How To Become A Voice Actor
So you want to become a voice actor - awesome! But where do you start!? It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with all that you need to do, or even worse, underwhelmed with no clear, concise path to start booking work. With this post, I’m hoping to shed some light on this awesome little world of voice over, and help get you on your way!
WHAT KIND OF ACTOR DO YOU WANT TO BE?
There are TONS of different projects that require voice talent. Commercials, industrial spots, B2B marketing videos, games, animation, promos, narration, audiobooks…the list goes on and on. What’s critical though, is to ask: what do you want to use YOUR voice for? Games and animation are usually top of the list, but they’re also the toughest to crack. Not saying you shouldn’t go for it - you should! But you also keep in mind there are plenty of other jumping off points to get the ball rolling, and deciding which will really help guide you as you start your journey.
WHAT VOICE ACTING & RECORDING SKILLS DO YOU ALREADY HAVE?
It used to be that voice actors were able to cut their demos and then by the grace of a studio or agency, be brought in for an audition, complete with someone else recording you and a booth director guiding your performance. Not so much the case anymore. Nowadays, it’s essential that a voice talent be able to have a great-sounding home setup, know how to record, and of course, be awesome at performing copy. Ask yourself if you legitimately have these skills. If not, it’s going to be really frustrating to get going, because you may know exactly how to perform copy, but can’t record. Or you can record, but have NO idea how to properly voice a commercial or character. All of this is very normal and completely ok! You just need to figure out where the gaps are in your foundation, and through either voice coaching, or the wonderfully accessible (and free) school of YouTube - learn on your own. It’s a little slow at the start but once you have the basics of recording and using your voice, it’ll go a long way in helping you breeze through auditions.
WHEN SHOULD YOU RECORD A VOICEOVER DEMO, AND WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT?
If you’re feeling confident about your ability to record yourself well, then it’s time to focus on getting a great-sounding demo. This is a crucial piece of the puzzle for a variety of reasons.
Circling back to “what kind of voice actor do I want to be”, this is where that knowledge will help you decide what kind of demo you want to do. They can get pricey, usually ranging from $1000 - $3000 or more. Anything below $1000 and it’s sometimes a crapshoot on whether the producer has the right skills and finger on the pulse of what’s hot in the industry. You can find those who can do it, but always ask for samples to substantiate their quality of work, and make sure it sounds like what you’re hearing on TV/radio etc. On the upper end of the spectrum, you have well-known demo producers in Los Angeles or New York who have tons of experience and have awesome connections in the industry. Who you go with depends on your budget, your experience and of course, location.
A demo showcases your range and voice in an easily consumable way, so that casting directors, agents, agencies and business alike can quickly assess if you’re the right talent for a job. ALSO, if you’re going to go the Pay 2 Play route for getting started, having your demo is a MUST to be able to tap into the websites and get work. Think of places like Voices.com and Voice123.com as individual web browsers just for voiceover. They come with their own SEO needs so that your voice filters to the top and you get opportunities to audition. This is a much more complicated topic that warrants a more detailed explanation, but essentially, the more demos or samples of your voice, the more tags you can add. The more tags you can add, the wider the net you cast for getting auditions. To be successful on the P2P sites, demos and samples are a MUST.
On that note, one thing that I offer that essentially no other demo producer offers is the broken down, fully produced pieces that go into creating your actual demo. Think of it like getting a demo, but also getting all the individual commercials or character segments as well. VERY useful for SEO and triggering the algorithms.
HOW DO I GET VOICEOVER AUDITIONS?
If you’re all set in the recording and voice department, and you have a demo, then it’s time to figure out how to get auditions. There are a lot of ways that this happens.
Pay 2 Play sites like Voices.com and Voice123.com are fantastic training grounds (and a continual piece of income for many actors) to get your feet wet. Yes, they both come with an entry fee, but booking even one decent job on either platform can recoup your investment, and then everything from there is gravy.
Agents are of course the original way most talent would get work, and it’s still a big piece for more experienced actors - especially in the gaming and animation world, but they are harder to get, and they’re definitely NOT a must to be a working voice actor.
A third and highly underutilized way is tapping into, and growing your network. Know someone at a local business that does marketing? Reach out! Odds are they need voice talent. The worst thing they say is “no”, but now they know you’re a voice artist and if they need anything in the future, you’re already on their radar.
HOW DO I BOOK VOICEOVER WORK?
To book voiceover work, it’s a combination of several things. You need to:
Know what kind of voiceover work you’re hunting for.
Know how to record yourself.
Have a professional home setup to record in: treated/quiet space, decent gear and a DAW to record in.
Demos to help getting auditions and work.
A steadfast and consistent approach to auditioning. A good rule of thumb is 100 auditions for 1 job booked when starting. It gets better, but it’s absolutely a numbers game.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
Becoming a voice actor isn’t something that (usually) happens overnight. It takes commitment, a slow, steady, CONSISTENT approach, and of course, making sure you have a excellent sounding recordings that are “broadcast ready”. There will be feasts, famines, lulls, ups and downs, BUT if you truly want to be a voice actor, and you invest in the time and resources required to do it, it’s an incredible world with some of the most rewarding outcomes both for your career fulfillment and financial gain.
CONTACT ME if you’d like to learn more about career coaching, voice coaching, demos, or just get some more info on how to get started!