In November 2021 had the pleasure of being a guest on the podcast "Source Elements On The Mic," hosted by the charismatic Mike Aiton.
In this engaging episode, we delved into the world of voice acting, shared personal anecdotes, and had a good laugh over our mutual admiration for Trevor Noah and Dutch biscuits. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the voice-over industry, as it offers a blend of professional insights and light-hearted conversation.
Below, I’ve summarized some of the key points from our discussion.
Journey into Voice Acting
As a global English voice over actor, I began my career in radio back in 2000 and transitioned into voice acting after moving from Belgium to the United States. My husband's work took us to various locations, including Washington D.C., Texas, and Budapest. Currently, we reside in Houston, Texas. Each move provided unique opportunities and challenges that shaped my career.
The Art of Voice Acting
Voice acting is often misunderstood by the general public. People are surprised to learn that a significant part of the job involves finding clients, negotiating terms, and managing administrative tasks. The actual recording process, which many assume takes up most of our time, is only a fraction of the job. It’s essential to convey a script naturally, making it sound as if you're conversing with a friend, even when you’re alone in a studio.
Quickfire Round: Fun Facts
During the quickfire round of the podcast, I shared some personal preferences:
Favorite Biscuit: Speculoos (Biscoff Cookie)
Favorite Book: "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah
Mac or PC: Mac
Analog or Digital Recording: Digital Recording
Vinyl or CDs: Vinyl (though I don't own either)
Preferred Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros
Phil Collins and Professional Encounters as a Global English Voice Over Actor
One highlight of my career as a global English voice over actor was meeting Phil Collins during a Belgian reality show shoot in Disneyland Paris. Despite being an intimidating figure at the time, Phil turned out to be a wonderful person. This experience, along with many others, underscores the exciting and unpredictable nature of working in the audio industry.
Working in Budapest
Our move to Budapest in mid-2020, amid the pandemic, was challenging but also opened new doors. I now work exclusively from my home studio, providing voice-over services to clients worldwide. The flexibility and autonomy of freelancing have been incredibly rewarding.
Advice for Aspiring Voice Actors
For those looking to break into the voice-over industry, my advice is to believe in yourself, be persistent, and always be nice to people. Networking and continuous learning are crucial. Engage with the community, seek mentorship, and never stop refining your craft.
Conclusion
Being a guest on "Source Elements On The Mic" was a fantastic experience, allowing me to reflect on my journey as a global English voice over actor and share my passion for voice acting. Whether you're an aspiring voice actor or simply curious about the industry, I hope this episode and my insights inspire you to pursue your dreams with determination and creativity.
Stay Tuned for Part 2
Our conversation was extensive, and there’s much more to share. Stay tuned for Part 2 of my interview on "Source Elements On The Mic," where we delve even deeper into the world of voice acting.
Listen to the full podcast episode on Source Elements On The Mic to hear more about my experiences and get a deeper look into the world of voice acting. If you're interested in global English voice-over services, feel free to contact me through my website.
Transcript:
Voice over: [00:00:00] Source Elements on the Mic, a brand new weekly series of conversational but thought provoking podcasts with Mike Aiton, leading voiceover artists, post production mixers, and music engineers. A heady mixture of audio opinion, observation, learning, philosophy, reminiscence, and downright humor. Muse, audio, and remote working with Mike and his guests.
Voice over: Stay well connected and treat your ears to Source Elements on the Mic.
Mike Aiton: Hello and welcome to Source Elements On The Mic with Mike Aiton.
Mike Aiton: In episode five of Source Elements On The Mic, we meet Flemish voice actor Serge De Marre from Budapest. I put him on the spot in What's your source? And we discover mutual love for Trevor Noah and Dutch Biscuits. We share our experiences of working with Phil Collins. Look [00:01:00] out for the infamous mention of the thingy thing.
Mike Aiton: We discuss Serge's radio DJ origins, the public's perception of a voice actor, and the interplay between sensitivity and critique. Source elements on the mic. Quite frankly, it's rude not to. The audio and remote working global podcast.
Mike Aiton: And today my special guest is Serge, well, just how do you pronounce your surname?
Serge De Marre: Um, yeah, so I'm Belgian, I'm Flemish, and in Flemish we would say Serge de Mare. Serge de Mare. Yeah. Oh, you're doing quite a good job actually, because usually, uh, English speaking people are like, um, whenever guy go to Starbucks and I say, uh, Serge, they're like, what?
Serge De Marre: What's your name? . So I, I, I, yeah, I let people [00:02:00] know that you can pronounce it any way you want. Uh, you can say Sergei ser, Serge DeMar. So, yeah, sounds good to me, no?
Mike Aiton: Surged more, right? That sounds very transatlantic. Fancy. It does, yeah. Okay, and you live in Budapest, in Hungary.
Serge De Marre: I do. What's the weather like there today?
Serge De Marre: It's a little bit grey. The weather was nice over the past few weeks, and it was quite sunny, quite warm, but it's definitely Autumn or fall has started here in, uh, in Budapest.
Mike Aiton: Yes, the shadows are getting longer. Yep, yep. The night is drawing in and all that jazz. Yeah,
Serge De Marre: I hate it, but it is what it is.
Mike Aiton: Okay, so we're gonna start with our quickfire question round, which we call, Hmm,
Serge De Marre: what's
Mike Aiton: your source?
Mike Aiton: Which is a quickfire questions and you get three to five seconds to answer. And if you want to have two answers, be my guest. You've got three to five seconds on each one. So Serge, yes, here you go. Fingers on buttons, no conferring, [00:03:00] bonus round. And what is your favorite biscuit or cookie?
Serge De Marre: Oh, wow. That's so difficult.
