I’d like to officially state that as of 1:56 PM, EDT, my eyes have witnessed the Funkytown music video for the first time. It’s been a wild 3 minutes and 48 seconds that I didn’t know I needed, and I highly recommend this experience for anyone needing a pick-me-up during their Sunday afternoon (or whenever you may be reading be this).
It’s starting, however, to become a challenge to disco point and type at the same time; I'll be back ~momentarily.~
Welcome back readers!
This week I’ve returned full force from a weekend getaway to the wonderful world of Orlando, my pre-pandemic home and place of work, and the house of the mouse! Outside of Disney World, in my personal opinion, Orlando is home to a whole lot of strip malls and possibly every fast food chain America has to offer, all within a 20 mile radius of the other. That is if you take I-4, which next to the Miami sector of I-95, is Florida’s second in command for most dangerous, construction-ridden, and nonsensical highway to exist. For all you TikTokers out there, I think this video by @raucepadgett sums it up perfectly!
Upon my return from last weekend’s magical adventure; I found myself in quite a little funk. You know that feeling where you can’t seem to catch a break, or you have a series of days where it seems like everything is going wrong, or you’re just feeling randomly, yet suspiciously, off?
Yep. That was me this week; except on top of the little troublesome nuances of “adulting,” I was completely out of energy! I had zero motivation to participate in my daily routine, exercise, cook, eat responsibly, go to bed at a decent hour, basically anything that fell outside the realms of my full-time job, including VO!
I couldn’t quite pin the reason for being so “out of it.” Granted, a trip to Disney is probably not the most relaxing weekend activity, yet, my entire being seemed to shout back a big “NOPE” in retaliation against any productive activity that dared to make its way through my frontal cortex. I’ve also never been the person to yield to a break over as long as a few days, even if my body and mind were giving me warning signs that a break of that nature is much needed.
I surrendered to the lull in energy, and decided to kick back a little.
Immediately; the guilt started to make itself comfortable in my conscious. I abruptly felt the need to pressure myself into at least doing something productive. I quickly developed a bad case of FOMO regarding auditions and marketing opportunities. At the end of the work day, I felt like I was facing an existential crisis with every non-productive minute that passed; it honestly took more effort to ward off the self-induced pressure than it would have to complete any of these to-dos.
In the end, I was grateful for sticking to the plan to relax, as challenging as that was. I found that a gentle way to stay invested in the industry this week was to catch up on some podcasts, listen in to SOVAS’ The State of VO run by Joan baker and Marc Guss, sign up for a VO Conference (That’s Voice Over - can’t wait!) and engage on social media here and there.
I experienced ~a bit~ of a fan girl moment when my question was asked on this past week’s episode of VOBS. Harry Buerkle, a director at dubbing production company, Horseless Cowboy, held an invaluable discussion on all things dubbing, its rise in the industry, and summarized what voice actors should know and expect when given the opportunity for a dubbing project. Immediately inspired, I googled “Dubbing Production Companies,” and now know what I’ll be focusing on for this week!
I highly recommend exploring this genre to any curious talent out there like me; it’s a booming niche to be a part of, and at its core, just seems like a total blast. Not to mention that I’m a huge fan of films like Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, or really anything made by Studio Ghibli, and dream of being a part of productions like Castlevania, the Dark Crystal series, and Elfen Lied.
I also highly recommend giving a listen to the below podcasts as well. They’ve served me excellently in the journey thus far and provide actionable food for thought for your voice over business!
VO Boss - Anne Ganguzza
Alicyn’s Wonderland - Alicyn Packard
Voiceover Sermons - Terry Daniel
This Week in VO - J. Michael Collins
The Voiceover Social - Leah Marks and Nic Redman
The VO Meter - Paul Stefano and Sean Daeley
The Voice Coach Podcast - Nic Redman
Can podcasts and zoom conferences give you all the answers? No, but they sure helped me stay active and informed this week, even when I was feeling not-so-peachy!
I learned that having an off-week is okay. Sometimes, we need vacations from the vacations, and that’s okay! Some other times, we might just need a bit of an extended break on an unplanned day, or portion of the week!
In sum, I’m a very thankful South Florida gal over here, and am excited to dive back into the normal routine this week after my brief stint in Funkytown.
Cheers, VO warriors!