We hear it a lot. “People tell me I have a great voice….”. Well then, maybe you should think about a career as a voice actor… But where do you start? How to get those voice over jobs? How did the big voice over artists get into the business?
Not to worry, I will tell you how to become voice actor about it in my new blog below.
Imagine you’re at a party and your voice becomes the topic of discussion.
“Whoa man, you should really do something with that voice.” OK, thanks, great idea. But how?
Hi, I’m Jente Kater, a popular voice actor on Voicebooking.com, and in this blog I will tell you how to become a voice actor.
How to become a voice actor?
Before we continue, it’s important to understand that voice actor work is no different from being a model, an actor, or a football star. You have to be able to do something special with your voice talent, but why?
Well, I don’t want to burst your bubble but go to LinkedIn. Search for ‘voice over’ or ‘voice actor’, and you will see, there are over 1 million people on the planet who claim to be a voice over actor or narrator.
The key word is CLAIM to be a voice over actor.
The crazy thing about good voice actors is that they talk as if they are making the text up on the spot. While, in fact, they are reading out the script in front of them that has been analysed and rewritten over and over again.
An attractive voice alone is definitely not enough to become a famous voice artist. More than anything, it’s the way in which you bring the text to life. So it’s vital that you can easily identify with the script. To put it in another way, you need to be able to take direction.
Taking direction
Being able to take direction is more important than having a great voice. If a client asks you for a business-like but friendly voice to emphasise certain words, to take a bit more speed in the third sentence and to slow down in the next, but then again not too much. Then put a small pause after the brand name, then you as a voice actor need to be able to adapt and deliver on those wishes.
If the client then asks you to do this 10 times over again, exactly the same, but just a little bit different you have to understand in which direction they actually want to take it.
A Natural voice
Nowadays, it’s very important to have a natural sounding voice. Like you’ve just been pulled off the street. How many people that you see on the street really stand out from the crowd? The same goes for voices.
You need a voice which is like honey to a bee, that attracts people to listen. There’s also supply and demand. There aren’t so many deep, low voices. A deep voice is one of the most popular tones in the market, but you need to sound authentic.
Have you ever heard those fake DJ voices or the extremely exaggerated movie voices from the 2000s? There’s plenty of those voice overs. On the other hand, someone with a light voice or a light voice tone, no matter how pretty, is going to have to join the back of the line. But don’t let that put you off.
At Voicebooking, we look primarily at the saleability of the voice of a voice actor. A light, young-sounding voice talent with a cool edge, is more preferable than a deep voice that misses the X-factor. We have plenty of voice actor jobs lined up. Are you up for the challenge? You can register on our site in no time, find out at the end of this blog.
Home studio for voice acting
A home studio is nice and practical, but it will cost you a lot of money. Money that you could also spend on promotion and coaching. That being said, nowadays, about 90% of all voice actor work is made in a home studio. The main costs come from the equipment. You have to have the right equipment to sound good, such as a microphone for voice acting and the right software.
You could always make your first recording at a studio just around the corner. At Voicebooking, we have our very own professional recording studio in Amsterdam that you can rent, but all of our voices have their own home studio. But wait… There’s a very big but coming. Voice artists that are working from their own studio have to be able to direct themselves, which is where the challenge arises.
Voice over demo
Recording your own demo takes years of practise, and that’s the biggest disadvantage that voice actors who just started have. The experienced narrators know how to do it, and they do it well.
They have learned a lot from all the feedback they have received from clients, creatives, and techies while being in a studio. If you’re just starting out and you’re going to record from your own home studio, take my advice.
Let the client or the agency listen in via Zoom. Let them direct you and learn from what they say. Take notes and learn from mistakes. Let yourself be led and coached, but don’t be afraid to ask for feedback if you feel you need it. After following a course and getting some feedback, you can record a demo.
If you don’t have your own material, you could, for example, fill a demo with text you have copied from existing commercials. Your demo needs to give clients an idea of what you can do. No matter how crazy it may sound, it’s worth asking yourself, “What do I do best?”. Use that fragment as the first sample in your demo.
Advice from voice over actors and a voice actor agency
Voice actor work is a craft that requires experience. The more you do it, the better you get. Ask five experienced voice actors how they first started out, and four of them will give you a story that’s tied together by pure coincidence. Some started in local radio and got asked to do promos, others in theatre, and sometimes they just knew someone at the studio.
So, look for someone that believes in you and can offer you the chance to screw up a few times. Most times, it’s just a friend you know from a sound studio, or from a video production agency.
Trying to become a voice over via a voice agency? You should really give it a try. But keep in mind many online and offline voice actor agencies, such as Voicebooking, for example, get around 50-100 sign-ups a month. There might be a wait, but if you have got what it takes to be a professional voice, we will contact you.
Paid or free voice over jobs?
Once you’re over those first hurdles and you’ve landed your first gig, then comes the big question, MONEY. Do you charge the standard market rate? Think again.
The art lies in finding a good balance between getting paid and learning by doing, and simply enjoying your work. Many big voice over actors once started out in voice over work by doing it for free. Yep. For free. Or next to nothing. Just because it looked like fun. Recording voice over jobs for free can give you that initial career boost that you are looking for. Who knows, it could be your big break.
What you could do is invest 500 euros in Google AdWords on the search term ‘free voice over actor’, and then as your client comes back to you with a second job, then ask for money. If your really have the talent, it will be your best investment ever.
And that’s it! I hope these tips help you get started as a voice actor.
If you are an experienced voice actor, how did you get in voice over work? Tell us in the comments below.
For all of you newbies out there, best of luck, and check out more tips and tricks on how to become a voice over actor. Or read our latest blog by professional voice over actor Clare Reeves where she answers everything you want to know from a voice over.
If you still have questions after seeing this video or you want some personal advice, please let us know and send us a message on our socials: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.
Do you want to become a voice actor at Voicebooking? Sign up as a voice over if you think you have what it takes.
Want to read more? Find all of our ebooks here:
52 tips for writing persuasive voice over scripts
15 practical tips – The do’s and don’ts of in-house production
23 tips: here’s how to increase your submission’s chance of a film festival win
What to look for in a voice over who works remotely – A practical checklist for working with a voice actor online
E-Learning courses with impact – 20 practical tips for creating an effective e-learning course