Nov 7, 2023
Transcript:
Anne Ganguzza:
Hey everyone, welcome to the VioBoss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne
Ganguzza, and I'm here with the lovely and most wonderful Lau
Lapides. Hello, welcome to our Business Superpowers series.
Lau Lapides:
Mmm, so excited
Anne Ganguzza:
Woohoo.
Lau Lapides:
to be here as always.
Anne Ganguzza:
And you know, we always need to really up our business superpowers,
don't we, Law?
Lau Lapides:
We do,
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
always, every day.
Anne Ganguzza:
And I think probably one of the most common things, questions that
I get asked as a coach, and also you must as well as an agent and
casting directors, what are the current trends in casting? And so
how can I better prepare myself to evolve my business to keep up
with the trends in casting? So I thought it would be a great
opportunity to talk, especially with you, who casts on a day-to-day
basis. What are you seeing in terms of casting trends these days,
Law?
Lau Lapides:
Mm, trendy trendy, yes. Well, what's been going on for quite a
while is diversity casting. Like
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides:
we're
Anne Ganguzza:
mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
always in need of more diversity, more representatives, both
accent-wise, language-wise,
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
delivery-wise, culturally. ethnically, I mean, this is all in the
mix right now and kind of at the front of the line,
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah,
Lau Lapides:
which is exciting
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah.
Lau Lapides:
to see such an international mix of Indigenous peoples that are
really representing their country, their region, their, you know,
their profile, so to speak. So we're always looking to certainly up
our roster, up our game in our roster, finding authentic talent
from all over the world, even just Spanish talent.
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
I'm totally in need of authentic Spanish talent of many dialects.
Accent-free is fantastic, but then if you're not accent-free,
dialects are wonderful if we know specifically where you're placed,
because we really have to go with the real deal.
Anne Ganguzza:
Sure.
Lau Lapides:
It can't be an actor who's just really great at sound or accents.
It really has to be the real person representing.
Anne Ganguzza:
Well, I'll tell you what I love about it is... not just diversity,
but authenticity. I think authenticity all the way around, which
has been a trend just coming through the years, and especially now,
people are just looking for other people to be authentic. And
Lau Lapides:
Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza:
so when it comes to my students who originally used to be there,
they're like, can you please take away my accent? Or I wanna be
good at narration, so should I have this neutral accent? And I'm
like, look, as long as I can understand you, number one, important.
I mean you don't want to have necessarily you know maybe a speech
impediment that would inhibit me from understanding what you're
saying. However when it comes to accents I don't think it's as
critical as it used to be. It used to be that thing that you had to
have absolutely neutral accent whatever that might be these days.
But I'm having people in you know embrace their authenticity and if
their authenticity is regional right and they have an that would
really, you know, work with that. And, you know, I think we've
always tried to do that, but even more so now, I feel encouraged to
tell my students, don't worry about that. We really just want you
to be, I want you to bring you to the party first. That is the most
important objective that I have as an educator and as a coach to
get you to be authentic. And that really is what I think casting
trends today are all about.
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm. If you can be the best version of you and really
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
bring that to the table authentically, that's what we're looking
for.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
If you can also neutralize it a bit, you know, round it out a
bit,
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides:
that's great too. It just gives
Anne Ganguzza:
mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
you more options. But
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
I fear for clients that come in, or I should say talent that comes
in, especially at a certain stage, you know, once you hit Like even
30 or 35 or 40, it's very, very difficult to authentically change
your
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
dialect or shift your accent. It just is. It's not impossible, but
it would take a lot of work with a dialectician to do something
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
like that. And I don't think it's necessary. I don't
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah,
Lau Lapides:
think it should
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah.
Lau Lapides:
be an objective for you. It really
Anne Ganguzza:
Oh,
Lau Lapides:
should
Anne Ganguzza:
gosh,
Lau Lapides:
be
Anne Ganguzza:
it,
Lau Lapides:
like your vocabulary.
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah.
Lau Lapides:
What is it,
Anne Ganguzza:
I mean,
Lau Lapides:
right?
