So You Want to Be a Voice-Over Star [Paperback]

Sandy Thomas (Author), Carol A. Anderson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1999

So You Want To Be A Voice-over Star is an introspective look into the voice-over industry written by a national voice talent, Sandy Thomas, the National Voice of MSNBC. Sandy is a highly respected voice talent that can also be heard on ESPN & ESPN2, HBO, VH1, MTV, A&E and more including Local Radio & TV stations and National and Regional Commercials all across America.

Youll have all your questions answered likeHOW DO I GET INTO VOICE-OVERS? WHERE DO I TRAIN FOR THIS FIELD? HOW DO I GET STARTED? This book gives valuable industry resource information and allows you to track the career of a successful, consistently working National Voice Talent. HOW DO I GET INTO ANIMATION? Its in there. DO I NEED AN AGENT TO MAKE THE BIG VOICE-OVER DOLLARS? DO I NEED A DEEP VOICE LIKE JAMES EARL JONES TO SUCCEED? All your questions will be answered about this very lucrative, exciting field. So You Want To Be A Voice-over Star is a must read if you want a look into the voice-over industry and as to how it all works.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must read for anyone thinking about a career in voice-overs." -- Chris Impomeni, Director of Advertising & Promotion, MSNBC

About the Author

Sandy Thomas was born in New Hyde Park, Long Island. He started in radio in South Florida at Hot 105 in 1986. After several years working in South Florida contemporary radio as a Production Director, Sandy was signed by one of the world's top voice over agencies, The Cunningham, Escott, Dipene agency in New York. He signed in December of 1992, but finally gave up his radio career and freelance voiceover career in South Florida and decided to move to New York in May of 1993, leaving a six figure salary with no guarantees, no income and only a dream of making it in big time voiceovers. A long shot for a kid who was rejected from his college radio station after being told his thick regional accent was unappealing to listeners. Soon after arriving in New York he quickly signed on as the national voice of the Stouffer Resort chain. He also voiced accounts like Maxfli, Computer City, Jeep Wrangler, Pepsi, MSNBC, Office Depot, Citizen Watches, Hershey, Keebler, Pontiac, VH! -l, MTV, ESPN, HBO, ESPN2, The A&E Network, The Discovery Channel, Fuji Film and Camera, Miller Beer and many other regional and national accounts. Besides that, Sandy's voice can also be heard as the image voice on TV and radio stations all across America. Sandy is currently represented by The Cunningham, Escott, Dipene Agency in New York and the Sutton, Barth & Vennari Agency in Los Angeles.

He has truly worked his way from the cellar to the top of this very competitive field. Presently Sandy spends his time divided, performing national voice work out of New York City for the worlds largest advertising agencies and Cable Networks, and working in his recording studio where he provides his voice for numerous Radio & TV stations across the United States including the Network voice of MSNBC. His success was not over-night, but planned. A goal that existed from the beginning of his career which began in 1984 where he was first introduced to radio at The University of Florida in Gainesville.

Product Details

• Paperback: 142 pages
• Publisher: In the Clubhouse Publishing; 1st edition (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967227526
• ISBN-13: 978-0967227528
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,235,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No real content, January 28, 2000

By 

Jay Frish (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So You Want to Be a Voice-Over Star (Paperback)

I wanted this book to tell me something I could actually use. It is so lacking in any kind of real content. The chapter on building a studio says: "You will need one. They cost anywhere form $10,000 to $100,000". OK, but that's all it tells you! This whole book screams out to me the same way a 1980's TV infomercial does, where they tell you if you sit there through the commerical they're going to give you the precise secrets, step-by-step to buying real estate with no money down. Then you wait through the commercial and you're dissapointed that the steps they give you are: "You face your dreams and grab hold of the winds of opportunity and meet the challanges of tomorrow!" That's what this book is. It's full of pictures of the author saying "Look at me as a disc jockey. Here I am in an anonther important session." The section on how to interpret copy says: "Know your copy. You should be able to get it in several takes. You might mess of up some words cause you are human." But what about HOW to interpret the copy? Such lack of anything you can use from a book with such an ambitious title. Instead of giving specific, helpful techniques on how to interpret scripts or what exactly you'll need for your home studio, the author wastes page after page displaying photocopies of his big paychecks. This in a book of only 79 pages of "content" to begin with, and very large double spaced type. Sorry to be so honest here, but there are so many books already on the market on this subject with real content. Real how-to. I wanted to praise a book that gives insite on what the cover suggests "You can make up to $250,000 and up per year." Instead, this is a lot of "Grab the winds of change and face a handful of tomorrows and you'll be cool like me, and look at the photocopies of my big paychecks!" This is just an homage to the author's very large ego. I feel VERY ripped-off.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Without the pictures, this would be a brochure., January 24, 2000

By 

Thomas H Robinson (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So You Want to Be a Voice-Over Star (Paperback)

Although there is some useful information for someone wanting to break into the field of voice over work, Sandy Thomas, for the most part, just skims the surface. The never-ending typos and sentence fragments are also very distracting. The "Exhibits and References" section in the back can be useful, but still does not justify the book's pricetag.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a book worth reading, March 10, 2000

By 

bob (long island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So You Want to Be a Voice-Over Star (Paperback)

With few good books available on the subject, this book is a must. The author apparently has considerable practical experience in the day to day aspects of the industry. My knowledge of the subject was highly limited so I found this book to be a good jumping off point for my orientation into the little understood world of voice overs. Sandy did a good job in bringing to life the reality of the industry. He clearly warns of the unrealistic expectations a newcomer to the industry might have. Its a difficult industry in which only the very best make it to the top. At the same time he shares some of his secrets for interpreting copy, prepares you mentaly for this competitive industry and gives valueable industry resources. Thanks for the insight.