Mark Niemann-Ross

The Design Better library of books continues to expand. We've just added 3 new books including Collaboration Handbook, Design Engineering Handbook, and Animation Handbook. This library covers so many essential skills needed to succeed in a design team. Drop them all on your iPad/tablet and have an central reference for learning at lunch, on the plane, or whenever you have a spare moment. The best way to build a career is to keep learning! Browse the entire library and download every book at https://lnkd.in/ewsHaR2b.

175

5 Comments

🚨 Voiceover Newcomers — Please Read This! 🎙️ I’ve been seeing a lot of ads lately for something called The Voice Actor College. It looks slick, the price sounds friendly, and the promises are huge — “become a pro voice actor fast!” But here’s the truth: this program raises more red flags than a referee convention. 🛑 They make big claims with no verifiable credits, no listed coaches, and no real feedback for your work. Multiple people have said the content is recycled, the pace is artificially slowed to keep you paying longer, and you’ll finish without any usable demo or guidance on how to actually book work. If you’re serious about voiceover, do yourself a favor: invest in real coaching with actual, working pros — people who give you honest feedback, teach you performance, and help you build a strong foundation before you spend a dime on gear or demos. There are great, reputable coaches and programs out there... but this one? I would avoid it! #voiceovers

113

12 Comments

Tip for clarifying scholarly nonfiction: Get specific with time. Many writers include relative time frames, instead of specific ones, for instance, “in the past decade.” The problem with this construction is that it will be correct and current only at the time of writing. Readers may see this fifteen years later and think it’s the past decade from the point of reading, which is inaccurate. For any text other than newspaper articles, it can be wise to establish absolute times, rather than relative times.  “In the past decade” becomes “Since 2015” (or whatever appropriate year)  “Fifteen years ago” becomes “In 2010”  “Over the past eight decades” becomes “Since the 1940s” “In the second decade of the twenty-first century” becomes “in the 2010s.” Technically, the first phrase is absolute, not relative, but it reads more cleanly and is easier to parse in the revised version. “the thirteenth century” becomes “the 1200s.” Again, the first phrase is correct, but we often forget that the name of the century (thirteenth) doesn’t match the years (twelve hundreds). Sometimes using the digits helps readers place the time frame more accurately. #AmEditing #Snippets

80

11 Comments

What does it mean to leave your mark on a project—and still check in on it years later? In this in-depth interview for The Drop Times, I had the chance to speak with Samuel Mortenson, the developer behind tools like Tome, SFC, and numerous Drupal core contributions. His influence shaped workflows many of us now take for granted—but what’s fascinating is how deeply personal that journey remains. Samuel talks about the itch to make things simpler, the impulse to open-source even the smallest fixes, and the quiet persistence of caring about a project long after stepping away. His story isn’t just about code—it’s about legacy, minimalism, and finding joy in problems worth solving. It’s rare to hear someone articulate so clearly what motivates their work and how that evolves over time. This is one of those conversations that sticks with you. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ga5S_CxS #OpenSource #Drupal #DeveloperLegacy #StaticSites #TomeCMS

15

Libraries can't afford more endless subscription models like Clarivate/ProQuest is now shifting to. These models don't benefit current patrons and they certainly don't benefit figure generations of researchers, students, or teachers. Libraries *need* to be able to own things, both in print and electronically. Without ownership, our collections amount to... well, not much. https://lnkd.in/egCaRRHF

168

8 Comments

When a voice artist tells me they have a high-end mic / interface / DAW... I'm usually very indifferent (yawn). vs. When a voice artist tells me they record in a Whisper Room , Studio Bricks, or even a home-made booth, they can record using Audacity and a USB mic for all I care. When recording voice overs - it's the environment that matters, not the mic and/or hardware. I pre-screen every voice artist that comes through the door, and audio quality is non-negotiable. #voiceover #voiceactors #voiceoveragency #voiceovercompany

258

163 Comments

You might be losing out on voiceover jobs. (without even realizing it) In April, Craig Peters came to me with a 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. He had a website (at least the start of one), but it looked… Not quite there. (don’t worry, he approved of my public honesty about his site) Building a DIY website can be a smart approach in VO, especially in the early days when you need to be scrappy. But I want you to consider something… If your website looks off… Potential clients may have doubts about hiring you. I’m not making this up. In a study published in “Sustainability”, researchers found that well-designed websites can positively affect consumer trust and lead to more purchases. With poor design, potential voiceover buyers might be thinking: “If their website looks like this, how else are they cutting corners?” “Can I really trust them to deliver the goods?” You could be unknowingly turning away good, high-paying clients. Or simply taking away from what really matters: your unique voice and fantastic service. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲’𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲: ELEVATE your voiceover skills and demos. Not take away from them. And become your #1 salesperson. So, Craig scrapped the DIY route and asked for my help. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗺: 🟡 Fully designed and developed one-page website from scratch that ELEVATES his talents and demos (including custom design elements and branding). 🟡 Custom, inviting buttons where clients can quickly request a quote, audition, or immediate booking, all in easy-to-use forms. 🟡 Strong SEO foundation to build upon in the future (targeted keywords, FAQ section, image meta descriptions and alt text, etc.) so Google and other search engines can start to put him in front of decision-makers. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲? 🔗𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄.👇

