Voice Over is a business in which professionals count on other professionals hungarian voice overs to provide a service that requires knowledge, skill and professionalism. This idea probably seems pretty basic and obvious to those of us who already work in the voice over field. In many cases, however, individuals considering beginning in our field often find themselves caught up in what I refer to as the "Break In" mentality. These folks often have every bit as much desire for success as any professional in our field does, but unfortunately, they see professional voice over work as something you need special luck or a magic trick to build success in. As a producer and Voice Over educator, I hear this all the time: "Can you teach me how to break in to voice overs?"
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Questions like these always offer me the opportunity to make a very clear point: Voice Acting is not something that you break in to. Voice Over is a business, and those people who are voice actors are, in essence, small business owners. You don't "break in" to being a doctor, a lawyer, a mechanic, a cook, or a professional athlete, and similarly, you don't "break in" to being a voice over artist. Building success in Voice Acting is exactly the same as building that success in any other field: it's not primarily about luck or a magic formula, it's about understanding the requirements of the profession, determining where you best fit in, developing necessary skill, and remaining persistent. Additionally, enjoying the process and the prospect of success can be a tremendous advantage. Many of the world's top businesses were not built solely with the desire for income, but with passion for the process.
As in any worthwhile endeavor, there will be challenges to overcome and work to be done to achieving success in voice overs. But your individual success will become much more tangible through a clear understanding of the professional requirements of the field. Reserve any "Break in" mentality to use as a possible solution to your keys being locked in your car!
When you are ready to develop professional skill, remain focused on education. The educational process should focus on job knowledge and skill development. Your education could include books or web resources, group or private training, or communication with other industry professionals. Just remember that your goal during any educational process is to learn.
It should go without saying, but I will say it any way: if something sounds "too good to be true," it just might be. Be cautious of mixing education with an agency or casting services. The allure of training with an organization that hires voice actors is natural, just remember that no ethical company can guarantee your success in this field and no ethical company can guarantee that they will get you regular voice over work simply because you paid them for education.
In my 20+ years of experience, education is education, and casting is casting. The two should not mix.
Colleges and Trade Schools can legitimately offer placement assistance because the individuals they train are joining a profession. It is easy to certify a welder, and then help that person find a job as a welder. Voice Over artists are also joining a profession, but the difference is, and this is a big difference, that Voice Over artists are going into business for themselves. Voice Over work is entrepreneurial. The most tremendous success stories in our field are often built by those who recognize that voice over is a business, develop job knowledge and skill, keep the educational process solidly focused on learning, and enjoy the process!
A solid voiceover script is the key to success for your podcast or your radio and television commercials. Writing voiceover scripts that are compelling and persuasive is very different from writing print ads and small blurbs that appear on online advertisements.
Peter Drew, an experienced voice over artist who provides voiceovers via the Internet and for several radio networks, highlights the importance of 'writing for the ear, not the eye.' That is, you will want to write very short, concise and succinct messages that sound like a real conversation. At first, this can sound like a very unnatural style of writing - especially if you're used to creating marketing copy for print ads - however, it is the only way you will truly develop a compelling and realistic voice over segment.
Here are some simple ways to modify your marketing copy and recording strategies that will ensure the voiceover is narrated as smoothly as possible, and that it really does deliver a high-impact message to your target audience:
1. Make sure everything is in the active voice. Voiceovers need to take place in the present time, as if they were a real conversation. Make sure the whole script is written in the active voice so that the audience can identify with the messages easily.
2. Use a windscreen to protect the mic. If your voiceover script contains a lot of words that begin with the letters 'P', 'B' and 'T', the talent may have difficulty reading the sentence without distorting it. A windscreen can help eliminate this problem and help them deliver a more smooth-sounding sentence.
3. Mark up the copy for inflection. Bolding certain words, highlighting parts of the copy or using something simple as underlines can really help your voiceover artist understand the gist of the message and deliver a quality piece. Read the copy out loud yourself to identify what parts of the sentence you want to emphasize, then mark up the copy so that the artist understands exactly what you need.
4. Write (or type) out any phone numbers. Remember that digits on paper are actually words when they are read out loud, so this may cause an imbalance in your copy. Read the entire piece with the numbers in full form so that you can adjust other parts for better flow if necessary.
5. Get the listener's attention in the first line. Make sure your headline is an attention-grabbing intro to your voiceover script. Ideally, this introduction is under 10 words in length and contains at least one unique statement or key point.
Since a narrator will be delivering the copy, the writer of the script will need to account for breathing and the overall tone and personality of the voiceover artists. Once you have selected your voice over talent for an upcoming promotion, you may need to tweak the script slightly so that it flows with the talent's strongest skills and abilities. Make sure you're developing a strong and persuasive script using these guidelines, and give the voiceover talent plenty of time to practice so that you can modify your script as needed.