How To Get Started
In Voice Overs
INTRODUCTION
A voice-over is the voice of an
unseen narrator, in a movie or a television
broadcast. It is an audio
recording performed by a voice talent that gives life to
characters, tells a story, guides
you on a tour, or directs your telephone calls.
Usually, professional voice
talent are enthusiastic, funny, charming, flexible, and
interact well with other people.
They have the ability to take direction or criticism
from others and can interpret
copy to sell a product, concept, or a message.
Free career resources and advice
are available, job opportunities are bountiful, and
the costs associated with getting
started and building a home recording studio are
at the lowest they have ever
been, thanks to online marketplaces and the global
village.
There are many reasons to become
a voice-over talent, including the opportunity to
work from home and realize a
dream.
Who is a Voice Talent?
A voice talent interprets a
script to meet a specific commercial, leisure, or
educational goal. Voice talent
provide the voices that you hear during a commercial
on television, imaging on the
radio, podcasts, narrators for film, voices for movie
trailers, telephone systems,
educational resources, and a wide assortment of web
and kiosk applications.
Another name for a voice talent
is a voice actor. A voice actor (or voice artist) is a
person who provides voices for
computer and video games, puppet shows,
amusement rides, audio dramas,
dubbed foreign language films, animated works
(including cartoons, animated
feature films, animated shorts), and radio and
television commercials.
Who are the Clients?
"Client" is a generic
term that includes producers, casting directors, advertising agencies,
marketing executives, and independent businesses or organizations -anyone that
has a need to purchase a product or service is a client.
The Internet has introduced a new
school of client. This new breed of client is open
to trying new methods to achieve
their goals, such as finding, hiring, and paying
online for a voice talent who
lives hundreds if not thousands of miles away. Gone
are the days when voice talents
were expected to physically attend an audition as
the standard procedure for
selecting a voice.
Clients, even those that run
their own recording and production studios, are saving
time and money simply because
they do not have to organize and facilitate
auditions on their premises.
Studios who used to have their own pool of voice talent
have now turned to hiring talent
at voice-over marketplaces. Their voice-over
projects are well defined,
including an idea of the voice type they are looking for, a
sample of the script to be read,
their budget range, and their deadline.
Not only does a marketplace
provide simplicity, it also provides a wide variety of
voice-over talent for clients to
select from. Outsourcing the voice-over saves them
from performing unnecessary
administrative responsibilities and enables them to
work solely on the creative
aspects so they can deliver a polished final product to
their customers.
Old Way, New Way
In the Nigeria, the main centers
for voice-over are Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja but you don’t
have to live in those cities
anymore in order to be a successful voice actor.
Technology has changed the
playing field. You can live and work anywhere and be
a successful voice-over artist,
so long as you have a good Internet connection.
Thanks to the Internet work comes
to you from all over the world.
The Online Marketplace
A voice-over marketplace
facilitates interactions and transactions between buyers
and sellers of voice-over
services. Clients are drawn to marketplaces because they
can gather a significant amount
of data quickly while accessing a generous
database catered to meet their
voice-over needs.
The Future of Voice-Overs
New milestones cause industry
professionals to not only reflect on the changes of
days gone by, but also to
envision what the future has in store for the industry.
What’s amazing is that ideas once
conceived to be in the distant future are here
today.
The prospects for the voice-over
industry have never been so bright! Revolutionary
mobile devices such as the
iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad have made audio
content available anytime,
anywhere for download at the touch of a button.
The popularity of these devices
mean that publishers are creating new content such
as apps, games, audiobooks,
magazines, podcasts, commercials and more. All
this content requires
voice-overs, which is great for you!
The Home Recording Opportunity
In recent years, cost-effective
manufacturing of digital recording equipment has
allowed you as a freelance
voice-over talent to invest in high-quality recording
equipment at a reasonable price.
With the advent of new, more
efficient technologies the costs associated with
building a top tier audio
recording studio have plummeted, making some aspects of
the previously unattainable
multi-million dollar studios of a decade ago available for
somewhere in the neighborhood of
a few thousand dollars today.
Performance Trends
The trend today is to sound like
a "real person." While that may sound easy
enough, you'd be surprised at how
much work goes into sounding real without
sounding contrived or fake.
The big announcer voice still has
it’s place but, for commercial purposes, clients
want a guy or girl next door
voice that’s easy for listeners to relate too. When
performing commercial scripts the
voice actor is trying to sound like they’re talking
to a close friend. This is often
referred to as a “conversational” read.
Doing a Self-Assessment
Before you drive a car you need
to learn how to drive. While that may be obvious,
starting out as a voice actor
presents its own stipulations such as learning how to
use the instrument (your voice)
and the talents you were born with. Just because
you have been talking all your
life it doesn't mean that voice-over will come
naturally to you!
