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Anybody out there? :3

Before I made the jump to voice over after studying audio engineering for three years of my life, I did have the following preconceptions that I believed in when it came to voice over:

- Voice Over requires you to have a “funny voice” or a “golden voice”

- You don’t need to be an actor to get into voice over, you just need a good voice

I know this seems a bit ignorant at first but this is honestly the first impression most people will have about the voice over industry. True, there are voice actors in the commercial world (in Australia anyway) who are not necessarily trained actors but this blog is going to highlight why it is crucial, hell, even important to be a trained performer before going into the world of voice over. Since I have been doing some research into this industry after watching interviews, listening to podcasts, watching Adventures in Voice Acting, talking to other voice actors via email and taking voice over workshops and currently acting classes, I have gained the understanding that I have heard from every single voice actor say as part of their advice about gaining a foothold in the industry: take acting classes. The majority of voice actors all have a performance background: acting, music, comedy, theater etc. For example, my performance background comes from music after playing in several bands and taking improv classes at Mooregrace Acting Studios.

About two years ago, I made an amateur mistake of throwing a small example of voices for one of my idols: Wally Wingert. I copied a variety of voices from a voice over agency website’s profile of voice actors and sent them off to them to see if I had any potential. It was not a proper voice over demo, just throwing examples of voices. He wrote back to me telling me how what I had shown him needed something more and how my reads sounding exactly the same. After I responded back to his honest, constructive criticism, he wrote a tiny message which read (paraphrased) “All in all, a good first try”. This lesson however made me make sure I would never ever make this mistake in the real world. I had an email conversation with Wally Wingert whilst working on a thesis based on voice over as part of one of my audio assignments. He told me about how becoming actor was a very important step. I was hesitant to ever become an actor because I had studied at JMC Academy and did not wish to study at a University (which a friend of mine suggested I should do). It wasn’t until after my first year of being fresh out of JMC Academy that I spent most of my time volunteering at community radio stations working on voice over. I have built my own self business from the ground up very slowly by taking lessons, compiling different material for my voice over demo, building an official website, making business cards and much much more. The final decision to take acting classes came at the beginning of the last two weeks of the term for Mooregrace last year and I just fell in love with the craft.

Back to the point of why becoming an actor is crucial. I have several reasons of coming to this decision and why I would highly recommend this to you if you are looking to get into voice over. This is based from all of my previous experiences in workshops and even to recent voice over auditions that I have been attending lately:

- As I watched actors in Abbe Holmes’ workshop, my jaw dropped about how flawless and convincing their voice sounds in each of those commercial examples

- Your goal is to create a believable performance, people can hear a fake coming a mile away

- Your competition whether in Australia or anywhere is against the top in the industry who are regularly hired. Strive to be as good as them or even better

- Voice over requires you to think on the spot. This is why I study improvisational acting within Mooregrace Acting Studios. I also study on-camera work and am looking at doing a few TV commercials or score a role in a TV series or film

- The current voice over market is natural voices. This is my specialty until I develop my craft to become more versatile. Work with your strengths. I was told that people who watch commercials turn off when they hear an announcer voice in a commercial. The market still exists, but not as much

- Every voice actor I have listened to in interviews and even those I talked to personally at Armageddon Expo 2011 (idols such as Kevin Conroy and Steven Blum) all talk about the importance of acting. If this is where they are because of acting, why wouldn’t you want to become one?

- Acting is a risky business. It is highly competitive. Not being a trained actor is going to be against your favour. I work another job as a personal assistant which gives me the flexibility to become a voice actor

I hope what I have written helps you on your journey on becoming a voice actor. It certainly is a big part of my life currently at the moment and I am just as inspired to help you as others have helped me before. You cannot treat this industry as a hobby, it is a full time career. At first, it might not be a very profitable career but this is why you need something to fall back on or as I said before, a second job. I wish you the best of luck because despite all the ups and downs I am currently feeling at the moment, I just cannot think of anything else I would rather be doing.