Voiceover Advice You Don’t Go For

As if the internet wasn’t enough, social media exploded, providing even more avenues for every voice and opinion from anyone who has access to it.  Depending on what the most recent event is, say a boxing fight or a basketball game, we have all sorts of ‘experts’ coming in and posting their two cents in a tweet or a newsfeed.  We know to regard information shared through the internet carefully, first of all considering the source and comparing it to our own experiences and to what we already know.  Voice over is one of those fields where information and proper advice are hard to come by, but we’ve put together a small list gathered from experts in the voiceover industry.

Five bits of advice to skip, and what to do instead. © The Voice Realm

A good voice is not enough

1. When someone tells you that you have a good voice, so you should go into voice acting!

This is easily one of the poorest pieces of advice given by one person to another.  A good voice is not the only requirement in voice acting or to be a good voice actor.  Patience, tenacity, being receptive to feedback, a creative spirit, an engaging personality and a good work ethic are but some of the other qualities needed to succeed as a voice over talent.  Let’s put it this way: imagine yourself in a recording studio. You have just read off a few sentences in what you were told was a stellar sounding voice, but you were asked to repeat a sentence because they thought your intonation when you read it was not right. How will you be?  Or, you are given a direction on how to read a script and it is not how you usually do it. How will you be?

Listening to ads won’t teach you the craft

2. When someone tells you that all you have to do is listen to radio and TV commercials and you’ve got it.

Unless perhaps you have had a degree or extensive experience in advertising, how do you know whether a commercial and the acting or voice over in it is good or bad?  You could be mimicking somebody’s bad acting or voice over acting.  Basically, there is a complexity in how commercials are developed and how companies and advertising agencies get together to achieve their marketing goals.  Unless you have that knowledge, you are limited only to what you understand, and if you confine the development of your voice over acting to it, it will not amount to much.

A demo alone won’t launch a career

3. When someone tells you that all you have to do is create a demo and you’re good to go.

Your demo is your calling card, also sometimes thought of as your initial interview for the job.  It needs to be able to show off your vocal range and other voice attributes, and all these are acquired through patient training and coaching.  Now, one might be able to get someone to help create an amazing demo, but you need to make sure that what you have been able to display in your demo, you can consistently prove and deliver on the off chance someone hires you for a voice over gig.  Otherwise, you would be written off as just that: someone with a great demo who cannot deliver in an actual project.

Why conferences are worth the investment

4. When someone tells you that conferences are a waste of time and money.

Conferences are not new and are not confined to the voice over industry.  There are conferences for lawyers, doctors, nurses, advertising agencies, chefs and many other professions.   Most industries have them, as they provide a venue to share best practices and updates relevant to the field, foster a creative atmosphere towards innovation, and also allow you to gauge the market.  Most, if not all, conferences cost money, and granted, there might be scams, but if you are interested in joining and hesitant to do so, all you have to do is research the conference: how long it has been held, who the company behind it is, and whether it is a legitimate body.

A good session pays for itself. Check who runs it first. © The Voice Realm

Why agents still matter

5.  When someone tells you that you do not need an agent.

Agents risk their time, reputation and resources to find auditions for voice over talents, and then risk them again when sending a voice talent out to them.  They throw in their resources looking to build you a name, show you the ropes to build your career and reputation, and do your marketing for you.  Back in the day, casting directors and advertising agencies didn’t waste their time with voice actors not represented by agents.  It might be a bit different today, but even so, advertising agencies and casting directors still call the agent before they talk to the voice talent, if they do at all.  Most times these days, too, agents don’t get paid until a voice actor has booked the job and delivered the recording.  It is best to focus your efforts on booking and delivering the job and keep on improving while your agent handles the marketing and payments for you.

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There’s more to this, to be sure.  We would more than welcome any other myths from our experienced and professional voice talents in the comments below.