November 6, 2019 • 14 mins
Our podcast begins with an interview with Voice Squad founder and former actor, Neil Conrich. In this episode he discusses the inner workings of the agency, the future of the industry, and why a podcast was the next logical step.
Presenter: David John
Producer and editor: Emma Samuel
Created by: Neil Conrich
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
David John (00:00):
Hello from wherever you are listening.
And welcome to the Squad Castthe podcast from London voice
agent for squad.
Whether you're a voice artist oraudio artist, an industry
professional, or you're justsimply curious about the voice
world, the audio world, thesquad cast is here to give you
an insight into the oftenmysterious world and the
(00:20):
workings of a voice agency.
I'm David John, professional,voiceover audio artist, dubbing
director and equity audiocounsellor.
And each week I'll beinterviewing actors, producers,
and various movers-and-shakersfrom within the voiceover
industry.
We begin this week, of coursewith the person most qualified
to tell us about running a voiceagency, voice squad owner, Mr.
(00:44):
Neil Conrich.
Welcome Mr.
Conrich!
Neil Conrich (00:46):
Hello there.
David John (00:47):
So we just want to ask you a few questions about
life as a voice agent.
And obviously we will talk topeople who are actors with your
agency and producers after thatgive us a flavor.
Um, first of all, why youdecided to start a podcast?
The Squadcast?
Neil Conrich (01:06):
Uh, good question.
We decided, we've always done ablog with the website- that's
been quite successful.
We've had quite a lot ofinteraction with people
commenting on it and you know,finding it interesting.
We just felt it was the nextlogical thing to do.
Podcasts are still quite new andbecause they deal with audio-
which is what we do- it seemed alogical extension.
(01:29):
Hopefully, these will provide abit of fun and an interesting
platform and also show what wedo and how we do it.
David John (01:37):
Mmm.
So before you started VoiceSquad, the Squad, which I think
is nearly 20 years ago...
Neil Conrich (01:44):
Yeah, it's going to be 20 years in January.
David John (01:46):
Amazing, amazing.
Yeah.
You acted, you were an actor,you did theatre, film and telly?
Neil Conrich (01:51):
Indeed, yeah.
I left drama school 1983, uh,set up this business in 2000 so
yeah, in that period I was justa working actor.
And I got into voiceover quiteearly on in my career, which was
great because I was a good sightreader and, I really enjoyed it
and it was quick.
(02:11):
And, again, me gave me a verygood living.
I decided to set up Voice Squadbecause I was looking for an
additional thing.
It's just that I found as anactor, I wasn't really in
control over my life.
I was always- people were alwaysgiving me work, but I had no
control over that.
I think it's only when you getto the top of the profession, as
(02:34):
an actor- and very few are likethat- that you can have some
sort of control.
I also came from a businessfamily and an opportunity came
up with a friend who had avoiceover agency but for foreign
artists.
David John (02:46):
Yeah.
Which you still do as part ofVoice Squad.
We've got a lot of foreignartists.
Neil Conrich (02:49):
Indeed.
Yeah.
So we set up the businesstogether.
I brought in people I knew andit was very good.
Unfortunately we've sort of,after a while we decided to part
ways.
I bought him out and I've beenrunning it myself since 2001
onwards.
David John (03:07):
Wow.
So how did you find thetransition between leaving
acting behind and becoming anagent?
Neil Conrich (03:13):
Surprisingly it was kind of seamless.
Because I come from a businessfamily.
I was used to dealing withfigures and everything else.
And also because I'm still inthe business- because I'm still
in the same business I was inbefore- I kind of related to it
and I found it very easy.
And then I suddenly realizedafter a while- because I kept
(03:35):
acting and voicing and thevoiceover agency going at the
same time, I suddenly realizedthat I was enjoying the agenting
so much I didn't want to actanymore.
And once you've done that, onceyou've lost the hunger, you
can't do that.
David John (03:47):
That's right.
It's takes over.
Neil Conrich (03:48):
Yeah, exactly.
So, I've stuck to being an agentever since.
David John (03:50):
Yeah.
So, for people who don't know-or are interested- a day in the
life of a voice agent?
Give us a kind of idea of howyour days pan out.
