Careers in Voiceovers - What it is and how to do it.
A beginner's guide to a career in voiceovers
By Gary Terzza [website] from London, UK. on February 11, 2006 in Acting Resources
If you can read and talk, you can earn a living from voice-overs. Voice-over artist and coach, Gary Terzza explains how you can take the first step towards an exciting, profitable career.
What you need to break into the industry is a well produced demo;
this is a demonstration of your potential performing various scripts. It shows
producers & voice agents what you sound like and what you are capable of; it
is, in effect, your portfolio or 'audio CV'.
Your demo should include the following: commercials, trailers (or promos, as they are sometimes called), announcing and narration - which is anything from audio books to a documentary read, via an on-hold telephone message.
Voice-overs are made up of three elements:
1)the sound of your voice - its 'timbre'
2)the way you interpret a script and
3)marketing.
All are important, but your first priority should be to record that demo (in CD and/or mp3 format) and showcase your natural voice quality, along with the unique way YOU bring a script to life. But hey, what if you are not used to reading aloud?
This is where tuition is highly effective. A good voiceover coach will bring out the best in your performance, demonstrating the do's and don'ts of a particular piece; they will also match your voice style to the appropriate scripts - it's no good a soft, gentle voice being used for a powerful, hard sell ad!
When it comes to experience, you have to bear in mind that each job you take on will be new; I attend sessions where I have never seen the script before and am completely unfamiliar with the style of reading required. All voice-over artists have to rely on the director to guide them in the right direction to achieve the performance required. Experience in this business is learnt on the job, but you have to start somewhere and that is why it is a pre-requisite to have a well produced demo, showcasing your potential.
'Voice-over' is a broad umbrella term covering many different jobs from voicing ads, TV announcing, narrating documentaries and corporate videos right through to voice prompts and on-hold phone messages, interactive media, podcasting and everything in between. So the range of work is highly diverse and the job of an agent, producer or production company is to match the voice with the project; your voice demo effectively becomes your audition piece in this process. You will be successful at some, but not others, it all depends on what they are listening for.
Then get marketing. It's all about the blood, sweat and tears of sending it out to as many agents, production companies and producers as possible. It is no good having a fantastic demo if it just sits on your bookshelf!
So now it's time to get recording and let the world hear what you sound like. Good luck! |
