You want to learn how to get started in voice over. You are certainly not alone.In fact, the query “How do I get started in voice acting?” is one I get so frequently that I’m compiling some basic information and advice.
Like any entrepreneurial venture, you have to be smart, and tenacious, and creative, and talented, and WORK hard. Yes, hard work is part of the deal.
There are more voice over opportunities than ever these days, but the competition is formidable.And here comes my take on what it takes to get started in voice over, with five tips I freely share with anyone who asks.
1. Know your voice type
Many journals would tell you, “Just because you have a unique voice or you talk everyday doesn’t mean you are destined to be a voice actor.” Let alone state the obvious; of course you are not, not just yet. These articles often make the mistake of suggesting that voiceover venture is strenuous and as rarefied a job to shoot for, seemingly overwhelming aspirants who searched for a read to help them that rather result in intimidation. However true, this article opts for a positive approach that aims not just to guide you on how to start your voice over career but heighten your hopes and desire to do so.
Let’s go for the opposite side of the coin: Just because you do not have the perfectly modulated, orotund voice for radio plays or for explainer videos doesn’t mean you come to a dead-end in this career. As challenging as it is by nature, voice over world actually allows limitless possibility and is open to just nearly anyone who’s got the voice plus the will to engage himself in the career. Voice over business branches to an array of industries: Advertisement agencies, Telecommunications, Podcasts, Event Announcers, TV & Radio Commercials, Explainer videos, Production Houses, Publishers, Video Games, Theater, Web Developers, E-learning, and the list goes on. Your voice might just be the next voice one of these agencies is looking for.
Everyone has a distinctive voice.For example, male voice actors tend to have deeper voices.If you have a great voice and you have the cup of tea for acting or recording your voice be it for a song cover or a video blog, then it’s an edge to this career and a bright green light is waiting for you to take the plunge. The next thing you have to figure out is to what industry type your voice is best suited to. You may have a smoky or honeyed voice but eye for corporate firms. This way, you’re definitely setting yourself up for failure, being frustrated at lack of job opportunities. Some voiceover artists are great at doing radio plays, others outstand in ADR. Some voice are suited for audiobooks, others are for documentary series.
On the other way around, if you have an average voice or even a hideous one, here’s a good news for you: voiceover skills can be earned overtime with the proper training and voice lessons. By the same token, there is a myriad of characters in a movie, a short play, or a video game that could be many steps away from the exact voice type they are looking for and your voice, who knows, could be the endpoint of their quest.
So first things first, know your voice type, at least at the onset, until you get more experience.
2. Hone your voice acting skills
Now that you know your voice type and is confident that it is for you, it’s time to hone that voice accompanied by your acting skills. Just because you have a natural talent, doesn’t guarantee a splash when you upload your first voice recording. It encompasses many factors as dedication, multi-faceted skills and time. Your job as a voice artist is not just articulating the script in your copy as long as it sounds pleasant. You bring the text into life. This means you need to make your voice skills jive in harmony with your acting skills — which is roughly the biggest challenge a newbie generally encounters when he does his first voice-over. Getting into your character is hard to do when you are alone in the room, talking to yourself. Because you try too hard to produce a first-rate demo, you tend to over-enunciate the words and try to sound like one of the radio announcers you look up to, and worse, you sound monotonous.
To practice your skill would mean listening to established voice overs and hiring a voice actor coach. When you listen to sample demos or works of voice artists, you become familiarized from how they enunciate the words to how they give it inflection and mood. You try to mimic ones you find superb and compare your work to theirs, unlocking rooms for improvement and that is just a good start.
Getting access to the best voice over coaches that is your ultimate beginner kit to hit the nail on the head. In fact, even if you’ve had years of experience in the voiceover industry, coaching is essential as continuous learning is a necessity.
3. Consider setting up your home studio
Most blogs on the web will tell you to invest in setting up your home studio as the first step to getting started in the voice over career. This page is not going to tell you to not buy that idea, but you wouldn’t want spending tons of money for something that does not promise greater in return. We recommend undertaking training and hiring a voice coach who will let you use their studio to start practicing and give you some feedback on your voice. This way costs you money, but this investment is much smaller than the one-time-big-time cost for setting up your home studio foremost that does not guarantee success. Nonetheless, the decision upon when to get this part done still depends on the talent’s preference and intuition. You may start small and focus on the basic necessity, and can reinvest the money you make into upgrading your equipment and set up. Here’s a list of the primary things that build your home studio:
- A soundproof workspace
- Microphone
- Computer
- Recording software
- Professional soundproofing materials
- XLR cable (most mics come with one)
- Mixer
4. Produce your best voice demo reel
You only got one shot at destiny to show off your voice when you send your reels to agents and companies, so make sure you give your best shot. All clients, whether they are Disney Animation or just a guy who needs a voicemail message, want second-to-none crystal clear audio recordings. Therefore, ensure that your big bucks are committed to a voice over coach who would lend you all the must-haves to able to produce a first-rate demo reel, or if you have your own studio built already (to be discussed in 6th section of this page), make sure you have the equipment that make your voice sound the best. An important point to take note of in recording your samples is to keep them short and to separate them depending on their category. Why? Because no client has all the time to spare a minute or two to each of the hundred samples they riff through. More or less, a client will only listen to about ten seconds of an audition or demo before moving on to the next.
5. Gain experience
Social construct often gives you the pressure on assuming you need to be well-equipped with a fair share of experience in order to succeed in every profession you wish to pursue. Allowing this way of thinking, you are likely to question yourself whether or not you have enough experience or knowledge to be a good fit. Contrarily, the question you should answer is rather how these professionals started. We always start small and it won’t hurt to undergo the basics and allow yourself to be a beginner. As mentioned earlier on how to market yourself, the benefits of being a beginner outweigh the pressure, drawback, challenge and cost all combined. So while doing your first audition can be the toughest part of this adventure, bear in mind that there is no other headway to get into the top. You need to be confident and comfortable to take direction, make adjustments, and do take after take until you get it right for the client. It doesn’t matter if you encounter failures a few times in the beginning, it’s totally normal. As long as you’ve undergone enough preparation, fear nothing to get your toes wet time after time as these little feats pile up and little would you know that you’ve actually made it far. Just do it whatever and regardless and feel free to stumble and stand up again for that’s what a true professional is made of
In conclusion
Finding success as a voice artist gives you no linear path. The information here is just the tip of the iceberg, voice acting is a craft that requires continuous learning and dedication. We hope this guide helps you make your headway on this journey but remember that you are free to choose the options that you think will work best for you.
