Frank James Bailey

Here’s a question to all my VO friends:

How long is your work day? What I mean is, do you have a typical 8 hour day? Maybe 9 or 10 hours? Or is your day split up? 4 hours in the morning, 3 hours at night?  

How long to do spend in your studio doing your WORK? 

I haven’t done a whole lot physical exercise lately (expect for going up and down the stairs). I’m doing a LOT of sitting lately. (I stand to do my VOs but sit down to edit)

I’m hoping (once I update my web site) I can start walking every day to keep myself from gaining to much weight. In case you didn’t know, doing voice overs is NOT a physical job!

We sit, we stand, we talk. Not much movement there! 

I sometimes feel a little bad for not spending more time with my daughter Paige. She likes to play in my new recording room, (when I have to do a voice over) but she still doesn’t quite understand that daddy goes to “work” down their.

When I’m recording, she sometimes sneaks downstairs to say “HI”.  

Ever since my son Mason has come home and my wife Amy isn’t aloud to do anything strenuous, I never seem to have enough time to do my voice work. An hour here and then an hour and 1/2 there.

Hey, I’m Not complaining!! I’m so happy to NOT be working a typical 9 - 5 job! And it’s great that I’m close by in case my family needs me! I just hope my clients understand my situation.

Family comes first!

Good morning friends!

Does anyone have an Android Tablet and can tell me more about it?

I know that the Ipads are the coolest thing to have now. I know someone with an Ipad and my wife’s friend has a Zoom. But what about the Android Tablet?

Good? Bad? Love it? Hate it?

I don’t need it for games…I need it to go on the internet and maybe video calls.

Thanks

Frank

I wonder why I never see the G+ logo on anything? What I mean is…commercials always have a “see us on facebook” tag. Or…on some web sites you see the logo / banner for facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube…and sometimes Tumblr but you hardly EVER see the G+ logo…why?

Yesterday, at 6:41pm Amy and I had a baby boy! (We haven’t decided with a name yet, Amy WONT let me name him Frank Jr…LOL) It was an emergency c-section, a MONTH early!! At first the baby had trouble breathing, but today he’s doing good. I have pictures, but pics are with the baby all hooked up to wires and oxygen. So…as soon as the baby is off of all that, (which should be very soon) I will take pics and post them here.

Tonight, my wife Amy is watching the season finale of the Biggest Loser. I noticed that the host, Alison Sweeney, is so skinny she almost looks sick! (well, at least to me she does)

Do you think that’s a marketing thing? Since this is the season finale the host has to look as skinny as the contestants? 

I’ve only seen a few episodes of this season and Alison was NOT that skinny during the shows run. 

What do you think?

I love working from home again and taking a shower at 3 in the after noon because I’ve been in front of my computer all day (in shorts) doing voice overs (or at least auditioning for more voice jobs.)

Hoping to move into my NEW studio by next week sometime. 

Today I did something I haven’t done since 2002. I quit my job!

That’s right…quit!

The past 3 jobs I’ve had, I’ve been “let go” from. Dismissed, let go, fired, or (my personal favorite) the company is going in a different direction. No matter how you say it, it all means the same thing….fired!

I’m not talking about voice over jobs. I’m talking about a typical “labor” job.

We’ve all had them. Some of us voice actors have the typical “job” AND do voice overs.

This time, I wanted to quit on MY terms! I wanted to be in control or my OWN destiny. Before I say anymore…let me back up a little.

Around January of this year I was requested to come back to the cleaning job I had before. Working for the same factory, just a different cleaning company. If you’ve ever had a cleaning job before, you know (most of the time) they don’t pay that great. It’s a dirty job. And some people even think of it as an “expendable” job. The kind of job that you can quit in a moment’s notice and you don’t really care because EVERYBODY wants a better job then THAT.  

Yes…a cleaning job is the kind of job that most people get when they CAN’T get any other kind of job! It’s usually the bottom of the barrel type of job. But me, I treated it with respect. It’s - a - JOB!!! The reason the factory wanted ME back again is because the people that the new cleaning company was hiring was NOT getting the job done. Things were just NOT CLEANING ANYTHING! (come on, cleaning is EASY, isn’t it?)

Anyway…I thought that if I went on 2nt shift I could do all my voice work during the day and do my other “job” at night. It worked…sort of.

The problem was….lack of sleep! I was getting home at 11 and I couldn’t really fall asleep until 11:30 or 12 midnight. Then…get up the next day at 5:30 to make my wife breakfast or help get our daughter to school. Getting between 5 and 5 ½ hours of sleep was really taking its toll on my body! I should have NEVER went on 2nt shift!

