HIDDEN TALENTS — HOW TO SUCCEED AS A VOICEOVER ARTIST
Getting work in voiceover can mean the difference between earning enough to focus solely on your acting career and needing to find employment outside the industry. According to seasoned voice actor and coach Abbe Holmes, you’ll need tenacity, great skills and passion. She offers advice on working in the four main areas of voiceover − commercials, non-commercials, animation and character work − plus audiobook narration, which is experiencing a huge growth spurt.
HOME STUDIO
Whether you’re already working in voiceover or would like to be, you need a home studio set up to increase your opportunities. This trend had begun before COVID and many people continue to work from home, even though mainstream recording studios and radio stations are back up to speed. I’ve been working successfully from my improvised studio since COVID began and I love it.
There’s no need to feel daunted; it’s really easy and fairly inexpensive to install some basic equipment. A good quality condenser mic is the most important purchase, then you need headphones, mic stand, an interface and a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) on your computer. (For more information about setting up a home studio, click here)
NECESSARY SKILLS
In voiceover, like any area of the arts, it’s not easy to get traction. Crucial skills are that you:
• Are a proficient sight reader.
• Have a broad knowledge of words and language.
• Understand that language carries emotion, perspective and attitude.
• Know how to make the language in the script or text your own.
• Understand that you are the messenger.
While you’ve already learned many of these skills as actors, the approach in voiceover is different. Before I elaborate, the one thing that belongs to each of these areas is that you need to make the language your own. Your read must sound fresh in every take, as though you’re reading it for the first time, just had that thought, that you’re the expert or, at least, know what you’re talking about. It’s not simply about reading the words − it’s about creating authenticity.
COMMERCIAL & NON-COMMERCIAL
The biggest difference between the two is that for commercials, that is, ‘paid media’, you’re talking to a half-listening audience, while for non-commercial it’s a captive audience, and the information is something they’re interested in or need to know or learn.
Voiceover is a spontaneous experience and you’ll rarely see the script before you get to the studio. If you’re recording from home, it’s usually sent just before the job. If that’s the case, do read it through and begin to understand what it’s about, what the language is saying or selling and to whom. What the client doesn’t want is for you to have ‘worked out’ exactly how you’re going to perform it and then be unable to change that. Spontaneity, remember.
Think of the recording experience as three things all in one: problem solving, rehearsal and performance.
Problem solving You’re never expected to get the script right first time. Even if it’s 15 seconds long, there’s a lot to work out. As soon as you are in front of the mic, begin by getting the words ‘off’ the page. The first reading won’t be perfect, but don’t worry − it’s someone else’s language, after all, and if it’s a non-commercial script, might be about something totally unfamiliar. You’ll need to understand and be clear about everything you say, so ask questions, remembering that there’s no such thing as a dumb one.
Rehearsal When you practise reading the script, you need to be listening to yourself. You’ll be wearing headphones − and everyone’s hearing level is different − so once you have them set at a comfortable level, you can begin to rehearse for the performance.
Every script is different and it’s in this rehearsal period that you’ll begin to discover the key words or phrases, find out how to apply any emotion or meaning and get a feeling for how it’s going to work. Now you can begin to think about ‘how’ you’re going to read it. The producer or engineer will direct you, and together you’ll have worked out the best pace, volume and energy, and you’ll be getting closer to finding the style of voice. At this stage, the engineer may begin to record the takes.
Performance This is when the fun begins. Remember, every take is being recorded, so each time you do one, try a slightly different spin on a word or phrase, for the purposes of editing from different tracks. And because this is done often, don’t forget to stay true to what was decided about pace, volume and energy each time.
CHARACTER WORK
You’ll find opportunities in all areas of voiceover to do character stuff. In commercials, it’s more often about ‘jumping into someone else’s shoes’ and often the voice is similar to your own. It’s a ‘voice acting’ job.
In non-commercial work, it might be something like an e-learning program for preschoolers about a swamp, where you may need find a character voice for one role or several − frog, ranger, ant, mum or dad, for example.
Getting work as a character performer in animation or audio visual will always be about creating authentic and believable voices that match the character we see. If it’s just audio, we need to understand what the character is feeling by the way they deliver the dialogue.
AUDIOBOOKS
In audiobooks, as well, the narrator often has to voice many characters. It’s not crucial that these are perfect, because listeners know it’s the narrator reading the voices, but it’s important to know that the dynamic between narrator and characters is different. The narrator is talking to the audience and the other characters are in a scene, talking to each other.
Different from the world of spontaneous voiceover, audiobooks require solid preparation. This means reading the book from cover to cover and understanding not only its structure and the author’s intention, but also everything about the characters and what’s going on. You need to know who the narrator is. If you’re reading in the first person, for instance, you are the book. This is your story, your life. Once again, it’s not just about lending your voice to ‘reading’ the words; you’ll need to work out how to entice listeners into the story and guide them through its intricacies. Listen to a variety of audiobooks for the way good narrators do this.
Often, you’ll need to do quite a lot of research − place names, surnames, words you’re not familiar with. If it’s fiction, the book will be full of characters of all types and ages, and you need to create authentic, memorable personas for them.
VOICE DEMOS
In all these areas, you’ll need to have created a voice demo or demos. For audiobooks, simply record − on your phone is fine − good samples of you reading something that suits your voice and is, preferably, contemporary.
A good demo should reflect work that you would potentially be cast for. If you’re prepared to put in the effort necessary to make a splash, it can be useful to talk to a coach who’ll help ascertain where you’d fit, guide you in refining your skills and suggest the right content for your demo.
Abbe Holmes is one of Australia’s most recognised mainstream voice actors, known for her versatility and character ability across style and age ranges, reflected in her audiobook narrations. Abbe has also been a voiceover technique coach and voice demo producer for more than 15 years.