Serge De Marre: Um, Speculoos. Which is Biscoff Cookie. Yes, I know. Speculoos! That's absolutely my favourite. Yeah, me too.
Mike Aiton: Favourite book?
Serge De Marre: Born a Crime by
Mike Aiton: Trevor Noah.
Serge De Marre: He is great. And his book is even better.
Mike Aiton: I'm a huge Trevor Noah fan. I love his accents. I bought his book and I haven't read it because I've been told the podcast version of it or the spoken book is so much better because he does all the accents in it.
Mike Aiton: Okay, next question. Starter or pudding? Mac or PC?
Serge De Marre: Mac.
Mike Aiton: That was quick. Analog or digital recording? Digital recording. Okay. When you listen to music, do you prefer vinyl or CDs? Uh, I don't have either. Uh,
Serge De Marre: I'd say vinyl. Okay. Do you play a musical instrument? Not anymore. I used to. I used to play piano when I was a [00:04:00] kid, but um, I didn't like it anymore at some, at one point and I stopped playing it.
Serge De Marre: So, but um, now I'm, yeah. It should have kept going on, but yeah, that's a different story. What's the most recent music that you purchased? Do we still purchase music? Um Well, that's the question. Right. Oh my god, that's, uh, I cannot remember. Oh, it must be a One Republic album, because I'm a huge One Republic fan.
Serge De Marre: And
Mike Aiton: what's the most recent software that you purchased? SourceConnect? Oh, you're a man of taste.
Mike Aiton: It's not a trick question, by the way. You're right. Who's the most famous person you have met?
Serge De Marre: Uh, that's also a tough one, but, uh, I would say Phil Collins. Ooh. Go on then, quickly spill the beans. What was Phil like? Um, so I met him like in somewhere in the early 2000s and he is a super great, nice guy. [00:05:00] Um, he's just, yeah, he was wonderful.
Serge De Marre: I was working as a sound engineer for a reality show, Belgian reality show, and they were going to, um, Disneyland in Paris, uh, for, uh, Brother Bear, the movie, uh, for the premiere or something, and Phil Collins was there, and they got to meet, the family got to meet, um, for this reality show, they got to meet Phil Collins, and I was there as a sound engineer, so I got to meet him too.
Serge De Marre: So, yeah. That
Mike Aiton: I've done a foldback mix for him on Top of the Pops once, back in my youth. Oh wow, that's so cool. He was quite hard work actually that day. I don't think it was his best day. But anyway, we'll move swiftly on from that one. Right. But it's a shame because I'm a huge Genesis fan, but early Genesis especially.
Serge De Marre: Uh huh.
Mike Aiton: Mountains or beaches for a holiday? A bit of both? Good answer. Can I say that? Yes, totally. Preferred headphones.
Serge De Marre: The Beyerdynamics DT 770, uh, pros. Yeah, love
Mike Aiton: those. [00:06:00] Preferred weekend, city break or countryside? City break. Okay. Do you have a most hated colloquial phrase? It's probably in Dutch
Serge De Marre: then, I guess, in Flemish.
Serge De Marre: Far away, for our Dutch listeners. Gonna be something like, absolute, which is just a stop word, I guess. Absolute, which means definitely. Uh, in the same way as totally.
Mike Aiton: Totally, yeah. Yeah. Totally, absolutely. Yeah. What's the last film you watched?
Serge De Marre: The last film I watched was, uh, I cannot remember, Mike. I haven't seen the new James Bond then.
Serge De Marre: I haven't seen it yet, no, no. It's uh, it's in theatres here in um, I guess it's dubbed in Hungarian and I don't speak Hungarian. They don't subtitle? They don't do that, no. I don't think so. No. I will have to, uh, go somewhere abroad and watch it.
Mike Aiton: What famous person, alive or dead would you most enjoy a night out with?
Mike Aiton: Pop from Phil Collins. Right, does
Serge De Marre: he, does he, does he or she has to be
Mike Aiton: famous or not? [00:07:00] No. Well, yes, because that's what famous person alive or dead. Yeah. Okay, um. Can't say a granny, sort of, because they're not famous. Sure she's lovely.
Serge De Marre: Yeah. I think I'd say, um, uh, Ryan Tedder from One Republic. Not just because I love his music, but just because he's so interesting, he's written so much.
Serge De Marre: He's written so much music, I wonder how he does that, write music and hits, actually. I'm sure he has a formula and I would love to know that.
Mike Aiton: Okay. Is there anyone you would have liked or have liked to record or work with? In voiceover, I guess. In whatever genre. Whether you do whatever genre. Yeah, whatever you do.
Mike Aiton: If that's your work, then yes, , that's my work because quite a lot of voiceover people also do on camera as well, so Yeah. True. No, I don't do on camera. Are
Serge De Marre: you like me? Great. Face for radio. Oh, no, I'm, I'm, I'm beaut. I'm a model. I'm beautiful. I'm, people should put me in front of a camera. I mean, it's, it's a [00:08:00] shame.
Serge De Marre: I'm behind a mic. Is this the point where I go, absolute? Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolute, absolute. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, totally. I think that's a tough question as well. I, I, I don't, I have a lot of people that I look up to, but not like, like a stardom ish thingy thing, I guess. Yeah.
Mike Aiton: Okay. Do you have a favorite actor, or indeed a favorite voice actor,
Serge De Marre: you choose?
Serge De Marre: I have a tremendous admiration for the people that work for The Simpsons. I love that show. It's just, um, mind blowing how they do all those voices, how they are so witty and fun, and it's um, Yeah, so if I could meet the team of the Simpsons, love that, and work with them, yes. Okay, cool.
Mike Aiton: Hmm, what's your source?
