sounds great. It sounds absolutely fine. Sounds great. Yeah, we got any questions from clubhouse there george I believe we got one lined up What's up guys? We do chris risetti from san francisco chris Hello, everybody great show great information. I feel like I owe somebody some money Cha-ching we we have a donate now button. So Yeah, hey chris. How are you? Oh really really good. I just had to attend to our kitty cat. She's about 17 years old and she had some issues But I'm listening to you and I have a couple questions for you. Yes one question actually um with your diet being vegan do you have a Recommendation for people who are not in other words. Are there certain foods you can tell everybody? Look give this up if you're a voice actor and I'll go to the audience to hear your answer I have a strange impulse to buy a new Toyota Prius. Thank you Good Absolutely, you've got to ditch dairy because it's just first of all it's another species milk and we're not meant to do with this So that's why everyone's like I don't digest that very well And I get flemy and it's that's the body's natural response to deal with inflammation and your in your body not just your vocal cords and So and no one can digest it. So that's why there's all these, you know Lactate or whatever that's called all the sort of faux milk You may as well Drink something like oat milk or almond milk or soy milk or something like that hazelnut milk First of all, it's got the same amount of protein if not more and it's much better for you And it doesn't produce that sort of inflammatory reactive That thing where I've got to get it out of my body because it shouldn't be in there anyway and the other thing So that's goes for any dairy related things and to just promote veganism for a minute like it's, you know, you would Like I did something for mercy for animals the other day It's their 22nd anniversary. It's like makes a connection, right? We all love our pets like your beautiful 17 year old and I hope she's going to be okay We put that with our other animals and you go, oh, wow I don't want to I don't need to to be ingesting that and also I've always had a Gluten intolerance like since I was little my stomach My mom took me to pediatrician when I was like two and a half and the doctor was like You got to get her off Uh wheat because that again, I found it doesn't really have any nutritional value and it's inflammatory And it just causes your whole not only like joints and everything like that But your vocal cords are a muscle, right? So you want to keep anything you can do to keep this area hydrated and irritation free So for me, I'm so damn sensitive to like onions and eggplant and garlic and tomatoes like you have to know what stuff Any foods that have histamine in them, which is a lot of Seafood and chocolate and wine So you have to think okay if I've got a big set of auditions coming up or a session You want to avoid all that stuff foods that have histamine in them gluten Dairy any dairy products So that way you're not going to have any even any curd reflex You know like the acid reflux like oh my gosh, such a nervous tummy to boot as well You want to keep all that stuff at bay have a healthy tummy and healthy sinuses are really good so sailing your Um, you know all your your nasal stuff and gargle with some salt water And then you're really sort of getting getting everything clean and clear to be able to have a nice sound good clear sound. Yeah George hungry Roy's question. He's been waiting patiently Oh, yeah, this one's from the chat. He says um What is Lori's favorite? There's a you in there. So we know where he's from Um, what is your favorite mic to be recorded by or just for hearing the timbre of your own voice? Do you have an opinion about what mic you like to be that's that's that's your job? Yeah, exactly I love the sound of my own voice with my sennheiser. I have to say Um, I know a voice of her manager that I work with he's like, oh, we need to get you on an omen And I I remember talking to you george about that and I think I love I love this What do I have sennheiser 416? 416 So that sounds so glorious. I think for for women. It just it catches so much, um resonance Without sounding like um, what's the word not muffled but without it sounding like too It's it's just a freer sound. It doesn't huh, maybe muddy Yeah muddy or like it's almost sounds stifled to me Like I've got too many headphones on or it sounds like I have a second set of headphones on it doesn't sound as You don't get the natural rasp in your voice It sounds like you Yeah, which is what we're trying to achieve Yeah, especially for now the real read you got to find a voice that I mean a mic that captures that and for me It's always been the sennheiser So when you're using the hype mic, are you plugging the cans into the hype mic to hear yourself in your own and How does that sound to you? It sounds different. It doesn't sound as good. But when I listen back to the playback, it sounds Okay, it doesn't sound to me doesn't sound quite as Yummy and rich it doesn't capture it all quite like, you know, it's like catches like nine out of ten or eight out of ten um So this whole thing is a feedback loop right between your