How To Nail That Voiceover Audition

Ok, so you've decided you'd like to be a voice actor.  That's great!  You've opened up the door to performing as a narrator, in an animated piece or even in radio advertisements.  All of these are great avenues to what could be quite the lucrative career.

Unfortunately, almost 90% of all people who attempt this career fail. 

Usually this is due to one of a few things:

1)    You haven't taken an acting class...ever.

2)    You play a role in a generic fashion that doesn't make you stand out.

3)    You don't take direction well from the engineer, producer or director.

These are all fixable things from the end of the actor.  The first thing I recommend is to go take an acting class.  Seems rudimentary and almost dumb to say, but an acting coach can help you with breathing techniques as well as how to project well.  These are things an amateur going into an audition or demo recording are subject to. 

When assembling your material for a voiceover audition demo reel, you should select pieces that not only fit your strong qualities (for example, if you have a deep baritone voice, older narrator roles would be the best), but also roles that you can put your own personal touch on.  From my experience recording for actors' demo reels, for every ten wicked witches, only one of them are any good.  The rest sound like I borrowed the dialogue from “The Wizard Of Oz.”  Creativity goes a long way with how you separate yourself from the pack.

There are two different ways to go about recording your demo; at-home recording or in a recording studio.  If you want to go the route of recording yourself, you should take a glance at my article regarding software here (Matt....link to the main article here?).  It's cost effective and can be quite user-friendly if you select the right software.  The downside is that nine out of ten times, you as a novice actor probably don't have the proper equipment (microphones, hardware interface) to really put out a top-notch product.  I've had to try to “clean up” client audio that had been recorded on their laptop using the internal microphone before.  Sadly, it was such a poor signal that I had to break to them that it would have to be redone, which cost more money and time.  This is not to deter you from trying to do it on your own, but make sure you have everything you need to save you time & money.

If you decide to go the recording studio route, it certainly has its advantages.  For example, you get an engineer to do all the heavy lifting of recording for you, which leave you free to focus on your acting and monologues.  Before you let the engineer hit the “record” button, make sure you ask a few questions:

·      What are your rates? (Generally, studios charge somewhere between $55-75 an hour before any bells and whistles, such as stock music, sound effects, etc.)

·      What software do you use?

·      What are your policies on delivery of products?

Now, compared to a do-it-yourself approach, this can be a little steep financially.  However, several studios I've worked in have offered a talent package of some sort.  One example was a time where a studio I worked for offered a 10% discount on the hourly rate, as long as they used the studio exclusively for the next year.  Most studios (should they agree to enter into this arrangement) will want this down in writing if for some reason you decide to discontinue using their services, so make sure you take a look at anything they have you sign!

After you are pleased with the demo (quality and diversity of roles go a long way), you're all set to pass it along to a talent agency.  Make sure you keep a hard copy of the files somewhere safe.  In most cases, studios will hand over the final copies and distribution is at the discretion of the client.  This simply means that you should guard these final copies with your life! 

Hopefully this has helped you get started with your journey in voice acting.  With a quality demo reel, you give yourself an opportunity to stand out from the rest of the crowd.