George The Tech’s Performer Friendly Podcast

In this episode, George talks with Jodi Gottlieb, a voiceover coach with more than 20 years of industry experience and a background working with major networks. Jodi shares how she coaches established voice talent who are ready to raise their game, especially in commercial auditions where subtle, natural choices can make all the difference. George and Jodi discuss common audition mistakes, why dramatic pauses often work against you, how to use two different reads strategically, and what it really means to “show range” without ignoring the specs. They also explore the impact of AI on the voiceover industry — including Jodi’s concerns about lost opportunities and her belief that audiences can still hear the difference when a performance is genuinely human.   00:00 Sponsor and Offer 00:31 Booth Mindset Tips 00:56 Meet Coach Jodi 02:56 Audio vs Video Podcasts 04:17 Remote Sessions Connection 08:23 Who Jodi Coaches 11:37 How She Started Coaching 15:46 Commercial Specs Myth 20:26 Disqualifying Reads 25:31 Directed Auditions Help 27:09 Demo Production Process 29:43 What Makes Demos Work 29:51 Demo Spots Under 10 Seconds 31:16 Variety and Money Voice 33:00 Audition Takes and Specs 35:59 Specs vs Reality in Sessions 38:02 Stop Over Editing Auditions 42:02 Separate Roles and Take Breaks 47:03 AI Voices and Industry Shifts 52:12 Calling Out AI and Audience Detection 56:26 Wrap Up and Contact Info  

George the Tech sits down with longtime client Sara Van Beckham to unpack what it takes to build—and sustain—a voiceover career across multiple genres. Sara shares how acting training transformed her reads, why SOVAS sparked a major career reset, and how she transitioned to remote work long before it became the norm. She also gets real about vocal health, promo pressure, tech anxiety, and the standards that separate working pros from everyone else. Timeline 00:00 Sound Check Promo00:21 “Kind, On Time, Good” — The Core Formula00:37 Meet Sara Van Beckham01:52 Conferences & VO Community02:42 SOVAS Wake-Up Call04:22 Switching to Atlas Agency06:51 From Wisconsin to Voiceover08:55 Acting Training & Meisner Influence11:39 NYC Audition Hustle12:49 Going Remote (2013 ISDN Era)14:14 Vocal Surgery & Recovery15:06 Audiobooks as Daily Practice18:44 Cracking the Promo Market19:52 Landing ABC & Fast Turnarounds21:12 What “Pro Turnaround” Really Means21:59 “Kind, On Time, Good” Revisited22:32 Self-Recording Promo Work23:39 The Ephemeral Nature of Promo24:57 Live-Directed Commercial Sessions25:54 Campaigns Come and Go26:45 Relationships with Engineers28:06 Actors as Their Own Tech Team30:31 Tech Anxiety & Triggers32:13 Advocating for Yourself33:39 Confidence & Professional Standards35:34 Everyday Gear Setup36:50 Tribooth Studio Setup37:41 Closing Thoughts

George sits down with longtime client and voice actor Chris Fries to talk about what it really looks like to build a sustainable, high-level voiceover career. Chris breaks down how commercial work became the backbone of his business, why promo is a completely different beast, and how trust—not just talent—keeps you booked on long-running campaigns. They also get deep into studio design, workflow, and the gear choices that support fast, reliable sessions. Timeline 00:00 – Sound Check Promo00:22 – Three Traits of Voice Actors01:00 – Ramble and Rapport02:31 – Meet Chris Fries04:04 – Booking Commercial Campaigns06:42 – Why Chase Promo Work09:12 – Session Workflow and Downtime11:43 – Long Running Campaigns12:42 – Becoming the Owl Character16:16 – On Set Ad Libs and Improv22:34 – Tech Talk and Gear Plug24:42 – Building the Home Studio28:05 – Treated Office Workflow29:34 – Video Game Audio Standards31:34 – Motorcycle Commute Era35:02 – Booth Gear Breakdown38:04 – Mic Switching and Cough Mute41:12 – Desk Side Routing and Monitoring43:28 – Phone Patch and TRRS Setup46:21 – Set It and Forget It47:50 – Coaching Origin and Process52:19 – Travel Rig Upgrades & Farewell

What does it take to survive (and thrive) through every era of voiceover? Studio engineer, producer, and VO talent Mark Graue joins George Whittam to share stories from radio hustle to Hollywood studios, working with legends, and building a career that adapted from analog tape to today’s digital world. From a near-disastrous timecode session to landing VO work at Hanna-Barbera, this episode is packed with hard-earned lessons on engineering by ear, storytelling in demos, and knowing when to step away. Timeline 00:00 – Audio service promo00:22 – Cold-call spec spots: the original hustle03:12 – Breaking into Cherokee Recording Studios03:36 – The Van Halen spec spot gamble04:39 – Building a Warner interviews archive06:10 – The open audition that led to Hanna-Barbera07:39 – Buying Studio 5 and going independent10:26 – Moving to Burbank and evolving the business12:47 – Surviving the analog → digital shift15:09 – The timecode session disaster 15:54 – Handling pressure when everything’s on the line16:17 – Why great engineers use their ears, not just meters17:13 – Storytelling secrets in voiceover demos18:01 – Memories of Don LaFontaine20:10 – The “voiceover gypsy” era21:46 – Life beyond LA23:45 – Travel, boundaries, and no mobile rig24:37 – Coaching talent and modern home studios25:32 – Gear graveyard stories27:16 – Where to find Mark   

What happens when a seven-time Emmy winner realizes his audio isn’t good enough? We’re re-releasing this episode with CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, Emmy Award winner, and New York Times bestselling author David Pogue to celebrate his new book, Apple: The First 50 Years, which recently debuted on the NYT Best Sellers list. In this conversation, David joins George the Tech to break down how his echoey home office got upgraded to broadcast-ready sound—without a booth—and why most people misunderstand how to fix bad audio. You'll also hear about his years covering tech for The New York Times, and why he’s turning down voice-cloning deals in the age of deepfakes. If you record from home—or care about where tech is headed—this episode hits both. Timeline 00:00 — Big Question: AI Utopia or Dystopia? 00:30 — Introducing David Pogue 03:30 — What He Actually Does Day-to-Day 07:00 — His Music Background (Broadway → Now) 10:00 — The Windsor Castle Story 16:30 — Why He Needed Help With Audio 18:30 — The Big Misconception: “Just Get a Booth” 21:00 — The Facebook Thread That Changed Everything 23:00 — The Actual Fix 25:30 — The Last 5%: Clarity VX 28:00 — Workflow Friction (Final Cut Issue) 31:00 — Broadcast Reality vs Perfectionism 34:00 — The Challenge of Great Audio + Great Video 36:30 — The “Perfect Zoom Background” Problem 40:00 — AI Tools He Actually Uses 43:30 — Deepfakes: Real Risk or Overblown? 47:00 — Turning Down Voice Cloning Offers 50:00 — AI Lawsuits + Ownership Questions 54:00 — Where to Follow David Pogue