voice the microphone your headphones and around and around it goes Yeah, so if you're wearing headphones, it depends how loud you've monitored yourself and how you work the microphone And it all is a feedback loop. Yeah Work it. Let me work it. Yes I think that the um turn around baby and reverse it Uh, I have a little dance break there for myself But yeah that and also your headphones like you taught me that george as well And much to my chagrin. I remember I ordered some audio technica headphones and I don't like them So I was like, I got to go back to putting my old ones on and just getting new like replacement like, you know The pads there pads. Um, it sounds like I'm like, what I can't hear myself What did I just say and I have the volume turned up for some reason it's too It feels like I have you know, I've been swimming and I have swimmers here So it's interesting. You just have to play around and maybe you could sell them or you know Something like that give them to a friend who needs a new set of A new set of cans. Yeah, let's see nothing nothing in clubhouse. Okay. Well david wandelt asks How much auditioning do you do now and what exercises do you go through to quickly get into the headspace Um, I think we covered some of that but great question david So, um The the wait put it back up again to get into the headspace. Well, what was the first part of that question? What exercises do you go? Yeah, I think you covered this pretty well exercises I do a little warm-up The best thing you could possibly do is like find someone that you're speaking range or you're singing range You don't have to be a singer or a great singer But like bonny raid is like nice and low for me or like Cheryl crow or pink Right and I will literally just dance and sing at the same time And then my body and my breath is moving right because we're sitting down a lot more My body and breath and voice are sort of connected now Even just one song and you get your endorphins raised even if it's a serious thing you're auditioning for Do a little bit of the singing straw get in there making sure you know who you're talking to and why Have a point of view about the product the show the character that you're talking in animation. You're definitely talking At any time you're definitely Almost always you're talking to at least two people you're talking to or about two people So again, it comes down to the acting so Who are you talking to why are you talking to them? What's your point of view? Is and also try to stay in a very real sort of way of speaking And and bring your dog in the booth. No, I'm just kidding. I have actually had to bring him in the booth to help him Not rec auditions So I hope that's helpful David Yeah, now one of the other things we want to talk to you about is coaching and j. Horace black asks Uh glad to see you're healthy and well Are you doing any what are you doing any one-on-one coaching? And if yes, do you approach each actor and talent the same way? How is your schedule if you are coaching? Oh, my schedule is good. I have not Nope, nope. You're not a voice actor. This is my time Not your time. Good boy. Uh, yes, I do coach. I love coaching I find it um I find it keeps me sharp and it keeps me doing something creative and not worrying about Why am I not booking? Why am I booking? Who else is booking instead of me or whatever? So I feel like it's always important to be in some kind of training even if it's an improv class Are you taking a writing class? Are you taking pottery like doing something creative? So that not everything depends on did I get this job? That's not exactly what you asked, but it's just something I wanted to all right. I'm letting them outside. Hold on. Oh my god Get that squirrel get it baby Oh my god Sorry about that. So In terms of coaching, I think it's so good to I really like especially for somebody who's new Is to take class and at the same time if you know, of course as money and time allow To be able to take a private. It's kind of like puts you like on a fast track And so I really like that. So for me taking somebody who's never done voiceover, but who's willing to take an improv class It doesn't matter what level you're at As long as you're sort of willing right if you're willing to to take in some new information And I come at it from a very I know some people come at things From a more structured standard place about pronouns and marking your script up I'm the exact opposite because nobody feels and thinks or communicates the same way So I have some very standard stuff that I talk about in teach and I have this lady called the booth lady Which beautiful Matthew Thompson a client of mine. So I have this when the real read came in I remember being in the booth at my agent's office and she was like, you know what? Just talk like how you're talking right now And it was for like old navy or something great example of talking to yourself and instead of like, you know Now through january 3rd the pajama bottom sales for one who doesn't want a pajama bottoms only an old navy And it just sounded really selly. So I was like, okay, wait a second So I thought to myself, okay, my sister and my cousins and I we all do like a and my good