Anne Ganguzza:
work with a dialect coach if you want to
Lau Lapides:
Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza:
maybe consider other dialects for characters, maybe.
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
But I don't think it's to remove your dialect these days unless, of
course, you have a very heavy regional accent, in which case, if
you would like to maybe try to lessen that a little bit, I don't
think it's necessary to remove it at all, actually. So many
companies embracing that authenticity. And now, of course, in the
casting specs, they're looking for talent who are authentically
from particular areas and regions. And now, if you kind of had that
fake accent or that generic accent, that I don't think is needed as
much anymore. Is there such a thing? What was it the other day I
was on a panel? What is it with the authentic, Midlantic accent, I
think.
Lau Lapides:
Oh, right,
Anne Ganguzza:
Is that even
Lau Lapides:
right.
Anne Ganguzza:
a thing anymore?
Lau Lapides:
I don't know,
Anne Ganguzza:
I think
Lau Lapides:
I
Anne Ganguzza:
really
Lau Lapides:
mean.
Anne Ganguzza:
it's just, they want to have some sort of a, maybe of a dialect
where you can't really tell where you're from. I'm not sure. So
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
guys, embrace your authenticity. I think that's so important. And
first of all, that's a tall order law
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
to embrace your authenticity.
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
That I think as actors is really one of the hardest things that we
have to do many times I encounter talent who want to sound a
particular way or they
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
feel it should sound a particular way and again bringing their
authentic selves to the copy is so very difficult. They're either
able to you know do that if the copy is written maybe in a dialogue
format but when it's not it's very difficult to do that and also I
find that a lot of character actors law like
Lau Lapides:
Mmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
their characters seem authentic, but yet when you ask them to bring
themselves to the table, that becomes an immense challenge.
Lau Lapides:
Huge, huge challenge.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
I would say too, in regards to the Superpower show that we're
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
working on right now, like one of your superpowers is being a
really great business person.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
So a trend I've seen over the last few years is, how qualified are
you as a business partner? in terms of your correspondence, in
terms of your timing? Are you timely about your responses? We're
casting something really big right now with a client and one of our
talent, not her fault at all. But our records were just, they
either weren't updated or whatever
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm.
Lau Lapides:
the case may be. The email never reached her in regards to
availability. And so I called her on the phone, I reached her. She
said, that's actually not even my email. That's person lets me know
when they get my emails. There's something in the system
Anne Ganguzza:
Mmm.
Lau Lapides:
that defaults. So my point is, like, are you on top of your
records, your
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
emails,
Anne Ganguzza:
Oh.
Lau Lapides:
your back? Are you flagging your people
Anne Ganguzza:
I would be
Lau Lapides:
that you're reaching out
Anne Ganguzza:
kicking
Lau Lapides:
to?
Anne Ganguzza:
myself if that were the case. You know what I mean? If there's one
thing that you can prevent, right? In terms of what can you do to
help get yourself cast more.
Lau Lapides:
Right.
Anne Ganguzza:
It would be making sure your agents and all your, you know, rosters
have the most current relevant information and demos as well.
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah, and demos as well.
Lau Lapides:
And making sure it's easily accessible. You expedite really well
and really quickly. And, like, being on top of those trends. Like,
when we went to a recent conference, you and I, I found that less
and less people were giving out actual physical business cards,
even though I still
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
love them. I'm old school that way. I like to hold something in my
hand. They were doing QR codes. They were
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
on their phone going, you know, take it right off my phone onto
your phone, boom, it was fun, it was done, it was quick, I got it.