Neil Conrich (04:01):
It starts early!
David John (04:02):
Yes, I'm sure, I'm sure!
Neil Conrich (04:03):
So, we start at nine, and literally it's a
bombardment of phone calls oremails.
From that time onwards right theway through the day.
David John (04:15):
And that's inquiries for actors and different
projects?
Neil Conrich (04:18):
For voiceover artists.
Yes.
Either in English language orforeign language.
David John (04:22):
Right.
Neil Conrich (04:22):
We have a hundred plus exclusive English language
artists- within which you've gotAmericans, Australians as well
as the British nationals.
We also have 600 foreign artistsproviding a variety of
languages.
David John (04:39):
Wow.
Yeah, that's a lot.
So what do you think are thecommon misconceptions, for voice
actors and agents as well?
I mean in the community of theindustry?
Neil Conrich (04:53):
I'm not sure about misconceptions.
I'm not sure if that's the rightword.
I think the difference between avoice agent and the theatrical
agent is immense.
We're quite niche.
We only do the one thing.
That's all we do.
We do a huge, an enormousvariety within voicing, but we
don't have the range that thetheatrical agents do, so we have
(05:14):
completely different contacts.
Apart from that it's quitesimilar.
I mean, with the voices, it'squite personal management.
You know, I sort out anyproblems.
I sort of try and always do thebest deal.
I want it to be fair and alsotransparent and I think most
agents are the same for alltheir clients.
David John (05:32):
Yeah.
I guess it's quicker isn't it?
The voice world rather than atheatrical agent?
Neil Conrich (05:35):
It's very quick.
Yes, absolutely.
Quite often a theatricalbooking, say theatre booking
will be advised for two monthsahead.
Depending on artist availabilitya voice over can be an hour
ahead.
We quite often get, can you getsomeone to the studio by ten?
David John (05:52):
Yeah.
So it's quick action-
Neil Conrich (05:55):
But the jobs are much shorter, they are only for
an hour or less.
David John (05:58):
Sure, Sure.
And actors have to be- I guess-you really want them to be
answering their phone when youcall to say, can you be there in
two hours?
Neil Conrich (06:05):
Absolutely! And not only that, the most
important thing for us is diary.
We have to know availabilitybecause if we suggest someone
for a job, they have to beavailable and I get very, very
upset.
David John (06:18):
Yeah.
It looks bad on the wholeagency-
Neil Conrich (06:20):
Exactly.
Yes, yes.
If I suggest an artist and theyare suddenly unavailable, it
makes me look a fool.
And I really dislike thatintensely!
David John (06:27):
I'm quite sure! So with Voice Squad you kind of
concentrate on taking onprofessional trained actors?
Neil Conrich (06:32):
That's correct.
We don't really have anythingelse.
Possibly because of mybackground as an actor, I like
taking on other actors- becauseI think they've earned the right
for it.
They've trained for three years.
They've worked very, very hard-
David John (06:48):
- worked in theatre and telly or whatever?
Neil Conrich (06:50):
Exactly.
And they're experienced and theyknow how it works.
I don't tend to take onpresenters because I think there
are specific presenter agenciesand they're very good for that.
Also with an actor, they bring asense of reality to a read.
Um, which a lot of people thathaven't been trained find
difficult-
David John (07:07):
And of course y our v oiceover tag covers a whole
kind of range of work, whichoften requires acting as a
skill.
Neil Conrich (07:18):
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, we do huge amounts ofwhat we call ADR, which is film
dubbing.
Which is all improvised.
So they have to be able to thinkon their feet very quickly and
make a scene- which they've onlyjust seen for that second-
completely real.
And that's a real skill.
Same- we do an enormous amountof audiobooks.
You have to be skilled to do anaudiobook- to take on several
(07:42):
different characters indifferent tones, styles and
accents.
And that's, uh, really, onlyactors are properly trained
enough to do that.
David John (07:50):
Yeah.
So since you started Voice Squad- nearly 20 years- have you
noticed a lot of changes in theindustry?
Neil Conrich (07:57):
Huge amounts of changes.
When we first started,everything was kind of analog.
I mean, people still hadcassette tapes.