Mike Aiton: Let's talk a bit about you now. We've discussed you're based in, in, in Hungary, may I ask what took you to, to Hungary [00:09:00] from Belgium?
Serge De Marre: That is quite a long story. So, uh, I started out in radio in 2004, had my own radio show. did some, uh, no actually earlier than that, 2000, 2004 I had my own radio show, a national radio in Belgium until 2010 and my husband, my husband's work decided to move him from Belgium to the United States for his work and so we moved to the United States.
Serge De Marre: How terribly frightful of them. We lived in D. C. for two years, then moved to Texas. Oh my God, Texas. Lived there for eight years and moved to Budapest in 2020, July 2020. Mid pandemic, they decided to move him from Texas to Budapest. Mid pandemic? Yeah, that was just, it was very interesting. So yeah, we've been living in Budapest now for a year and a half because of his work.
Serge De Marre: Okay, cool. Cool.
Mike Aiton: Presumably you're freelance rather than employed. True. And you have your own studio. Mm hmm. We'll [00:10:00] discuss the gubbins in your studio maybe slightly later. Do you work in, in, uh, other studios at all apart from your own?
Serge De Marre: Not anymore. I used to, uh, when we lived in the United States, back before I bought my booth, uh, once in a while.
Serge De Marre: Clients would actually prefer to have me in a professional setting, but right now, no, I just only work from home. I don't go to studios. Yeah.
Mike Aiton: Do you have a preferred studio that you've ever worked in?
Serge De Marre: Um, the studios, most of the studios in the Netherlands are, Not because of the studio itself, but the people are so friendly in the Netherlands.
Serge De Marre: First time you met them, they're, they're like, they feel like friends. They're very friendly and very, Hey, how are you doing? And welcome. And it's so nice to have you. And ha, hello there, Radio Hilversum. Amsterdam. And they also have the tradition in the Netherlands that they have like a kitchen lady, someone who cooks [00:11:00] lunch, makes lunch for you with sandwiches and whatever you want.
Serge De Marre: And they always, always said to me when I drove from Belgium to, to the Netherlands for a recording session back in the day, it was like, Hey, do you stay for lunch? And I was like, Oh my God, this is amazing. And then we had a nice chat over lunch at the, at that company and the, the kitchen lady. The. The cook basically was there, uh, around to serve you and it was just amazing.
Serge De Marre: I loved it. Yeah.
Mike Aiton: So you end up building a relationship because they've put in the infrastructure to allow relationship building to happen.
Serge De Marre: Absolutely. That's
Mike Aiton: very clever.
Serge De Marre: And it's, it's also, yeah, it's very fun, um, because All the people at that company have lunch at the same time, so you, it creates a bond.
Mike Aiton: And also it forces people to have a sort of implied work break as well, rather than, yeah, we'll just have a sandwich over our keyboard. Right, yeah, I do love that, it's, uh. Which is healthy.
Serge De Marre: I'm sure it is, yeah.
Voice over: The world is a melting pot of ideas. [00:12:00] Connect to the global creative village. Collaborate with class leading synchronization, audio, and picture. Innovative, affordable, and flexible solutions with enviable support. Be a part. Create together. Okay,
Mike Aiton: how would you describe your job to those who know the industry well?
Mike Aiton: I just Describe yourself in Yeah? 30 seconds.
Serge De Marre: I just love what I do. I wish I could just be behind the mic more. Because most of the work is actually finding clients, negotiating with them on fees and timing and etc, etc. And then you get into your booth, record everything, well, fairly quickly, edit, and then send it out.
Serge De Marre: And that's it. It's interesting to, because I used to think, I think a lot of people think that it's, you're in your recording studio all the time, but basically you're not, I think it only takes up like 40 percent of the time, the actual [00:13:00] recording, maybe less.
Mike Aiton: There's the old, uh, commonly quoted adage that being freelance is 95 percent sales and 5 How would you describe your job to someone who doesn't know your industry particularly well?
Serge De Marre: I would use very simple words, me behind a microphone, uh, recording, uh, the voice of, of, for a commercial, the voiceover for a commercial or e learning or web videos and like, oh, I didn't, I never realized there was someone Actually doing that. I mean, I get that questions, the questions a lot because my husband's work is in a different sector and most of the people just don't understand what I do and I have to very well, I have to simplify everything and tell them and explain it.
Serge De Marre: Oh, that sounds so much fun. They say, well, do you, do you actually do voices for, yeah. For animation and, uh, and movies as well. I'm like, hmm, no, not really. Oh, okay, then they're kind of disappointed.
Mike Aiton: I find that when, when you meet someone, if I say to someone, [00:14:00] oh, I mix sound for film and TV. Right. And they go, oh, okay, what films have you mixed that I've seen?
Mike Aiton: Or what TV shows? And that, well, because I've been at it for 40 years, I can reel off a sort of a list of things I've probably seen. You know, I used to work for the BBC and then had a career in Soho. But. It's interesting how members of the public tend to instantly think so, have you won a BAFTA? You know, when someone says to me, oh, I'm a marketing director.
Mike Aiton: Oh really, have you won any awards? Have you got any campaigns that we've ever heard of? People don't ask that question of non creative people. How many billions have you made? No. True. There's plenty of work that doesn't win awards that's really good. Absolutely. People do. And people's only yardstick of measurement is an award.
Mike Aiton: Yeah. I have a friend who's a composer and people always say to him, uh, so when am I going to see your name on one of the film credits? And his answer is always, well, when are you going to write [00:15:00] that award winning book? You know, when are you going to win a Pulitzer Prize? You keep talking about your novel, you know, it's, it's a hard climb and it's a hard, you're applying a very hard measurement to me.