My point is, do the physical business cards if that's what you love
and do, but know what the trend is for the online business card
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
because that shows you've got your finger on the pulse of
technology
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
and what's going on in our industry.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah, and I think casting trends in terms of, yeah, making yourself
available, understanding what your agent expects from you
communication wise, I think, is very, very important. And also, I'm
going to go back to the sound slash demographic. One thing that I
want to make people aware of is a lot of times demographics and
casting is based on, and trends in companies selling products to a
specific demographic. So there are a lot of companies that may have
an older audience, or there might be companies that cater to moms,
or products that are catering towards young people. I think there's
a lot, a lot of times we see the trend going back towards
millennial young, because there's so many companies that are just
trying to expand their market. So understand guys, I think
sometimes we don't think about it. think about casting in terms of,
oh, did I, was I making it sound correct, right? Was I the right
sound for them? But sometimes you're not the right demographic,
right, for the product. And so just remember that if, you know, the
next time you get really disappointed that you didn't land that big
gig and think that you didn't perform to your ability, a lot of
times it's because it's a demographic, a sales demographic, right?
It
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
wants to cater to a particular age group. And
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
that would be another thing, La I wanna talk to you about. In terms
of casting age groups, I see a lot younger, but also middle-aged.
What about older? What about the older demographic?
Lau Lapides:
We're
Anne Ganguzza:
That's
Lau Lapides:
getting
Anne Ganguzza:
always,
Lau Lapides:
more. We're
Anne Ganguzza:
okay,
Lau Lapides:
getting more
Anne Ganguzza:
okay.
Lau Lapides:
and more of that. I mean, probably, Annie, now more than ever,
we've had the more
Anne Ganguzza:
Mmm.
Lau Lapides:
mature demographics. So the senior in the industry is known as like
50 to like 65.
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
50 to 64 would be a young senior, and then a more mature senior
would be the 65 and up.
Anne Ganguzza:
Okay.
Lau Lapides:
So we're seeing more of 50 and up for sure, whether
Anne Ganguzza:
That's
Lau Lapides:
it's
Anne Ganguzza:
good. Do you
Lau Lapides:
health
Anne Ganguzza:
know what
Lau Lapides:
or travel.
Anne Ganguzza:
type, yeah, I was gonna say health,
Lau Lapides:
Yeah, health,
Anne Ganguzza:
travel.
Lau Lapides:
travel,
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
finance, you know, even software is seeing more and more of that
coming through.
Anne Ganguzza:
Okay.
Lau Lapides:
So
Anne Ganguzza:
That's actually
Lau Lapides:
I think there's
Anne Ganguzza:
really
Lau Lapides:
a
Anne Ganguzza:
good.
Lau Lapides:
lot to look forward to.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah, that's really good because I know for a while there, it's
tough sometimes, you know, because what products do we have that
cater towards, you know, that 55 and up age group? You really have
to start thinking about it. And I would always encourage bosses,
you know, I do a lot of work in corporate, I do a lot of coaching
in corporate and just researching companies in general, researching
what products are out there. for what
Lau Lapides:
Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza:
age groups and as a matter of fact, I'll always have my students,
they fill out one of their very first forms and in the vocal
branding form is, let's talk about brands you're familiar with for
babies. What are brands you're familiar with for teenagers? What
brands are you familiar with for middle aged, for seniors? And
really try to come up with the brands that you hear being talked
about today for these different groups. And understand, just
understand that there is a sound in a demographic for each group,
and it's all based on sales. So the next time you don't get that
big gig, it could just be for the, and we discussed this during our
audition demolition, multiple times, Law, that the person might've
nailed the performance, but they just didn't have the right
demographic.
Lau Lapides:
Yes, yes,
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm.
Lau Lapides:
actually, that is so much of casting, whether
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
you're just, you know, you're a voiceover on camera or both. So
much of it is based off of things that, you know, you just is out
of your hands. It's out of
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm hmm.
Lau Lapides:
your hands. So
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah,
Lau Lapides:
you
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah.
Lau Lapides:
have to understand that the profile of who you are, your bio, your
background, your is sometimes we can't do much about that. We
are
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
who we are. And that's why accepting who you are. being the best
version of that is
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
really, really important.
Anne Ganguzza:
Oh, yes.
Lau Lapides:
You
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah
Lau Lapides:
know, and finding
Anne Ganguzza:
Amen.
Lau Lapides:
what is your strongest
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
suit? Like, what
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah
Lau Lapides:
is your strongest, most competitive value proposition? And really
putting that at the forefront
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides:
so that
Anne Ganguzza:
agreed.