And that's how we would sendthem out.
And they got replaced with t heCDs, which are great because
they were much lighter andsimpler.
Y ou could also have more o n aCD.
But now it's all digital, whichmeans rather than biking a tape
(08:20):
round urgently and costing us anabsolute fortune, we can send
stuff by email immediately.
Even that's changed now.
We always used to send people'sreels by email, but now we
actually just deliver them fromour website.
There's a digital print and wejust send a link and that's it.
It's all in seconds, it's somuch quicker.
David John (08:41):
And that, I guess that's the same for something
like the audio book industry.
Twenty years ago it was made forcassette and sold on cassette.
Neil Conrich (08:48):
Indeed.
Now it's all downloadable-
David John (08:49):
It's a revolution for audiobooks-
Neil Conrich (08:52):
Absolutely.
Space has been created and amarket is being created.
People are really, really intoaudiobooks, which they can
download.
David John (08:59):
And audiodrama- we do a lot of audiodrama,
multi-reads.
Which is also downloadable.
People listen on their phone.
So how do you as an agent,balance the needs of the client
and the needs of the voiceoverartists?
Neil Conrich (09:14):
Well, to get more work we have to be seen to meet
the client's needs.
So we provide the right voicefor the right job, for the right
fee.
That works very well.
But I've always got my artistsfirst, I always try to get the
best fee that I can for them.
(09:36):
Some artists are better known,they come on to a slightly
higher fee.
Most artists are on a similarsort of fee, but if you've just
started drama school you're notreally going to earn the same as
somebody who's been in thebusiness 30 years and has a
name.
So it is a balance but most ofthe time it seems to work quite
well.
David John (09:56):
So, we talked about the changes since you started.
What do you see coming down theline?
I mean, are there any bigchanges that you think, I mean,
how do you predict what's goingto happen next?
Neil Conrich (10:07):
Ah, I wish I had a crystal ball David! Yes, that's
a good one.
I don't know.
I think 5G might change things'cause that's gonna make some
things massive.
You'll be able to stream so muchquicker.
You can get online.
We've gone from doing DVDs tojust doing online stuff for
corporate work.
So I think that's, that's gonnago even further.
(10:30):
The digital side is massive andit's only gonna get bigger.
David John (10:36):
And, and now I think you do a lot of recordings where
someone can be in one country,someone can be on an opposite
continent while doing a voiceover being listened to by
someone.
Neil Conrich (10:46):
That's correct.
When we first started, the wholepoint was we could get an artist
into studio in London.
Everything else was verydifficult.
Now everything is in is global.
So if we have an artist that'sworking in Sweden.
we just get them into studiothere.
We've just been doing a job forIndonesia.
It's not a problem.
There's a studio in Jakarta.
David John (11:06):
So they listened down the line and directed from
wherever?
Neil Conrich (11:09):
It used to be with ISDN but now you can just do it
digitally.
David John (11:13):
And you have to organise the kind of timing?
So you've got exactly the clientlistening at the right time?
Neil Conrich (11:18):
That's the hardest.
That's the hardest thing-obviously in Europe is not
really a problem because thetime difference is at most an
hour.
But with West coast Americayou've got to get them in the
studio first thing in themorning.
Otherwise they're not gonna beable to listen.
David John (11:29):
Yeah.
Interesting! So...
I've got a little list ofquestions here..
Neil Conrich (11:34):
Oh dear.
Yes, go ahead.
David John (11:35):
Quick fire questions - these'll be a bit fun.
So...
cat, person or dog person?
Neil Conrich (11:41):
Dog person, definitely.
I've got a Bassett called Bobwho's the office mascot and is
very well known around here.
David John (11:47):
Doesn't answer the phone yet?
Neil Conrich (11:48):
Nope.
A bit of barking at it.
David John (11:52):
Favourite ice-cream flavor?
Neil Conrich (11:54):
Oh pistachio, si, si!
David John (11:58):
Favourite movie of all time?
Neil Conrich (12:00):
That's a tough one.
I'd probably The Godfather oneand two.
If I can have two.
I mean one or the other...
David John (12:07):
And if you had to choose, yeah, it's difficult.
