The Path of Art#7 Paul Cartwright: What making it really means
We have all heard the words "you will never make it." In this episode, voice actor/actor Paul Cartwright challenges the notion that to make it means that you become a Hollywood star. This was an important realization to him after he was able to put himself through college while acting and then going on to a successful acting and voice-over career.
Hi, I'm Ryan Meeks. And after years of trying to make life work as a struggling artist, independent filmmaker and musician. I thought to myself, hey, self wouldn't it be helpful to ask other artists how they're finding their path in this world. And so now that's exactly what I'm doing on a biweekly basis. Welcome to the Path of Art.
Welcome to the path of art. I'm your host, Ryan Meeks today. On the path of art. We have paul Cartwright. So paul Cartwright lives in Utah and he's a voice actor,
Actor. What else about your paul?
Cartwright?
Yeah, producer director, improv, comedy. All of the above
all around. Having fun doing the creative thing. Well, that's what we're kind of all about here. So, um,
let's
talk about some of the acting and voice acting that you've done recently. Um, now I looked on your imdb page, there's there's a few cartoons and there was also a video game.
Yeah, there's there's there's probably around full seven or 8 video games at this point.
Um, Major titles, Gentian Impact, Shadow Over Smite. Um, some of the bigger ones, um, street outlaws, uh, some other ones that are in development right now. Um, and uh, yeah, animation and video games is primarily where I book my work and then, uh, commercial stuff is, you know, that's kind of what pays the bills, but the animation, video game stuff. That's, that's where I book a lot.
So what what would you say has been your
so far your favorite video game to voice act on and and well,
and what voices have you done on those video games?
Yeah so the hardest thing about favorites is that every job is totally different and so it makes it hard to pick a favorite because they're all so fun. Um I uh
I'm just trying to think about which ones I can talk
about.
Yeah
the N.
D. A. S. Yeah. Got to be, got to be careful. Um One thing I did love about um so for instance the Street Outlaw series, I was actually voice matching um real people. And so that's really fun because
what is voice matching?
Yeah so voice matching is there's a video game coming out and the real people
are are they charge a lot of money.
And so the production team says look let's save some money by finding a voice match someone who sounds close enough to or exactly like the people in the game so that we can you know afford to put their voices
in.
So I voice matched with two different people in the game. And so they had me record the lines as those people which uh ended up being really fun because you know voice matching is its own unique skill set because you have to understand the cadence and the
intonation and how they talk. And so there's a bit of research that has to be done there too.
I would I would say there's quite a bit of research
because
you have to like you said listen to how they say everything
and I'm a natural mimic. So it's a little easier for me. But I mean I'm watching interviews, I'm watching footage and just trying to internalize
how all of that, how they sound and all their little uh, you know, nuances to their speech. And so voice matching has been really fun. I've had voice match auditions and bookings for uh, Sam Elliott for Jack Black paul, uh um Zach Galifianakis. And um, it's often times just a quick turnaround, especially in this industry where, you know, I'll get, I'll get an audition at six p.m.
That says, hey, we need to turn around tonight because we need to record this first thing in the morning.
And so a lot of that trailer work or promo work, but it's always fun to try and voice match people.
Does it ever feel like um like you're doing an impression of that person at all?
Yeah, and that's what I try to stay away from. Only because especially invoice matching you want authenticity, whereas an Impressionism, which, and that's the thing is because I've had both, I've had auditions that say, hey, we want an impression of, or we want a parody of so and so, which is totally different from voice match because invoice match, you want the audience to think that it's that person speaking.
So there is a difference and um I have done parodies, which are still fun because there's a little less stress to match the voice and more of like an impersonation or a parody or a caricature of that person?
It's kind of more of an improv version of not not improv, but you know, just more of that fun version of it. Right?
Yeah, there's not as much pressure to get it exactly how the person sounds. So
you did mention improv and directing.
Tell me something about, about those things that you do.
