Here at Such A Voice, we bring together some pretty incredible professionals from all different parts of the world to provide our students with a top voice-over education. Our staff members have such a wide variety of backgrounds and unique personalities. From working VO actors starring in movies, video games, and national TV commercial campaigns, to producers spending their days working on voice-over demos as well as broadcast voice-over work, to copywriters, casting directors and many other industry skills in between! We genuinely love bringing our expertise and our experiences together to create the best programs for our students.
For this week’s staff spotlight, we’d like to introduce you to one of our coaches, Brian Thon.
SAV: Hi Brian! Thanks for chatting with us today. We’d love to start off by hearing a little bit about who you are!
Thon: Hello! I grew up just north of Philadelphia and I’ve lived in Vermont since 2001. I’ve been married for 23 years and have three kids, one in college and two in high school. I’m involved in church and I love music, movies, and sports. I enjoy sports cars and I’m (slowly) sussing out a series of short stories to be told with digital illustration and voice-over. Innovation and entrepreneurship energizes me.
SAV: You have a production company, as well as being a voice actor and coach, right? Tell us more!!
Thon: Yes, that’s true. I founded True Tone Studios, LLC in 2008. We’re online at truetonestudios.com. TTS is a multimedia production house that specializes in innovative problem solving in the audio/video space. That means instead of doing the standard kind of production an audio/video company does, we do specialized work. For example, we created and produced a unique audio broadcast show, introduced a video-making solution where the user wouldn’t have to shoot any footage, and we’re now developing some much needed and very specific solutions for voice-over talent. Stay tuned to TTS for more on that in the months to come!
SAV: How did you get into voice-over?
Thon: Well, it’s funny. It wasn’t my idea originally. I had done a few voice-overs back after college that came to me from a friend in television, but that was it. I went on to work in corporate America for over 20 years – living the grind. My wife saw an ad for a class on voice-over by Such A Voice and it looked interesting so I said, “Sure. I’ll go.” It fired me up and it sounded way better than what I was doing. I trained with Such A Voice and with the tools of the trade, I took my voice to market myself. I got laid off from my regular job right as I was getting started so I dove into VO even more. It wasn’t easy, but we either labor for our own dreams or for someone else’s, so I was going to pursue my vision. A lot has happened since 2008. Since then, I’ve performed all over the world, produced in studios all over the country, and I’ve even been a featured speaker at a VO conference. I’m very thankful.
SAV: Alright, now let’s get personal… what’s something you’re really proud that you’ve overcome?
Thon: Well, making a go of True Tone Studios was huge. Going on my own after the layoff and working for myself was a lot to overcome. There were some lean years that in some ways fundamentally shaped our lifestyle even now. There are perspectives you can only truly understand when you walk in them. The adversity of autonomy is tough, but the exhilaration of creating something out of nothing is unrivaled.
SAV: What are you known for in your group of friends?
Thon: You’d have to ask them. No, I’m kidding. That’s a tough one. I suppose they’d say I am someone who can be a sounding board for ideas, input, and conversation. Someone who will back them up and help them out. Wry humor with a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile. I’m pretty measured on responses to a lot of things; I see multiple sides in every situation.
SAV: What teacher in school made the biggest impact on you, and why?
Thon: I had some memorable teachers all along the way. I had a science teacher in 8th grade who was knowledgeable, engaged, and encouraging. I respected him a lot for that. My college psychology professor was a favorite of mine, too. He was just so direct and he had some endearing quirks. I really appreciated his candor and honesty. He’d discuss any topic at length and be thoughtful about the engagement, but he never sugarcoated anything. I’ve always responded well to those who know who they are and what their area of expertise is.
SAV: What’s the worst VO job you’ve ever had?
Thon: It wasn’t a performance. On that front, I’ve been very fortunate. But, I did have a “worst VO job” because of what happened. I had worked with an eLearning company and produced a lot of very complex projects for them. Then one day shortly after invoicing for a big project, the owner of the company closed the doors and absconded with millions in investor’s money to a country with no extradition treaty! It was like a movie script. A lot of people lost out in that situation. All these years in the business and it’s the only invoice I’ve never collected. For all I know, she’s still running from the law!
SAV: What’s your perfect pizza? (Who doesn’t love talking about food!)
Thon: Oh, mushroom and bacon or mushroom and pepperoni. For me it’s about WHERE you get the pizza that makes it perfect. I’m going with Pennsylvania: Pizza Como USA in Lehighton or Sicilian pizza at Lehigh Pizza in Bethlehem. Soooooo good.
SAV: Tell us your favorite piece of equipment in your studio?
Thon: I like my mic. It’s not a Manley Gold Reference or anything, but I love the tone I get from it. It’s an old Groove Tubes GT50. You can’t buy those new anymore.
SAV: Do you have an inspirational quote that you’d like to share with us?
Thon: I don’t know about a quote, per se, but some truisms that I appreciate are: Opportunities are made. There are always options. Be the solution.
Thank you Brian for spending the time to sit down and talk with SAV. Stay tuned for next week’s spotlight! We will be speaking with SAV’s Vice President of Production, Claudine Ohayon.