Neil Conrich (12:09):
Yeah.
I think with those, it's justthe acting is superb, the
writing is superb, the directingis superb, everything is
brilliant about it, you know?
It's a joy to watch even thoughsome of it is terrifying.
David John (12:19):
Theatre! What's the last thing you saw in the
theatre?
Neil Conrich (12:24):
Last thing I saw, I think I went see Fiddler on
the Roof in town, which had comefrom the Mernier Chocolate
Factory, which was lovely.
I don't really know why wepicked it.
We just thought we fanciedsomething a bit of fun and it
was tremendous.
Absolutely tremendous.
It was a joy.
It was a great night out, greatsinging, great dancing.
I remember when I was a kid, youknow, seeing on TV.
Topol played it and I sang, Iknew all the tunes.
(12:50):
I was singing to myself as theshow was going on.
As was most of the audience, Ithink.
David John (12:55):
So.
Last one, favourite place inLondon?
Neil Conrich (12:57):
Favorite place in London.
Uh, I spend a lot of time onHampstead Heath because of the
dog and I love it.
I love it for the views and Ilove it because it's local to me
and I love it because it's abeautiful, beautiful place,
especially at this time of yearin spring.
David John (13:10):
Yeah.
Yeah, I agree with that.
So we'll leave it there.
Thanks for talking to us.
Neil Conrich (13:17):
It's a pleasure.
David John (13:17):
Um, next week we'll be talking to Game of Thrones
actor and, of course, esteemedVoice Squad artist, James
Faulkner.
Hopefully he'll be telling usabout his career as an actor,
and a voiceover, and audioartist.
And we'll ask him about theskills it takes to be a
successful voice artist.
You can find out anything elseyou want to find out about Voice
(13:38):
Squad.
Listen to our artists byvisiting the website, which is
voicesquad.com.
Of course, feel free to check usout on Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn, and if you've enjoyedthis podcast- The Squadcast-
then do subscribe, rate uswherever you listen to your
podcasts.
The Squadcast is a Voice SquadLtd production hosted by David
(13:58):
John, devised by Mr.
Neil Conrich.
It was produced and edited byEmma Samuel.
If you've got any questionsabout us, about the Squad, about
Voice Squad, please visit oursite or you can always email
voices@ voicesquad.com.
Hello from wherever you are listening.
And welcome to the Squad Castthe podcast from London voice
agent for squad.
Whether you're a voice artist oraudio artist, an industry
professional, or you're justsimply curious about the voice
world, the audio world, thesquad cast is here to give you
an insight into the oftenmysterious world and the
(00:20):
workings of a voice agency.
I'm David John, professional,voiceover audio artist, dubbing
director and equity audiocounsellor.
And each week I'll beinterviewing actors, producers,
and various movers-and-shakersfrom within the voiceover
industry.
We begin this week, of coursewith the person most qualified
to tell us about running a voiceagency, voice squad owner, Mr.
(00:44):
Neil Conrich.
Welcome Mr.
Conrich!
Neil Conrich (00:46):
Hello there.
David John (00:47):
So we just want to ask you a few questions about
life as a voice agent.
And obviously we will talk topeople who are actors with your
agency and producers after thatgive us a flavor.
Um, first of all, why youdecided to start a podcast?
The Squadcast?
Neil Conrich (01:06):
Uh, good question.
We decided, we've always done ablog with the website- that's
been quite successful.
We've had quite a lot ofinteraction with people
commenting on it and you know,finding it interesting.
We just felt it was the nextlogical thing to do.
Podcasts are still quite new andbecause they deal with audio-
which is what we do- it seemed alogical extension.
(01:29):
Hopefully, these will provide abit of fun and an interesting
platform and also show what wedo and how we do it.
David John (01:37):
Mmm.
So before you started VoiceSquad, the Squad, which I think
is nearly 20 years ago...
Neil Conrich (01:44):
Yeah, it's going to be 20 years in January.
David John (01:46):
Amazing, amazing.
Yeah.
You acted, you were an actor,you did theatre, film and telly?
Neil Conrich (01:51):
Indeed, yeah.
I left drama school 1983, uh,set up this business in 2000 so
yeah, in that period I was justa working actor.