Mike Aiton: No, yeah,
Serge De Marre: definitely, but I think it's because people, especially the audio sector. people don't see it. They don't realize it's there because they don't see it. They only hear it. And it's, and voice is actually, or sound or music is actually very well. It's, it's ingrained in our lives. So we don't think about it.
Serge De Marre: I guess that's the, that's the, that's the thing, right? And that's the, that's probably our, our. Our jobs as well to make it, let me, let me put it this way, if the regular public says like, Huh, there's, there is something with that music, that's probably not a good sign usually, because then there's something wrong, no?
Serge De Marre: So we, our work has to be like, um, I've
Mike Aiton: always find it akin to being a defender on a football team, that you never win the match. But you could easily lose it. When it, when it's [00:16:00] right, no one notices. True. When it's wrong, people notice. In the same way, I find when I'm, uh, watching a film or a drama, if it's good, I'm sucked into the script and I just become a viewer.
Mike Aiton: If the script is not very good, I start going, Yeah, I'm not sure about ADR. Hmm, did I hear that? You know, my mind starts wandering and you start applying professional measurement to things. Very true. So, let's talk about your background now. So, you mentioned You had a national radio station show, so how did you start in the industry?
Mike Aiton: Take us back to the very beginnings.
Serge De Marre: Well, the very beginning, I had a boyfriend. We broke up and I was miserable and I was, this is back in the 1999 or 2000s or something, and I was behind my computer chatting. with someone on I think it was ICQ or MSN in the back in the day, which he was an old school, well, not really a friend, but an acquaintance, I'd say, I guess, [00:17:00] and he was working at a local radio station.
Serge De Marre: And he was like, you know what? You need to get out of the house. Why don't you come with me to my radio show and just. Sit, we'll do the radio show. I'll do, he, he would do the radio show. I'd just visit him. I was like, yeah, sure. Okay. Sounds fun. 'cause I've always, I'd always liked radio. And then when his show was done, he was like, okay, we're gonna put everything, the whole uhhuh, um, soundboard off air, and you're gonna sit behind a mic and we're gonna record something just for fun.
Serge De Marre: Oh yeah, fun. Okay. So he recorded everything on MiniDisc. It was quite fun. And it ended up that MiniDisc on. Um, the station manager's, uh, desk. And a couple of weeks later, he was like, Hey, I really like that, and we have a spot opening up. Would you mind coming, doing a show here? And I was like, Sure, okay. So that's how I started, yeah.
Mike Aiton: Wow. So, you had a kind friend who actually was unkind to you by throwing your demo, Right. Accidental demo onto the station manager's desk. [00:18:00] Kindly.
Serge De Marre: Yeah. And I'm sure it was really bad. Yeah. It was really bad, but they thought it was amazing, and was like, Oh, we don't have anyone else, so let's put him on the air, and, uh, yeah.
Serge De Marre: They
Mike Aiton: must have seen something, they wouldn't have asked otherwise. You're very humble. Okay, so, uh, so you started in, uh, having a regular radio show. Yeah. What followed on from that?
Serge De Marre: So, yeah, then I was like, ooh, I'm the big man, you know, I have my own radio show now, I'm exaggerating, but it was kind of like that, and then I wanted to go from this local small radio station to the next step to a national radio station, so I just basically started recording demos for, yeah, the station manager of the, The national radio station, and I think I just sent him like demos every month.
Serge De Marre: Uh, this was on CD or MD, Internet was way too slow back in the day. It was kind of the same thing. At some point they needed someone and they were like, yeah, he's, he's probably, he's [00:19:00] okay ish. We need to, uh
Mike Aiton: Right time, right place, right opportunity. Right? It
Serge De Marre: was that. It took like 6 to 12 months before they actually said, well, you know what?
Serge De Marre: We do have a spot opening up. We need someone. You seem like a trustworthy guy, you show up on time at the radio station and let's just do it. And uh, and that's how I started at the national radio station, just, um, filling in for other people and then growing my way. And then after a couple of years, they were like, okay, you're ready for your own show right now.
Serge De Marre: And, uh, yeah, so that's what I did, basically.
Mike Aiton: I mean, presumably, you must be quite aware as, as a radio presenter, because it's a slightly different job to being a voice actor. And as a, as a radio presenter, you have to have a distinct personality that's you, that effectively you're cultivating, and you have to be very self aware of how your audience is reacting, and presumably try and modify, change, or adapt, or learning how to communicate to a large audience [00:20:00] effectively.
Mike Aiton: Yeah. Talk me through that a bit.
Serge De Marre: Yeah, it's very interesting as well because, I mean, I, I listened back to demos from, from the 2000s when I was working for the local radio station and was like, It sounds really bad, it's not good, and I sound so robotic, and so I'm pushing on my, my voice and it doesn't sound like a good show host or DJ or whatever you call it.
Serge De Marre: Mm hmm. And I had to learn that, I had to learn to read off of a script where you're not supposed to sound like you're reading, it needs to be, you need to try to connect to the listener. And that's what I learned all those years, that reading a script, but you have to sound conversational like you're talking to a friend.
Serge De Marre: You're talking to someone you know. I love being alone in that radio studio because then I'd be, I'd, I'd feel like no one's listening to me. There's just this one person somewhere, I had this in my mind, this one person sitting in his car or whatever at home. And he's listening or she's listening to the radio.
Serge De Marre: And, uh, [00:21:00] and that's the person I'm talking to. That's, that's how I actually imagined it. That's
Mike Aiton: your visualization.
Serge De Marre: Yeah. And it's, uh, it's very interesting because once a year with that radio station, we went to the, to the beach in some kind of beach house where we, um, made radio for two months and people could visit us.
