my voiceover and voice acting blog has moved!

To my faithful followers in all things voice acting and voiceover (all 19 of you),

pondio! has moved to www.pondsf.com/blog. I sure hope you'll make note. and come visit.

The management (Sam)

freshly produced!

Freshly cast and produced this spot for the gang at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners. Pretty darn funny. Featuring the one and only Tom Kane and the one and only Debra Mooney.


For writers and producers: Below you'll see the end of the original script. And while the idea was really funny, the end of the spot needed a boost. It needed to cross the line. We recorded the talent separately but covered off the VO with some extra (and increasingly perturbed) "found" ideas, then covered off the female talent with some wild lines. After that we just goofed off with the editing until it made us laugh. Thanks to an open-minded client and agency folks for their help and support. 

Goofing off can be very productive.

WOMAN: Oh what the heck neighbor, look at me standing on ceremony when I should be letting myself in.

VO: Found: Locksmiths. 

WOMAN: Ready or not, here comes your neighbor.

VO: Found: Moving companies. Relocation experts. 

VO: The YP Real Yellow Pages℠ directory, YP.com℠ site and YP℠ app…

yelling is funny

I think it’s funnier than hell when two people shout at each other because they’re in different rooms or in noisy places. Or when they’re both wearing hearing aids.

For example, I was producing a script where two people were talking in a nightclub. A very funny script based on miscommunication. They started as if they were cozied up shoulder to shoulder at the bar. But it got really funny the louder they got, as if the music was drowning out all reasonable conversation. Finally, I just pumped horrible club music into their headphones and they had to not only yell to be heard, but they had to enunciate every word. Which created pauses because the other person had to take a moment to try and understand. The combination of yelling and enunciating and trying to communicate was, well, hilarious. And it made us all realize how exhausting trying to communicate in a nightclub is. Because it’s not possible. I guess that’s why people dance.

a thrilling missive

Just got this very thrilling missive from a recent student. She describes exactly what we try to accomplish in our classes - curiousity, non-judgement and openness. Actors, people for that matter, don't know how funny they are until they start at a place of authenticity. 

"As you may remember, I expressed a bit of anxiety early on about being able to be "real." Getting to this place of being myself--I mean, who's that? I still can't quite put my finger on exactly what it was that got transformed in there, but, whatever it was, I know it stemmed from the trust we had in you. Because you were open, real and available. You explored and questioned with us--without judgment. You were curious and delighted to learn something new. How infectious is that?!  

I had a notion, coming into this, about comedy-- and it didn't include me. Even though I'd done funny parts in plays years ago, in my mind there were the funny people and the rest of us. But the gift you just gave me is the realization that when relaxed, listening and available, funny things can happen--even for me.

But here's the thing--now, every time I go into the booth to audition I imagine you out there. And I think of what it was like to just tell a story. Not acting being real. Being real. Being me. And I suppose that's it. That's what you gave us. I have a reference, now, to what's real, to that elusive "me" behind the mic."

I hope you get a thousand jobs.

free upcoming intro class, a friendly reminder

San Francisco – Wednesday September 5^th at 6:00.

If you’ve ever dreamed of a career in voiceover, now is the time to give it a try. This free introductory Professional Voiceover class is just the thing to get you going. You’ll meet teacher and voiceover guru, Sam Pond, and learn about the business, how to access your authentic voice, the right way to discover the character voices inside of you and how to befriend a microphone.

Bring every question you got. We’ll have a mic and some scripts at the ready so you can try taking direction then hear what you sound like. The whole thing is be fun, interactive and mind-opening.

Register now on our mailing list! 12 student limit. All introductory students will get a 10% discount to the following week’s “Comedy and Your Authentic Voice” course if you sign up that night!

All classes are held at our studio at 1160 Bryant Street near the corner of 10^th, SOMA.

For more information, click here.

your audition starts with your slate

Think about it. The only preconception the writer or producer has about you is your name on an mp3. In theatre and film, they see and hear you before you audition. They’ve built up a mini-assumption about you and your job is to either bust that open or make them feel good about their preconceptions. But as a voice, the only thing that exists before your audition is the audition that they just listened to.  Or that corned beef sandwich that's coming up for another tasting.

So I like it when actors start their audition with their slate. (I know some writers and producers don't but this is my blog.) Get your clues from the spec or script. It can be as simple as reading your name, agent and role in character. It could be a funny (but quick) ad lib. Catch attention. Because there are some hard facts you have to contend with. See next posting.

comedy and the blind obsession

The comic character has a blind obsession. He is trying to win in spite of the fact he has not the skills, the personality, the moral character in which to succeed. (In a movie, eventually, the comic hero does learn something about himself but the funniest parts of the movie are always the first third when we watch him haplessly negotiate life.)

 Don’t forget archetypes and clichés are our comedic friends. They are shorthand for people we think we know. But throw in blind obsessions, terrible reasonings, absurd justifications, the soccer mom/the businessman/the valley girl/the kindly old lady are ripe for a twist. I wrote a monologue once about a manly man who walked into a crowded gay bar and thought it was a sports bar. His flaw was that he naively could not see the world for what it was. He wanted to experience masculine, athletic camaraderie and was so blind he misinterpreted everything – come-ons, glory holes, even the porn on a TV set he saw as men’s wrestling. He could not be saved from the way he needed to see the world in that moment.

John Cleese as Basil Fawlty is a perfect example. He’s a man who believes himself to be worldly and charming but in fact hates people. And he owns a bed and breakfast! His cast of helpless observers all try to be as helpful as possible – bossing him around, placating him, scrambling for him—but none of them can save him from his blind obsession to be right in every situation. And, of course, blame everyone else for the mishaps he himself causes. He is own worst enemy. All brought to life in this scene. Notice how Polly can't stop him. The Germans can't stop him. He takes it to the end of the line. Blind obsession equal comedy. 

If you haven’t watched and studied every episode of the British “The Office” with Ricky Gervais, shame on you. His character, David Brent, believes himself to be well-loved by his employees, a great musician, a comic genius, a business philosopher and he’s none of these. He’s a man in search of other people’s approval and love. He is the loneliest man in the world. In this scene, he's brought in an outside consultant for workshop on customer service. David can't help himself, he has to take over.

a good morning spot

Good morning.

This spot one the $100,000 Mercury Award Grand Prize a while back. "Women", written by Al Kelly while at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. I was the creative director on the account and my contribution was that I said, "That's funny" after reading the script. Voice actors, notice how the performances are light, heartfelt and committed, as if they really thought they were in a feminine hygiene commercial. Nobody's shoving their agenda on the script. That's why it works. Oh, and the writing.

Al threw a big party with the money.

"listen to an electronic miracle"

One of my favorite old-time cigarette radio ads, "Accuray."

"...brilliant young president of industrial nucleonics." Turns out this place was real!

Man, they tried everything to sell cigarettes.

your disposable demo reel

The number of times I’ve cast off of a voice actor’s demo is zero. And the number of times I've been cast off my demo reel is equally zero. Unless you listen to it now. (Shameless self-promotion.)

The only reason to produce a voice demo is to get an agent so it’s a good thing to do. 

And then your agent posts it on their website which makes them feel good about what they do. 

But it’s like a young copywriter spending months or years on his portfolio of spec ads to get a job so he can put the damn thing away. On the other hand, your voice demo can live on, right next to your name on the agent’s website. I guess it’s more proof that you exist on this planet, at least as a professional voice actor.