Want to provide voice-overs for media such as animations, video games, movies, and adverts? If you have a naturally expressive voice and love doing accents and voices, it could be the perfect job for you. Getting into voice acting however isn’t easy – you need to learn how to perform and how to stand out from the masses of competition. Here are a few tips on how you can pursue your dreams as a voice actor.
Get professional training
Being trained by a professional is the best way to develop your skills and potentially get qualifications (which could help when applying for roles). You could take a traditional theatre course, however, it could also be valuable to find a specialist coach such as Taron Hensley who has experience in voice acting. Some of the skills you need to learn as a voice actor include elocution, voice control and timing. Taking singing lessons could also be beneficial.
Find your niche
There are different niches within voice acting that you may want to start honing your skills towards. Narrating audiobooks for instance is very different to providing voice overs for cartoons – the former may require developing reading skills, while the latter requires comedy skills. Research into the media that you are interested in and try to learn from voice actors within these niches (check out our interview with Jason O’Mara here).
Show off your skills with a vlog/podcast
A vlog or podcast is a great way to show off your skills to the world. If it’s successful enough, it may be all you need to break into voice acting. If you don’t get lots of views/listeners, then it’s still a great piece of media to add to your demo reel and reference in your application. Buy yourself a good quality microphone and work out ideas for an entertaining vlog/ podcast that could show off your skills.
Get work experience through Fiverr
Fiverr can be a great place to pick up paid work experience. This platform allows you to advertise your service as a voice actor. As you start to build clients, you can then build up a portfolio and start charging more for your service. You could even decide to launch a whole freelance career from home doing voice acting for one-off commercials, explainer videos, animations and whatever else comes your way.
Start auditioning for roles
If you’ve got your sights set on voice acting for major forms of media then you’ll need to learn how to apply and audition. Produce a demo reel, write up your CV and start looking for roles that you can apply to. Don’t expect to go straight into Hollywood movies and major video games – you’ll likely have to work your way up. Getting through the auditions can be the tricky part and it’s important to research each role thoroughly. Don’t be put off by rejection – voice acting is a tough gig and many actors take a while to breakthrough.
1 comment
The article offers solid advice (except for the Fiverr thingy), but what it leaves out could fill a volcano.
Most important omission? VO is a business, and unless you are good at marketing hustle, VO will never be more than a hobby or amateur pursuit.
Dave Courvoisier
https://courvo.com