We continue with the second part of the interview with Rosi Amador, bilingual voice over artist in English and Spanish and “winner of the Voice Art Award – a voiceover Oscar, if you will- for the Best Commercial Demo”.
You can read the first part of the interview here.
You are a bilingual voice over talent who works both in English and in Spanish. What are the differences between the American and Latin American market?
It’s true that I work in both languages. I record about twice as much in Spanish (neutral Latin Spanish, most often) than in English. That being said, what I find most interesting is that a big part of the projects that I record with US-based producers are for clients who wish to reach out to a Latin/Hispanic audience in this country, because they want to educate, provide information or sell a product to the Latin community. The work I do ranges from teaching Spanish to students from all the way through college, to industrials for Spanish speaking employees, corporate narrations to commercials for Spanish speakers who are more comfortable listening to advertisements in their native tongue. I have sporadically worked with media producers in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Spain over the last decade, but not consistently. For this reason, I can’t give a clear opinion about the differences between the Latin American and American markets.
What is the best strategy to enter the US market, which seems to be the most interesting one due to its size?
The most important thing for any entrepreneur to do is to look for clients that need exactly what you have to offer. Get to know what your clients need, what problems you can solve for them, and make sure you fulfill that need. That is key. In my case, what I can do is provide voiceover in native English and Spanish without any accent. I am completely bicultural and bilingual. I am from Puerto Rico, of Puerto Rican and Argentinian descent, and I am also from the US, since I was partly raised here, so I was raised speaking both languages. When I started to look for clients I focused my branding as a bilingual voiceover talent, which made me different from many other voice talents. Furthermore, I started working online right away, which helped me identify media producers nationwide who were searching for bilingual voice talents, or who didn’t have enough Spanish speaking voiceover talents on their rosters, since this is considered a specialty. I could find new clients among studios close to where I live, in Boston, as well as throughout the whole country, especially in areas with a significant Hispanic population. After finding many clients on my own and establishing a track record with many happy clients, I looked for agents in order to enter the commercial world at regional and national level, which is much more competitive. Here again, my bilingual specialty opened many doors for me. Also, the fact that I can offer translations into Spanish has also been very helpful to North American producers looking to me for this type of expertise, so I can help localize their scripts/messages.
What percentage of work do you do online and in person? What are the differences and similarities between both work styles or processes?
I’d say 95% of my work is done online. Approximately 20% is done through a realtime connection with producers who record me directly from professional studios in any part of the world, using technologies such as Source Connect, ISDN o ipDTL. The remaining 5% is done in person. There are great studios in the Boston area, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with nearly every one of them over the past 20 years. I am very used to directing myself when I record in my studio, since 75% of my clients simply send me a script and trust my ability to record what they want without their direction. This took time to be able to do and improved as I studied with various voiceover coaches and casting directors. Of course, as part of my customer service I guarantee that if they are not completely satisfied with what I deliver, I will happily re-record the script at no cost if it’s a matter of tone or rhythm, style, etc. The remaining 25% are directly involved in the recording through a live connection in order to provide specific directions, to which I must respond in the moment as I record. Sometimes there is just one producer, but at other times there could be a producer or several members of a production team and at least one representative from the end client’s company or product/service. I love being directed, because that way I can be sure that I am delivering exactly what the client wants. It is more nerve-wracking but also exhilarating! On-site work at studios is different, and to be honest, I love it. It gives me the opportunity to have direct contact with the engineers, producers and clients, and I often find myself responding to the direction of many different points of view and doing all I can to adapt to their specifications. It’s enormously satisfying when I achieve what they need and if and when I don’t get it on the first try I simply keep going until I do so. That’s what I’m there for, after all – to make sure I convey their message effectively and convincingly. Over time and with more experience this has gotten easier, and has become more and more enjoyable for me. Furthermore, it’s a lovely change of pace when I get to dress more elegantly and get out of my recording “cave”, which I love, but a little variety never hurts! In fact, I find it fun to get out and meet my clients in person. For me there is nothing better than the personal contact and human warmth that comes with those opportunities. I’ve been able to establish excellent relationships with local clients thanks to that direct contact, and some of them have become very good friends, because we share similar interests, the same passion for our industry and for best conveying the messages we want to share with the end listener.
If you are a voice over talent and would like to try to have your demo selected for this year’s awards, keep in mind that the nomination period opens in April. You can register on Sovas’ website.
Related article: Interview with Lili Barba, Latin Brand Voice for LEGO and Apple.
