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Finding success in the voiceover industry

How to maximise your potential, a few suggestions on finding your feet

Frances_Densmore_recording_Mountain_Chief2The voice over industry is very competitive. Even though it may seem simple, it takes time to learn the skills and get established once those skills are mastered.

There are approximately five times the number of people trying to get into voice overs than there are actors trying to break into the film industry. It can be an expensive business as well thanks to the start-up costs of training and demo production, the cost of building a home studio or purchasing a vocal booth and other types of acoustical treatment, and the ongoing costs of marketing and continued training.

Although effective acoustic room treatment does not need not break the bank, the right recording space will play a great role in your success. There are different options of sound absorption materials, such as acoustic blankets – producer’s choice sound blankets for example are the leader in this category, and vocal booths that can be set up and stowed away within minutes.

dscf4249_1What Can You Do to Get Started and Become Successful in Voice Acting?

Success is when preparation meets opportunity. To become a successful voice over actor, you need the know-how (skills) and the means (voice over equipment) and of course the opportunity. People who leap into voice over without proper research often discover that there is a great deal they should have learnt before taking that first coaching class or spending a lot of money on their demo.

Read everything you can on the subject of voice over. There are excellent books that will give you a lot of information about how the business works, performing techniques, “tricks of the trade,” and scripts to work on as you develop your skills.  What you will get from reading books about the voice over is the most critical factor in order to make an educated decision as to whether voiceover is right for you. One example of a good book is “The Art of Voice Acting” by 11 times Grammy winning voice over actor James Alburger (California, USA).

The book is considered by top VO professionals as “the Bible of voiceover.”  It  speaks not only how to do the voice over and how to acquire skills, but also the business of the voice over and what you need to know and do to actually become established voice over actor and make a good living doing it.

Training. Take every acting class you can find. Check your local schools, colleges and call local theatre companies for recommendations on classes.  Don’t be in too much of a hurry – instead, have fun and learn the skills at a leisurely pace. If you rush into producing your demo and you’re not properly prepared — you’ll be wasting your time and money. Find good training and master the performing skills first.

Keep developing your performing skills. Study as many professional voice talent demos as you can find. You’ll need to be able to perform at their level if you are going to compete as a professional voice talent. You can find hundreds of demos on our site.

Attend as many workshops as possible. Raise your knowledge and skill levels to their highest level.

Private coaching. Voice acting is a craft and developing your individual strengths is what makes you stand out. Specialised classes and private coaching are the best way to develop and sharpen these strengths.

Good books on the voice over will get you started and give you a basic understanding of what you need to do, but the real learning comes when you work with a qualified voice acting coach. At VoicesUK we partner with several very effective coaches, all with discounts for our members.

Your equipment is very important.  Even if you get the best skills and the best microphone to capture your voice acting, the ambient room sound will play a big role in the equality of your recording. Digital editing audio will never be as good as recording done in a good studio. Acoustic room treatment does not need to be expensive.  It is true, that acoustic foam is very expensive, but you can find effective sound absorption materials and vocal booth products available in the UK with a 5% discount as a member of VoicesUK here.
Pro tip: Our partners at VocalBoothToGo can help you with advice and supply you with the right equipment to help make your audio recordings sound as clear and professional as you do. Are you a member of VoicesUK? If so, you automatically qualify for an exclusive discount on their products… login to grab the code!”
Portable and carry-on vocal booths are a great way to start your voiceover career on a budget, or you can create your on-demand home recording studio with flexible ceiling tracks and producer’s choice acoustic sound blankets.

Most of all, ENJOY IT!

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Welcome to the VoicesUK blog. Here we explore all facets of the amazing world that is the voiceover industry. We feature guest authors on topics such as how to get started, what equipment is best for your recordings, how to find clients and how to best show off your skills on VoicesUK. To join our family of British voiceover artists please click here. To search for the perfect voice for your project click here. And click here to get in contact with our team, we’re ready to help!

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