Voice Acting For Dummies

by David Ciccarelli

  Furthermore, reading about topics in audition copy and then following up on what you read to discover more about the topic can lead you down roads you never knew you’d explore and make you better for it.

  Helps You Spot Industry Trends

  Some people love to watch television commercials and movie trailers, and listen to audiobooks to see what the trends are in voice casting. Auditioning can also help you identify trends. If you see a number of auditions that ask for similar artistic direction, voice ages, accents, or character archetypes, you may be spotting a trend. Isn’t it neat to see this happening before the voice-over is even recorded and aired for all to hear? This sort of research can be helpful for you and also provide ideas for how you can serve a particular niche or demographic with your voice.

  Validates the Need for Voice Acting

  Auditioning also reinforces the importance of voice acting. Even though technology has improved greatly, a real live human voice can still achieve all the goals producers need for voice acting work. In fact, voice-overs are needed for almost every conceivable application. The need for a custom read of a script isn’t going anywhere. There’s nothing quite like hearing someone deliver a well-thought-out performance with heart and soul. As long as clients have work, custom voice-over recordings will never go out of style.

  Renews Your Faith that Work Exists

  Every time you audition is yet more proof that the voice-over work is out there. Many people become discouraged if they don’t book a job after so many auditions (the threshold is different for everyone), but each and every audition that you do, see, or hear about goes to show that there is no shortage of work. When auditioning, keep in mind that there is a job for every voice and a voice for every job. Keep auditioning regularly and when the right opportunity comes along, you’ll be positioned well to receive it.

  Chapter 23

  Ten (or So) Tips to Prepare for Voice Acting Jobs

  In This Chapter

  Hiring a voice coach

  Focusing on your goals and expectations

  Success is when preparation meets opportunity. So with that in mind, consider what you can do to prepare for future opportunities. But first, ask yourself:

  Would an aspiring singer perform in a recital before taking any lessons?

  Would an entrepreneur go to a banker asking for money without a business plan?

  Would an agent want to receive a demo CD from a voice actor who doesn’t have any training?

  You get the point. It pays to prepare. And, whether it’s recording your first demo or wanting to do your first audition without any training or direction, the advice still applies. This chapter gives you ten (or so) tips to help you be ready for voice-over work.

  Whatever you put into something is what you will get out of it. Define what you need to do in order to make progress as a voice actor. Discover everything you can about the industry. Knowledge is power, and you’ll want to have spent plenty of time researching and evaluating opportunities before jumping in the voice-over pool.

  Invest in Regular Vocal Training

  To be better at anything you do, you need training from experienced people who know what they’re doing. Acquiring knowledge and skill is a primary goal. In order to prepare yourself for a voice acting job, you need to spend time and, more than likely, some money for instruction. That training can come from classes and even this book. In fact, many voice coaches are clear that they won’t produce voice-over demos for students until they have studied and are ready to do so. (The next section discusses how a coach can help you get ready for voice acting work.)

  Work with a Voice Coach

  You can get specific training and instruction from a coach. Studying with a coach affords you access to the trained, objective ears of someone with extensive industry experience. A coach knows what needs to be done in order to prepare you for a career in voice acting.

  A coach also has connections. When you’re just starting out, training is important, but so is getting to know other people in the business. Your coach can facilitate some wonderful networking opportunities for you as well as send you to auditions or recommend you to others for work. Refer to Chapter 3 for advice on finding a voice coach.

  Practice, Practice, Practice

  To improve your skills and be ready to record a voice-over demo (and get hired), you need to practice. After you practice, you need to practice some more. You can’t expect to perfect your voice-over work if you don’t take the time to fine-tune your skills. Practicing is the only way to do that.

  Hold off on making a voice-over demo that you promote to agents and prospective clients until you’ve practiced and are ready. You want to make an excellent first impression with agents, producers, and potential clients, and if you haven’t practiced and can show you know what you’re doing, you may fall flat on your face.

  Have Self-Confidence

  Confidence, and more specifically self-confidence, is important for any professional, especially someone in voice acting, because the tool you’re using to serve people is your voice, which is part of you. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the same goes for what someone thinks is a perfect take or casting in voice acting. Your role as voice actor is to do your best and let your voice shine.

