Liz Drury Voiceovers' Blog

That was what my 15 year old son said to me when I announced that I'd been shortlisted for a business award. I was pretty pleased with my achievement and his rather derogatory comment took the wind out of my sails somewhat. Now granted I wasn't running my business full time at that point, but still, he'd seen me working at home, disappearing into my recording studio at all times of the day, so if I wasn't running a business, what was I doing?! I asked him about this and he said, 'but you don't have any premises'. So, in his mind I needed to be going 'out' to work, for it to count. Bear in mind this child is taking Business Studies at school, so really he should know that businesses come in all shapes and sizes, and that a business run from home is still a valid business - but no - a business run by his Mum doesn't mean anything. Why are my children so dismissive about what I do? They are never excited by my successes or pleased that I've ...

I've been to a couple of voiceover conferences in the UK before, but nothing quite on the scale of VOAtlanta . This was the biggest voiceover conference in the world - ever! With over 600 delegates including voice actors from across the voiceover spectrum and 12 different countries, casting directors, talent agents, coaches, and equipment manufacturers, we took over an entire hotel - and then some. BUT, when you consider that some industry conferences attract thousands of people, it just shows what a niche industry we are - and that our talents are quite unique. One of the recurring themes of the conference is that we should know our worth - and given that not everyone can do what we do, we should be able to command a decent fee for our work. However, the industry has seen a downward trend in rates over recent years, with people setting themselves up on the likes of Fiverr with a cheap mic and providing voiceover services for next to nothing. However, you do tend to get what you ...

After the birth of my eldest son, my career took a different turn. When he was 9 months old I went to work at Franklin 6th Form College in Grimsby. They wanted me to help them create some staff training materials that included videos of various teachers and other staff members, talking about self-assessment reporting and development planning. I was excited to be able to make use of my interviewing skills again, and a year later we had produced a very comprehensive training package. By the time the project finished I was pregnant with son number two, and so I left the college. I spent the next couple of years at home with the children and then I received a phone call out of the blue from Franklin, asking me if I would go back. They wanted some extra interviews adding to the original training package, but one thing led to another and soon I was on a permanent contract. Over the next 5 years I did all sorts of things for Franklin. I only ever worked 15 hours a week so that I could ...

What does pre-historic chewing gum have to do with voiceovers? Not a lot on the face of it, but pre-historic chewing gum was arguably the thing that started me on the path to my current career. Let me explain… Back in 1997 I was a PhD student at the University of Bradford . My field of study was Archaeological Science, and I was looking at natural products (tars and resins) that had been used in the Mesolithic period (5, 000 – 10,000 years ago) as glues and waterproofing agents. These kinds of materials are only preserved in anaerobic conditions (lacking oxygen), such as water-logged bog sites, and so most of the material I was interested in was located in soggy Scandinavia. I spent three weeks during the first year of my research travelling around Demark and Sweden collecting samples to study, and during my travels I came across a number of lumps of tar with human tooth impressions in them – chewing gums. Quite what the purpose of these lumps of tar was, nobody really kne...

Well 2017 was a year of the slightly unexpected, but it’s turned out for the best in the end. At the end of May, after 11 years (with a 3 year sabbatical when we lived in the USA), my career at Franklin Sixth Form College came to an abrupt end. Over the years my role had changed from managing projects (which I enjoyed), to working in business development and sourcing apprenticeship placements (not my forte). I didn’t see redundancy coming, so I was rather taken by surprise, but apart from feeling a little sad, I wasn’t upset by it – which told me I was ready to move on and concentrate on my own business full time. I have been working as a voiceover artist on a part-time basis since 2013, and started my business in America (where they do love a British accent). Since then my business has trundled along alongside my job at the college without really growing, but now I have the opportunity to do something about that! I’ve had some fantastic PR for my business over the last few m...