The Expectation of Availabilty
Jan 18, 2017 20:01:53 GMT -8
Kamran, TerravancerYoh, and 3 more like this
Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Jan 18, 2017 20:01:53 GMT -8
Technology and the ability to record from home has been a fantastic asset to both voice actors and producers. It's easy to get auditions and recordings from talent all over the world if one so wishes, and getting that recorded mp3 or wav file of your script is just a few clicks away. Even for professional projects which record in-studio, it's quite common to have talent record their auditions from home - it saves time and effort having to schedule and book everyone to come to the studio (and saves the actors a potentially long drive), and the studio does not have to book a director and engineer for that time since the talent will be self-directing and editing their own audition files. P2P sites such as Voice123 and Voices.com generally require a quality home studio from which to record and deliver files.
But with this ease and convenience comes another caveat: the expectation that actors will be available 24/7, sitting at their computer and ready to jump on any audition or job with a lightning-quick turnaround. This is perpetuated even more by sites such as VoiceBunny, who pride themselves on the fact that you can get auditions within minutes and full records within mere hours, all for dirt cheap. Even auditions from more noteworthy sources may require a turnaround time of only a few hours, though a 24-hour turnaround time is thankfully more common.
This is all well and good for the clients, but it poses a few problems for voice actors.
1. It is very difficult to make a living as a full-time voice actor, especially for those mainly working from home. If you've got another job, as plenty of people do in order to pay the bills, you can't usually drop everything and record at a moment's notice. It's especially difficult for people with 9-5 type office jobs because they will be working during the daytime when most of the auditions and jobs come in. But for those who work graveyard shift jobs to combat this, they may not be awake in the early hours of the morning when availability is expected.
2. Not everyone has traditional working/sleeping hours, or they are in a different time zone than the client. Nothing like living on the West Coast, for example, and getting a call at 5 or 6 am from a client on the East Coast wanting you to turn something in ASAP.
3. Weekends and holidays don't guarantee "time off", either - especially if you have international clients. For example, recordings due on Thanksgiving Day are rather common if you work with any clients outside the United States, since it won't be considered a holiday for them.
4. Taking a true "vacation" is a lost concept. We all know that every time we go out of town, there's a high chance of missing potential auditions or maybe even being recast for a job, depending on the length of time we're gone. Taking a remote recording setup every time you travel is pretty much a given, even if you're just going away to a convention on the weekend (you'll likely get sent something on Friday that needs to be done ASAP, or sent something Saturday or Sunday that needs to be delivered first thing Monday.) While you could theoretically say "I am completely unavailable during this time", the risk of missing out on work or being seen as unreliable is too great in most circumstances.
Flexible schedules are one of the very desirable aspects of voiceover as a career---you don't always have the same rigid hours, you can schedule appointments without having to use a "lunch break", and you can sort of be your own boss...but the flipside is, you're never really "off the clock".
The other issue, too? There ARE voice actors who are literally able to sit in front of their computer all day, waiting for jobs and auditions to pop up and firing them off at a moment's notice. I saw a website the other day where a voice actor prided himself on a five-minute turnaround for auditions - FIVE MINUTES! And unfortunately, in the age of "Everything is ASAP all the time", people aren't always willing to wait to find the best person for the job---they simply want the decent sounding person who can get it done the quickest.
So how do you manage your time? There's no real right or wrong answers here. I'll tell you what I *personally* do, but it's different for everyone:
-Whenever I'm asked about my turnaround time, I always say "within 24 hours". The 24 hour buffer is, or at least used to be, fairly standard, and it's great for a couple of reasons. It means that no matter what I have going on that day, I can pick the time that's most convenient to record, edit, and send that audition/job. It's a reasonable amount of time for the client to review and assess any retakes needed, and it's a reasonable amount of time for voice actors because chances are no matter your schedule you can find *some* time in a 24 hour period to record an audition or job. Obviously, more time will need to be allotted if it's a huge script, but I'm talking about things that can be done reasonably quickly (~2 hours or less).
-For rush opportunities, I submit if I'm around/available, but there are times when it's just not feasible---and unless it's something really big or important, I don't feel too bad passing on it.
-Any time I go out of town, I bring a laptop, headphones, and a USB mic. Sometimes I don't need to touch it...but usually I do, and it would be terrible to miss out on a really great audition or gig due to not having access to recording equipment. In fact, one of my dream roles was booked based on an audition I did from home while on vacation visiting my parents...good thing I brought that laptop, right? Another dream role was booked based off an audition recorded from a hotel room. Taking that stuff for a weekend trip can be a bit of a hassle sometimes, especially dealing with having to take the laptop out at TSA, but it's well worth it.
-Once a year I have a period of nearly a week (over the long 4th of July weekend) where I have literally no time or proper space to record (packed in a hotel room with a ton of other people, etc). I give any usual clients a heads-up in advance that I will be unavailable to record auditions or jobs during this week and encourage them to book me beforehand if at all possible.
-I try to schedule long trips during periods when I know there will be more downtime, or when I'm not expected to have in-studio recording scheduled for an ongoing project.
