Tag: Cold

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How To Pass The Time When You’re Sick And Can’t Do Voice Over

Well… it’s been exactly one week since the cold set in and took over my brain and my noise and my throat and what not.

Exactly one week of lost productivity.

So what’s a VO to do when he can’t do voice over?

How To Pass The Time When You’re Sick

I’ve slept on the couch. A lot. Maybe too much. I find I sleep better with my head at the east end vs the west end, though. So that’s probably good info to bank for future reference.

I’ve scrubbed my microphone with a Q-Tip… you know… don’t want any residual germs left over.

I’ve watched almost every single playoff baseball game from start to finish. I’ve congratulated Derek Chappell via Twitter… I’m rooting for his Royals too.

I’ve drank roughly 10 litres of ginger ale (that’s almost 3 gallons for my American friends).

I’ve blown through three boxes of tissues. My nose feels like 60 grit sander and looks like Rudolph.

I’ve polished off a bottle of DayQuil, a bottle of NyQuil, a bottle of Dristan, a bottle of Robitussin, a bottle of Benylin and a bottle of Advil.

I’ve ate approximately 14 cans of chicken soup (might be 15… my math skills have suffered under the influence of cold meds).

I’m now a level 47 farmer on Hay Day. If I can’t do voice over again soon I might just buy some cows.

And when I got bored from all of that… I took a selfie.

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Being sick is no fun. Especially when you make a living with your voice and can’t talk.

But what the heck… if it’s going to happen, you may as well have some fun with it. 🙂

After you finish reading this post, you might want to wash your hands and computer with hand sanitizer… just in case I’m still contagious!

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Top 5 Realities Of A Sick Voice Actor

Last week started out amazing. By noon Monday I had already booked enough work to meet my weekly budget goal. I was feeling great, flying high and paying bills! All good things. Plus, assuming the week started out that hot, I was convinced the momentum would only make it get better.

And then came Tuesday.

When I woke up sick.

Every self employed voice actors worst fear. A snot filled, sinuses plugged, scratchy throat, sniffly laced, hacking-up-a-lung coughing head cold.

Top 5 Realities Of A Sick Voice Actor

When this cold hits, there are a few realities we all face. See if any of these sound familiar.

  • Every audition you submitted in the past two weeks suddenly turns into booked work you can’t accept because you can’t talk.
  • Every client you’ve ever worked with in the history of your voice acting career suddenly needs a voice over.
  • Every project you’ve completed in the past month returns with a script change you can’t complete because of how you sound.
  • Every cold medication in pill, syrup and spray form becomes your daily diet.
  • Every morning you wake up and try a test read to see if you’re healed yet… but you’re not.

I’m sure there are more that could be added to this list, but I’m pretty sure these five are the most common.

What about you? Got any you think should be added to the list? Comment below.

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Voice Over And The Common Cold: What’s A Talent To Do?

I’ve had a head cold this week. Fortunately it wasn’t one of those butt-kicking man colds. But it was enough that the congestion affected my voice, and therein, my ability to work.

I mentioned a day or two ago on Twitter that because my cold was keeping me from recording voice overs I was taking advantage of the time to catch up on paperwork. Invoicing, banking, etc. You know, the no fun side of the business that we still need to stay on top of.

In response to that tweet a fellow talent asked a really great question:

I sometimes submit auditions when my voice is a lil off from sickness, bad idea? If not should I mention I’m sick in a note?

To Record Or Not To Record…

voice-over-cold-fluWhen you work for yourself you don’t want to miss a single opportunity. Every voice over job you can’t audition for, every client you turn away is potentially money out of your pocket! So naturally, even when we’re sick, we still want to be able to record.

So what do you do?

If you’re voice isn’t 100% do you record the audition anyway and mention your illness?

Can You Give 100%?

My response to the talent asking the question was honest. It’s based on part of my overall goal as a entrepreneur. I want to offer every one of my voice over clients an exceptional client experience.

Personally, I want to give my clients 100% always. So if I’m under the weather I just take time to rest and recover.

So what do you do when you’re sick? In my opinion, you ask yourself if you’re able to give 100%. If the answer is no, you wait until such a time as you can.

For what it’s worth, I’ve never lost a job from an existing client yet because of illness. When I’ve explained to them that I’m under the weather and wouldn’t be able to give them my best, they’ve always adjusted their deadline and told me to record when I was feeling better.

QUESTION: Do you still audition when your voice isn’t 100%?

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Sore Throat?

I’ve been involved in broadcasting and voiceover since 1995. That means I’ve had nearly two decades to try every possible throat remedy known to man.

When your voice is your pay cheque you need it to work. All the time! There’s nothing worse as a Voice Talent then having to turn down a job because you’ve lost your voice, sound hoarse or squeak like a little girl. Also, and I blame Murphy and his laws for this, it’s pretty much inevitable that every client you have ever worked for will call the day your voice starts to go. Continue reading Sore Throat?