Yeah. So leading up to um my masters and fine arts that I got um out in England at the Royal Conservatory. Um I did 20 plus years of onstage on camera acting. Um a lot of my onstage stuff was at the hale center theater which is a local theater here in Salt Lake City,
but also um a lot of improv where it was one of my favorites was a yearly production called Witch appaloosa. That was done at Gardner Village here in Utah where um we basically created a musical theater, improv comedy where we had some songs that we were singing that we knew and there was a loose script, but basically every night was a totally different show. We just go in there and and and improv and have fun and
and so a lot of years doing that, some years where um I started uh producing audio,
So I would produce audio stories and uh and other types of what most people call audio dramas. Um we call them movies for your mind where they're fully produced cinematic score, you know, a 30 minute to 50 minute episodes that are audio.
So do you write and direct those?
Yeah, I write and direct and produce.
Okay. And so that's I mean that's quite a bit of time that you put in.
Yeah, there's a lot of time going into that.
So speaking of how much time you got to put into things. Um we had talked earlier and you said something about your commute, you you commute between Lehi and L. A.
So before the pandemic, we lived in L. A. And we're doing the whole L. A. Scene with on camera acting and all of that. And then we ended up buying a house in Lehi.
And for the first little while with the pandemic there was a commute where whether it was a booking or it was a meeting with a client, whatever it was, I would be flying or driving to L. A. A few times a month. And it wasn't terrible only in the sense that the bookings that I was recording were more than paying for the flight.
And so I wasn't, it wasn't a problem for me to get an email saying, hey we need you in the studio tomorrow and then I just book a flight or I'd literally just hop in the car and drive through the night to L. A. Um And so there was, yeah, there was a while and then the pandemic really changed everything. I mean it just, it got to the point where all my voice work. Well I can't say all I'd say probably 99% of my voice work is all remote. So now I can record everything from home. I built a studio in my house, everything's set and squared away there.
Um and so I've only been to L. A. Once in the past 14 months because of the pandemic. So it's changed the whole landscape of voiceover work.
So do you have any plans to move back there or you, do you like your setup how it is now? I
mean I loved L. A. While I was there and I think that eventually if I mean the reality is, is a,
If I, you know, if I book like a recurring lead role in an animated series, you're recording 23 times a week for months.
Yeah so you're going to need to stay there.
And so the idea of commuting that often is just not feasible. But
if I can keep my current setup,
it's nice for my family, which I think is really what I want is just you know that the ideal setup for my family. Um But I would like to move back eventually. I think I think it's in the cards.
Yeah. I've always been curious about um you know creative people that are able to do what they're doing as a career uh that decided to stay in Utah and uh so would that, what would be something that would be your determining factor either to move there or to stay here? Would it be that big job? Or is there something uh or is there something that you, you would like to stay here with? Yeah,
that's a great question. I,
my wife and I talk a lot about, you know, what would it take for us to move back
and I don't think we've decided completely yet what that thing would be,
but I know that a lot of what we want is um because I was raised here and my wife lived here for a lot of her life, we, we want to explore, we want to get out and we only spent a couple of years in L. A while we were there before the pandemic. And so I feel like there's some unfinished business there and I know my wife feels like she would love to get out of Utah, especially with our, with raising our kids, give them different cultural, you know, opportunities and
different opportunities outside of what we're, what we're typically used to. So I don't know what the determining factor will be, but I think if a major role comes along, whether it's on camera or voice over, I think that would be a big factor
about whether or not we pull the trigger.
So let's talk about some of some of the acting, I know that you've done, you know, on camera acting and stage acting as well. What productions have you been in most recently?
Yeah, so
that you can talk about
that I can talk about and that's that's a big thing. Um So right now, um I'm shooting a few films coming up at the end of the summer
uh that I can't talk about, but that's why, you know, if anyone looks at the footage, I've got a big old scruffy beard and long hair and I look like I, you know, I haven't combed myself in years. Um but so yeah, I typically don't grow a beard, which is funny. Um so what I can talk about is um I just finished um a
I can't talk about that one either yet, never mind. Um
So, voice over work I can talk about because a lot of the stuff that when it comes out then I'm then I'm in the clear,
but but you are, you are venturing more into on camera acting. Yeah,
I am, I am so initially, so I am full time voice work and that's how I pay a
living. I
love on camera. That's, that's kind of one of my
passions. And so I've started venturing back into two on camera work. I've done a few commercials for different products around around here. Um I've done um I love stage on stage stuff. I just haven't pulled the trigger because it's, it's a commitment
for
very little pay.
And
so I mean obviously it's not about the money, but the reality is, is right now my kids are at the ages where I don't want to be away from them every night for three months trying to put on a show. So it makes it harder to do an on stage production.