And I got into voiceover quiteearly on in my career, which was
great because I was a good sightreader and, I really enjoyed it
and it was quick.
(02:11):
And, again, me gave me a verygood living.
I decided to set up Voice Squadbecause I was looking for an
additional thing.
It's just that I found as anactor, I wasn't really in
control over my life.
I was always- people were alwaysgiving me work, but I had no
control over that.
I think it's only when you getto the top of the profession, as
(02:34):
an actor- and very few are likethat- that you can have some
sort of control.
I also came from a businessfamily and an opportunity came
up with a friend who had avoiceover agency but for foreign
artists.
David John (02:46):
Yeah.
Which you still do as part ofVoice Squad.
We've got a lot of foreignartists.
Neil Conrich (02:49):
Indeed.
Yeah.
So we set up the businesstogether.
I brought in people I knew andit was very good.
Unfortunately we've sort of,after a while we decided to part
ways.
I bought him out and I've beenrunning it myself since 2001
onwards.
David John (03:07):
Wow.
So how did you find thetransition between leaving
acting behind and becoming anagent?
Neil Conrich (03:13):
Surprisingly it was kind of seamless.
Because I come from a businessfamily.
I was used to dealing withfigures and everything else.
And also because I'm still inthe business- because I'm still
in the same business I was inbefore- I kind of related to it
and I found it very easy.
And then I suddenly realizedafter a while- because I kept
(03:35):
acting and voicing and thevoiceover agency going at the
same time, I suddenly realizedthat I was enjoying the agenting
so much I didn't want to actanymore.
And once you've done that, onceyou've lost the hunger, you
can't do that.
David John (03:47):
That's right.
It's takes over.
Neil Conrich (03:48):
Yeah, exactly.
So, I've stuck to being an agentever since.
David John (03:50):
Yeah.
So, for people who don't know-or are interested- a day in the
life of a voice agent?
Give us a kind of idea of howyour days pan out.
Neil Conrich (04:01):
It starts early!
David John (04:02):
Yes, I'm sure, I'm sure!
Neil Conrich (04:03):
So, we start at nine, and literally it's a
bombardment of phone calls oremails.
From that time onwards right theway through the day.
David John (04:15):
And that's inquiries for actors and different
projects?
Neil Conrich (04:18):
For voiceover artists.
Yes.
Either in English language orforeign language.
David John (04:22):
Right.
Neil Conrich (04:22):
We have a hundred plus exclusive English language
artists- within which you've gotAmericans, Australians as well
as the British nationals.
We also have 600 foreign artistsproviding a variety of
languages.
David John (04:39):
Wow.
Yeah, that's a lot.
So what do you think are thecommon misconceptions, for voice
actors and agents as well?
I mean in the community of theindustry?
Neil Conrich (04:53):
I'm not sure about misconceptions.
I'm not sure if that's the rightword.
I think the difference between avoice agent and the theatrical
agent is immense.
We're quite niche.
We only do the one thing.
That's all we do.
We do a huge, an enormousvariety within voicing, but we
don't have the range that thetheatrical agents do, so we have
(05:14):
completely different contacts.
Apart from that it's quitesimilar.
I mean, with the voices, it'squite personal management.
You know, I sort out anyproblems.
I sort of try and always do thebest deal.
I want it to be fair and alsotransparent and I think most
agents are the same for alltheir clients.
David John (05:32):
Yeah.
I guess it's quicker isn't it?
The voice world rather than atheatrical agent?
Neil Conrich (05:35):
It's very quick.
Yes, absolutely.
Quite often a theatricalbooking, say theatre booking
will be advised for two monthsahead.
Depending on artist availabilitya voice over can be an hour
ahead.
We quite often get, can you getsomeone to the studio by ten?
David John (05:52):
Yeah.
So it's quick action-
Neil Conrich (05:55):
But the jobs are much shorter, they are only for
an hour or less.
David John (05:58):
Sure, Sure.
And actors have to be- I guess-you really want them to be
answering their phone when youcall to say, can you be there in
two hours?
Neil Conrich (06:05):
Absolutely! And not only that, the most
important thing for us is diary.