Voice acting requires a
well-rounded set of skills. In this section we'll take a look at
some of the most critical skills
aspiring talent should develop in order to have a
fulfilling career as a voice-over
artist.
There are many career
self-assessment tools available to test your compatibility
with a variety of industries and
potential career paths. Your skills, abilities, interests,
personality and temperament all
play a vital role in the career path you choose.
Recognizing The Skills You Need
as a Voice Talent
There is more to voice-over than
just having a “good voice.” When it comes to a
career in voice-overs, there are
a number of qualities one should possess in order
to do well. Whether you are a
freelancer or work with an agent, or both, there are
number of complementary skills
and attributes that can help ensure you are headed
in the right direction. Any of
the skills you don't already posses can be learned by
seeking out training in the
industry.
At a minimum, freelance voice
talent need the following skills:
• Acting
• Technology
• Business
• Marketing
Can you read aloud without
stumbling?
A skilled voice-over artist is
able to read aloud with ease. If you stumble over your
words and need to start over
again then you need more practice. Try reading
books, newspaper and magazine
articles aloud. This is a great way to practice
using a variety of writing styles
which is something you'll encounter in the voiceover
industry.
Do you embrace technology?
This one's important. Being a
freelance voice actor means that you need to have
the skills to operate audio
recording equipment as well as provide a convincing
performance. There are
instructors in the industry who can help you become
familiar with operating audio
recording equipment and teach you how to put it to
good use.
Do you have marketing know-how?
The voice-over industry, like all
entertainment and media fields, is teeming with
talented people. So how do you
get noticed? Successful voice actors are savvy
marketers. Marketing the services
you can provide as a voice talent is critical.
People won't know what you do or
why they should hire you unless you tell them.
There are hundreds of ways that you
can spread the word about your voice-over
services. Get creative!
Do you think running your own
business is risky?
Most entrepreneurs enjoy the
thrill of risk. Whether you have an agent or you're
freelancing, you are running your
own business - you are an entrepreneur. Part of
running your own business is
accepting and being prepared to take some risks.
Studying With a Voice Coach
Performing voice-overs is an art
and is, at its heart, acting. Whether you are
interested in voicing business
and education videos or television commercials and
video games - you need to be able
to act. Acting classes will improve your voiceover
performance no matter what area
of voice-over you are leaning towards.
Studying with a voice-over coach
will help you to assess your talent and develop
your skills. It is the best
preparation and nourishment that you can invest in to build
a solid foundation for your
voice-over career.
Taking a Workshop, Tele-classes
or Attending a Seminar
Voice-over coaches can teach you
how to warm up your voice, how to breathe
properly, assume a proper posture
for voicing, and help you to develop unwavering
intonation, phrasing,
fluctuation, elasticity, versatility, and allow you to explore the
potential of your voice in a
friendly and secure environment.
Five Voice-Over Roles
Over the centuries, the art of
communicating with other people and the
transmission of the spoken word,
the most powerful, persuasive, and distinctly
human tool in any marketer's
arsenal, has evolved to the degree that you don't
have to be in the same room to
get a message across, even the same country for
that matter. With all of the
advantages this new world and that new media bestows,
it is important that a message
received is a message that is understood, believed
and acted upon.
Much of this depends on the copy
writing and voice-over skills of the messengers,
which brings us to five different
character roles you can perform as a voice talent to
get the message of your client
across in a direct and effective way.
Let's explore these types of
character roles in detail.
The Real Person
Projects requiring a more casual
approach often benefit from relatable, genuine
voice-overs. These are referred
to as "Real Person" voice-overs, commonly known
as the "regular guy" or
the "girl next door." The character is homegrown, sensible,
and friendly with a touch of
familiarity and provides a more intimate interpretation of
the script that instills trust.
The Narrator
Storytelling is where the
Narrator is most at home. Omniscient, courteous and
honest, a Narrator's job is to
provide an audio landscape for a listener, briefing them
on background information, posing
questions, and providing solutions as they guide
their audience through a program
or documentary. Narrators can be male or
female, and the most important
factors are that they can communicate clearly and
engagingly.
The Announcer
The Announcer, often heard live
at events, on commercials, promos or introducing
segments for podcasts, is a
product of the broadcast age, most celebrated at its
height in the Golden Age of Radio
and early television broadcasts. Announcers can
introduce an idea and assertively
make a call for action at the conclusion of a
commercial advertisement or short
video.
Preparing Your Demo Content
The first thing that you’ll need
is a marketable voice-over demo. Your demo will
present your voice to clients.
They can listen to it and evaluate your services first
hand. Creating a variety of
voice-over demos rounds out your portfolio showcasing
the styles of voice-over that you
can perform. Since nearly everyone has heard a
radio program, you should expect
that your listeners have grown accustomed to
hearing material produced in a
certain way.