Um so on camera work, I'm doing short films, I'm doing commercials and then working towards features and, and again, you know, I can't talk about the feature I am doing, but I am getting back into on camera and I'm loving it and I'm having an absolute blast and I think um
within the next six months there's definitely going to be more that I can talk about, but it's going to take six or seven months.
So is it hard to bounce between those two worlds, The voice acting and the on camera acting?
So when I started voice acting, I had had my, you know, 20 plus years of on camera, on stage and I thought it was gonna be a pretty seamless transition. Uh but there is a massive and this might just be me, but there is a massive learning curve getting behind the microphone because anything on camera
you have your face and your body to help tell the story, but once you get behind a microphone, the only thing the audience is getting is your voice. And so you have to put every
Gesture, every sentiment, every emotion, all of that has to come out of your voice. And so I had probably a 10-12 month on ramp of trying to make the transition into voice acting because it is a whole different ball game. It's not the same as being on camera and, and you know, like I said, there may be a few people out there who knows the seamless transition, but for me, no, it was, it's a whole different ballgame.
Have you found that it enhances your uh,
you're on camera acting at all?
Yeah, for me the voice acting has only improved and and uh increased my abilities on camera being a stage actor for so long, like
stage to film has been one of my hardest transitions.
But having gotten into voiceover and now getting back into film, my transition to film is actually a lot easier now because of my voiceover, which I thought was interesting because you know, a lot of people talk about their stage to film transition was relatively easy. Mine was difficult because I'm a very expressive person and for a lot of times on film, they want you to bring it down. And I couldn't understand that concept until
I started doing voiceover and learned how the microphone picks up everything it picks up all the nuances, all the detail. And once I understood that concept of the microphone picking up nuance and detail,
then you kind of dialed back the facial expressions and the movement.
I learned the camera picks up all that and that was, that was a click moment for me, was like, oh, gotcha, I understand that.
Okay, cool. Well we'll be right back. We're talking with paul Cartwright, a voice actor and film actor
and we'll be back here on the path of art.
All right, welcome back to the path of art. We're here with paul Cartwright, a voice and film actor, but I want to know paul what got you, started in acting. What got you interested in it in the first place?
Yeah, my acting beginning is the craziest story that even I still don't understand to this day. So, um, in, in high school I was a football player and a basketball player. I was a sports guy, you know, that's what I wanted to do.
And what was really interesting is, is going through junior high,
which is just the worst time ever. Junior highest is
I don't think anyone ever enjoys junior high. Junior
high is the worst and you're trying to make friends and you're trying to fit in and you're trying to figure out what your niche is or where you belong or where your tribe is, you know, and I didn't really know any of those things. I was, I played golf in junior high and tried to play sports well, getting into high school, I was thinking, yeah, I'm gonna follow the sports route. My dad was a big sports guy out. My brother played on the football team and so I was like, yeah, let's go to sports route.
And um, I remember the day that
they were having the meeting for football for the football team, There was a, you basically went to an after school meeting to meet with the coach and then you'd sign up and do the whole football thing.
And as I was on my way to the room for the meeting, I looked up and saw a banner
that had auditions for the school musical.
And I don't
remember what happened, I don't remember how I got there, but I didn't end up going to the meeting, I ended up going to the auditions for the School Musical.
And,
and that was it. I never went back. I just ended up there and I was like, oh, this seems interesting. And I auditioned for the school musical and then I did theater through high school and,
and uh, went on after high school to uh, perform professionally. And what was interesting too is the number of people who said, you know, hey, the arts, you know, they're not a, it's not a sustainable income, like don't, don't get into the arts, you can't make a living doing it. And, and I actually listened to those people when I went to college and when I went up to the University of Utah to get my undergrad, I said, well, I'm not gonna do theater, because there's no money in it?
And so I got my, my, my bachelor's in strategic communication pr and speech writing, thinking, well, maybe there's some creative things that I can put into that where I can make a living. Well, what's funny is I was performing professionally all through college and paid for my college as an actor,
and it wasn't until I graduated that I went, wait a second,
I just paid for my entire education as a full time actor. Like, what, what are these people talking about? Who said, you can't make a living in the performing arts?
