This March at VO Atlanta (voatlanta.me), I am honored and thoroughly excited to have the opportunity to help continue the conversation regarding online casting and the future of the voiceover industry with two first-of-their-kind panels that will allow the voices of the talent community to be heard.
On Friday, March 4th, for the very first time, the management and senior leadership of the major online casting sites will assemble in the same room, on the same stage, at the same time, to hear and respond to the questions and feedback of the voiceover community. Acting as host and moderator, I will be joined by the CEOs of Voice123.com and bodalgo.com, along with a senior representative from Voices.com, among others, for an open and frank conversation about the pros and cons of each site, their business philosophies, and feedback from the community. This discussion will be followed by an open Q&A session with the audience during which each site representative has agreed to field several questions from attendees. This is your chance to get the answers you have been looking for directly from the sites themselves in a candid and unprecedented setting.
On Saturday, March 5th, we have assembled a panel of industry leaders to discuss the ethics of online casting, and the future of the voiceover business in general.
I will again act as moderator as we discuss what online casting sites need to do to satisfy community expectations, and what tomorrow’s voiceover landscape will look like. This group of industry opinion leaders will offer insights that will help you set the table for how the next ten years of your career might unfold, as our industry continues forward on an ever-shifting path.
For those interested in understanding the mechanics of success in online casting, I am pleased to have with me two remarkable talent offering their own individual presentations. David Kaplan will demonstrate his prolific auditioning technique and how he adapts it while on the road, and Beau Stephenson will discuss how he used online casting as a stepping stone to the classic LA union/agency career that so many dream of. I will also be back with my presentation on Success in Online Casting, adapted from my one-on-one course.
Most important, however, is the opportunity this event will provide to carry forward the discussion that has exploded onto the scene regarding industry practices. The dam has broken. The voice of the community has been heard. It is clamoring loudly and clearly for a seat at the table, and a fair, equitable and thriving marketplace where we can offer our talent to those who have a need for it.
I, for one, believe that it is entirely possible for the interests of the talent base to coexist in harmony with those of corporations who profit by creating marketplaces and aggregating job opportunities. The willingness of the representatives each site is sending to participate in this forum is laudable, and it is a hopeful sign that they believe the same. I am looking forward to seeing all of you this March as we continue to move the needle forward towards a day when voice actors and online casting sites are partners equally sharing the many blessings of our industry.