Voice Over 101

The voice over profession is growing day by day and the opportunities are endless. As the saying goes, “Half of success is just showing up”. Well that’s true, and having the skills to do the job is the other half. In my first blog post here, we’ll go over the basics of voice over, what it is and how to get started.

What is voice over you ask? Any time you hear a voice in any type of media and can’t see the person talking i.e., a radio commercial, a cartoon character or video game character, that’s just one of the many types of voice over. The degrees of voice over vary as much as any art form. One minute you could be reading a starchy corporate narration and the next you could be reading a zany cartoon character, it all depends on your individual talent and strengths.

The best way to get an idea of what you can bring to the table is to simply, listen. Listen to any type of media: the radio, TV, video games, animated series or cartoon, audiobooks, eLearning videos, infomercials, telephony systems or any other type of voice over you hear. As you listen, try and mimic what you’re hearing. Try to match the rhythm, tone and inflections you hear. If you can, sit down and record your own voice doing the same spot or lines. Listen to what you’ve recorded. This is an exercise that can help you get comfortable with hearing the sound of your own voice. Many people starting out have been known to say, “Is that ME?!” Try reading aloud some ads in your favorite magazine, put your own spin on them. The more you read, the more your own personality and style will naturally come out.

Similar to stage acting, having emotional range is very important in performing a good voice over. Okay picture this, an actor standing alone on a stage during an audition, trying feverishly to convince a casting director that “I’ve got range I tell ya, I’ve got RAaaange!”, as he’s being dragged off stage by a large hook from the side curtains. The point is to really wow them with emotional range, this is good prevention for getting the hook.

The foundation of voice over is acting. Learning to make the words come alive from the page and conveying it with the proper emotion, that’s key. Try it yourself. Read a news story or pick up a book and read it out loud.  Okay now try reading it again and make it sound as if you weren’t reading it at all. Make it sound as if you were telling a story to a good friend. Express in your voice how you personally feel about what’s being said. Are you happy, are you stoic or maybe your heart is breaking. Nine times out of ten, that is what’s required in a good voice over.

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