So how did, how did that happen? Like, where were you performing? Like, what, like, what kind of gigs did you did you have?
Yeah, So, I was doing a lot of performing at hale center theater and on camera stuff through a local agent,
where I was just, you know, here and there left and right. But the thing is, is, you know, going to school and and living away from home, I didn't have a lot of bills,
like, it
wasn't a lot of money, and so I could pay for all of that doing acting because I didn't have a lot of expenses. Um but it was just a strange thing where I, I suddenly realized that all of the people who were telling me, you can't make a living in the arts were people who weren't in the arts,
and I was, and when that dawned on me, I, I, I suddenly realized like, well,
what do they know?
Like they're not in the arts And when I started talking to my friends in the arts who were making a living, they were all like, oh yeah, you can't listen to the people who aren't doing it because they don't know. And that was when everything changed. And that was when I said, all right, well then we're doing this.
Yeah. One of the things I always listened to which affected me greatly was that, you know, it's the chances of you making it successfully are slim to none.
So you might as well focus on something that can sustain you.
Yeah. Oh yeah, that was, that was the consistent over and over again. Talk was no, no, no, you can't make it, it's so hard to make it, well, let's define, make it right. And what, what I was getting was the group of people saying, well, yeah, you know, to make it mint meant you were a Hollywood star.
Well I don't want to be a Hollywood star. Like that's not making it for me. Making
it
Exactly. And it turns out, I absolutely could make it for myself where I'm now a full time actor and I'm loving every second of it. And I'm financially more well off than I've ever been in my life and I'm having a blast, I love every day waking up is not a chore,
I
love waking up. I love working.
Often times my wife will be like, hey, it's been an 18 hour day and I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. Like, no, you're right. Yeah, let me, let me come back to the family, you know, because I get lost in it. Whereas before, you know, during that transition where everyone was saying, you know, don't do it, don't do it. I was doing 9 to 5 sales jobs that I hated. And this isn't anything against sales. There's people who love sales, but for me, I was not a fan, but I had a little, you know, I was a charismatic kind of guy. And so for me, sales was easier to just do to pay to pay the bills.
And I dreaded waking up. I dreaded going to work. And that's all different now. Whole thing has
changed, right? Yeah. I remember having this
weird,
this weird realization when I was young, like in high school that
Most people go to a 9-5 job, right? And the whole, you know what we've just talked about how people saying to make it, quote unquote, make it, I mean it's slim to the chances are slim to none. And I just remember just dreading even graduating high school because then I'd have to go to this job at an office where I just knew it wasn't for me, I could feel that that wasn't for me
Agans and and that's exactly how I was, I mean, my mom knew from when I was like 12, that I was not a nine to fiver, I was not going to follow the path that everyone else followed. I just, that was not what was in the cards for me. And so when I struggled through the first four or five years of my marriage, working jobs that I absolutely hated.
I mean, there was a moment where my wife and I sat down and we were just like, yeah, this isn't what we want and we need to go for this, we need to really pursue this. And, and the, and the reason is it wasn't like I was, you know, working these jobs and then decided I'm gonna quit this and get into show business. I'd had success. I've had experiences before. They had let me no, no, you do have some ability in this area and you have seen some successes. So it's not like I was taking a blind leap
into show business, like I had enough experience to know know, like if I went at this and if I worked hard, I could make a sustainable living and, and, and so yeah, that, that was kind of the tipping point of, I'm done with the 9 to 5, this is not my lifestyle, I know I don't want this, I need to pursue what I really want and it's paid
unbelievable dividends.
And so were you married at the time when you were going to college and acting? So your, you had a family back then as well?
No, so this is why I could sustain myself is I was single all through college. And so for me, I mean I was living in my friend's basement for like 250 a month, you know, and I had no expenses and so apart from school, you know, and so once I graduated
then I got married
and then it was, you know, you got to provide for a family, you got to take care of your family. And so that's when I got really hit with, you know, well if you're providing for a family, you need a big boy job, you need to go do a real job that's gonna pay. And so I fell in that trap for four or five years.
Some of some of us are still in that.
Yeah. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. I'm saying for me
it was not the path that was not where I was going,
but there are a lot of creative people that are just kind of stuck in that.