girlfriends We all do like 20 dollars and under and who doesn't want pajama bottoms So the all new pajama bottoms came out nice and smooth and she was like just talk like how you talk Just give me some information So I came home and wrote myself and be talking to someone right? So a little stick figure because I'm a terrible artist Is an understatement and I just had little bubbles like cartoon bubbles saying talk to me talk myself and talk like How I talk and then I just have on here different Things about, you know, observe that's the other thing like are you observing the product? Like when I redid my demo Mary Lynn was wonderful with Tim Friedland And I remember she it was for like Laura Barr or something. She's like, can you like look at the um Just look at your phone and pretend you're reading the ingredients You know, I'm making this up. But whatever it's you 100% whole grain oats and da da da You know Laura bar for active lifestyle. I'm making up this not the copy But you get the gist of it So I approached the same my basic curriculum because I'm so add Like my curriculum is something that is not over a certain period of time you learn x y and z I kind of throw everybody this and then whatever kind of sinks in whatever works for you And that's why I like coaching is I'm like what works for you Is it observing the product? Is it making sure you have an opinion about something? Is it making sure that the person is right there? Do you need to put like a doll or your own action figure in the blue so that you're really talking to someone You're like the new Toyota Prius. You got to get it that ass boss. You're amazing, right? So there's a bunch of different things And an animation like I would always say like I have to hear the relationship If you're playing some young girl and you're like this valley girl What would never get cast this age, right? But she can't just feel like typical like maybe we work on Characters from your real life that you went to school with or what you sounded like when you were little or you know Kids at school or whatever and find a way to to draw from people You already know in your own life and then have those kind of creep into your your reads for animation specifically I love doing that. I love doing that people so fun to come up with your list and finding different celebrities male female Dialects you do well or don't do well, we're not going to know if you're doing a really bad Austria Like Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, but I know when I played this lesbian gym teacher. That was very funny And I know when I did hug a monsters it said she's a very dingy mom and one of the ladies on my list was Goldie Hahn I love Goldie Hahn um And so I really like the way she doesn't end her sentences They just kind of hang there for no reason and then it said she had to be very warm So I just did my kind of best Goldie Hahn and then I just added some worms And that made her sound like a kind of dingy, but very lovable mom, right? So um, that's the kind of the way I teach is like adding in some different emotions and um And really coming up with a list a cast of characters that you already know and then you're not thinking so much about How do I sound uh, this isn't a good take You're on the train once you know who you're talking to and why And if you've plugged in and found a way to get in there with the script if you don't like it Or you're tired or you can't relate to it whatever With the character especially for animation Then you're gonna then you're gonna be able to just have much more fun with it And the more fun you're having the more we're gonna have fun listening to it The more likely you are you're gonna get a great booking callback. Yeah Well speaking of fun this hour has been a fun ride as always But amazingly it has gone by No, did we miss any questions? I'm so sorry. No, we got we got them all in there So that's the most important thing So, uh, if someone wants to contact you for coaching and now your inbox is going to be shoved full of stuff I would how would somebody get a hold of you? Uh, coach me at loriallon.com Here we go. I can put it in the chapter. You can yeah coach me at loriallon.com Excellent. All right. Yeah. Thanks for being with us. I can't wait to get together Personally soon it would be great Well, I'm I'm vax baby. So, you know, I'm not ready to go out into a restaurant or a big huge party just yet Um But I would love to see you guys and I love you so much. We love you too All right. Thanks for always having your show and just keeping us all connected I always learned something and I'm just so grateful that you guys are my friends and having me on. I so appreciate it No problem. Alrighty loriallon everybody. We'll be right back to wrap things up and to To rack it up for tech talk right after this Yeah, hi, this is carlo zellers rocky the voice of rocko and you're watching voiceover body shop In these modern times every business needs a website when you need a website for your voice acting business There's only one place to go like the name says voice actor websites dot com Their experience in this niche webmaster market gives them the ability to quickly and easily get you from concept To