Posted by chicagomedia.org on May 05, 2009 at 13:17:19:
Closet studio helps Bourbonnais' DeWees work in TV, radio
05/04/2009, 1:20 pm
By Chris Breach | Daily Journal
Bill DeWees has a voice that stands out -- so much so that he makes a living from it all within the comforts of his Bourbonnais home.
DeWees' distinct voice is one of thousands in the voice-over industry, but he is one of only several hundred who are able to do it full time.
"It's nothing special," said DeWees of his voice. "I'm not a big, booming, movie-trailer kind of person. It's a matter of finding what your niche is. I get a lot of corporate work so it seems to be pretty well for that. I get a lot of guy-next-door, storytelling-type ads."
DeWees has done voice-over commercial work for Microsoft, Pizza Hut, Hewlett-Packard, Travelers, Siemens and The Big Ten Network among many others. He's worked hard at his craft over the years and has his own Web site, billdewees.com.
"You're self-employed," he said. "All voice-over people have to market so I'm always looking for and scanning postings for voice-over talent. There's several Web sites. ... I look for auditions. I record auditions, I record projects and look for work just to keep the hopper filled."
Starting out
DeWees started out as a commercial copywriter at a radio station in Ohio and then became a radio personality. Those jobs led to doing a lot of commercials for a number of radio stations. He moved to Bourbonnais in 1991 to work and teach at Olivet Nazarene University.
"I always wanted to get into voice-over work, but at the time, the technology wasn't such where you could really set up your own studio in your house without spending tens of thousands of dollars," he said. "The way it worked then was your agent would send you to a studio, and you would sit in a room with 50 other people and audition for the commercial."
Technology of the equipment needed improved, and DeWees was able to set up a home studio for about $3,000.
"It became a pretty serious side job, and then I thought, 'I think I can do this full time,'" he said. "I decided to jump in full bore when I did and never regretted it."
DeWees' studio is actually a closet in his house, but it serves its purpose very well. Its interior location in the house and how the clothes help absorb the sound, makes it an ideal studio.
"My commute is great, and I don't have to wear matching socks if I wear any at all," he said. "My commute is from my bedroom to my closet. I'll be honest with you, it took a while to adjust. It was very difficult because I like being around people, and this is a pretty lonely job."
DeWees works with eight voice-over agents and with 15-20 production companies that produce commercials for radio and TV. He works from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a few breaks in between.
"It's not always extremely busy, but I have to be available," he said.
The commercial scripts DeWees reads and records for clients pay anywhere from $50 to $1,500, and he said he makes two to three times more than what he made at a regular radio station jobs.
Typically, it takes DeWees anywhere from a few minutes to an hour to record a commercial, and he's working on five to 10 on an average day.
Breaking in
DeWees went out on his own in '05, but not before recording a demo at a studio in Los Angeles and using a consultant, Johnna Gottlieb Consulting in New York, to find his signature voice.
"I worked with some good people to help me figure out what I'm best at and not go into areas where I'm really not qualified," he said.
Gottlieb said she worked with DeWees to help him find his particular voice and just to be himself. DeWees' clear, crisp and professional voice puts listeners at ease, and it's one you could hear on a instructional video at work or for a radio station promotion like he did for ESPN Radio, Chicago.
Whenever you fill up with gas at Gas City, Speedway or Sunoco, he's one of the voices that comes over the speaker encouraging you to go in and buy a hotdog and Coke for $1.99.
"If you're going to market yourself, you should try to be yourself and not be someone you're not," Gottlieb said. "I think that was a pretty good breakthrough for him and his career. Once we got to that point where we had clarity, it was a big break for him."
Gottlieb said DeWees has worked hard to establish himself in a competitive field.
"Bill, in particular, has been amazing because he's been able to find his path among all those people," she said. "And that's because he has talent. ... He's probably one of the most focused and driven people I know. He has a lot of good business sense that helps him a great deal."