Oh yeah, there's a, I have friends, dear friends who are still trying to figure out how to utilize their creativity in a way that they love to work and, and it's an individual choice and everyone's got to go through it on their own way. But I learned pretty quickly when I made the choice,
this is all or nothing. There's no plan B, like there's no backup plan, I'm going for this and, and it's, I have to make it happen because there's nothing to fall back on
that is inspiring my friend.
Well, anything I can do to have because for me it's been, it's been a crazy
journey. Um,
was there any point in time where you thought it wasn't gonna work or did you just hit it full steam ahead and it kind of just started to work out for you
every day. I wonder whether it's gonna work out, but just in just in little pieces, I mean there was absolutely in the first, I mean when I approached my wife and said, hey, I need to go full time voice over.
There was obviously a long discussion that took place because that's, that's a big deal. Now. I was working a full time sales position remotely at when I started getting into voice over and started making money and voice over. And there was, there was essentially a crossover period where I think every artist has to meet that point where they say, okay, when am I gonna stop double dipping and just transition full time into what I want
because I was making, you know, a full time salary providing for my family. But then all of a sudden my voice over income kept growing and growing and growing and growing and I had to make the decision when do I when do I pull the trigger? Well
my my job that I was working for at the time, I think they were fully aware that I was not
as invested as I could have been. They were dear friends. I I jumped on board when they were still a startup. They've exploded since, and I love everyone there. Like I still love all the people I worked with there, but they realized this, that was not my passion. And so, um eventually they made it easy for me because they said, look, we're gonna let you go, we understand your heart's not here, like
be free.
And that was so for me it was easy, it was an easy push off point because they said, you're no longer working for us anymore. And so I said, great, well this is now the step, I'm going full time. Like there's here we go game on. And there's a certain sense of
drive and motivation and fear and anxiety that comes when
you
don't have a choice when you when you have made a decision where there's no plan B that is good for you that motivates you, that pushes you toward this is the only option. So we have to make this work. And that is what got me, I think where I'm at now is because
there was no sense of, well, I hope this works out, but if not, you know, I could probably do something else. It was, this has to work out. I have to do this. And I think that's what attributed to a lot of my early successes and voice over and a lot of the success I'm finding now in on camera and uh, voice overs because there was no plan B.
So how do you deal with that day to day fear and anxiety?
Because, I mean, I know I've experienced it. There was a point in my life to where I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna go and do this film thing. So, I started my own business, jump added in photography. All this other stuff got really good at it. But the fear would almost cripple me on a daily basis.
And on top of that, I didn't have as much focus as you had because I was like, yeah, I want to be a filmmaker. But, you know, I still, I mean, I've been a musician most of my life, right? So I've got that in the back of my head and then the photography crept in and I really liked doing photography. So then I had all these things that I couldn't just gain focus. So there was these two things that were probably my downfall in that area. But how do you deal with both the fear and anxiety, but also keeping that focus?
I think one of the most important things to deal with when it comes to fear is recognizing how to channel it
into something else.
And fear is often just a lack of understanding or a lack of knowledge of what's coming. So you know, if you're working, you're thinking to yourself, you know, fear, I'm, I don't know what's coming, so that that makes me scared. Well the reality is is if you can, if you can channel your fear into optimistic
uh excitement,
it changes everything because once you start thinking, how am I going to pay the bills and you shift that into, Okay, so what are some ways that I can bring in new income this month?
It's all a mindset, It's all mental because every day I wake up and there's at least one instance during the day where I go, oh man, I don't know if I'm gonna make it, I don't know if I'm gonna make enough money this month and I just trained myself instantly to say
no, like don't think that way, think what are some new ways I can bring in revenue
when you say that you figure out a new way to add income, do you try to make sure it's still within that focus or do you ever step outside and do something else?
So when I
found voice over,
I did not anticipate finding voice over, I had anticipated when I moved to L. A. I was going to be a full time on camera tv film actor like that was going to be what happened.
And then when voiceover came along, I recognized here's an opportunity to use the creativity that I have in a new way that could possibly generate more income for my family.