  Having confidence isn’t necessarily limited to being confident in your vocal abilities. It also means that you stand firm on how much you charge for a voice-over recording. Like most freelance work, fees for voice acting can vary from professional to professional. You may have the perfect voice for a client, but if you’re quoting lower than your norm just to get attention to win someone over, you then become the person with the perfect voice who charges the least amount of money when you could have been the person with the perfect voice whose services were well-priced and well-paid for. Don’t sell yourself short! Getting someone to pay you what you want them to pay you is a lot harder if you get in the door at a reduced price. (Refer to Chapter 15 for all topics related to quoting rates and getting paid.)

  Avoid Being Too Hard on Yourself

  Voice actors are often creating voices and sometimes, they even hear them in their heads! Most people can relate to being their own worst critic, perhaps even having an inner critic that picks them apart. Although you need to self-evaluate what you can do to improve, you also want to avoid going too far and expecting perfection. You can be too hard on yourself when you’re struggling to grasp a concept, when you’re auditioning, and even in the midst of a job.

  To separate yourself from your inner critic, you can do the following:

  Ignore the voice. Doing so is difficult, but doable. Tune that voice out by being objective about your performance, using facts and not emotion to determine how closely you matched the requirements.

  Walk away from your computer. Just get away for a little bit and come back with a set of fresh ears to re-listen to your recording and/or audition.

  Take some deep breaths and relax. Try to stop being anxious. Trust that if you’re right for the job, you’ll get it.

  After you do get hired for a job, you need to be careful how you interpret feedback during a session. Interpreting feedback as criticism may be a natural response, but doing so isn’t the healthiest response. The director is only trying to communicate his vision through your voice by doing business with you. He doesn’t have anything personal against you.

  Be Selective

  The voice-over auditioning and hiring process is subjective. Obviously you won’t get every job you audition for, nor will you be the only business person who can fulfill those needs. Hence you also want to be selective with the opportunities you pursue.

  Wise professionals realize that there is a voice for every project and a project for every voice. They know they aren’t going to win them all, but they have faith and conviction that they’ll win the
jobs they are perfect for without having to compromise.

  When deciding what kind of work you want to do, listen to both your head and your heart. By focusing on opportunities that you are comfortable with, you’ll enjoy your work more and also reap greater rewards if you book the job. (Check out Chapter 14 for more advice.)

  Set Achievable Goals and Realistic Expectations

  When you set out to have a voice acting career, you need to make sure you set realistic goals and expectations. If you’re new to voice acting, make sure you first understand the nature of the business (Chapter 2 can give you some insight). If you’re the owner of that business, you’re solely responsible for growing your business, educating yourself, and becoming established in the voice acting field.

  When you work in voice acting, you only get out of it what you put into it. As a result, make sure you determine your goals regarding training, practice, studio, time, and effort, and what you realistically expect to attain. If you’re brand new, your goals and expectations should be different than someone who has been in the field for five years.

  Voice actors who set out to use an online marketplace are guaranteed access to concrete opportunities. Although the marketplace may not be able to promise you that you’ll get work, it does promise you the opportunity to present yourself for work opportunities to clients directly. In other words, you’re receiving concrete opportunities, not concrete work.

  Listen to Demos of Established Voice Actors

  To be prepared for work in voice acting (and before you record your own demo), you need to know what a great voice-over demos sounds like. You don’t have to look too far! You can listen online at marketplace websites, such as www.voices.com.

  You can search through the demos and explore a wide array of examples. You can listen to demos in a variety of categories, languages, voice ages, and more. You can also easily look up demos by keyword.

  When listening to demos, tune your ear to how the voice actor has presented herself, the contents of the demo, how long it runs, and whether the voice actor included production (such as effects on the voice, music, or sound effects). You can pause on spots that catch your attention and study what it is about those moments that interest you.

  Take Advantage of Every Free Resource You Can

  Many free resources are available that you can tap into for more help in perfecting your voice acting. These different elements range from interpretation to performance. They can help you create the presence you’re aiming to achieve in order to make a killer demo and be ready for a voice acting job.

  For starters, look online for free resources. You may find articles and free podcasts by searching for them in your favorite search engine. You can also listen to voice-overs for free on www.youtube.com.

  To access the cheat sheet specifically for this book, go to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/voiceacting.

  Find out "HOW" at Dummies.com