Today we’d like to introduce you to Cabot Basden and Amy Aguilar.
Cabot and Amy were asked by Deborah Richards, their mentor, who trained them and built their VO demos as well as a huge amount of voice talent across Atlanta and beyond if they’d be interested in carrying on after she retired at the end of 2019. They were obviously excited. Deborah and Cabot had had discussions in the past about it, but Deborah’s health was declining, so the time to find someone to take over had come. They began training under her on how to coach VO as well as build demos and teach technique for talent wanting to get into the voice-over world. They were also taught how to update demos for existing talent.
Say What opened its doors at the start of 2020. They got off to a good start with several clients… then corona came to town. They closed their doors for a few months but have started seeing their clients and accepting new ones again. VO is great because you don’t need a big production team, just the talent and a producer. So they keep it to just the two of them and the talent during sessions.
Cabot and Amy were Theatre and Music majors, respectively, and use the training they received in college in their sessions with clients as well (breathing and articulation exercises, warm vocal ups, and teaching about vocal health). They try and use everything they’ve learned from Deborah over the years as well as the knowledge in their own fields to create a unique learning environment while keeping it chill and fun (because if it’s not fun, why do it?).
They have been busy during quarantine, though! During their time off, they had a brand new studio built and made their quality even better than their previous Deborah-approved sound! Like Deborah, they believe in a flat rate so the client won’t feel rushed and not produce their best work. They have a special introductory rate going on right now and offer a free consultation that can be done in person or over Skype or Zoom.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been… an interesting one, haha. Miss Rona threw an unexpected wrench into things for sure. Apparently, the start of 2020 was not exactly the best time to start a business. But things have been good. The time off opened the door to getting our new studio built (shout out to Amy’s dad, who built it for us!). We’ve had several people come through to record auditions and bookings; some people are sending us their auditions to edit for them, as well as great clients who have been patient in these weird times we’re living in (and some new ones too!).
Please tell us more about your work. What do you guys do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
We are a voice-over studio! We train people who want to get into the business by offering one-on-two weekly sessions where we go over the business, train them on technique, build their commercial and narration demos (you have to have a demo to be in this business), teach them breathing and articulation exercises, and teach them how to edit, all for a flat fee. Basically, when you’re done with us, we want you to be a fully self-sufficient voice actor.
We also build other demos (Character, eLearning, Audiobook, Imaging), update demos, record and edit VO auditions, record bookings, and give editing lessons. Several things set us apart. One is that we modeled our business after Deborah in that we offer the flat rate for the demos and training (including editing training). That way, talent doesn’t feel rushed, and the process lasts as long as it takes. Something else is that Cabot was a Theatre major, and Amy was a Music (voice) major; and we use the training we received in college in our sessions to teach proper vocal support, articulation and breathing exercises, and vocal health.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Absolutely! The beauty of voice over is that you can literally do it anywhere in the world (as long as you have an internet connection). Atlanta is great in particular because of the heavy Film and TV industry here. Voice Over is a great way to make money while being an actor. Full flexibility and more fun than retail for sure!
Contact Info:
- Email: saywhatsoundstudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saywhatsoundstudio/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SayWhatSoundStudio/
Image Credit:
Marie Thomas (the photo with the two headshots)
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