How to be a Voiceover Artist
So how do you get started in voice overs? Well do you know who they are and what they do? Why do you want to become one? Why do you think you can do it as well or better?
Things for you to do and think about. What you need to do first?
1 - Get involved with your local hospital radio station. It will give you technical experience, mic experience, everything you will need to give you a thorough grounding in using your voice.
2 - Do you have a local theatre group or amateur dramatic society? Find them and volunteer, voiceover work IS ACTING!!! Even the simplest voice over requires performance skills.
3 - Got a mobile phone? Change the voice mail message on it everyday, try to impress people with it. Make a note of what works and what doesn't.
4 - Find someone to whom you can regularly read a story. If you're good at characters, well a good story will give you plenty of opportunity to prove it.
5 - Do you want to go on a course and get some professional training? Get in touch with http://www.voxtraining.com/ or any similar company. They'll teach you how to get the best out of your voice.
Enthusiasm is great and it will get you through the tough times, but a space shuttle pilot got to sit in his seat through a combination of training, experience, dedication, enthusaism and hard work now you must do the same.
I suspect like most people keen to follow a career in voiceover work you would like to phone someone up tomorrow morning and be paid to voice something for them tomorrow afternoon, I've never known that happen for anyone. Now it's time for you to put in the work.
A good voice or a clever/flexible voice is only rung one on a very long ladder. Imagine I am a producer and you need to give me a reason why I should use you in preference to someone else, what would you say? You can't say good voice, good impressions, good at accents; he's got that already.
Work in the industry can be feast or famine and in the early days it will be thin on the ground, you just need to keep telling people that you are out there. Remember it is not a salaried job so if you don't work you don't eat. There can be travel involved, it depends what you are doing.
With the right equipment it is possible to work from home but you will need to find the space for an office and voiceover booth. You can set yourself up for about £4,000. You will need to buy at least one computer and printer, an ISDN codec, editing software (eg Pro Tools Adobe Audition), Microsoft Office and a decent microphone (Neumann are the best by far but very expensive).
Using ISDN technology you can be accessed live from around the world; most local radio commercials are voiced this way. If you are working alone from home (especially without an agent) you will need the drive and determination to suceed. As well as being your own IT expert, accountant, office manager and marketing manager. Just having "a good voice" is not nearly enough.
You will then need to build up your contacts book, market yourself using the internet, the phone and email. It is possible to break in and there are lots of people who will give you a first chance but if you try before you are ready you could very easily blow it. Producers talk to one another so your first session could also be you last.
Practice reading aloud, record yourself, listen to voices on TV, radio, film and ask youself why they are good or bad. Could you have done better.
You will need to make a voiceover showreel and put it on CD. Any demo longer than a minute is too long. What are you going to put on it? That's up to you, but before you decide get advice from the experts.
Good luck!