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21 Day Voice Over Challenge

21 Day Voice Over Challenge - what's it all about?

“It’s so hard when you can’t do the job you love, such as acting or performing - it defines us, so having a creative outlet for mental health is essential. Everyone is loving it and I am so grateful for the chance to share my

knowledge and experience.”

Creative Chameleon, Jo Pickard began her career as an actress, working on TV and Theatre in the North. Performing has always been a driving force for her, from the grand old age of 6 entertaining in her parents pub!

After making the big move to London, Jo realised she was a small fish in a very huge pond, so retrained as a presenter and has never looked back! Although the journey has not been an easy one, with rejection and failure heavily playing their parts, it’s paved the way for a headstrong, focused and talented creative!

Presenting at some of the biggest sporting events in the world, Jo has been the face of the London and Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, two round the world Volvo Ocean Races, and hundreds of high-profile events in the UK, including Chris Evan’s Carfest and Tom Kerridge’s Pub in The Park.

Realising she didn’t want to travel so much after meeting her husband and settling her roots back in the North, Jo refocused on an area she had always loved – Voice Over work. Now recording from her home studio, you’ll hear her tones across the likes of ITV, Channel 4 and five and currently cracking into the world of animation and gaming.

When lockdown struck, Jo like many, lost 80% of her work pretty much overnight and the struggle of being home alone began to take its toll. With a farming husband out at work most the day, the large events industry and major international flights not looking to be normal anytime soon – Jo set her mind to creating something she could manage from home that would help others as well as keep her own mind active.

With a firm focus of keeping busy, calls with friends to bounce around ideas and stay sane – the 21 Day Voice Over Challenge rocketed into life.

The 21 Day Voice Over Challenge features loads of content to gain better understanding of the incredibly diverse voice over industry. It’s an opportunity to learn new skills, push yourself and get creative – even if you’ve never tried anything professionally. The challenges cover everything from audiobooks, gaming, animation but also scripts, tips and tricks along with positive quotes and encouragement to keep you going. So far the challenge has been a huge hit and has even had the likes of Liam Fox from Emmerdale and BGT finalist swing and rat pack singer Andrew Bourn taking part!

Whilst its beginnings were a lockdown project, the 21 Day Voice Over Challenge isn’t going anywhere fast, Jo has plans to add to it and when we can all gather again properly - present some pop up workshops.

I asked Jo a few further questions about life as a voice over artist….

Right now feels like an exciting time for you – do you feel like you’re on the edge of a whole new career with your voice over work?

I’ve recorded voice overs in recording studios for many years but the home studio and focusing on this part of my career fully is most definitely exciting. I love it so much, it’s hard work developing new relationships with clients and putting in the spade work to ensure I have a long prosperous career.

It’s so worth every second of hard work to get to create characters, tell stories and be the voice of a huge variety of shows and adverts. My dogs look at me very strangely sometimes when I am trying out new accents or animation voices but I love the freedom to be who I want in the studio.

How on earth do you audition for voice over work?

This is such a varied process to be honest, sometimes the client just listens to your voice reels and you get the job, although this is rare! However TV series usually do go with this approach.

A lot of the time you’re sent a test script to record and send back. If it’s for Gaming or animation then they send character descriptions, background and photos of the character, which is so helpful. I get in the studio, try and nail the physicality and try a few voices that I think might fit, basically it’s about playing until it feels right.

Sometimes it’s a live line so the client can hear a live session - either in an external recording studio or via Source Connect in my home studio and the director will ask you to read a few versions of the script, then give you notes on certain lines to change pace, emotion or maybe try another voice. This can be intimidating but I actually love the thrill of live direction. Basically to be a voice over artist you need to be ready for anything!

Any specific Voice Over artists that you really champion and suggest anyone wanting to start out should go check out?

OMG I love a Canadian beauty called Elley-Ray Hennessy she is so talented, bonkers and fabulous. She also does some amazing workshops so check her out for sure!

What’s next on the agenda for you – what are you working on now?

As well as continuing with the 21 Day Voice Over Challenge and supporting anyone that needs it - I’m actually really busy again which is both amazing and a relief to be honest, there are a couple of things I’m not allowed to talk about, but I did a happy dance when I got them! I’m the face of Omaze.co.uk so if you want to win a million-pound house and support Teenage Cancer Trust check it out.

I’m working on a podcast and hosting lots of virtual conferences and writing a new onscreen confidence course for people in business - who have been thrown into the world of zoom and need help! My aim is animation, it’s my favourite element of voice overs so watch this space.

As a pro in the industry do you have any advice to creatives and artists about where they should start?

Be you, be confident and never stop learning, really listen when people talk but don’t believe everything everyone tells you. Take opportunity’s, be kind and work hard but most of all try and create an internal positive voice that supports you. If someone tells you that you can’t let that internal voice fuel you - because you can do it!