Lau Lapides:
you're spending a lot more of your energy in that direction
than
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
in 10 different directions,
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah,
Lau Lapides:
right? Niche it. Niche it down.
Anne Ganguzza:
it's wonderful to have versatility. I'm all for versatility.
However, you need to be able to market yourself, right?
Lau Lapides:
Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza:
Niche it down, right? To specific niches.
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
And I found that myself as well, right, in terms of voiceover-wise,
right? Where would my voice fit in? Where was I getting hired the
most? And
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
I think that bosses out there, depending on how you're being cast,
you're gonna be able to find that and also do work to develop that
more and to really push that, go for auditions that speak to that
strength.
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
Now, I'm not saying that you should not audition for anything else.
I truly believe that every once in a while you surprise yourself
and you audition for something that maybe you don't feel is in your
wheelhouse and all of a sudden you'll get cast because you never
quite know where that company is headed, right? Maybe they want to
switch directions and maybe their demographic is... maybe an older
sound, and then maybe they've decided they wanna go more
middle-aged, or maybe they wanna, I don't know, speak from a
millennial point of view. And so you're never really gonna know. I
mean, just like we try to cater to the people who will hire us the
most, we can also, every once in a while, give ourselves that
surprise. Audition for things that you feel maybe you're not. well
suited for, but maybe the company will have a change of heart.
Lau Lapides:
And also, too, Annie, to piggyback onto that point, is you can,
when you're going after your own client base, your own prospects,
right, outside of casting director, outside of an agency, outside
of all of that, you can mold a little bit of what you do
Anne Ganguzza:
Mmm.
Lau Lapides:
and who you are in a couple different directions,
Anne Ganguzza:
Sure.
Lau Lapides:
but it has to be based on the target demographic. So for instance,
if you're going after... as a talent, I'm going after the medical
field, I want to do some medical reads, I'm excellent at that, I'm
wonderful at technical language. I want to put that out there in my
cover letter or at or in my website so that they can point right to
that and
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
see, oh, there's my there's my technical reads, I can do
medical
Anne Ganguzza:
Sure,
Lau Lapides:
reads,
Anne Ganguzza:
sure.
Lau Lapides:
I'm understanding healthcare, I get that.
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
So speaking the language and understanding the lingo of a prospect
client is going to go a long way. versus them sitting and listening
to four
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah,
Lau Lapides:
demos.
Anne Ganguzza:
absolutely,
Lau Lapides:
Oftentimes
Anne Ganguzza:
absolutely.
Lau Lapides:
they won't do it. They wanna
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides:
see where are you coming from? Where's your mindset
Anne Ganguzza:
mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
and where's your language actually coming from? Does it match
Anne Ganguzza:
Sure,
Lau Lapides:
the
Anne Ganguzza:
absolutely.
Lau Lapides:
type of work that we do? So I would say go on the website, go on
the YouTube channel, look at who they are and what they do before
you approach them.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah, absolutely. And then have a portion of your demo or have your
demo catered to that. You know, I'm a big believer in, let's say,
in a lot of corporate demos that I do or long format narration
demos. I'm always looking at the different industries that hire
voiceover and making a spot for each one of them. So therefore, if
you want to cater to an automotive company and you're going to be
maybe a narrator on a walkabout or a new sales video, can cater a
spot on that demo that speaks the language of the people that you
are going, you know, you are selling to.
Lau Lapides:
That's
Anne Ganguzza:
And just
Lau Lapides:
right.
Anne Ganguzza:
like they want to, you know, a company wants to sell to their
demographic, you want to sell your voice that is specifically
suited to a particular genre or a particular industry. Make sure
that you have samples and you have demo. material that can be sent
to these people so that they can hear it right away. And it
doesn't, they don't have to listen to like, oh, I listened to your
entire commercial demo or your entire corporate narration demo and
it was the sixth spot. And I didn't know, you know, from the get
go, if it was even in your demo. So
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
you have to really start catering. And I talk about target
marketing a lot in my business. And I like to create target
marketed demos because I think that helps you to get cash. easier.