We have to know availabilitybecause if we suggest someone
for a job, they have to beavailable and I get very, very
upset.
David John (06:18):
Yeah.
It looks bad on the wholeagency-
Neil Conrich (06:20):
Exactly.
Yes, yes.
If I suggest an artist and theyare suddenly unavailable, it
makes me look a fool.
And I really dislike thatintensely!
David John (06:27):
I'm quite sure! So with Voice Squad you kind of
concentrate on taking onprofessional trained actors?
Neil Conrich (06:32):
That's correct.
We don't really have anythingelse.
Possibly because of mybackground as an actor, I like
taking on other actors- becauseI think they've earned the right
for it.
They've trained for three years.
They've worked very, very hard-
David John (06:48):
- worked in theatre and telly or whatever?
Neil Conrich (06:50):
Exactly.
And they're experienced and theyknow how it works.
I don't tend to take onpresenters because I think there
are specific presenter agenciesand they're very good for that.
Also with an actor, they bring asense of reality to a read.
Um, which a lot of people thathaven't been trained find
difficult-
David John (07:07):
And of course y our v oiceover tag covers a whole
kind of range of work, whichoften requires acting as a
skill.
Neil Conrich (07:18):
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, we do huge amounts ofwhat we call ADR, which is film
dubbing.
Which is all improvised.
So they have to be able to thinkon their feet very quickly and
make a scene- which they've onlyjust seen for that second-
completely real.
And that's a real skill.
Same- we do an enormous amountof audiobooks.
You have to be skilled to do anaudiobook- to take on several
(07:42):
different characters indifferent tones, styles and
accents.
And that's, uh, really, onlyactors are properly trained
enough to do that.
David John (07:50):
Yeah.
So since you started Voice Squad- nearly 20 years- have you
noticed a lot of changes in theindustry?
Neil Conrich (07:57):
Huge amounts of changes.
When we first started,everything was kind of analog.
I mean, people still hadcassette tapes.
And that's how we would sendthem out.
And they got replaced with t heCDs, which are great because
they were much lighter andsimpler.
Y ou could also have more o n aCD.
But now it's all digital, whichmeans rather than biking a tape
(08:20):
round urgently and costing us anabsolute fortune, we can send
stuff by email immediately.
Even that's changed now.
We always used to send people'sreels by email, but now we
actually just deliver them fromour website.
There's a digital print and wejust send a link and that's it.
It's all in seconds, it's somuch quicker.
David John (08:41):
And that, I guess that's the same for something
like the audio book industry.
Twenty years ago it was made forcassette and sold on cassette.
Neil Conrich (08:48):
Indeed.
Now it's all downloadable-
David John (08:49):
It's a revolution for audiobooks-
Neil Conrich (08:52):
Absolutely.
Space has been created and amarket is being created.
People are really, really intoaudiobooks, which they can
download.
David John (08:59):
And audiodrama- we do a lot of audiodrama,
multi-reads.
Which is also downloadable.
People listen on their phone.
So how do you as an agent,balance the needs of the client
and the needs of the voiceoverartists?
Neil Conrich (09:14):
Well, to get more work we have to be seen to meet
the client's needs.
So we provide the right voicefor the right job, for the right
fee.
That works very well.
But I've always got my artistsfirst, I always try to get the
best fee that I can for them.
(09:36):
Some artists are better known,they come on to a slightly
higher fee.
Most artists are on a similarsort of fee, but if you've just
started drama school you're notreally going to earn the same as
somebody who's been in thebusiness 30 years and has a
name.
So it is a balance but most ofthe time it seems to work quite
well.
David John (09:56):
So, we talked about the changes since you started.
What do you see coming down theline?
I mean, are there any bigchanges that you think, I mean,
how do you predict what's goingto happen next?
Neil Conrich (10:07):
Ah, I wish I had a crystal ball David! Yes, that's
a good one.
I don't know.
I think 5G might change things'cause that's gonna make some
things massive.
You'll be able to stream so muchquicker.
You can get online.
We've gone from doing DVDs tojust doing online stuff for
corporate work.
So I think that's, that's gonnago even further.
(10:30):
The digital side is massive andit's only gonna get bigger.