Serge De Marre: And that always kind of stressed me out. It was like, Oh, so many people are coming to visit us. They would, they were able to come into the studio. While you were doing your radio show and that was always a little bit certainly in the beginning the first couple of weeks was kind of stressful because oh my god people are actually listening to me you know that's the
Mike Aiton: harsh realization of reality yes
Serge De Marre: yeah
Mike Aiton: did you relax then effectively on these outside broadcasts over time sort of thing presume it gave you more familiarity with being out and about and presumably when, when you're doing an outside broadcast in a beach house, then you're getting a lot more external input than you do in a dark studio on your own or with a studio manager just [00:22:00] helping.
Mike Aiton: Correct.
Serge De Marre: Yeah. I also figured out that a lot of the listeners, the people that came and visited us, they were, they didn't hear the mistakes that I thought I made. So it made me more, it gave me more self confidence, I guess, like people were just, Oh, it's so good to see you. And. Oh, I love your show or love this or whatever and then you were like, yeah, but that show, the show I just did or two days ago or whatever, or when I said that or that, it wasn't good.
Serge De Marre: That show was really bad and they were, oh yeah, I love this and that. And so that's, yeah, that was very good actually.
Mike Aiton: Because in the same way when you're talking to a friend, you know, they don't say, Hmm, what you said was quite interesting. True, but technically used as subjunctive before an adjective. You, you shouldn't do that Grammatically incorrect.
Mike Aiton: No one cares. You know, people, no, people just go, you're communicating with me and I like what you're saying and you're, you're probably
Serge De Marre: right. And I identify them. And then again, if you do not make any mistakes at all and speak too, speak properly and grammatically correct, et cetera, then it probably. [00:23:00] Well, people are going to notice and they'll be like, you sound robotic, you don't, you don't sound real.
Mike Aiton: Nobody listens to Radio Jesus, who's perfect.
Serge De Marre: Mike, we're figuring, figuring everything out here, oh my god, this is so philosophic, I guess. We are.
Mike Aiton: Right. Okay, so moving on from your national radio show, what made you veer off from doing live radio shows into, into the world of voiceover?
Serge De Marre: Um, I was, I've always been intrigued by voiceover and I wanted to start doing that also because while, especially if you're doing the national commercials in Belgium at least or voiceover for TV, TV shows, then it pays quite well, I mean, compared to radio, I guess, so I wanted to do that and I found it very, very interesting and fun to do that.
Serge De Marre: I bluffed my way into it, actually, so I contacted a national TV station, a niche station for, for, for [00:24:00] women. I wanted to really work for that TV station as a voiceover for their TV shows, and they were like, Oh yeah, we need someone, again, the right person at the right time. They asked, well, uh, yeah, we, we need someone to do the voice.
Serge De Marre: I'm
Mike Aiton: picking up a common thread. Yeah. That you are, that you're very persistent and you, you are also, you have to be, uh, and, and it's about if, if you, if you don't keep knocking, you'll never be at the right time. Yeah.
Serge De Marre: If you really, I be, I, I do believe that if you really want something, just work towards it and keep knocking on that door and someone will answer it one, one day.
Serge De Marre: I, I'm, yeah. I totally believe that.
Mike Aiton: People keep asking me, how did I get into the B, B, C? And I'll happily tell them, but yeah. I mean, I'm the last television sound trainee the BBC ever took on, and I'm 55 now. So, uh, that was a while ago, back in the late 80s. And I always say to them, almost, uh, without wanting to be a cliché, if, if you kind of need to ask the question, you'll never know the answer.
Mike Aiton: Because the answer is, you'll find your way. I [00:25:00] found my way. And my way was just, I applied for, I saw an advert when I was at university and wanted trainee sound engineer and I thought, that's my dream job, I've always wanted to join the BBC and applied. Didn't do my chemistry homework, you know.
Serge De Marre: I really believe that if you're, of course you do have to have some, some talents and you have to be reliable and you have to show up, et cetera, et cetera.
Serge De Marre: But if you really want something and you, you work towards that and you try to improve yourself, et cetera, et cetera. Then people will see that you're, will see your value, I guess. And that's what they did at a TV station as well. They asked me, have you ever done voiceover for a TV, uh, TV show? And I always said, yes, of course I have.
Serge De Marre: I had done it for, for like a local TV show, a TV station before, but I didn't have quite the experience, but I just bluffed my way in and that's how it took off. And then from there, moving on to other work as well.
Mike Aiton: It's radio with [00:26:00] pictures.
Serge De Marre: Yep, it is. Very easy.
Mike Aiton: Okay, so you got a job doing voice to picture, um, at the, at the TV station, the women's TV station.
Mike Aiton: Yep. Interesting choice.
Serge De Marre: Yeah.
Mike Aiton: Um. They wanted a male voice.
Serge De Marre: And, and from there on? Well, so I was then able to use that name of the TV station, which was, like I said, a national TV station. A smaller niche station, but I was able to use that name. Hi, I'm working for that TV station. And, um, next I want to do this and contact casting directors and producers and production companies, etc.
Serge De Marre: And then you just have to contact a lot of people. And then at some point, again, there is someone who will say, Okay, we will, we need someone, we need someone right now. Can you come over? Can you do it for us? I'm sure I can do this. And then that's how it, yeah, that's how you continue your work. It's slow, at a slow pace, but.
Mike Aiton: And one thing leads to the [00:27:00] next and you, you keep going up a tier sort of thing at a tangent.
Serge De Marre: At some point, I remember. voicing a radio commercial for a album, uh, of a, uh, a Belgian artist, musician. And that was then the next thing that I could use as some, some sort of as a demo for other commercial, like, Hey, I did this for this Belgian artist.
