Fusion Magazine was graciously invited to cover one of the biggest voice over conferences of the year known as “VO Atlanta.” We had the opportunity to interview the event’s CEO, Ms. Anna Collins, as she described her vision for the voice over industry as well as how her company has influenced many voice actors in their own voice over careers.
ANNA COLLINS: Hi, I'm Anna Collins. I'm a Dutch-American who grew up on both sides of the Atlantic. I am also the owner and CEO of Anna Collins Events, and the owner and CEO of VO Atlanta.
FUSION: Please tell our Fusion viewers the backstory about VO Atlanta and how it was created.
ANNA COLLINS: VO Atlanta was created 14 years ago. It started off as a small voice over meet-up group, organized by the original founder, which would gather once a year in March in Atlanta, Georgia. We then bought it from the previous owner in 2022, taking over the legacy with the goal of making it even bigger and better, more inviting and diverse. We are constantly coming up with new ideas, sessions, presenters, sponsors, and attendees every year.
FUSION: And what was your vision or your inspiration for VO Atlanta, and what can we expect in the future of this conference?
ANNA COLLINS: My vision has always been to make it as inviting as possible, and also make it as easy to navigate as possible, because we do have about a thousand attendees, sponsors and on-site staff. We have an amazing ambassador team that helps people to navigate their way during the conference. We have online and check-in registration where people get a QR code, so they can easily communicate with others as well. We also enacted a “First Contact” program, which is where people who have been to the conference can help those who have never attended before, guiding them throughout the conference and answering any questions they may have. We have increased the number of coaching and information sessions as well.
Each session is also recorded for those who can't attend in person. There are approximately eight sessions running at the same time, which are all recorded, so we have a video replay as well afterwards. People can watch the sessions that they have missed, which are available for months after, and keep learning after the conference is over.
FUSION: Please tell our Fusion viewers how VO Atlanta came about curating the panelists and the speakers for the conference.
ANNA COLLINS: We have a window of opportunity to review each of the speakers and panelists. Once we have selected the presenters, we have each presenter submit what they would like to teach and what they would like to present. The response to this has always been overwhelming, which has been great. Every year we take on new ideas from people.
The panels can include anything from diversity, to building confidence, to agent panels, to video games, animation and audiobooks.
Our Spanish program also includes a Latin department, which attracts participants from all over Latin America. People submit what they would like to teach, and then we kind of go from there. We try to get the best ideas for that year or the most current ones, and that’s how we choose.
FUSION: How important is it to be a part of the voiceover community, and how do you feel that VO Atlanta has been a part of building this community?
ANNA COLLINS: It's incredibly important. I'm very blessed to be married to J. Michael Collins, who is very well-known in the voiceover world. He taught me a lot about it over the years we've been together. I think the voice over community is an amazing community, it's so giving. I was in the corporate world before: it’s not always very giving or very kind. And so seeing and being in this community, witnessing how generous people are of their time, of their ideas, of their experiences, and sharing it with the next generation, and people also moving into new genres.
Some of them have maybe done audiobooks, but now they're doing animation or something else. It was incredibly important to me when we bought this conference to make sure that it was all-inclusive, full of diversity and that every single person felt welcome and felt like they were in a safe space and as well as a relaxed space, so they could truly make the most of this learning opportunity.
FUSION: You mentioned that you bought the company. Tell us a little bit about the backstory of that previous company and how you are continuing the legacy.
ANNA COLLINS: The previous company was called “Voice Over City.” We had actually been a platinum sponsor of this conference for years before with JMC Demos. The previous owner was going to step down and move on to other ventures. And when the opportunity presented itself, we realized that we wanted to be an integral part of this wonderful community and incredible event.We really hoped to make it better and come up with new ideas and with new programs. So we decided we couldn't let the chance pass us by.
We were generous sponsors of the event and realized that. So we made a deal and decided to take it over, and that's where we are now.
FUSION: What are the challenges that you feel voice actors face in this industry? And what advice can you give for them to overcome those challenges?
ANNA COLLINS: There are tremendous challenges, particularly now with new cultures and everything else too. There are so many talented people who especially come to the event: we've had casting agents, and we've had directors.
So my goal as the owner of the conference is to make sure that we give them as many tools as possible to make sure that they can succeed in voiceover and reach their goals. We’ve had all different types of voiceover.
Voiceover is everything from e-learning, medical narration, audio books, commercials, radio imaging, it's so many different genres and things. So our objective was to try to give people as much choice as possible and provide them with the wealth of knowledge and support that they needed to find their niche and then move forward with their careers.
FUSION: Why do you think thousands of voice actors come to this sold-out conference every year? And what's the magic behind this conference?
