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 spotlight in the series, we’d like to introduce you to Such A Voice’s Voice Over Talent/Coach, Warren Richardson.
Where, oh where, does Warren live?
I live in Düsseldorf, Germany which is in the western part of Germany. Paris is 5 hours by car, the Dutch (Holland) border is 1 hour by car and Belgium is 2 hours by car.
What is your ultimate voice-over dream?
My ultimate voice over dream is to eventually do it on a full-time basis. By way of aspirations, I would like to voice a national TV or Radio ad, to voice a Documentary for A&E or Discovery Channel and to land an Animation gig for a major Animation film.
What is the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep (and was it for work or something fun)?
The longest I went without sleep was 36 hours. This happened between work, travel and fun stuff (music).
4 – If you were to create a piece of art, what would the subject be?
The subject would be PEACE!
How do you spend your free time?
My free time consist of spending time with my family (wife-Tereza, 14 year old daughter-Amnia and 5 year old son-Ikaro), Wing-Chun (Kung Fu) training and I am very active playing music (bass guitar) and singing between 5 or 6 area bands. Writing music as well.
How did you get your very first voice-over job?
I got my first voice-over job by responding to a request through Craigslist for a voice (imitation/duplication) needed for a Documentary. It was not easy as the client was in LA and me in Germany (9 hour difference). I did my first draft and finished it about 1 am my time and was tired. I tried to get the client to allow me to record the rest and have it for him first thing on Monday (being it was Friday for him..4 pm LA time and Sat at 1 am for me). He said no, he needs it now and that I needed to do 3 more hours of recordings. I almost fainted as I was already tired. I found some energy and focus, finished the work (at 4:30 am), the client was very happy and I was very dead at that point. I am sharing this as a lesson and point in that we need to be ready and prepared to do work at whichever hour and for you/us to not try and skip around voicing something because we are tired. You can lose a client this way and I was lucky that did not happen. This was a big lesson for me and a positive experience as well.
Skiing, surfing, or neither, you prefer your feet on the ground?
Skiing and surfing are not my things but I do like Skydiving, Scuba Diving, Rock Climbing, Bicycle Riding and Basketball. I am kind of a Navy Sealish/Sportish type of guy.
Do you prefer cooking or takeout?
I do prefer cooking over takeout. I can be creative in the kitchen and enjoy cooking. If I don’t like something from takeout, I am stuck with it and I never know what I am getting with takeout (mystery meal/deal #13…..perhaps?)
Any exciting VO things currently going on that you’d like to share?
Nothing sooooo exciting but I just finished an Audiobook (X: The Novel) for Learning Alley (volunteer work) and I am in the editing stages with another Audiobook that I have completed through ACX.
If you could give another VO talent one piece of advice from your own experiences, what would you say?
My piece(s) of advice for any VO talent would be to trust yourself and your ability to achieve and when despair or doubt comes into your brain, remember the passion you have for it and that it is worth your time, energy and effort to do something positive and fulfilling for yourself (and others) in reaching a high point of achievement in being an entrepreneur.
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