To top it all off, this last week was really rough because I was training a new person (who doesn’t really seem that’s she capable of doing this job, let alone being ON TIME!) And…the 1^st shift person was sick so I pulled a few double shifts! (yep…they used me a LOT on my last week!)

So this week has really hit my voice over business hard because I have had NO TIME to do ANY voice jobs!

Not any more…

As of today, no more burning the candle at both ends!

This isn’t an official press release, of me quitting to go into voice overs, (that will come later) but this is sort of my way of saying…to you my fans, friends, and family…thank you! Thank you for those who have supported me and helped me get through these past few months. Thank you to my clients, for being patient.

I still have a few more steps to go before my recording booth is 100% ready and my new web site is ready.

But this faze…quitting my job because I WANTED to quit, not because THEY let me go…is done! I think it’s important to do things because you WANT to, not because you are forced into it.

Have you ever quit a job and took a giant leap forward like I’m doing now?

Thanks again for reading.

I’m looking forward to the future!

Frank

FIND ME HERE:

FACEBOOK:

 http://www.facebook.com/FrankJamesBailey

GOOGLE PLUS:

 https://plus.google.com/113532861044199637640/posts 

TWITTER:

http://www.twitter.com/FrankJBailey

YOUTUBE (Voice overs / vlogs)

http://youtube.com/FrankJamesBailey

YOUTUBE (NEW channel for my Show, The Frank Video Show)

http://youtube.com/TheFrankVideoShow

VOICE OVER BLOG:

http://frankjamesbailey.wordpress.com/

TUMBLR: (Personal blog)

http://frankjamesbailey.tumblr.com/

MYSPACE:

http://www.myspace.com/Frankjamesbailey

BLIP.TV

http://blip.tv/frankjamesbailey

(in my best movie trailer voice!) Coming soon to a web site near you, the voice of Frank James Bailey!

Yes…I have some big changes on the way for my voice over career. Much needed updates, web site changes and finally, a place to call my OWN for my JOB…voice overs. (no more bedrooms or closets!)

My goal was to finish by the end of April. Looks more like the middle of May now. As long as I’m done before the new baby gets here, that’s all that matters!

It’s 2012 – do I need Internet on my phone…now?

Technology has changed so much in just 2 years!!!

Back in May of 2010 I wrote a facebook “note” asking my friends if I really needed Internet on my phone. If you’d like to read it, check it out.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=388162693036

Well, here it is April of 2012. It’s time for me to get a new cell phone again. The battery on the current phone is dieing faster and it takes longer to charge too.

My problem is, I’m with Version and (just like before) to get a smart phone I would be required to get a data plan that’s an EXTRA $30 a month. With a 2 year contract that is over $700 in 2 years, just for the data plan!

If you read the facebook note, you’ll know that since my wife works for a place that makes parts for Honda, we get a good discount on our cell phone bill.

Right now I have a flip phone called THE ROCK. This is (hands down!) the very best phone I ever bought! I’ve dropped it several times and it NEVER broke!!! But…they don’t make them anymore.  

In 2010 I really wanted this texting phone called THE BRIGADE. It’s a very sturdy phone, just like the ROCK, only it’s a texting phone! In 2010, it was over $250! The ROCK was only $100, so I went with the ROCK. Now, I really want the BRIGADE. But, (you guessed it) they don’t make the BRIGADE anymore either! If I REALLY wanted the BRIGADE now, I would have to buy a USED one (or refurbished) on Ebay (or somewhere on the Internet) and have Version switch my number to the phone I bought over the Internet. My brother in-law, Shane, has one. He loves it! This would save me a lot of money since I would NOT have to sign a NEW 2 year contract and (of course) I would NOT be paying the $30 extra a month for a data plan.

On the other hand, am I just delaying the inevitable? I know, somewhere down the road, EVERYBODY is going to have a smart phone! And I do want one too! I just don’t know if it’s worth it for me to get one…right now. I’m sure, once I have a smart phone, I’ll wonder what I did without it! Being able to talk to someone via VIDEO is like something out of Star Wars! I LOVE VIDEO CALLS!!!! Plus all the free aps! I’m sure a GPS would come in handy on those long road trips. And, if I want to entertain my daughter, I’m sure there are kids games too!

I have so many questions. Should I stay with Version? Should I go with a different company that might be cheaper…Sprint, Alltel, Boost?

Then there is the cell phone itself! Iphone 2, 3, or 4? (is there a 5 yet? LOL) I’m sure there are about 6000 others too!

Or…should I just get a used cell hone over the Internet so I don’t have to pay a data plan?

I’m so confused!