Join the Voice Over tribe - www.voiceover-tribe.com

See more of Jo and her work - www.joannepickard.co.uk

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Jewellery with Meaning - Hannah Weston

09 Jul, 2021

Hannah makes jewellery with a big heart! Delicate "everyday" designs that are a token of joy, adding that little bit of shine to the rhythms of life, with every single piece in the collections having an intention or story behind it. The ethos of her Hannah's business came from that ever striving need to be a thoughtful giver of gifts that are meaningful. Hannah Weston Jewellery is a celebration of the stories that knit our lives together and connect us to our dearest family and friends. Family sits at the core of everything — the Nordic collection names featured in Hannahs collections are a nod to her brother and his family in Norway. We've had many conversations about how running your own business has its own highs and lows (being a one man band can be a lonely place at times) but Hannah has gone from strength to strength and the last few years have seen her producing work for two pop up stints in John Lewis, a feature in Tatler magazine, a little spot in Holly Tuckers "fly the flag for small business" campaign (see the video here) and a move from juggling the business with a full time teaching job, to full time, self employed brilliant craftswoman and maker. I chatted with Hannah about how she came to be the founder of her own company and the journey she's been on get to where she is now. "I think my journey was a bit accidental… I never woke up one day and thought ‘oooh, I think I’d like to start a jewellery business’. I started making jewellery as a child – I was born with no fingers on one hand and went through a number of phases of trying to do everything one handed. The first phase was as a toddler, so my Mum would sit down at the dining room table with me and we’d string buttons on shirring elastic and make necklaces. I like being creative – making things with my hands. My Gran taught me to knit and embroider and make my own clothes. In 2013 my jewellery making got a bit more serious and I started to document my journey on social media – I gained a bit of a following and people started to ask me to make Christmas and Birthday presents. Then when I went back to work part time after having my daughter, my hours would fluctuate each year, giving me a bit more time to invest in my business – and I got to the point where I thought ‘you know what…. let’s give this a go, see if it can be a thing’ – I didn’t want to get to 60 having not tried."

From handy woman to Ceramic Artist - Jenny Chan

08 Jan, 2021

Born in Hong Kong Jenny Chan spent much of her childhood on the small island of Nauru, Micronesia, northeast of Australia but settled in the UK around five and a half years ago. Working with clay, her works are sculptural, primary about faces, making figurative figurines, wall masks and during 2020 she launched a new series of framed small faces wall art. "Not in wildest dreams did I think that I would be in the creative industry. I started my clay journey in 2014 during a very difficult time in my life. I am mostly self-taught from watching hours of YouTube. I found clay gave me focus, peace and fulfilment, the ideal distraction for relieving anxiety away from life difficulties and isolation as a new immigrant in the UK." Without any formal education in arts or ceramics, Jenny believes her love of 3D objects developed tinkering from an early age as the "handy woman" of the house! Without access to a kiln, Jenny then worked as a cleaner in exchange for free kiln firing time within a commercial studio - the Ceramic Studio in Stratford-upon-Avon. After then joining a local artist group, the Leamington Artists Studio, she realised her work was actually being very well received. Grappling with the latest technologies and a changing society after emerging from being a stay at home mum for 16 years was daunting but Jenny's confidence grew not just with her clay skills but within herself as a person during her time at Leamington. As a ceramicist her influencers include works from Rhian Malin , who Jenny observes has made such incredible achievements since 2016 - reaching from a great online presence to having her work heavily featured in many publications. Following a move to the North, Jenny was offered an opportunity in the Craft Council Hot House Programme in 2019 - a Yorkshire Artspace Starter Program which she feels was a pivotal moment for her work that did not centre around her age, ethnicity or educational background. Guiding her work has always been an inner focus on things that are important to Jenny - integrity, honesty and above all a woman trying to find peace and self-worth within. Using traditional hand-building techniques in coiling and slab building, each piece is unique and individually sculpted generally taking a number of days to perfect. No two pieces are the same and are made using mainly porcelain and stoneware clay. Some sculptures are partially press-moulded and individually carved whilst others sculpted from scratch. Any impressions and inlay surface decoration is made using a minimal glaze - coloured slips, oxides and underglazes, emphasising a natural clay texture and colour. Jenny's designs are very much guided by her surroundings of the day, something she may have read or seen on TV. The face mask series based on BBC100 women for example included some modelling on famous people, ie. Amelia Earhart, ‘Grayson Perry’ entwined with imaginary characters. During the March 2020 lockdown Jenny developed a new series ‘Standing Together’ (seen below) for NHS workers, a long-lasting recognition gift for their dedication to the Pandemic. Channelling her focus and anxiety around the Pandemic Jenny was able to make small framed wall art from modelling clay without the use of kiln firing. "If I cannot make work in the studio, I will use a shower plastic curtain on my carpeted floor to make work."

21 Day Voice Over Challenge