ANNA COLLINS: I think the magic is just the community and its members, who are so giving, as well as the wealth of diversity, which is amazing to see.
The excitement is also a big draw, because there are always new things happening in voiceover. There are new ideas, there are new, updated ways of doing things. And I think it's also the community: it's very warm and welcoming. In many ways my goal as a conference owner is to ensure that they have a good space to collaborate, to network and to meet other people who have the same ideas. We also have an exhibitor hall, so our sponsors can show them new equipment, new websites, new ways of doing things, other ways to apply what they're learning, other ways to have support. We try to make it a complete experience, not just one thing, but trying to cover as many aspects of the voiceover community as we can. I think that creates part of the magic, plus the excitement of seeing many voiceover people as, working at home, they don't always get out very often.
So I think creating a space that is fun, exciting, but also safe and where they feel welcome regardless of nationality, gender, cultural background, language, or even or their preferences as far as what they would like to learn. And also voiceover people are really fun, I got to say. We are pretty good people.
FUSION: How do you stay motivated to keep doing VO Atlanta every year?
ANNA COLLINS: Honestly organizing events like this is what I love to do. I have a long corporate career so I've been to many events which are not so fun. So having the opportunity to create something that is fun and innovative and has more of a focus on quality as well as being there for your clients, your guests, your attendees, your sponsors, making sure that everyone feels welcome and they feel heard and also making it a great event for them.
I can create a great event, but when I took over VO Atlanta in 2023, I was incredibly blessed with an amazing advisory board. I asked these incredible people in the industry: “How do I make a voiceover event?” They offered amazing advice as we went step by step. I would also get constant feedback from the attendees who come to the conferences via a post-conference survey.
We have compiled a lot of data by asking: “What could we focus on next year? What would you like to see? What are some things we can improve?” We're always looking to improve, always looking to innovate, always looking to ensure that we have an even better experience the next year. It will continue to be this way, but it's what I love, honestly. Doing this event has been both a privilege and an honor, being able to help these amazing, talented people find their confidence, find their next step in their journey. It's really an honor for me to do that and I'm hoping to do it for a long time to come.
FUSION: What has been the biggest takeaway from this conference this year?
ANNA COLLINS: So many new people have come this year, which is great to see.Some people approached me and said: “This has been amazing”, “I didn't know this existed” or “I've been wanting to come for years”. Just seeing their reaction to their new-found confidence, so many people with so much excitement saying now they're getting new ideas of how they're going to progress and how they want to change things or how they want to innovate new things in their lives is honestly the most rewarding part of the conference. Every single person who comes up to me is something that I don't take for granted.
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I've been in many places in my corporate life as well, where you're kind of overlooked, they don't really see you.
They'll shake your hand, but you're not really anything that they necessarily want to talk to. So I think just making sure every person feels welcome, every person feels seen is important to me. As I mentioned before, we try to make things as diverse and as welcoming and as inviting as possible for every single person, people with disabilities, with ADHD, autism, people from all kinds of backgrounds. But the amazing part is, this conference is for every single one, every single person, not just certain people. Everybody is welcome to come here and continue their journey. And it's always amazing, even for me now. It's the third year I've done this. People said: “Oh, I booked a new job”, “I started a new project”, “I've got this new thing I'm working on” or “I collaborated with somebody else”. And it is honestly the best reward I could expect from doing this.
FUSION: That's great! What's next for you for VO Atlanta? What's the plan for next year?
ANNA COLLINS: The plan is to continue growing, to continue making things better every year, to find what else we could add, how else we could make it even better. We have a tremendous amount of feedback from the participants who come here, the attendees, the sponsors.
We're always asking ourselves: “What else can we do? What else can we improve on?” So it'll always be a learning process. It'll always be working to find the next innovation, the next excitement, the next step, the next panels. We've had incredible new panels, people who also want to come join the conference, new sponsors and new presenters. We're very blessed to have this incredible community and yeah, we just keep on going. Keep growing it.
FUSION: Where can our viewers contact you and how could they get involved with VO Atlanta?
ANNA COLLINS: We have a website, www.voatlanta.me and you can write me right there.I get the emails if you fill out the information form. You can also write me at anacollinesevents.com as well.
So yeah, we're always looking for new ideas, new things to do. And next for me personally is going to be the JMC Euro Retreat event in May of 2025, which is happening in Holland. And then in October of 2025, we have one happening in Florence, Italy. VO Atlanta is already actually booked for next year as well. We're starting to work on next year’s VO Atlanta as well. So it's always ongoing.
FUSION: Thank you so much, Anna. I really appreciate it.
ANNA COLLINS: Thank you very much for having me.
For more visit voatlanta.me
