SaVoa.Org

The following article detailing the latest happenings at SaVoa appeared Friday, April 16th, 2010 on the VoiceOverXtra site.

_________

As a voice actor, you’ve probably heard that acronym word “SaVoa” floating around here ‘n’ there.

Well, SaVoa (Society of Accredited Voice Over Artists; a non-profit) is all about raising the level of professionalism of voice talent. It’s founded, organized, and peopled by and for voice-over artists.

WHAT’S NEW …

Recently, SaVoa launched an Advisory Board and elected a new president.

The Advisory Board meets monthly, and is made up of Dave Courvoisier, Scott Diskin, Dustin Ebaugh, Dan Lenard, Rafe Sampson, Rob Sciglimpaglia, and Thom Wilkins (Director).

The new president is founding member Rowell Gorman. You can see a letter from Rowell on the SaVoa.org web site here:

http://savoa.org/blog/savoa-announces-new-president

The changes have resulted in an infusion of energy and ideas into the organization. And following, are some significant recent moves:

AFFILIATE PROGRAM

An Affiliate Program has been launched for the key areas of:
Consultant
Casting Agent
Coach, and
Professional Services
Affiliate agreements have already been inked with George Whittam of Eldorado Recording; Rob Sciglimpaglia of All In One Voice LLC; Edge Studio, VO Planet, VOX agency, and Sweetwater Sound.

SaVoa members enjoy inside tracks and professional discounts or rewards when approaching these affiliates for a relationship.

ONLINE COMMUNITY

An exclusive - SaVoa members only - online community has been launched as a virtual space for online interaction, modeled after the ning VU (VoiceoverUniverse.com) web site. It is available to any SaVoa member in good standing.

The free interchange of ideas and information at SaVoaPro.org is encouraged.

TECH STANDARDS

SaVoa is reviewing its policies of what constitutes the universally high standard of sound quality that its members should meet.

Currently, the review is being generally modeled after the accepted standards being used by National Public Radio and the BBC.

PEER REVIEWS

SaVoa is also streamlining the peer review process - incorporating organizational changes that will make the process simple, yet deliver effective, fair applicant reviews.

FOREIGN APPLICATIONS

The SaVoa board is seeking a workable solution to accept the growing number of applications from those who speak a different native language than English.

This hinges on finding a sufficient peer review pool.

SaVoa & VOICE 2010

We want to increase awareness of SaVOA in order to grow our membership, and also to explain our mission.

At the moment, this is taking shape around a decision to have a high profile at the VOICE 2010 conference in June in Los Angeles.

A mutually beneficial agreement between SaVoa and VOICE 2010 is in hand, and will rely on strong support from current members.

SaVoa believes VOICE 2010 offers a wonderful opportunity to reach out to the specific population of attendees - specifically, voice actors who have reached a level of professional proficiency and feel they are ready to be successfully evaluated by their peers, and agree to abide by the SaVoa guild standards.

VOICE 2010 is a unique gathering of voice actors from across the nation and other countries, who aspire to achieve professional success in the voice-over field.

Note: For a $100 discount on your VOICE 2010 tuition, just click here and insert the Registration Code: VOXTRA (all caps).

PROFESSIONAL BENCHMARKS

Bricklayers, contractors, dental hygienists, teachers, CPA’s - even beauticians - must pass certification, proving they meet practicing standards. They enjoy professional status.

Voice actors generally do not, and with the emerging “Wild West” of the Internet, it’s been difficult to know exactly who you were hiring, until recently.

SaVoa believes that establishing professional benchmarks will help standardize the authenticity and define criteria that we as voice-over professionals aspire to.

STEADY GROWTH

Several years ago, founding SaVoa members pulled together professional benchmarks, business practices and ethical standards for voice actors.

The full set of bylaws, accreditation standards, FAQs, a full listing of members, and more can be found at the SaVoa.org web site.

Growth in the organization has been steady.

SaVoa is a guild, never intended to be a union or an agency. It sets minimum standards for acceptable audio quality and uses a peer review process to qualify its prospective members.

Membership is for a two-year period and costs $75.

RESPECT FOR VOICE ACTING

SaVoa members feel these are exciting times for this organization, and that SaVoa’s emergence is a natural outcome of a profession finding new respect as a specialized and burgeoning workforce in entertainment and advertising.

Applications for membership are readily welcomed, and will be promptly processed.

This community is now over 128 strong, and helping to define the identity of what it means to be a voice actor in an industry that is ever-changing.

After all, if a plumber can tout accreditation in his trade, why not a voice actor?

For more about the organization and how to join, please visit http://SaVoa.org.