And since that time I have been open to all different types of ways of producing income. I have produced um advertising for companies for clients. I've, I've recorded and produced audio spots for commercials for companies. I have produce
audio dramas. I have filmed short films for for myself to try and get into film circuits. Like I recognized that if I just pigeonhole myself into, well I'm an on camera actor and that's the only way I'm going to make money. Well the reality is is there's a certain level you have to achieve before that can really become a reality
leading up to that point, why not open your horizons and expand your view
and just do anything creative that could possibly generate revenue. One of the greatest secrets I learned is that the people who are at the top
are just as knowledgeable and versed in most areas as you are. They've just found a way to harness their creativity and export it as a product that people are buying. Not true. There's outliers who are just geniuses and brilliant and know all these wonderful things and that's why they're leaders in their field. But the reality is the majority of people who are trying to make it are in the same place as you are.
So we start putting impostor syndrome on ourselves and saying, well I don't know what I'm doing. Well, guess what? No one else does either. Like we're all just trying to figure this thing out and so why not you why not take a shot? Why not create something and say hello, Let's see where this goes. Because the reality is is anyone who says, well that's garbage, Well anyone who says that's garbage to art
there, they have no idea what they're talking about,
what art is
exactly. Art is the most subjective field there is. And so who's to say what's good and what's bad? Right? You look at all the people who have created unbelievable quote art unquote, right? And it was them saying, well I had this idea and I went with it.
Every idea is an opportunity. And so once you start telling yourself well maybe it's not good or maybe it doesn't fit or maybe it's not right? Who are you to say? If you have an idea and you want to create it, go create it. See what happens. Like don't don't let yourself or other people talk you down. This is a subjective field,
wow.
So what I mean, what was what was the first thing that that you like? The first job that you got that you were like this is
this is taking me there.
Yeah. I so when I was living in L. A. And found voice over, I had a dear friend, she's an absolute rock star. She's a full time voice actress as well. She was like, hey, have you thought about voice over? And I was like, no, she's like, well come with me. And we went to this conference that was hosted by randy thomas. She is the voice of the Oscars, you know, ladies and gentlemen Leonardo Dicaprio, like she's the voice of God who narrates the Oscars big deal.
So I go to this conference and I'm learning that people do this for a living,
right? Like stuff that people see and hear sometimes you don't realize they're getting paid for that
totally. And I was like, wait, what? This is a world. So I started meeting people. I started connecting with people. I started finding out about different ways to find auditions. And there's a, there was a certain website. It's a, it's a what we call in the video industry, a pay to play
where basically you pay a subscription fee and you set up a profile and then clients will go to this company and say, hey, we need a voice for this and then they'll post a breakdown and you can audition.
And
so I, I signed up for this, Pay to play website. I was brand new. So I didn't have an agent or anything. And so I'm working on this. Pay to play. Well
I found a client through this website who
is all over the midwest there, a massive client
and
In my first year with them, they paid me five figures
to
do voice over,
that's amazing.
They were a five figure client, one client.
And I went, hold on,
if one client is a five figure client,
what
happens if I have 100 clients? What happens if I have 500 clients? What happens if I even have to five figure clients? All of a sudden I'm a six figure earner off to clients and my mind just exploded. Like everything changed and I just said, okay, this is it, this is where we're going.
And I took off, I built a website. I, I got professionally made demos and I just went full bore. But it was that first five figure client when I had a a really strange set up in my basement. I went, I found out that there was an office space going out of business and I called him and said can I come take some of your stuff And I said, yeah come grab whatever you want. And I grabbed two dividing walls and put them in a v in my basement
and then put up some foam padding behind it and a little $250 microphone. And that was my first booth. And that was how I made my 1st $15,000 was just off grabbing some stuff and throwing it together and doing it. You know, I didn't say, okay well let me plan out and map out, I need $1000 microphone and I need a professional booth and I needed editor which yeah, that's nice to have but
sometimes you just gotta ready fire aim and you just go and just start making mistakes.
That's a good one.
Yeah, you just gotta go make mistakes and learn from those mistakes and I think this is my, the 11 of the bigger lessons I learned from all of this is
failure is not a negative.
All failure is, is a learning opportunity.
I've I've heard that many times throughout my life you know, but my brain just hasn't been able to wrap around it until recently though I had a mentorship with someone here in the building and they showed me this like little assembly like something you would use in an assembly line type of factory, like you're making chairs, you know, you
you get the, you're, you're in the phase of gathering materials and you're in the construction phase and then you're in the, these are ready to go phase and this is out and he said and if something needs to go back, you just put it back in the queue,
I never thought of anything like that until recently and so when a failure came, it was devastating, like very devastating and until I started to visualize that you just started back over
things
started working differently.