30

14 Comments

I've started learning CapCut three times. Never finished once. Premiere After Effects  DaVinci  Avid That new AI tool everyone's talking about. I'd watch tutorials. Download trials. Get excited. Then a week later? Back to what I already knew. Sound familiar? I thought I had a discipline problem. I didn't. I had a clarity problem. Here's the truth about shiny object syndrome: It's not about curiosity. It's about avoidance. Every new tool feels like progress.  Like you're investing in yourself.  Like you're staying competitive. But jumping between software isn't learning. It's hiding. Hiding from the discomfort of mastering one thing.  From the boring middle where real skill is built.  From the fear that maybe you're not progressing fast enough. New tools feel exciting. Mastery feels slow. So we chase the dopamine of starting over. Here's what finally broke the cycle: 1. Pick one tool - The best software is the one you actually learn.  - Commit for 90 days. 2. Define the outcome  - Don't learn Resolve.  - Learn color grading in Resolve for narrative work. 3. Finish one project  - No switching until you complete something real.  - Tutorials don't count. 4. Ignore the noise  - That new plugin can wait.  - Your fundamentals can't. 5. Measure depth, not width  - One tool at 80% beats five tools at 20%. The editors getting hired aren't the ones who know everything. They're the ones who know one thing deeply. Generalists get curious. Specialists get booked. Stop collecting tools. Start mastering one. What's the one software you keep abandoning? ___ Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Davone Alexis for more.

27

3 Comments

What Happens When AI Takes the Boring VO Jobs? Voice Artists Thrive. AI voices are everywhere now. They’re smoother, cheaper, and getting pretty convincing. So it’s no surprise that some people are wondering: Is this the beginning of the end for real voiceover artists? Not even close. Yes, AI has a place in the industry - but it's not where the good stuff happens. In fact, I think it might actually make real voice talent more valuable. Let’s be honest: there’s plenty of voice work out there that no one’s passionate about. Endless phone menu prompts. Dry e-learning. Fifty variations of “Now on sale.” AI is perfect for that. Let it take those jobs. Most voiceover artists aren’t crying out to spend their day reading 37 versions of a product disclaimer. Let the bots handle the boring stuff. Because when it comes to real performance - telling a story, getting someone to feel something, hitting just the right tone shift - AI can’t compete. A human voice carries meaning, experience, and emotion in a way no algorithm can replicate. A good VO doesn’t just read lines - they live them. And listeners can tell. You can just feel it when it's real. There's also one other thing that an AI voice doesn't understand, and that's silence. A lot of people overlook it, but any seasoned voiceover pro knows how powerful a pause can be. It’s not dead air - it’s drama. It’s pacing. It’s breathing space. A human voice uses silence on purpose. AI? Not so much. It often treats it like a glitch - awkward, empty, or just plain weird. But a well-placed pause? That’s part of the performance. And even if one day AI does learn to hit those little human nuances on command - how much work will that actually take? Will it need multiple rounds of direction, endless prompts, technical tweaks? At what point does the “quick and cheap” option become slow, fiddly, and frustrating? The balance can tip easily. I think it’ll just be quicker (and better) to get a real human to nail it first time. Clients say they want voices that are warm, natural, trustworthy. Those aren’t technical specs or prompts - they’re feelings. They come from instinct, not from programming. If you're telling a powerful story, selling a dream, or trying to move someone emotionally, you need a human touch. No synthetic voice is pulling that off - at least not yet. Here at Transmission, we work with brilliant voice artists all the time, and I think their craft has never been more relevant. Let the tech take the robotic reads - that just makes more space for the human stuff that really matters. Because in the end, people don’t connect with perfection. They connect with people. #Voiceovers #Performance #Humans #AI

71

35 Comments

If your mixes sound muddy, the problem is rarely your plugins — it’s your arrangement. Too many layers. Too many sounds fighting for the same space. No amount of EQ can fix overcrowding. Start muting parts. Ask: Does this sound support the idea, or distract from it? When you simplify your arrangement, your mix improves instantly. Less = clarity.

39

6 Comments