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Authors: Alan Smithee
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Do
Voiceover People Live?
It used to be that you could
only have a voiceover career if you lived in one of the major three markets:
Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago. But with the advent of home studios and
online voiceover marketplaces, this is no longer the case. It may be harder to
sign with a major talent agency if you don’t live in one of the “Big Three,”
but you can still develop and grow a voiceover career from pretty much
anywhere.
What Am I Going
to Learn?
The following guide is broken
down roughly into two sections. The first is The Basics, which is designed to
do two things: Give you some solid, concrete steps you can take right now to jump start your voiceover career; and, to help you determine if a career in
voiceover is right for you.
The second section is the Advanced Section. Here you’ll find professional
advice on how to take your voiceover career to the next level. Ready? Let’s
dive in!
2
THE BASICS:
As you’ve seen, there are a number
of voiceover careers. But the first area we’re going to focus on is commercial,
mainly because that’s where the vast majority of the work is. Even if your
ultimate goal is to do animation, you’ll still need to be able to do solid
commercial reads to get your foot in the door.
Listen
Your very first assignment is
to listen. This is enormously important. In fact, if you take away nothing else
from this guide, follow this advice: Listen. Listen to commercials (or “spots”)
on radio and TV. When you’re driving, instead of switching stations when the
music stops, listen to the ads. Same goes with TV. Where you would usually fast
forward your DVR, stop and pay attention. You’ll get a feel for what’s being
cast, and therefore, what casting people are looking for. It’s actually a good
habit to get into, because you’ll continue to do this throughout your career.
We don’t know any working voiceover actors who don’t listen closely to
commercials.
Make a List of Adjectives That Describe You
The next step is to determine
your “sound.” As you’ll no doubt notice as you listen to radio and TV spots,
most of the people you hear sound very natural. Gone are the days when products
were being promoted by golden-voiced pitchmen; the focus over the last 20 years
or so is on relatability. People who write and produce advertising (or
“creatives”) now want someone who sounds like someone you know and who you
wouldn’t mind taking a little helpful advice from.
Therefore, you need to figure out how you naturally sound so that you can
determine where you fit in terms of casting. The quickest way to do this is to
put together a list of adjectives that describe you. Are you funny? Quirky?
Maybe you’re intellectual, or intense, or you seem like the guy next door.
Whatever it is, sit down and make a list of ten adjectives. If you come up
short, ask a couple friends to describe you. (This is occasionally an
eye-opening experience, but it’s very instructive to know how you come across.)
Then take those adjectives and whittle them down to between five and seven, and
put them in order, from ones that describe you most of the time, to those that
describe you less often.
As an example, let’s say you’ve collected and ordered the following list:
1. Cool
2. Clever
3. Wry
4. Sexy
5. Athletic
6. Down to earth
7. Friendly
Next, you’ll want to take this list and…
Record Yourself
A surprising
number of people say they hate the sound of their own voices when they hear
them recorded and played back. The key reason for this is that the voice we
hear coming out of our mouths is usually richer and more resonant-sounding to
us, due to the larynx, or voice box, being close to your ears. When our voice
hits the air, much of that resonance is lost, leaving other qualities in its
place: nasal tones, raspiness, and so on. Accordingly, it’s important for you
to determine how you really sound.
To
Voiceover People Live?
It used to be that you could
only have a voiceover career if you lived in one of the major three markets:
Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago. But with the advent of home studios and
online voiceover marketplaces, this is no longer the case. It may be harder to
sign with a major talent agency if you don’t live in one of the “Big Three,”
but you can still develop and grow a voiceover career from pretty much
anywhere.
What Am I Going
to Learn?
The following guide is broken
down roughly into two sections. The first is The Basics, which is designed to
do two things: Give you some solid, concrete steps you can take right now to jump start your voiceover career; and, to help you determine if a career in
voiceover is right for you.
The second section is the Advanced Section. Here you’ll find professional
advice on how to take your voiceover career to the next level. Ready? Let’s
dive in!
2
THE BASICS:
As you’ve seen, there are a number
of voiceover careers. But the first area we’re going to focus on is commercial,
mainly because that’s where the vast majority of the work is. Even if your
ultimate goal is to do animation, you’ll still need to be able to do solid
commercial reads to get your foot in the door.
Listen
Your very first assignment is
to listen. This is enormously important. In fact, if you take away nothing else
from this guide, follow this advice: Listen. Listen to commercials (or “spots”)
on radio and TV. When you’re driving, instead of switching stations when the
music stops, listen to the ads. Same goes with TV. Where you would usually fast
forward your DVR, stop and pay attention. You’ll get a feel for what’s being
cast, and therefore, what casting people are looking for. It’s actually a good
habit to get into, because you’ll continue to do this throughout your career.
We don’t know any working voiceover actors who don’t listen closely to
commercials.
Make a List of Adjectives That Describe You
The next step is to determine
your “sound.” As you’ll no doubt notice as you listen to radio and TV spots,
most of the people you hear sound very natural. Gone are the days when products
were being promoted by golden-voiced pitchmen; the focus over the last 20 years
or so is on relatability. People who write and produce advertising (or
“creatives”) now want someone who sounds like someone you know and who you
wouldn’t mind taking a little helpful advice from.
Therefore, you need to figure out how you naturally sound so that you can
determine where you fit in terms of casting. The quickest way to do this is to
put together a list of adjectives that describe you. Are you funny? Quirky?
Maybe you’re intellectual, or intense, or you seem like the guy next door.
Whatever it is, sit down and make a list of ten adjectives. If you come up
short, ask a couple friends to describe you. (This is occasionally an
eye-opening experience, but it’s very instructive to know how you come across.)
Then take those adjectives and whittle them down to between five and seven, and
put them in order, from ones that describe you most of the time, to those that
describe you less often.
As an example, let’s say you’ve collected and ordered the following list:
1. Cool
2. Clever
3. Wry
4. Sexy
5. Athletic
6. Down to earth
7. Friendly
Next, you’ll want to take this list and…
Record Yourself
A surprising
number of people say they hate the sound of their own voices when they hear
them recorded and played back. The key reason for this is that the voice we
hear coming out of our mouths is usually richer and more resonant-sounding to
us, due to the larynx, or voice box, being close to your ears. When our voice
hits the air, much of that resonance is lost, leaving other qualities in its
place: nasal tones, raspiness, and so on. Accordingly, it’s important for you
to determine how you really sound.
To
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