And now, Law, I'm going to talk to you specifically on the
commercial aspect of things because you cast a lot of commercial
work. How important is the demo in the commercial work or is it the
audition that's most important?
Lau Lapides:
It's
Anne Ganguzza:
What
Lau Lapides:
both.
Anne Ganguzza:
do you think? Okay.
Lau Lapides:
It's both. Of course, first it's going to be the demo because I may
not have met you or
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
may not have heard you yet. Until you're in our roster, you
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
know, we don't know what you do. We don't know what you're
capable
Anne Ganguzza:
Right.
Lau Lapides:
of doing. So the first thing that we're going to look at is the
demo because chances are great we're not going to do a live
audition. Like we never
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
do a live audition when we're listening to people to bring them in
as talent to the
Anne Ganguzza:
Right.
Lau Lapides:
roster. It's always from a demo. It just
Anne Ganguzza:
But your
Lau Lapides:
is.
Anne Ganguzza:
clients, however, are they going to want to hear a demo or an
audition?
Lau Lapides:
You know, it's a good question and there's some guesswork in that.
It's
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
shifting. The trends are really shifting. I think less and less
clients are listening to demos and
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
more and more just for time's sake. They want an audition
Anne Ganguzza:
the audition.
Lau Lapides:
with a copy from their specific job. Now, that's not to say that if
they're considering five people, that they're
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
not going to quickly go and listen to the demos. And here, have you
done that kind of work before? I'm sure that they
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
do. But I think upfront, time seems to be always of the issue and
they just want to get people in. They want to get them reading and
they want to get, so they're relying on us to
Anne Ganguzza:
Sure.
Lau Lapides:
have listened to the demo. We have the demo. We've vetted the demo.
They're relying
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm.
Lau Lapides:
on us that we don't need they, that we don't need to listen to the
demo.
Anne Ganguzza:
because
Lau Lapides:
The
Anne Ganguzza:
you've
Lau Lapides:
agency
Anne Ganguzza:
already
Lau Lapides:
already
Anne Ganguzza:
done it.
Lau Lapides:
listened
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm,
Lau Lapides:
to it. Yes,
Anne Ganguzza:
right.
Lau Lapides:
yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
Now, I asked you that question specifically because we were talking
about commercial or things that typically
Lau Lapides:
Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza:
are broadcast, right? Now, let's talk about non-broadcast, which I
like to think is one of my specialties, right?
Lau Lapides:
Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza:
Non-broadcast, yeah, your demo's gonna be an important part of it,
as well as your audition, okay? So you may get those auditions from
an agent, right? I get a certain percentage of corporate work from
my agent, and I know that you cast as well. But probably the
majority of what you do is commercial work. But for me, corporate
work, I get cast either on my audition, but I also get cast quite a
bit from my demo. And so it is very important that demo is
strategically target marketed towards the market you want to sell
to. And so it's good
Lau Lapides:
always.
Anne Ganguzza:
to have that demo, because I've been hired off my demo multiple
times
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
in a non-broadcast.
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
market multiple times and my spots on my demo have been able to be
split up if I needed to send an independent spot to You know to a
particular client to showcase a particular talent They're also on
my website kind of they are they are always split apart so that
people can see the industry and they can also Listen to the spot
and they can say oh, that's automotive and it is You know
informational and Inspiring believe it or not. It could be
inspiring to be automotive.
Lau Lapides:
Absolutely, absolutely.
Anne Ganguzza:
And so both are very, very important. So for me, I'm always a big
proponent and a big fan. And I know I, yes, I'm a coach and I do
produce demos, but I really believe because I have had personal
experience and I know a lot of people in non-broadcast get hired
off their demos quite a bit.
Lau Lapides:
Mm hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
So
Lau Lapides:
Yes. And
Anne Ganguzza:
it's important.
Lau Lapides:
I just want to impress upon your bosses, your listeners, that you
could get hired in all different realms and for all different
reasons.