David John (10:36):
And, and now I think you do a lot of recordings where
someone can be in one country,someone can be on an opposite
continent while doing a voiceover being listened to by
someone.
Neil Conrich (10:46):
That's correct.
When we first started, the wholepoint was we could get an artist
into studio in London.
Everything else was verydifficult.
Now everything is in is global.
So if we have an artist that'sworking in Sweden.
we just get them into studiothere.
We've just been doing a job forIndonesia.
It's not a problem.
There's a studio in Jakarta.
David John (11:06):
So they listened down the line and directed from
wherever?
Neil Conrich (11:09):
It used to be with ISDN but now you can just do it
digitally.
David John (11:13):
And you have to organise the kind of timing?
So you've got exactly the clientlistening at the right time?
Neil Conrich (11:18):
That's the hardest.
That's the hardest thing-obviously in Europe is not
really a problem because thetime difference is at most an
hour.
But with West coast Americayou've got to get them in the
studio first thing in themorning.
Otherwise they're not gonna beable to listen.
David John (11:29):
Yeah.
Interesting! So...
I've got a little list ofquestions here..
Neil Conrich (11:34):
Oh dear.
Yes, go ahead.
David John (11:35):
Quick fire questions - these'll be a bit fun.
So...
cat, person or dog person?
Neil Conrich (11:41):
Dog person, definitely.
I've got a Bassett called Bobwho's the office mascot and is
very well known around here.
David John (11:47):
Doesn't answer the phone yet?
Neil Conrich (11:48):
Nope.
A bit of barking at it.
David John (11:52):
Favourite ice-cream flavor?
Neil Conrich (11:54):
Oh pistachio, si, si!
David John (11:58):
Favourite movie of all time?
Neil Conrich (12:00):
That's a tough one.
I'd probably The Godfather oneand two.
If I can have two.
I mean one or the other...
David John (12:07):
And if you had to choose, yeah, it's difficult.
Neil Conrich (12:09):
Yeah.
I think with those, it's justthe acting is superb, the
writing is superb, the directingis superb, everything is
brilliant about it, you know?
It's a joy to watch even thoughsome of it is terrifying.
David John (12:19):
Theatre! What's the last thing you saw in the
theatre?
Neil Conrich (12:24):
Last thing I saw, I think I went see Fiddler on
the Roof in town, which had comefrom the Mernier Chocolate
Factory, which was lovely.
I don't really know why wepicked it.
We just thought we fanciedsomething a bit of fun and it
was tremendous.
Absolutely tremendous.
It was a joy.
It was a great night out, greatsinging, great dancing.
I remember when I was a kid, youknow, seeing on TV.
Topol played it and I sang, Iknew all the tunes.
(12:50):
I was singing to myself as theshow was going on.
As was most of the audience, Ithink.
David John (12:55):
So.
Last one, favourite place inLondon?
Neil Conrich (12:57):
Favorite place in London.
Uh, I spend a lot of time onHampstead Heath because of the
dog and I love it.
I love it for the views and Ilove it because it's local to me
and I love it because it's abeautiful, beautiful place,
especially at this time of yearin spring.
David John (13:10):
Yeah.
Yeah, I agree with that.
So we'll leave it there.
Thanks for talking to us.
Neil Conrich (13:17):
It's a pleasure.
David John (13:17):
Um, next week we'll be talking to Game of Thrones
actor and, of course, esteemedVoice Squad artist, James
Faulkner.
Hopefully he'll be telling usabout his career as an actor,
and a voiceover, and audioartist.
And we'll ask him about theskills it takes to be a
successful voice artist.
You can find out anything elseyou want to find out about Voice
(13:38):
Squad.
Listen to our artists byvisiting the website, which is
voicesquad.com.
Of course, feel free to check usout on Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn, and if you've enjoyedthis podcast- The Squadcast-
then do subscribe, rate uswherever you listen to your
podcasts.
The Squadcast is a Voice SquadLtd production hosted by David
(13:58):
John, devised by Mr.
Neil Conrich.
It was produced and edited byEmma Samuel.
If you've got any questionsabout us, about the Squad, about
Voice Squad, please visit oursite or you can always email
voices@ voicesquad.com.
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