Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Savage.
Hi Jeff, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In my early 20’s, I had decided to take a chance on moving out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the music industry. During those years, I worked alongside many big-name producers, musicians, and Hollywood industry professionals who noticed that my voice had a unique quality to it, which led me to explore opportunities in the world of voice-over.
After many years working in Hollywood, I had the opportunity to move to Dallas, where I discovered a thriving and vibrant voice-over community. Many people don’t realize that Dallas is a hotbed for Japanese Anime, and more specifically, where many of the English dubs are recorded. I had the chance to work on a massively popular show called One Piece, which is one of the longest-running anime series in history.
Taking my voice-over career more seriously, I enlisted coaches, furthered my acting education, and joined an improv troupe performing live onstage. It wasn’t long before I was recording voiceovers at home from a makeshift studio, I built in a walk-in closet surrounded by blankets and clothes to deaden the sound. It was a humble beginning, but with momentum and experience, I continually improved my recording space to become a broadcast-quality voice-over studio with clients worldwide.
Today, I specialize in Commercial VO, E-Learning, Corporate Narration, Animation, Audiobooks, Video Games, and more. And with a passion for Health and Fitness, I strive to use my voice as a means to send positive and empowering messages out into the world. Having run 24 marathons in my life, I often refer to my business as The Voice That Goes The Extra Mile.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Not necessarily. Having what may be considered a great voice is not enough to guarantee success in this industry. In fact, many voice talent simply are successful because they are resilient and consistently plug away at their craft. Often, I meet people who say they can do a great impression of a celebrity, or “do funny voices”, or think that voice-over is a great get-rich-quick side hustle to make extra cash. But what I quickly learned is that being a professional voice talent in the 21st Century is about 5% actually speaking into a microphone, and 95% hustling and marketing your services to potential clients who use voice over in their productions. It truly takes an entrepreneurial mindset to take an interest or passion in voice-over and turn it into a viable business. I believe that the marketing element, the uncomfortable aspect of cold calling or emailing a potential lead or prospect, and the possibility of repeated rejection is what forces many people who are interested in voice-over to quit and give up.
Another struggle I faced was bringing the quality of my audio to professional standards. Starting out recording in a closet resulted in noisy takes with environmental noises leaking into the audio. The microphone picks up much more than the voice, including barking dogs, the rumble of cars driving by outside, airplanes flying overhead, and sirens from many blocks away. It took a lot of patience, financial investment, and guidance from audio professionals to create a solid recording space where I can record top-quality audio anytime I hit record. Additionally, I had to learn to become an audio engineer as well as a voice talent, to edit my audio and record at the proper levels indicative of professional quality.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
To say that you go “the extra mile” in life is a cliché way of saying you consistently exceed expectations. But in my voice-over business, it’s literally what sets me apart from others. “The Voice That Goes The Extra Mile” was born from the cumulative experiences I have gained from running 24 marathons in my life (so far). Running a marathon can be viewed as a metaphor for achieving any long-range goal or vision of success. Like success, running a marathon takes determination, perseverance, heart, grit, and stamina. These are qualities that I incorporate into ALL aspects of my life, and provides the foundation of how I conduct my voice-over business.
Also, my passion for Health and Fitness gives me a Unique Value Proposition to align my message and outlook to brands and companies that promote a healthy lifestyle and to empower people to improve their quality of life. We all have a voice, and with that voice, we can control what we broadcast out into the world around us.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Quite simply, it is Resilience. It’s the ability to keep moving forward with determination, even when you don’t feel like it, or the odds are stacked against you. It’s that desire to succeed, to push yourself to level up, to achieve what you once thought was impossible. It’s the grit to dig deep and find that hidden gear to move you forward, to put one foot in front of the other, and continue running the race. The perseverance to continually keep at it, to stand up when you fail, to shake off the sting of rejection, to get it done, no matter what. It is the lesson of the Marathon. It is the lesson of Life.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@jeffsavagevo.com
- Website: www.jeffsavagevo.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeff_savage_vo
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeffsavagevo
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeffsavage
