- You've discovered that you have a gift for voices,
or maybe everyone tells you
that you sound like an announcer.
If you want to try your hand at being a voice actor,
here's a few things to know,
and a few steps that you're going to need to take.
Like any profession,
you should get training.
Look into acting classes,
and specifically if there's voice acting classes,
take those too but any kind of acting will help you.
You should also practice your craft
whenever you get a chance.
Whether it's being a part of improv in comedy shows,
or acting live on stage or practicing a lot of VEO sessions.
Then you need to also continuously update
your demo reel and your website.
Of course that means you need to create
a demo reel in a website.
When you're putting those together,
only include your absolute best work.
Good is not good enough.
If you've got three of your best pieces
and three so-so pieces,
you're going to be judged on the so-so pieces.
Never show anything less than your absolute best.
That's a hard thing to do when you don't have
a lot to choose from but trust me,
short is better than long,
if the long doesn't have a lot of great stuff.
So, to get started,
you're going to need to do whatever it takes to get experience.
Help your friends out,
offer your services to local businesses
to help build a resume.
Once you've got a lot of great samples,
then you should look for an agent
and talk to casting agencies as well
and submit yourself to a number of the different
really good voice actor sites.
You want to make sure that you get your work
in front of as many people and potential clients as you can.
Try joining and participating
in local advertising group and associations.
Do this to make connections.
As a professional voice-over actor,
here's a few things to remember while you're working.
One, never change the script.
Try not to pop your P's when you're looking into mic,
'cause popping you get that extra sound,
and you got the breath that comes out on the mic,
don't do that.
Try not to breathe directly into the mic.
Of course, we have these windscreens that help a lot,
but you don't want to breathe directly on the mic.
A mic is also something that engineers
are really touchy about.
So if you're in a recording studio,
don't touch it, don't move it.
If there is a problem, if you're not comfortable,
tell them, they'll move it, they know where to put it.
Always act respectful.
First of all, you don't necessarily know
who the important people are around there,
but anyone that you're disrespectful to,
can affect your career.
I've seen a lot of people learn that the hard way.
Always arrive on time or early.
Never be late for a session.
That's a really quick and easy way to not get called back.
Since you're going to be a professional voice actor,
protect your instrument, which means your voice.
Don't go out screaming and yelling the night before.
Don't go to the loud clubs and bars,
don't go out to a concert or a big sporting event,
because your voice won't be the same the next day.
If you've been yelling a lot,
it's going to drop and get much more raspy the next day.
Couple of things you can do to protect your voice,
drink warm water with honey and lemon, that helps a lot.
If it's kind of raspy, that'll smooth it out.
Try not to drink cold water right before a session,
'cause cold water can tighten your vocal cords.
It'll actually change the pitch
and it's easier for you to strain your voice.
So like any career,
being a professional voice actor takes time and effort.
But luckily, it can also be a whole lot of fun.