Yeah. And recognizing that the person who is putting the most pressure on the situation is you when I I made some unbelievable mistakes when I started out in voiceover. Even as bad as not recording our session with the client,
like we finished the session and they say send me the files and I was dying. Like I'm thinking this is it, my career is over.
And I read and the client says, can you send me the files and I say, oh my word, I am so sorry,
I didn't record the session, I totally forgot.
And their response was, oh yeah, that's yeah, we'll schedule another session and we can't pay you for another session. I'm like, no, no, no, of course not. Like I made the mistake. I totally get it. Like, you know, we'll just do another session and we'll record it again. No worries. Like
in my head I'm thinking my career is over. In my head, I'm thinking this is game over, this is it. Well, the reality is the client was just like, it happens, we get it
right. And that could have easily shut someone down and they wouldn't have called the client, they just would have ghosted and then it literally would have ended their career. But since you pushed forward and went, hey, I'm sorry, let's just, and and they were like, yeah, let's do it again.
That's an amazing experience.
Open communication
is your best friend. I have, I don't like absolutes, but I'm going to say, I have never had
so far an experience where when I was open with the client
an issue was not resolved
every time you just you just tell it like it is, you don't sugarcoat it, you don't you don't hide it, you don't sneak it, you say hi. So and so client, I'm so sorry this happened and this happened. How can we fix it?
Open communication fixes everything.
And so once you make the, when you know when you quote unquote fail, basically all that's happening is is a mistake was made a miscommunication happened, something didn't work how you wanted. So what do you do? Well you fix it, you say, yeah, here's what happened, here's what needs to change, here's how I can improve and then you go forward and the reality is is nobody cares like you just move on and once that mindset took place, I mean I
I exploded my voiceover career took off because I was making mistakes left and right, but instead of shutting down and instead of going, oh no, I screwed up, I went, okay, so what did I learn from that? Okay, I learned this, I learned this and I learned this. Great, let's see if I can keep applying that
and then it took off.
Dude, I think I could talk for hours with you, this has just been amazing um paul, I mean what's what's next for you and where can people see your stuff.
Yeah. So you can find my work at paul Cartwright vo dot com. C. A. R. T. W. R. I G H. T. So paul Cartwright vo dot com. I got portfolios up there with some of my vo work, I've got all my demos, um I'm building my on camera site
so that I have a separate link for all my on camera stuff. But yeah, you can follow me on twitter at paul. T Cartwright, the same with instagram at paul. T Cartwright and you can find me on facebook, that's usually all I do on facebook is just for work purposes. It's not really like a
yeah, I spent a little too much time on their doing pointless things.
Yeah, it's it's all business for me on facebook. So
if you're looking for juicy opinions, you're not gonna find them. It's just, it's all about work. So, but that's where you can find my stuff
and um you have some workshops right? That that people can. Oh
Absolutes, yeah, so every month I do a beginning voiceover workshop for anyone who wants to participate, it's $75 and it's all remote so you don't have to leave your home, you have to go anywhere.
But basically I break down the entire voiceover industry for two hours, I'll let you know how to get started, what you need, equipment wise? I basically say that once you finish the workshop, I'm now a resource. I give you my email. So if you have questions and I help get people started because it took me a good 2.5 years of, you know, 11 p.m. When everyone went to bed to four a.m.
Just researching the industry to figure it out. And I don't want people to have to go through that. So every month you can, I'll post that on facebook and linkedin. So if you follow me on there, um, you'll get the info every month on when the next workshop is All
right, paul. Thanks for coming on the podcast. It's been a pleasure just getting to know your story, learning so much about you, even things that are going to help me out and for those of you that are listening. I sure hope this was helpful. I know it was for me.
So thanks for coming on the show. This has been the path of art with Ryan Meeks. We'll see you on the next one. Thank you for listening to the path of art. If you or someone you know, is creative and would like to tell your story, reach out to me at our meek's at KsL dot com. I might feature you on the show
if you liked our conversation. Please make sure you follow the show and give us a five star rating and review. It really does help people to discover the show. Also make sure you follow the path of our podcast on facebook instagram and Tiktok. Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next time.