Serge De Marre: I voiced his, uh, radio commercial and then, yeah, that's, that's how you grow up or you jump up actually, basically each time you just, you just use all that work that you did before. Yeah.
Mike Aiton: Okay. So as you're sort of progressing and moving along, it sounds like a lot of what you've done has been sort of learned on the job effectively with sort of either sort of mentorship via like your original contact in the radio station.
Mike Aiton: Or on the job experience, would you like to have done any more academic sort of learning or do you use other vehicles [00:28:00] of learning like the internet, for instance?
Serge De Marre: Um, I would, I would like to, I would like to say however that I'm, I, I did not really learn everything on the job . It's not that I, that I couldn't do anything at all and just bluff my way in.
Serge De Marre: And then, I mean, there was some kind of talent I believe already there and some kind of knowledge from. Working with, um, uh, video and audio, and then I just wanted to go up to the next level. Sure. Um, in Belgium, there isn't really like a school to learn, uh, not back in the day, probably these days, there is some, some, some, some, some school that will teach you how to do voiceover.
Serge De Marre: I'm sure in Belgium, I guess I do a lot of coaching. Uh, I try to go online, find, not really YouTube, but go to this, this, this, uh, the specialists, the coaches read a lot of their blogs. Um, just have one-on-ones with them, zoom casts with, with, with [00:29:00] several people. Not only in Belgium or Mm-Hmm. . Or the Netherlands, but also worldwide with people in the UK and people in the United States.
Serge De Marre: So you're
Mike Aiton: quite engaged with the rest of the community, sort of, in either passing on what you've learned or learning off other people and gaining in experience.
Serge De Marre: Yeah, yeah. And it's not like you want to copy what they are doing, but more like stealing ideas or just using their ideas. Oh, that's a very good idea.
Serge De Marre: I'm going to use this. And see if this works for me. I think this would work for me. And if you go to different coaches, um, you can pick different things from them and create your own kind of uh, I dunno how to say that, but just your own thing.
Mike Aiton: Your own secret sauce. Yeah. That's it. Yeah. That's very much how I learned when I was at the B bbc.
Mike Aiton: I, I picked, you know, 120 talent, very talented people in the department. Went around and picked the best of each Mm-Hmm. per, you know, in each genre. And found, what can I learn [00:30:00] off this person? What can I learn off this person? And you mold the lot, you take the cream off everyone sort of thing and mold it together.
Mike Aiton: Yep. And then cock it up with my, and make my own party my own nonsense of how I do things. And I think that's a good way of
Serge De Marre: learning. Absolutely, and I'm sure the way I do it as well, I watch commercials online or when I'm watching TV and listen to what those voiceovers are actually doing. And I'm sure you do the same, right?
Serge De Marre: With editing, you're like, Oh, this is so interesting how they did this. I'm going to try and replicate it or spin my own way on this or just, yeah, make it my own.
Mike Aiton: Yeah, I think that if you have a creative bone in your body, you're constantly absorbing. Yeah, and via osmosis and you know, there's the cliche that originality is undiscovered plagiarism.
Mike Aiton: I kind of
Serge De Marre: Don't
Mike Aiton: a hundred percent agree with that, but I do agree with it in in terms of you know There's a philosophical question that [00:31:00] has every photograph or every sort of photograph ever Been taken and we're just merely replicating As someone who has a hobby of photography, I find I don't care. If I see something that I like, I absorb it and it gets filtered through my lack of personality and my lack of imagination.
Mike Aiton: And I apply my own stamp to it and do my thing. And if it makes me feel good when I do it, then that's it. then good on me. It doesn't matter if I'm interpreting someone else. You know, you, could you argue that Ravel and all these other great composers are merely just have absorbed Bach and Mozart and spat it out?
Mike Aiton: Well, yes. Well done. And the problem, and the problem with that is, yeah. So I think there's, there's, uh, absorption is a really strong thing, I think. And there's always something to learn from absolutely [00:32:00] everyone. I remember as a, as a quite, actually a quite inexperienced sound mix, I would often, the guy who was making tea or as a runner would come in.
Mike Aiton: And I'd, if I was unsure of something, I'd say, Have you got a minute? And he'd go, Yeah. I said, sit down just a minute. Watch this scene and see what you think. And he sometimes would give me some feedback and go, Oh, uh, I was expecting to hear this or I didn't like hearing that. And I went, Ah, okay, that's a good idea, I hadn't thought of that, or, ah, okay, interesting perspective as a stranger to the occurrence.
Mike Aiton: Everyone everywhere has got something to give. I'm a big believer in that.
Serge De Marre: Same here, I agree. That's how you do it, I guess. You just absorb as much as you can and try to make it your own secret sauce, like you said it so well. Um, yeah, and I think coaches in general are there to point out the things. That you do not notice or see?
Mike Aiton: Yes.
Serge De Marre: Because of course We're all blind in some way, I guess. We see things, but we don't see everything. And [00:33:00] I think coaches are there to, like, point things out. Hey, did you see this? Oh, no, I didn't. That's interesting. Let me try and use that, or Yeah, so, yeah.
Mike Aiton: Yeah, so if you keep doing this, you'll never go hungry.
Mike Aiton: I was watching something last night where someone was explaining how to do vibrato on string bends on the guitar. And he went, never do vibrato until you finish the bend. Then apply vibrato. He said, that's how you, that's how you pay for your sandwiches. Yeah, we need sandwiches, right? We need those. Yeah.
Voice over: Source elements.