Writing Script for Your Demo
Your writing style should be
conversational with friendly language, selecting a
variety of topics in order to
accommodate your listeners. If you are compiling a
themed demo such as commercials,
you’ll want to make sure that there is a variety
of commercials targeted to a
diverse audience. Research your chosen niche in
order to deliver the most
relevant material to your audience.
More Tips for Your Demo
Try to use different vocal tones
or ranges to break up the content, pace, and tone of
your demos. Use musical
backgrounds (known as jingles or music beds) or other
non-music interludes (referred to
as stagers, sweeps and ID's) to transition between
topics. These topic breaks are
typically described as bumpers or sweepers, giving
your listeners the time they
might need to digest the content you just presented.
Realizing the Dream
You’ve made the decision that you
would like to become a voice-over talent. Now
what? In order to be successful
in this endeavour, you’ll need to develop a plan that
you will commit to. Here is a
shortlist of the essentials that you will need to operate
your voice-over business online.
Essential Technology for the
Home-based Business:
• High-speed Internet connection
• Personal computer, printer
• Business software MS Word,
Excel
• Accounting software such as
Quicken, QuickBooks, MS Money is recommended
• Telephone with voicemail
• Fax
Selecting a Name
When selecting a name, be sure
that the name of your business reflects you as a
professional voice-over talent.
For example, your name could be Emmanuel Ahmadu Voiceovers,
Emmanuel’s Voice, or Ahmadu
Voice-over. Make sure that the name you choose is
also available as a domain
name online. Try to make your name unique but easily
understood and recognizable.
You can select a memorable name,
unique name, or any name that you feel suits
you and is in line with the
services you provide. Be sure to select a name that is
easy to remember, easy to say and
spell, and is non-offensive to others. Check to
see if the name you would like to
use is available, and if no one else has it, look
into your own personal website.
If the domain name you desire is available, you
have an opportunity to purchase
it and secure your brand name on the Internet.
Creating a Personal Brand
Your personal branding is
important. If successfully mastered, it will set you and
your voice-over business apart
from others. Many professionals choose to keep
their real names, however,
selecting a stage name is also a popular option. This
gives you the freedom to create a
unique voice-over persona and will help
separate your work from your home
life.
Branding your voice-over business
is one of the most important objectives that you
will achieve before you market
and promote your voice. Effectively branding your
business will send consistent
messages to your audience, establishing your brand
image and purpose. By taking the
time to plan and brand well in advance of the
release of your first voice-over
demo, your efforts will go a long way and quickly
differentiate your demo from
similar offerings. Selecting a name for your company,
securing a domain name for your
voice-over website, picking colours, creating a
logo, language, music, sound
effects, slogans, and voice-over imaging are all
important aspects of branding
your voice-over career.
Drafting Your Vocal Description
A crucial aspect of your personal
branding includes the way that you describe your
voice and your services. A client
should be able to learn about you in as few words
as possible. Summarize your
service in about 15 words or less to keep the readers
interest, particularly when you
are promoting yourself in advertisements or at a
voice-over marketplace. When you
are drafting the description of your voice, make
sure that it features your
strengths, specialties, and unique characteristics. This
description should be no more
than two to three sentences long.
When you have your vocal
description completed, start thinking about a phrase that
best reflects your voice-over
services. A slogan is a powerful and memorable
marketing device that will serve
you well if properly crafted and placed.
Colouring Your Brand
Colours often have certain
emotions or connotations associated with them, for
instance, the colour yellow is
often associated with sunshine, cheerfulness, and
innovation, whereas blue may be
associated with the sea, tranquillity, and freedom.
When choosing colours to
represent your voice-over services, it is important to select
colours that go well together.
Once you have picked the colours that you will brand
your services with and use on
your website, create a logo incorporating them to
further brand your voice
visually.
Creating a Logo
A logo is the most readily
available representative of your voice. Your logo can
accompany press releases, be used
as a link to your site, for advertising purposes,
and give potential audiences a
glimpse at what you and your voice are all about
even before listening to your
demo.
When designing your logo,
remember that it is often the first impression of your
voice. Bearing this in mind, your
logo should be friendly to all age groups and sized
appropriately, making sure that
it does not take up more than the normal allotted
dimensions for logos. Incorporate
the colours that you chose for your voice to further
enhance and unify your visual
branding.
If need be, you can outsource
logo design to a freelance graphic designer or firm. If
you are able to design your own
logo, tools such as Macromedia Fireworks and
Adobe Photoshop are good programs
to achieve your branding goals. If you
already have a logo, you could
further brand your image by incorporating your
business logo or design a
variation of your corporate logo to strengthen and
reinforce your brand.
Getting Visibility Online
Visibility is the most
significant dynamic for any business, particularly in a field
where professionals compete
directly with each other. You can achieve visibility by
investing in your own website or
by subscribing to a online marketplace that gives
you your own web page, where you
can include your voice-over information.