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
I've gotten hired so many times just during lunch, like
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
just having a lunch meeting with someone just talking to them as I
talk to them. And and just recently, I don't know if you even know
this, but we're where producers in an audio drama that we're
recording in the fall with some big partners out
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
in New York and some amazing names coming into that. And I was
producing a preliminary rehearsal table read before it was even
cast.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
And I was reading one of the roles because we needed another voice
for one of the roles. And the producers came to me and they said,
Yala, we kind of want you to play the role. And I said, oh
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
wow, really?
Anne Ganguzza:
Well, that's
Lau Lapides:
And
Anne Ganguzza:
that
Lau Lapides:
they said,
Anne Ganguzza:
personal.
Lau Lapides:
yeah, we do. And that's
Anne Ganguzza:
That's
Lau Lapides:
the
Anne Ganguzza:
that
Lau Lapides:
personal
Anne Ganguzza:
personal,
Lau Lapides:
relationship.
Anne Ganguzza:
the personal relationship, personal network, which
Lau Lapides:
Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza:
is really important, guys.
Lau Lapides:
Really.
Anne Ganguzza:
And casting trends, I think this has always been a trend in
casting, is that relationship.
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
And gosh, when I went to Amsterdam, you know, to teach at one of
the retreats there for J. Michael, I met up with a studio in
Amsterdam, who just because they saw me on my website, listened to
my demos, and then I met them in person, a working relationship
with them. And is it because, am I the absolute best female voice
they've ever heard in their life? Of course so, but no. But really,
do you know what I mean? Like,
Lau Lapides:
It's... it's...
Anne Ganguzza:
it's all about that relationship, right? That relationship. And
I,
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
look, I am not proud, guys. I, my ego does not get in the way. If I
get the job, I get the job. You know what I mean? And I'm like,
look, this is a business to me. For me, my ego doesn't need to be
the best, be labeled as the best and touted as the best female
voiceover ever legend. Because gosh, it's all subjective. We know
this over and over again. But because I worked on that
relationship, I had things in place. And I was ready, willing, and
eager to help. and lend my thoughts when they asked, hey, what's it
like in the States in hiring for this type of work? And because I
developed that relationship and I did that work, bam, I got the
job.
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
And that is absolutely a valid, successful way to get cast.
Lau Lapides:
And sometimes it's not, it's very pure. Sometimes your
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
intention is literally not to get cast or get the
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah?
Lau Lapides:
job.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
It's really to get the relationship. I always
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
like to say, I would rather get the relationship than the job
because I'm building a career. I'm not working jobs, I'm building a
career. And there are two different things. So if I'm gonna sort of
lose the battle, but I'm gonna win the war, so to speak, I'd rather
do that. In other words, I wanna make myself invaluable. So if I'm
not the voice, as a voice talent, I'm going to find you great
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
people that are the voice. I'm going to recommend friends of
mine.
Anne Ganguzza:
Oh, absolutely.
Lau Lapides:
I'm going to recommend
Anne Ganguzza:
Now,
Lau Lapides:
other agencies.
Anne Ganguzza:
law. way
Lau Lapides:
Right?
Anne Ganguzza:
back in the beginning, it's one of the reasons why I wanted to
start the VO Peeps networking group. Because I started the VO Peeps
because I wanted to have a collection of like-minded people, but
then I said, what am I going to do for them? I want to provide an
educational resource. So I started interviewing, right? I started
interviewing all of my idols because I
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
wanted to develop that relationship.
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
Okay? And it wasn't coming at them in a hire
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
you know, a very different format where I just wanted to, I was
interested in them and I wanted to share their resources with my
community. And because of that, I became known. And once you become
known, right, over the years, then you become top of mind for
referrals.
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
And that absolutely is where that relationship work comes into
play.
Lau Lapides:
And there's no, or at least there shouldn't be any desperation
surrounding that. I don't know if you'd call that a trend.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah,
Lau Lapides:
I think that
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah.
Lau Lapides:
was always the case.
