Tranter Banter

An industry that at one time relied on a great deal of travel and seriously expensive equipment found only in major recording studios is now rapidly becoming a “work at home” vocation powered by the Internet and social media. It has been estimated that voice-over is now an $11 billion dollar industry world-wide thanks to video and internet gaming, audio books, webinars, commercials, eLearning and a new term called “explainer videos.” The latter is what you'll often find on You Tube explaining how to use a product or device.

Jerry Reed, Whitesboro, has been part of the transition since he was a local broadcaster at WIBX in Utica in the 1980s. At one time he found himself traveling to Albany or Syracuse to be the voice of a video or commercial. Now, with a moderate investment in computers, and audio equipment designed to interface with those computers, he has set up a recording studio in his home and can provide his voice to anyone anywhere in the world and almost instantaneously, if needed.

This past year Jerry was contacted by a company in The Netherlands that was looking for someone to be the English language storyteller for their very popular Dutch children's book – Frederik Spin. The book was made into an APP and is now available in the iTunes app store with Jerry as the storyteller. The company provided the script, Jerry recorded it, delivered digitally through the Internet.

Auditions that at one time were held at a studio are now conducted by invitation from agents and Internet casting sites. So, Jerry spends part of every day auditioning and uploading those audition files for review by the potential client.

Reed uses social media to market and showcase his skills on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other voice-over specific social media sites where he's apt to be heard by agents and casting directors. He does this without ever leaving the house.

For more information, feel free to visit his website at http://jerryreed.com.