Corporate Narration Sensation with Andrew Lander (ColorVO Collective Series)
In This Episode…
Andrew's "not-quite-Urban but distinctly Black (ish) sound" 1:09
His VO journey 5:03
African American voices in demand for political voiceovers 10:30
Working between Corporate America and corporate narration 14:24
Getting out of your head 21:46
Where Andrew gets support to pursue his voiceover career 28:43
Marketing yourself as a voiceover business [BONUS] 36:08
Letting loose with less-buttoned up VO 40:52
Success is... 44:20
Closing advice 46:19
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Andrew Lander interview
Key Points
Andrew made a business plan and noted his time limits as someone who works in the corporate world and doing voiceover part time. He assessed the types of VO work that he booked throughout the year, as well as the things that took more effort. He decided to only invest time in the things he's good at for now. This way he can also be present for work and family responsibilities. Later down the line, if you want to pursue other genres and types of work, when you have more time, the work will be there.
When you find your "money voice," the voice and tone that gets you booked time and again, that's great. But mixing it up and playing around with different genres, projects and styles keeps you creative and limber (which is why I suggest improv as a way to stay loosed up).
You never know how much you're going to make in this industry. But every business has a business plan, looking at others in your industry and seeing what the market is generally paying. The GVAA Rate Guide provides this type of information. Take the smartest path to success, and try to do it in the simplest way that other people have done it before.
Read something aloud every day— a cereal box, a billboard sign, a pamphlet you took from the waiting room at the doctor's office. It helps with your sight reading and cold reads.
Connect
Andrew Lander is an award-winning African American voice actor based in Atlanta. Born and raised in DC, his passion for voice acting began behind a podium rather than on stage. He's voiced e-learning modules for Coca-Cola and PsychHub, articles for Apple News, and commercials for Pandora.
Clubhouse: @andrewlander
Resources
African American Voice Actors Database (AAVAD)
Global Voice Acting Academy (GVAA) - includes industry rate guide
Coaches mentioned: Dave Fennoy, Everett Oliver
Getting out of your head (my blog about persistence in VO)
Get Started in Voiceover
Podcasts
Damon Alums ColorVO show (our friend mentioned in the show)