Q&A With Super Bowl Voice Mike McColl – Panelist At SAG Foundation VO Summit
SAG FOUNDATION VO SUMMIT
Q&A: Super Bowl Voice Mike McColl …
‘Key Is Performance, Professionalism’
February 26, 2012
(VOXtra) – As the voice of numerous Super Bowls and just wrapping up his 10th football season with FOX, voice actor Michael McColl is no bench-warmer.
Promos, trailers, video games and more keep this LA-based talent sprinting in a variety of genres.
“I try to be a threat in every area of voice over,” he tells us in the Q&A below.
And what makes Mike run? Well … read on and pick up tips for your own success.
THE VOICE-OVER SUMMIT
Mike was a panelist at the Feb. 21 Promos and Trailers session of the SAG Foundation Voice-Over Summit 2012 at the Don LaFontaine Voice-Over Lab in Los Angeles.
Through April 10, the Summit is presenting sessions on all facets
of voice over genres, marketing and home studio technology. Proceeds
benefit the Lab, which was created to further the success of budding
voice actors. (Click here for Summit details and registration.)
And with the help of star voice talent Joe Cipriano, VoiceOverXtra has asked several Summit leaders and panelists to answer set questions about their experiences and advice for success.
Q&A BEGINS …
Today the questions go to Mike …
Mike, for a person with talent
and drive, how long would it take to become proficient enough to work full time
in voice overs?
If you’re a good actor with talent and drive, you could start
working a lot, really quickly.
The technical stuff (e.g. reading to
time) will come with practice. But the key is performance and
professionalism.
Having a great agent – or any agent that can get you
heard – is critical to success and longevity, as well.
And for some reason,
clients seem to like knowing that the talent they’ve hired is based in
LA or maybe NYC. I’d say it’s important to be in one of these markets to
get a solid start.
How about versatility in skills? How much ability to work in various genres do you recommend?
I try to be a threat in every area of voice over.
I can’t imagine why it would be unhealthy to develop the skills
necessary to do this.
In fact, focusing too much on one specific “style”
for too long could be detrimental to growth and viability in others.
Is there a defining
moment when you felt, “I’ve made it in voice overs!”?
I felt pretty good at the end of my 10th football season (just this
past year) with FOX.
But I’ve never feel like I’ve “made it.”
I continue to
work as hard as ever to get good gigs, and am always happy to get the
call saying, “We pick you.”
That never gets old.
And what gives you the
most FUN as a voice actor? What do you enjoy doing most?
Being the “voice” of numerous Super Bowls has been very rewarding
for me personally.
And, being an actor, I really enjoy doing long-form
narration for documentary style shows.
But in all honesty, I just enjoy
working and making people happy about what I bring to their project.
Thanks, Mike!
Also see:
Q&A with Jim Tasker
Q&A with Bob Bergen
For details and to register for the SAG Foundation Voice-Over Summit 2012, please click here, or visit:
www.sagfoundation.org/content/