Confessions of a Voiceover Newbie...

After I graduated from college (in a galaxy far far away and a long time ago), I found myself at a job fair.  At one point, for some reason (I’m sure there was a reason) I was talking to the local police department of the 10^th largest city in the country.  I was chatting with an officer when another one came up and interrupted us and said to me “You should apply for one of our dispatch positions.  Your voice would have a calming effect on our officers in the field…”

I ended up going to grad school instead.  But between then and now, eons later, I’ve had many people, actually mostly strangers, comment on my voice. So, after 40 years in tech sales, I finally decided to jump in to the voiceover world and see what It was all about.

I created a studio, converting one of the closets in my home.  I’ve had it “certified” by two different sound engineers.  I signed up with www.edgestudios.com who gave me my initial coaching and also provided their studio in New York City to record demos (some of which are on this website).  I get auditions from multiple “pay for play” sites.

I actually won an audition for an audiobook.  Spent 30 hours recording it not including pickups.  The project then got cancelled.  I did get paid though. I have been shortlisted for multiple auditions but haven’t won one yet.

So, confessions….what have I learned?

1.         Having a nice voice is not a qualification in and of itself.  There is definitely an acting component to it, and I would say the acting part is more important than the voice part. “Interpret the Copy!” is what one coach told me.  When you read for an audition, body gestures, facial expressions, etc are super important even though they won’t be seen.

2.        You have to practice auditions.  Do it multiple times reading the script  before submitting anything.

3.        Responding quickly to an audition is super important.  Even though the deadline may be days out, get it in as soon as you can.  A lot of times they close the project to auditions before the original deadline.

4.        You'll hear alot of conflicting advice.  I am not making this up, this is what I’ve gotten from conversations with experts: Some coaches say always slate!  Others say never slate.  Some say do multiple takes, with different ranges.  Others say don’t do that unless the audition specifies it.  I've heard that you should only submit a portion of the script (to keep the client from just using your work). Others say you should always read the entire script. I have many other examples.

5.        The importance of a sound proofed home studio is emphasized in every conversation, in webinars, classes, etc.  Yet I’ve also heard some say that if you have to submit an audition by recording it on your iphone in your car, that’s ok…you can record the script in your studio if you get called back.  What??

6.        Everyone is scared to death of AI taking over voiceover jobs.  When you submit an audition on some sites you have to disclose if AI was used. I still feel like AI is a long ways away from capturing human elements. Like autonomous driving - can your autonomous vehicle tell the difference between a child running out in front of it and a bouncing ball? No.

Not sure how this will play out, stay tuned.

7.        I’ll never do an audiobook again (Ok, maybe if Stephen King comes calling…). With the project I did, let’s just say I didn’t agree at all with the subject matter and the views of the authors. It made it way harder to do and took forever.

8.        I now pay much more attention to TV and other audio commercials. The product or service they’re selling doesn’t matter.  If you listen close enough to the words being said, you can tell that an actor is putting all they have into it.

Same with things like movie trailers.  Check out this 2 minute intro by Tommy Lee Jones for that movie “No Country for Old Men”.  Tell me he wasn’t awesome in this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eZ6EACDKiE.  It really hit home how much a good voice could turn a scene into an enthralling (and terrifying!) story.

I’m continuing to get my voice out there, and look forward to providing more insights along the way to see how I can get better.

 Would also be grateful for you the reader’s feedback on this post!  Thank you!