live online in a much shorter time when you contact voice actor websites dot com Their team of experts and designers really get to know you and what your needs are They work with you to highlight what you do Then they create an easily navigable website for your potential clients to get the big picture of who you are And how your voice is the one for them plus voice actor websites dot com has other great resources Like their practice script library and other resources to help your voiceover career flourish. They'll try it yourself Go with the pros voice actor websites dot com where your via website shouldn't be a pain in the you know what Speaking of pain in the you know what that is trying to learn how to use something You've never used before when everybody says you've got to have it One of those things that everybody's telling you you've got to have as as I am now is source connect Source connect is a tool that will allow you to connect the studios around the world So they can record you from your studio In their studio and they're going to capture your audio as it's recorded as it's heard from your microphone So it's really is like you're on the other side of the glass But you're on the other side of the internet and it's uh, it's an amazing technology It's been around a long time and it's been maturing For quite a long time. So it's highly popular highly supported And um, actually relatively affordable now because you can do a subscription Um, and that's the way I recommend it for most folks because then you'll have access to their support On goingly which by the way is the best in the business hands down They have incredibly good on-demand support teams for supporting you Um, and to keep your sessions running smoothly So you really should get started if you're not sure about getting subscribed now and getting really making an any commitment You can get a demo for 15 days Um and plunge head first into trying to get it running yourself and kind of go through the step by step information They provide and um, and if you get stuck along the way I have some stuff on my site at george the dot tech on source connect to kind of get your help you along Anyway, that source connect. Thanks for your support source elements and I'll be back to wrap up the show right after this quick little spot You're watching v obs dot tv. I don't know why it's crazy what they do here I think I'm gonna go somewhere else and have a cheese sandwich Well, it's always a delight having her on it is. It's always sad when they when we get to the end of the segment It's like bye wait. I can't say hello. I can't say goodbye later. It's it's all We'll get the chance eventually anyway Uh, we have got uh, we've got to thank a lot of people and uh, but first next week on this very show If you're hanging out with us, uh, we're we're about to record it now is tech talk number 57 We got a lot of cool stuff to talk about if you've got a question You can throw that in the chat room right now too as well, which would be great. Um Who are our donors this week? Since somebody mentioned that earlier I am going to read them to you. Okay, because I was looking at the wrong screen Robert leadham christie burns graham spicer graham. What's up? He's still giving us money Uh ant land productions. That's uncle roye Michelle blinker sarah borges and christopher epperson. Those are all the easy names to get to read Next week's are the harder ones. Um, but why do I keep reading these names over and over? Why is that happening? Well, that's because they are subscribers Using paypal subscribe function You can make a one-time thing if you got a tip that was really important to you from that guest Drop a little money in there or you can subscribe like these folks and have your name read all the you know every week and Top of mind You never know could get you a gig not saying anything. They could help you know name recognition never hurts. That's right speaking of michelle blinker she get you know, she had given me a A handlebar mustache face mask like three years ago and she was selling those and I found it year and a half into a pandemic. Then I find it No way now it's prominently in my car whenever I have to put on a mask. Anyway, uh, hey join our mailing list Uh, it's almost up to 800. We'd like to get a thousand before the end of the year or sooner Um, also we need to thank our sponsors harlan hogan's voiceover essentials Oh, we also have a voiceover extra source elements Vio heroes.com voice actor websites.com and jmc demos um We also need to thank uh, danny bernside over at clubhouse for running his show and we're looking forward Looking forward to joining him again for tech talk right after this And of course our technical director sumer lino doing it Perfectly tonight as she always does and of course and especially so We penny for being lee penny this week Well, we're gonna yeah, we're gonna we're gonna reset it for tech talk right now. Um, but gotta remind you guys Your voiceover business is not easy, but when it comes to your audio if it sounds good It is good. I'm dan londard by the way. I'm george winham and this is voiceover body shop or vio b That's right tech talk coming up take care. Have a good week