Building Your Own Website
If you are considering building
your own site, you will first need to register a domain
name. You can check to see if the
domain name is available by visiting http://
www.networksolutions.com or http://www.register.com.
If your preferred domain
name and extension is available,
for example, www.yourname.com you can
purchase the domain name and move
ahead with selecting a hosting company to
host your site.
Technology can be imposing, so if
you would like someone else to build and
manage your website, you will
find no shortage of people who can provide these services for you. Be aware
that webmasters will have their own set of fees in addition to the fees that
you will be responsible for including hosting, domain name
renewals, enhancements to your
hosting package, and any technical support that
you may require.
What to Look For In a Marketplace
• The ability to manage and
change your content on your own without a fee.
• A good number of projects that
you can audition for every week.
• Diverse advertising
opportunities for voice talent to attract a variety of clients.
• Opportunities for voice talent
to be found in multiple ways.
• A trustworthy and transparent
site with open business practices.
• Good customer service and
support, both online and offline.
• An innovative and proactive web
content provider.
• Active marketing campaigns on
your behalf.
• Responsive to voice talent
suggestions.
• Easy to navigate.
• A professional site where you
will feel proud to be featured.
• Access to resources and templates
that will save you time.
• Accountability.
• Personal contact.
• Acknowledgment in the press.
• A good variety of testimonials
from both voice talents who are subscribed as
Premium members and client who
have used the service successfully.
• Considerate to the needs of the
voice talent.
• Looking out for the talents
best interest.
• Easy to use auditioning system.
• Efficient system that provides
you with a record of auditions submitted.
• Free from overt advertising.
• Memberships with a variety of
options and prices to suit your needs.
• Integrity.
Showcase Your Image
An alternative to the traditional
headshot is a graphical representation of you or
your services. The most common
image selected by voice-over talent is a
microphone, simple and to the point.
To stand out from the crowd though, you may
want to consider something more
unique. A graphic designer can help you
experiment with font types,
colors and can incorporate your slogan.
Mention Your Credits
Be sure to recognize the major
companies and organizations that you have
completed work for. You can
include a ‘partial client list’ or include a complete list of
clients you’ve worked with. Keep
this list up to date to show that your services are
sought-after and that you
continue to be active within the industry.
Highlight Your Languages and
Accents
The global marketplace has
brought together people from all walks of life and
broken down physical boundaries
in addition to language barriers. Voice talent that
are able to speak fluently in
multiple language shave a distinct advantage over their
peers and can charge a premium
for translation and performance services.
Suggest The Styles and Ages That
You Can Perform
Clients will often seek a
specific age of voice talent to connect with their audience.
You may be capable of performing
voice ages younger or older than your actual
age, all of which should be
documented and recorded as samples for clients to
review. Clients also search by
accents, for example, the British accent or Southern
Belle, USA. Including the timbre
of your voice (your vocal range), i.e. bass,
baritone, alto, soprano is also
helpful for clients looking for specific voice types.
Describe Your Studio
Every client wants to hear that
you can get the job done, but they also want to know
how you will do it. Although most
clients will never ask for technical information, it’s
good to have it handy. Including
a description of your high-quality studio equipment,
which is also a costly
investment, may help justify your fee structure.
Here are the main studio details
that you should include:
• Microphone, Recording software,
Mixing board, Other special equipment
• Turnaround time (i.e. 24
hours).
Offer Your Methods of Delivery
Know ahead of time what methods
of delivery you can provide. Include FedEX,
UPS overnight shipping of a CD,
MP3 via email or FTP file upload.
Provide Your Rates
Voice-over is a competitive
marketplace, and you will need to decide how you will
be quoting for your services.
Will it be by word, per spot, per hour, per package, per
project, per market, or per page?
These are all items that you should consider
before you put together your rate
card. Once you have compiled your rate card, you
will need to decide whether you
will disclose your rate card openly to clients or if
you would rather leave the arena
open for negotiation on a per project basis.
Reasons To Spread The Word
Now that the hard work is done,
it’s time to start spreading the news. Begin by
reading this chapter about
promoting your voice. Promoting your demo is the
fulfilment of your overall
mission as a voice talent. If you don’t promote your voice,
at least initially, who else will
do it for you? Remember that you invested time,
energy, and love into your craft
and that it should be shared with your intended
audience. How better to start
gaining clientele than to actively promote your voice?
Online Marketing
Online marketing consists of two
main elements. Search engine marketing and
email marketing. An effective
online marketing campaign will deliver equal attention
to both areas, as they are
interrelated and support one another. Creating a strategy
that consistently represents who
you are and what you have to offer will build trust,
and generate a degree of brand
recognition. Let’s explore the world of search
engine marketing.