Mike Aiton: So what do you enjoy the most in your
Serge De Marre: job? I like the actual recording being in my studio and being creative. When a client, for example, sends me a script and a video of a commercial, and then I can start. The creative process, try stuff out, try it a couple of times, like how, how can I put the script, uh, how can I voice this script in a [00:34:00] way that it's still intriguing, and that it makes sense, and that it, that I can still get it within like the 20 seconds or the 10 seconds or whatever, however long it may be.
Serge De Marre: Uh, I really like that process, that's just, yeah.
Mike Aiton: There's a kind of rush
Serge De Marre: to it sort of thing, there's a sense of fulfillment. Yeah. It is. Yeah, there is. Absolutely. And then when you're finished, I usually, when I record stuff, I give like three options to the client. Like I have this version, this version, this version, and then, yeah, it's up to the clients.
Serge De Marre: They can pick, uh, whichever version they like. And then when it's finished. The audio engineer goes over it, obviously, and then it's just, yeah, not every commercial, but when it's done well, that gives me, like, a real fulfillment, like, okay, this is so nice, this is, this is an amazing project, and I was able to, to lift this project up to the next level, and we all did, it's like teamwork, right, we all did our best, and it just, we made something great.
Mike Aiton: We all communally scored a goal. Yeah. [00:35:00] So what would you like to do more of, uh, and indeed less of in your career? You mean like type of work or? Either, anything. What's your instant reaction to that question?
Serge De Marre: I do not like, well, I'm okay, I'm okay with everything I do right now, basically, but I mean, if I could, if I had to pick, I would prefer to be in the studio recording material.
Serge De Marre: Much more than I do right now, I'm, I mean, I'm self employed, it's just me, and I need to think about, oh yeah, I need to be on social media, I need to post something, because it's been like two, three days, or sometimes even two weeks, since I've posted something, or
Mike Aiton: That yawning chasm of three days without a post, yeah Right, yeah, no, but
Serge De Marre: I mean, it's It's quite important if you want to keep working to be active on social media and contact your clients or, yeah, I mean, networking, whatever, and sometimes I don't have the time or I forget or I'm not in the mood, [00:36:00] and that's actually something that I would love to hand over to someone, but I'm not sure if that's really realistic.
Serge De Marre: Also, the administrative. stuff like invoicing and that's just, yeah, very repetitive. And
Mike Aiton: so less of the business and more of the creative. Yeah. To change the ratio. Yeah, absolutely. Okay.
Serge De Marre: Yeah.
Mike Aiton: And what sort of work would you like to do more of, if you could have a choice? Um, I really
Serge De Marre: like, uh, doing movie trailers.
Mike Aiton: Okay! You're the first voice actor I've asked who said that. Most people go, animation. It seems to be everyone's goal, but, ah, interesting. Movie trailers,
Serge De Marre: okay. Yeah, movie trailers and commercials. Tell me why. Animation really intrigues me, but it's, I'm not there yet. I would love to do some more of it, but I'm not sure if it's really my thing.
Serge De Marre: Yes. But the commercial voiceover for commercials and movie trailers, That's something I'm really, I'm gonna be very blunt here, I'm really good at it, I think. Yeah, [00:37:00] okay. And I love to do that, I just love it. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of movie trailers in Flemish or in Dutch. that need voiceover so they need less voiceovers of her for hollywood trailers these days as well they try to use less voices the
Mike Aiton: hollywood version i i suppose yeah the the one thing everyone in in holland is extremely guilty of apart from having great biscuits is they all speak english
Serge De Marre: they do
Mike Aiton: Yeah, it's funny because a lot of Dutch people that I've speak to always seem to have an American accent because they've heard so they've learned so much of the English from American TV.
Serge De Marre: Yeah, yeah, it's interesting. When I was younger at school, we learned UK English. But then you watch U. S. English all the time, American English on TV. And then, and then I moved to the United States, lived there for ten years. I'm actually U. S. resident and I'm gonna return to the United States. So I think, I think I have an American accent for a little bit.[00:38:00]
Serge De Marre: Um, but the, uh,
Mike Aiton: U. K. There's a twang in there somewhere. Right. I'm sure you, you know, you, you, being in Texas has rubbed off on you somehow. Yeah. I don't, I don't. Yeah,
Serge De Marre: like
Mike Aiton: it or not. Yeah,
Serge De Marre: people, people don't think I'm from Texas. However, I'm not that my accent isn't really Texan, Texan accent. But, um, no, the strongest thing I hear
Mike Aiton: is, is the, is the, is the Flemish.
Serge De Marre: You do?
Mike Aiton: Accent. That's interesting. Yes.
Serge De Marre: Yeah. Okay. That's
Mike Aiton: interesting. Uh, my ex wife's Dutch, so I'm quite attuned to the sort of, the, the dynamics of spoken Dutch. Right,
Serge De Marre: yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think, yeah, you're, you're probably right, the dynamics are still there. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm Belgian and I'm Flemish, so.
Serge De Marre: Yeah, so I think that the whole influence is there, so the Flemish influence is there, and then the UK English, uh, from when I went to school, and then the U. S. English from TV, and music, and, Actually living in the United States, so [00:39:00] I think I'm a good mix for international stuff. Yes,
Mike Aiton: and I have to say, I admire the way you say the local version of Budapest, rather Budapest, as we say in England.
Mike Aiton: But, uh, we're terrible in English, and 99 percent of the time if you say it in English, you're wrong. So true, so true. We try and take the moral high ground, and lose, yes.
Serge De Marre: Okay. Vienna. Is, uh, vain in Dutch and in in Hungarian. It has a totally different name as well. It's be or something. Beck. B-E-C-C-S. Yeah.
Serge De Marre: Wow. Um, who would've recognize that, right? Wow, I had no idea.
Mike Aiton: Yeah. Got me there.
Voice over: Source elements.