-I check my business e-mail quite frequently throughout the day, usually from my phone if I am out. Even if you can't record at the drop of a hat, prompt communication is so important in this field especially when it comes to scheduling/booking sessions. You know those clickbait self-help articles that say "only check your e-mail before bed" or whatever? Yeah, don't do that if you're a voice actor. You need to be on top of your e-mail frequently, especially during traditional "working hours". Having an e-mail dedicated to your business and perhaps setting push alerts from your phone will ensure you don't miss important communication, but won't get bogged down with spam and personal e-mails.
But with this ease and convenience comes another caveat: the expectation that actors will be available 24/7, sitting at their computer and ready to jump on any audition or job with a lightning-quick turnaround. This is perpetuated even more by sites such as VoiceBunny, who pride themselves on the fact that you can get auditions within minutes and full records within mere hours, all for dirt cheap. Even auditions from more noteworthy sources may require a turnaround time of only a few hours, though a 24-hour turnaround time is thankfully more common.
This is all well and good for the clients, but it poses a few problems for voice actors.
1. It is very difficult to make a living as a full-time voice actor, especially for those mainly working from home. If you've got another job, as plenty of people do in order to pay the bills, you can't usually drop everything and record at a moment's notice. It's especially difficult for people with 9-5 type office jobs because they will be working during the daytime when most of the auditions and jobs come in. But for those who work graveyard shift jobs to combat this, they may not be awake in the early hours of the morning when availability is expected.
2. Not everyone has traditional working/sleeping hours, or they are in a different time zone than the client. Nothing like living on the West Coast, for example, and getting a call at 5 or 6 am from a client on the East Coast wanting you to turn something in ASAP.
3. Weekends and holidays don't guarantee "time off", either - especially if you have international clients. For example, recordings due on Thanksgiving Day are rather common if you work with any clients outside the United States, since it won't be considered a holiday for them.
4. Taking a true "vacation" is a lost concept. We all know that every time we go out of town, there's a high chance of missing potential auditions or maybe even being recast for a job, depending on the length of time we're gone. Taking a remote recording setup every time you travel is pretty much a given, even if you're just going away to a convention on the weekend (you'll likely get sent something on Friday that needs to be done ASAP, or sent something Saturday or Sunday that needs to be delivered first thing Monday.) While you could theoretically say "I am completely unavailable during this time", the risk of missing out on work or being seen as unreliable is too great in most circumstances.
Flexible schedules are one of the very desirable aspects of voiceover as a career---you don't always have the same rigid hours, you can schedule appointments without having to use a "lunch break", and you can sort of be your own boss...but the flipside is, you're never really "off the clock".
The other issue, too? There ARE voice actors who are literally able to sit in front of their computer all day, waiting for jobs and auditions to pop up and firing them off at a moment's notice. I saw a website the other day where a voice actor prided himself on a five-minute turnaround for auditions - FIVE MINUTES! And unfortunately, in the age of "Everything is ASAP all the time", people aren't always willing to wait to find the best person for the job---they simply want the decent sounding person who can get it done the quickest.
So how do you manage your time? There's no real right or wrong answers here. I'll tell you what I *personally* do, but it's different for everyone:
-Whenever I'm asked about my turnaround time, I always say "within 24 hours". The 24 hour buffer is, or at least used to be, fairly standard, and it's great for a couple of reasons. It means that no matter what I have going on that day, I can pick the time that's most convenient to record, edit, and send that audition/job. It's a reasonable amount of time for the client to review and assess any retakes needed, and it's a reasonable amount of time for voice actors because chances are no matter your schedule you can find *some* time in a 24 hour period to record an audition or job. Obviously, more time will need to be allotted if it's a huge script, but I'm talking about things that can be done reasonably quickly (~2 hours or less).
-For rush opportunities, I submit if I'm around/available, but there are times when it's just not feasible---and unless it's something really big or important, I don't feel too bad passing on it.
-Any time I go out of town, I bring a laptop, headphones, and a USB mic. Sometimes I don't need to touch it...but usually I do, and it would be terrible to miss out on a really great audition or gig due to not having access to recording equipment. In fact, one of my dream roles was booked based on an audition I did from home while on vacation visiting my parents...good thing I brought that laptop, right? Another dream role was booked based off an audition recorded from a hotel room. Taking that stuff for a weekend trip can be a bit of a hassle sometimes, especially dealing with having to take the laptop out at TSA, but it's well worth it.
-Once a year I have a period of nearly a week (over the long 4th of July weekend) where I have literally no time or proper space to record (packed in a hotel room with a ton of other people, etc). I give any usual clients a heads-up in advance that I will be unavailable to record auditions or jobs during this week and encourage them to book me beforehand if at all possible.
-I try to schedule long trips during periods when I know there will be more downtime, or when I'm not expected to have in-studio recording scheduled for an ongoing project.
-I check my business e-mail quite frequently throughout the day, usually from my phone if I am out. Even if you can't record at the drop of a hat, prompt communication is so important in this field especially when it comes to scheduling/booking sessions. You know those clickbait self-help articles that say "only check your e-mail before bed" or whatever? Yeah, don't do that if you're a voice actor. You need to be on top of your e-mail frequently, especially during traditional "working hours". Having an e-mail dedicated to your business and perhaps setting push alerts from your phone will ensure you don't miss important communication, but won't get bogged down with spam and personal e-mails.