The Hope of the Voice Acting Industry

“With great talent comes great responsibilities,” as evidently seen on the works of Pocholo Gonzales CEO of Creativoices Productions. This man of action is using his experiences and theories to shoulder the fortification of the voice acting commerce.
Born with a vision, a chap with enormous passion on the field he truly belongs advocates the strengthening of the voice talent industry. At an early age of 12, Pocholo already visualized himself as a voice talent; he promised himself the glamour of radio by being firm on his dream to be heard by millions of people. Completely aware on how voice actors of before failed to make the profession a legitimate industry, he aimed to take the trade notches higher.

Filipinos are known for their talent, bearing powerful vocal chords that has been available ever since the era of zarzuela to radio drama. But the golden voice was turned into a cheap commodity.

Since then voice talents are taken for granted, now being paid by 80 php per script recording compared to its former price of 500 and 300 php, considering that voice acting has long been running as an entertainment and information channel and is still a necessity in the given scenes.

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A Blend of Voice and Technology

Adept voice control, latest technology and the best entrepreneurial skills, all combined for a business not only designed for profit but also as haven for voice talents, was started byPocholo with Chiz Escudero Pocholo Gonzales, CEO of Creativoices Productions.

“Nagstart ako sa zero, wala akong pera ang naging puhunan ko lang boses ko.”(I started with nothing, the only asset I have is my voice.) But this field is the CEO’s first love so he braved the odds and turned his talent into a more serious business.

Through adequate skills and natural talent he operated a company dedicated for voice acting. “We started 2005, pero ang first name of our company is Univoicesal Productions. I was inspired kasi by Universal Studios pero short-lived siya so we created Creativoices Productions.” (We started in 2005 but the company was first named as Univoicesal Productions, because I was inspired with Universal Studios but it was short-lived so we recreated it as Creativoices Production,) he shared.

He recalled that, “Nagsimula kami sa maliit, recording muna sa bahay tapos nagkaroon din ng sariling recording studio at as of now I have 200 voice talents sa record.” (We started small, recording our projects at home until we had our own recording studio and as of now I have 200 voice talents in record.)

With a mission at hand, he prepared himself by taking the proper education. He took up a Bachelor Degree in Speech Communications and Masters Degree in Broadcast Communication at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. To flourish his skills even more he attended Voice Acting Lessons in Hollywood, mastering the art of voice acting in its various forms such as radio drama, dubbing, voice over for commercial, AVP and Narration.

He branded himself as the Voice master having the talent and the knowledge that will carry the future of this small-scale industry into greener pastures.

Pocholo is lobbying a blend of talent and technology, making use of the latest gadgets to enhance the voice industry. He is the spearhead of a now best selling service – the podcast, a revolutionary method of sending voice-over information via the Internet. Derived from its root words Ipod and Broadcast, Podcast resembles a radio program available in the Internet.

The company’s operations serve as a host that protects the rights of voice talents while ensuring not only the needed quality but to as much as possible exceed the studioclient’s expectations on voice services. With this, the company earned big clients from different industries such as politicians who used the podcast for its electoral campaign; (Election 2007, a tie up with inquirer.net is an example of Podcast) Advertising companies for voice over on commercials, TV and Radio companies for radio drama and dubbings and many other.

Standing solely in the market as voice providers, the company patterned its business from international voice over standards. There are many recording studios in the Philippines but only Creativoices focus on the welfare of voice artists.

Heroic Voice

Voice acting is not a dying industry; in fact just like celebrities flaunting their beauty in the screen, these talented people whose voices echo through the TV, radio and every other medium, should also have their share of the limelight for they are also stars on their own right.

The number of foreign shows that are turned into Tagalog broadcasting and Anime’s that swept the screens of today is a proof that Voice Acting is then and still an imperative part of entertainment. Therefore voice artists are also big players in the industry.

For the implementation of his plans, Gonzales established an institution that will serve aspocholo sanctuary for voice talents. “Why not create something for the industry,” he shared as he unravels his mission of founding Creativoices Productions. “Basically this is my passion, my first love, it has been here ever since but the craft was not professionalize.” So the young CEO took it upon himself to make his talent a better vocation. His small voice is his armor to continue the legacy of voice acting as he strives to change the future of other budding talents.

Creativoices for Pocholo conveys a lot of meaning, “Creating Voices, creative voices or the voice of creativity. So the company’s function is to focus on voice acting as an art,” he added. By establishing the company, Pocholo aims to address the individualism among voice artists. “Kasi dito sa Pilipinas ang problema ng voice talents, kanya kanyang diskarte kaya walang tintawag na market value. Kahit na anong galing ng isang voice talent Kung wala kang entity, pwede kang ibagsak ng malalaking kumpanya.” (The problem with Filipino Voice talents is that they work individually, therefore losing their market value. No matter how good you are if you don’t have an entity, big companies could easily turn you down.)

Next Generation of Creativoices

“Sound can be visualized and imagined a thousand ways so casting imagination to its listeners, that’s the wonder of voice over work,” shared by Pocholo also a Director of Hero TV and the youngest board member of the Animation Council of the Philippines.

Combing the flair for innovative voice acting and entrepreneurial skills, Creativoices is growing by leaps and bounds, “I keep on studying researching and discovering new trends” revealed by the voice actor as the secret components of a successful business.

Creativoices has been a part of E-services Philippines a fair designed by the Center for International Trade Exposition and Missions for IT companies in two years and by joining such exhibits the CEO is dreaming to make the Philippines the center of Voice over industry in Asia like call center or BPO in principle.

Envisioning the future of the company, Pocholo shared his plans, “Plan ko mag venture in the future sa another entity na related like video. Gusto ko din kasi ng mga video documentaries.” (I’m planning to venture into another entity that is related to audio projects like video because I am fond of video documentaries as well.) The company’s focus is on the artistry of being a voice talent; and because of technology nothing is impossible on producing the best audiovisuals giving limitless possibilities to their listeners and viewers.

For more information on Creativoices Productions log on to www.creativoices.com.