Anne Ganguzza:
Well, I like
Lau Lapides:
But
Anne Ganguzza:
to
Lau Lapides:
now
Anne Ganguzza:
say
Lau Lapides:
so
Anne Ganguzza:
casting
Lau Lapides:
more than
Anne Ganguzza:
trends,
Lau Lapides:
ever
Anne Ganguzza:
this
Lau Lapides:
is
Anne Ganguzza:
is just
Lau Lapides:
like,
Anne Ganguzza:
a casting like known,
Lau Lapides:
yeah,
Anne Ganguzza:
it's a
Lau Lapides:
if
Anne Ganguzza:
known
Lau Lapides:
we're talking,
Anne Ganguzza:
fact.
Lau Lapides:
right, it's a fact.
Anne Ganguzza:
Why
Lau Lapides:
If
Anne Ganguzza:
do
Lau Lapides:
we're
Anne Ganguzza:
you get
Lau Lapides:
talking
Anne Ganguzza:
cast?
Lau Lapides:
to people like, like quiz yourself, if
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
I'm in an event or if I'm talking to someone on Zoom, am I thinking
the whole time, oh, I want them to hire me. Oh, I want that
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
job. Or am I? really actively listening to what they're
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
saying to me and offering value to them in points that make the
conversation invigorated and alive and then following up after that
and doing
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
the due diligence to follow up after that. Am I doing all of that
or am I just
Anne Ganguzza:
Right.
Lau Lapides:
thinking oh I want I would love them to get that get me that job
and I really want
Anne Ganguzza:
And
Lau Lapides:
to
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah, and a lot of times, you know what? You'll get the job because
you have proven yourself to be reliable, to be focused and intent
on serving that client's needs and or agents needs. I can't tell
you how many agents I interviewed first and then they got to know
me and guess who got put on the roster? Just saying, right? As long
as everything is in place. Right, we have that. And again, I know
we're talking casting trends, but I think we would be remiss if we
did not mention the importance of, maybe it's not a trend, but the
fact that the relationships account. And that's relationships
between you and your agents, and relationships between you and your
direct clients.
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
And of course, agents are all dependent on relationships with their
clients to get you work, right?
Lau Lapides:
Yes.
Anne Ganguzza:
It all just kind of feeds into the system.
Lau Lapides:
Yeah, and I think the trend part comes in, Annie, where we say,
okay, we all know this, we want real voices, casual, relatable
voices, we want that. Well, how does that transcribe to the real
world? Well, as I'm making the relationships, building the
relationships, really talking, really conversing, really paying
attention, I'm showcasing and demoing what I do for my real
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
in like now the last couple years are gonna say, ooh, I'm listening
to them. I like the way they sound. Ooh,
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
they sound really cool. And they're going to assume, they're gonna
run on the assumption
Anne Ganguzza:
that
Lau Lapides:
that
Anne Ganguzza:
you
Lau Lapides:
you
Anne Ganguzza:
can
Lau Lapides:
can
Anne Ganguzza:
do
Lau Lapides:
then
Anne Ganguzza:
that.
Lau Lapides:
bring that into the booth.
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah,
Lau Lapides:
Yeah,
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah.
Lau Lapides:
so that's
Anne Ganguzza:
That's
Lau Lapides:
where
Anne Ganguzza:
a
Lau Lapides:
I think
Anne Ganguzza:
huge,
Lau Lapides:
the trend is.
Anne Ganguzza:
that's a huge assumption guys. So bosses, I want you to be prepared
for that. That means, right? The fact that you're gonna bring that
authenticity, that connection to you in the booth. What does that
mean? That means you need to be the actor. You need to be an actor.
You can no longer, no longer is it. And maybe back, I don't know,
in the 60s, it was okay to have that announcer-y voice and make it
sound a particular way, but it is no longer the case where you can
just go in and make it sound pretty. You just can't. You just
can't. You've got to be able to bring that connection, and that
requires acting. And if you do not have the acting chops, then you
need to get the acting chops. And I'm a big believer that you can
train. You can train to get this. You can train to... have that
connection and that authenticity to the story. Because again, how
important, how many times do we hear, we are storytellers. And you,
you know, I don't know if I've heard that phrase over and over and
over again, but sometimes it's like, yeah, okay, I know I'm a
storyteller. But really, am I a storyteller when I'm doing an
e-learning module? Yeah, you absolutely are. You've got to know how
to
Lau Lapides:
Yeah.
