Last Friday (20th June 2014) I organised and hosted The VoiceOver Network Summer Party at Envy Post Production, in London. And what a night it was! It was an exclusive invite only party for the voiceover industries top professionals to get together for a BBQ and a party. I’m pleased to say it was a huge success and everything from the venue, the food, the drinks, the mini magnums, the sponsor, entertainment done by 2 of the UK’s top magicians and of course the wonderful company all worked incredibly well together.

So what is The VoiceOver Network?

About a year ago I met up with 3 other voiceover artists in Richmond, West London to catch up. It was great and we had a lovely evening sitting by the river talking about what was going on in the industry and our businesses. I found it a very interesting and useful evening so I decided that I’d organise another one for the next month for West London Voiceover Artists. Another fun night was had and by the third night word had spread that there was a regular voiceover meet up and I was contacted by VO’s from other parts of London and asked if they could come, I of course said yes. I went on to organise 2 more West London Voiceover drinks which grew very fast in numbers and it made me realise that this was something valuable for voiceover artists who often work alone from home.

Christmas Party in Central London

I decided to organise the Christmas drinks in central London so that all voiceover artists who wanted to join us could. I also saw an opportunity to be able to invite producers, agents, sound engineers and casting directors to the central London drinks too. I’m pleased to say the Christmas party was fantastic and it was a brilliant night, I even made home-made chocolate brownies which went down well!

What was next?

Then I saw that this was the beginning of something very special and important in the voiceover industry. Our industry is going through a lot of very big changes at the moment and so it’s incredibly important to keep up to date with the latest technology, social media, marketing etc. By making the meet ups a definite monthly drinks, it meant that we created a community and a support network of trusted friends in the voiceover world. It’s been very important to me to create a friendly environment so that anyone who wants to can join us for a drink and be welcomed. It is a very competitive industry yes but there are also some really wonderful people in it.

The Name The VoiceOver Network

I had a few different names before settling with The VoiceOver Network, which I think works really well. I was helped by a couple of the regulars who come to the drinks including Mike Cooper and Darren Altman when I was working on the name. The VoiceOver Network was created and I think it’s a name that works really well.

The Summer Party

After having a few meet ups usually the last Friday of every month I decided that it was time to crank things up a notch and organise a big Summer Party and get some special guests. So that’s what I did! I sat down and planned out my perfect party and made it a reality which was hard work but I really enjoyed it.

On the night

The venue was a very important aspect to this party and I’d looked at a lot of different ones but Envy Post Production on Foley Street couldn’t have been more perfect. With its high ceilings, silver chandeliers, an exclusive venue and the beautiful roof terrace it ticked all the boxes.

People who came were some of the UKs top voiceover artists, producers, agents (5 different ones), directors, sound engineers and also a business coach. We even had a couple of production companies come who were actively looking for new voices for upcoming projects.

We had a delicious BBQ on the roof terrace while being entertained by some amazing close up magic. Then for the mini magnums which arrived on trays of ice, they went down very well. The night was topped off by glasses of Lemoncello, to help with digestion of course.

I loved every minute of the party! Here are a couple of comments –

‘Thank you Rachael for a fantastic evening at the Voiceover Network Party. That was a great event’  Peter Dickson

‘Great night Rachael at Envy Post, really enjoyed it. You know how to put on a party!’ Oliver Dukcevic

‘The moment when the mini magnums came out on trays of ice cubes I said (quite loudly i think) “This is the best party ever”! I then said it again a while later when presented with a Limoncello. Seriously Rachael – you did a truly brilliant job, and organised and hosted an awesome party. My only regret is that there were so many brilliant people there I didn’t get to talk to, because I was having too good a time talking to the brilliant people I did talk to! Can we have another one soon?’ Louisa Gummer

Sponsor

The sponsor for the night, which I felt was a hugely important part of the party was ipDTL. It was brilliant to have them on board and Kevin Leach joined us on the night to help explain how it all works and was on hand to even show people how to use it.

The Future for The VoiceOver Network?

I’m pleased to say that the future looks very good for The VoiceOver Network. It’s been a valuable tool for a lot of people who come to the meet ups. The success stories keep coming in and people have been getting new clients, work, new agents, new friends, advice, help and support from coming along. Some of the topics that are regularly discussed are home studios, technology, marketing, social media, agents, production companies, blogging and lot’s more.

Moving forward there are a lot of exciting things I’ve got up my sleeve but for now I can tell you that we will be continuing to meet on the last Friday of every month for a catch up, have a few drinks and mingling in a top London venue.

If you’re interested in joining us click here to enter your e-mail address to be informed of all the upcoming events – http://www.rachaelnaylor.com/go/the-voiceover-network-party/

Below are some of the brilliant photos taken by Owen Billcliffe from The Summer Party. I think he really managed to capture the evening and if you’d like to see more photos from the night go here – The VoiceOver network Summer Party photos