Mike Aiton: Okay, so. What advice would you have for the next generation who might be starting out in their career, or looking to start out in their career?
Serge De Marre: Uh, I think it's getting tougher and tougher to be successful and get into voiceover or voice acting.
Serge De Marre: Uh, since the [00:40:00] competition, there's much more comp competition since, uh, well, since in the last 10 years, I guess. I believe that you start networking when first believe in yourself. If you really want to do something, just go for it and start networking. Start, um, be nice to people and be helpful and, uh, I think that's the most important thing.
Serge De Marre: And try to learn as much as you can from other people. And I'm, I'm like that too. If, if a new voice talent. Email me or call me or whatever and they ask me for for help. I do help them With whatever they need as far as I as I can help them up obviously But uh and if only if they're nice to me sometimes people people are just like hey, I'm a student and Please voice this for me for free, and I'm like, no, not gonna do that.
Mike Aiton: Uh, yeah, I've had, uh, people who, who write to me and say, I'm doing a PhD, or I'm doing, um, you know, my undergraduate project in blah blah, and [00:41:00] I, I want to find out this, this, this, this, and this, and they kind of go, okay, um, but they want me to write it for them. Right. And I gonna go, uh, I'm not doing your work for you.
Mike Aiton: I'm happy to help and happy to, to give you ideas, but I'm not gonna do it for you. It's, it's your, yeah, no, same here. It's your research, not mine. I've already mucked up my career. I don't need to muck up yours. Yeah,
Serge De Marre: no. Yeah. And I, I do want to do that, but only if people are just, it needs to be the whole package, right.
Serge De Marre: If you're going into this business and you're. You're someone who, who's not friendly, or who's not, like, on time, or not, you don't know how to communicate, well then you're in the wrong business, I guess.
Mike Aiton: I think they're the 101s, really. Yeah! If you can't be nice to people, you're gonna be autistic about your behavior.
Mike Aiton: Sorry, I said autistic, wrong autistic. Then, you know, you're in the wrong job, and you just gotta learn to be nice to people. It's the only way.
Serge De Marre: Yeah. I have, I have students contacting me regularly and when they're nice and like, Hey, are you able to do [00:42:00] this for a low fee or for my, for, for school or whatever?
Serge De Marre: I'm, I usually do that and I, and I actually do stuff for free for them as well. For if, as long as they're like, can you do this? And then be very nice. And yeah,
Mike Aiton: don't ask, don't get, but also be nice.
Serge De Marre: Yeah.
Mike Aiton: That's it.
Serge De Marre: They're nice. Then I will do that. Absolutely. Good thing.
Voice over: Source Elements
Mike Aiton: Okay, so when you're working, let's now think about your work day, how do you take direction or critique?
Mike Aiton: I used to be very bad
Serge De Marre: at that, meaning that, not that I would, like, argue with someone, but it would really hurt me if someone gave me critique. I didn't do that. Do you remember this fondly? I was working at the National Radio Station, which we talked, uh, Q Music back in Belgium. Um, like we talked about before and at one time I was doing my show, the station manager called me in the studio in the middle of my show and he was like, What you just said on air was just, it was terrible.
Serge De Marre: It was not good. You, that was [00:43:00] not good. Don't ever do that again. I was like, uh. Oh my god, this hurts so much. I don't think that was the best, his best choice to do that right in the middle of my show. But I was like, oh my god, first off, he's listening. Second, he doesn't like what I'm doing. I'm not gonna do anything anymore for the rest of my show.
Serge De Marre: So it was just like, yeah, I shut down for a little bit. I was not good at accepting that critique. Now When people critique me, I, it still kind of hurts sometimes, but I try to see, I try to take, like, note of what they're saying, try to understand what they mean, and especially if they're clients, they can critique me all the way because I mean, they're paying for my work, and if they don't like what I'm doing, then I'll do something different.
Serge De Marre: Do you think, do you
Mike Aiton: think it's true that if you don't feel anything, and if you have no sensitivity, then, ultimately, you're not sensitive? The critique is meaningless because it [00:44:00] isn't tapping into something emotionally within you. Therefore, you can't alter it to be better. If it doesn't hurt a little bit or, or doesn't make you think, you're not resonating with it.
Mike Aiton: So in a
Serge De Marre: way You're blowing my mind here, Mike. Ha ha ha ha. That is, yeah, I guess you're right. Yeah, absolutely. That's very philosophical, again, of you, but yeah, no, that is, you're probably right, never thought of it that way. If, probably, if it doesn't hurt you or doesn't do anything with you emotionally, then You're probably an a hole, and you're gonna do the same thing over and over and be bad, I guess, no?
Serge De Marre: Yes, you're just gonna hear
Mike Aiton: them say, can I have it angrier, and you're gonna do exactly the same thing, but just louder. But that, louder doesn't mean angrier. Yeah. And, and, if you're, if you're motivated to kind of go, oh, I wasn't angry enough, damn, I'm part of you. There's a small fraction of you must go, feel disappointment.
Mike Aiton: And feel that anger that you didn't get the anger across. Yeah, and that must [00:45:00] you think would motivate. Mm hmm Mm hmm. Um, I Guess guess I've spent too long in therapy.
Serge De Marre: Oh That's it therapy. It's not it's not like you're a philosophical person.
Mike Aiton: No,
Serge De Marre: just I'm in touch I'm in
Mike Aiton: this my inner self That's amazing.
Mike Aiton: Make sure you stay well connected. Treat your headphones to the latest opinion from around the lobe. Hear more suggestions, oh sorry, from Budapest in the next episode, number six, of Source Elements On The Mic, the global remote working and totally puntastic podcast.
Voice over: Source Elements on the mic, is recorded using Source [00:46:00] Connect.
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