Anne Ganguzza:
take those words and make them sound meaningful and make them come
alive. And so that is being able to tell a story, being the actor.
So casting
Lau Lapides:
Yeah, and
Anne Ganguzza:
trends,
Lau Lapides:
it's-
Anne Ganguzza:
be the actor and showcase that to whoever will listen. And that's
what's going to get you cast.
Lau Lapides:
And we
Anne Ganguzza:
Right?
Lau Lapides:
don't equate story with fiction. Story
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
is connection. It's really
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah, yeah,
Lau Lapides:
sharing,
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah.
Lau Lapides:
sharing an experience, sharing a happening, sharing an event
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
with another or with a group for information, for persuasion, for
entertainment, for whatever purposes. It doesn't necessarily mean
it's false or fiction or fake. It
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
means it's very well could be real and fact-based. but it's in a
story form, it's in a narrative
Anne Ganguzza:
Yeah.
Lau Lapides:
form. And understanding how to handle that in very real and
authentic ways, exactly the trend of the industry today.
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm. Wow. I know we just kind of, I feel like we went off, but I
mean, honestly, the whole,
Lau Lapides:
Ha ha!
Anne Ganguzza:
what's important? Diversity,
Lau Lapides:
Mm-hmm.
Anne Ganguzza:
authenticity. It's not so much about having that perfect sound.
It's about the connection you have, and the connection you have not
just to your material and the fact that you can actually vocalize
that, but the connection you have with your agents, with your. your
potential clients, because that is what's going to get you
cast.
Lau Lapides:
Absolutely.
Anne Ganguzza:
And knowing yourself and knowing where you fit in this, knowing
yourself enough to go for those areas that you excel in.
Lau Lapides:
and staying bright and hopeful and positive and humorous.
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm,
Lau Lapides:
That
Anne Ganguzza:
yes,
Lau Lapides:
is a
Anne Ganguzza:
yes.
Lau Lapides:
trend of like, whether it's
Anne Ganguzza:
Cause
Lau Lapides:
we're
Anne Ganguzza:
I
Lau Lapides:
looking
Anne Ganguzza:
wanna work
Lau Lapides:
for,
Anne Ganguzza:
with somebody like that,
Lau Lapides:
yeah, whether
Anne Ganguzza:
yeah.
Lau Lapides:
we're looking for a standup comedian or we're looking for a mom
Anne Ganguzza:
Mm-hmm.
Lau Lapides:
sitcom type, or we're looking for, we want pops of humor and pops
of humility in your work.
Anne Ganguzza:
Oh, love
Lau Lapides:
And
Anne Ganguzza:
that.
Lau Lapides:
that's real for us, that's
Anne Ganguzza:
Puffs
Lau Lapides:
real,
Anne Ganguzza:
of humor and humility,
Lau Lapides:
you know.
Anne Ganguzza:
I love that. Yeah. What a wonderful topic, wonderful topic. And
Law, thank you for lending your ultimate wisdom in
Lau Lapides:
Mmm
Anne Ganguzza:
what you do and what you love every day. And again, we appreciate
you so much, Law.
Lau Lapides:
I appreciate you tremendously.
Anne Ganguzza:
Well, you guys, I want to ask you, you know, as individuals, right,
it's difficult sometimes to feel like we're making a huge impact,
but as a group, we can absolutely contribute to the growth of our
communities in ways that we never thought possible. Visit
100VoicesWhoCare.org to find out more and to learn how. Big shout
out to IPDTL. I love connecting with law and all of you bosses.
Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week, and
we'll see you next week. Mwah!
Lau Lapides:
See you next
Anne Ganguzza:
Bye!
Lau Lapides:
week. Mwah!