BroadkastHussle: VoiceOver Basics: Lesson 3 - How To Become A Voice-Over Actor...

We're up to our 3rd lesson this week on #VoiceOver Basics...

Now we get to the fun part, where you begin to apply the exercises we've talked about in previous lessons.

TRANSCRIPT...

A Voice-Over Actor/Voice-Over Artist is an oral actor and in many ways, must convey emotions better than a visual actor. …being a voice-over artist can be fun, demanding, and is a great experience!

STEPS

1. Practice reading articles out loud, preferably those where you are required to change your voice. For instance, storybooks that have a variety of characters. When you get comfortable — volunteer to read in front of groups of children, as they will be honest if they like your characterizations or not.

2. Practice your characterizations into a microphone. Play them back and listen to them; play them for friends and family.

3. Record other people’s dialects and copy them, by recording yourself and playing the recording of your impressions versus the recording of the real dialect.

4. Record your best dialects, your best “straight” copy (copy is another term for “advertisements” or “the written script”). Keep copies of your work, for experience.

5. Visit the Internet and look for places where they are hiring voice-over talent.

6. The larger the market, the more you’ll need an agent, yourself. In larger markets, you may also need to become part of a union. Again, look up on the internet for more information.

TIPS

· When reading “copy”, make sure to SMILE. If reading copy of a serious nature, don’t smile. For some reason, if you smile while reading copy, your voice sounds more engaging, more accessible, and people are more apt to respond to your voice if it sounds more approachable.

· AVOID “popping of the P’s and T’s” — that is when you talk into a microphone and you hear a “popping” sound whenever a “P” or “T” is pronounced. How can it be remedied? SMILE. That’s right — when your bottom lip is stretched, you have less of a chance of “popping the p’s” — just another great reason to smile while doing the greatest job in the world!

· Practice makes perfect – so studying the masters of the craft, both male and female – will help you immensely.

· Make sure you have a tough skin – this is a business where you will hear A LOT of feedback — both good and bad. You will also be competing against many others for your job in the larger markets, so hang tough, keep learning and keep growing.

IN OUR 4^TH LESSON, I’LL BEGIN A SERIES OF TIPS FOR INDEPENDENT VOICE OVER ARTISTS . THESE ARE TIPS I PICKED UP FROM THE VOICEOVERGUIDE.COM WHICH I’M SURE WILL BE VERY USEFUL TO YOU.