If you have any ideas for me or want to help, please let me know. I want a smart phone but I don’t want to pay out my ass for the data plan. After all, with a NEW baby on the way in June, $30 extra a month could buy the new baby dippers or formula!

Thanks in advance for your opinions and help!

Frank

Please respond here…or on G+ or FB.

(I check my FB, and G+ more often)

Big changes for me are coming soon. Here is my last voice over blog, on Wordpress….for now.

Read and you’ll understand why.  

http://frankjamesbailey.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/my-last-voice-over-blogfor-now/

As a voice actor I really LOVE do characters or trying to “act” like someone else. I recently got a request to do my best Horatio Caine from CSI: Miami. I had to put on my sun glasses as I was doing it!

I’m posting this blog on my personal blog site because I made vlogs (video blogs) at one time. I NEVER sold my videos to anyone on any web site! But, as a voice actor, I have sold my VOICE to sell lots of things.  Anyway….

The one thing that most voice actors are very irritated about is these new micro job web sites, where you can buy voice overs for $5 - $10. Now I know there are a LOT of people making good money on these sites, and that’s fine. There is a market for it. Besides, I personally believe that these sites do serve as a good place for those getting started in the voice acting business to make some money, even if it is very little. When I first started in radio I worked a LOT of 12 midnight – 6am shifts. I had to start at the bottom, getting paid minimum wage! But…I loved every minute of it. I learned a lot. If you’re just getting started in voice overs, these web sites are a great place for you to start.

But, what I want to talk about this time is…did you know you can buy VIDEOS on these web sites too!

Most “actors” can get paid very good to read a script on camera! Now, with these micro job web sites, people are making these same kinds of videos for $5 or $10!

Think about this!

If YOU happen to work on one of these micro job web sites and offer video testimonials for $5, and then your video could go viral! You wouldn’t make any more then…you guessed it…$5!

What if you are paid $10 to say what the client wants and it’s NOT what YOU believe in? Would you still do it? If you’re a diehard liberal but this NEW client wants YOU to say something very conservative. Very much agent your beliefs…would you do it for only $10? Let’s just say you do the video and suddenly the WHOLE WORLD knows how much you hate liberals, because of the video you were paid just $5 or $10 to do! (But you know you really don’t hate them.) Try to explain that one to your friends! They saw you on video saying you hated them!

Some people do have morals and will not do a script because of what they believe. But, there are SO many people out there that will simply do and kind of video you want (as long as there’s no swearing) for a small fee of only $5 or $10!

On one hand, with a voice over…we all know that clients give us a script and we read it. We (as voice actors) have to sell it! Make it sound like the best thing since sliced bread! You often have to pretend to be someone else! (which is WHY we are called…voice actors!)

But on the other hand, a video seems more personal. When you can SEE the person in a video, it comes across as more believable. Just like voice actors, these people making videos have to read a script and sell it too! (After all, they are actors too!) Only now you can SEE the emotion in there face! The anger or the sadness.

My whole point to this is simple…

In this day and age where just about anyone can make a simple video blog on youtube for everyone to see, it’s getting harder and harder for me to believe ANY OF THEM! Because I know that ANYONE can simply buy their option, and tell them WHAT to say, for only $5 or $10!

Think about that the next time you see a video of someone ranting in front of a camera telling you how much they hate Rush Limbaugh or how much they think Global Warming is a crock of shit! Do they REALLY feel that way…or did there option come cheap?

Until next time…

Frank

FIND ME HERE:

FACEBOOK:

 http://www.facebook.com/FrankJamesBailey

GOOGLE PLUS:

 https://plus.google.com/113532861044199637640/posts 

TWITTER:

http://www.twitter.com/FrankJBailey

YOUTUBE (Voice overs / vlogs)

http://youtube.com/FrankJamesBailey

YOUTUBE (NEW channel for my Show, The Frank Video Show)

http://youtube.com/TheFrankVideoShow

VOICE OVER BLOG:

http://frankjamesbailey.wordpress.com/

TUMBLR: (Personal blog)

http://frankjamesbailey.tumblr.com/

MYSPACE:

http://www.myspace.com/Frankjamesbailey

BLIP.TV

http://blip.tv/frankjamesbailey

For those of my personal friends who fallow me on THIS blog, here is my latest Voice Over blog…on Wordpress.

How Far Do You Travel To Promote Your Business?

Here is my latest voice over blog. How far would you travel to help promote your voice business? http://frankjamesbailey.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/how-far-would-you-travel-for-your-business/

I’m trying to sell some of my old records on Ebay. A mix of rock records, pop albums and 12 inch singles. Auctions end next week on Wed. 3 - 21. Here is the link.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_from=&_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ssn=fjb35&rt=nc

Thanks

Frank